Poker and Life in the UK: 2012

This blog will be very similar to my last effort, http://www.flopturnriver.com/pokerfo...ml#post2011448.

A brief overview: I recently graduated from college and am currently living in London with my girlfriend of fourteen months. I plan on staying in the UK for the next six months. While here, I will be living off the funds I brought with me as well as any income I can generate from playing online poker. I plan on grinding 50nl and occasionally playing small stakes SNGs when cash games become boring.

Since 2007, I have earned approximately 17k playing poker. This is my most conservative estimate and takes into consideration the money I’ve invested in poker software, coaching, etc. My hope is that I can return to the US around Christmas with at least as much money as I had when I left. Fortunately, I am spared the expense of rent; this keeps my monthly expenses at around £750 (i.e. I need to make at least this much per month). I am fortunate enough to have over three months of living expenses outside my poker bankroll. This isn’t ideal, but it’s good enough for me to feel comfortable. There should also be opportunities for me to make cash on the side doing house projects, which provides me with additional financial reassurance.

I have other goals besides poker:
-get an internship with Forum for the Future, a NPO that focuses on sustainability policy
-keep in touch with my professional contacts in northern Minnesota in the likely event I need a job when I return to the US
-go to the gym 4 times a week

After experiencing several years of boom and bust cycles with poker, I now know that balance is my key to success. Balance in life is essential to maintaining a positive attitude and winning mindset towards poker. This will make it relatively easy to put in the hours necessary to pay my expenses. Behind balance: conservative bankroll management, followed by good diet and exercise. Balance in my current environment mostly means making time to do things with my partner. I’ve made promises to play tennis and salsa dance that I am eager to keep.

Balance, balance, balance.

I hope to have a poker related update for you guys soon!

Smooth Jazz / Four80East - Survival - The Album 07 - YouTube

GL dude, the weathers shit, right?

nice. Training for any races these days?

following

thanks for the support guys

I actually ran my second marathon right before I left for London. In 2010, I ran it in 4:54; this time, I finished in 4:14! I'd love to run another while I'm here :)

Day 10

The first week and a half I’ve been living in London has been remarkably eventful. Yesterday my girlfriend, who just graduated with a degree in Jewelry Design, was invited to present her work at Galerie Marzee (located in Nijmegen, Netherlands). This is one of the most prestigious exhibitions for fine art jewelry in the world so it’s a huge honour for her. It also means I will be traveling to the Netherlands in early August!

The Netherlands trip was totally unexpected, but the trip I am taking to France next week has been on the calendar for some time. Louise and I are leaving on the 3rd of July and returning on the 17th. We will be staying with her father who apparently has a lovely property in the French countryside. It’s the first time I will have met her dad… still, I think it will be a lovely holiday overall.

Once I get back from France I am hoping I will finally be able to dive into playing on Pokerstars again. When I was imagining how the next six months would go, I assumed I would already be playing by now! Part of the delay has been the result of administrative mishaps. The utility bill I got my name on in advance of my arrival in London spelled my name incorrectly. Then, they decided they couldn’t add my name to the bill without performing a credit check. I am waiting for them to send me the paperwork, then I’ll send it back and wait for them to send a bill. After I’ve sent that in to Pokerstars I have to wait for them to verify my documents and call me. It’s very possible I won’t be able to start playing until I return from the Netherlands. This is having a considerable impact on my finances, but it also means I may deposit funds onto a reputable European site so I can start playing sooner. I’d appreciate any recommendations.

The first four days I was here were spent relaxing, exploring the neighborhood, and reconnecting with my girlfriend. Since then I have worked several full days on a variety of household projects. It is very nice to see the living conditions inside the house improve since, admittedly, living with my parents offered considerably more creature comforts! Fortunately, Louise’s mum has been kind enough to feed me every day I’ve been working for her which has already saved me a fair bit of money. It makes me feel good knowing I am making a positive contribution to the household especially as I am living here rent free.

I’m going to do a little research on my own to learn about the best euro sites and see if they have similarly stringent sign up requirements. I’d be so happy if I could put in some hands this weekend!!


FOR YOU.... (track: Four80east - Wait It Out) - YouTube

I'm thinking bet365 is a good place for me to play if I can't get onto Pokerstars as soon as I get back from France. They are reputable, have a good first deposit bonus, cashing out seems really quick, and I can start playing right away!

Day 20

I’ve been in France (Bannalec, Brittany) for seven days now. So far, it’s been a really good holiday! The countryside is majestic and only a short bike ride away from the house. The house itself is an incredible property, with a massive garden that is incredibly varied and intricately sculpted. I am also getting on fine with my girlfriend’s dad. I am really happy here and glad I get to enjoy another full week of restful sleep, work in the garden, fresh air, and clean water!

Yesterday I went to a service at a Catholic Church located in the middle of the countryside. Obviously it was all in French so I had almost no idea what they were saying, but seeing the old church building and observing the people in worship was still an interesting experience. Later that day we returned to the church for dinner, where I had a delicious meal that included pork intestines (a delicacy of Bretagne – tasted like hot dog to me) and unlimited access to good French wine! This was another social event where my knowing very little French left me quietly observing people rather than actively socializing. I have been trying to learn French while I’m here which has been way more fun than I’d have thought. I’m satisfied with my progress in learning a valuable third language and hope to be reasonably proficient by the time I return to the States in December.

As fun as my holiday has been, I am looking forward to returning to London to commence the bet365 grinding. I have a little more than two weeks between when I return from France and when I leave for Holland and I hope to put in at least 25k hands. To clear half of the first deposit bonus I figure I’ll need to play about 80k hands at 50nl (having until September 16 to do so). So there’s no time to waste!


Here are some pictures of beautiful Brittany for your viewing pleasure.

Photo Album - Imgur

I'd write more as I am finding French culture and society very interesting (e.g. structured meal times, bread with almost every meal, 9% of the population being pro-Communist, and more), but I'm starving and we will be having dinner very shortly. So au revoir for now!

Day 21

I have some free time this evening and I wanted to write down some things I’ve been thinking about lately.


French economic policies have created a system that discourages the maximum productivity of individual workers. Here are a few more of the bits I wanted to share yesterday:

-Unions are very powerful here. Going on strike is a fairly common occurrence in France.
-A government mandate prohibits the vast majority of workers from working more than 35 hours/week.
-Unemployment benefits are way too generous. Many low skill jobs pay less than unemployment benefits offer. Therefore, French nationals who are able to receive unemployment benefits have no incentive to take these jobs when unemployed (I imagine they fall onto the shoulders of illegal immigrants or citizens who haven’t yet earned all the privileges of French citizenship.)
-There are negative economic incentives towards being entrepreneurial. For example, if you were unemployed and decided you wanted to try and open your own business, your monthly stipend would reduce from approximately 1400 € to 700 €. This strikes me as a backwards economic policy.

That’s all I can think to write down at the moment. It seems to me that America is kind of on the opposite end of the spectrum regarding the union issue (i.e. the power balance between workers and the capital owners is skewed too far the other direction.) And clearly our welfare system is less generous, which has lead to fewer total instances where the system gets ‘abused’.

---

I have been using some of my down time the past three weeks to intensify my search for graduate schools. I want to get my MSc in Ecological Economics and have found two schools I would be able to get into (one in Portland, Oregon and the other in northern UK.) However, I’ll first need to return to UMD and do two more part time semesters of undergrad. I need to take a handful of math classes and, if I decide to go to the University of Edinburgh, I’ll also need to retake a Physics class I took in 2006 (when I didn’t go to class and, consequently, got an F.) There are a lot of pros and cons to each school (cost, location, duration of program, etc) and I’m nowhere near ready to make that decision. Seeing as I have another year of undergrad ahead of me, the earliest I’d even start my MSc would be the Fall of 2014.

I’ve already done a fair bit of research into the price of furthering my education and I expect that if I went to Edinburgh I’d likely need to take out $29,500 in Stafford Direct Loans and $20,500 if I went to Portland State University. If I pay the interest on the principal and pay the entire loan in ten years, I can expect the true cost to be about $35k for PSU and $50k for Edinburgh. Not to mention the cost of foregoing full time work to be in school – also a significant factor. Still, I know what I want to do and also know that I can’t do the sort of work I’m interested in without further training.

So, what kind of jobs does an Ecological Economist do? Well, most of their work focuses on determining the economic value of natural resources and advising companies or governments on how to most efficiently manage them. They can also work as policy advocates for non profits. My interest in this sort of work comes from the fact that I enjoy working with numbers and have a genuine interest in ensuring natural capital is consumed sustainably.

I’m really enjoying the book Beyond Growth by Herman Daly. If you are interested in the subject of ecological economics I would very strongly recommend reading through it.

I’ve also decided I’m not going to get a gym membership after all. It will save me £100 over the next five months and I can keep myself in very good shape just by doing push-ups and going for runs regularly. And another quick update: the internship hunt has not yet borne fruit, but I will keep searching. I would take almost anything in the field of environmental issues/sustainability, but my not being a UK citizen has already been a detriment for at least one position for which I was turned away.

C’est la vie!

Little Joy - Play The Part - YouTube

Lawls:
Why France Has So Many 49-Employee Companies - Businessweek

Didn't take you long to work that out about the French! I don't know whether it's something inherent in the French and their employment laws follow their attitude, or vice-versa. Still, good food, good booze and beautiful terrain.

Gl with the internship hunt - I gather it's very competitive in your line of work. If you haven't already been, head up to Edinburgh to see if it's the city for you - the Fringe festival in August is meant to be excellent.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

I actually ran my second marathon right before I left for London. In 2010, I ran it in 4:54; this time, I finished in 4:14! I'd love to run another while I'm here

---

wow, cutting 40mins off is huge, nh!

france looks like it was a nice time
re the system there, it's interesting hey...

Yeah someone else was telling me I should go up to Edinborough in August to see the Fringe festival! I am keen to get a train up to Scotland and see the countryside/scout out a potential future there.

Experiencing what life is like in new societies is incredibly interesting. Unfortunately, my travel options recently became somewhat restricted...


Day 31

I nearly got deported from London on Tuesday upon my return from France. It’s a long story, but basically I didn’t convince the immigration officer I was here purely on holiday and ended up spending nearly two hours detained at the airport. Ultimately they allowed me into the country, but warned me that if I went to the Netherlands and attempted to re-enter the UK that it was likely I’d be denied re-entry. What a stressful day – doubly so because I had already paid for a train ticket/hotel in the Netherlands.

Today was more of a mixed bag. On the one hand, I finally got to play poker today! I played a mix of 50nl and $10 SNGs for about two hours and had a winning session. On the other hand, I had yet another very difficult conversation with my girlfriend about money. The worst part of it is my own attitudes and reactions are a major source of the problem. On the upside it means that I can actually do a lot to resolve it. Louise and I are on good terms at the moment as well so that’s a big plus. Still, I am feeling rather stupid, petty, and small today. I wish I felt like writing more as there were some genuine bright spots in between, but not feeling too inspired at the moment.


Dr. Dog - Is It Worth My Time? - YouTube

Haha I had the same trouble with UK immigration, except they did deport my ass back to France. Was supposta catch a flight to Dublin out of London.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

I nearly got deported from London on Tuesday upon my return from France. It’s a long story, but basically I didn’t convince the immigration officer I was here purely on holiday and ended up spending nearly two hours detained at the airport. Ultimately they allowed me into the country, but warned me that if I went to the Netherlands and attempted to re-enter the UK that it was likely I’d be denied re-entry. What a stressful day – doubly so because I had already paid for a train ticket/hotel in the Netherlands.

---

My husband (back then boyfriend) had the same problems when he was trying to visit me in Canada (he is American). He had to forfeit a plane ticket to the Bahamas because the immigration officer also told him that if he left the country, he probably wouldn't get back in. GG $700 (AND I had to go to the Bahamas alone! Fail)

the uk really hates the idea of people immigrating there for whatever reason hence the good chance you'll run into paranoid immigration officers

Your mistake was speaking English and not having several children you are unable to support.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Micro2Macro

the uk really hates the idea of people immigrating there for whatever reason hence the good chance you'll run into paranoid immigration officers

---

Actually it's Daily Mail readers that hate immigration, most of us just don't take kindly to people coming here and claiming our benefits while refusing to speak English.

Just learn the language and earn your own money, respect the law, then you're welcome as far as I'm concerned. That's why I like the Chinese and Indians. The fact their food is better than ours is simply a bonus.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by donkbee

My husband...

---

My heart just broke.

donkthorne is a pure terror yo


also gl vi, always thought you were one of the better regs when i played 50-100nl 6m. you could go far if you have some free time to devout to pokers.

it's much easier to be a global citizen if you have a million dollars in the bank and are obviously an asset to the country you intend to visit :(

thanks for the encouragement bikes. the transition back to online poker has been smooth thus far! I've got the house to myself during the day all next week and I am really looking forward to grinding again

so ridiculous that their response to fear of abuse of tourist visas is to crack down on multiple re-entries, when that's the one thing a legit tourist is more likely to do than anybody else

Day 41

Finally I had a week where I could sit down and grind! I honestly haven't done much else besides play poker the past week, which is just fine with me. I have hated spending through my savings when I couldn't work, so being able to play as much poker as I could was exactly what I wanted to do. I've been playing Sprint Poker (ZOOM equivalent) exclusively on Bet365 -- the competition at 50nl is very soft and I've been able to win at a good clip just sticking to the basics.

For me, I've put in incredible volume. Since Monday morning I've played 48 hours -- approximately 36k hands. I am up 9BI from the tables and have also received a lot of bonus cash already so I'd say it was a very good first week back. I have been running decent, but have missed tons of value, obvious spew 3bets/cbets, not bluffing in good spots etc so there is loads of potential to improve. I am also only a couple hours of grinding away from locking up the highest VIP status which should translate into a lot of extra bonus $$$ down the line.

It was warm the past few days, but today the weather has returned to stereotypical England; cool and rainy. A good day to visit an English pub :)

Day 48

More of the same the past week; when I'm not with Louise, I've been playing poker. Until today, it had been incredibly smooth sailing. I had a -16.5BI day at 50nl today... 10.5 hours, ~10k hands :/ I was playing my B game for most of the day and certainly missed a lot of value in small pots, but I managed to blow through all these chips without making any major bluffs. If anything, I did a good job folding when I was beat! Being a heavy volume small stakes grinder is hard sometimes.

Thankfully, I recently signed up at WilliamHill and have already earned $200 from the deposit bonus. I am waiting to hear if I will be getting 20% RB on top of this as part of signing up through FTR -- this could be worth $500+ considering how many hours I intend to play there this month!

I am not using PT3 right now, so I've been recording my hours separately. Since July 29, I have played 35.25 hours. In total, I have played 89 hours. Including bonuses, I have about $1.5k in profits to show for it. Excluding bonuses, my profits are something like $600.

I need to put in about 88 hours on Bet365 to maintain my monthly VIP status for August/September and earn a $350 bonus. For WilliamHill, I still need to put in about 425 hours to earn a $4500 bonus. For the poker playing calendar year (July 18 - November 30, 136 days), I need to put in approximately 610 hours to take fullest advantage of the signup bonuses and VIP rewards. That works out to 31.5 hours/week, which is very doable.


Besides all the poker playing, Louise and I went to the Olympic Park this week to see the Olympic Stadium. The weather wasn't all that cooperative, but the park was beautiful! There is a massive lawn where you can sit and watch without having to have a ticket into an actual event, so we sat and watched horses jumping fences for a couple hours. At one point, we went to get lunch at the on-site McDonald's -- the queue was literally 100m!! Despite the crowds, I really enjoyed the park and now want tickets to see one of the swimming/diving events. We are holding out for the Men's 10m platform diving final this coming Saturday, but we may jump on something else if it looks promising.

That was my biggest adventure of the week. We also were invited to dinner at my girlfriend's best friend's house and had a lovely time there. That was the first time I've been drunk in as long as I can remember

Louise had to go on to the Netherlands without me after our scare with the UK border officials. The only upside to this is that I have even more time on my hands to put in my time at the tables. On a personal note, I feel much happier knowing that if I put in the requisite hours, I'm certain to pay for all my expenses while I'm here and return to the US with enough money to finish up my undergrad. I'd like to go back to Vegas too, if I do really well!! Here's hoping tomorrow brings something different

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

Being a heavy volume small stakes grinder is hard sometimes.

---

i hear ya bro

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

On a personal note, I feel much happier knowing that if I put in the requisite hours, I'm certain to pay for all my expenses while I'm here and return to the US with enough money to finish up my undergrad. I'd like to go back to Vegas too, if I do really well!!

---

nice

Sunday and Monday were better in that I actually won a couple BI each day. It got even better because I found out that I am definitely getting 20% RB at WilliamHill this month! This changes my grinding schedule and thankfully cuts a lot of hours I was planning on having to play.

William Hill: 26/445 hours played
Bet365: 74/114 hours play
Total: 100/559

Days Remaining (Aug 7 - Nov 30): 115
Average Pace: 4.0 hours/day or 28.0 hours/week


The new schedule is a massive relief. I don't know if I had it in me to put in 140 hours a month!

Hi,
Sent u a PM
i

got it, thanks salsa


I'm finally back into the habit of not looking at my bankroll at the end of every session, which is good for a whole bunch of reasons. I'm also feeling more confident triple barrel bluffing and taking optimal value lines. I still seem to take 2-3 bad bluff/value lines per hour, but I've also got my notebook out again and am being more diligent about cracking down on myself for making these mistakes. My winrate is doubtless something abysmal for 50nl, but I'm sensing the poker rust has nearly worn off now and I'm ready to make some real strides in improving my game.

So far, here's what is working:

triple barrels

Here's what's not working:

winning coinflips
AK < AA/KK
top set in 3bet pots
getting value towned by fish and the top regs


All that translates into what has become a 31BI downswing since Saturday. I am probably going to have to inject a little of the money I withdrew from Bet365 into my WH bankroll. I trust I am a winner in these games, but the severity of this downswing is shocking seeing as it's 50nl!

I'm going out to do something out of the house this afternoon, hopefully come back tonight and have a winning session.

where abouts in teh london?

Also, why no play on party poker - I assume you can play there based in the UK? Games soooooo goot!

I'm living in Wood Green, northeast London.

I really wish I had selected Party Poker now that I think about it! I may get a chance to play there if I clear my WH $4500 bonus before the end of my time here. I would love to play some soft 100/200nl games when I'm at the top of my game and can afford to lose :)


I just noticed that I've played at least 4 hours every day but one the past two and a half weeks, so that's good. I also had two small sessions this evening where I didn't lose! I dropped one table (from 6 to 5) to focus more on making the optimal play every time and that seemed to help. It's going to take a while to fully recover from this downswing, but the frustration is starting to clear and I am reminded that I need to be very patient with my results.

It turns out I was mistaken and had in fact lost 3 more buyins yesterday afternoon. I finished the night by losing a bit more, and then lost some more today. To make things even more frustrating, the Speed Poker software has been periodically kicking me off my tables. It has been going on pretty much since the beginning, but has progressively gotten worse and today it cost me time, money, and my mental health.

As of right now, I'm down 400GBP on WilliamHill and up 850GBP on Bet365. With the downswing and problems with the software, I'm very tempted to play just enough to get some value for my player points and move to another site. I spoke with WilliamHill support today regarding the software and they said they'd do what they can to fix it. Still, I expect I'd be happier playing normal speed tables with reliable software. I'll play again tomorrow and see if things are improved. If not, it's probably time for a change of pace :)

Day 56

I figured out part of my problem with the Speed Poker was that the channel my wireless router is on was overcrowded. Played a session today and had a nice, disconnect free session. Unfortunately I am still running bad on WilliamHill and my bankroll there is now 450GBP, down from 1000GBP. Thankfully I am running much better on PartyPoker and am already up a bit over there.

The games on Party are clearly softer and the results I have put up at the Speed tables on iPoker make me cringe (roughly -12BI over 110k hands). So, I have once again altered my playing schedule to include some time clearing the PartyPoker deposit bonus. I am getting effectively 90% RB from WilliamHill this month (works out to $25/hour) so I will obviously keep putting in hours and hope that I start to run good again soon. Even if that means depositing more money. My ego tells me I can't be a 5bb/100 loser at 50nl.

So yeah, poker is a drag right now.


On Saturday I went to see Shrek the Musical. I had never been to a musical before so I wasn't sure what to expect (how would it compare to the movie?) I must say the performance was hilarious! The only beat was that the guy who played donkey obviously never had a chance of being as funny as Eddie Murphy, but still a very worthwhile experience overall. After the show we went out for dinner at Pizza Express which was also lovely. Yesterday I worked on constructing a compost bin for my girlfriend's mum, which ended up taking a couple hours since we had to clear a massive thicket of brambles and stinging nettles to get the site ready. This week I'll probably take Louise to see a movie as well as do some more painting around the house. A professional workman is coming by in 1-2 weeks to do some tiling and install kitchen cabinets which is really exciting. I know this isn't my house, but I've come to feel invested in the rebuilding project and will be very proud when the work is finished.

I'm still getting murdered at the tables, though today I made two major mistakes which cost me $85 total. I also made a handful of smaller mistakes that cost me about $25. William Hill roll is barely over 400GBP.

I don't think I've ever ran this bad before, but it also must be said that I've never put in so many hands in games where I have such a small edge. Having logged 100K+ hands, I believe my true winrate in these 50nl SPEED games is likely <1bb/100.. the variance that comes along with such a low winrate is enormous and I had no idea what I was in for. Check this out if you haven't used a variance calculator before: ev++ Poker Tools :: Poker Variance Simulator

Over 100k hands, it's possible to go on an 80BI downswing with my estimated winrate and SD. At any rate, 40BI+ downswings are relatively common and that is where I'm at right now (-48BI on William Hill since last Saturday.) Game selection is critical and I have been beating my head against a brick wall for too long. I think I'll stick to playing on William Hill on weekend nights and do the bulk of my playing at PartyPoker. I won't get as much Rakeback value at WH this month, but I can still clear the deposit bonus and earn enough player points to get a good bonus by the end of October even if I only play there 2-3 nights/week.

This is just another instance where I learned something about poker the hard way :rolleyes:

Four 80 East - Roll On [Jazz-Funk] - PLANET CHILL - YouTube

Day 60

I came to my senses last night and realized anyone playing poker for a living would look at my finances and ask, 'how can you possibly think you are comfortably rolled for 50nl?' I have around 4k counting my liferoll, so a repeat of the past week and a half would leave me in a really desperate position.

I decided to move to 25nl and assigned myself a 3 buy in stop loss. I watched a couple BlueFire poker videos and took careful notes. I thought a lot about my game and the weaknesses of the standard TAG regs at 50nl. Today, I had a +11BI session over 4k hands at 20nl. Although I of course won most of my all ins and got paid off by the fish, I also ran some big bluffs in 3bet pots when the board texture was favorable and my opponents range was weak. I used overbets when my opponents range was capped. I basically exploited the hell out of the average regs and ran really well. Feels good.

It's a beautiful day outside, so after my winning session I went for a long stroll through the neighborhood. I've been sick this entire week as well and the combination of sunshine and rungood felt therapeutic.

This weekend I am going up to Oundle to help my girlfriend's mum get her other house ready for workmen to come and do some work there. No internet so I won't be able to play poker, which is just as well since I have played an average of 5.5 hours/day this month! A short break will leave me refreshed to put in a lot of hours at 20nl next week.

Dr. Dog - How Long Must I Wait - YouTube

gl building that roll back up!

Day 65

Thanks Courtney! Mission accomplished :)

WH roll is back up to 950GBP after some serious rungood and playing much better than I had the previous two weeks. The fish are paying me off and I'm winning most of my flips, which is great in itself but feels even better because I can see the positive effects of studying/paying greater attention to each table. I am very aware that being able to play online poker for the next couple months is a gift and I am going to make the most of my opportunity. Ideally I'd return to the UK early in 2013 and resume playing poker, but that's not a sure thing and is highly conditional on my success over the next couple months. I haven't played nearly as much poker as I wanted to this week, but I have been productive in other aspects of my life so I am not feeling too bad about it.

The housework in Oundle went really well and we got loads done. We donated a bunch of old clothes/furniture, took multiple carloads of recyclable materials to the tip, and did other little administrative bits that needed doing. There is so much to do, but by the time I go back to the US I know I'll have made a big positive contribution to Louise and her mum's well being (which makes me feel like I am earning my rent free status.)

On Friday I'm going on an adventure to the Southbank, my first real solo adventure in the UK. Pretty excited to spend the day wandering around :) I'll have to remember to borrow a camera so I can take some pictures!

I booked a tennis court for Lou and I this evening. The weather is perfectly overcast so it should be a great match (even though she is going to smoke me!)

Day 71

Bankroll has been bouncing around the past week -- currently 900GBP. Feeling pretty good overall about my play, but there was one big spew and I am still finding lots of spots where I could be playing better. It's good to feel like I am improving every day since active learning is the best way to avoid boredom and the inevitable loss of motivation and frustration that comes with it. Boredom with poker seems to lead me to tilt easier and in the past has probably been the reason I have walked away from poker when the going got tough.

I am back at 20nl again since I've lost a few BI at 50nl the past two sessions. I do not want to go on another run where I burn through half my online roll!

I did in fact get smoked in our tennis match last Wednesday, but I still played arguably my best tennis ever so that's a plus. I forgot a camera on Friday, but I'm definitely going back to Westminster so I'll take some pictures then. This weekend I stripped a bunch of paint off the hallway floorboards while Louise removed nails. It took us about 15 hours to do half the work :neutral:

Avi Buffalo - Remember Last Time (not the video) - YouTube

Day 74

Today is going to be a big grind to finish out the month -- I am only a few hours away from locking up a higher VIP level on WilliamHill. Since my last update I have been on a nice little heater and am well on my way to being fully recovered from my biggest downswing ever (incredibly fast recovery imo). I took a shot at the 100nl SPEED tables this morning and surprisingly they were much less aggressive preflop than 50nl. There were plenty of really bad regs sitting as well, so even though KK<AA and KK<A5s I still finished +1BI.

I also just found out that I'll be getting the same 90% effective rakeback at WH next month.. poker is the greatest when it isn't challenging your self confidence and threatening your financial security!!


edit: +3BI at 100nl the rest of the day and earned the higher VIP status!

Day 80

I just reread through some of my old posts.. seriously ridiculous that I thought grinding 600+ hours of online cash games in 4 months was 'very doable'

It's also amazing to me that I've already been here for nearly three months! Looking back on the goals I had for myself at the start, I am tempted to think I haven't made the most of my time here. I haven't landed an internship and am at this point just hoping to spend one or two days at Forum for the Future to get a taste of what their work is like. I never got a gym membership, have rarely been running, and I haven't even begun to line up work for when I get home!

Yet poker has undeniably been a success. I made almost $1k in July (a half month) and almost $3k in August (despite going on an epic downswing during the middle of the month). Volume has been very good -- I have put in almost 200 hours at the tables in less than 7 weeks. I have been learning lots about poker and my game has improved tremendously since I started playing online again. I'm not immediately worried about money anymore which also takes a lot of pressure off. Housework has made me feel like I'm making some sort of a positive contribution and has provided me with 'free' exercise.

That being said, I'm not off to a hot start in September. I'm down about 260GBP between 50nl/100nl. The plan is to play 20nl/50nl at least until I'm back to even.. a shame because 100nl has only 2-3 tough regs that aren't also at 50nl and there are plenty of fish! I've also worked out that WilliamHill will offer me by far the best rakeback so I plan to do pretty much all my playing there.

My deepest thanks to FTR for getting WH to offer 20% RB to members who signed up. That was a very good boost to my bankroll :D

Hey dude, not been on here in ages and have just read this for the first time.

I live in Glasgow in Scotland so it's cool to hear you're in the UK. If you do get a chance to make it up this way at some point I'd be happy to show you round Edinburgh (used to live there), get a beer etc. The uni's really well respected and it's a beautiful city so I'd definitely recommend it for university.

Also, hit me up on skype or whatever if you fancy a sweat. I'm grinding 100s on stars atm and would be happy to take a look at your game and stuff.

Best of luck man.

Thanks Carroters, I'd really appreciate getting you to sweat me for a session! And hear more about how poker has been going for you since Vegas

..would love to get up to Edinburgh and will probably be up there later next month. I definitely need to spend a day or two seeing the university and finding out whether I'd be happy living there for 12+ months!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

seriously ridiculous that I thought grinding 600+ hours of online cash games in 4 months was 'very doable'

---

;) i've never managed it

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

. I haven't landed an internship and am at this point just hoping to spend one or two days at Forum for the Future to get a taste of what their work is like. I never got a gym membership, have rarely been running, and I haven't even begun to line up work for when I get home!

---

life happens

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

Yet poker has undeniably been a success. I made almost $1k in July (a half month) and almost $3k in August (despite going on an epic downswing during the middle of the month). Volume has been very good -- I have put in almost 200 hours at the tables in less than 7 weeks. I have been learning lots about poker and my game has improved tremendously since I started playing online again. I'm not immediately worried about money anymore which also takes a lot of pressure off.

---

nh

cheers daven, thanks for dropping by! I hope you don't need to send out that CV anytime soon either ;)

Day 92

September has not been a fruitful month for poker, results and volume wise -- I'm basically even after 46 hours of play. There was a 15BI downswing and some sessions where I just played badly, but I'm really striving to only play my A game and only play at peak times in an effort to reduce my variance and improve my win rate. I have a -0.6bb/100 winrate at the SPEED tables over 200k hands, so I've turned into the type of reg I used to mock.. the rakeback grinder. I plan to move to PartyPoker in October so I can play fewer hands/hour and play against weaker competition (and hopefully become a winning reg once again!)

Besides poker, I've started watching True Blood and reading a fascinating book called Love and Addiction. I went for a walk along the Thames the other day with Louise and saw more of this lovely city I'm living in.

My family is coming to visit next week and I'm really looking forward to spending some time with them (and getting some time away from the tables). I am definitely taking them to the Fine Burger Co., my favorite restaurant in London!


Elvis - Hound Dog - YouTube

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

striving to only play my A game and only play at peak times in an effort to reduce my variance and improve my win rate.

---

What do you mean by peak times?
When you are at your peak?
Or when the fishing grounds are at their peak, If so, in your opinion, what times are these?

The peak time to play is when it's evening/night in Europe (6pm-2am GMT). During the daytime hours the concentration of regular players is higher, which means you can expect your winrate to decrease. One way to get around this is to play a limit lower than your usual game during the daytime hours (I don't do this as often as I should)

I'm at my peak when I'm properly rested, I've attended to all my business away from the tables, and I've done a little studying (at least 10 minutes). This allows me to be as focused as possible when I sit down to play. Preparation is a huge part of being a winning poker player that is quite easy to overlook.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

I'm at my peak when I'm properly rested, I've attended to all my business away from the tables, and I've done a little studying (at least 10 minutes). This allows me to be as focused as possible when I sit down to play. Preparation is a huge part of being a winning poker player that is quite easy to overlook.

---

Some good advice right there.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

I'm at my peak when I'm properly rested, I've attended to all my business away from the tables, and I've done a little studying (at least 10 minutes). This allows me to be as focused as possible when I sit down to play. Preparation is a huge part of being a winning poker player that is quite easy to overlook.

---

agree 100%

Thanks for both the answers.
I've been mostly playing tournaments and sngs up to now. But am thinking about concentrating more on cash sessions for a period.
So if I may ask two more brief questions of your experienced opinion:
6max or FR?
Pokerstars or smaller site?

I played FR in 2006-early 2007, but have played 6max almost exclusively ever since. I'd say moving to 6max allowed my game to develop more quickly because everyone has wider ranges. Playing against wider ranges gives you better practice at learning to hand read. I've never been good at HU, but it's definitely the best way to gain experience hand reading/thinking about ranges. Being a top HU reg also provides the greatest profit potential -- some players can beat HU games at their limit for >10bb/100 (very difficult to attain a similar win rate at 6max)


I'd recommend Pokerstars simply because you'll have the widest game selection and the support staff are excellent. I've played on six different sites and overall I'd say stars is the best of the bunch by far

I've actually been playing a lot of HU on pokerstars for the last year.
Watching people min cash tournaments after 3 hours of play and thinking I can achieve that in 10 minutes.
The flipside is that variance can be high and it's possible to also lose a lot of BIs in a short time. Especially when tilting or chasing losses.
Plus the rake is very high but the rakeback or vpps is very low compared to the same time spent on a few ring tables.
And overall I'm really not much over breakeven with the slow climbs, rapid falls, and slow climbs back up again.
So I'm toying with the idea of experimenting with cash tables for a few months.

But I do like a quick heads up game, I don't like HUDs covering the table and cards, (yes I know ring players think them essential),
and I also still like tournament play.

Thanks for your advice it is very helpful whilst considering what to try next.

Although something I read today at flopturnriver which I didn't know before is drawing me towards trying Bovada some time soon.
http://www.flopturnriver.com/pokerfo...ng-191646.html

if you are already BE at HU, you'll quickly be able to beat the 6max games at that limit.

I used to rely on my HUD (to a fault), but I haven't been playing with one lately and it's clear I'm paying greater attention to the metagame/adjusting aspects of poker.

another common sense thing to keep in mind is: play what interests you the most! you'll have more fun so you won't get bored or frustrated as quickly, which means you are less likely to tilt. you'll also be more willing to take time to study your game away from the tables

A Return to the Grind

The past two weeks I’ve been on a near total hiatus from online poker, for which I’m mostly grateful as, results-wise, September was a near total failure. I put in a dismal amount of time at the tables (68.5 hours) for very little profit (£145 counting bonuses). At least I played to the best of my ability most days. The -16BI swing I had to finish the month is the biggest reason I have so little to show for my efforts last month (at least I played well during those sessions).

While spending time with my family I saw lots more of London as well as the English countryside. I spent a couple days driving and hiking through Wales; very few moments were absent from either rain or sheep. I got to see Stonehenge and spend a night in the town of Bristol (I didn’t realize until I got there that it is the hometown of Banksy, the famous graffiti artist). Bristol is an awesome town and definitely worth driving to visit, made all the more worthwhile by also allowing you to drive through the town of Bath and witness even more fantastic displays of architecture.

It was very enjoyable and worthwhile to play tourist for a couple weeks, but now that I have returned to my familiar routine I am ready to resume the online poker grind. This month I’ll finish up clearing my deposit bonus on William Hill and put in a substantial amount of time playing on Party Poker. The financial incentive to 6 table 50nl SPEED has disappeared, so I will be 4 tabling from here on out. I know this will be good for my winrate as well as for reducing my variance. I think 90 hours for October is attainable and means I will only need to put in ~20 hours/week the last 6 weeks I’m here to meet my volume target.

I can't believe I only have 9 weeks left here. What happened to all that time?

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - The Clod and the Pebble - YouTube

20nl here I come!

although I've only put in about 15 hours the entire month at the tables, I'm down 15BI at 50nl and I'm probably going to have my first losing month which sucks. I've also been beating myself by worrying about my results and my bank account the past couple weeks which is very -EV, not to mention exhausting. Ideally I'd have come to London with twice as much money so that my living expenses would have been completely covered without a need to profit at the tables, but that wasn't attainable. In hindsight I can see I was lucky to make enough so that I'm not in a position to go hungry (though I do need to cut back my expenses where I can because I don't want to go back to the States flat broke).

for the year I'm down 36BI at 50nl over 270k hands. it's very disappointing to find I can no longer beat this stake as I had such high hopes when I got here. I've received almost $5k in bonus money to date so at least my grinding hasn't been an utter waste of time and energy.

I'm leaving myself £550 to grind 20nl. wish me luck as I clearly need it :/

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

I'm leaving myself £550 to grind 20nl. wish me luck as I clearly need it :/

---

Good Luck

Thanks chemist!

so far down £210 at 20nl, or 17BI, in 7 sessions. I've made a couple big mistakes plus had some disconnection issues besides still getting run down in all in pots. part of me is happy I moved down when I did, thus saving myself from £300+ in additional losses. part of me is furious I've been running bad/playing bad. I noticed the last 30 minutes of my final session yesterday that I was really running on autopilot, so going forward I have to play fewer tables.

when I played 20nl a few weeks ago the thing that seemed to help the most was exploiting the tightness of the TAG regs. I've started thinking about that more when I'm playing, but the right opponent/hole cards/board texture has rarely presented itself. I also need to work on my mental toughness; I rage quit after my session this morning when I lost 4BI in 20 minutes.

Poker is brutal.

Bleh, run better !

cheers dneureiter, though unfortunately runbad isn't the underlying problem...

Open Eyes

Right now I am at the bottom of my second 40+BI downswing since I started playing online again (~300k hands). I am now down almost 60BI between 20nl/50nl/100nl. Some of the losses can be attributed to running considerably below expectation. But, the manageable factors that produced my horrible results are:

1. Playing too many tables (usually 1000-1200 hands/hour). I thought I was giving up little by adding more tables, but I clearly gave up a lot more of my edge than I had initially thought

2. Not exploiting the nittiness of the regs enough. Lord knows how many triple barrel spots I didn't take advantage of, partially because of my own nittiness and also because I was playing too many hands to notice

3. Not studying enough. I probably have a 10:1 hours played:hours studied ratio, and with how much room I have to improve that isn't desirable. The past couple days I've worked on improving that ratio.

4. Not looking at my results more objectively sooner. It's understandable that I didn't see it when I had a £1700 month in August, but once I'd had a breakeven month in September I should've been able to plainly see that I needed to get out of the 50nl SPEED games.

5. Being too focused on earning bonus money (i.e. hand volume). Through September this was justifiable as I was earning 90% Rakeback on the SPEED tables, but this month I continued playing too many hands/hour when I needed to focus on quality over quantity.

6. Lack of competitive drive. This comes from no longer "loving" poker the way I used to. I think I loved poker more when I was single (when poker had a bigger void in my life to fill), the games were easier to beat (In 2007 I had no trouble winning up to 400nl), and I still aspired to be one of the best poker players.


As a result of all these factors (and other controllable variable that haven't occurred to me), I am down almost £700 this month. My total online poker profits for 2012 are now $2.8k.


I figure if I can claw back 20BI at 20nl that I will have earned the opportunity to play more at 50nl (on Party :p).


Rehab Kept On Walking - YouTube

Still Grinding

It's been a few days :) I wanted to have something positive to write about in regards to poker before I came back.

I took a couple days off at the end of October, though I still managed to lose a bit more at the very end to cap off my first losing month in 2012. This month I've done a better job selecting games to play in when I've played cash tables. I've also played a few $10 SNGs and so far I'm up after 150-200 games. November has been less of a misery than the previous two months. In the period from September 1 through October 31 I dropped $3.2k playing 20nl-100nl. This is a testament to how important it is not to overload yourself playing too many tables and to come to the tables as ready to play as possible. This experience also taught me how brutal the variance can be in the RUSH poker format, though this factor was considerably amplified by the fact that I have no edge when 5-6 tabling these games and certainly ran below expectation over that two month period.

By the miracle of bonuses/rakeback I can still walk away from online poker in 2012 with $4k in profits provided I can grind out a profit at the tables in November. At this moment I am enjoying playing SNGs so I'll continue playing them. I may also play a little at Full Tilt this month as the Deal Me In promotion works out to 40% RB!


Life wise, I'm preparing to return home and start working a regular job for the next several months. I somewhat regret not getting a science degree while at university since I'd have a much easier time finding a challenging, well paying job now that I've graduated. However I am much more interested in the economics and policy side of environmental issues so I know that I chose the degree that interested me the most. I have come to realize that I just need a job, period. I hope it gives me some relevant work experience so I can eventually get my dream job (this is my wish and not my expectation).


the saturday knights - Motorin' - The Saturday Knights - YouTube

Have you seen much more of England? How have you found it? Would you consider staying here?

Besides my trip through Wales, I've been to Uckfield and Lewes a few times as well as Oundle and Peterborough. The town of Lewes is especially beautiful, though I've generally found all of the countryside to be picturesque. I don't expect I'll get up to Scotland this time, which is probably just as well because it's November now and I'd rather the weather be milder when I go on a holiday :)

My deepest wish is to permanently reside in either Australia or England. The UK is my best shot at living outside the US (girlfriend ldo). Obviously my perception is biased by the fact that my trips abroad have been basically extended vacations. Still I feel my friends and family are the only advantages America has for me over those other two countries.

I have found British politics/social commentary much more appealing to my sensibilities than either party in the US. Having spent time in all three countries, I can definitively say that Australian politics are more similar to the US than to the UK (the Aussies seem stuck in a similar political gridlock, the right wing is very socially conservative, and the mining industry clearly dominates the political agenda just like the banks/oil companies dominate in the US).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

...I've been to Uckfield and Lewes a few times...

---

aahhh, Uckfield.

Home to one of my favouritest roadsigns

grinding small stakes poker isn't always a horrible, soul sucking profession. November is coming along. I'm not going to make my goal of paying my way while I was here in London, but I'm not too bothered about that. I went out for a wonderful dinner with my girlfriend, and as I sat on the bus, slightly drunk from the beers I'd had at the restaurant, it struck me how lucky I am. I am happy, healthy, young, debt free, have a loving family (and a smart, sexy, devoted partner I want to spend my days with).

Running the streets of $10 SNGs, and up a bit at the cash tables. It's nice to run good again.


"Top Of The World" - Slightly Stoopid - YouTube

have you tried getting a deal me in bonus at full tilt ? buy some ring game tickets and you can utilise the ftps whilst you're outside the US.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

grinding small stakes poker isn't always a horrible, soul sucking profession.

---

:cool:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

it struck me how lucky I am. I am happy, healthy, young, debt free, have a loving family (and a smart, sexy, devoted partner I want to spend my days with).
"Top Of The World" - Slightly Stoopid - YouTube

---

hell yeah bro!

Keith: thanks for the suggestion -- I'm planning to play on FullTilt once I've finished up earning enough FPPs on Bet365 to buy a bonus (hopefully done in about a week). Am I correct in thinking everyone who played on FullTilt before Black Friday gets at least a $200 Deal Me In Bonus? I'm also waiting for FullTilt to return $300 in funds that I lost during BF when I was left with a check I couldn't cash. They said they wouldn't refund me in their first reply, but I've sent them another email in an attempt to persuade them that I'm a valuable customer on Pokerstars and that they shouldn't screw me over ;)


cheers daven :) I'm glad you like Slightly Stoopid too

Quick Poker Update:

No Deal Me In Bonus
Not getting my Full Tilt $$$ back while I'm in the UK
50 hours played this month
Had to take an extended break after a -$400 day last week
lol hyper turbo SNG variance
Grinding cash tables on Bet365 for the rest of the month
Still up on the month

Quick Life Update:

I got my girlfriend a lovely Christmas present, helped out with home improvement projects, and did a couple dozen job applications. I already had one phone interview and that went well, so I'm feeling surprisingly confident that I'll have a job soon after I return to the States.

I will be sad to leave a life of leisure and happiness with Louise, but everything bad comes with a silver lining. I'm really looking forward to seeing all my guy friends -- I have only two guy friends here in London (and their partners are rarely absent) -- just hanging out in silence watching television sounds awesome right now :)


I only have three weeks left here and playing poker has become a secondary goal, though when I do play I am going to play my A game every hand.

T.G.I.N.F. [Thank God It's Nearly Finished]

What am I grateful for today? A lot (such as my family, friends, and good health), but at this moment I'm particularly grateful that my latest attempt at playing online poker seriously is coming to an end. Over the last couple of months I've relearned that I don't like poker being my primary source of income. Being a breakeven SSNL reg is depressing, frustrating, and unrewarding. I have played an average of 20 hours per week since July 18, with most of those hours coming in the first 8 weeks. I would say forcing myself to play was a shitty part of playing poker for my income, but that's not an aspect of work unique to poker. The worst part is knowing that grinding for $10/hour isn't building up my savings, giving me job skills, or providing me with relevant work experience. I don't regret trying as playing poker was the only way I could come visit my girlfriend for six months straight after I finished university. The last six months have more or less been a vacation; everyone I know has told me to look at it that way since I first got here. In my mind I was relocating to 'work', but at this point the results are in and it appears I have indeed been on vacation :)

At least in November I've played well pretty much every time I've sat down, though today I spew called off a stack (my first big mistake in a while, thankfully). Still up thanks to bonuses and running decently. Just a few more hours left until I've earned my last bonus. I haven't been to a casino out here yet and I cannot go home without going at least once!

I liked this quote that I came across while reading about the stories of those who have let poker negatively affect their lives:

“A gambler is nothing but a man who makes his living out of hope.” ~ William Bolitho

High Times

Online poker treated me extremely well this month; so far I've won 11 of the 18 days I played. By comparison, only 3 of the 18 days I played in October were winning days. One of my greatest leaks in poker is timing when to end a session and I think this was another factor contributing to my exceptionally poor results in October.

I was mistaken and actually have a $1k Deal Me In Bonus on Full Tilt, so today was a nostalgic day of grind. The Full Tilt interface and software are even better than I remember and there were a surprising number of fish playing at midday!

My goal for the final two weeks I'm here playing poker is to make it as stress free and absent of misery as possible, so I'm playing 10-25nl until I feel comfortable having a big losing session. I would regret coming home several hundred dollars lighter as that's a lot of money to me right now (especially with no job guaranteed when I get home, though I was lucky enough to get an interview scheduled for the first week I'm back).


Louise and I have been home together the past couple days as she's been off work. I'm happy we are enjoying ourselves -- today she's been working on her jewelry while I sit here and watch tv/play poker. Leisure time well spent imo :)


Four80East - Been too long - YouTube

Wrapping Up

November was just what I needed after a -$1.2k month in October and I'm very grateful the poker gods smiled upon me once again. Running good on FullTilt and recently stacked someone named NumberSlevin on FullTilt which made me smile. I also deposited on 888Poker to get a free copy of Holdem Manager 2. Not only am I getting HM2 for free, but there seem to be lots more uberfish here than I ever saw on iPoker and I've been running great! I only regret not signing up sooner :p


Only 8 days left until I return to the US. The past six months have taught me lots about coexisting with women and relationships in general and I'm wiser for the experience. Like most people who are serious about poker I'm a pretty independent person and enjoy my solitude, so that I am still happy being with Louise after six months of living with her and her mum confirms we are well suited for each other.

The last time I went abroad for a few months, I was really looking forward to coming home and seeing my friends and family. This time I feel differently. I suppose that has to do with it being winter rather than summer when I'm coming back to Minnesota. It's also possible I'm getting older and am less emotionally dependent on my family, which at 24 is a healthy (if late) part of transitioning into full adulthood. Not having a job or a clear idea what I'm going to be doing for the next several months I'm back at home is definitely another big reason I'm not thrilled about leaving London.


This was a very introspective update and I'm pretty much finished. I hope I keep running hot and playing my A game. Also read daven's blog this morning and I'm reminded how much I respect the true grinders who put in 100k+ hands/month. I've never been able to do this and I consider myself a pretty focused/disciplined person.


the saturday knights - The Gospel - The Saturday Knights - YouTube

I had my sixth consecutive winning session this morning. I was curious how rare of an event having six winning sessions in a row was, so I did a back of the envelope calculation to find out:

Assuming the likelihood I have a winning session is 40% (this may even be a generous estimate), the probability of having six winning sessions in a row is [0.4 x 0.4 x 0.4 x 0.4 x 0.4 x 0.4] = 0.004096 or 0.41%.

food for thought. also:


http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ck_VvBW-As0/0.jpg



http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=mch...,r:7,s:0,i:106

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

I had my sixth consecutive winning session this morning. I was curious how rare of an event having six winning sessions in a row was, so I did a back of the envelope calculation to find out:

Assuming the likelihood I have a winning session is 40% (this may even be a generous estimate), the probability of having six winning sessions in a row is [0.4 x 0.4 x 0.4 x 0.4 x 0.4 x 0.4] = 0.004096 or 0.41%.

food for thought. also:

---

Your probability of having a winning session is 40%? You lose more than you win? I think a more accurate way of checking would be to take a look at your past x amount of sessions and see how often you have won. (make x a large number). :)

Its like tossing a coin,
the probability of each session should be independent of the previous sessions.

You can still work out the probability of tossing six of the same side in a row, even if they are independent events

Ya, I would love to hear the explanation of picking a number like 40% for someone with a winning game like yourself.

I haven't been using PT or HM so I only have data on the outcomes of my sessions since October.

Generally speaking there are only three possible outcomes: you either win, lose, or breakeven. I'd define a session being breakeven if you win or lose less than 1/2 a buy in. Over the last two months, I broke even 5 of the last 44 days I've played, won 19, and lost 20. That works out to me winning 43% of the days I played, a little bit higher than I estimated but still closer to 40 than 50%.

My conclusion could be faulty as the sample size is relatively insignificant, but I remember reading somewhere that only the top players for their limit should be able to win more than 50% of their sessions.

Home for the Holidays

My latest adventure in London is finished and I’m now back in my home state, Minnesota. Though I'm happy to be home I cannot wait to return to London to see my new friends and family! Unfortunately, considering how long I stayed there as a visitor, I’m afraid I won’t be welcome back in the UK for quite some time. And next time I will be applying for a proper visitor visa! Thankfully I already accepted a good part time position here so I’ll be able to start saving money again soon.

My poker results from November-December were as good as I had hoped for -- +$1.2k over 90 hours and I actually won at the tables! Over the entire six month period, I ended up +$4k and logged 400 hours at the tables: +$6k from bonuses/RB, -$2k cash tables FML. I know am capable of attaining a much higher hourly, but I allowed poor game/site selection to impact my results. I also let fear of losing affect my play far too often and didn’t study as diligently as I should have. I just purchased HM2, OM2, and Elements of Poker by Tommy Angelo and I hope these investments will help improve my results in the future. I think learning a new form of poker (PLO) will be fun and may increase my long term profitability.

This is the end of this blog. I hope it was an entertaining read, maybe even motivational if you have the same sort of leaks in poker that I do. Good luck at the tables and may you always strive to play your A game ;)

Really enjoyed the blog and hopefully we'll see a new one soon - all the best for the future.

Was a good blog. Glad to see it was a profitable experience overall, even if not in the way you would have liked. Look forward to the next one.

Poker and Life in the US: 2013 ??

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

Generally speaking there are only three possible outcomes: you either win, lose, or breakeven.

---

makes sense now, i was thinking of there being two possible outcomes (win/lose) so 40% was obviously weird.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

My latest adventure in London is finished and I’m now back in my home state, Minnesota.

---

have fun!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

I know am capable of attaining a much higher hourly,

---

yes

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

This is the end of this blog. I hope it was an entertaining read, maybe even motivational if you have the same sort of leaks in poker that I do. Good luck at the tables and may you always strive to play your A game ;)

---

nice blog, i look forward to the next one!

Thanks guys! My time abroad was awesome and totally worth it, but as is often the case I didn't live up to my own lofty expectations. Still, I'm inspired to keep trying.

I really appreciate the vote of confidence daven, here's hoping I can win at the tables next year!!

I think you've given me the title for my next blog chemist ;)


The Doors - Roadhouse Blues - YouTube

how about poker and waiting for a cashout in the US : 2013 .....should keep the blog going for a couple of months.

A fine tune sir.

Read your blog and I must say, you have a great mindset and work ethic from what I could tell, and I respect you for that.
I plan on moving to UK (prob London) in early 2013 so this was somewhat helpful .
I only play poker recreationaly but I will probably have to put my ass to some grinding before I get the work permit / get a decent job
Good luck with whatever you wish to do next.

great read, thank you for the posts.

As someone who has lived in Aus, UK and USA I agree with your sentiments. I have just spent 2 years in the UK. I mostly worked and played and won some live. I'm fortunate enough that I will be returning to Aus with a contract to work remotely for $400 a day (could be better, but I can't complain as having a job to go back to is more than I could ask for). I also intend to go back to UK on a tier 1. I also used to beat 200NL and 400PLO and PLO8 for 50k a year playing part time but now I am basically break even. So when I read your blog I can empathise with you. The games are just so much tougher.

My advice to you is to get your priorities right. Poker will always be there in one shape or another, but building your career is much more important, for people who are decent but not baller like ourselves. Cos lets face it, I'm not good enough to make $40+ per hour. I have friends my age 28 who make $600 a day and others a few years older making $1000 a day.

Anyway, good luck to u and I hope u get to Aus or UK again soon