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:

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!!!

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!

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!!!

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!!!

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.

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.

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!!!

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.

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.

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!