I know I haven't written for a while but the rents have been in town for the last 4 days. They drove down with the remainder of our stuff which was unreal outta them. They also helped Mel, Jim and I kinda complete the crib. Over the weekend we accomplished the following.
-Got a pool table
-Fixed and set up our ping pong table
-Got a dining room table
-Finished off our bedroom (lamps, coffee table, etc.)
-Got a dart board
-Hung some stuff on the wall in the gameroom
-Got a bookcase
-Got a another chair for the patio
You get the idea. Basically, our place finally feels like home and I'm pretty pumped about it. My rents left today and are gonna take there time going home and hopefully stop in some cool places and enjoy the trip. We had a good weekend but I'm definitely excited for them to visit when there isn't so much work to do.
This month has been good and bad for poker. The bad news is I've made virtually no money. The good news is my game is at an all time high for sure. I'm thinking about things more clearly and deeply than I ever have. I do think, to some extent, that this is hurting me at this limit...
So the reason for no money this month thus far is running bad, coolers, and leveling myself into some poor plays. (I just got done a session where I dropped over 4 buy ins ($200) with AA and KK all in preflop. That's just run bad, I'm ok with that. What I'm not ok with is coming out behind the leveling war with some of these guys. For those who don't know leveling is basically best described as analyzing how capable your opponents are of performing plays at the table and their skiil in general. The good thing is that I'm on a higher level than I've been on in my poker life but the bad part about that is I'm giving my opponents credit for the same level of thinking and it's costing me monies. I know, and have for some time, that at this particular limit, ABC is the best way to play. I'm going to continue to try to improve at that for the rest of the month. Hopefully, with a little run good I'll be moving up come October 1, but it will likely be a little longer at 50NL. Anyway, my goal is to have played 100k hands by the end of the month so I will definitely do some analysis after that and update everyone. Until then I'll probably do some writing about other things. Late
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Monday, September 3, 2012
St. pete's really nice/Random thoughts
Hey all...thought I'd write a little bit about what I've been up to the last few days as I've gotten out and explored a little bit. Mel and I spent Saturday afternoon in St. Pete and were reminded about how nice that place is. We went to the Holocaust museum (had no idea that they had one) and the Museum of Fine Arts which is more of Mel's thing but was actually pretty cool. They also have a history museum and an aquarium downtown which is kinda cool. It's funny, Boston obviously has a lot of attractions but I found myself uninterested due to the nature of my job and friends. Basically, I worked 3 feet from my house and never really got out. Here, I feel like I'm excited to explore. Combine that with the unfortunate fact that I'm not surrounded by my good friends and it has led me to be more adventurous. I guess that's one positive side affect of not knowing anyone. Anyway, St. Pete is great and if we ever decide to stay in Florida longer than the duration of Mel's schooling, it's definitely a place I would consider living.
I don't know if I've mentioned this to many people but Kurt still isn't here. He's had some things keeping him in Maine longer than expected and I'm super amped for him to finally get down here. There are some pretty cool bars around here (some have corn hole outside which is pretty sweet) and I can't wait to explore some more of them with Kurt and Jim (both eligible bachelors.) One thing I will say about the bars, even though they seem pretty nice is that there's definitely an older crowd. Friday night Mel had a couple of her friends over to stay the night so Jim and I hit the bars for a couple hours. Around here, when you see a couple girls sitting alone at the bar they're 40 year old (likely married) women. We're basically in suburbia so it makes sense that the crowd is older but for Kurt and Jimbo's sake we're gonna have to do some exploring. The bars by Mel's school will likely have younger crowds and they're not too far from here. Anyway, Kurt should be here within the next two weeks.
The last thing I wanted to touch on was poker. I've had two training sessions with Neil Gewirtz, a sponsored pro at 2+2 and Bluefire Poker. I know I touched on this a little bit in my last post but they've been very informative and I feel like I'm learning to approach the game differently. In our latest session we did some datatbase analysis and I was pleased to learn my numbers are pretty solid. Basically, all my significant stats are right on point with his, which is obviously a good sign. I think the biggest factor left is for me to continue adjusting to the games. I'm still figuring out what lines I want to take and assess likely ranges for players at these limits. So far I've lost a couple buy ins to start this month but I am very confident that I'm improving at this limit and I have high hopes for this month. As I mentioned I'm only going to talk numbers once every week or two because I don't think it's productive to harp on things that don't really matter, but let's just say I'm optimistic. I feel like I'm improving and things will only continue to get better.
That's about it...I know this was a bit of a ramble but I felt like writing something tonight. Feel free to hit me up. My phone rings so rarely around here it's getting kind of depressing. This is obviously due in large part to the fact that I no longer have clients blowing up the phone all the time but it would be nice to hear from all of you. Zuke, I appreciate the support...let me know what I need to do to keep this blog bearable. And if anyone sees Yeaton, tell him he's my only boy that hasn't hit me up. If your'e reading this, I still got love for you bro. Late.
I don't know if I've mentioned this to many people but Kurt still isn't here. He's had some things keeping him in Maine longer than expected and I'm super amped for him to finally get down here. There are some pretty cool bars around here (some have corn hole outside which is pretty sweet) and I can't wait to explore some more of them with Kurt and Jim (both eligible bachelors.) One thing I will say about the bars, even though they seem pretty nice is that there's definitely an older crowd. Friday night Mel had a couple of her friends over to stay the night so Jim and I hit the bars for a couple hours. Around here, when you see a couple girls sitting alone at the bar they're 40 year old (likely married) women. We're basically in suburbia so it makes sense that the crowd is older but for Kurt and Jimbo's sake we're gonna have to do some exploring. The bars by Mel's school will likely have younger crowds and they're not too far from here. Anyway, Kurt should be here within the next two weeks.
The last thing I wanted to touch on was poker. I've had two training sessions with Neil Gewirtz, a sponsored pro at 2+2 and Bluefire Poker. I know I touched on this a little bit in my last post but they've been very informative and I feel like I'm learning to approach the game differently. In our latest session we did some datatbase analysis and I was pleased to learn my numbers are pretty solid. Basically, all my significant stats are right on point with his, which is obviously a good sign. I think the biggest factor left is for me to continue adjusting to the games. I'm still figuring out what lines I want to take and assess likely ranges for players at these limits. So far I've lost a couple buy ins to start this month but I am very confident that I'm improving at this limit and I have high hopes for this month. As I mentioned I'm only going to talk numbers once every week or two because I don't think it's productive to harp on things that don't really matter, but let's just say I'm optimistic. I feel like I'm improving and things will only continue to get better.
That's about it...I know this was a bit of a ramble but I felt like writing something tonight. Feel free to hit me up. My phone rings so rarely around here it's getting kind of depressing. This is obviously due in large part to the fact that I no longer have clients blowing up the phone all the time but it would be nice to hear from all of you. Zuke, I appreciate the support...let me know what I need to do to keep this blog bearable. And if anyone sees Yeaton, tell him he's my only boy that hasn't hit me up. If your'e reading this, I still got love for you bro. Late.
Friday, August 31, 2012
August recap
Hey everyone, I thought I'd do a blog entry talking about the month of August and how the move in general has gone. Let me start by saying that I am sitting at the beach in Clearwater right now, so I can't complain about that. I am dictating this blog through Siri so forgive me if there are some typographical errors. All in all the move has gone pretty smoothly. It's nice to feel like we actually live here now. Mel is having a couple friends over tonight and I'm going to cook dinner so that should be fun. Also, I went with Jim yesterday to pick up his new A4. It's a sweet car and I'm pumped that I'll get to drive it from time to time. Aside from those highlights there hasn't been a whole lot going on socially. Obviously we do don't know too many people yet. It's nice to be spending time with Mel and Nala in a big house with some land though, so I can't complain too much about the occasional feeling of lonliness. Also, Jim has been around more than I thought he would be so it's been fun hanging out with him.
I wanted to take some time to recap my first month of poker. It definitely had its ups and downs but I think Learned a lot about how the games play and the mistakes I've been making. Also, I'm getting 1 on 1 coaching from a pro at bluefire poker.com and that should help a lot. We've already done a session and he's really helping me analyze spots in more sophisticated ways. He also talked with me some about the mental side of poker and how my main focus needs to be on improving everyday and not worrying about results. This is something I was certainly aware of but it's nice to have a pro reinforce it. We also talked about the downswing I went on of about $800. For the games I play that's a 16 buy I'm downswing. He basically said that will definitely happen to winning players but it's worth some serious analysis to figure out how much of it was due to bad luck and how much was due to poor play. During that stretch I ran about 8 buy ins below expected value. This means I was definitely running bad, but I know poor play had a good amount to do with it and I'm working on plugging leaks. I just started reading a book called "the art of learning." It's basically about a chess master who became a world class martial artist. He discusses how he mastered two seemingly diferent fields and the mental approach to accomplishing anything. It's very interesting thus far. Anyway, my numbers for the month are ok considering this downswing. Also, I only played about 1/2 as much as I would in a normal Month due to making the move and everything. Anyway, hear they are. Hope everyone's well.
Hours played-74.5
Total profit- $1051
Hands played- 35,659
Hourly rate-$14
Ps. Nick, I listen to Don Henley Radio when I play. It's a lot of Phil Collins, The Eagles, obviously Don Henley and such. It's great music and keeps me off tilt. We don't have a pool table yet and we are working on getting out ping pong table working correctly, so no real games yet. That will be something Kurt is in charge of when he finally gets down here.
I wanted to take some time to recap my first month of poker. It definitely had its ups and downs but I think Learned a lot about how the games play and the mistakes I've been making. Also, I'm getting 1 on 1 coaching from a pro at bluefire poker.com and that should help a lot. We've already done a session and he's really helping me analyze spots in more sophisticated ways. He also talked with me some about the mental side of poker and how my main focus needs to be on improving everyday and not worrying about results. This is something I was certainly aware of but it's nice to have a pro reinforce it. We also talked about the downswing I went on of about $800. For the games I play that's a 16 buy I'm downswing. He basically said that will definitely happen to winning players but it's worth some serious analysis to figure out how much of it was due to bad luck and how much was due to poor play. During that stretch I ran about 8 buy ins below expected value. This means I was definitely running bad, but I know poor play had a good amount to do with it and I'm working on plugging leaks. I just started reading a book called "the art of learning." It's basically about a chess master who became a world class martial artist. He discusses how he mastered two seemingly diferent fields and the mental approach to accomplishing anything. It's very interesting thus far. Anyway, my numbers for the month are ok considering this downswing. Also, I only played about 1/2 as much as I would in a normal Month due to making the move and everything. Anyway, hear they are. Hope everyone's well.
Hours played-74.5
Total profit- $1051
Hands played- 35,659
Hourly rate-$14
Ps. Nick, I listen to Don Henley Radio when I play. It's a lot of Phil Collins, The Eagles, obviously Don Henley and such. It's great music and keeps me off tilt. We don't have a pool table yet and we are working on getting out ping pong table working correctly, so no real games yet. That will be something Kurt is in charge of when he finally gets down here.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Gonna change it up a bit
The Run bad at this point is just kinda silly. Lost 4 stacks today: 2 AA vs KK all in pre where I have KK but just get coolered. One AA to QQ where I have AA. and One where board flops aa5 we get it in I have ak he has 55. Anway, lost a good chunk for the 3rd straight day so I'm gonna try a new approach. I'm not gonna look at my account, hold em manager, or write in this blog everyday. Probably more like once every two weeks. The reason being that I'm gonna have swings everyday and wether they're good or bad I can't harp on them. Right now I'm running awfully. But I'm still beating this game. I can 100% beat this game at a good clip. Keeping my head is gonna be the most important thing, though, and I'm gonna stop caring so much about day to day numbers.
Anyway, rant over. Going to Busch Gardens again tonight to ride some late night coasters. I'll update this blog again on the first of September to recap the month, unless I have some fun life stuff to chat about before then. Hope everyone's well.
Anyway, rant over. Going to Busch Gardens again tonight to ride some late night coasters. I'll update this blog again on the first of September to recap the month, unless I have some fun life stuff to chat about before then. Hope everyone's well.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Another Bad day/The mental side of poker
I am running absolutely terrible. That's all I want to say because there is no point in harping over how unlucky I've been and how many coolers I've endured in the last 5,000 hands. I'm on a 10 buy in downswing, which, from everything I have seen and read is perfectly normal for a winning player. That doesn't make it suck anymore though. I wanted to just talk a little about how I've been trying to deal with this the last few days.
Basically the thing that plagues me is self doubt. Obviously I've never done this for a living and it's difficult to not wonder, what if i can't do this. I've watched a few videos on downswings on bluefire poker and it seems, again, like this is a normal thing for all poker players. You start to wonder if you can still beat the game, blah blah blah. I'm thinking my plan of attack to deal with this swing is to take tomorrow off. I'm going out for a nice dinner with Mel tonight, then going to the gym and Busch Gardens with Jim and Mel tomorrow. That should be a good time and I think it's the perfect day to take off.
Last thing I want to say about the mental part is that I've made a conscious effort to take care of myself. I went for a run and to the gym this morning, ate a salad and really tried to prepare well for today's session. Unfortunately, it didn't go well and I was smart enough to leave when the bad luck caused me to play like shit. So that's that. Oh and the official number I lost today was $201, which makes my numbers look pretty shitty but hopefully I'll end the month well. I tend to compartmentalize my winnings into months because with the swings and such it's easy to have losing weeks but harder to have losing months.
Hours played- 48.5
Total profit- $805
hands played- 28,500
Hourly Rate- $16.5
Basically the thing that plagues me is self doubt. Obviously I've never done this for a living and it's difficult to not wonder, what if i can't do this. I've watched a few videos on downswings on bluefire poker and it seems, again, like this is a normal thing for all poker players. You start to wonder if you can still beat the game, blah blah blah. I'm thinking my plan of attack to deal with this swing is to take tomorrow off. I'm going out for a nice dinner with Mel tonight, then going to the gym and Busch Gardens with Jim and Mel tomorrow. That should be a good time and I think it's the perfect day to take off.
Last thing I want to say about the mental part is that I've made a conscious effort to take care of myself. I went for a run and to the gym this morning, ate a salad and really tried to prepare well for today's session. Unfortunately, it didn't go well and I was smart enough to leave when the bad luck caused me to play like shit. So that's that. Oh and the official number I lost today was $201, which makes my numbers look pretty shitty but hopefully I'll end the month well. I tend to compartmentalize my winnings into months because with the swings and such it's easy to have losing weeks but harder to have losing months.
Hours played- 48.5
Total profit- $805
hands played- 28,500
Hourly Rate- $16.5
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Gross
I played these pots in the first 30 minutes of my session.
Cut off raises (we're both $100 deep) I call with Q8 spades from the button. Flop Q83. Bet, raise, ship, blah blah. He shows up with 33. I don't see myself ever folding there.
I call a 3 bet b/v with 66...flop 1067...we get it in and he has aces, turn 10, river 10...a $105 pot. That kinda stung. I played pretty much even aside from those pots so I ended up -$224. Again, I cut the session short because I was running really shitty in a lot of little spots and it was tilting me. I definitely want to be playing more hours than I am right now but I think it's the right play to cut some of these sessions when I'm losing and don't have the right mind. I'm sure I'll get use to the swings a little more with time. As it is, it's not that it really upsets me, I just find it hard to concentrate and I become a little cally.
Good news is the my check came yesterday which was much faster than I had expected. Also, Jim gets back in town tomorrow and we're riding to Busch Gardens Friday, which should be a good time. I may play a little later one but I'll write it up tomorrow if I do.
Hours played-45.5
Total profit- $1006
Hands played- 26,500
Hourly Rate- $22
Cut off raises (we're both $100 deep) I call with Q8 spades from the button. Flop Q83. Bet, raise, ship, blah blah. He shows up with 33. I don't see myself ever folding there.
I call a 3 bet b/v with 66...flop 1067...we get it in and he has aces, turn 10, river 10...a $105 pot. That kinda stung. I played pretty much even aside from those pots so I ended up -$224. Again, I cut the session short because I was running really shitty in a lot of little spots and it was tilting me. I definitely want to be playing more hours than I am right now but I think it's the right play to cut some of these sessions when I'm losing and don't have the right mind. I'm sure I'll get use to the swings a little more with time. As it is, it's not that it really upsets me, I just find it hard to concentrate and I become a little cally.
Good news is the my check came yesterday which was much faster than I had expected. Also, Jim gets back in town tomorrow and we're riding to Busch Gardens Friday, which should be a good time. I may play a little later one but I'll write it up tomorrow if I do.
Hours played-45.5
Total profit- $1006
Hands played- 26,500
Hourly Rate- $22
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Beach day/ Passed 1K in profit
Mel and I went out to Tarpon Springs today which is about 45 West of us. We ate at this cool greek place on the water and the hummus was unbelievable. After that we headed to a beach that jutted out on a causeway into the Gulf. It was windy and a bit overcast but the water was warm and the beach was pretty quiet. Unfortunately after about an hour the storm clouds rolled in like they do every afternoon so we had to head back.
I dominated the tables today. I got it all in racing once, and sucked out once but other than that I played very aggressive and my reads were the best that they have been. I ended up +331 for the 2 hour session. I only played 2 hours because it was dinner time and I felt good about ending the session on a strong note. I may or may not write more about the specific hands tomorrow, as I look back through my Holdem Manager, but for now I am going to cook dinner.
P.S. I made a 45 min poker video last night (with audio), I am trying to figure out how to upload it and get it so you guys can watch it, but I think it is kind of interesting.
Quick update...just busted from a tourney I decided to play ($30) and a small field that paid a G to the winner. Had a nice stack and lost almost all my money when the bb shoved my raise b/b and I called with A10. He has 95 off and flops 3 9's. Smell myself. Anyway, good news is I was 4 tabling while playing the tournament and made $145. So a nice little hour session made me a total of +$446 for the day. Feeling really good about it, obv. Everyone, keep doing you.
Smell you tomorrow.
Hours Played- 43
Total Profit- $1,231
Hands Played- 25,500
Hourly rate- $28.5
I dominated the tables today. I got it all in racing once, and sucked out once but other than that I played very aggressive and my reads were the best that they have been. I ended up +331 for the 2 hour session. I only played 2 hours because it was dinner time and I felt good about ending the session on a strong note. I may or may not write more about the specific hands tomorrow, as I look back through my Holdem Manager, but for now I am going to cook dinner.
P.S. I made a 45 min poker video last night (with audio), I am trying to figure out how to upload it and get it so you guys can watch it, but I think it is kind of interesting.
Quick update...just busted from a tourney I decided to play ($30) and a small field that paid a G to the winner. Had a nice stack and lost almost all my money when the bb shoved my raise b/b and I called with A10. He has 95 off and flops 3 9's. Smell myself. Anyway, good news is I was 4 tabling while playing the tournament and made $145. So a nice little hour session made me a total of +$446 for the day. Feeling really good about it, obv. Everyone, keep doing you.
Smell you tomorrow.
Hours Played- 43
Total Profit- $1,231
Hands Played- 25,500
Hourly rate- $28.5
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