Unfortunately, I will not be able to grind my regular 90 mans until next year! So it is with a sad hearth that I post my results for the month. In fact, I should not be sad at all, I had a good month and after a relatively flat patch I have finally come out of it.
The breakdown of games is as follows:
$6 - 288 games @ 3% roi for $55.25 profit
$12 - 172games @ 52% roi for $1175.50 profit
Total 460 @ 30% roi for $1230.75 profit
Now this was not my best month nor my second best month in terms of profit but it was the first month in a little while where my bankroll increased significantly. I put it down to hard work and listening to friend's who encouraged me all the way.
I played a few more MTTs this month with little success, however, having watched a few videos on PokerVT again, I am accumulating the chips, now all that is required is a little run good and hope we can ship one in 2011! There was one deep run where I was around 10th in chips with only 150 let (147 get paid) and Full Tilt decided to crash for everyone! They did give me a nice chip chop of the prize pool but I am pretty sure I could have had a chance to make more by final tabling or even binking it!
I will keep this one short as I want to do a larger statistical breakdown of the year in a few days time.
Good luck y'all!
Wednesday 29 December 2010
Sunday 19 December 2010
Fun with the Railbirds
Before I get on with the main topic for this blog, I thought I might as well post some of the results so far this month.
In terms of 90 mans I played just under a hundred having only time to play 3 times this week. The coming week will be no better but with just over a hundred more to reach 500 should be attainable even with Xmas festivities. I made a decent profit over the period with a dollar shy of $400.
The damage to my roll occurs when I try to dabble in those stupid mtts. Maybe I am not just able to master them, running bad in the small sample I have or just need to study more on mtts (probably this) but they definitely are NOT adding the dollars to my account. I will persist and eventually ship one in 2011 (goal for the year???).
Now for the main reason for the blog; Saturday night after watching Green Zone (Matt Daemon film - pretty good), I decided to log onto FTP to see if the Durrrr Challenge was happening or a few top level pro's playing, alas there was none of the sort so I was reduced to railing Bodeye ;-)
When I rail Bodeye, there are two things that occur, one he seems to start getting monster hand after monster hand and generally reaches a final table. He is a good friend, ex coach, and so he lets me know his hole cards to get a better understanding of mtt strategy which I really appreciate. We then also have a discussion which is invaluable information. Now yesterday there was a railbird, initially heaping praise on Bodeye about his game, wishing him luck, hoping for a run of good cards, praying for the suck out, you know the thing. As I was watching these messages, I wondered when the begging would start and within a split second of the thought, there it was, "can you stake me in a $2 tourney?". At which point I started begging Bodeye in the chatbox, stating that I would give him 10% of all my losses, to which he then stated to the rail he was transferring me $600 because of the great deal I presented him with. The railbirds were going wild at the thought of Bodeye sending the rail some money. To have even more fun, I declared that I would stake one of them $200 from the $600 Bodeye had sent me. I was having a good laugh and so was Bodeye. Unfortunately this was all after Bodeye finished 7th pr 8th when KK < AK when the villain spiked an A on the river.
I had my own railbird for the first time, he apparently likes the way I play, so much so that he felt that I could stake him $20... hmmm... I think not LOSER! I didn't catch his name because I was too focused on playing rather than begging! Not sure what I think of railbird beggars but they seem a little desperate at times so I don't mid messing with their heads if I get the opportunity.
Anyhow, this is probably the last entry before Xmas so wishing everyone a Happy Christmas.
Good luck y'all.
In terms of 90 mans I played just under a hundred having only time to play 3 times this week. The coming week will be no better but with just over a hundred more to reach 500 should be attainable even with Xmas festivities. I made a decent profit over the period with a dollar shy of $400.
The damage to my roll occurs when I try to dabble in those stupid mtts. Maybe I am not just able to master them, running bad in the small sample I have or just need to study more on mtts (probably this) but they definitely are NOT adding the dollars to my account. I will persist and eventually ship one in 2011 (goal for the year???).
Now for the main reason for the blog; Saturday night after watching Green Zone (Matt Daemon film - pretty good), I decided to log onto FTP to see if the Durrrr Challenge was happening or a few top level pro's playing, alas there was none of the sort so I was reduced to railing Bodeye ;-)
When I rail Bodeye, there are two things that occur, one he seems to start getting monster hand after monster hand and generally reaches a final table. He is a good friend, ex coach, and so he lets me know his hole cards to get a better understanding of mtt strategy which I really appreciate. We then also have a discussion which is invaluable information. Now yesterday there was a railbird, initially heaping praise on Bodeye about his game, wishing him luck, hoping for a run of good cards, praying for the suck out, you know the thing. As I was watching these messages, I wondered when the begging would start and within a split second of the thought, there it was, "can you stake me in a $2 tourney?". At which point I started begging Bodeye in the chatbox, stating that I would give him 10% of all my losses, to which he then stated to the rail he was transferring me $600 because of the great deal I presented him with. The railbirds were going wild at the thought of Bodeye sending the rail some money. To have even more fun, I declared that I would stake one of them $200 from the $600 Bodeye had sent me. I was having a good laugh and so was Bodeye. Unfortunately this was all after Bodeye finished 7th pr 8th when KK < AK when the villain spiked an A on the river.
I had my own railbird for the first time, he apparently likes the way I play, so much so that he felt that I could stake him $20... hmmm... I think not LOSER! I didn't catch his name because I was too focused on playing rather than begging! Not sure what I think of railbird beggars but they seem a little desperate at times so I don't mid messing with their heads if I get the opportunity.
Anyhow, this is probably the last entry before Xmas so wishing everyone a Happy Christmas.
Good luck y'all.
Sunday 12 December 2010
Incredible week
WOW.. that sums up my run from Monday til today! My thoughts before this week (for many weeks) was when will this breakeven stretch end. Well, it may be a little early but I think it has finally come! Not much has changed in the way I am playing but all I know it that I am winning and may it last forever. All I now want to do play day in and day out. Those bad beats are back to not effecting me emotionally in the slightest. It is an AWESOME feeling.
Played a total of 158 games since Monday making just under $1k in the 90 mans. If it was not for my damned Sundays (seem to lose on Sundays) I would have been up a little more. Cannot complain though as it's just nice to be playing well and confidence. Those abusive chats in the chat box have returned, you know you are playing well when that happens.
Currently playing the $12 Super Stack KO MiniFtops - lets ship an MTT one time!
Played a total of 158 games since Monday making just under $1k in the 90 mans. If it was not for my damned Sundays (seem to lose on Sundays) I would have been up a little more. Cannot complain though as it's just nice to be playing well and confidence. Those abusive chats in the chat box have returned, you know you are playing well when that happens.
Currently playing the $12 Super Stack KO MiniFtops - lets ship an MTT one time!
Friday 3 December 2010
Friday Dilema
For the last few months I have been in a little dilemma. It is basically a decision on whether I should play poker with friends at the local pub or play online. The choice is a tough one as I should make more money online than the live event but with the live event I can have a few drinks whilst socializing with friends.
Not so long ago, maybe two weeks or so, I was down at the local pub but rather then play the lame looking poker game, I decided to watch the rugby. Having witnessed the fishy play made me want to join the game next time round. The guys playing look at their cards and then make betting decisions accordingly so should be a faily easy game for someone who has some skill.
During the game I saw that my brother was down around the 10BB mark so on the break I gave him a few tips. When I say tips, I said, if the BUT min rises again, just shove on him and if it is folded to you, dont look at your cards and shove. He is a monster fish and was arguing the merits of such a strategy. On the very first hand sitting in the SB, everyone folds, the IDIOT looks at his cards and folds! So much for listening. On the second orbit the same happened in that everyone folded to his SB, I signaled the motion to shove blind and because he had like 8BB left he reluctantly shoved and ran into QQ. He was NOT a happy bunny, telling me off for a stupid play, I tried to explain why it was correct but you can teach fish to breathe out of water!
So after "getting" my little brother busted, I see that my girlfriend is on final table bubble. She has played a few sng/90 mans and understands that she needs to shove with not so good hands in some situation. Even though she knows, she is always gives me a hard time about it when she gets knocked out. This time was no different as I motioned her to shove UTG 7BB with 87s She got knocked out running into AQ. OOOOPPS!
The next hour was the most pain I have suffered, I rather have bad beat after bad beat than listen to the pair of them whine how I got them knocked out. I sat there smiled and drank my beer.
On reflection, the game was played by a bunch of simpletons and sure that I have a massive edge even with my limited skill. After watching it for 3 hours, I came to the conclusion that I may slit my wrists listening to the idiots talk about poker as if they are experts and playing one hand every 5 minutes! BORING!!!
Online is the way forward for me for now but will consider trying it out one time!
Good luck y'all!
ps: Check out Nick's attempt to get Supernova Elite by playing some crazy volume! Read all about it at www.rainmanusc.blogspot.com
Not so long ago, maybe two weeks or so, I was down at the local pub but rather then play the lame looking poker game, I decided to watch the rugby. Having witnessed the fishy play made me want to join the game next time round. The guys playing look at their cards and then make betting decisions accordingly so should be a faily easy game for someone who has some skill.
During the game I saw that my brother was down around the 10BB mark so on the break I gave him a few tips. When I say tips, I said, if the BUT min rises again, just shove on him and if it is folded to you, dont look at your cards and shove. He is a monster fish and was arguing the merits of such a strategy. On the very first hand sitting in the SB, everyone folds, the IDIOT looks at his cards and folds! So much for listening. On the second orbit the same happened in that everyone folded to his SB, I signaled the motion to shove blind and because he had like 8BB left he reluctantly shoved and ran into QQ. He was NOT a happy bunny, telling me off for a stupid play, I tried to explain why it was correct but you can teach fish to breathe out of water!
So after "getting" my little brother busted, I see that my girlfriend is on final table bubble. She has played a few sng/90 mans and understands that she needs to shove with not so good hands in some situation. Even though she knows, she is always gives me a hard time about it when she gets knocked out. This time was no different as I motioned her to shove UTG 7BB with 87s She got knocked out running into AQ. OOOOPPS!
The next hour was the most pain I have suffered, I rather have bad beat after bad beat than listen to the pair of them whine how I got them knocked out. I sat there smiled and drank my beer.
On reflection, the game was played by a bunch of simpletons and sure that I have a massive edge even with my limited skill. After watching it for 3 hours, I came to the conclusion that I may slit my wrists listening to the idiots talk about poker as if they are experts and playing one hand every 5 minutes! BORING!!!
Online is the way forward for me for now but will consider trying it out one time!
Good luck y'all!
ps: Check out Nick's attempt to get Supernova Elite by playing some crazy volume! Read all about it at www.rainmanusc.blogspot.com
Wednesday 1 December 2010
November Ends
My work this month has really made sure that I had very little time to play poker. I mean there was one week where I had slept for only 10 hours in 4 days. At least the project is now live and I received some praise. Not that it means much from a bunch a people who know nothing yet insist on telling people what is best!
Back to the poker update, basically only managed to play the last week of the month and managed a mere 297 90 mans. It is the lowest volume I have achieved throughout the year and somewhat disappointed. There were maybe a few days where I should have played more but the past is gone and can only look forward.
I managed to play a few MTTs and although I did not win one, my game is coming along There were two tourneys where I finished 61 and 78 out of 2000 or so runners. Both equally brutal bust outs where if I had won the hand then it could have been another story!!! However, when I do bust I think of the words Nick told me on my visit to Vegas... Who would want to be a MTT grinder.. you have to be sick in the head (similar words to those effect). I can only explaining by the statement: You were so close yet so far. Its just very frustrating at times. He is right though so I sticking with the 90 mans for the most part.
With the MTTs and 90 mans I made a little money so that is good. I hate losing, and being of Asian background, losing money is the worst! Yes I can make fun out of myself and culture... no you cannot!!!
There are a number of blogs I read and one that always is entertaining is Jammenplyr. He has started blogging about his exploits at 10NL 6max so I decided with very little time to play 90 mans that I would try my hand at a little cash myself, knowing he is a fish (only messing) and having success, I cannot help but feel I can make a little profit in the games. So this month I have completed 2.5k hands and made a little money, $45 at 9ptBB/100 (yes very small sample).
Initially, I just sucked, playing too many hands over compensating for the tightness of hand range I employ in the 90 mans in the early going. My hand reading skills have greatly improved and that sort of helped me get out of trouble spots that I should not have been in the first place. Jammen sent me a spreadsheet he used when he started as a good starters guide for opening ranges, I was not to far off from the onset but definitely opened two many from UTG/UTG+1. Having tightened up my game a touch and watched a few John Ettinger vids on PokerVt, I have definitely plugged some leaks but know that I am still making a few mistakes here and there. I guess its all part of the learning curve. Definitely enjoying it and will only improve my 90 man games in post flop situations.
My aim in December is to play as much poker as possible whether that be 90 and/or 10NL cash on Stars. The problem with December is all the Christmas parties and socializing before Xmas just get in the way of a solid schedule so I will do what I can when I can.
Back to the poker update, basically only managed to play the last week of the month and managed a mere 297 90 mans. It is the lowest volume I have achieved throughout the year and somewhat disappointed. There were maybe a few days where I should have played more but the past is gone and can only look forward.
I managed to play a few MTTs and although I did not win one, my game is coming along There were two tourneys where I finished 61 and 78 out of 2000 or so runners. Both equally brutal bust outs where if I had won the hand then it could have been another story!!! However, when I do bust I think of the words Nick told me on my visit to Vegas... Who would want to be a MTT grinder.. you have to be sick in the head (similar words to those effect). I can only explaining by the statement: You were so close yet so far. Its just very frustrating at times. He is right though so I sticking with the 90 mans for the most part.
With the MTTs and 90 mans I made a little money so that is good. I hate losing, and being of Asian background, losing money is the worst! Yes I can make fun out of myself and culture... no you cannot!!!
There are a number of blogs I read and one that always is entertaining is Jammenplyr. He has started blogging about his exploits at 10NL 6max so I decided with very little time to play 90 mans that I would try my hand at a little cash myself, knowing he is a fish (only messing) and having success, I cannot help but feel I can make a little profit in the games. So this month I have completed 2.5k hands and made a little money, $45 at 9ptBB/100 (yes very small sample).
Initially, I just sucked, playing too many hands over compensating for the tightness of hand range I employ in the 90 mans in the early going. My hand reading skills have greatly improved and that sort of helped me get out of trouble spots that I should not have been in the first place. Jammen sent me a spreadsheet he used when he started as a good starters guide for opening ranges, I was not to far off from the onset but definitely opened two many from UTG/UTG+1. Having tightened up my game a touch and watched a few John Ettinger vids on PokerVt, I have definitely plugged some leaks but know that I am still making a few mistakes here and there. I guess its all part of the learning curve. Definitely enjoying it and will only improve my 90 man games in post flop situations.
My aim in December is to play as much poker as possible whether that be 90 and/or 10NL cash on Stars. The problem with December is all the Christmas parties and socializing before Xmas just get in the way of a solid schedule so I will do what I can when I can.
Sunday 31 October 2010
October in the books
Very disappointed in myself for how October turned out. My aim was simple enough, to play 600 games, not only did I fail to get there, I also failed to get to my standard 500. I said no excuses but my internet has been extremely unreliable and playing with unrealistic internet is like getting a wad of notes together, pouring petrol on it and setting alight to it with a match.
See graph below for the ups and downs of the month. One bad spell wiped out the efforts in the middle of the month. All I can say is stuff happens and I will come out of the funk at some point.
I have been playing with a new sense of confidence and belief that I lost a little while back. Even though I came back from being up to nearly break even does not worry me in the slightest. I may not be crushing but I am not losing as having to re-deposit would actually make me cry.
Having played a few small MTT's this month has really dented the monthly income from 90 mans but this is a way to break up the grind a little. I have been dabbling mainly in the $10 super stack tourneys which allow for a lot of play and have had a few deep runs without really cashing. I will bink one of these soon enough!
On a totally un-poker related topic, I have somehow added a few pounds to my weight that was not in the overall life goal. So to put things right I have put myself in a spot where I now have to attend the gym 4 times a week and ensure I complete 2 sessions of cardio training on top of the 2 standard cardio/weight training sessions. Each cardio session needs to be at least 30 minutes long in total training eg 20 minutes running and 10 minutes X-trainer. There is money on the line so need to focus.
November Goal: Enjoy Poker and play every hand the best you can!
See graph below for the ups and downs of the month. One bad spell wiped out the efforts in the middle of the month. All I can say is stuff happens and I will come out of the funk at some point.
I have been playing with a new sense of confidence and belief that I lost a little while back. Even though I came back from being up to nearly break even does not worry me in the slightest. I may not be crushing but I am not losing as having to re-deposit would actually make me cry.
Having played a few small MTT's this month has really dented the monthly income from 90 mans but this is a way to break up the grind a little. I have been dabbling mainly in the $10 super stack tourneys which allow for a lot of play and have had a few deep runs without really cashing. I will bink one of these soon enough!
On a totally un-poker related topic, I have somehow added a few pounds to my weight that was not in the overall life goal. So to put things right I have put myself in a spot where I now have to attend the gym 4 times a week and ensure I complete 2 sessions of cardio training on top of the 2 standard cardio/weight training sessions. Each cardio session needs to be at least 30 minutes long in total training eg 20 minutes running and 10 minutes X-trainer. There is money on the line so need to focus.
November Goal: Enjoy Poker and play every hand the best you can!
Thursday 28 October 2010
New WBCOOOP
I played in this series last year and they give you tickets for SCOOP if you cash so worth entering as a freeroll for a chance to win big!!!
Sunday 3 October 2010
September Summary
This was another month of disappointment.. in some ways I should be happy and in others I should be not. Let's just start with the positives, I started playing much better at the end of the month and regained the confidence when I was killing the games. Another positive is that I did not go broke and broke even for the month in sngs where I looked like I was going to lose a ton. I took a few shots at some MTT's and although I did not cash I did not feel uncomfortable/out of place.
So the negatives, I only played 376 games and even though I went on holiday and computer issues, I should have played more. If my aim was to quit my job one day to play this game then I had better learn to start killing the games again and putting in the volume. Variance maybe, bad play possibly, loss confidence definitely. Not sure why I lost confidence but I have it back and playing the best I can. The result so far are not reflecting that at the moment but the month has only started.
Goal: Play 600+ games NO EXCUSES!
So the negatives, I only played 376 games and even though I went on holiday and computer issues, I should have played more. If my aim was to quit my job one day to play this game then I had better learn to start killing the games again and putting in the volume. Variance maybe, bad play possibly, loss confidence definitely. Not sure why I lost confidence but I have it back and playing the best I can. The result so far are not reflecting that at the moment but the month has only started.
Goal: Play 600+ games NO EXCUSES!
Friday 17 September 2010
Mental Weakness
I have been playing a few games this week and the daily losses are taking its toll mentally. I only play around 20-30 a day so it could be variance. However, for today's session I was mentally weak. Having established a number of large stacks, I did not take down a single table. I did suffer some horrendous beats and then I think my game fell apart slowly. To stop the bleeding and frustration I decided to stop even though my goal was to play 50+ at the start of the session. You should always know when to stop and that for most people is when they are not 100%. My goal is to put in a 1005 every time I play and today it just was not there.
Having finished playing for an hour now my mind keeps me thinking about the possibilities if the poker gods had looked after me a little. I was happy getting called by lesser holdings and having people dominated proving I was playing well. After losing a number of crucial pots when ahead with 11-14 left does not normally take the wind out of my sails but today it did. Hence I was mentally weak today.
A few months ago, I was crushing the games and was cruising along with out a care in the world. At the moment in a few spots I am second guessing what I am doing, is it the right play, am I making a mistake, please god do not make me play like a girl and so on. Not a good place to be mentally. So I reminded myself of what a friend told me: you are a great player just gotta believe it and make it happen! When a great poker player says stuff like that to you it can only boost your confidence so I thank you Nick once again!
Good luck y'all!!!
Having finished playing for an hour now my mind keeps me thinking about the possibilities if the poker gods had looked after me a little. I was happy getting called by lesser holdings and having people dominated proving I was playing well. After losing a number of crucial pots when ahead with 11-14 left does not normally take the wind out of my sails but today it did. Hence I was mentally weak today.
A few months ago, I was crushing the games and was cruising along with out a care in the world. At the moment in a few spots I am second guessing what I am doing, is it the right play, am I making a mistake, please god do not make me play like a girl and so on. Not a good place to be mentally. So I reminded myself of what a friend told me: you are a great player just gotta believe it and make it happen! When a great poker player says stuff like that to you it can only boost your confidence so I thank you Nick once again!
Good luck y'all!!!
Monday 13 September 2010
August Summary
Yeah, so what I am a little late. Not much to say really except that I played 502 games and literally broke even in the 90 mans. With the few mtt's scattered in I probably lost a little.
This month will be tough to get in the volume as I took last week off to visit the girlfriend's parents in the Czech Republic. Also, my PC is playing up and considering buying a new one.
Started reading "Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time" which is pretty good especially for me where hand reading is not the best. They go though interesting hands and give indept analysis into their thought process. Also the tournaments include small and high buying mtt's so that they adjust to the type of opponents they face. Definitely worth buying if you want to get into mtt's.
Good luck!
This month will be tough to get in the volume as I took last week off to visit the girlfriend's parents in the Czech Republic. Also, my PC is playing up and considering buying a new one.
Started reading "Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time" which is pretty good especially for me where hand reading is not the best. They go though interesting hands and give indept analysis into their thought process. Also the tournaments include small and high buying mtt's so that they adjust to the type of opponents they face. Definitely worth buying if you want to get into mtt's.
Good luck!
Wednesday 11 August 2010
Cruising in Neutral
I am 230+ games into the month and I am stuck at break even. You could say that the frustration is starting to build up a little. Winning huge one day and losing the next two giving back what you won is just damn annoying. Let's take Tuesday, played as focused as ever, making only but a few mistakes, looked like it would be a losing day but managed to end the day with a 94% roi for 35 games. Wednesday, played as focused as the day before, did not win a flip when ahead or behind, and dropped a lot of what I won the day before in 25 games! AAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH.
Ok now that I have vented publicly I feel better... NOT! It's poker and variance; I am doing my best in dealing with the situation I am in. Focus focus focus. So far I have not tilted yet which is probably a little encouragement. All I now need to do is hit the gym hard and take my frustrations out on the punching bag or run myself into the ground.. or hit my boss at work. I prefer option 3 but may have to be satisfied with Options 1 and 2!
Cleared my 6 month Iron man bonus. Always good to get free money so all donations are welcome: ketan7581 at Full Tilt Poker. I may not transmit you automatic run good but it will increase my bankroll. Remember no donation is small.
I am no longer one of Nick Rainey's horses. We agreed that it was good to part ways and try and go it a lone (hence I am hitting up for donations) a while back (start of the downswing.. any surprise there?). Whatever anyone's opinions are of Nick (with the recent situation), he treated me well, gave me a great opportunity and between him, Bodeye and Aaron they taught me a great deal and made me into the player I am today. To give you an understanding of Nick generosity; even though I have "left the stable" he has offered to go over a hand history from time to time an offer I will definitely take him up on. I would publicly like to thank Nick for what he has done for me, will gladly meet you for a beer at the WSOPE and good luck conquering the Pokerstars TLB race. Also thanks to Bodeye, I consider you a Swedish genius, a good friend, are you sure you are not Isildur1?
Ship me some run good... one time!
Ok now that I have vented publicly I feel better... NOT! It's poker and variance; I am doing my best in dealing with the situation I am in. Focus focus focus. So far I have not tilted yet which is probably a little encouragement. All I now need to do is hit the gym hard and take my frustrations out on the punching bag or run myself into the ground.. or hit my boss at work. I prefer option 3 but may have to be satisfied with Options 1 and 2!
Cleared my 6 month Iron man bonus. Always good to get free money so all donations are welcome: ketan7581 at Full Tilt Poker. I may not transmit you automatic run good but it will increase my bankroll. Remember no donation is small.
I am no longer one of Nick Rainey's horses. We agreed that it was good to part ways and try and go it a lone (hence I am hitting up for donations) a while back (start of the downswing.. any surprise there?). Whatever anyone's opinions are of Nick (with the recent situation), he treated me well, gave me a great opportunity and between him, Bodeye and Aaron they taught me a great deal and made me into the player I am today. To give you an understanding of Nick generosity; even though I have "left the stable" he has offered to go over a hand history from time to time an offer I will definitely take him up on. I would publicly like to thank Nick for what he has done for me, will gladly meet you for a beer at the WSOPE and good luck conquering the Pokerstars TLB race. Also thanks to Bodeye, I consider you a Swedish genius, a good friend, are you sure you are not Isildur1?
Ship me some run good... one time!
Sunday 1 August 2010
Summary of July
Well the month ended and I for one am thankful in terms of poker. It was one of the worst months I have had. It was my first losing month since I started playing the 90 mans back in November. A lot has to do with variance and some to do with a few bad plays.
Only having played 502 games is pretty disappointing but I have a valid excuse... I think. In the last week of the month I had to re-build the PC which took longer then expected and anyone who knows about having to rebuild PCs knows its a ball ache. Importing all my 90 man HH files took the longest and I found a flaw in the PT3 Import which I must remember to inform them about.
Here is the Sharkscope stats for the month:
Line 1 - 45 mans only
Line 2 - $12 90 mans
Line 3 - $24 90 mans
Line 4 - $6 90 mans
Line 5 - 90 man summary for the month
Line 6 - Total monthly summary
As you can see I did terrible in the 45 mans and have done so since starting to mix them into my sessions. It has led me to take the decision to stop playing them until I have done a little more studying/reading/analysis the game so that am comfortable with the adjustments I need to make.
The $24 90 mans also did not treat me well and these are the money earners for me. When you struggle with them they will decided whether you have a good month or not. What I am happy about is that that I crushed the $6 games for 120% roi and even with the bad side of variance this month is nice to see a little positive. I remember in the last session I had that a regular who is getting coached by a top 90 man player called me a luckbox... when a reg complains about you it's just a little more satisfying when the random donkey's do because they should know better.
August has now begun and hopefully I can turn this bad variance around and to do that is to play more. My day job will be full of stress for the next two months where the company is making a major change that will be visible to all soon enough, but this will make poker playing a little more difficult for me. I want to say I will play 1000 games but I know that is near impossible but I hope the 600+ is a fair target.
Good luck all and send some run good my way!!!
Only having played 502 games is pretty disappointing but I have a valid excuse... I think. In the last week of the month I had to re-build the PC which took longer then expected and anyone who knows about having to rebuild PCs knows its a ball ache. Importing all my 90 man HH files took the longest and I found a flaw in the PT3 Import which I must remember to inform them about.
Here is the Sharkscope stats for the month:
Line 1 - 45 mans only
Line 2 - $12 90 mans
Line 3 - $24 90 mans
Line 4 - $6 90 mans
Line 5 - 90 man summary for the month
Line 6 - Total monthly summary
As you can see I did terrible in the 45 mans and have done so since starting to mix them into my sessions. It has led me to take the decision to stop playing them until I have done a little more studying/reading/analysis the game so that am comfortable with the adjustments I need to make.
The $24 90 mans also did not treat me well and these are the money earners for me. When you struggle with them they will decided whether you have a good month or not. What I am happy about is that that I crushed the $6 games for 120% roi and even with the bad side of variance this month is nice to see a little positive. I remember in the last session I had that a regular who is getting coached by a top 90 man player called me a luckbox... when a reg complains about you it's just a little more satisfying when the random donkey's do because they should know better.
August has now begun and hopefully I can turn this bad variance around and to do that is to play more. My day job will be full of stress for the next two months where the company is making a major change that will be visible to all soon enough, but this will make poker playing a little more difficult for me. I want to say I will play 1000 games but I know that is near impossible but I hope the 600+ is a fair target.
Good luck all and send some run good my way!!!
Sunday 11 July 2010
Just a Break Even Spell
Just a quick update as I definitely not instilled fear in my opponents in the 90 mans. Played around 240 games and down just $40. Hopefully working with Bodeye over a few HH files will improve my game.
I feel that Saturday nights are a little hit and miss when it comes to games loading quickly. This Saturday was one of those days where only 1 person was registering a minute. This is just frustrating and so decided not to start up a session plus there was the 3rd place decider World Cup game between Germany and Paraguay.
It then dawned on me that I would have a free month of Cardrunners through the Truely Free Poker Training Scheme which is definitely worth signing up for. I logged in and looked for MTT SnG but there is very little so I then looked at low stake cash games. I stumbled upon a series called Crush Low Stakes (10nl and 25nl) Cash Games by Vaneer. This gave me the urge to try out a little cash and played 350 hands single tabling 5c/10c on Pokerstars. I learned a little about 3 betting which I get little oppotunity to do in the 90 mans except the good old 3 bet shove! It was also good for hand reading practice as I was trying to guess what people had even in the hands I was not involved. A little bonus was that I carved out $26 profit - not bad for practicing.
Next week, I will look to put in more games as I think 700+ games is reachable but need to put in the work. Look to get out of the break even patch as I have been focused and playing well just not getting the rub of the green. Think people may need to avoid me as I feel a rush it about to start soon!!!
I feel that Saturday nights are a little hit and miss when it comes to games loading quickly. This Saturday was one of those days where only 1 person was registering a minute. This is just frustrating and so decided not to start up a session plus there was the 3rd place decider World Cup game between Germany and Paraguay.
It then dawned on me that I would have a free month of Cardrunners through the Truely Free Poker Training Scheme which is definitely worth signing up for. I logged in and looked for MTT SnG but there is very little so I then looked at low stake cash games. I stumbled upon a series called Crush Low Stakes (10nl and 25nl) Cash Games by Vaneer. This gave me the urge to try out a little cash and played 350 hands single tabling 5c/10c on Pokerstars. I learned a little about 3 betting which I get little oppotunity to do in the 90 mans except the good old 3 bet shove! It was also good for hand reading practice as I was trying to guess what people had even in the hands I was not involved. A little bonus was that I carved out $26 profit - not bad for practicing.
Next week, I will look to put in more games as I think 700+ games is reachable but need to put in the work. Look to get out of the break even patch as I have been focused and playing well just not getting the rub of the green. Think people may need to avoid me as I feel a rush it about to start soon!!!
Saturday 3 July 2010
June Results
The highlight of June was visiting Nick, Aaron and Bodeye in Vegas for two weeks which I blogged about previously. June has yielded the most amount of volume in a single month. Although I did not make as much profit as I liked it was still a very successful month.
My game improved while out in Vegas and I continued to play well on my return. Unfortunately, the number of games since my return has been small but then England were in the World Cup for a little while which disrupted my schedule. See Sharkscope results below for the month:
One of my favourite sporting events has started today and it probably one of the hardest to compete in... the Tour de France. Anyone who is in the event is a sick sick dude. It is 3 weeks of pure torture not to dis-similar to the Rainman Poker House! LOL
The goal for the month is simple... play as many games as possible so lets strive for 800!!!
My game improved while out in Vegas and I continued to play well on my return. Unfortunately, the number of games since my return has been small but then England were in the World Cup for a little while which disrupted my schedule. See Sharkscope results below for the month:
One of my favourite sporting events has started today and it probably one of the hardest to compete in... the Tour de France. Anyone who is in the event is a sick sick dude. It is 3 weeks of pure torture not to dis-similar to the Rainman Poker House! LOL
The goal for the month is simple... play as many games as possible so lets strive for 800!!!
Thursday 17 June 2010
Vegas Trip Summary
I am now back in the UK after a marathon journey from Vegas to LA then on to London Heathrow. It is a very tiring journey as I cannot sleep on planes even with my Bosch Noise Canceling headphones on. To my amazement and shock to my girlfriend, I arrived home, showered and headed back out to watch a T20 Cricket game. Let's just say she was not impressed that I was away for 2 weeks and then first day home headed out with my Uncle to watch a cricket game.
One objective I had before getting to the Rainman's was to play over 1k games which I did and if it were not for a few teething problems with PC/Internet the number could have been a lot more. Also, I actually took a day off in the 2 weeks I was there because I wanted to watch the England v USA with a few beers. Grinding is no easy task and those who think they want a poker lifestyle needs to understand this is no joke. I played everyday for 8+ hours and then spent 1-2 hours doing reviews, going over my own hands, going over a few guys hands and then the group house reviews. This is a FULL TIME job and if you do not put in the time then you will not get those rewards you are hoping for.
NestraRasta was already at the house upon my arrival and he was a fellow FTP 90 grinder. We had a little dig at eachother in that I said that before I leave the house my name will be above his in the FTP Leaderboard. At the time I said this, I immediately regretted saying it as Nesta had already put in 3 full days grinding. Uphill struggle from day 1 is not what I envisaged. There was a lot of banter between us everyday as somehow Nesta remained on top day in and day out but I was still very determined to dethrone him. I worked harder grinding then I have done in my entire life and at the end of Tuesday's grind I was a clear 130 points clear - thank you very much and left the house with a little grin. Nesta is a great player and if he applies himself will crush the games even more then he currently does - avoid him if you can.
During my time I managed around a total of 1050 90 mans - that is more then I have ever played in a single month. I hope there is sufficient time this month to push that number closer to 1800 if not 2k. We will wait and see what happens on the volume front.
I played on Pokerstars once during my 2 weeks stay. I somehow entered a $3 1R1A event with Ornopro (up and coming $2 180 crusher) and eBecks18 (already a good 180 grinder at the age of 19). We all registered the event after Nick said we should all enter but somehow never entered himself. By the time we registered we were at blinds 30/60 with a stack of 6K after the initial rebuy, but somehow eBecks must have thought the stack was too small and lost the very first hand with KK vs AA. GG sir we will review it one day - just kidding. lol. Ornopro made a run but did not cash unfortunately. Me on the other hand when on a complete tear, I managed one luckbox move when I was all in KK v AA but the poor guy did not read the script when I flopped a K and he did not improve. With regular raises taking the blind and antes, I had built a $3m chip stack, I was excited when I peaked at $1m, then more excited at $2m but when I hit $3m I felt I was in control. Nick was great telling me to keep aggressive and focused. I was extremely nervous as this was the deepest run I have made in an MTT but Nick just said relax and enjoy it. I definitely enjoyed it but the result was a little disappointing. Somehow I lost a few flips and made one questionable play, instead of shipping $1.4k for first, I came in 5th for $400. This was my best run in an MTT with over 1100 registered not bad for a part time player like myself.
There are a few people I would like to thank:
Nick - thanks for giving me the opportunity to come out and grind with you and the other coaches. The house was amazing and having a chef/cook was genius. Having not to worry about cooking lunch or dinner just allows you to focus on the grind maximizing all the time you have. Nick, gave me a few pointers and went over one HH early on in the week which allowed me to up my aggression a little which was a great benefit for the rest of my stay.
Bodeye - well he is a genius and paying for dinner twice which is always nice. Seriously though he helped review my HH files, some troublesome hands and gave me a better understanding of poker in general. I cannot say enough about him but if you get a chance to work with him then do not let him leave if you can. Did you know that he has earnt $1 million in online winnings since he started. Not bad for a 20 year old.
Aaron - he ran around setting up the house and was giving encouragement whether you were losing money or winning money. The message was always the same, focus and get the games in and do not wory about the result. One funny moment was when he was sweating me on a final table, I made a sick read and the guy was crippled to 4BB, Aaron stood up and said you should have this one and walked away. A few minutes later when Aaron re-appears I give him the bad news of how I come second!
Nesta - man he made made me grind harder then before with our little bet even though no money was involved. He drove me around Vegas to see all the big casinos and the strip in general. Without his contribution I would not have been able to go to a Las Vegas show which was awesome (Thanks Nick).
The two week trip was awesome and if you get a chance then I suggest doing it. One piece of advice is if you cannot follow the details below then it is not for you:
1) Wake up and be ready by 9ish
2) Grind till you have put in 100 FTP or 200 Stars games (normally 8+ hours) in as much silence as possible
3) Review for 1-2 hours
4) Repeat the next day
Seems a simple set of instructions but trust me it will wear you down so be prepared. I have a few pictures that I will add later but suspect Aaron will have them on rainmapoker.net in the future.
Good luck with the grind!!!
One objective I had before getting to the Rainman's was to play over 1k games which I did and if it were not for a few teething problems with PC/Internet the number could have been a lot more. Also, I actually took a day off in the 2 weeks I was there because I wanted to watch the England v USA with a few beers. Grinding is no easy task and those who think they want a poker lifestyle needs to understand this is no joke. I played everyday for 8+ hours and then spent 1-2 hours doing reviews, going over my own hands, going over a few guys hands and then the group house reviews. This is a FULL TIME job and if you do not put in the time then you will not get those rewards you are hoping for.
NestraRasta was already at the house upon my arrival and he was a fellow FTP 90 grinder. We had a little dig at eachother in that I said that before I leave the house my name will be above his in the FTP Leaderboard. At the time I said this, I immediately regretted saying it as Nesta had already put in 3 full days grinding. Uphill struggle from day 1 is not what I envisaged. There was a lot of banter between us everyday as somehow Nesta remained on top day in and day out but I was still very determined to dethrone him. I worked harder grinding then I have done in my entire life and at the end of Tuesday's grind I was a clear 130 points clear - thank you very much and left the house with a little grin. Nesta is a great player and if he applies himself will crush the games even more then he currently does - avoid him if you can.
During my time I managed around a total of 1050 90 mans - that is more then I have ever played in a single month. I hope there is sufficient time this month to push that number closer to 1800 if not 2k. We will wait and see what happens on the volume front.
I played on Pokerstars once during my 2 weeks stay. I somehow entered a $3 1R1A event with Ornopro (up and coming $2 180 crusher) and eBecks18 (already a good 180 grinder at the age of 19). We all registered the event after Nick said we should all enter but somehow never entered himself. By the time we registered we were at blinds 30/60 with a stack of 6K after the initial rebuy, but somehow eBecks must have thought the stack was too small and lost the very first hand with KK vs AA. GG sir we will review it one day - just kidding. lol. Ornopro made a run but did not cash unfortunately. Me on the other hand when on a complete tear, I managed one luckbox move when I was all in KK v AA but the poor guy did not read the script when I flopped a K and he did not improve. With regular raises taking the blind and antes, I had built a $3m chip stack, I was excited when I peaked at $1m, then more excited at $2m but when I hit $3m I felt I was in control. Nick was great telling me to keep aggressive and focused. I was extremely nervous as this was the deepest run I have made in an MTT but Nick just said relax and enjoy it. I definitely enjoyed it but the result was a little disappointing. Somehow I lost a few flips and made one questionable play, instead of shipping $1.4k for first, I came in 5th for $400. This was my best run in an MTT with over 1100 registered not bad for a part time player like myself.
There are a few people I would like to thank:
Nick - thanks for giving me the opportunity to come out and grind with you and the other coaches. The house was amazing and having a chef/cook was genius. Having not to worry about cooking lunch or dinner just allows you to focus on the grind maximizing all the time you have. Nick, gave me a few pointers and went over one HH early on in the week which allowed me to up my aggression a little which was a great benefit for the rest of my stay.
Bodeye - well he is a genius and paying for dinner twice which is always nice. Seriously though he helped review my HH files, some troublesome hands and gave me a better understanding of poker in general. I cannot say enough about him but if you get a chance to work with him then do not let him leave if you can. Did you know that he has earnt $1 million in online winnings since he started. Not bad for a 20 year old.
Aaron - he ran around setting up the house and was giving encouragement whether you were losing money or winning money. The message was always the same, focus and get the games in and do not wory about the result. One funny moment was when he was sweating me on a final table, I made a sick read and the guy was crippled to 4BB, Aaron stood up and said you should have this one and walked away. A few minutes later when Aaron re-appears I give him the bad news of how I come second!
Nesta - man he made made me grind harder then before with our little bet even though no money was involved. He drove me around Vegas to see all the big casinos and the strip in general. Without his contribution I would not have been able to go to a Las Vegas show which was awesome (Thanks Nick).
The two week trip was awesome and if you get a chance then I suggest doing it. One piece of advice is if you cannot follow the details below then it is not for you:
1) Wake up and be ready by 9ish
2) Grind till you have put in 100 FTP or 200 Stars games (normally 8+ hours) in as much silence as possible
3) Review for 1-2 hours
4) Repeat the next day
Seems a simple set of instructions but trust me it will wear you down so be prepared. I have a few pictures that I will add later but suspect Aaron will have them on rainmapoker.net in the future.
Good luck with the grind!!!
Monday 7 June 2010
Constructive Criticism
I have played poker for the last 4 days straight putting in some decent volume. It's all about the volume at the RainmanPoker house.
Friday - 67 games
Saturday - 72 games
Sunday - 113 games
Monday - 82 games
So in the last 5 days I have played 400 games which is nearly 75% of my normal monthly volume. I have decided to play all my games in a single session but for those who feel daunted by a 9 hour session then breaking it up in 2 mini sessions is acceptable.
I am absolutely loving it here, my schedule is wake up, get showered and clothed, eat breakfast, review a few hands then get grinding, eat dinner after the grind and chill out in the evening. Repeat! It seems like a military regime but I have been set a target of 500 games in a single week so getting into a schedule will only help me to achieve that.
This morning started out in the same manner except that I went over a HH with Nick. It was clear that I was missing great opportunities to accumulate chips and to be aggressive. It was also an area where I "thought" was one of my better parts of my game. Shows what I know about poker... yeah that's right very little. After being called a pussy and a girl and being told to get some balls more times then the actual number of hands we reviewed, it was clear... I need to stop playing like a pussy scared girl with no balls. SIMPLE - why didn't I think of that.
So it comes to no surprise (to me anyway) that with Nick's words constantly ringing in my head as I am played my 82 game session that it was my most profitable day ever. I hit my first ever 4 figure day which is nice but since I usually earn just over $2 a game on average you could say I ran over expectation for the day. In fact WAY OVER expectation... must be nice.
That's all for now so good luck at the tables.
Friday - 67 games
Saturday - 72 games
Sunday - 113 games
Monday - 82 games
So in the last 5 days I have played 400 games which is nearly 75% of my normal monthly volume. I have decided to play all my games in a single session but for those who feel daunted by a 9 hour session then breaking it up in 2 mini sessions is acceptable.
I am absolutely loving it here, my schedule is wake up, get showered and clothed, eat breakfast, review a few hands then get grinding, eat dinner after the grind and chill out in the evening. Repeat! It seems like a military regime but I have been set a target of 500 games in a single week so getting into a schedule will only help me to achieve that.
This morning started out in the same manner except that I went over a HH with Nick. It was clear that I was missing great opportunities to accumulate chips and to be aggressive. It was also an area where I "thought" was one of my better parts of my game. Shows what I know about poker... yeah that's right very little. After being called a pussy and a girl and being told to get some balls more times then the actual number of hands we reviewed, it was clear... I need to stop playing like a pussy scared girl with no balls. SIMPLE - why didn't I think of that.
So it comes to no surprise (to me anyway) that with Nick's words constantly ringing in my head as I am played my 82 game session that it was my most profitable day ever. I hit my first ever 4 figure day which is nice but since I usually earn just over $2 a game on average you could say I ran over expectation for the day. In fact WAY OVER expectation... must be nice.
That's all for now so good luck at the tables.
Thursday 3 June 2010
Day 1 @ the Rainmans
Before I start talking about my first full day let us look back on how I actually got to Vegas in the first place. Everyone knows that online check in the new airport thing. The say.. it will make life easier and quicker... really?!!! I go to Heathrow having spent the time to check in online and STILL had to wait 50 minutes to get seen. Life tilt starts!!!
On handing my bags to the check in clerk he hands me two forms. These forms have to be filled out before landing and getting seen bu the US customs people. My only problem with this is that I have ALREADY entered these details electronically on two different systems. Now I have to repeat the SAME information on two separate forms that ask EXACTLY the same questions! WTF are we filling in paper forms what happened to a paperless (eco friendly) system. Life tilt continues!!!
I nearly forgot to mention the flight from Heathrow to LA, the stewardess managed to splash me with hot tea. Apart from that it was a good flight.
Upon arriving to LA there is a queue bigger then that of Day 1D of the WSOP main event 2009. Un-f**king real. One guy tilted me the most when he decided he was a lazy piece of s**t and left his desk, gave a little whinge, a moan to the supervisor and then reluctantly DISAPPEARS for 30 minutes before starting. I was stuck in the stupid queue for over an hour. So I get to the customs desk and every person who was before me were checked and through within 2 minutes.. oh not me.. I think he looked at me, then at my passport about 10 times, he probably checked every little detail I wrote and spent ages clicking on his keyboard... the fact I am a British Asian has nothing to do with it right? Life tilt even more!
So I get through US customs and my bag is waiting for me which was nice. I then took a small work into terminal 2 to catch my Southwest flight to Vegas. The only problem with this flight was that it was LATE. OMG why on earth does my flight need to be delayed.
On arriving to Vegas the life tilting experiences had worn off. Had a fantastic dinner with Nick, Bodeye and Aaron. The food was great and there was a lot of it! Thanks Bodeye for picking up the bill.
After being up for more then 24 hours, I manged to sleep for only 7 hours which was not great but I will live. Got ready and had breakfast before starting the grind. Fitted in approximately 65 games which was tough going as tiredness started to kick in near the end but tomorrow will be 100 games or more... I hope.
Good luck y'all
On handing my bags to the check in clerk he hands me two forms. These forms have to be filled out before landing and getting seen bu the US customs people. My only problem with this is that I have ALREADY entered these details electronically on two different systems. Now I have to repeat the SAME information on two separate forms that ask EXACTLY the same questions! WTF are we filling in paper forms what happened to a paperless (eco friendly) system. Life tilt continues!!!
I nearly forgot to mention the flight from Heathrow to LA, the stewardess managed to splash me with hot tea. Apart from that it was a good flight.
Upon arriving to LA there is a queue bigger then that of Day 1D of the WSOP main event 2009. Un-f**king real. One guy tilted me the most when he decided he was a lazy piece of s**t and left his desk, gave a little whinge, a moan to the supervisor and then reluctantly DISAPPEARS for 30 minutes before starting. I was stuck in the stupid queue for over an hour. So I get to the customs desk and every person who was before me were checked and through within 2 minutes.. oh not me.. I think he looked at me, then at my passport about 10 times, he probably checked every little detail I wrote and spent ages clicking on his keyboard... the fact I am a British Asian has nothing to do with it right? Life tilt even more!
So I get through US customs and my bag is waiting for me which was nice. I then took a small work into terminal 2 to catch my Southwest flight to Vegas. The only problem with this flight was that it was LATE. OMG why on earth does my flight need to be delayed.
On arriving to Vegas the life tilting experiences had worn off. Had a fantastic dinner with Nick, Bodeye and Aaron. The food was great and there was a lot of it! Thanks Bodeye for picking up the bill.
After being up for more then 24 hours, I manged to sleep for only 7 hours which was not great but I will live. Got ready and had breakfast before starting the grind. Fitted in approximately 65 games which was tough going as tiredness started to kick in near the end but tomorrow will be 100 games or more... I hope.
Good luck y'all
Monday 31 May 2010
May Results
It's that time again where my results are reported upon and providing you with my analysis. Let's get too it...
The Graph:
The Breakdown:
$6 KO - 155 games
$12 KO - 337 games
$24 KO - 185 games
$48 KO - 2 games
$24 (45) - 50 games
The Analysis:
I played the most amount of games for me then any previous month which was a major achievement. Also, managed to win a 45 man for the first time and hopefully one of many to come. The month could have gone better if I just ran a little better in the 12's where I lost approximately 120 buyins. Having looked at HH's there was not much wrong in how I played them and it certainly was not different to the way I approached the 6's and 24's where I made all the profit for the month.
The Conclusion:
I intend on playing a whole load more in June and hope to have played at least 1000 games if not more within the first two weeks.
The next post will be from a different country and in the presence of the Gordon Ramsey of Poker himself!! I am more excited the a 16 year old girl at her sweet 16 birthday party to see the Rainman, Mr Hill and The Swedish boy Genius Bodeye. I just hope the 11-12 hour flight does not kill me first!
Good luck at the tables!
The Graph:
The Breakdown:
$6 KO - 155 games
$12 KO - 337 games
$24 KO - 185 games
$48 KO - 2 games
$24 (45) - 50 games
The Analysis:
I played the most amount of games for me then any previous month which was a major achievement. Also, managed to win a 45 man for the first time and hopefully one of many to come. The month could have gone better if I just ran a little better in the 12's where I lost approximately 120 buyins. Having looked at HH's there was not much wrong in how I played them and it certainly was not different to the way I approached the 6's and 24's where I made all the profit for the month.
The Conclusion:
I intend on playing a whole load more in June and hope to have played at least 1000 games if not more within the first two weeks.
The next post will be from a different country and in the presence of the Gordon Ramsey of Poker himself!! I am more excited the a 16 year old girl at her sweet 16 birthday party to see the Rainman, Mr Hill and The Swedish boy Genius Bodeye. I just hope the 11-12 hour flight does not kill me first!
Good luck at the tables!
Saturday 29 May 2010
45 Man Victory
Today I managed to WIN.. that is correct I won a $26 45 man. I have had a number of close calls but after 50 attempts the poker gods accepted that my efforts were to be rewarded.
Once we got HU, after only a few hands I felt that I was going to win. I also realized my great HU game (I am being sarcastic) was no match for his. It was easy enough to grind him down and then the following happened:
I mis-clicked by hitting the call button rather then shoving all in. Flop comes JJ6ss, he checks, I bet, he shoves (if he has a J then gg), I snap call, I see a naked flush draw and I close my eyes. When I open my eyes the following was being displayed:
Last night, I managed to win a $26 ticket using only 50 FTP points. I entered the early 19K guaranteed and was playing well. Was building a nice stack when I ran a set of 7's against a set of 8's. From there on it was survival mode and looking for shove spots. The final hand was me UTG shoving 11BB with KK, table chipleader snap calls from the BB with 88. It was game over when an 8 hit the river but managed to win $53 for my efforts... not bad for a freeroll!!!
Dad's birthday tomorrow so this could be the last day of poker but will post monthly results later on.
Good luck at the tables!
Additional Note:
Just refreshed PT3 stats for the day and was $60 short of a $1k profit day!!!!
Once we got HU, after only a few hands I felt that I was going to win. I also realized my great HU game (I am being sarcastic) was no match for his. It was easy enough to grind him down and then the following happened:
I mis-clicked by hitting the call button rather then shoving all in. Flop comes JJ6ss, he checks, I bet, he shoves (if he has a J then gg), I snap call, I see a naked flush draw and I close my eyes. When I open my eyes the following was being displayed:
Last night, I managed to win a $26 ticket using only 50 FTP points. I entered the early 19K guaranteed and was playing well. Was building a nice stack when I ran a set of 7's against a set of 8's. From there on it was survival mode and looking for shove spots. The final hand was me UTG shoving 11BB with KK, table chipleader snap calls from the BB with 88. It was game over when an 8 hit the river but managed to win $53 for my efforts... not bad for a freeroll!!!
Dad's birthday tomorrow so this could be the last day of poker but will post monthly results later on.
Good luck at the tables!
Additional Note:
Just refreshed PT3 stats for the day and was $60 short of a $1k profit day!!!!
Sunday 23 May 2010
May - Week 3
It was always going to be a tough week to play since I was away with the company one day, my mum's birthday another and a unforeseeable event (women troubles) that caused my friend to call me up for a few drinks. It meant that I only played 4 days and only managed to put in 143 games. My total games for the month is just over 600 so that 1000 game mark will be near enough impossible for me to hit. My highest number of games for a single month was ~540 and I am ahead of that. So each game now is setting a personal record for the month.
Today, I intended on playing my record number of games for the day but that never materialized. After playing 6 hours solid, I managed a total of 45 games. Euro timing is just the worst and all I can do it sit and wait for the games to load up.
The plan for this week is to play as much as possible! I know there will be two days without a single game being played and there is not much I can do to prevent that.
Good luck at the tables!!!
Today, I intended on playing my record number of games for the day but that never materialized. After playing 6 hours solid, I managed a total of 45 games. Euro timing is just the worst and all I can do it sit and wait for the games to load up.
The plan for this week is to play as much as possible! I know there will be two days without a single game being played and there is not much I can do to prevent that.
Good luck at the tables!!!
Sunday 16 May 2010
Been There, Done That...
Got the T-Shirt... well it should be arriving soon anyway. If you do not understand then let me explain; FTP have a promotion that when you knock out a Red Pro, not only do you get you buyin back you also get a T-shirt. What they failed to tell you is that when you knock a Pro out you will also take that tourney down. Oh.. I nearly forgot to mention I collected a personal record of 8 bounties for the tourney as well.
In summary $12+1 buyin = $12 for Pro KO + $2*8 bounties + $288 for first place = GG. Easy game? Sometimes!!!
This weekend I managed to play a 175 games which is pretty good for me. Even though the outcome resulted in a small short term dent to my balance, I am not all too worried because I know that it will turn round. I always hope it will be sooner rather then later.
This month I have played a total of 475 games already, my standard 500-600 games should be attainable from here ;-)
New Goal: Minimum of 1k games or be sick trying!!!
That is going to be tough as I already know that I cannot play on at least 5 days but if I can get to about 700 this time next week then I will really have a good crack at it.
Good luck y'all!
In summary $12+1 buyin = $12 for Pro KO + $2*8 bounties + $288 for first place = GG. Easy game? Sometimes!!!
This weekend I managed to play a 175 games which is pretty good for me. Even though the outcome resulted in a small short term dent to my balance, I am not all too worried because I know that it will turn round. I always hope it will be sooner rather then later.
This month I have played a total of 475 games already, my standard 500-600 games should be attainable from here ;-)
New Goal: Minimum of 1k games or be sick trying!!!
That is going to be tough as I already know that I cannot play on at least 5 days but if I can get to about 700 this time next week then I will really have a good crack at it.
Good luck y'all!
Monday 3 May 2010
$24 $12 $6
I experienced something new today whilst playing poker. In the final three games today which were a $24, $12 and $6 KO tourneys I managed to appear on the final table of each within a matter of minutes of eachother.
My deal making skills failed me in the $24 game which would have made me more then second but slightly less then 1st. I got greedy and the poker gods punished me and made me finish 2nd. It was close as we were both chip leaders at one stage with massive leads only to lose it the next all in.
The $12 dollar was relatively straight forward, I was behind, got it level and didn't look back... NOT. I was behind, then in the lead and then got crippled to 4BB. Guts and determination... basically a few suckouts later and I take the title down.
In the $6 game, I was lying in 3rd and shoved from the SB, I hit 2 pair on the flop but the opponent hit his set on the flop as well. GG.
Railled Bodeye2 in the 15k Super Turbo Knockout where he offered the opponent an even chop with his opponent having a 2:1 chip lead. I personally told the opponent to take the even chop because Bodeye2 is friends with Isildur1 and has some amazing luck box skills to boot. Somehow, Bodeye2's connection with Isilsur1 did not help as he unfortunately came in second. Well played sir. I did have one question, how on earth do you flop a straight and get your opponent to put all their chips in without a single raise?
Good luck y'all
My deal making skills failed me in the $24 game which would have made me more then second but slightly less then 1st. I got greedy and the poker gods punished me and made me finish 2nd. It was close as we were both chip leaders at one stage with massive leads only to lose it the next all in.
The $12 dollar was relatively straight forward, I was behind, got it level and didn't look back... NOT. I was behind, then in the lead and then got crippled to 4BB. Guts and determination... basically a few suckouts later and I take the title down.
In the $6 game, I was lying in 3rd and shoved from the SB, I hit 2 pair on the flop but the opponent hit his set on the flop as well. GG.
Railled Bodeye2 in the 15k Super Turbo Knockout where he offered the opponent an even chop with his opponent having a 2:1 chip lead. I personally told the opponent to take the even chop because Bodeye2 is friends with Isildur1 and has some amazing luck box skills to boot. Somehow, Bodeye2's connection with Isilsur1 did not help as he unfortunately came in second. Well played sir. I did have one question, how on earth do you flop a straight and get your opponent to put all their chips in without a single raise?
Good luck y'all
Saturday 1 May 2010
First $24+2 Win
I have played a number of $24+2 90 man KO tourneys and have gotten very close to taking one down. Today was the day I achieved that feat! See winning hand below:
Let's hope I can win a few more in the coming month.
Let's hope I can win a few more in the coming month.
April Results
Was thinking about having an interesting title but in the end I could not be bothered and the title is more appropriate to what will be said. The month has ended and not in the way I would have liked. I had hoped to have played more games then I did and that is somewhat of a disappointment. Will look to rectify the situation in the month of May.
As you can see it was not all plain sailing. In fact I learnt a lot from this month in terms of dealing with situations when they are not going your way. It's all to easy to get carried away when winning but seems like hard work when you are not.
At work we have something called stretch targets. You get nothing for reaching your main target but get 50% of your total bonus for hitting stretch target 1 and you get 100% of your bonus entitlement if you hit stretch target 2. So here are my goals:
Goal: Play 500 games
Stretch Target 1: Play 625 games
Stretch Target 2 Play 750 games
I have not worked out what kind of reward to give myself for obtaining one of the stretch targets but sure will come up with something later on. Anyway, the month has started so better get playing... well this evening UK time!
Definitely playing in the $215 SCOOP event with 2m guaranteed on 2nd May using a ticket I had won! Let's hope I can go deep and pick up a few dollars!
As you can see it was not all plain sailing. In fact I learnt a lot from this month in terms of dealing with situations when they are not going your way. It's all to easy to get carried away when winning but seems like hard work when you are not.
At work we have something called stretch targets. You get nothing for reaching your main target but get 50% of your total bonus for hitting stretch target 1 and you get 100% of your bonus entitlement if you hit stretch target 2. So here are my goals:
Goal: Play 500 games
Stretch Target 1: Play 625 games
Stretch Target 2 Play 750 games
I have not worked out what kind of reward to give myself for obtaining one of the stretch targets but sure will come up with something later on. Anyway, the month has started so better get playing... well this evening UK time!
Definitely playing in the $215 SCOOP event with 2m guaranteed on 2nd May using a ticket I had won! Let's hope I can go deep and pick up a few dollars!
Sunday 25 April 2010
Full Time Week is Over
This was the week that I did not have to go into work and so decided to try the lifestyle of a full time poker grinder. Starting on the 16th and finishing today it was a very interesting week for me.
In terms of poker and lifestyle, I noticed that I had to play my games in the UK evening as the games were not loading up quick enough during the day. This gave me a problem on Monday as I play 5 a side football so if I did become full time, Monday's would officially be my day off from the grind. Also, noticed that my concentration was good for up to 5 maybe 6 hours at a stretch before I felt that there were lapses and my mind began to wondered. I decided to break up the sessions in to 2 smaller 3-4hours in order to keep a high level of concentration and would like to thank Nick for this piece of advice.
One main thing that I loved was the freedom to do what the hell I wanted, whether it was just lounge around, go to the driving range, going to the gym or meeting up with a few people for lunch. Also, with the extra time I managed to go through more HHs and identify areas to improve and have time to go through these with Nick and Bodeye.
Having played 8 out of the 10 days available I fitted in 293 games. I am not sure whether this is good or bad but playing 60% of my usual monthly games in a week seems ok. I definitely worked out a schedule that suits me and should I have a another week off in the future I will have a plan to follow. Hopefully, this will allow me to play a lot more games since this time rounds was learning what suited me best.
Conclusion
Is this some thing I want to do full time in the future? Answer is most definitely yes
In terms of poker and lifestyle, I noticed that I had to play my games in the UK evening as the games were not loading up quick enough during the day. This gave me a problem on Monday as I play 5 a side football so if I did become full time, Monday's would officially be my day off from the grind. Also, noticed that my concentration was good for up to 5 maybe 6 hours at a stretch before I felt that there were lapses and my mind began to wondered. I decided to break up the sessions in to 2 smaller 3-4hours in order to keep a high level of concentration and would like to thank Nick for this piece of advice.
One main thing that I loved was the freedom to do what the hell I wanted, whether it was just lounge around, go to the driving range, going to the gym or meeting up with a few people for lunch. Also, with the extra time I managed to go through more HHs and identify areas to improve and have time to go through these with Nick and Bodeye.
Having played 8 out of the 10 days available I fitted in 293 games. I am not sure whether this is good or bad but playing 60% of my usual monthly games in a week seems ok. I definitely worked out a schedule that suits me and should I have a another week off in the future I will have a plan to follow. Hopefully, this will allow me to play a lot more games since this time rounds was learning what suited me best.
Conclusion
Is this some thing I want to do full time in the future? Answer is most definitely yes
Tuesday 20 April 2010
One Penny = 2K
The title of this blog is obscure but don't worry I will explain in full and am sure it will be an enjoyable read (I hope). Everyone who knows poker will inform Joe Public that poker is a game of skill. That in the long run the people with the skill will do better than your random Joe Bloggs. In fact, I subscribe to this fact whole heartedly. However, there is a small factor in which randomness comes into play that we cannot control and this is where some luck is required.
When you are in a rut, downswing, in amongst variance, whatever you want to call it.. you generally think that you have no luck. This is not the case for a lot of people but those who require and in need of some luck then there is a simple cure.
There were rumors circling that donating a few dollars to Nick "MI_turle" Rainey was the way to change luck. I always thought it was a load of hype, maybe some arse licking to get onto his coaching progamme, to maybe get in his good books or just pure idolization.
Now when I hit my rough patch, I spent more time reviewing and playing then ever before and still the results did not change. So I decided that I am usually game to try anything once as long as it's ethical so why not donate some money to the Turtle. I decided I would test the theory out and I donated a single penny to his Stars account, yes that is correct, I donated $0.01 to the Turtle and boom I win 2K straight (relatively) in about 140 games. Can anyone say HEATER???
You want proof - just look at the graph below for the month so far!!!
You can read and see other who have come to the notion that a few pennies sent towards the Turtle is definitely +EV. Read about it here.
When you are in a rut, downswing, in amongst variance, whatever you want to call it.. you generally think that you have no luck. This is not the case for a lot of people but those who require and in need of some luck then there is a simple cure.
There were rumors circling that donating a few dollars to Nick "MI_turle" Rainey was the way to change luck. I always thought it was a load of hype, maybe some arse licking to get onto his coaching progamme, to maybe get in his good books or just pure idolization.
Now when I hit my rough patch, I spent more time reviewing and playing then ever before and still the results did not change. So I decided that I am usually game to try anything once as long as it's ethical so why not donate some money to the Turtle. I decided I would test the theory out and I donated a single penny to his Stars account, yes that is correct, I donated $0.01 to the Turtle and boom I win 2K straight (relatively) in about 140 games. Can anyone say HEATER???
You want proof - just look at the graph below for the month so far!!!
You can read and see other who have come to the notion that a few pennies sent towards the Turtle is definitely +EV. Read about it here.
Friday 16 April 2010
V for Visitors or Victory
When I was younger there was a programme called V, it's about alien visitors and at the time loved it. When I heard there was going to be a brand new series I was excited and slightly disappointed at the same time. The reason is that I have very limited amounts of time to play poker and so watching TV is not really an option, however, I did record it just in case some time frees up.
My intention for Thursday was simple get home, cook, eat and grind hard. However, after working later than usual, and with having to wake up at 5:30am for the gym I did not feel up to staying up too late so I made the early decision not play poker. This gave me a little excitement to watch V. It was supposed to be a double episode but for some reason only the first got recorded and so now I was at a loose end with not enough time to grind but too early to sleep.
So as a true poker addict I went to the PC not to grind but to study the game. I went through a few HH and compiled a few hands to send to Bodeye for analysis. There were some really grosse spots that I faced and getting a different opinion is always good especially from the "boy genius" himself.
I am not one of those people that only post/submit hands that I lost but also getting feedback on ones I won. Yes, that's right, I ask for help on hands I won. This concept bemuses people, why on earth are you sending in hands you won.. the reason is because there is a possibility that I played it incorrectly and missed value. You can gain just as much knowledge from analyzing winning hands as you do that of losing hands.
My plan for the coming week... I am off Monday to Friday next week so my goals are to try a week as a grinder. My schedule will be to wake up, hit the gym, do a few hours review/studying and play an evening/early morning sessions to fit in with US time.This will be my first experience of putting in a full time schedule and looking forward to it. The only thing I ask for is to run like the great Haile Gebrselassie.
This is a long post and sorry but I am bored at work and have nothing better to do.. oh wait... I am going to review a few HH now! Love my job!!!
My intention for Thursday was simple get home, cook, eat and grind hard. However, after working later than usual, and with having to wake up at 5:30am for the gym I did not feel up to staying up too late so I made the early decision not play poker. This gave me a little excitement to watch V. It was supposed to be a double episode but for some reason only the first got recorded and so now I was at a loose end with not enough time to grind but too early to sleep.
So as a true poker addict I went to the PC not to grind but to study the game. I went through a few HH and compiled a few hands to send to Bodeye for analysis. There were some really grosse spots that I faced and getting a different opinion is always good especially from the "boy genius" himself.
I am not one of those people that only post/submit hands that I lost but also getting feedback on ones I won. Yes, that's right, I ask for help on hands I won. This concept bemuses people, why on earth are you sending in hands you won.. the reason is because there is a possibility that I played it incorrectly and missed value. You can gain just as much knowledge from analyzing winning hands as you do that of losing hands.
My plan for the coming week... I am off Monday to Friday next week so my goals are to try a week as a grinder. My schedule will be to wake up, hit the gym, do a few hours review/studying and play an evening/early morning sessions to fit in with US time.This will be my first experience of putting in a full time schedule and looking forward to it. The only thing I ask for is to run like the great Haile Gebrselassie.
This is a long post and sorry but I am bored at work and have nothing better to do.. oh wait... I am going to review a few HH now! Love my job!!!
Sunday 11 April 2010
Tough Weekend
I put in some volume this weekend.. by my standards anyway completing 102 games. Unfortunately, unlike my previous post I cannot say that the players that faced me will be too afraid. In fact they are probably hoping that I do play since my luck was non existent to be totally frank.
It was definitely, mentally tough trying to break out of the rut I was in and as Nick told me... 1 win erases a lot of the tough times after winning my final game of the day. Indeed it does and although I was not moaning/whinging it was just a little tougher to handle this time playing the 12's. If the same thing happened and it did in the 3's and 6's I immediately brushed it off knowing that I would recover by putting in the games as quickly as possible. I think the money (lost) played a little part in my emotional turmoil but now I have experienced that it wont happen again.
Need to go and watch the Masters, hopefully Westwood can hold on for the W!!
It was definitely, mentally tough trying to break out of the rut I was in and as Nick told me... 1 win erases a lot of the tough times after winning my final game of the day. Indeed it does and although I was not moaning/whinging it was just a little tougher to handle this time playing the 12's. If the same thing happened and it did in the 3's and 6's I immediately brushed it off knowing that I would recover by putting in the games as quickly as possible. I think the money (lost) played a little part in my emotional turmoil but now I have experienced that it wont happen again.
Need to go and watch the Masters, hopefully Westwood can hold on for the W!!
Thursday 8 April 2010
Back with a Bang
Yesterday I started with a great deal of enthusiasm and get the month off to a good start since my holiday. I felt good and played the best I could even with two short Internet outages (very annoying). During the session I did feel like I was getting unlucky in those big pots. After single tabling my last table I managed to get to the FT HU and managed to grind the opponent down to 5BB twice but eventually lost which was a major disappointment having felt that no mistakes were made.
So slightly deflated I opened up my PT3 and refreshed the results for the day and BOOM - I had a 104% roi for the 32 games! I was no longer feeling as upset but still frustrated that I came second. Will be reviewing a few of the deep runs tonight before playing to get the correct mindset.
Updates from the holiday... Drank too much beer and Vodka, eat too much (pretty unhealthy), didn't sleep well but had great fun. No poker was a disappointment but manged a few JCarver vids on PVT. Also read "Deal Me In" - conclusion is everyone goes broke, have the discipline/determination to build back and David "Devilfish" Ulliott is one crazy MoFo!!!
So slightly deflated I opened up my PT3 and refreshed the results for the day and BOOM - I had a 104% roi for the 32 games! I was no longer feeling as upset but still frustrated that I came second. Will be reviewing a few of the deep runs tonight before playing to get the correct mindset.
Updates from the holiday... Drank too much beer and Vodka, eat too much (pretty unhealthy), didn't sleep well but had great fun. No poker was a disappointment but manged a few JCarver vids on PVT. Also read "Deal Me In" - conclusion is everyone goes broke, have the discipline/determination to build back and David "Devilfish" Ulliott is one crazy MoFo!!!
Monday 29 March 2010
March... Marching on to bigger and better months
March's grinding has officially come to an end for me. There is little or no chance of playing the last two days as I am off on holiday Thursday morning with a bunch of personal stuff to sort out before then. It will be 6 days before I get to play again and sure that the withdrawal symptoms will kick in. Maybe it will be a good time recharge the batteries and come back focused for a huge month in terms of poker.
An update on the month... I can say this has been the best month yet in terms of how well I played and the benefits of playing well. I am not an egotistical person but I think my game has improved this month but I will never allow myself to be one of those people who think because they had a great month that they know it all. I for one will have my feet planted and know that I am scrapping but the surface. With guys like Nick and Bodeye2 only good things will come. Without further a do...
Yeah, you are looking at my graph at the month... those fish shipped me $1.3k... holla!!! Never thought I would make that in a month so early in the year - I am stunned and amazed. This is small fry compared to others but I am not others and that is a massive achievement for me.
The breakdown of 509 games are:
$3 - 266 @ 42% roi
$6 - 141 @ 79% roi
$12 - 101 @ 16% roi
$24 - 1 and lost (didn't mean to enter)
As you can see the $3 and $6 games are a means of printing money and if I can do it then so can anyone else with a little determination. It is possible to earn a living from these if you can put in the volume. At the start of the year, I said I wanted to be playing the 12's by the end of the year... I am not going one step further of saying I hope to play the 24's but I want to try and play the 48's at some point this year. Ambitious... yes, crazy talk... probably, achievable... only person in my way is myself.
Nick said to me what would I say to making $3k a month... I said that would be great... he then said what would I say if I could earn $6k a month.. answer is it would be like the lottery for me and I would go to work the next day to quit my job.
The following has always been a dream and one day may come true (some parts are form one of Nick's past blog posts):
I would go to the office, tell my boss to fuck off, I am not coming back and that I will work my notice at home where I can grind the games for more than twice my monthly salary (little exaggeration as I am fairly well paid for what I do) you baldy b*stard.
In other news, I have achieved the bronze iron man status for the 3rd month running and hope to continue to put in the effort. I wish there were more hours in the day so I can play more games. The 12's take a little while to load and so I cannot have the same volume as before doing the same schedule.
Random other things:
I have like most good players get abused in the chat box but here are some that I will always remember and cherish for as long as I play poker:
1) You f'ing donkey I am going to look at your stats.. a little while later he comes back with.. Are you f'ing kidding me how do you have such good stats playing like a moron
2) (could be number 1) I hate you ketan - this is where I kept the short stack a live and the proceeded to abuse the other stacks
3) How the f**k do you get AA? - this is after I have shoved 5 consecutive hands
Finally (sorry for the long post but had a lot on my mind):
It was my intention to appoint Nick as my new god instead of Lord Krishna and Ganesh but unfortunately he did not manage the feat of getting Daniel Negreanu to meet me in London as he is here this week. Nick I know you read this and probably wetting yourself but you were so close. Maybe if I earn more than $50k then it may be back on the cards.
I leave you with this great track WTFisGRIMACE sent me and cannot get it out of my head:
An update on the month... I can say this has been the best month yet in terms of how well I played and the benefits of playing well. I am not an egotistical person but I think my game has improved this month but I will never allow myself to be one of those people who think because they had a great month that they know it all. I for one will have my feet planted and know that I am scrapping but the surface. With guys like Nick and Bodeye2 only good things will come. Without further a do...
Yeah, you are looking at my graph at the month... those fish shipped me $1.3k... holla!!! Never thought I would make that in a month so early in the year - I am stunned and amazed. This is small fry compared to others but I am not others and that is a massive achievement for me.
The breakdown of 509 games are:
$3 - 266 @ 42% roi
$6 - 141 @ 79% roi
$12 - 101 @ 16% roi
$24 - 1 and lost (didn't mean to enter)
As you can see the $3 and $6 games are a means of printing money and if I can do it then so can anyone else with a little determination. It is possible to earn a living from these if you can put in the volume. At the start of the year, I said I wanted to be playing the 12's by the end of the year... I am not going one step further of saying I hope to play the 24's but I want to try and play the 48's at some point this year. Ambitious... yes, crazy talk... probably, achievable... only person in my way is myself.
Nick said to me what would I say to making $3k a month... I said that would be great... he then said what would I say if I could earn $6k a month.. answer is it would be like the lottery for me and I would go to work the next day to quit my job.
The following has always been a dream and one day may come true (some parts are form one of Nick's past blog posts):
I would go to the office, tell my boss to fuck off, I am not coming back and that I will work my notice at home where I can grind the games for more than twice my monthly salary (little exaggeration as I am fairly well paid for what I do) you baldy b*stard.
In other news, I have achieved the bronze iron man status for the 3rd month running and hope to continue to put in the effort. I wish there were more hours in the day so I can play more games. The 12's take a little while to load and so I cannot have the same volume as before doing the same schedule.
Random other things:
I have like most good players get abused in the chat box but here are some that I will always remember and cherish for as long as I play poker:
1) You f'ing donkey I am going to look at your stats.. a little while later he comes back with.. Are you f'ing kidding me how do you have such good stats playing like a moron
2) (could be number 1) I hate you ketan - this is where I kept the short stack a live and the proceeded to abuse the other stacks
3) How the f**k do you get AA? - this is after I have shoved 5 consecutive hands
Finally (sorry for the long post but had a lot on my mind):
It was my intention to appoint Nick as my new god instead of Lord Krishna and Ganesh but unfortunately he did not manage the feat of getting Daniel Negreanu to meet me in London as he is here this week. Nick I know you read this and probably wetting yourself but you were so close. Maybe if I earn more than $50k then it may be back on the cards.
I leave you with this great track WTFisGRIMACE sent me and cannot get it out of my head:
Tuesday 23 March 2010
Shipped a $12 KO Tourney
I will make this a short (brag?) entry. Unlike having to wait 186 games to ship my first $6 tourney, I managed to accomplish shipping a $12 in just 18 games. All I can hope is that this is the start of a very bright future.
Need only 104 games to achieve the minimum 500 that I set myself each month and should achieve that even though I am busy most of the week with social events that I must attend. I miss playing everyday but life must go on otherwise I will end up single having to do EVERYTHING which is definitely -EV.
Adios Amigos and see you at the tables!!!
Need only 104 games to achieve the minimum 500 that I set myself each month and should achieve that even though I am busy most of the week with social events that I must attend. I miss playing everyday but life must go on otherwise I will end up single having to do EVERYTHING which is definitely -EV.
Adios Amigos and see you at the tables!!!
Sunday 21 March 2010
Not 100%
Wednesday was the last time I played a single tourney and I was itching to get back to the games. Had a work do on Thursday night then a stag do over the weekend. All I could think about on my 4 hour journey home was to play poker... have I got the poker bug.. yeah I do!
I had the usual 12 tables going and noticed that my concentration levels were not at the highest. There are a number of reasons, too much alcohol, not enough sleep, not eating correctly and to add to all of those I am coming down with the flu. I already know without reviewing that I was not on my A, B, or even C game and had times where I was timing out. It was a bad sign so I chose no to reload any games once I was knocked out. There is no point donating money to the fishes, I am here to make money not give it away!
Tomorrow will be different expect myself to be rested and ready to crush!
I had the usual 12 tables going and noticed that my concentration levels were not at the highest. There are a number of reasons, too much alcohol, not enough sleep, not eating correctly and to add to all of those I am coming down with the flu. I already know without reviewing that I was not on my A, B, or even C game and had times where I was timing out. It was a bad sign so I chose no to reload any games once I was knocked out. There is no point donating money to the fishes, I am here to make money not give it away!
Tomorrow will be different expect myself to be rested and ready to crush!
Tuesday 16 March 2010
Exciting Times
The title of my blog can mean a lot of things to different people. As a Project Manager, exciting times generally means that the project is about to go live. I had two such successes at the tail end of last year both of which were high profile in the company I work for. Considering I was only a project manager for less then 6 months just proves that I will get the job done... and SUCCESSFULLY.
The reason for the excitement today is that I was told I can move up stakes. Yes, from now on I will be focusing mainly on the $6 KO tourneys with a mix of the $12's when they load. I can say that the $3 games were good to me and that the regs playing them will be happy to see the back of me. The regs at the $6 got to know a little about me but they had better watch out cause I will be mixing it up with them more regularly and crushing their souls. As for the $12 regs - enjoy them while you can... your time will come... it's not a matter of if but a matter of when!!!
As for one of my yearly goals, I stated I wanted to be playing the $12s and expected to get there round the June/July mark. It's unbelievable to me when I started this journey that this could be achieved only 5 months into the training. Once again thanks to Nick and Bodeye for all their help in moulding me into the payer I am and know there is a lot to learn - I will try to work as hard as possible and repay you for you time and effort.
Let the next level of crushing begin!!!
The reason for the excitement today is that I was told I can move up stakes. Yes, from now on I will be focusing mainly on the $6 KO tourneys with a mix of the $12's when they load. I can say that the $3 games were good to me and that the regs playing them will be happy to see the back of me. The regs at the $6 got to know a little about me but they had better watch out cause I will be mixing it up with them more regularly and crushing their souls. As for the $12 regs - enjoy them while you can... your time will come... it's not a matter of if but a matter of when!!!
As for one of my yearly goals, I stated I wanted to be playing the $12s and expected to get there round the June/July mark. It's unbelievable to me when I started this journey that this could be achieved only 5 months into the training. Once again thanks to Nick and Bodeye for all their help in moulding me into the payer I am and know there is a lot to learn - I will try to work as hard as possible and repay you for you time and effort.
Let the next level of crushing begin!!!
Monday 15 March 2010
Tilting Situations
Saturday, I had to go out for dinner with the family for Mother's day. Now mother's day was on Sunday but my brother could not make it on Sunday for some reason. I was not too happy about the situation as I had intended to play a lot more games. After putting in a few games I stopped at around 3am thinking the Pacquiao fight would be on... I am a fish and the fight did not start til 5am (UK time) sigh.
On Sunday, I was leveling Bodeye2 about our gym bet, offering to waive the bet this week as we both needed to attend on Sunday. He stated that he was popping out for a bit and then let me know his decision on his return. Even before speaking to him, I had the gym stuff ready and looked up the bus time table. On his return he stated that he would be going later on but unfortunately for him I was about to leave for the gym and I was free rolling to winning our bet!!!!
With St Patricks day on Wednesday adn the fact I am away from Friday to Sunday, there was a little sense of panic in me that I would not make the minimum 500 game quota for the month. This prompted me in playing around 40-45 games making a total of somewhere round the 310 mark.
There was one situation that came up and could tilt many people. The situation... $6 KO tourney 14 people remaining with blinds at 500/1K with some ante (125-150??) and we are seven handed. UTG+1 min raises (1/3 of his stack) having started with 12K, this was very strange as he was shoving before. The SB had a stack of 40k at one point but donked it off and was now down to 22k. I was on the button with 14K and looked down at KK, I decided to call hoping the aggro SB shoves over knowing he would turn up with a worse hand 99% of the time. The SB shoves his whole stack, UTG+1 insta calls and I am hammering my call button. SB JJ, UTG+1 QQ, me with KK and ~41K in the pot. The flop was a complete blank, the turn J and I could not improve on the river. Aggro donk gets there, FTP pops up the message you have finished 12th, would you like to register for another tourney, with no emotional torment I click yes and we start over!
These type of situations happen from time to time and dealing with them is a major part of being a poker player. The lesson you need to take away from this is: if you play more then you are likely to see this happen more! That is fact. Think of it that this situation happens 1 out of 100, if you play 1000 games that means you will see this approximately 10 times. If you are tilted then you other games will be drastically affected and therefore lose yourself more money.
I just imagine people like the kid in the video below when a bad beat happens!!!
On Sunday, I was leveling Bodeye2 about our gym bet, offering to waive the bet this week as we both needed to attend on Sunday. He stated that he was popping out for a bit and then let me know his decision on his return. Even before speaking to him, I had the gym stuff ready and looked up the bus time table. On his return he stated that he would be going later on but unfortunately for him I was about to leave for the gym and I was free rolling to winning our bet!!!!
With St Patricks day on Wednesday adn the fact I am away from Friday to Sunday, there was a little sense of panic in me that I would not make the minimum 500 game quota for the month. This prompted me in playing around 40-45 games making a total of somewhere round the 310 mark.
There was one situation that came up and could tilt many people. The situation... $6 KO tourney 14 people remaining with blinds at 500/1K with some ante (125-150??) and we are seven handed. UTG+1 min raises (1/3 of his stack) having started with 12K, this was very strange as he was shoving before. The SB had a stack of 40k at one point but donked it off and was now down to 22k. I was on the button with 14K and looked down at KK, I decided to call hoping the aggro SB shoves over knowing he would turn up with a worse hand 99% of the time. The SB shoves his whole stack, UTG+1 insta calls and I am hammering my call button. SB JJ, UTG+1 QQ, me with KK and ~41K in the pot. The flop was a complete blank, the turn J and I could not improve on the river. Aggro donk gets there, FTP pops up the message you have finished 12th, would you like to register for another tourney, with no emotional torment I click yes and we start over!
These type of situations happen from time to time and dealing with them is a major part of being a poker player. The lesson you need to take away from this is: if you play more then you are likely to see this happen more! That is fact. Think of it that this situation happens 1 out of 100, if you play 1000 games that means you will see this approximately 10 times. If you are tilted then you other games will be drastically affected and therefore lose yourself more money.
I just imagine people like the kid in the video below when a bad beat happens!!!
Friday 12 March 2010
50% Complete
I set myself a minimum target each month of 500 games of which I am currently 50% completed. My long work schedule does not allow me to play a large number of tables during the week but try to play at least 4-5 sessions in a week. The bulk of my games played is generally over the weekend especially Friday nights if I am not out with the lads or girlfriend.
Also, I started to clear my FTP bonus and am currently 50% of that cleared. I love the bonus as it's free money and makes me want to play just that little bit more. One of my favourite sayings at Uni was "Cheap is good but FREE is even better". Yes I was a pikey student and wish I had poker to pay my way through it.
Today was interesting in that I made 7 final tables out of the 31 games I played. However, what was interesting was that I did not win a single one. Not only did I not win one, I was never even close. My highest finish today was 4th. There were no obvious spots that I missed but it was just one of those days that lady luck did not shine on me in those all in battles.
So far this month has been great (touch wood) and look to carry my momentum forward for the rest of the month. By the end of Sunday, I hope to have played another 70 or so games.
In other news, I woke up at 6am UK time in order to watch a Nick "MI_Turtle" Rainey review session. Yes, I am crazy but that is the time I normally wake up for the gym so it was not too much of an inconvenience. Also, I am DEDICATED to stop being a FISH!
Just a little reminder to those who read this blog, there are still a few places left in Nick's session so visit his blog and sign up for the opportunity of a life time.
Also, I started to clear my FTP bonus and am currently 50% of that cleared. I love the bonus as it's free money and makes me want to play just that little bit more. One of my favourite sayings at Uni was "Cheap is good but FREE is even better". Yes I was a pikey student and wish I had poker to pay my way through it.
Today was interesting in that I made 7 final tables out of the 31 games I played. However, what was interesting was that I did not win a single one. Not only did I not win one, I was never even close. My highest finish today was 4th. There were no obvious spots that I missed but it was just one of those days that lady luck did not shine on me in those all in battles.
So far this month has been great (touch wood) and look to carry my momentum forward for the rest of the month. By the end of Sunday, I hope to have played another 70 or so games.
In other news, I woke up at 6am UK time in order to watch a Nick "MI_Turtle" Rainey review session. Yes, I am crazy but that is the time I normally wake up for the gym so it was not too much of an inconvenience. Also, I am DEDICATED to stop being a FISH!
Just a little reminder to those who read this blog, there are still a few places left in Nick's session so visit his blog and sign up for the opportunity of a life time.
Monday 8 March 2010
First Week of March Summary
In the first week and a bit of March complete, I have managed to play 6 days straight playing 176 games in that period. The stats do not lie but I am currently sitting on what looks to be a heater. I am enjoy playing and trying my best to concentrate for the full time I am playing. When I concentrate those rare spots to accumulate chips present themselves more clearly and I see mistakes that the other fishes are making. I am not worried to much about the results and happy to be playing well. I know there are a few mistakes that need ironing out but that will come over time.
I have to mention as a reminder that there is a Opportunity of a Life time that Nick "MI_Turtle" Rainey is offering. Visit his blog at www.rainmanpoker.net and my previous post for more details.
Last and finally because I wanted to make this post as short as possible. I am steadily clearing my Full Tilt bonus but what is an even sweeter bonus is Coach Bodeye2 shipped me $30 for failing his gym challenge two days 94290 and then not meeting the criteria of our prop bet ($10). I LOVE THE GYM and the donations!
Group lesson with the other Bodeye2 students. Always enjoy these sessions and have not once not come away without a new thought, idea or solution to a particular leak of min/others.
I have to mention as a reminder that there is a Opportunity of a Life time that Nick "MI_Turtle" Rainey is offering. Visit his blog at www.rainmanpoker.net and my previous post for more details.
Last and finally because I wanted to make this post as short as possible. I am steadily clearing my Full Tilt bonus but what is an even sweeter bonus is Coach Bodeye2 shipped me $30 for failing his gym challenge two days 94290 and then not meeting the criteria of our prop bet ($10). I LOVE THE GYM and the donations!
Group lesson with the other Bodeye2 students. Always enjoy these sessions and have not once not come away without a new thought, idea or solution to a particular leak of min/others.
Saturday 6 March 2010
Must Remain Focused
Played my longest session on Friday starting 8pm to 5:30am. I think it was definitely the best session in terms or results but more impressive was that I constantly 12 tabled and did not timeout once in the entire session. You could say I was in the zone and that the results reflected this!
Whilst playing my session tonight, I felt as though my focus was not a very high level, I managed to timeout and made some poor decisions. It was this reason that I decided to cut the session short. If I am not focused then I am just like the other fish and donating my money to the sharks. It's similar to what Nick once said, you might as well get a wad of 100's and lighting it with a match!
I did manage to build two 20k plus stacks within the first 2 levels and managed to bubble BOTH! AAAADRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!! Once the stacks were built I did not have many playable hands. I know you do not need decent hands, you just have to play the situations you are in. Anything I did resulted me in losing chips. It was unreal and will have to review them to see where I might have gone wrong. Pretty damn frustrating... all I can say thank god its over and done with.
The bad news for you fish is I will be back tomorrow with a vengeance!!!
Whilst playing my session tonight, I felt as though my focus was not a very high level, I managed to timeout and made some poor decisions. It was this reason that I decided to cut the session short. If I am not focused then I am just like the other fish and donating my money to the sharks. It's similar to what Nick once said, you might as well get a wad of 100's and lighting it with a match!
I did manage to build two 20k plus stacks within the first 2 levels and managed to bubble BOTH! AAAADRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!! Once the stacks were built I did not have many playable hands. I know you do not need decent hands, you just have to play the situations you are in. Anything I did resulted me in losing chips. It was unreal and will have to review them to see where I might have gone wrong. Pretty damn frustrating... all I can say thank god its over and done with.
The bad news for you fish is I will be back tomorrow with a vengeance!!!
Friday 5 March 2010
Oppotunity of a Life Time
Have you ever heard a man called Nick Rainey a.k.a MI_Turtle? If not then you need to stop reading this blog, open up a new IE/Firefox window/tab, type in Sharkscope or OPR and do a search for MI_Turtle on Pokerstars.
I hope that you took a little time looking at the stats The Rainman puts up cosistenly on a monthly basis. You can see that MI_Turtle is for real. The Rainman is a MTT/SnG grinder playing a mix of 180 man tourneys with MTTs. You can search for him on Pokerstars and witness the magic of MI_Turtle.
Now if you like watching people play poker... how about watching someone whilst they breakdown each and individual play one by one? How about watching someone whilst they breakdown each and individual play one by one and then getting an opportunity to ask questions? How about watching someone whilst they breakdown each and individual play one by one and then getting an opportunity to ask questions and having them answered? Interested?
Well Nick "MI_Turtle" Rainey is giving everyone an opportunity of a life time by holding a Webinar to display his SnG Coaching skills on March 13th at 1:00 pm Pacific time. The 75 minute session will show you an interactive Pokerstars 180 man tourney review where you will learn the secrets of MTT/SNG’s and improve all parts of your game, from the early stages to final table strategy.
The money and time you spend watching Nick's Webinar on March 13th will be the single most greatest investment you make! I can honestly say that you will reap the rewards as I have.
If you want to see little more proof that Nick is for real deal then do a few searches on the following people who have now become coaches: Bodeye2, NessyB, SluttySara69 on FTP and JohnnyHilldo on Stars. While you are at it check my blog entry 3 months complete to give you some idea of where I was and am today thanks to Nick Rainey and his coaching staff.
If you do not take advantage of this great offer then you have effectively decided to remain a fish... I do not mind as if you see me on the tables I will be the one relieving you of your hard earned cash.
Visit Nick "MI_Turtle" Rainey's blog at wwww.rainmapoker.net and read "Discover the Secret to crushing MTT/SNG’s" for sign up instructions.
I hope that you took a little time looking at the stats The Rainman puts up cosistenly on a monthly basis. You can see that MI_Turtle is for real. The Rainman is a MTT/SnG grinder playing a mix of 180 man tourneys with MTTs. You can search for him on Pokerstars and witness the magic of MI_Turtle.
Now if you like watching people play poker... how about watching someone whilst they breakdown each and individual play one by one? How about watching someone whilst they breakdown each and individual play one by one and then getting an opportunity to ask questions? How about watching someone whilst they breakdown each and individual play one by one and then getting an opportunity to ask questions and having them answered? Interested?
Well Nick "MI_Turtle" Rainey is giving everyone an opportunity of a life time by holding a Webinar to display his SnG Coaching skills on March 13th at 1:00 pm Pacific time. The 75 minute session will show you an interactive Pokerstars 180 man tourney review where you will learn the secrets of MTT/SNG’s and improve all parts of your game, from the early stages to final table strategy.
The money and time you spend watching Nick's Webinar on March 13th will be the single most greatest investment you make! I can honestly say that you will reap the rewards as I have.
If you want to see little more proof that Nick is for real deal then do a few searches on the following people who have now become coaches: Bodeye2, NessyB, SluttySara69 on FTP and JohnnyHilldo on Stars. While you are at it check my blog entry 3 months complete to give you some idea of where I was and am today thanks to Nick Rainey and his coaching staff.
If you do not take advantage of this great offer then you have effectively decided to remain a fish... I do not mind as if you see me on the tables I will be the one relieving you of your hard earned cash.
Visit Nick "MI_Turtle" Rainey's blog at wwww.rainmapoker.net and read "Discover the Secret to crushing MTT/SNG’s" for sign up instructions.
Thursday 4 March 2010
Got a monkey off my back!!
After playing 186 $6 KO tourneys, I finally won one!!! It was so sweet a victory that I allowed myself a quick fist pump before settling down to the other 11 tables that were open. Hopefully this is the start of things to come.
Played another 31 games today and had some good results in amongst them. I was fully concentrated on every decision and did not manage to time out until my NEW wireless mouse decided to die for some unexpected reason! From now on it will remain in the charger when not in use.
The new PT3 (Beta version) now calculates the bounties you have earned so the stats are a little more accurate. However, there is just one little issue that I noticed
Scenario of a $6 KO:
PLayer 1 - ALL in 10BB with AK
PLayer 2 - ALL in 10BB with AK
PLayer 3 - ALL in 8BB with AJ
Player 1 and Player 2 win splitting the $1 bounty. However PT3 thinks that you have the entire bounty so this is incorrectly shown in the results. The only reason I mention this is because of those stats geeks may want to update their results after the session.
Tomorrow is Friday and I hope to play a minimum of 100 games before going to bed and repeat again on Saturday.
Played another 31 games today and had some good results in amongst them. I was fully concentrated on every decision and did not manage to time out until my NEW wireless mouse decided to die for some unexpected reason! From now on it will remain in the charger when not in use.
The new PT3 (Beta version) now calculates the bounties you have earned so the stats are a little more accurate. However, there is just one little issue that I noticed
Scenario of a $6 KO:
PLayer 1 - ALL in 10BB with AK
PLayer 2 - ALL in 10BB with AK
PLayer 3 - ALL in 8BB with AJ
Player 1 and Player 2 win splitting the $1 bounty. However PT3 thinks that you have the entire bounty so this is incorrectly shown in the results. The only reason I mention this is because of those stats geeks may want to update their results after the session.
Tomorrow is Friday and I hope to play a minimum of 100 games before going to bed and repeat again on Saturday.
Wednesday 3 March 2010
New Gadget
Today, I received my new gadget that I ordered more than a week ago. I refused to pay the extra delivery because it was like the rake in poker and I was not part of a rakeback scheme. In all honestly, the express charge was at least 20% of the actual cost of my goods. Enough of the babbling, I basically bought a Logitec diNovo Media Desktop Laser set for the PC. It has an ultra slim line keyboard, wireless mouse and a detached number pad! Poker has just got a little more easier if I do say so.
It was my first session of the month and as first sessions go it turned out to be okay. Only squeezed in around 25 games but felt I was playing well and got unlucky in some crucial spots. I have not spoken to coaches about goal setting but will stick to the minimum 500 games this month. My intention is to hopefully blend a higher percentage of the $6 games in the mix then previously.
Unfortunately, I have a bunch of social activities that will affect my poker playing schedule this month and that is why I intend on playing between 150-200 games this weekend starting with 100 this Friday! This will put me in good stead to achieve the minimum 500 as one weekend I am completely away for a Stag Party, and another weekend I am away at some relations.
When I joined the Rainman program I promised that I would play as much as possible and so if I need to reduce the number of ours of sleep this weekend then so be it. To succeed in this game, you need to understand you know sh*t about poker, take instruction well and more importantly put in as much volume as you possibly can.
Need to go to bed so I can wake up 6 hours later for the gym! Bodeye2 this is visit number 3 this week - pressure is on!
It was my first session of the month and as first sessions go it turned out to be okay. Only squeezed in around 25 games but felt I was playing well and got unlucky in some crucial spots. I have not spoken to coaches about goal setting but will stick to the minimum 500 games this month. My intention is to hopefully blend a higher percentage of the $6 games in the mix then previously.
Unfortunately, I have a bunch of social activities that will affect my poker playing schedule this month and that is why I intend on playing between 150-200 games this weekend starting with 100 this Friday! This will put me in good stead to achieve the minimum 500 as one weekend I am completely away for a Stag Party, and another weekend I am away at some relations.
When I joined the Rainman program I promised that I would play as much as possible and so if I need to reduce the number of ours of sleep this weekend then so be it. To succeed in this game, you need to understand you know sh*t about poker, take instruction well and more importantly put in as much volume as you possibly can.
Need to go to bed so I can wake up 6 hours later for the gym! Bodeye2 this is visit number 3 this week - pressure is on!
Sunday 28 February 2010
February Ends
February is finally over for me and I did hit my goal of playing 500+ games. It's good to have goals that push you and with the shorter month it was a push to get the games in. I was motoring at the start of the month and felt on course to make a large amount of money, however, variance kicked in and claimed back all that I had won. See PT3 graph:
It was mentally tough during the downswing but just have to remain focused and play through it. There is no avoiding variance and the best way to overcome it is to actually play MORE rather then not.
It was definitely running bad in the $6 games that hurt me the most and at the end of the month dropping approximate 35 buyins. If I had stuck to just the $3 games, I would have continued to crush it. Also this month I achieved the Bronze Ironman status for the second month running.
It was mentally tough during the downswing but just have to remain focused and play through it. There is no avoiding variance and the best way to overcome it is to actually play MORE rather then not.
It was definitely running bad in the $6 games that hurt me the most and at the end of the month dropping approximate 35 buyins. If I had stuck to just the $3 games, I would have continued to crush it. Also this month I achieved the Bronze Ironman status for the second month running.
Friday 26 February 2010
Gym Prop Bet
In a bid to get my arse to the gym, I felt some extra motivation was needed. After reading Bodeye's blog and his gym challenge I couldn't think of anyone better to ask.
The bet
We must both attend the gym 3 times a week otherwise you ship $10 to the other guy
Some Rules
- If neither make it twice then it's a push
- A week is Monday through to Sunday
- If for some reason you cannot go 3 times (eg on holiday) you must inform the other no later than Sunday before the Monday of the week
- If a person is ill during the week then you must inform the other as soon as possible
- You cannot miss two weeks in a row
- This bet will continue on a weekly basis until either person decides to quit
Now I have a cunning plan, my intention is to ensure I go 3 times between Monday and Friday as to put pressure on Bodeye each week as his intentions are to go Wednesday, Friday and either Saturday or Sunday. So by the time he completes one I should have completed 3 visits. As he lives in Sweden and I live in the UK we cannot exactly check up on eachother so this bet is based on goo faith. Also I am already up from last week!!!
In terms of poker, I ballsed up thinking that I would complete the bronze Ironman status by playing today and Sunday. It looks like I have to play on Saturday but I am out all day... oops. So I have now decided to go to bed early so I can wake up at 5am UK time in order to get the necessary games in before heading out for the day.
Currently 3 short from the coveted 500 mark so should achieve that on Saturday morning.
The bet
We must both attend the gym 3 times a week otherwise you ship $10 to the other guy
Some Rules
- If neither make it twice then it's a push
- A week is Monday through to Sunday
- If for some reason you cannot go 3 times (eg on holiday) you must inform the other no later than Sunday before the Monday of the week
- If a person is ill during the week then you must inform the other as soon as possible
- You cannot miss two weeks in a row
- This bet will continue on a weekly basis until either person decides to quit
Now I have a cunning plan, my intention is to ensure I go 3 times between Monday and Friday as to put pressure on Bodeye each week as his intentions are to go Wednesday, Friday and either Saturday or Sunday. So by the time he completes one I should have completed 3 visits. As he lives in Sweden and I live in the UK we cannot exactly check up on eachother so this bet is based on goo faith. Also I am already up from last week!!!
In terms of poker, I ballsed up thinking that I would complete the bronze Ironman status by playing today and Sunday. It looks like I have to play on Saturday but I am out all day... oops. So I have now decided to go to bed early so I can wake up at 5am UK time in order to get the necessary games in before heading out for the day.
Currently 3 short from the coveted 500 mark so should achieve that on Saturday morning.
Thursday 25 February 2010
My HUD Not Working
My HUD has not been working since Saturday when my pc decided to install a bunch of windows updates. Now I do not know if this is the cause but I suspect it is. iI need help to get it back because i feel like I am playing blind. There are some crucial stats that I used to make more informed decisions..
I am close to the 500 mark and will probably achieve that in tomorrows session. This month has been tough mentally and the end of month graph will show why. I am just plugging away putting in as much volume as possible. I know the game it there and improving but just need to win my share of coin flips.
On a positive note, I did get abused twice today which always pleases me. I had my longest HU battle and came up on top. It lasted at least 30-40 hands as we were fairly deep which is unusual at these games. Also, he was a reg and we had a back and forth match, in the end it was an coin flip where I was favorite to take it down. Before reaching heads up, I managed to KO the 4th place finisher with 94o against their 99, followed by A3 > AK.
Going to see how to fix this HUD on the PokerVT forums to start and then branch out. So until next time... please denote yout money to ketan7581 on FTP.
I am close to the 500 mark and will probably achieve that in tomorrows session. This month has been tough mentally and the end of month graph will show why. I am just plugging away putting in as much volume as possible. I know the game it there and improving but just need to win my share of coin flips.
On a positive note, I did get abused twice today which always pleases me. I had my longest HU battle and came up on top. It lasted at least 30-40 hands as we were fairly deep which is unusual at these games. Also, he was a reg and we had a back and forth match, in the end it was an coin flip where I was favorite to take it down. Before reaching heads up, I managed to KO the 4th place finisher with 94o against their 99, followed by A3 > AK.
Going to see how to fix this HUD on the PokerVT forums to start and then branch out. So until next time... please denote yout money to ketan7581 on FTP.
Sunday 21 February 2010
3 Months Complete
Today is exactly 3 months since starting the Rainman training programme. This was undoubted the best poker decision I have made and is definitely +ev. I would like to thank MI_Turtle (Nick Rainey) for allowing me to be part of this amazing adventure, secondly to SluttySara69 and Bodeye who have guided me on a day to day basis.
I have made more money in poker these last 3 months then I made the whole of last year. The months have not be plain sailing and there were periods where things were not going right for me. I was always encouraged and told not to worry about the money but to focus on making the best decisions possible.
Other important lessons such as remaining emotionless whether you win or lose, get sucked out on for big pots or win big pots. Also, to try remaining still at all times whilst playing... at one stage my girlfriend thought I fell asleep whilst playing... only to hear beep beep followed by click!
My Full Tilt Poker graph (entire history) from Sharkscope:
As you can see there was an initial dip (where the A is) as I started to learn the various pointers that I was getting. Then it is all uphill with the odd dips to remind me that it’s all about long term results and that I still have a lot to learn. In general, I am not setting the poker world alight but people just need to be aware that I am always improving thanks to the Rainman training scheme. If you wonder if the system is worth it then just look at the graph and think that there are some students in the scheme who are crushing it at least twice as much if not more.
Just to let you know that as I mentioned in my last post: "I did eat variance and shit $$"
Today was a good day! LOL
I have made more money in poker these last 3 months then I made the whole of last year. The months have not be plain sailing and there were periods where things were not going right for me. I was always encouraged and told not to worry about the money but to focus on making the best decisions possible.
Other important lessons such as remaining emotionless whether you win or lose, get sucked out on for big pots or win big pots. Also, to try remaining still at all times whilst playing... at one stage my girlfriend thought I fell asleep whilst playing... only to hear beep beep followed by click!
My Full Tilt Poker graph (entire history) from Sharkscope:
As you can see there was an initial dip (where the A is) as I started to learn the various pointers that I was getting. Then it is all uphill with the odd dips to remind me that it’s all about long term results and that I still have a lot to learn. In general, I am not setting the poker world alight but people just need to be aware that I am always improving thanks to the Rainman training scheme. If you wonder if the system is worth it then just look at the graph and think that there are some students in the scheme who are crushing it at least twice as much if not more.
Just to let you know that as I mentioned in my last post: "I did eat variance and shit $$"
Today was a good day! LOL
Friday 19 February 2010
Funny Story
Started the session in high spirits having watched a Spacegravy video on PVT, reviewed about 20 HH and winning a £3 10 man SnG on Victory Poker. My spirit was definately tested during the session, here is a classic example:
Table 1 - dealt KK
Table 2 - dealt KK
Table 3 - dealt QQ
Within seconds (I estimate 4 seconds) I was crippled in all 3 tables!
Table 1 - KK < AA
Table 2 - KK < AA
Table 3 - QQ < AK
Now the funniest is 3 minutes later I managed to double up a short stack twice in 2 consecutive hands, AJs < 33 and AKo < AQo. Having doubled him up twice h now has more chips then me!!! At the time I was definitely not laughing but never lost emotional control during the session. In fact I plan to have a cold beer after writing this whilst watching Lost.
With 3 tables remaining, I hope to make all 3 final tables and win them... hold on I must have been asleep dreaming. If only I could do what Vertek said in his blog: "I will eat variance and shit $$."
Will definately give that a go next session!!
Table 1 - dealt KK
Table 2 - dealt KK
Table 3 - dealt QQ
Within seconds (I estimate 4 seconds) I was crippled in all 3 tables!
Table 1 - KK < AA
Table 2 - KK < AA
Table 3 - QQ < AK
Now the funniest is 3 minutes later I managed to double up a short stack twice in 2 consecutive hands, AJs < 33 and AKo < AQo. Having doubled him up twice h now has more chips then me!!! At the time I was definitely not laughing but never lost emotional control during the session. In fact I plan to have a cold beer after writing this whilst watching Lost.
With 3 tables remaining, I hope to make all 3 final tables and win them... hold on I must have been asleep dreaming. If only I could do what Vertek said in his blog: "I will eat variance and shit $$."
Will definately give that a go next session!!
Wednesday 17 February 2010
Two Sick Sick Hands
I played a session today the standard weekday 25 or so games. Came out of the session a loser for the 5th session out of the last 6. Yes, its a bad spell and I am working my way through it!
The main reason for this blog is that I had to sick hands both for different reasons.
Hand 1:
This was all in preflop! I could not believe what I was seeing and then a sudden sickly feeling hit me... how are the poker gods going to make me lose this one!!!! Thank the heavens I held for once but could not complete the win coming in 5th.
The second hand was on the FT:
The UTG+1 insta shoved and the UTG+2 insta shoved over and then it folds to me! These two have been playing fairly aggressive but thought that one of them should have a monster and folded. If I had called I would have been up against AKo and QQ in that order.
So managed a few final tables but just not getting the top 3 places but more importantly not winning hence the losing sessions. I write this as a note to myself and others... stay focused, play the best you can and the results will come through the volume of games.
The main reason for this blog is that I had to sick hands both for different reasons.
Hand 1:
This was all in preflop! I could not believe what I was seeing and then a sudden sickly feeling hit me... how are the poker gods going to make me lose this one!!!! Thank the heavens I held for once but could not complete the win coming in 5th.
The second hand was on the FT:
The UTG+1 insta shoved and the UTG+2 insta shoved over and then it folds to me! These two have been playing fairly aggressive but thought that one of them should have a monster and folded. If I had called I would have been up against AKo and QQ in that order.
So managed a few final tables but just not getting the top 3 places but more importantly not winning hence the losing sessions. I write this as a note to myself and others... stay focused, play the best you can and the results will come through the volume of games.
Monday 15 February 2010
Valentines Day is Over!!!
In my previous blog entry I entilted it "Early Valentines Dinner" without explaing what the hell that meant. In the last few years the girlfriend and I tend to go out before or after the day, one because I am cheap (not really) but I hate the fact that on Valentines day you must order off the set menu. I mean WTF if I don't like anything on the set menu and secondly its that same S**T that you server on normal days but 2x more expensive.
On Friday, we went to our favourite Chinese restaurnat and it never ever disappoints. The same old waiters have been there for years and years. Great food and great service. The place is always jammed pack and it wise to book up early.
Saturday was a day for the 6 Nations Rugby. Wales V Scotland and the big one France v Ireland. Wales rode their luck and won the game needing 10 points with 10 minutes to go. In rugby terms it is had to achive such a feat but they managed to score 17 which was more impressive. I was then supporting Ireland partly due to the fact I was out with 7 Irish lads but we all hate the French too. Ireland go destroyed by the tourney favourites and the day ended in disappointment. The only upside was the beers flowed from 2pm til 1am and it was definately a struggle to wake up.
On Sunday, I woke up fresh as never before especially having consumed a large number of Guiness'. After a spot of breakfast and some food shopping I actually managed time to do some poker related activities. First step was to do a review before the England v Italy rugby game. After the match I reviewed some more for another 30 minutes to re-engage the poker brain and we were off.
Even though I spent 2 whole days with the girlfriend it was a constant reminder that Sunday was indeed Valentines day so only got a small session in. OMG there were a bunch of donkeys playing but it was the day for the donkeys! This week I intend to kick it up a gear and play more... I feel like I have dropped the ball and let everyone surpass me this weekend! Watch out.. I am hungry for $$$!
On Friday, we went to our favourite Chinese restaurnat and it never ever disappoints. The same old waiters have been there for years and years. Great food and great service. The place is always jammed pack and it wise to book up early.
Saturday was a day for the 6 Nations Rugby. Wales V Scotland and the big one France v Ireland. Wales rode their luck and won the game needing 10 points with 10 minutes to go. In rugby terms it is had to achive such a feat but they managed to score 17 which was more impressive. I was then supporting Ireland partly due to the fact I was out with 7 Irish lads but we all hate the French too. Ireland go destroyed by the tourney favourites and the day ended in disappointment. The only upside was the beers flowed from 2pm til 1am and it was definately a struggle to wake up.
On Sunday, I woke up fresh as never before especially having consumed a large number of Guiness'. After a spot of breakfast and some food shopping I actually managed time to do some poker related activities. First step was to do a review before the England v Italy rugby game. After the match I reviewed some more for another 30 minutes to re-engage the poker brain and we were off.
Even though I spent 2 whole days with the girlfriend it was a constant reminder that Sunday was indeed Valentines day so only got a small session in. OMG there were a bunch of donkeys playing but it was the day for the donkeys! This week I intend to kick it up a gear and play more... I feel like I have dropped the ball and let everyone surpass me this weekend! Watch out.. I am hungry for $$$!
Thursday 11 February 2010
Early Valentines Dinner
Before starting the session I reviewed a lot of the games I played yesterday to see if i made many mistakes. On the whole I felt that there were a few spots where I was lots and had to pay off the river even though it cost me my tournament life. It is hard to fold full houses and sets on uncoordinated boards but hey ho life goes on.
Today I played another bunch of games and was really focused. I have never been more focused then this before. My girlfriend even shouted at me for not listening.. listen to what? All i hear is beep beep meaning it's my go to make the best decision possible. Probably the fact that I spent an hour or more on reviewing my HH from last night may have helped. Will try to incorporate this before every session.
Reminder to oneself: Always listen to Nick "MI_Turtle" Rainey - he knows best
In today's session there were 4 separate occasions where I felt I made the decision possible. The only reason I know this is that on all 4 occasions I was berated in the chat box:
1) fuklukr (repeated about 4 times)
2) fuuuking donkey
3) Piece of S**t
4) why push retard?!
Now these name calling really upset me... NOT. In fact sucking out on them and then knocking them out the very next hand is special. i love getting abused it make poker just that more fun. if i am not insulted in a session I tend to lose sleep wondering did i play correctly! Focus was definitely the key.
Ran a little better today but having read JonnyHilldo's (another MI_Turtle coach) blog, I am not going to mention running good or bad until i reflect on the results at the end of the month. Total of 244 games played so far; nearly 50% of the 500 target so definitely on track to complete this goal and hopefully play more.
Its midnight and I am up in 6 hours to go to the gym before the day job!
Today I played another bunch of games and was really focused. I have never been more focused then this before. My girlfriend even shouted at me for not listening.. listen to what? All i hear is beep beep meaning it's my go to make the best decision possible. Probably the fact that I spent an hour or more on reviewing my HH from last night may have helped. Will try to incorporate this before every session.
Reminder to oneself: Always listen to Nick "MI_Turtle" Rainey - he knows best
In today's session there were 4 separate occasions where I felt I made the decision possible. The only reason I know this is that on all 4 occasions I was berated in the chat box:
1) fuklukr (repeated about 4 times)
2) fuuuking donkey
3) Piece of S**t
4) why push retard?!
Now these name calling really upset me... NOT. In fact sucking out on them and then knocking them out the very next hand is special. i love getting abused it make poker just that more fun. if i am not insulted in a session I tend to lose sleep wondering did i play correctly! Focus was definitely the key.
Ran a little better today but having read JonnyHilldo's (another MI_Turtle coach) blog, I am not going to mention running good or bad until i reflect on the results at the end of the month. Total of 244 games played so far; nearly 50% of the 500 target so definitely on track to complete this goal and hopefully play more.
Its midnight and I am up in 6 hours to go to the gym before the day job!
Wednesday 10 February 2010
Another Bad day in the Office
The only good thing today was that I attended the gym. Had a personal trainer for today and he always pushes me to breaking point... I love it after but not during! I think that getting fitter will only help improve my poker and help me play longer hours.
Today at the real job, it was was boring as hell and nearly fell asleep at my desk. If I did fall asleep then i know the dream would have been about playing poker. I think the poker bug has hit me had since training with Nick and Boedye.
So in the poker today, I lost another $100 in 25 or so games. The PT3 graph looks a like bad but its only the 2nd day losing and still up massively overall. I have been on worse ones since starting my training so I am not overly worried. The moves I am making the right ones and it's a case of waiting for this small variance streak to go away! You know its not yuour day when you are all in against 3 players with KK and up against AK, AJ, A3 and the A hits the flop... You have got to laugh! Or flopping a full house for a guy to hit quads on the river in a hand he should never be in.
Yesterday, a fellow member showed me a link from youtube on how to play JJ. After watching it, I think I got cursed as I lost with JJ at least 3 times that I can remember. Oh well nevermind but for a really good laugh check out the following: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP9CBtSW0kA
Going to do a review now of the games I played today to ensure I DID in fact play well and not like a donk!!!
Hoping to crush it tomorrow!
Today at the real job, it was was boring as hell and nearly fell asleep at my desk. If I did fall asleep then i know the dream would have been about playing poker. I think the poker bug has hit me had since training with Nick and Boedye.
So in the poker today, I lost another $100 in 25 or so games. The PT3 graph looks a like bad but its only the 2nd day losing and still up massively overall. I have been on worse ones since starting my training so I am not overly worried. The moves I am making the right ones and it's a case of waiting for this small variance streak to go away! You know its not yuour day when you are all in against 3 players with KK and up against AK, AJ, A3 and the A hits the flop... You have got to laugh! Or flopping a full house for a guy to hit quads on the river in a hand he should never be in.
Yesterday, a fellow member showed me a link from youtube on how to play JJ. After watching it, I think I got cursed as I lost with JJ at least 3 times that I can remember. Oh well nevermind but for a really good laugh check out the following: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP9CBtSW0kA
Going to do a review now of the games I played today to ensure I DID in fact play well and not like a donk!!!
Hoping to crush it tomorrow!
Monday 8 February 2010
Bad Monday
Well, I normally play 5-a-side football on Mondays so do not get to play poker. Today was an exception where I essentially could not make it so decided to play a few games. With good results from this weekend my spirits were up and felt that I was going to keep the good run going.
Unfortunately, that was not the case and dropped $70 (mix of $3/$6) in the process of 23 games. The difference today from the other days was simple:
1) People decide to trap me with hands like ATo, 33 and 66 even 8h7h (then complained I hit with my 5s6s - lol)
2) Did not run well in the all ins being favorite or not
3) It was simple the day for the fish
I am not bothered or frustrated and its good to keep playing. At the moment the day job is slow and boring. All I want to do is play poker and think constantly about it when I have minute to breathe. The only thing that I was upset about after the session was the fact no berated or abused me for playing like a donkey. That kind of BS is what I live for and am going to try best to keep a record of the funniest insults I receive! For the abuser(s), I am not allowed to respond by writing in the chat box but please know that I find that s**t hilarious!
Currently completed 194 games approximately 2/5 of the way to making 500 games. My intention is to play more so hope to put in a few long session this week. Its been 10 weeks since training with MI_Turtle training scheme and will post a graph showing my results since I started.
Unfortunately, that was not the case and dropped $70 (mix of $3/$6) in the process of 23 games. The difference today from the other days was simple:
1) People decide to trap me with hands like ATo, 33 and 66 even 8h7h (then complained I hit with my 5s6s - lol)
2) Did not run well in the all ins being favorite or not
3) It was simple the day for the fish
I am not bothered or frustrated and its good to keep playing. At the moment the day job is slow and boring. All I want to do is play poker and think constantly about it when I have minute to breathe. The only thing that I was upset about after the session was the fact no berated or abused me for playing like a donkey. That kind of BS is what I live for and am going to try best to keep a record of the funniest insults I receive! For the abuser(s), I am not allowed to respond by writing in the chat box but please know that I find that s**t hilarious!
Currently completed 194 games approximately 2/5 of the way to making 500 games. My intention is to play more so hope to put in a few long session this week. Its been 10 weeks since training with MI_Turtle training scheme and will post a graph showing my results since I started.
Friday 5 February 2010
60 Game Session
I think this is the longest continuing session I had. It all started of well getting to two FT with a big stack but unfortunately could not take either down finishing 2nd and 3rd. After that it was all down hill. At one point I was down 45 buyins but I was proud that I never tilted once nor got frustrated. I continued with the winning formula that has helped me to build my bankroll so far. In the end patience and good play earned me a win, 4th and 5th place finishes to end the day with a 7 buyin loss for the day.
The following hand made my day!!!
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, 3.3 Tournament, 1000/2000 Blinds 250 Ante (5 handed) -Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Button (t10130)
SB (t27642)
BB (t46010)
UTG (t9930)
Hero (MP) (t46262)
Hero's M: 10.89
Preflop: Hero is MP with Q
, 10
1 fold, Hero bets t4175, 2 folds, BB calls t2175
Flop: (t10600) 2, 5
, J (2 players)
BB bets t4000, Hero calls t4000
Turn: (t18600) 8 (2 players)
BB bets t4000, Hero calls t4000
River: (t26600) 9 (2 players)
BB bets t33585 (All-In), Hero calls t33585
Total pot: t93770
Villian had AcQs!! - unlucky son!!!
The villain was a very aggressive player and expected him to bet the river hence why I called both flop and turn bets. When the 4th club hits the board i am initially disgusted that he got there and shoved. It took me 3-4 seconds to realize I made a straight flush and called. Now it was not my intention to slow roll the guy but I had to make sure. Thanks for the chips though (finished 3rd)!!!
Progress to date is that I have completed 125 games from the 500 minimum that was set by MI_Turtle. I will play a bunch more during the weekend before the Superbowl.
I'm gonna eat you little fishes!!!
The following hand made my day!!!
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, 3.3 Tournament, 1000/2000 Blinds 250 Ante (5 handed) -
Button (t10130)
SB (t27642)
BB (t46010)
UTG (t9930)
Hero (MP) (t46262)
Preflop: Hero is MP with Q
, 10Flop: (t10600) 2
, 5, J Turn: (t18600) 8
River: (t26600) 9
Total pot: t93770
Villian had AcQs!! - unlucky son!!!
The villain was a very aggressive player and expected him to bet the river hence why I called both flop and turn bets. When the 4th club hits the board i am initially disgusted that he got there and shoved. It took me 3-4 seconds to realize I made a straight flush and called. Now it was not my intention to slow roll the guy but I had to make sure. Thanks for the chips though (finished 3rd)!!!
Progress to date is that I have completed 125 games from the 500 minimum that was set by MI_Turtle. I will play a bunch more during the weekend before the Superbowl.
I'm gonna eat you little fishes!!!
Thursday 4 February 2010
Group Coaching
I had a group coaching session with my day-to-day coach Bodeye2 on Tuesday night. He is a good down to earth person and very talented guy from which I hope to learn as much as possible from. MI_turtle says he will be a phenom in the poker world and after a few coaching session I tend to agree.
This week we reviewed my HH as the guy we were supposed to review was unavailable! Going over the HH, it showed that I have vastly improved. To hear from someone else that I played well is great encouragement. I picked up one thing in particular that I put into practice in last nights session and it worked a charm. There were a few things that I also picked up in my group session with MI_turtle which also helped.
Yesterday was a hectic day for me, I was up at 5:45am to attend the gym for 6:30 completing an 1.5 hour workout. Go to my normal day job for 8:15, travel into the city for a supplier visit, rush home for 6pm, have some dinner, go to a friends pub to serve drinks for 2 hours (to cover a staff meeting) from 7pm til 9pm, watch the 2nd half of Leeds v Spurs, review a HH before the grind. Finish at 1:30am, wake up at 7am for work today!!! Summarised as HECTIC!!!
I have two challenges this month:
1) MI_Turtle has told me that I need to complete at least 500 games. Normally I would not have a problem with this but as it's a shorter month and have a number of social events planned it's going to be tough. MI_Turtle... I will not FAIL!!
2) Within the Bodeye2 camp, we are going to have an internal team challenge where by the winner will get $300 shipped to their account. The parameters of the challenge is that the student that has the best score from the following equation will win: No Games * Ave Buy In * Total Profit. Based on last months results I will not have come even close to winning. This challenge has added to my desire to play/imporve more and I hope to take down my fellow team members.
In last nights session, I had completed 22 games and it was not as smooth sailing as I hoped. It all started off with a number of bad beats being inflicted on me and had a thought that this would not be my day. I remained as focus as ever and made the best possible decision I could in the hands in front. It was not until after the session that I realised that I had a 150% ROI for the day according to PT3 (not including KO bounties). After a quick scan of the results, I managed to bubble on a table where I had the guy dominated but my dreams of a hugh chip stack going into the FT where crushed on the turn.
Going to play tonight... if you do have some spare cash then please look me and my fellow students up and leave it with us we know what to do with it.
This week we reviewed my HH as the guy we were supposed to review was unavailable! Going over the HH, it showed that I have vastly improved. To hear from someone else that I played well is great encouragement. I picked up one thing in particular that I put into practice in last nights session and it worked a charm. There were a few things that I also picked up in my group session with MI_turtle which also helped.
Yesterday was a hectic day for me, I was up at 5:45am to attend the gym for 6:30 completing an 1.5 hour workout. Go to my normal day job for 8:15, travel into the city for a supplier visit, rush home for 6pm, have some dinner, go to a friends pub to serve drinks for 2 hours (to cover a staff meeting) from 7pm til 9pm, watch the 2nd half of Leeds v Spurs, review a HH before the grind. Finish at 1:30am, wake up at 7am for work today!!! Summarised as HECTIC!!!
I have two challenges this month:
1) MI_Turtle has told me that I need to complete at least 500 games. Normally I would not have a problem with this but as it's a shorter month and have a number of social events planned it's going to be tough. MI_Turtle... I will not FAIL!!
2) Within the Bodeye2 camp, we are going to have an internal team challenge where by the winner will get $300 shipped to their account. The parameters of the challenge is that the student that has the best score from the following equation will win: No Games * Ave Buy In * Total Profit. Based on last months results I will not have come even close to winning. This challenge has added to my desire to play/imporve more and I hope to take down my fellow team members.
In last nights session, I had completed 22 games and it was not as smooth sailing as I hoped. It all started off with a number of bad beats being inflicted on me and had a thought that this would not be my day. I remained as focus as ever and made the best possible decision I could in the hands in front. It was not until after the session that I realised that I had a 150% ROI for the day according to PT3 (not including KO bounties). After a quick scan of the results, I managed to bubble on a table where I had the guy dominated but my dreams of a hugh chip stack going into the FT where crushed on the turn.
Going to play tonight... if you do have some spare cash then please look me and my fellow students up and leave it with us we know what to do with it.
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