So real life got in the way so far in December and if I want to keep to my December goals I will need to have some structure. Still broke so no harm in putting in the hours this week.
Read an interesting article on the difference between Willpower and Discipline and the benefits of routine in order to strengthen these traits; after which I have built a default weekly poker schedule.
v1 felt very stop-start and it was hard to build continuity through the week and it felt like it took me too long to get into the flow of a session. Also find that I naturally review hands as breaks from play during a session so have just incorporated that into existing sessions and will set weekly targets to keep me on it.
If this feels a bit heavy to maintain long term then I will review and refine until I have a schedule suitably challenging to build discipline but not so heavy that it burns out my willpower.
Sunday is also the only day I allow myself to check stats and graphs etc - only through disciplined habbit will I break from 'results orrientated' thinking.
Goals this week 8k+ hands Post 8+ hands (min 2 per review) 2 coachings/videos Study - Beginners Course h/w 2 - Small Pairs pre-flop Do not check results before Sunday
Whilst still a massive --> I already feel that I understand the game much better than last month even and implement the things I am learning .... unfortunately that is yet to show in my results
Spoiler
Not overly wrapped up in this as I might have been in the past - focussed more on improving ♦
That said in the last 8.5k hands I have tilted a few BIs. Tilt is inexcusable; a symptom of ill discipline and emotional indulgence. Variance in poker is already high enough.
One of the things I find fascinating about poker is the need for 'balance.' This extends far beyond ranges and lines into our macro games and even broader life. Part of the reason someone might be particularly prone to tilt is because they are so eager to succeed - evidently a good thing as it will keep them motivated and yet without control it is nothing. Similarly we dont want to train ourselves to be emotionless robots as that would inevitably have a negative effect on our personal lives, yet finding the balance of emotional containment is key to being successful in poker.
Anyway, slight side note but the examples are endless and just one aspect of the game I find intriguing. Never lose sight of the bigger picture.
Goals last week 8k+ hands >7k ima call that a win given illness and weekend runbad Post 8+ hands (min 2 per review) 33 reviewed/6 posted again ima call that a win 2 coachings/videos 0/0 EPIC FAIL! Study - Beginners Course h/w 2 FAIL - Small Pairs pre-flop DONE Do not check results before Sunday FAIL - I caved after a swingy Thursday night session - really wanna keep to this though
All in all a pretty mediocre week but nailed some 'real life' stuff/ Achievement of the Week:Hoodwinked another prospective employer into believing I am an investable young man and bagged myself a great permanant job in the New Year. (Finally no more 3 tabling temp jobs just to make ends meat.)
Targets for Week3: 4k hands (work is piling it on atm) review 20 hands - post 5 complete HUD
-colour co-ordinate
-do the stats mean what I think/want them to mean
-4b% vs 4b range etc WHY AM I NOT WINNING ENOUGH FROM CO??? Easily my biggest leak atm.
So, the foundations for my 2014 are already looking sturdy as I have landed a solid job offering more props and security. I have been incredibly fortunate to do so but am a strong believer that lucky opportunities present themselves to those that are working hard to be the sort of character that capitalises on them when they present themselves. The financial fruits of that labour will not be bourn until February however and until then I'll be pinching the pennies - no bad thing as it removes all booze related distractions over this festive period so that I can work hard on my poker game.
So I have time off until the 6th of Jan and 'the game's afoot.'
Progress
Since my return to poker (and purposeful living ♦) I have played 46k hands @NL5 ZOOM!
Over that sample I am winning at 9.7bb/100 (8.6bb/100 All-In Adj.)
Despite this I would describe a lot of my play as SLOPPY! and I think a double figure bb/100 at this level is very attainable simply by playing a solid aggressive style free of obvious leaks but by no means perfect.
- build on consistency of play and attention span.
This is largely a matter of good practice (perfect practise makes perfect) and honest assessment of current state of mind and play.
- Levelling Wars!
Don't over think random spots - consider the facts and deduce the appropriate action.
Just because you might play x hand differently/better doesn't mean that villain is merely playing his hand face up because they know no better.
Essentially - call tighter on the river.
- Fix major leaks.
The majority of this is concerning my play from the CO and I have begun analysis and appropriate adjustments. (This will continue but requires a dedicated post in the appropriate forum.)
The Target
Step up to NL10 and put in enough volume that this becomes my primary limit in the beginning of 2014.
I expect NL10 to be a challenging limit as rake is very high (e 8.5bb/100) and I am expecting a considerable decrease in donations. This said, I am hoping that all it will require to be a winner at NL10 is to eradicate the more sizable leaks in my game and play solid. I will no doubt have to improve but this is the primary intention of moving up - to highlight the mistakes in my play so that I might develop further.
I read a lot of moaning about NL10 with players suggesting 'no one beats it' and 'they just get by or are raked to death.' This is simply due to a poor mental approach - if you don't beat NL10 its because you are not good enough and not working hard enough on your game. I well expect to fall into this category and will be just as quick to point this verdict at myself also.
Another (IMO) mental game leak I hear from microstakes players is giving the stronger regs the accolade of 'good players.' No, they are fish , just less a fish than you :f_cry:. If they weren't they would be playing higher. Again, I am just as quick to point that verdict at myself. Even if it were inaccurate, wouldn't we be better served adopting this attitude and presuming we merely need to improve?
Preparation
Plenty to do before taking my shot: Grind NL5 until I unlock the 1500vpp bonus to boost BR (e4k hands.) HUD
- appropriate stats and understanding, colour co-ordinate, consider Hero lifetime HUD stats and assess for obvious leaks. review HandHistories
- I have been very lapse in this area, enjoying instead the novelty of having time to put in good volume Leakbusting
- continue analysing CO play in particular.
- post stats as they are in appropriate forum for feedback.
- also I am very fortunate to be offered the 'Free Crimbo Coaching' by everyoneissolid and I greatly appreciate and look forward to a stat review from a vastly superior player. Post daily goals to keep me working hard
I also heard a coach talking about playing a 'range of limits' and was very taken by the idea. When I do move up to NL10 I intend to play NL5 as a warm up to my sessions and only step up when in the zone and playing my best.
I hope you all had cracking Crimbos and are warming up for great New Years.
2k hands 10 HH reviews 2posted (29th) Post blog update and holiday targets to motivate
27th Dec -
Complete required volume @NL5 (1500vpp) 10 HH reviews complete HUD adjustments and spreadsheet (29th) Post NL5 graph
28th Dec - Hung-over and playing catch up -
Still playing rather than studying - need to remove some of the over the next couple of days and study as hard as I am playing.
Hit the 1500vpp mark and the bulk of my play at NL5 is hopefully over as I prep to move up. NL5 giraffe:
By no means the last hand of NL5 I will be dealt but the bulk of it.
BR = $300
Played my first couple hundred hands at NL10 - report pending some volume.
29th Dec-
Remove the (some ) Continue shot at NL10
[Played 5k hands. Innitial progress was shocking but have at least stopped the downward spiral. TBC]
ZOOM! HUD & current stats @NL5
Colour co-ordinating and pop-ups still WIP as I learn what is actually correct
30th Dec-
Got my grind on!
With varried results:
- NL5 graph looking more and more boss as win rate is now comfortably in double figures
- Stuck 8BI @NL10 though
I started by massively overcompensating for what I imagined would be a more competetive pre-flop game and stacked off too light in a few spots (prob worth avoiding anyway as I am 'taking a shot') and generally 'levelling' myself into poor decisions.
I seemed to make some more appropriate adjustments and have been BE for the last 2k hands.
No hand sample worth metioning yet (5k total) but I feel there is profit to be made in NonSD (so far opponents dont play back pre nearly as much as I expected) and I will have to improve my post-flop game and fix leaks to have my SD winnings in the black. Writting this in hindsight (03/01) and it feels a little distant after a heavy NY but I'll be putting in more volume @NL10 over the weekend and have a more detailed summary on Sunday before back to the real grind of the new day job.
NY - Eve,Day&Recovery-
Still pretty jadded but giggles all round -
sadly, counterintuitive to poker progression - nothing done.
The Last Push- 3days holiday remaining...
Volume
Hit >10k hands @NL10 Hit 9k and dropped 10+BI before calling it quits write observations of the limit and subsequent challenges, necessary study and improvements dedicated post incoming
concrete the theory behind IMPLIED ODDS review CutOff results having (hopefully) addressed larger leaks something to be mindful of but so far much better
Progress post NL5&10 results thus far - Moving Forward solidify Goals&Targets for 2014 and how they will be realised dedicated post incoming
Other/NonPoker attempt to gain suitable frame of mind to return to the 'life grind' - prep for new job etc (shrug)
My primary goal over Christmas was to step up to NL10 and become comfortable within that game and bankroll for it to be my predominant stake moving forward.
Spoiler
...... ......
I made life damn hard for myself and here are the results – (bit grainy, clearer if you click on image)
EPIC FAIL!
No sample size of course but given the blatancy of my mistakes over those <12k hands I think it sufficient to reflect, analyse and shame myself to a better way. (ps.com SN make sense now? ♦ )
Although I will have to improve my game, I really have done very little to help myself and endless mental game errors meant that this shot was always going to end in failure. ‘First do no harm.’
That said, I have learnt a great deal and if I respond appropriately and own my mistakes then I will become stronger for them.
With that said ... Picking myself up:
Impressions of NL10: Pre-Flop:
I stepped up expecting my opponent’s pre-flop aggression to vamp up hugely and it took me a while to realise that, 3betting BvB and BvButton had increased a little, most don’t get out of line with their 4bets and the vast majority still stack off very tight. I lost several buy-ins facing villains 4betting in perfect squeeze spots and so stacked off lighter than usual only to run into the nuts every time. This sort of evaluation obviously requires more volume then I currently have but my 2nd impression is that most NL10 regs are Pre-Flop nits.
I hope to exploit this more appropriately and there should be enough value from stealing Pre at this limit to offer a positive Red Line.
Flop:
This is the street that I noticed the most dramatic change. At NL5 I have enjoyed the luxury of Cbetting too wide and printing money as typical opponents there just give up far too easily. Considerably less so at NL10 and I will have to be a lot more mindful of appropriate boards to Cbet and generally improve my flop play (this will also affect my pre-flop ranges that I also didn’t have the discipline or foresight to tighten up whilst taking a shot.)
Getting their $ in:
As expected, this is more challenging at NL10 (relative to NL5 anyway.)
My default is basically- take initiative pre and bet, bet, bet. I don’t think this so bad as I do the same with my made hands, big draws and bluffs but I may have to start being a little more creative if I hope to extract max-value.
A lot of this I think can be solved by improving my hand reading ability and accurate estimation of hand ranges – this is a priority moving forward though is largely down to experience, volume and HH reviews.
River:
I stumbled into a few River situations that I am less experienced in and felt pretty uncomfortable – namely, facing over-bets.
On wet boards where it could be a suitable bluff and I have looked them up they have always had it. I am wondering if the majority of regs bother balancing these ranges at all or if the vast majority of the time it is going to be a nutted hand.
I have also faced overbets on dry boards and they confuse the hell out of me as it appears such a bad position for them to be bluffing and if they do have the nuts how are they ever expecting to get paid playing so face up.
I’ll have to observe these spots closely and do some research.
If villains are over-bet bluffing then that is another demand on my hand reading ability as I will have to be ok making Hero calls here and there if I intend to extract max value.
Rake is crazy high:
Pretty self-explanatory that one but it explains the generally tight characteristics of a lot of players at this limit.
Meta Game:
I believe that ALL of my mind-set leaks are born of being overly RESULTS ORRIENTATED.
Having beaten NL5 pretty convincingly I became obsessed with the pretty graphs and was unaccustomed to a land slide of BI’s.
It becomes very difficult to treat each new session as another opportunity to start again and focus on my A game. Rather I always started as though I were stuck X buy-ins and had to make them back asap.
Before the holidays I was disciplining myself to only check results once a week. This will make a return in January.
Volume is very important in this game but I have been letting that become my sole focus rather than study and improvement. I would find myself playing my B game a lot and focusing enough just to prolong a session and up my volume. No need for any of this, with no RB deal and minimal VPPs up for grabs; the most value to be had is in training the length of time I can sustain my A-game and study.
Thankfully, throughout my NL10 lunacy I can still drop to NL5 and replenish the BR.
Also, there is no way NL10 is that much harder that my progress here wont aid me to at least BE there.
Moving forward & January Goals: 15/01/2014
Volume not fussed. Work on focus & quality of play. Continue shot at NL10 using the 3 strike rule.
3 strike rule: 3minor/1major mistake = move back down or take a break.
Warm-up every session playing NL5 continue playing some Reg6max tables as I think it teaches slightly different skills to ZOOM.
Study
Currently enjoying silver status (because I referred a friend I think, my Stars account certainly isn't tracked) so I want to capitalise on this as much as possible as I might lose it next month.
The following are minimums: Review 15 HH's - post 5 Study EmanualC16's 'Fast Fold Frenzy' series.
:heart:1 Live coaching a week.
:heart:Check Cashier once per week and Graphs at end of month
build the habit of getting up early and having breakfast
(haven't done this consistently since I was at school about ten years ago) dont spend too much time at the new job you've only had for a week doing poker related stuff...no promises
If there's anyone out there reading, my thanks and any feedback regarding NL10 much appreciated.
Big plans for 2014 incoming.
2013 had me from rags to (relative) riches and back to rags again.
Now the New Year has dawned and I’m back on track.
Invigorated by re-found enthusiasm, abolishing apathy, flirting with new found ambition and the scope of potentiality ... great things afoot in 2014.
Its popular these days to tout the opinion that 'you don’t need any arbitrary date to make a positive change in your life' and I believe this statement to be every bit as true as it is pretentious. These are not NY resolutions (not least because they would be a month late )they are positive and inevitable changes in outlook and practise that would happen regardless. That said, I love the New Year and I love a blank canvass.
Having had a suitably memorable night 'seeing it in' and getting blind drunk on a mates homebrew in the beautiful Forest of Dean, being a 4 weeks into a diverse new job, and with a view to carrying on as I have started; I am hyped about the coming year... and I got me some work to do.
So here’s my 'not NY resolutions.'
Poker:
Beat NL100 by NY 2015 -
I am not completely ignorant as to the enormity of this task but I believe (or choice to believe) that this is achievable – it’s just a matter of appropriate application and finding the hours. The later will be by far the hardest.
Spoiler
A braver man than I might also detail their 3 year plan: 2014- beat NL100, 2015- midstakes, and learning to crush souls, 2016- SNE ... but no one is that audacious. I read somewhere that ‘if your goals don’t scare you then you ain’t doin’ it right!’
Build a dedicated Live BR –
The vast majority of my time and effort will be playing online cash but I really enjoy live poker and there is a sh*t tone of easy £ just sitting around. I can play much bigger than I do online and still be one of the better players at the table. The trick is that it requires a considerable BR. This BR would however double up as a savings account and the time spent traveling down to London is never lost as it gives me the excuse to visit old Uni friends for fun and frolics in the ‘big smoke.’ 6k+ put aside would be nice given the rest of my plans for 2014.
Fitness:
I have always been very active and in good or better shape but now I’m an old man just a promotion and a pension scheme away from 30 (ok, not so old but my body feels it) and in the worst shape of my life. I smoke too much, go through spats of binge drinking myself into oblivion (usually out of boredom, I’m fine when I have a project) and my primary hobby involves sitting and staring at a screen.
Return to peak fitness
Partly motivated by vanity but mainly because it is so much easier to be productive and apply yourself fully when you are healthy and accustomed to pushing your boundaries.
So, ways and means –
I already play football 2 nights a week and have a possible 11 aside on Saturdays and Futsal starting up on Sundays.
I have been a gym monkey in the past and although I enjoying pumping weights (I’d probably snap in two these days) and the adrenaline is a rush, through personal experience and others I have met this inevitably leads to equal parts self-obsession and self-loathing. In an effort to get fit without becoming fixated with my reflection (damn fine though it may be )I am hoping to find something that offers a varied form of exercise, isn’t too expensive and has a social aspect (yes, I already have a sex life but thanks for the mental suggestion.)
Upshot is I will either play more football or possibly get back into martial arts. I have found an active Kick Boxing group run by the local University that might tick all the boxes.
Travel:
There is a world out there; I wanna see some of it!
One of my oldest chums is getting married in Colombia and the time is booked off work (still gotta find the scratch) so Im leaving Europe for the first time in my life in May 2014. This has been too long coming and I also want to:
- Hit ‘the Dam’ with the footy lads
- Berlin to see a chum
- And Prague with one of my more cultured friends
Last, but never least, I want to make more effort to stay in contact with the people I care about that now live further afield.
Through all of this I would like (though will inevitably fail) to not take life too seriously.
Spoiler
Those of you that don’t already know it (shame on you) one of Pink Floyds classics.
Pay particular attention to the lyrics which I hope will inspire you as they do me.
MD
Ticking away the moments
That make up a dull day
Fritter and waste the hours
In an off-hand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground
In your home town
Waiting for someone or something
To show you the way
Tired of lying in the sunshine
Staying home to watch the rain
You are young and life is long
And there is time to kill today
And then the one day you find
Ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run
You missed the starting gun
And you run and you run
To catch up with the sun
But it's sinking
Racing around
To come up behind you again
The sun is the same
In a relative way
But you're older
Shorter of breath
And one day closer to death
Every year is getting shorter
Never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught
Or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation
Is the English way
The time is gone
The song is over
Thought I'd something more to say
Home
Home again
I like to be here
When I can
When I come home
Cold and tired
It's good to warm my bones
Beside the fire
Far away
Across the field
Tolling on the iron bell
Calls the faithful to their knees
To hear the softly spoken magic spell...
8k+ hands
Post 8+ hands (min 2 per review)
2 coachings/videos
Study - Beginners Course h/w 2 - Small Pairs pre-flop
I already feel that I understand the game much better than last month even and implement the things I am learning .... unfortunately that is yet to show in my results 
...... 
...... 
)they are positive and inevitable changes in outlook and practise that would happen regardless. That said, I love the New Year and I love a blank canvass.
