Before my 3rd session yesterday I decided I'm not going to look at hem while playing. I was refreshing it pretty much after every medium sized pot. Too many of my decisions have been based on how I was doing which was bad either way. I'd be thinking about protecting wins, not risking more, winning back losses, or running up wins. I'd also be thinking about how loose or tight I was playing and adjust when the tables should be the only thing dictating that. So far it has at least kept my mind more at ease just thinking about each play based on it's validity and game flow.
My friend made a game for iphones and ipods called firehive. There are a bunch of bees buzzing around the levels and you try and set off a chain reaction with one bee that lights all of them on fire. It's entertaining and a little frustrating.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
diet
For what seems like forever I hit a wall several times a day and just feel tired. When I was working full time there was really nothing I could do about it besides just to continue working or get some sugar in my system. I had a couple of spots where I could hide and take a nap where no one would find me but those were taken away.
Now playing poker 20-25 hours I could just be lethargic and take several naps throughout the day. It is partially my sleep schedule, but I have been getting 8 hours a night pretty regularly. The only other explanation is my diet. I do get some vegetables, tomatoes and cucumbers on a sandwich, but practically no fruits as I eat out for pretty much every meal.
I have no intention to start shopping for groceries or doing any cooking so the other night I went and got a big multivitamin. 100 tablets for $4. I now have energy throughout the day. Last night I put it to the test. In June I was running several times a night and was jogging about 5 laps with some 100/200 yard sprints at the end. After almost a month of doing no exercise I went jogging last night and did 6 laps with ease.
Now playing poker 20-25 hours I could just be lethargic and take several naps throughout the day. It is partially my sleep schedule, but I have been getting 8 hours a night pretty regularly. The only other explanation is my diet. I do get some vegetables, tomatoes and cucumbers on a sandwich, but practically no fruits as I eat out for pretty much every meal.
I have no intention to start shopping for groceries or doing any cooking so the other night I went and got a big multivitamin. 100 tablets for $4. I now have energy throughout the day. Last night I put it to the test. In June I was running several times a night and was jogging about 5 laps with some 100/200 yard sprints at the end. After almost a month of doing no exercise I went jogging last night and did 6 laps with ease.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
terrible day
On Tuesday I had one of those days where everything went wrong. It started with me going to get a chicken salad sandwich from arby's. Their deli sandwiches, although overpriced, are soo good. I go home to find the wrong order that was still good so it wasn't that big of a deal, but I was geared up for the chicken salad.
So I get started on a session around 12:45 and the power goes out after about 30 minutes. Normally I only see my girlfriend on the weekends because she lives 40 minutes away but I'm supposed to go and load up some boxes to bring back to her parents later that afternoon because she's moving out on Saturday. I've got that feeling that hasn't been hitting me as much anymore, I've got grind on the mind.
I connect to some random Internet connection and look for a lan center. The first one I call doesn't have any laptop stations. The second one does that will cost $2.50/hr and right as I'm about to get off the phone with them I ask if poker is ok and the guy said, "Oh, no we can't really let you do that." Those were the only 2 I could find as lan centers tend to only last for 1-2 years. I loaded up my laptop and call my girlfriend's roommate to see if she's home so I could have come early while I headed in the direction of another lan center I knew about.
The roommate, who normally works evenings at a department store I later found out was at a work convention, doesn't answer and the lan centrer had long been closed down and vacant. I then went to the gas station to get a drink while I decided on a course of action. Then I locked my keys in the car I got 9 months ago and never made a spare for. So after waiting there for 30 minutes my grandma who lives 7 minutes away picked me up to take me to my house for proof of ownership and then to the dealership.
Apparently they make 2 types of key, one for the door that's $10 and one that turns the ignition too for $40. I was already against spending over $50 on a locksmith that will take 5 minutes so I'm not wasting an hour to get this key for $40. My grandma was the one who talked to some guy who explained everything to her. I am dealing with some lady who I guess was new because she hadn't learned how to do keys yet and passed it on to some other lady, and I'm told it'll take 3 minutes. 15 minutes later the lady I talked to says, "Oh, here's your key. That'll be $42.xx." I repeated the price in a I'm not going to pay that tone. She then says I was asked and said yes to the super key which I declined. Well after another few minutes of her going into the back they give me the super key for $10.
Amanda, the girlfriend, informed me she had a meeting and instead of leaving at 3:45 I should wait for her to tell me when to leave. So I had to wait around longer than planned with no power. Halfway to her house she calls to ask what I wanted from Chili's. When I got there she's not back and I had to sit in the sun for 15 minutes where the sun and 90+ degree heat destroyed me.
This story was way too long for the subtance.
So I get started on a session around 12:45 and the power goes out after about 30 minutes. Normally I only see my girlfriend on the weekends because she lives 40 minutes away but I'm supposed to go and load up some boxes to bring back to her parents later that afternoon because she's moving out on Saturday. I've got that feeling that hasn't been hitting me as much anymore, I've got grind on the mind.
I connect to some random Internet connection and look for a lan center. The first one I call doesn't have any laptop stations. The second one does that will cost $2.50/hr and right as I'm about to get off the phone with them I ask if poker is ok and the guy said, "Oh, no we can't really let you do that." Those were the only 2 I could find as lan centers tend to only last for 1-2 years. I loaded up my laptop and call my girlfriend's roommate to see if she's home so I could have come early while I headed in the direction of another lan center I knew about.
The roommate, who normally works evenings at a department store I later found out was at a work convention, doesn't answer and the lan centrer had long been closed down and vacant. I then went to the gas station to get a drink while I decided on a course of action. Then I locked my keys in the car I got 9 months ago and never made a spare for. So after waiting there for 30 minutes my grandma who lives 7 minutes away picked me up to take me to my house for proof of ownership and then to the dealership.
Apparently they make 2 types of key, one for the door that's $10 and one that turns the ignition too for $40. I was already against spending over $50 on a locksmith that will take 5 minutes so I'm not wasting an hour to get this key for $40. My grandma was the one who talked to some guy who explained everything to her. I am dealing with some lady who I guess was new because she hadn't learned how to do keys yet and passed it on to some other lady, and I'm told it'll take 3 minutes. 15 minutes later the lady I talked to says, "Oh, here's your key. That'll be $42.xx." I repeated the price in a I'm not going to pay that tone. She then says I was asked and said yes to the super key which I declined. Well after another few minutes of her going into the back they give me the super key for $10.
Amanda, the girlfriend, informed me she had a meeting and instead of leaving at 3:45 I should wait for her to tell me when to leave. So I had to wait around longer than planned with no power. Halfway to her house she calls to ask what I wanted from Chili's. When I got there she's not back and I had to sit in the sun for 15 minutes where the sun and 90+ degree heat destroyed me.
This story was way too long for the subtance.
Monday, July 20, 2009
composure
Being a professional poker player is all about composure. It does not matter if one's A game is the best there is if they are playing their C game most of the time. Since quitting my job I have played way too many hands below my top level.
The really frustrating part is that I've cut way back on the volume I play but continue to just play bad. Making 1 or 2 calls on the river where I know they hit some stupid 2-5 outer while thinking what difference does this 10bb make, whether I'm up or down 3 or 4 buyins.
I went from doing nothing to work on my game to watching lots of videos and reviewing a lot of my hands. Both approaches have gotten me nowhere because I need to be trying to improve while adhering to Phil Ive's lone piece of advice, seek it out, absorb it, but while you're at the table, forget it. When I was playing live 1-2 I had this epiphany myself, and it holds true for lots of things, but is easy to ignore.
The really frustrating part is that I've cut way back on the volume I play but continue to just play bad. Making 1 or 2 calls on the river where I know they hit some stupid 2-5 outer while thinking what difference does this 10bb make, whether I'm up or down 3 or 4 buyins.
I went from doing nothing to work on my game to watching lots of videos and reviewing a lot of my hands. Both approaches have gotten me nowhere because I need to be trying to improve while adhering to Phil Ive's lone piece of advice, seek it out, absorb it, but while you're at the table, forget it. When I was playing live 1-2 I had this epiphany myself, and it holds true for lots of things, but is easy to ignore.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
possible switch to full tilt
I've been routinely checking the table selection between stars and full tilts' nl200 6max games. Ft has many more games with no one on the wait list. As I look over it now there are almost no games there where the same stat is in the teens where as on pokerstars there are maybe 15-20 games like that, most of which have a wait list of 3 or more. I've never been a fan of joining a list as the 4th or higher person because by the time you get to the table the fish will be gone and it will be full of other regs and shortstacks.
The stars fpp program is very nice because a supernova can get 35%+ rakeback. I don't have any support for my claim but the higher rakeback in addition to the rakeback structure being dealt rather than contributed will attract more shortstacks to stars who are relying on the bonuses instead of profit.
If the tables are better an increase in .2BB/100 would cover the rakeback difference. Having more tables available at any given time of day plus more actual profit would make me play more. Anyway, before I can switch I need to hit my 200k vpp milestone for $2k so I can pay for school.
The stars fpp program is very nice because a supernova can get 35%+ rakeback. I don't have any support for my claim but the higher rakeback in addition to the rakeback structure being dealt rather than contributed will attract more shortstacks to stars who are relying on the bonuses instead of profit.
If the tables are better an increase in .2BB/100 would cover the rakeback difference. Having more tables available at any given time of day plus more actual profit would make me play more. Anyway, before I can switch I need to hit my 200k vpp milestone for $2k so I can pay for school.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
college
About a month and a half ago I was seriously discussing going to Mexico for a few months with a few 2p2ers. The main reason that I had set a time frame for my visit was because of my gf of 13 months. Anyway after a lot more mediocre poker play that was way below my expectations and goals along with knowing I don't want to do this forever unless I became a nosebleed phenom I found out about a very intriguing degree at UTDallas and decided to enroll.
The program is called arts and technology which was not there when I graduated hs and wanted to do computer science. I definitely didn't want to have to take all of the math that was needed, but that isn't the case with this program. It has various paths including 3d animation, game design, and video production. It's still going to take me either 2.5 or 3 years.
I got in a short session of nl200 6m tonight before my internet died for an hour. I was disconnected while in a hand with the guy in the hand I'll post first where he limped the btn and I had A2o in the bb on a akk flop where I was check/calling and lost $20. I've been fortunate that this hasn't happened to me much but needless to say, it's frustrating. I don't really want to play anymore because my internet went off and on briefly a few more times.
Several tables had a certain player that is a solid winner at nl600 who started running over me after I raised ktss from the bb to a limper and bet folded a q66 flush draw flop and then folded to a few other 3 bets from various people. So I closed a few tough tables and opened up a new one and wanted to make sure I was on the attack. This was the first hand against the same guy I got disconnected from.
My hand to 3b with is certainly loose but the first 3b against an unknown has insane fold equity and I thought it being my first hand would increase it a little more. That's probably why he decided do what he did. I got very suspicious when he calls my cbet b/c with ak/aq he's giving up and w/ qq/tt/kk/aa he's almost always raising. Maybe with 99/tt he calls to evaluate. So on the turn I hit and it was time to go into bluff catching mode.
***** Hand History for Game 30474641823 ***** (Poker Stars)
$200.00 USD NL Texas Hold'em - Tuesday, July 14, 10:23:10 ET 2009
Table Io IV (Real Money)
Seat 4 is the button
Seat 1: Antman_B89 ( $283.10 USD )
Seat 2: CHENKO123 ( $97.25 USD )
Seat 3: Azimut85 ( $201.25 USD )
Seat 4: GeoJuggle3 ( $226.50 USD )
Seat 5: Rygar43 ( $186.00 USD )
Seat 6: elgrenhornet ( $200.00 USD )
Rygar43 posts small blind [$1.00 USD].
elgrenhornet posts big blind [$2.00 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to elgrenhornet [ Jc 9s ]
Antman_B89 folds
CHENKO123 folds
Azimut85 folds
GeoJuggle3 raises [$6.00 USD]
Rygar43 folds
elgrenhornet raises [$20.00 USD]
GeoJuggle3 calls [$16.00 USD]
** Dealing Flop ** [ 6s, 6c, 5d ]
elgrenhornet bets [$26.00 USD]
GeoJuggle3 calls [$26.00 USD]
** Dealing Turn ** [ Jh ]
elgrenhornet checks
GeoJuggle3 bets [$58.00 USD]
elgrenhornet calls [$58.00 USD]
** Dealing River ** [ 3s ]
elgrenhornet checks
GeoJuggle3 bets [$95.00 USD]
elgrenhornet calls [$94.00 USD]
GeoJuggle3 wins $1.00 USD
GeoJuggle3 shows [8c, 9c ]
elgrenhornet shows [Jc, 9s ]
elgrenhornet wins $398.00 USD from main pot
I hadn't been on this table long but I raised 3 limpers w/ aj and the 3rd limper shoved his 50bb stack w/ aq. I got lucky and this hand happened not too long after. I'm not sure why he thought he had fold equity when my image was a little reckless
***** Hand History for Game 30474583296 ***** (Poker Stars)
$200.00 USD NL Texas Hold'em - Tuesday, July 14, 10:20:47 ET 2009
Table Sootiyo III (Real Money)
Seat 6 is the button
Seat 1: cdeez8 ( $204.00 USD )
Seat 2: Chicholin ( $137.10 USD )
Seat 3: natural23 ( $273.90 USD )
Seat 5: elgrenhornet ( $336.35 USD )
Seat 6: inductive ( $200.00 USD )
cdeez8 posts small blind [$1.00 USD].
Chicholin posts big blind [$2.00 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to elgrenhornet [ Ad Jc ]
natural23 calls [$2.00 USD]
elgrenhornet raises [$10.00 USD]
inductive folds
cdeez8 calls [$9.00 USD]
Chicholin calls [$8.00 USD]
natural23 folds
** Dealing Flop ** [ 8s, 3h, Jd ]
cdeez8 checks
Chicholin bets [$40.00 USD]
elgrenhornet calls [$40.00 USD]
cdeez8 folds
** Dealing Turn ** [ 7c ]
Chicholin bets [$87.10 USD]
elgrenhornet calls [$87.10 USD]
** Dealing River ** [ 5d ]
Chicholin shows [Ac, Qd ]
elgrenhornet shows [Ad, Jc ]
elgrenhornet wins $284.20 USD from main pot
The program is called arts and technology which was not there when I graduated hs and wanted to do computer science. I definitely didn't want to have to take all of the math that was needed, but that isn't the case with this program. It has various paths including 3d animation, game design, and video production. It's still going to take me either 2.5 or 3 years.
I got in a short session of nl200 6m tonight before my internet died for an hour. I was disconnected while in a hand with the guy in the hand I'll post first where he limped the btn and I had A2o in the bb on a akk flop where I was check/calling and lost $20. I've been fortunate that this hasn't happened to me much but needless to say, it's frustrating. I don't really want to play anymore because my internet went off and on briefly a few more times.
Several tables had a certain player that is a solid winner at nl600 who started running over me after I raised ktss from the bb to a limper and bet folded a q66 flush draw flop and then folded to a few other 3 bets from various people. So I closed a few tough tables and opened up a new one and wanted to make sure I was on the attack. This was the first hand against the same guy I got disconnected from.
My hand to 3b with is certainly loose but the first 3b against an unknown has insane fold equity and I thought it being my first hand would increase it a little more. That's probably why he decided do what he did. I got very suspicious when he calls my cbet b/c with ak/aq he's giving up and w/ qq/tt/kk/aa he's almost always raising. Maybe with 99/tt he calls to evaluate. So on the turn I hit and it was time to go into bluff catching mode.
***** Hand History for Game 30474641823 ***** (Poker Stars)
$200.00 USD NL Texas Hold'em - Tuesday, July 14, 10:23:10 ET 2009
Table Io IV (Real Money)
Seat 4 is the button
Seat 1: Antman_B89 ( $283.10 USD )
Seat 2: CHENKO123 ( $97.25 USD )
Seat 3: Azimut85 ( $201.25 USD )
Seat 4: GeoJuggle3 ( $226.50 USD )
Seat 5: Rygar43 ( $186.00 USD )
Seat 6: elgrenhornet ( $200.00 USD )
Rygar43 posts small blind [$1.00 USD].
elgrenhornet posts big blind [$2.00 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to elgrenhornet [ Jc 9s ]
Antman_B89 folds
CHENKO123 folds
Azimut85 folds
GeoJuggle3 raises [$6.00 USD]
Rygar43 folds
elgrenhornet raises [$20.00 USD]
GeoJuggle3 calls [$16.00 USD]
** Dealing Flop ** [ 6s, 6c, 5d ]
elgrenhornet bets [$26.00 USD]
GeoJuggle3 calls [$26.00 USD]
** Dealing Turn ** [ Jh ]
elgrenhornet checks
GeoJuggle3 bets [$58.00 USD]
elgrenhornet calls [$58.00 USD]
** Dealing River ** [ 3s ]
elgrenhornet checks
GeoJuggle3 bets [$95.00 USD]
elgrenhornet calls [$94.00 USD]
GeoJuggle3 wins $1.00 USD
GeoJuggle3 shows [8c, 9c ]
elgrenhornet shows [Jc, 9s ]
elgrenhornet wins $398.00 USD from main pot
I hadn't been on this table long but I raised 3 limpers w/ aj and the 3rd limper shoved his 50bb stack w/ aq. I got lucky and this hand happened not too long after. I'm not sure why he thought he had fold equity when my image was a little reckless
***** Hand History for Game 30474583296 ***** (Poker Stars)
$200.00 USD NL Texas Hold'em - Tuesday, July 14, 10:20:47 ET 2009
Table Sootiyo III (Real Money)
Seat 6 is the button
Seat 1: cdeez8 ( $204.00 USD )
Seat 2: Chicholin ( $137.10 USD )
Seat 3: natural23 ( $273.90 USD )
Seat 5: elgrenhornet ( $336.35 USD )
Seat 6: inductive ( $200.00 USD )
cdeez8 posts small blind [$1.00 USD].
Chicholin posts big blind [$2.00 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to elgrenhornet [ Ad Jc ]
natural23 calls [$2.00 USD]
elgrenhornet raises [$10.00 USD]
inductive folds
cdeez8 calls [$9.00 USD]
Chicholin calls [$8.00 USD]
natural23 folds
** Dealing Flop ** [ 8s, 3h, Jd ]
cdeez8 checks
Chicholin bets [$40.00 USD]
elgrenhornet calls [$40.00 USD]
cdeez8 folds
** Dealing Turn ** [ 7c ]
Chicholin bets [$87.10 USD]
elgrenhornet calls [$87.10 USD]
** Dealing River ** [ 5d ]
Chicholin shows [Ac, Qd ]
elgrenhornet shows [Ad, Jc ]
elgrenhornet wins $284.20 USD from main pot
Monday, July 13, 2009
where i am in poker
I've been playing frnl100 for about 9-10 months and I'm sick of it. I wanted to be at 2/4 by now. My winrate for the first few months was about 2.75BB/100 and this year has been around 1BB/100. People now have reads and I've slowly adopted some of the losing plays that are made over and over by other regs.
In order to combat this stagnation I've switched to 6max where finding maniacs is much much easier. The difference now from when I got stuck at nl50 6m is that I know how to combat the diff types of terribles. Besides it being fresh to me it's much easier to table select for 9-12 tables than it is for 16-20 and I'm unkown, although that won't last much longer.
I cleared an ftp bonus which then gave me enough ftp's to buy a month of stox poker which has tremendously helped me transition back to 6m. Leatherass is such a great coach. I've used a friend's cardrunners membership and I never really found videos to be all that helpful until listening to leatherass. I'm also interested to watch more from the mental coach guy.
I'm also giving nl200 an honest shot. fr200 is absolutely terrible and finding 10+ tables is impossible unless the games are great. I have no desire to play 4 other nitty regs and 4 shortstacks b/c all I'm going to do is spew when my tt or jj 3b gets called by someone oop and the flop is all unders or when I 3b ak from the blinds, get called, and then barrell away until they raise all in on the turn. Anyway, I don't have enough to maintain my 6 month safety fund, pay off the 5k left on my car, and pay for school, but there's only one way to make it to the top. If I'm table selecting well and not spewing there shouldn't be any problems.
..anyway yea I had a session of nl2006m today and I got on this incredible table with 2 50+vpip s 1 of whom was full stack the other had 300 bbs and I got up to 250. So I'm just playing straightforward tight waiting for the big hand / payday when some unkown gets all in pre w/ me for 130bb's utg vs bb and my kk < aa. He immediately left as it was his bb and I looked him up to find he's a breakeven player.
In order to combat this stagnation I've switched to 6max where finding maniacs is much much easier. The difference now from when I got stuck at nl50 6m is that I know how to combat the diff types of terribles. Besides it being fresh to me it's much easier to table select for 9-12 tables than it is for 16-20 and I'm unkown, although that won't last much longer.
I cleared an ftp bonus which then gave me enough ftp's to buy a month of stox poker which has tremendously helped me transition back to 6m. Leatherass is such a great coach. I've used a friend's cardrunners membership and I never really found videos to be all that helpful until listening to leatherass. I'm also interested to watch more from the mental coach guy.
I'm also giving nl200 an honest shot. fr200 is absolutely terrible and finding 10+ tables is impossible unless the games are great. I have no desire to play 4 other nitty regs and 4 shortstacks b/c all I'm going to do is spew when my tt or jj 3b gets called by someone oop and the flop is all unders or when I 3b ak from the blinds, get called, and then barrell away until they raise all in on the turn. Anyway, I don't have enough to maintain my 6 month safety fund, pay off the 5k left on my car, and pay for school, but there's only one way to make it to the top. If I'm table selecting well and not spewing there shouldn't be any problems.
..anyway yea I had a session of nl2006m today and I got on this incredible table with 2 50+vpip s 1 of whom was full stack the other had 300 bbs and I got up to 250. So I'm just playing straightforward tight waiting for the big hand / payday when some unkown gets all in pre w/ me for 130bb's utg vs bb and my kk < aa. He immediately left as it was his bb and I looked him up to find he's a breakeven player.
why blogs go dead
blogs die off b/c people tend to store up all of their thoughts. When they finally update they exhaust all of their talking points in one post, shortening each thought. My plan is to pick a subject to discuss and write down others for another day... "doubtful"
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