The Present

Hi, I'm back and starting a new Operation. Going to be a pretty boring one. Essentially, this will just be a way for me to journal daily updates of my life and poker. I think it will help keep me on track a bit as opposed to just not having one of these things set up. My main goal is to always be focusing on what is going on in the present, because what else matters in poker?

I plan on recording how many hands I play, how many sessions, how long they are etc. as well as monitoring my focus levels. Also going to mention anything interesting I have to say in here. Will do trip reports on my travels etc (going to be visiting Europe for awhile, potentially Las Vegas, NYC maybe, and so on) so stay tuned for pikes!

Not going to be posting any results (if I can help it). Just going to be a real simple journal of my day-to-day activities. As for what I am trying to achieve with this? Basically just a space for me to reflect on whatever I deem reflection worthy. I may do some HH review in here, or I may not. If I come up with specific targets (i.e. # of hands or VPPs in a certain time frame), I will post and provide updates on my progress. As of right now I have some targets set up for various subtle things related to poker but would prefer to keep them to myself. I'll consider making an update before my day begins and describe what it is I'm looking to accomplish, that way I maintain some sort of direction here.

I'm now playing small stakes: Heads up, 6max, and Full ring. Long term targets are obviously to move up, so my time will be allotted towards improvement rather than trying to make 'x' # of $ per month.

Stay tuned for slightly more exciting updates! -_-

Gay.

Originally Posted by Bbickes

Gay.

you're gay?

but results are fun

Originally Posted by Micro2Macro

Originally Posted by Bbickes

Gay.

you're gay?

I could be. Is that an invitation?

Originally Posted by Bbickes

Originally Posted by Micro2Macro

Originally Posted by Bbickes

Gay.

you're gay?

I could be. Is that an invitation?

sorry no, but I am sure dranger would be down.

oh hey you guys live in the same town! it would be perfect!

Originally Posted by Micro2Macro

Not going to be posting any results

really?
play good, profit, move up, etc

dhlkjgdashgsdalkj diagf and gl

wtf, no results?!


< - isn't going to follow this shit.

You'll change your mind when you run hot again

Originally Posted by oskar

You'll change your mind when you run hot again

I'm like 8ptbb over my last 10k hands fwiw

I hope exposing this information does not count as results, otherwise / life, fail, etc.

Originally Posted by Micro2Macro

Will do trip reports on my travels etc (going to be visiting Europe for awhile, potentially Las Vegas, NYC maybe, and so on) so stay tuned for pikes!
-

Hollerrr at me.

Originally Posted by L_Clan_Sup3rMaN

Originally Posted by Micro2Macro

Will do trip reports on my travels etc (going to be visiting Europe for awhile, potentially Las Vegas, NYC maybe, and so on) so stay tuned for pikes!
-

Hollerrr at me.

Me too.

And GOOD LUCK.

Originally Posted by Micro2Macro

Originally Posted by oskar

You'll change your mind when you run hot again

I'm like 8ptbb over my last 10k hands fwiw

I hope exposing this information does not count as results, otherwise / life, fail, etc.

Nah... otherwise it would be immature for me to point out that I'm 8ptbb over the last 50k hands.

BOOM

imo start an actual blog on an actual blog site for something like this.

and sounds like fun, glglgl!

Okay I'll leave you guys with an update on my day and where I'm at right now...

First day of grinding for the month is over. Played 1,492 hands of $50nl 6max over 4.87 hours with a MT ratio of 3.22. The reason it is so low is because I'm working on a few things at the moment that I am trying to divert a lot of attention to. I'll probably get the ratio closer to 4 tomorrow, I just happened to have some tables break and never bothered to add more (I keep 4 running at a time with no preference for fast or reg speed, though I might consider filtering only fast tables tomorrow). I've also been able to really keep a good handle on my emotions without having 25466236 hands to play at once so I haven't made any major tilt shoves (though a few meh calls or w/e here and there happen it's obviously not as extreme as me 20 tabling).

I also got through 2 videos, hence the 'low' volume. I'll probably do a few 2-3k hand days at 6max and some 5-6k days on weekends when I decide to play some full ring (which I will not play lower than 100nl anymore, and will likely be looking to get more hands in at 200nl). As for moving on up I'm aiming to play 100nl 6max pretty soon, and plan on taking shots at 200nl 6max as long as I feel I'm playing well (and after I take care of a few things).

I've got my next session with my coach booked for Wednesday. Be pretty cool if I could make a run at mid stakes in March/April. Until then I'm looking to get more experience with short handed play, though I don't plan on putting in massive amounts of volume. Somewhere around 10-20k hands at 100nl 6max with a decent earn should be enough to jump into 200nl 6max for me I imagine. Once I clear my bonuses and (hopefully) grind out some profit at 200nl FR/6max I'll take some shots at 400nl or w/e when the roll is adequate.

Okay enough about the future, back to the present. I'm going to sleep, laters.

Oh yeah and I'll let you New Yorka's know when I'm in town.

Originally Posted by Micro2Macro

Originally Posted by Bbickes

Originally Posted by Micro2Macro

Originally Posted by Bbickes

Gay.

you're gay?

I could be. Is that an invitation?

sorry no, but I am sure dranger would be down.

oh hey you guys live in the same town! it would be perfect!

Don't rope me in on this. I like me some wimminz. Not so much with teh sausage

Good luck. I think the study time and working on things is good, but I also think it can be tough to play a lot of different games like HU, 6max, and FullRing. So, be careful not to spread yourself out too far.

Originally Posted by Jason

Good luck. I think the study time and working on things is good, but I also think it can be tough to play a lot of different games like HU, 6max, and FullRing. So, be careful not to spread yourself out too far.

I agree partially here because I think it's different for all players depending on how they think - like for some, they get by using those 'standard lines' shown in videos and therefore would be lost in an unusual setting (i.e. different stake, different # of players) because they can't just think about the situation they're faced with since they're used to mashing buttons. I used to be like this, but I'm finding moving back and forth between FR/6max quite smooth mostly because I've been working on improving my thought process. I do think that heads up though is quite a difference from ring games though I won't be playing it too much. My main focus is going to be Full ring and 6max games, with heads up just being there on the side to keep me on my toes.

Originally Posted by Jason

Good luck. I think the study time and working on things is good, but I also think it can be tough to play a lot of different games like HU, 6max, and FullRing. So, be careful not to spread yourself out too far.

this
6-max is great for FR, except that you start putting players on more aggressive ranges and showing down vs the 'top of their range' more often. Same happens with loads of people who aren't that great when we overthink ranges

Originally Posted by daven

Originally Posted by Jason

Good luck. I think the study time and working on things is good, but I also think it can be tough to play a lot of different games like HU, 6max, and FullRing. So, be careful not to spread yourself out too far.

this
6-max is great for FR, except that you start putting players on more aggressive ranges and showing down vs the 'top of their range' more often. Same happens with loads of people who aren't that great when we overthink ranges

This is a flawed way of thinking imo.

As of now I just finished watching Tommy Angelo's video series and feel like I'm making some progress in tilt reduction!

Originally Posted by Micro2Macro

Originally Posted by daven

Originally Posted by Jason

Good luck. I think the study time and working on things is good, but I also think it can be tough to play a lot of different games like HU, 6max, and FullRing. So, be careful not to spread yourself out too far.

this
6-max is great for FR, except that you start putting players on more aggressive ranges and showing down vs the 'top of their range' more often. Same happens with loads of people who aren't that great when we overthink ranges

This is a flawed way of thinking imo.

As of now I just finished watching Tommy Angelo's video series and feel like I'm making some progress in tilt reduction!

yeah, i guess it's just a risk i felt while mixing the games up. Like, i'd start putting MP ranges too wide etc.
nice work on the vid series

Originally Posted by daven

Originally Posted by Micro2Macro

Originally Posted by daven

Originally Posted by Jason

Good luck. I think the study time and working on things is good, but I also think it can be tough to play a lot of different games like HU, 6max, and FullRing. So, be careful not to spread yourself out too far.

this
6-max is great for FR, except that you start putting players on more aggressive ranges and showing down vs the 'top of their range' more often. Same happens with loads of people who aren't that great when we overthink ranges

This is a flawed way of thinking imo.

As of now I just finished watching Tommy Angelo's video series and feel like I'm making some progress in tilt reduction!

yeah, i guess it's just a risk i felt while mixing the games up. Like, i'd start putting MP ranges too wide etc.
nice work on the vid series

Thanks, can't believe I actually managed to listen to someone for 8 hours

So I really need to stop sitting deep oop to other regs. Just FPS waiting to happen.

Originally Posted by Micro2Macro

So I really need to stop sitting deep oop to other regs. Just FPS waiting to happen.

deep and oop vs decent regs is silly unless there are fish to your right.

I think I need a break.

PLAY MOAR HANDS

jk obv take a week off man, you've earned it ffs.

Originally Posted by daven

Originally Posted by Micro2Macro

So I really need to stop sitting deep oop to other regs. Just FPS waiting to happen.

deep and oop vs decent regs is silly unless there are fish to your right.

what davenit said. I play the winningest regs HU just for the challenge, but when I'm deep and oop against one with 100bb stacks to my right, I leave. I might re-join the waitlist if the table is still good. There needs to be a huge whale to your right, and even then it sucks balls because you can't play nearly as many hands as you want to, because you'll get squeezed and iso-ed relentlessly.

Originally Posted by Micro2Macro

I think I need a break.

Couple days should suffice imo but it's the weekend so I bet you'll be back on it tonight.

Originally Posted by Icanhastreebet

Originally Posted by Micro2Macro

I think I need a break.

Couple days should suffice imo but it's the weekend so I bet you'll be back on it tonight.

Yeah what the fuck there's no way I'm going to not play this weekend lol.

Didn't get much volume in yesterday. Only around 1300 hands, though about half of them were heads up. I played surviva at the 50nls and got into some interesting spots. Did a little reading after then went to bed. I also played some 200nl. Mostly full ring, though found a soft spot at 6max so went on to join. I think I played really well and my focus seemed higher than usual.

Anyway, I'm currently grinding the Supernova freeroll so I guess I better get back to it.

Plans

Alright update time...and wow would you believe it, I have some plans for next week:

From Mon 8th - Sun 14th I will be directing my focus to full ring, specifically 100nl and 200nl. I don't plan on playing lower than 100nl at all next week. I have a 15 fucking thousand dollar bankroll there is absolutely no need for be to be wasting time at lower stakes. Just because I may not be running as well as I wish isn't a legitimate reason to avoid playing the stakes I'm rolled for because not only am I properly bankrolled, I have an edge. And having an edge means I'm +EV. And it's higher EV for me to play 100nl FR than 50nl, so why I ever play 50nl is beyond me...and also, my goal this year is to get better at poker and give myself the opportunity to move past small stakes. This isn't going to happen if I keep shying away from getting the hands in that I need to gain experience. I have the proper bankroll to absorb the swings. It isn't even necessary to check my bankroll after any session. I could even go all month without doing it because doing so is just unnecessary.

So next week is going to be dedicated to expectation. I expect to clear my bonus by Sunday, and I also expect to get a decent amount of hands in while spending lots of time reviewing them. I also expect to actually hit my necessary VPP target this month.

100nl will be my default stake. I'll play 200nl when the games are good or when I'm sharp, but not once I wake up or right before bed. Oh yeah, and I begin coaching my first student Monday. Should be pretty exciting! Later guys.

Progress

Played a mixed session of 200nl and 400nl FR today. I feel I played well, though I did misplay a couple hands in small pots and made one bad call where I should have clearly folded. I put a lot of effort into analyzing the hands though and discussed them with a few different people so I feel as though I really got a lot out of the mistakes I made and have achieved progress regarding improvement today. Learning about poker is fun. I used to brush off mistakes too carelessly, but now as I'm looking to play in tougher games, I can't afford to be lazy.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

System Changes

6-10 tabling full ring seems to be going pretty smoothly for me. Whenever I play 6max though I feel I don't play very well. I'm not getting as good of reads as I should be, and therefore, hand reading becomes a guessing game. I think if I try just 2 tabling when I play 6max for awhile I'll have lots of time to take more notes and also watch each hand unfold that I'm not involved in. In order to get better at poker, you need to be engaged in what you are doing. If you aren't fully engaged your progress will slow down and potentially come to a stop.

Full ring will be there for me to whore VPP's, but if I'm going to be playing in shorthanded games I really need to start paying closer attention. Losing over my last 10k+ hands of 50nl 6max is what has brought upon these changes. Let's hope they work out? Since somehow I can mass table full ring and still profit..yet lose at 6max. It doesn't help that my table selection for 6max consists of just sitting with regulars and never actually attempting to get on better tables..but I'm hoping this will make me a better player and if it works out, make me more money in the long run.

Gonna try not to tilt like a retard anymore also

On a different note tomorrow I'm just going to grind it out at full ring and work on clearing various bonuses I have recently purchased.

I mentioned this in someone elses blog and I'll say it here also because I think it's just such a damn good idea. You're almost doing it anyway - consider some of your 2-tabling 6max sessions study sessions. Don't try to run up hundreds or thousands of hands, but maybe do a 30 minute session and try to extract the maximum lessons from it. You could easily do one of those every day and just think about every range and sub-range for every action for every player on the table(s), call it part of your study time and then have your "playing" time on the FR tables.

But make them short and focused is my point. Ok, interesting hands might not occur - does that really matter? Everyone is on about how important it is to get the maximum out of small pots. And keeping the session short means that focus should not falter. In that way they become actual learning sessions instead of just swongy -EV play sessions on a structure you're not comfortable with.

Originally Posted by Erpel

I mentioned this in someone elses blog and I'll say it here also because I think it's just such a damn good idea. You're almost doing it anyway - consider some of your 2-tabling 6max sessions study sessions. Don't try to run up hundreds or thousands of hands, but maybe do a 30 minute session and try to extract the maximum lessons from it. You could easily do one of those every day and just think about every range and sub-range for every action for every player on the table(s), call it part of your study time and then have your "playing" time on the FR tables.

But make them short and focused is my point. Ok, interesting hands might not occur - does that really matter? Everyone is on about how important it is to get the maximum out of small pots. And keeping the session short means that focus should not falter. In that way they become actual learning sessions instead of just swongy -EV play sessions on a structure you're not comfortable with.

This is how I was going to look at them (as study sessions).

I really like your suggestion of keeping them short and focused so I'm going to try and keep the sessions short of one hour. Then I can spend the rest of the day grinding full ring to pad my bankroll.

Thanks Erpel!

I very rarely go longer than one hour, and when I do it doesn't do me any good.
You know my FTP SN, right. Look me up on PTR and see if you can identify the period where I didn't take regular breaks, and played lots of tabes across sites because I knew I could crush the game.

I play for about 45-60 min. then I take a 10 min. break, and repeat. The longer the sessions get, the more breaks I need and the fewer tables I think I can play profitably.

I sure don't have the greatest stemina, but there's a point for everyone where concentration drops off severely. I'd recommend to anyone to figure out when you're loosing concentration, and then plan your breaks around those periods.

edit: double post

edit: triple post

And Oskar wins the triple post award!

lol mobile internetz.

Well this weekend was a big drunkament.

Gonna make an effort to get back on track Monday (ffs!)

gl me!

Yes. Drunkaments ftw. You better get back on track...I'd be interested in sweating you 6m 50 or 100NL some time!

Haha dude, my bro got hitched yesterday. I got fucked UP last night and almost hooked up with one of the bridesmaids. Drunkaments ftw indeed.

Ohh dat single life of drunlkaments, how I miss dat shit

Keep pwning M, I can't fucking believe you play 400NL now. Keep at the 6 max imo.

I stole the titles idea from Meeloche fyi and cannot think of a better title for this post

Well today I got sufficient volume in. I ran really terrible, and admittedly, made about 100bb's of spew plays - which is unacceptable. However, it's nice to see that improving in that area for the week is very doable, so I'm not going to sweat it. I played 2,714 hands. 1,500 were played at 6max, so I think I would have gotten more if I played only full ring. I actually ended up 6 tabling 6max and fwiw, I feel as though I handle it better/less prone to spewing when I 4 table. All my spew occurred while 4 tabling but 6 tabling kept me busy enough to avoid it. Therefore, next session I'll 6 table 6max, and 8-10 table full ring. I think I may have found my happy middle ground and will keep at it for awhile

I'll be spending tomorrow developing my lesson plan for my student (which I've already though about in my head/understand but just need to make an outline to follow so I keep on track). I tend to ramble a lot when I explain something so having an outline to work with keeps me in better form and should provide a better learning experience.

Anyway, I'm very satisfied with the time I put in today (broke 6 hours of playing and did a 1 hour sweat + read a bit), though somewhat dissatisfied with the way I played. So tomorrow, I'll aim to keep up the volume but increase those focus levels! (Gonna cut back on my sugar and caffeine intake and see how it goes).

Adios!

So I've been FPS'ing really hard for the past..well, long time. Dunno what to do exactly, suggestions/comments would be appreciated though aren't necessary. Just felt like I needed to mention that in my blog for some reason.

Next month I plan on upping the volume. As for a target, I haven't decided yet but it will be 100k hands minimum.

Take some time off from poker. Get your mind off it, and then come back when you're feeling focused. I'm sure there's some stuff you'd rather do than grind online pokerz.

Agree with oskar, I've taken a break for a little over a week now, and it feels pretty good to just sit back and relax for a while. I think a 3 day or so break would be really good for your headspace. Cash out a couple hundred and buy yourself something. Treat you and ur woman to a night out, etc. Just something to get your mind off poker.

Well the funny thing is, I just haven't been playing much at all. So I'm actually going to try to increase my playing time so my play:study ratio is in favor of playing. Admittedly, I've been reading too much mid-high stakes material and I think this has a significant role in the whole FPS'ing thing. I had a good talk with bbickes about this, and he believes my biggest leak isn't grinding enough. I agree, though I also agree the approach of taking a break may help. The problem is, I've taken too many breaks. My goal is to go pro, and it isn't going to happen without building my roll and moving up. I think I really just need to suck it up and focus rather than put off playing any longer.

I'm also going to play more 200nl because I'm overrolled for anything lower and I'm not going to get better playing lower.

Anyway, I played a session at 200nl today and played fairly well. I made a couple bad plays but nothing totally disastrous. Will continue playing a little while after my dinner. Thanks for the suggestions guys.

@ dranger, last weekend I took my girl out and blew plenty monies on her. As much as partying more would be great and all, I think it's something I need to try and avoid until I go to Amsterdam in the spring unless I start putting up stellar results, mostly because the trip is gonna cost me like 3k and at the moment, that's a big dent in my bankroll :S

Haha, deal. As long as you've had some time to yourself, that's all that matters. Go grind it out broham!

<+m2m> so my cat is retarded
<+m2m> and thought eating pizza was a good idea
<+m2m> motherfucker just pukes all over the carpet

Well, this is about all I really have to say for an update at the moment. I will post some hands by Monday from this weekend for a little check up.

lolololol

this blog is fail

Originally Posted by speedcake

this blog is fail

Thanks -_-

^ Just read through this. Disagree with failblog, want more cat stories, also tips on how to be balla


(also glgl)

play moar. I totally did 8 hours today.

Originally Posted by Bbickes

play moar. I totally did 8 hours today.

thanks...I can't seem to bring myself to it lately though , but I'm going to set some volume goals in March and really get to it hopefully.

I seem to be playing too much during the week when the games aren't as good and it's causing me more stress than necessary due to extreme run bad and as a result hardly ever playing on my A game.

I'm going to aim to grind lots this weekend, Friday through Sunday. I'm also going to set a total hands played goal as well as daily quotas.

That's all for now. Probably going to actually consider table selection ffs like seriously my win rate has been pretty pathetic lately and it's mostly a function of just sitting regardless of table conditions. Oh well, at least I'm not an epic bumhunter.

Originally Posted by Micro2Macro

Oh well, at least I'm not an epic bumhunter.

/me proud bumhunter ... but I don't shy away from a good challenge either

Good luck, though!

Get on it buddy. Stop being a lazy pos like myself. :P

m2m we need to discuss a volume prop for when i get back from vacay.

I'd be on it too.
But something reasonable . I can't do more than 80k hands.

Been awhile since I've had one of these:



I played pretty well and of course ran really good. I made a few mistakes in pots that didn't go to showdown (called one street too many a couple times only to fold to further aggression that was obviously coming and I made one really awful 'value bet' on the river that got c/r'd.) Not bad for having a terrible headache all day. I wanted to play more even though I'm not at the very top of my A game, I was just fortunate enough that the games were good for me to stay and put some hands in. Yeah it sucks that mistakes at this level are pretty costly in terms of absolute monetary value, but I guess that's just even more incentive to put forth enough effort in reviewing my sessions and fixing leaks.

@ bb and oskar we can def arrange something for March.

Nice, graph.

More hands less chatting = more profits.

Sup playaaaaaa! I see you are still playing internet poker. That is good to see. Life update/shooting of shit in IRC soon.

Time to start getting things back on track and what better/more motivating way to do so then to being a new month.

Goals for March:
1. daily updates on what I'm doing in poker/life
2. >100,000 hands
3. workout 3x a week minimum

that's all for now.

Played 2,300 hands today. A bit behind pace for my monthly target but I went out to dinner with my gf then hung out with her after for awhile so that cut into grind time a bit. I played pretty well...made a couple borderline plays that I'll review later I guess. Cleared my last bonus I had on my account so that was pretty cool..besides that nothing much happened today, so I'll leave it at that. Tomorrow my only obligation other than grind is to go to the gym and coach !luck so I should be able to get at least 3k in.

How sweet im an obligation.

BTW, I logged 3.1k hands today.

Originally Posted by !Luck

How sweet im an obligation.

BTW, I logged 3.1k hands today.

nice, looks like you own my soul.

I guess I really have to do 3k at least tomorrow lol

Once again I only played 2,300 hands however I had a really productive day which involved a killer workout sesh. I also felt a bit off my A game later in the day when I played 200nl. For whatever reason, I'm not sure...though I feel like I made a few unnecessary mistakes which I'll get reviewing after. I plan on doing most of my volume on weekends so even though I'm behind pace for exceeding 100k hands I'll shoot to catch up when the games are better. Tomorrow is another day.

Yes! Got 3,000 hands in today. Feels good. 2,700 or so were 200nl FR, then I decided to play some 50nl HU after. Overall I played pretty well today, I think I was on subtle tilt for a bit at one point but ended up snapping out of it and went on to make better decisions. Not sure what the plan is for volume tomorrow exactly, but I'll be hitting up the gym for sure so might not break 3k hands...however Friday is just around the corner and I plan on spending as much time as I can at the tables then to catch up.

Later guys.

lol was only kiddin about fail blog, was a drunk post I think.


I was gonna say something about volume, not important, A game etc etc... blah blah blah...

then realized how little Ive played this year and decided against it