Operation: Life

Old OP can be found here: http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...te-t80535.html

So 5 days ago I sat my last University exam and I have now escaped from education. Now that I'm free, I have no idea what it is I want to do with my life which is a bit of an issue. I have just moved back home to live with my parents and currently have no job, although I will be looking to get something sorted (probably just a temporary job for now) within the next week or so. I think the most likely outcome is that I'll end up working in a Bar/Restaurant that one of my good friend owns. As far as a long term plan goes, well I'm pretty unsure. There are a couple of things I am going to look into in more detail, but at the minute the option I'm considering most is trying to qualify as a Physiotherapist.

My degree course was Sport and Exercise Sciences, which is essentially Human Biology with a bit of Psychology thrown in. The anatomy/musculoskeletal ares of this course link in well with physiotherapy and so my degree should enable me to gain entry to a Pre-registration Physiotherapy MSc course. However, to get onto such a course, you need a certain amount of physiotherapy experience, of which I have none. Therefore I'd need to first get some experience (whether this be through voluntary work in a nearby hospital or w/e) and then apply to Universities again. The MSc is a 1 year course, after which I should be able to register as a Chartered Physiotherapist.

What I do know is that I will continue to play poker as a sort of side income, and that I have no real expectations of "going pro". I have just (~3k hands so far) moved up to 100NL and seem to be on an insane heater so it'll be interesting to see how things go there once that all calms down and I get further into it. I have no real target to reach in terms of my BR, and at the minute 200NL seems a world away. I'll just keep on playing and see where things go. I think if it gets to the stage where I have a Degree, and possibly an MSc or some other sort of postgraduate qualification and am playing 200NL+ as a long term winner, I will consider making poker my main source of income. Obviously that is a long way off, but I guess it gives me something to aim at.

With that out of the way, May 2009, wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!





+$280 Bonus = +$1780 and my best ever month.

Obviously amazed at the month I had considering I had my finals this month and really didnt get a lot of volume in. Sick heater straight after moving up to 100NL ldo which was such goot times. I think I'll be alright at 100NL, so far I've been 4/6 tabling which has helped a lot in terms of me identifying the weaker players, note taking and picking up the occasional read here and there.

Lets hope it continues!!!

Good luck mate, I'll be watching how things develop, nice month and congrats on finally escaping education

nice month & nice start to 100nl. Congrats!

Originally Posted by sil693

the option I'm considering most is trying to qualify as a Physiotherapist.

Sounds good. Very cool - definitely try and get some sort of internship/placement etc for a couple of weeks first to get a feel for this before spending the time studying etc.
as per

Originally Posted by sil693

I'd need to first get some experience (whether this be through voluntary work in a nearby hospital or w/e) and then apply to Universities again.

Originally Posted by sil693

I have just (~3k hands so far) moved up to 100NL and seem to be on an insane heater so it'll be interesting to see how things go there once that all calms down and I get further into it.

there is a lot of value to be had in the first 10k hands at a new stake, when you are treated as an unknown - and we all know that unknown=fish

Just time to note down some goals for June:

1. 35k Hands (hopefully all 100NL) - I need 12,146 more vpps this year to hit SuperNova, and according to Spoonitnow's Vpp Calculator that will take around 35k hands at 100NL FR (I don't know how accurate it is, so if it's looks like it's going to be way off I'll just alter the goal accordingly).

2. Winrate - I don't really know what to aim for / hope for here. At the minute I'm only 4/6 tabling 100NL so I should be able to maintain a somewhat decent winrate I feel. I guess if I set out to hope for ~7bb/100 then that's reasonable. I'll probably be happy being able to play 100NL for 35k hands without dropping back down fwiw.

3. Get in shape - fml.

I woke up at 8:30am this morning and decided I'd attempt a good day's grinding as I currently have nothing to do as I'm jobless (sending off my application for a Physio Assistant job tomorrow) and my girlfriend left the country for 3 months yesterday to work in St. Tropez. I decided I would play from 9am - 12pm and then have a break until about 2pm, before starting up again and playing until 5pm. I planned to 6 table for a total of 6 hours.

My first session went really well, and after that I did a few press-ups and sit-ups etcetc and went for a quick run. I came back and had a short rest before playing again for around 1 hour 45 minutes (I want to watch the tennis and noticed I just hit 2k hands for the day so it seemed a decent enough time to stop).

Couldn't really have gone any better, BEST DAY EVERRRRRRRR WOOOOOOOT!!! 6 tabling, table selection and running hot ftw imo:



Hopefully I'll be able to put in similar volume for most of the month depending on how long my employment situation remains the same. I'm kinda scared though as its inevitable that sooner or later my insane heater start to 100NL is going to stop

June 2009

Hands = 3,751 / 35,000
Winrate = 21.91bb/100
Vpps left to collect = 11,355

Take a stab at going pro! While I don't know all the particulars, staying with parents + unemployment + girlfriend free + bankroll + skillz = stab at pro. I'm only halfway joking. I know it is easier said than done, but this would be the perfect situation to try it. 6 - 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, with a few B&M games mixed in seems to be the formula.

I for one will be making more than a few trips to Atlantic City this summer, now that I am practically debt free. As soon as I save up a bankroll for casual play I'm there. While not having great success, I am a winning player at the $1/$2 NL games down there. And that was before I knew the things I know now, as I feel I am a better player now.

Either way, I hope your new operation is a huge success.

Sent off my application for the Physiotherapist Assistant job last night, so hopefully I'll hear back from them pretty soon. I think I have a decent chance of standing out from the other applications as I'm definately over qualified, and the fact that I'm possibly hoping to move further into the physiotherapy field if all goes well is "desirable" according to an applicant info sheet.

Today I learnt not to undervalue the effect taking a break can have. Like yesterday I decided I'd try for a good grind (as I will most days now, so I'll stop putting this in posts) in my attempt to reach SuperNova this month.

Session 1 was horrid - I kept turning my hands into bluffs and was looked up a number of times. I just generally didn't play very well at all. I ended the session after around 2.5 hours down 1.5BIs. I did lose 130bbs with a flush vs. a higher flush so it's not like I spewed huge amounts away, I was just obviously way below par.

I took a 2 hour break, went for a run and basically cleared my head with some tv etc, then started session 2. Played much better, brought myself back up nicely. Had a fun hand vs. an aggro reg who decided to check back his set on the turn in a 3bet pot (I squeezed OOP preflop with QQ and cbet 589 rainbow flop). Turn was a blank and my plan was to c/shove as he's really aggro and seems to pounce on weakness. Anyway, he checks behind and I river a Q, bet small and he instashoves. tyvm sir.

Session 1 finished around 950 hands in:



Off out with a bunch of mates tomorrow, and I'm also off out tomorrow evening/night (possibly an all dayer) with a couple of mates too. On Saturday I'm going to a local beer festival which I went to last year and it promises to be a fun filled event. Its really low key, but I'm going with 3 of my closest mates and we've hardly seen much of each other over the last few months due to being at different universities (or in the marines), so we'll tear that mother up.

edit - this happened.

I was gonna make this a long post, but 1. I cant be arsed, and 2. Nobody would read it anyway. So cliff notes (for the post that I was going to make):

2 mates in Royal Marines come to visit as their tour of Afghan is over.
On Friday we go for a pub lunch, end up staying out all day/night and get hammered.
On Saturday we go to a local, country beer festival in some random field and get in a fight with around 20 farmers because one of my mates scales a cherry picker to steal a flag and the farmers dont like that.
Sunday we go for a pub lunch again. Same result as Friday ldo.
Monday we go for a pub lunch again. Same result as Friday and Sunday, ldo.

In terms of poker, I'm aiming for ~35k hands this month, as I think that sort of volume should see me reach SuperNova. At the minute I've only got ~6.7k in which is a bit shitty, but I'm intending on making it up over the next few days as both mates have now gone.

I dropped 2.5BI yesterday through one big hand (56<22 on 256) and the rest was me playing pretty shitty vs the regs and the fish. I'll post some hands soon.

edit - I think I broke my toe last night, but I cba to go to hospital. gg me.

nh on the 5k dude! congrats

Meh, so I'm down 4.5 BI over my last 1.6k hands. It's seems to clear to me that this is simply the end of my heater, but whats only making it worse is that I'm playing pretty shit quite a bit too. My 100NL results + this month's results are still goot so far but I need to get my head back in the game before I join the "FML I lost $1k gambling" group that seems to be getting a mention everywhere I look now.

I was on tilt today, which is like the first time that's happened to me at 100NL so far, because of a couple of suckouts vs 20bb - 50bb donks + I played bad vs the donks (which fwiw isn't the best idea). I only got around 1.1k hands in today, - 2 BI.

Some things I need to sort out:

1. Session reviews.
2. Study.
3. Study.
4. Study.
5. Session reviews.
6. Study.
7. Session reviews.
8. Posting hands

Lets start with point number 8. Posting hands:

Hand 1

UTG+1 is 14/9/4.3 over 160
MP1 is 15/10/3.1 over 500

I don't always call pre here, but both blinds were pretty loose so I figured I might get the chance to see a 4/5 way raised pot with position. It's obvious UTG+1 has a big hand here as I seriously doubt he's cbetting this board with missed overs OOP into 2. When MP1 raises he essentially tells us he has a big hand too (7% raise cbet). Thoughts about the flop here?

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
9 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:
UTG ($122.70)
UTG+1 ($159.25)
MP1 ($133.10)
MP2 ($140.00)
MP3 ($100.00)
Hero (CO) ($101.50)
BTN ($111.60)
SB ($100.50)
BB ($108.95)

Pre-flop: ($1.50, 9 players) Hero is CO
1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $4, MP1 calls $4, 2 folds, Hero calls $4, 3 folds

Flop: ($13.50, 3 players)
UTG+1 bets $9, MP1 raises to $19, $19 to Hero ($97.50)?


Hand 2

Villain is 48/38/3.3 over 25 hands

I 3bet a bit bigger than normal because once SB calls he isn't folding to anything that isnt offensively over sized. Flop I think I could bet harder given that its a wetwetwet flop and so he's likely check/calling a fair amount + add that to the fact that he clearly hates the fold button. Turn is weird, as it improves my hand, but it made me think FACK. I was torn between shipping it in and just hoping he's as retarded as it seems and calls with some weaker ace / weaker 2 pair / FD + pair or whatever, or checking it back to see what he does on the river. Thing is, if I check back this turn, I essentially tell him LOL I DONT HAVE A QUEEN, giving him the opportunity to just shove like 100% of rivers.

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
9 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:
UTG ($183.00)
UTG+1 ($110.00)
MP1 ($100.00)
MP2 ($65.40)
MP3 ($100.00)
CO ($100.00)
BTN ($75.80)
SB ($135.00)
Hero (BB) ($100.00)

Pre-flop: ($1.50, 9 players) Hero is BB
6 folds, BTN raises to $2, SB calls $1.50, Hero raises to $11, 1 fold, SB calls $9

Flop: ($24, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $16, SB calls $16

Turn: ($56, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero ($73)?


Hand 3

Villain is 39/18/1.6 over 56

Fold the turn getting ~ 4.5:1?

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
9 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:
UTG ($41.50)
UTG+1 ($87.00)
MP1 ($92.90)
MP2 ($18.50)
MP3 ($18.50)
CO ($18.50)
Hero (BTN) ($100.00)
SB ($116.00)
BB ($130.00)

Pre-flop: ($1.50, 9 players) Hero is BTN
6 folds, Hero raises to $3, 1 fold, BB calls $2

Flop: ($6.50, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $4.50, BB calls $4.50

Turn: ($15.50, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $10, BB raises to $20, $10 to Hero ($82.50)?


June 2009

Hands = 7,938 / 35,000
Winrate = 10.98 bb/100
Vpps left to collect = 9,823

damnit dude, I catch up, pass you and one little setback then this happens! rofl nice work so far.

now start playin like you realize the heater is over and buckle down

I need to sort my head out. Over the past few days I've just been on perma-tilt and I don't know why. I'm so fucking angry at losing a single pot, and today I've just seen how much tilt can affect my play. 43 hands, -2BI.

gg sir.

I'm gonna consider withdrawing a bunch and dropping back to 50NL. BR is $4.6k at the minute. Something to think about.

So today I deicded to withdraw all but $1,500 and drop back down to 50NL. I lost another 2 BI at 100NL last night putting me at around -$950 over my last 3.5k hands. I like to think that grants me entry to the "FML I lost $1k gambling" club so that I at least get something from it. Funny thing is im still 10bb/100+ over the ~13k hands I got in at 100NL. So 100NL was a succes. . . . . . . . . in some sort of way I guess.

At this time in my life, I don't need $5000 in an online poker account, I need money in the bank (mainly because my current bank balance is -£1200. tyvm interest free student overdraft).

My poker goals stay the same. Reach SuperNova on PokerStars (probably next month now) + see if I can get to the point where I'm a long term 200NL winner before I start to rely on poker as an income. Although I'm not desperate for cash at the minute, I think the fact that I don't have a job kind of put it in my head that I was playing for a living, so I was putting myself under pressure to win.

Hopefully this will no longer be the case now that I've dropped back to 50NL. Its also gonna be cool to see a load of cash in my bank that I know has come directly from playing poker.

On a final note, I fucking suck at this game and I need to work on getting better rather then just playing and playing and playing.

Originally Posted by sil693

. I lost another 2 BI at 100NL last night putting me at around -$950 over my last 3.5k hands. I like to think that grants me entry to the "FML I lost $1k gambling" club so that I at least get something from it.

welcome, you finally made it! congrats...

Originally Posted by sil693

On a final note, I fucking suck at this game and I need to work on getting better rather then just playing and playing and playing.

re the work to get better - yes
re the suck at this game - possibly, but in the poker crapness realm of being crap, how many have just withdrawn $3.5k in poker profits?

now sort your shit out and make more $$

Havn't played any at all since I withdrew a bunch. But today I got my degree results - I got a 2:2.

Really relieved and happy with that as I found the exams really difficult and was basically gunning for a pass!!!

sil693 BSc (Hons).

Congrats on the degree. Being done with that must be a huge relief.

So I havn't posted on FTR for a couple of months now. I'm not really sure why. I took like a week off after losing ~$1k through a string of shitty spots, suckouts, coolers etc (basically shitty play, ldo), but after that I got back into it. Here is a brief update of what has been going on:

June 2009: +$331
July 2009: +$1194.85

All but around 5k hands of July were spent back at 50NL after my losing spree at 100NL at the end of June. A couple of days ago this month I reached Supernova VIP on PokerStars, and decided to purchase the $800, 50k FPP bonus for reaching 100k vpps in a year (tyvm insane UK promo). That put my BR to $3.6k, I withdrew $600 for a holiday coming up on August 25th, and moved back up to 100NL with a $3k BR.

Aims for this month:

- Enjoy poker
- Frequent FTR forums
- Make good use of DC membership
- Profit

woot!

Good to see you back..

Originally Posted by Vinland

Good to see you back..

I too am back, sir! Just graduated teh boot campents today. Nice work with completing your last op and your BR and (ldo) your degree.

I gotta get back on the grindin' horse ASAP! Btw, USMC boot camp = ez game.

fuck me ive only just realised how much ive missed your av over the last few months!!

nice to have you back dude, congrats on passing!!!

rofl, i get the feeling a lot of ppl missed my av, but its probs gonna be changed here in a week or so to a pic of me in my uniform

thanks man, great to be back

Originally Posted by dranger7070

rofl, i get the feeling a lot of ppl missed my av, but its probs gonna be changed here in a week or so to a pic of me in my uniform

thanks man, great to be back

Good thing you've been gone or this decision would result in insta-ban.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO first stacks' avatar goes AWOL and now yours ...how can you do this to us.