Last shot OP

[Donachello]

Well, this is it. My last two OPs have been total failures. My entire poker career thus far has been garbage and after 9 months I find myself at a spot where I either continue to play poker or do something else productive with my free time. Withdrew some money to pad life roll that was running low at the end of a horrendous downswing during September. I have a roll to play 10NL so that's where I start. I will be playing no less than 10000 hands per level, increasing my stakes as 20 buyin BRM allows. If I busto, that's it. If I tilt away my money, that's it. If I cannot move from 10NL to 25NL by the end of the year, that's it. Frankly, I'd like to continue playing but it's not the end of the world if I don't so there is no pressure in that sense.

I will have a regimented routine and only be playing poker when I want to be playing poker. Time restrictions on sessions don't apply, only mindstate and comfort. I am not going to play ANY tournaments with this roll and will be 100% focused on beating cash games. There will be no more withdrawals until I reach 50 or 100NL. Most of the time I will play between 2 and 6 tables of 6max though I may sprinkle in FR if I am in that kind of mood. This is a clean slate. Studying HH and posting them again will become part of my poker sessions.

I'll only really be updating this blog periodically to track progress. There won't be any tilt posts and all hands will be posted in the BC so as to keep this less cluttered.

GL to me

10NL Started

[WeaselT]

woah wut? may I ask what brought this on? you make it sound like u either HAVE to succeed at poker very quickly or its completely game over. while u do need to take it somewhat seriously to succeed. there is still no harm in playing for fun occasionally even at the lowest levels. just curious why such a umm EPIC WIN or FAIL attitude.

[Donachello]

woah wut? may I ask what brought this on? you make it sound like u either HAVE to succeed at poker very quickly or its completely game over. while u do need to take it somewhat seriously to succeed. there is still no harm in playing for fun occasionally even at the lowest levels. just curious why such a umm EPIC WIN or FAIL attitude.

Because I am in my senior year of college and have a pretty huge time crunch. I have a lot of other endeavors that could use a lot of extra time that I currently spend playing poker including music and graphic arts (what I am majoring in). I love the game of poker and I'd love to be able to make a significant amount of money playing it due to the freedom it allows but if it's not in the cards for me to do this then I am much better served spending the hundreds of hours I spend on poker practicing my other crafts. It's not so much an Epic win Epic fail ultimatum it's more of a logical +EV decision, all things considered. Obviously, I'll never be able to fully quit poker but should I fail to have a breakthrough in my game/build a somewhat substantial roll/be satisfied with where my game is going by the end of the year then I plan to move it from near the top of my priority list to the bottom.

Also, I may have harshly represented my experience with poker thus far in the OP since the game has taught me an amazing amount about myself and has brought me the same if not more entertainment than any game I have played before.

[rpm]

I will have a regimented routine and only be playing poker when I want to be playing poker. Time restrictions on sessions don't apply, only mindstate and comfort. I am not going to play ANY tournaments with this roll and will be 100% focused on beating cash games. There will be no more withdrawals until I reach 50 or 100NL. Most of the time I will play between 2 and 6 tables of 6max though I may sprinkle in FR if I am in that kind of mood. This is a clean slate. Studying HH and posting them again will become part of my poker sessions.

10NL Started

i'm not going to try to tell you how to live your life. but seriously, if you expect to be crushing the games after 9 months or whatever, save yourself some real-life EV and quit now. or conversely, if you enjoy playing poker and it interests you, keep playing. basically i agree with above post.

[jyms]

You may want to look at some of the join dates of people with micro and small stake OP's right now. Check the join dates of people posting $10NL and $25NL HH's too. Your setting yourself up for failure. I agree with everyone else, save yourself the hassle and tilt and quit now.

[Donachello]

No Thanks

[Muzzard]

gl op, hatersgunnahate.jpg

[CBAT]

See my blog for motivation from 10NL onwards in your senior year of college

All the tools to beating small stakes are available to you. It basically falls in your lap on if you want to man up and succeed.

[HarleyGuy13]

See my blog for motivation from 10NL onwards in your senior year of college
^^^^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^
All the tools to beating small stakes are available to you. It basically falls in your lap on if you want to man up and succeed.
^^^^^^^^^^^AND THIS^^^^^^^^^^^

Buddy you know I'm routing for you. Your expectations are very high but I wish you luck with them. Remember it isn't a sprint but more a marathon.

[Carroters]

I have no idea why people are telling you to quit now, DC. I also understand where you're coming from. I feel from your posts, discussions we've had in irc etc that you're more than capable of beating limits like 10NL 25Nl and 50NL. I think a lot of it is maybe just that you don't play anywhere near your best a large amount of the time. Saying that, I think that if you feel like you're not making any progress and poker isn't something you have any natural flare or talent for and your time could be spent more productively in other areas then go do something else. You always have the option to return to poker later in life and you don't need to make a definitive "all or nothing OP" now, but I think it's highly likely that you will succeed this time and people saying lol jus quit now seem to not want you to take any more real shots at poker. IMO if you're a strong player in the making that has potential to go somewhere in poker, you wont take years to beat 25NL.

Like I say though if it's a mental state thing and not a lack of ability which I feel in your case it prolly is, then you canalways return to it at any stage down the line, when your head's in a better place. I think people who have tried coaching, posting HHs, reading and playing lots and are disciplined yet still can't beat like 25NL after 2 years (kinda arbitrary time limit but ya nam sayin) should prolly do something else, unless they love poker of course.

Think you can do this, if you can keep tilt in check and let logic dictate your actions and not subtle tilt/background emotions.

Good luck, dont get mad bro.

[kiwiMark]

When I saw "Last shot OP" I was like god damnit DC why you gotta be moran, expecting a "I'M AT 25NL UNTIL I BUST FUCKING SINK OR SWIM BITCHES" but first post seems more than reasonable, so best of luck etc.

gogogogo

[dranger7070]

Get some sir. I'm in a similar situation where if I don't start to progress in poker I'll want to put it on the backburner for a while, but not yet! Looks like we're both starting in the same spot again (10nl).

Race to 100s?

[Donachello]

Race to 100s?

Been waiting for you to take this challenge forever

[Micro2Macro]

You may want to look at some of the join dates of people with micro and small stake OP's right now. Check the join dates of people posting $10NL and $25NL HH's too. Your setting yourself up for failure. I agree with everyone else, save yourself the hassle and tilt and quit now.

shut up you fucking busto moron.

gl DC you got this. just get yourself into good habits and it'll all turn around. learn to quit playing when things aren't going your way and you'll find yourself moving up alot faster. Chasing losses will never end well, so might as well put a stop to it while you have a bankroll. Also sit back and feel how awesome it is for people to want you to fail, that type of energy just propels success.

[jyms]

I wasn't wishing him ill will M2M, why the rage? All I was saying is it just takes time, particularly in this day and age. If he's going to put such a hard line for moving up in 3 months he may as well just give it up. There is just no chance things will work out with those kind of deadlines and he's only been at this a short time and this kind of pressure on himself will not help.

PersonallyI hope you do make it, but I think your OP was probably posted in haste and you may want to be more solvent in your thoughts.

[BooG690]

Dude, I'm pretty much 100% sure you're not gonna quit even if you don't make your goal. How do I know? 'Cuz you're a fucking champion...

YouTube - The greatest speech of all time

[Micro2Macro]

Sorry jyms I just really don't understand why someone would want to come in and tell DC to just quit when he's making a conscious effort to move forward. If you're gonna just kick him while he's down do it outside of his blog at least.

[jyms]

I didnt tell him to quit, I told him that under such stringent rules for this OP he would almost certainly fail and may as well just avoid the stress.

[Donachello]

Lol. Thanks for the support guys. Jyms I understand where you are coming from but you simply don't know my personality at all. Regardless, no hard feelings, I didn't take it the wrong way so no need for anyone to hate on anyone.

[Donachello]

Well that was a fun way to end a shitty month. :P

+100 dollars in an hour playing 10PLO rush. As I said in the beginning post, I will play playing 6max 10NL but.... I might dabble in 10PLO a bit since it's apparently softer than 2NL. However, the majority of my game will be in the Cadillac of poker for sure.

Bankroll to start October: 332

[StarGrinder]

the majority of my game will be in the Cadillac of poker

CSB

You gonna start using terms like Rockets and Cowboys now too? LOL

I feel the way you do sometimes tho. It's not like these games aren't profitable but goddamn it sure is a grind, eh?

[Micro2Macro]

the majority of my game will be in the Cadillac of poker

super cool story bro

i heard doyle brunson himself played this

[Carroters]

It trully is the cadillac cos you play the player not the cards. I play blind Nlz and still win cos it doesn't matter what cards you have, that's what hellmuth says.

[HarleyGuy13]

Right on buddy September is over now rock on. Good luck!

[Illfavor]

Has anyone seen my blue backpack? I feel like I left it here but I'm not really sure...

[Donachello]

Thank god for the PLO heater to start the month. It seems that the poker gods have forgotten this isn't September. Played 2305 hands this morning. Played quite well for the most part though I made a few thin calls because (ego) wanted to see if my read was right and it always was unfortunately :P. Take those out and it's a B/E session

[Donachello]

Lulz, found a mega drooler this morning and took 5 buyins off of him at 5NL. At this point he challenged me to HU 4 rolls and ldo I said okay. Yaawn sweated me and at one point I was up 3 buyins on the guy but then September kicked in and he won most of his manies back. At this point he stopped opening every hand to 6-8x and 3betting 85% of the time so I decided to quit. Epic day became not so epic day but I am rerolled for 10NL again (lol downswings). UPWARDS AND ONWARDS SIRS.

Also, MASSIF track to make me feel good

YouTube - Gemini - Blue

Oh also, I am now working out 6 days a week usually for a total of 12 weekly sessions since I am trying to do an extra cardio session when I get up in the mornings.

During one of my classes today we were asked to classify what our personal values are. There was a list of classic values like work ethic, friendship, financial stability etc. and we had a fake auction where we had 5K to buy the values we wanted. As weird as it may sound this kind of childish exercise actually made me realize how much I value certain things. I personally ended up using my entire 5K to outbid people for Sense of Accomplishment and Work Ethic. I feel like there isn't really anything a certain person can't achieve if they put the work in and I noticed that it's the times when my work ethic is lacking that I 1) play poor poker and 2) feel like shit about life in general. Basically the point is, don't waste time, always work for what you want. That's my new motto

[EasyPoker]

Lulz, found a mega drooler this morning and took 5 buyins off of him at 5NL. At this point he challenged me to HU 4 rolls and ldo I said okay. Yaawn sweated me and at one point I was up 3 buyins on the guy but then September kicked in and he won most of his manies back. At this point he stopped opening every hand to 6-8x and 3betting 85% of the time so I decided to quit.

LOL

[Donachello]

Don't call it a comeback

[Donachello]

Seriously don't call it a comeback

[Donachello]

So. Big step is poker evolution was just taken. I now signal the end of my session by looking at my BR. If it happens at any time during the session that's it. So far I have made it 3 days with only looking at the cashier while I am not playing at the tables. I have yet to tilt mid session as a result and feel great about my game. Even took a string of super meh coolers today and despite feeling a bit annoyed I continued to play well and kept my redline steady instead of going super bluffy or nitty despite running bad. The BR isn't doing great towards my goal of getting rolled for 25NL but the mindstate is there to crush into SSNL so it's now a matter of extending this feeling and logging hours now. Previously, despite playing an absurd number of hours for a micro grinder I was fluctuating too hard to make poker fun or profitable. I feel like I am back to where I need to be to win.

[HarleyGuy13]

Outstanding sounds like a good breakthrough was made in your mental game. Keep it up and you'll be right where you want to be in no time!

[Donachello]

So this needed to be said a lot for my benefit but also for anyone else to struggles with tilt.

I need to go to sleep but here's what I have learned from my ridiculous number of hours and hands that I have played in my first serious year of poker

poker is an individual journey for everyone, it can and will make you realize a lot about your own personal self and a lot of what you realize may not be things that you like. The only way to move forward though is to take a step back, realize that poker IS a GAME, a fun and challenging one but one that can fuck you over if you don't respect it.

You have to be able to balance poker with other hobbies and activities other wise your entire emotions will depend on how your bankroll is doing, which is something you can't technically control since variance is beyond our control.

You also have to understand that poker for every single person EVER is a grind. Sure people go on absolutely mega heaters but the fact is, those are like 1:100000 and for the most part people don't try to improve and just hope for that heater.

I mean fuck, you at least have a job (i don't which makes money matter even more to me). Do everything you can to reduce the amount of tilt you feel in every area of life and you will reduce your poker tilt tendencies which will boost your winrate. Additionally, view poker as a hobby or as an investment of supplemental income that may or may not take a very long time to generate a return. Most importantly have fun playing, and if at any time you stop having fun playing poker then stop playing until you feel like the next time you play will be fun again regardless of results, otherwise you'll be stuck in a black hole of depressing shitty play and emotional ups and downs which makes every other area of your life suck ass

.end rant

[EasyPoker]

Wise words.

[Micro2Macro]

great post

[bjsaust]

Nice post. I know for me I took up poker as an alternative to paying to play MMORPGs, but at some point along the line I started caring about the money and it made things a lot harder on myself. Its very important to look after both your mental and physical well being when grinding poker. Not only is it not healthy to spend all your time playing, but few people can do that and still play good long term poker.

[HarleyGuy13]

Very good rant sir!

[Donachello]

There is truth to the saying that at some point you will run worse than you have ever run in your life and when you think you can't run worse you will run worse. There is absolutely nothing that will ever prepare you for running this badly and it is at this point that my above rant becomes more and more imperative. I'm currently in the process of losing close to 1K at micro-stakes games in the last 3 months and honestly, aside from about 200 of that being from tilt it's almost entirely variance. Yes I make bad plays here and there, yes I do get some suckouts but ultimately if you are running bad you are literally just being shit on every hand of every session and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it. It's possible for you to flip a coin and have it land face down a trillion times in a row. Hell it's technically possible in the universe for something that has a probability of only happening .0000001% of the time to happen 40 million times in a row. Know why? Because in the infinite scope of time those 40 million times are a blink of an eye.

I'm not sure exactly how I feel but I think there is something to be said about being destined to play poker profitably. Sometimes you might make all the right plays in a session and still lose. Sometimes these sessions might compound into weeks and months. I mean even a robot programmed to play poker perfectly in every possible situation can lose for months on end simply because of poker's uncertainty. It's kind of a shitty and extremely humbling realization to have that you may literally be the best player in the world from a skill standpoint and never make money in your lifetime.

Now I am by no means saying that I am one of the best players in the world at all. I am however finally understanding that there is a point at which you have to walk away from the game if it only brings you stress and disappointment. I'm not there yet, but I am pretty damn close and really, there's nothing I can do about that other than continue to put in hours of my time. However, it's about time that poker takes a back seat to everything else since it's not entirely up to me whether I will ever win at this game.

I'm not writing this to get sympathy and I certainly don't expect everyone to believe that it is possible to lose a grand playing for cheeseburgers while still being a good player since most people haven't experienced that. I'm just writing this because it is a legit warning to enjoy your success, and it also is cathartic for me to start to give into the reality.

[spoonitnow]

csb

[spoonitnow]

shit nm i thought you were carroters, carry on

[Carroters]

wut?

[bjsaust]

Worth reading the Drmcboy interview if you havn't, a good example of someone who ran like you are but pushed through and came out.


Oh, just a word on Jyms post earlier. In my op thread I made similar deadlines as Donachello, and a number of good respected players had similar advice to me as Jyms did here. Its not a put down, its just good advice, additional stress just doesn't help anything. That said I abandoned my deadlines, focused on playing good solid poker and improving my game, and in the end I crushed those deadlines anyway.

So I guess you could take that any way you like, but I think a strong focus on improving your game rather than reaching certain marks by certain milestones will help your success more.

[CBAT]

wut?

lolllllll

[Donachello]

Well. This OP was pretty lolz but I learned a lot over the last few months and after totally bustoing my account in early November I have essentially solidified myself at 25NL (knock on wood). As such this operation is complete (yay) and I just wanted to thank the guys who supported me and all my fellow potters for looking at HHs.

This is pretty anti-climatic so just a few words of advice for those working their way up.

Do everything in your power to control tilt and everything that causes tilt.
Find a comfortable play style and stick to it but always be able to adapt.
Quit when you don't feel sharp.
Be aggressive both with your goals and playing.
Actively try to get better and devour all resources you can find.
Banish your ego.

I may or may not start a new OP any time soon but thanks to all those who followed.