Slow comeback after long break

Well after sitting around since Black Friday I've finally made a small deposit ($50) on Bovada Poker and I am going to see what I can do with it. I've only had a few occasions to play live since BF and to be honest I feel like I've forgotten most of what I learned here before. I do remember one thing I am not properly rolled or at least wasn't when I deposited last week. Thing is I had read Bovada was pretty fishy and I really can't justify taking funds out of the family budget so I figured what the hell.

It does appear to be a pretty fishy site so far at least at the 4nl 6max tables. I've not had much time to play but I have managed to grind out 9.6 additional big blinds so now I have a whopping $78.44 in the BR.

The plan is to revisit many of the old threads and brush up on the basics as I dabble around with 4nl. I'll stick with 4nl until I grind up to $250 before exploring 10nl. I'll allow myself just 5BI's before I step back down if needed. I really want to get a good basic foundation.

I still have HM and all the programs on the laptop although I'm not sure they'll do me much good at Bovada. If I can figure out how to import my HH's I will so I can at least see my own stats. Not worried about Table Ninja, Note Caddy and some of the others as I'm not sure they were really advantageous in the past being I was never the player I wanted to be. I have dusted off Ace Poker Drills because I was always very impressed with what it has to offer.

Just in case anybody recalls me from the past I'll give a little life update:

Still working at the same car dealership as the finance director and pretty much hating it. The car biz is still really flat and the money isn't what it used to be. Every now and then we see a glimpse of the past but then it doesn't last.

I've made some huge improvements with my health. Last January a guy who I work with opened a CrossFit facility in the town I live in. He had been working out at a box (that's what crossfitters call their gym) in the city where we work and pestering me to come try it. Because of the logistics it wasn't practical for me so I told him if he'd open one in our city then I'd join.

Well he did on 01/03/2012 and I was there at 5am that morning. Got my ass totally kicked with the most basic workout imaginable but for some crazy reason I loved it. That morning I weighed myself and was 230lbs. I made sure I was consistent with my workouts and was there every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Weight started coming off and by god my strength started improving as well. I managed to get the weight down to around 210lbs and was pretty damn happy. Then I joined a 9 week Paleo challenge. So for 9 weeks I at nothing but meet, vegetables, nuts, seeds and a little fruit but NO SUGAR. By the end of the 9 weeks I shed 17 inches off my body and my weight was down to 173lbs. I've managed to stay between 175 & 177 for the most part.

Here's a good example. I posted on here back on April 3, 2011 that I ran a 5k on my 50th and finished in just under 40 minutes. Well this last Monday I ran another 5k and finished in a hair over 25 minutes.

Oh and a great side note at least for me is Mrs. Harley has been CrossFitting over a year as well and I have to say she's pretty damn smoking hot for an old gal. Still don't have any nude's to share for Spoon but I'll work on it....LOL

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I need to explore with Bovada more and learn all I can about the site. Not a clue right now how to get my HH's etc. so any help would be appreciated. Anybody know if the hand converting here will convert Bovada hands or WeakTight? Shit was that the name of that sire, Weak Tight??? Well chime in and help me out if you will gentlemen!

welcome back man. and best of luck. also glad to hear the improvements in health/strength/fitness

I went back and found a few of my old blogs and read through them. It's crazy how long it's been and how active I was in the day. I just finished reading about a terribad month and how it fucked with my head a lot. !luck had been helping through it and we stratigized together. Reading all the comments and replies really made me think about how much I enjoyed this forum and all of the input I got from so many talented people.

Hey harley! good to see you back :D

Thanks Weaselt it's good to be back around the forum!

Going to get a little play in prior to my chiropractor and massage appointment. Body is pretty jacked after numerous intense workouts. I also suffered a bout of Shingles which wrenched my spine all out of wack do to extreme muscle tension for several weeks.

Went to the chiropractor and then got a massage and damn was it good. Spent time with wife then came home and sat down for a short session. Things went well for a short little session. I really think I'm going to like Bovada at least for now. It's really very fishy and I'm reaping the benefits from it.

It's been one week today since I made my initial deposit of $50. I've really not had any real time to grind but I've managed to sit down and play a little here and there. As of right now my bankroll is $95.13 which makes me happy.

Now I'm not foolish enough to think I'm killing this game but I am enjoying it. I spent some time reading some of my older blogs which was really beneficial. I have recognized a few of the old leaks which unfortunately haven't faded away like many of the things I wish hadn't. By reading about them it's helped me recognize them and take appropriate action. Mainly my tendency to make calls with top pair hands when the board tells me I'm beat.

Going to the gym here shortly to bust my ass. Wife can't make it because she's sick and my son is doing something with his wife. Usually Thursdays are the one day a week I work out in the evening with them which I really enjoy.

Holly shit note to self, DON'T WORK OUT AFTER A MASSAGE!

That was really stupid to say the least. I attempted to do 150 wall balls, 90 double-unders and 30 muscle ups. Ok well I knew there was no way I'd finish this workout since I can only do 5 or so double-unders at a time and considering I only had 12 minutes to do as much as possible.

Well I started the wall balls and at about 20 something went twing on the left side of my neck. The chiropractor told me today I had some muscles in the shoulder that were preventing the top two ribs from moving and I'm assuming that's what got fuckered up during the workout. I was only able to complete 126 wall balls within the 12 minute time frame. I'm disappointed in the number in that I was really hoping to finish the wall balls and get about half way through the double-unders but it just wasn't meant to be. I did do all I could and didn't leave anything in the tank so I am proud of that.

Poker has been pretty meh over the weekend. I did make myself chuckle a few times when I found myself doing some pretty basic bullshit mistakes. I found myself on a 10nl table purely by accident and didn't realize it until I was dealt in. Well that hand was pretty comical and I won a nice pot and had to scratch my head and wonder how somebody could have played so silly. So I decided to stick around a few. Well long story short I convinced myself there were more fish in the 10nl than in 4nl. I justified my thought process by concluding that most people would have to much pride to play at the smallest tables. Well I switched totally to 10nl with a bankroll of 7BI's. Shit I was on a roll and next thing I knew I was up over a 10BI's and convinced I was all over it.
I don't have to tell you all where this went. They lucky streak ended after I dropped damn near all my profits. So now I'm back to where I was and trying to recall all the stupid shit I've done in the past. Wondering why I'd ever want to relive that shit.


Bankroll = $67.40

Plays just been meh at this point. Pretty much staying even which is somewhat frustrating. Played for an hour this morning and finished up 1bi. Still struggling with what all I've forgotten. I really need to commit to reading through a bunch of the old threads etc. Also I'm going to try and brush up on starting hands by running through at least 100 hands on ace poker drill. It really helps me get focused on a good starting hand range. I also need to utilize the equity trainer a lot more. I've noticed I've been making my decisions based purely on the cards and not my equity in the hand.

On the fitness front things are going well other than I'm having a lot of pain from the top two ribs on my right side being jacked up. I really fucked up on the workout last Thursday. I tried to do 115lbs shoulder presses yesterday and it just shot pain up my neck instantly so I did dead lifts instead.
The wife just finished up a Paleo challenge they had at the box and a bunch of us met at a local pizza parlor. I cheated like a mother and had three slices of pizza with a big frosty beer and it was heavenly to say the least. We are back to strict paleo again though. I feel so much better when I focus on eating clean.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HarleyGuy13

Well after sitting around since Black Friday I've finally made a small deposit ($50) on Bovada Poker and ......

now I have a whopping $78.44 in the BR.

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nh sir!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HarleyGuy13

I've made some huge improvements with my health.
Well he did on 01/03/2012 and I was there at 5am that morning. Got my ass totally kicked with the most basic workout imaginable but for some crazy reason I loved it. That morning I weighed myself and was 230lbs. I made sure I was consistent with my workouts and was there every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Weight started coming off and by god my strength started improving as well. I managed to get the weight down to around 210lbs and was pretty damn happy. Then I joined a 9 week Paleo challenge. So for 9 weeks I at nothing but meet, vegetables, nuts, seeds and a little fruit but NO SUGAR. By the end of the 9 weeks I shed 17 inches off my body and my weight was down to 173lbs. I've managed to stay between 175 & 177 for the most part.

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i was really impressed when i read this, and then blown away when i read this

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HarleyGuy13

Here's a good example. I posted on here back on April 3, 2011 that I ran a 5k on my 50th and finished in just under 40 minutes. Well this last Monday I ran another 5k and finished in a hair over 25 minutes.

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awesome.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HarleyGuy13

Oh and a great side note at least for me is Mrs. Harley has been CrossFitting over a year as well and I have to say she's pretty damn smoking hot for an old gal. Still don't have any nude's to share for Spoon but I'll work on it....LOL

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nice

Thanks daven for stopping by. My fitness acomplishments have been the best thing to ever for me. I'm a bit like a born again christian in that I live and breath CrossFit. I've got a long ways to go but I am well on my way to living a long healthy life which will be full of fun and excitement.

I'm competing in the CrossFit Open which is a world wide competition for CrossFitters. Now I say I am competing but more appropriately I am participating in the open. The only person I am competing with his myself. I'll be 52 years old in one week from today. As for the open that puts me in the second masters division which is 50 - 54 years. Unfortunately it's not until the next division that the workouts get any easier. At my bracket we still must use the same weights and standards as the youngsters.

This weeks workout is as follows:
MEN - includes Masters Men up to 54 years old
Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes following the rep scheme below:
135 pound Clean and jerk, 3 reps
3 Toes-to-bar
135 pound Clean and jerk, 6 reps
6 Toes-to-bar
135 pound Clean and jerk, 9 reps
9 Toes-to-bar
135 pound Clean and jerk, 12 reps
12 Toes-to-bar
135 pound Clean and jerk, 15 reps
15 Toes-to-bar
135 pound Clean and jerk, 18 reps
18 Toes-to-bar...
This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 18, go on to 21. If you complete 21, go on to 24, etc.

Basically for me it will be a very tough 7 minutes as I really struggle with 135lbs CJ's. I can handle toe-to-bars ok. I suspect I will hopefully get through the 6's but that will be a struggle.

I have to get into my chiropractor ASASP since I really fucked up my neck via the top two ribs flairing up. At the gym Monday morning I was able to work on snatches but as soon as I did a push press with 115lbs I about dropped to my knees and discontinued that portion of the workout. I am 100% determined I will work my ass off for 7 minutes as do my very best. I have until Sunday at 5pm to complete the workout. I'm thinking probably Sunday morning.

For those of you who are not familiar with short intense workouts you're probably thinking it sounds pretty damn easy. Well please grab a bar and have a go at it. I quarantee you you'll change your mind at about minute 2 if you really push yourself!

Great luck with everything, Harley! Very inspirational stuff. I, myself, started Paleo about a month ago and have never felt better. Everytime I cheat I feel like shit and go right back to a strict diet. Running my first 5k in 3 weeks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kmind

Great luck with everything, Harley! Very inspirational stuff. I, myself, started Paleo about a month ago and have never felt better. Everytime I cheat I feel like shit and go right back to a strict diet. Running my first 5k in 3 weeks.

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kmind thanks for stopping by sir. Good luck with the 5K you'll love the feeling of accomplishing a goal no doubt. When I did my first one a couple years ago I followed the Couch to 5K program and it was awesome.

So I did the workout today. Let me preface this by saying I was sick to my stomach prior to doing it. There was a huge crowd at the box (gym) and I consider them all my friends. My youngest son was doing the same workout as I and my oldest along with my wife were there for support. Like I said earlier I had never done a 135lbs clean and jerk and just wasn't to sure I'd be able to. Now with the crowd there I was really feeling the pressure. I have to say I am one of the loudest most vocal people in the box while others are doing their workouts. Everybody always tells me how much they appreciate the support and motivation so I guess they all felt compelled to really cheer me on.

After warming up with my son I decided to grad light bar and practice the technique as I knew that would be the secret of me being able to perform even just one rep. I did about a 6 or so lifts with 95lbs making sure my form was as precise as possible. After that I decided I wanted to attempted a lift with the 135 prior to actually doing the workout. Well I'll be damned if I didn't get it on the first attempted so I was pretty pumped although it was pretty damn heavy for this old fella.

Well when the time came I thought I was going to puke. They called out 3,2,1 GO and I was off and going. Worked through the first round of CJ's (3) and was pretty surprised. Banged out the toe-2-bars and was back on the barbell again. Long story short I made it through the nine CJ's and jumped up to get the toe-2-bars. My son jumped up right next to me (although he was one round ahead of me so on his 12's) and I felt so inspired. Knocked out the 9 toe-2-bars unbroken and made it back to the barbell with enough time to get two more so my total was 38 reps.

38 reps is nothing to brag about being that my son got 69 and hell the owner of the box got 114, unless you've been out of shape your entire life and now your 4 days shy of 52 years old. I was very pleased to be honest. I look at it as I got 37 more than I had expected and I gave it 100% and I've learned to be happy with that.

On the poker front well it sucks ass but at least I'm playing!

Quick up date since I've not been on for awhile. Not a lot to report as for poker. Been pretty standard up and down so pretty much break even. Doesn't really bother me as I knew I'd have to tune things up once I started playing again. Trying to identify my mistakes and correct them. It's pretty frustrating not having HM to look back and review hh's etc. I need to spend more time on Ace Poker Drills. I try and spend a little time on it a couple days a week but I need to just make it mandatory to go through a few drills each day BEFORE I play.

As for the fitness front:
The CrossFit open is complete for me. I did the final workout the other day and ended up with only 32 rounds. I say only but again it was really much more than I expect to get. The workout was 15 100lbs thrusters then 15 chest to bars rinse and repeat. We had a 4 minute time cap but if you completed 3 rounds or 90 reps within the four minutes you then got an additional 4 minutes and if you got to 180 another 4 minutes and so on.
Well if you aren't familiar with thruster it's basically a clean squat making sure you go below parallel then you come out of the squat and thrust the bar overhead to a locked out position. You must lock out your knees, hips and arms. Chest to bars are a pull up but you have to make contact with the bar below your clavicle or collar bone. Well I had only ever done like two prior so for me to complete a complete set of 15 then get back on the bar for a couple more thrusters was pretty damn good.
Like I mentioned before in a earlier post I didn't go into this thinking I was going to beat anybody other than myself. I can honestly say I did each of the five workouts to the best of my ability. Now I have a year to train and see how well I improve next year. I may enter a competition next winter just for the hell of it depending on how they structure the masters division.

Hope all is well for you all!

Quick update is do. Been playing a bit and managed to work the bankroll up a fair amount. Todays balance is $149.42 so I'm not complaining really. Not sure if I'm going to move up to 10nl just yet. I had convinced myself that would be the plan but I'm reconsidering it at this point.

On the fitness front the "Open" competition is over so it's back to reqular workouts for now. I'll be going up to Seattle next month and gettnig certified as a level 1 trainer then in June going to go back up and get certified as a CrossFit Kids trainer. The wife and I are going to start working with kids on fitness and nutrition. The wife will be getting paid to do it and I will be volunteering. All of our training is being paid for and that's $4,000.00 so I'm pretty excited about that. The CrossFit Kids program is really exciting and I can't wait to get it going. The idea of changing kids lives in such a positive life altering way is so exciting.

Nice man, keep it up! Sounds like you know what your goals are and have the determination to get you there - that's a big help for poker

Good job on the roll! What are the main reasons for your hesitance at shot taking?

Griffey the main reason is I'm just not all that comfortable yet to be honest. I tend to think there has been a good amount of luck involved at this point. As a matter of fact my roll down to $118 at this point.

Today was a good day overall. Had the day off and the weather was great so I had lots to do here on the place. We have 5 acres so there is always something to do when the weather permits. So I got lots done and then decided I'd crack open the laptop and play a little. Dinked around on the 4nl tables but really couldn't get anything going so I decided to see what there was in tourneys. Found a $5.50 late reg and decided what the hell so I jumped in. Ended up taking 3rd which was good for a couple hundred bucks. Thursday is the day I work out with my entire family and that is always great. Following the workout and while my oldest son the chef cooked dinner I decided to play a little. Being that the roll was more than enough to take a shot at 10nl I decided I might as well. It was a short session but I totally dominated and added 1.5bi's to the roll.

I'll continue to see how 10nl goes but if I feel it's not going well I'll move back down to 4nl no matter what the roll since the majority of it came from the tourney.

Current roll: $329.12

Wow really can't complain at all lately. Things have been moving along well I must say. Been playing a fair amount but did switch gears a bit in that I am playing some small MTT's along the way. I've had good success so far with the MTT's and the bankroll reflects the success. I can't say that I've done very well at the 6max tables though but I'm confident I'll settle in. I was reading through an old thread I had on 2+2 and it really reminded me how much work I was putting in as far as studying just prior to black Friday. I think I really need to get back to that and hone my skills and get the basics back. Like I've mentioned I have several tools in my tool box and I need to use them.

Workouts have been going well and I've been eating really well. My son is living at home again and being that he is a Chef and willing to following the paleo way in which we eat life has been good.

Current roll: $563.87

This MTT thing is really going well. I played a half a dozen or so today and pretty deep on several of them but missed the money. Then the last of of the night was a small $5.50 and I'll be damn if I didn't take first again for $167.59 making it a worthwhile day. I have to say I'm really doing well with these things and I'm really liking it.

Current bankroll: $658.13

Awesome, keep it up!

How big are the fields you're playing in?

They've all been pretty small like 100-150 and several have had re-buys, obviously pretty darn fishy. Sure is helping the bankroll at this point.

Continuing to experiment with the MTT's and just an occasional cash game here and there. I've been enjoying the tourney's and trying to learn as I go. I went a week without cashing which brought the bankroll down a ways but I've managed to get most of it back. Played a larger field 1,069 player $1.10 the other night. I registered late and wasn't sure it was a good idea but I figured what the hell there was still 855 people in when I registered. I had a few others going at the time so I just kept it pretty basic looking for spots and good hands. Long story short as things progressed I suddenly realized I had managed to build a few chips up. As the field narrowed my stack continued to grow and soon I found myself the chip leader. Field kept narrowing and I managed to stay on top and made it into the money so I really started focusing. The other games I was in finished up and I didn't open any others. I forgot to mention I was at work and had plans with the wife afterwards. Well I was really focused and playing well. Won some races and made a few good moves at the right time. As the final table neared my confidence soared after all I was running the table and was no doubt unstoppable.
Down to two tables and I had over 2 million chips. I was knocking players off left and right and stealing away like a bandit. I was convinced this was mine to take. 1st paid $945 which would be my biggest win and I could taste it. Well you guessed it I was suddenly overly confident. My timing slipped and I started doubling others up instead of knocking them out. Made the final table but now instead of having all the chips I was just pretty average, then a few hands later I was below average. My moves weren't as smooth as they had been earlier and well damn it the table didn't seem to respect me like they had been. I busted out in 9th and instead of a record $945 I walked away with $48. The flip side is I've given it a lot of thought and think I really learned from it and look forward to getting deep in another larger field although I'll mainly be sticking to the smaller fields.










ITM: 21%
Current bankroll: $597.71

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Originally Posted by HarleyGuy13

I registered late and wasn't sure it was a good idea but I figured what the hell there was still 855 people in when I registered.

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It's usually more than fine to late reg.

Was it over confidence or was it just variance? Do you think the decisions and plays you were making were good?

You should post some hands that you started losing and get some feedback as to whether or not they were still good plays. The worst thing in poker I think is letting variance over a short time frame (one tourney, 1 month of tourneys) dictate your play cause that can lead to much longer term mistakes.

This works both ways - keep doing bad things cause they are working or stop doing good things cause they aren't.