Making a living with STT SNGs

72 Days Study Challenge

Day 68

- Studied 1 hour
- Reviewed notes from coaching session on 2nd format
- Also quizzed myself on areas where I already know I can use more studying and improving!!!

Went to long lunch with family and friends
Meet with best friend for coffee
Went back to my place with best friend and my friend Stanko also joined us
Grinded 2nd format 3 hours
Enjoyed the night with best friend and my brother, listening to music and talking making jokes

Would give myself 6.5 out of 10 for productivity today!

The way things are looking since this challenge started:

- 75/72 study hours completed
- 3827/6000 games completed
- 92/100 coaching sessions completed
- 40 out of 30 CrossFit trainings completed
- 20 out of 10 videos for automated coaching/staking system completed
Additional work with fellow reg 8 and a half hours
Grinded 2nd format 35 hours

Here is the plan for tomorrow:
- Wake up by 9:30am and work out
- Coach minimum 1 session + set up another session during the day/afternoon
- Meet with best friend for coffee and studying 1 hour
- Meet with my friend Stanko and hang out
- Grind 2nd format 2-3 hours and if possible add some SNGs in there
- Reflect on mission/vision/goals/challenge and update blog and challenge
- Start preparing write up for 2015 goals and reflecting on 2014!

Hi Pedja.

Thanks for your time and very detailed answers.

Originally posted by IvicaIliev77
Healthy meals/eating
Give it a shot and let me know how it goes!

I know how important is to be in shape and I don't have problem with that (in 2014 I completed Insanity program and I'm planning to do it once more in 2015). Also I moved into my own office so I can have peace and quiet when working. Only problem I have is food, since I can't always find time to prepare it and it ends up me eating canned tuna, or boiled eggs, or sendwich, or something similar. On good days I prepare myself rice, or some meat, or some other dish in the morning but more often I don't eat high quality lunches. Will take a look into catering offers in my neighbourhood but I'm afraid these things can be expensive. Will take a better look and maybe I find something suitable for me.

Originally posted by IvicaIliev77
New format and grinding targets

In my opinion you should approach poker as a job, set up hours for studying, grinding and relaxing from your work (regenerating) and this will be long term most +EV.
You will avoid burn out this way long term, accept poker as job and profession not as a hobby, downswings and upswings will go much smoother with steady schedule vs free floating time management etc
Final suggestion in this area, set times to study, grind and regenerate + create super specific time managements for each day!

Since I started from $1 my goal is to play smaller volume to get a feeling about new topic I learned. My volume is relatively small since I've been "grinding" max 50 games per day. If you know I'm 4 tabling that's not so bad but still nothing comparing to real grind.
Fortunatelly I have a friend who has been playing hypers for quite some time now (who was also doing some sessions with you:f_biggrin:) and he helps me with organizing and making my transition easier. I do agree that professional approach and fixed schedule and written goals are a must when you choose to do something where you expect to become successful. Doing things day after day on high level is my biggest leak so will have to work on consistency.

Originally posted by IvicaIliev77
About BR management

BR management as a concept is what separates you from being recreational player, becoming a pro and understanding how variance works in poker. If you avoid to accept and implement it, you will bust sooner or later
At micro limits I started with 50BI but before I start playing $5 I will obviously have to have min 200BI:f_mad: In the long run it should be a win win situation - while I build my br I will be also working on my game and the transition will be smoother. Hopefully. Never expect something since you will probably be dissapointed but I think working on my game won't at least hurt my game.

Originally posted by IvicaIliev77
By the time I was 11 or 12 years old I was cheering for Red Star because of my brother, father and whole family (they brainwashed me - typical stuff when you are young! but when my grandfather told me stories about Partizan Belgrade I got hooked so bad and 20 years later I am still supporter of the team.

Sad story. The start was promising but you just got lost along the way:f_o: My sister who is very dear to me also went through this road...she is also on the dark side. It's funny though when she's provoking my father who was once burning Red star fan about some games. She's so evil that she even throws in some old games or titles so she makes him really angry.

Continue with good work ethic and the rest will follow.

Good luck:f_thumbsup:

PS: You have PM.

@ yaxkukmian

Appreciate your responses man!
Checked PM and added you on skype.

GL with hypers!!!

72 Days Study Challenge

Day 69

Worked out 1st thing in the morning
Meet with best friend for coffee
Coached 2 sessions
Ate lovely lunch with friends
Grinded 2nd format 5 hours !!!
Scheduled coaching sessions for tomorrow and day after (need 6 more to hit 100 hours in the challenge!)
Now waiting for my friend Stanko and to go out - if I do stay in will do another hour on 2nd format or study 1 hour to make it up for not studying today!!!

Would give myself 7.5 out of 10 for productivity today!

The way things are looking since this challenge started:

- 75/72 study hours completed
- 3827/6000 games completed
- 94/100 coaching sessions completed
- 41 out of 30 CrossFit trainings completed
- 20 out of 10 videos for automated coaching/staking system completed
Additional work with fellow reg 8 and a half hours
Grinded 2nd format 40 hours

Here is the plan for tomorrow:
- Wake up by 9am if I don't go out, if I do 9:45am
- Coach 2 sessions 10-12
- Meet with best friend for coffee and to study 2nd format 1 hour
- Go for minimum 3 hours of grind in 2nd format
- Meet with female friend for drinks around 9pm
- Later grind more or go out with my friend Stanko
- Reflect on mission/vision/goals/challenge and update blog and challenge

Quick update

Did recap of hourly, goals, challenge and where I want to get in 2015
Will post later today plans for 2015 with realistic expectations and things I will be focusing on.
Hopefully will find time to write reflection on 2014 as it was one of the hardest years yet in all areas of my life.

Here is what happened yesterday for challenge

72 Days Study Challenge

Day 70

Worked out 1st thing in the morning
Went for coffee with best friend
Worked around 1 hour on my time management samples for 2015 as well as goals/challenges
Had a lovely healthy lunch
Grinded 2nd format 1 hour
Coached 2 sessions in the afternoon
Went out around 9pm or so with my best friend and Stanko for some beers

Would give myself 4.5 out of 10 for productivity yesterday!

The way things are looking since this challenge started:

- 75/72 study hours completed
- 3827/6000 games completed
- 96/100 coaching sessions completed
- 42 out of 30 CrossFit trainings completed
- 20 out of 10 videos for automated coaching/staking system completed
Additional work with fellow reg 8 and a half hours
Grinded 2nd format 41 hours

Here is the plan for today:
Drinking coffee now with best friend and regenerating from last night fun times
Pick up tickets for new years party later
Coach 2 sessions (4-5 and 8-9pm)
In between eat healthy lunch, work on the game 1 hour and grind 2nd format minimum 2 hours
Hit the bed earlier then usual (before 3am) so that I can accomplish all the things set for final day of the challenge!

Post goals/challenges and vision/mission for 2015 today or tomorrow! (most likely tomorrow after all the coaching sessions).

2014 reflection

Family
Tragedy and huge shift in our lives - biggest loss ever, something I would never wish to anybody to happen.
It made me shift my focus and do even more things for my family.
Accepted the new role and sacrificed from May on and will keep sacrificing for the greater good for all of us.

Health
CrossFit saved my life literally and I am very gratefull for it.
Lost 10kgs in period of 4 months, trained 3-4 times per week and even continued to this day to train on my own.
Also eating a lot more frequent and healthier which affects my energy levels.

Friendships
Another blow in February which many of you had chance to read about in the blog.
It made me realize who my true friends are, to recognize and not give attention to people who are not good for me.

Girlfriends
Nothing major to report here. Had couple (don't remember if it was 4 or 10+) flings and hook ups.
Area of my life that I am working on changing with move to Asia in future once things are settled with family and finances.

Coaching
Coached way over 300 hours this year which makes me very happy as I did good to help out all my students.
Feelings are mixed overall as many of them didn't take advantage of me helping them which makes me sad seing people not fullfil their potential/promises/goals.
Area that changed a lot and in 2015 will be far less students that I will teach the way I did so far (will write about it in 2015 part).

Studying
Area that helped me get back on track and prove to myself that I can play any opponent regardless of their status and profit $.
My knowledge has improved a tons with over 100 hours invested in the studying this year.
This resulted in increase of my ROI + bringing new challenges in my poker career.
Challenge really made me turn on this area and it showed me how effective I can become which I will use for 2015 as well.

Grinding
Not entirely satisfied with this area!
If I was looking for excuses I can say family tragedy and tons of coaching hours but in reality I could have grinded more.
I know many might not aggree and would most likely grind even less than me if they were in my situation, but I am very self critical and expect only best for myself so when I don't meet something that I set I get very angry at myself.
In 2015 there will be more grinding which I will discuss in 2015 part.

Money part
Satisfied with this area considering how little I grinded.
Made over 20k post RB with 50% or so grinding capabilities.
Students also brought me money in coaching and staking + just coaching for hourly.
In 2015 I will set higher expectations which will result into more serious grinding.

Other formats
Did really well towards the end of the year, investigating other formats.
Spent minimum 100 hours combined in grinding and studying them.
Made a strong decision for 2015 which format I will work on parallely on with 6 max SNGs!

Other life things
Montenegro 45 days in Herceg Novi was awesome! Spent time with family, really enjoyed it there and look forward going again in 2015.
Visited Belgrade on numerous occasions to watch Partizan Belgrade games and hang with family and friends. Would love to move there for music career and cooperation with one of my idols Rambo Amadeus (more on this in 2015 part).
Told my dad about playing poker for living and his support also gives me huge wings to push even harder in 2015 (more on this in 2015 part)

Overall very satisfied with how I approached this year with everything in my life. There was tons of obstacles that I managed to overcome with my fanatic approach and strong mindset of never giving up.
Very happy with how much I gave to my brother, best friend and all the students I coached. Some of them will become poker professionals in 2015 I have no doubt, those who won't I have finished our cooperation.

Hope you enjoyed this update and found it useful for yourself one way or the other.

Nice wrap-up for the year - looking forward to your 2015 goals update. Wish you all the best!

Originally posted by Ramble
Nice wrap-up for the year - looking forward to your 2015 goals update. Wish you all the best!

Appreciate it my friend !
Will update those tomorrow after challenge is officially completed.

I wish you also all the best, I check your thread regularly and you got a lot out of Schnitzels guide for planing

72 Days Study Challenge

Day 71

Had coffee with best friend
Typed and updated blog with 2014 reflection (1 hour)
Went to pick up tickets for new years eve party (1 hour - crazy snow traffic)
Coached 2 sessions (3 hours, both 1:30 long)
Played guitar (1 hour)
Grinded 2nd format 1.5 hour

Would give myself 6 out of 10 for productivity today!

The way things are looking since this challenge started:

- 75/72 study hours completed
- 3827/6000 games completed
- 99/100 coaching sessions completed
- 42 out of 30 CrossFit trainings completed
- 20 out of 10 videos for automated coaching/staking system completed
Additional work with fellow reg 8 and a half hours
Grinded 2nd format 42.5 hours

Here is the plan for tomorrow:
- Wake up 9am and work out
- Coach 2 sessions (10-12)
- Have coaching session for 2nd format (12-1)
- Write out goals with time managements for 2015 and post them on blog (1-2 hours)
- Eat healthy lunch
- Contact my family, close friends, gfs and let them know how thankful and happy they make me to have them in my life
- Rest, charge batteries for the evening celebration
- Hit up the new years party around 9pm and enjoy it to the maximum (my favorite waitress will be there also
- Reflect on everything and get ready for new year challenge and goals to follow up and complete them all!!!

72 Days Study Challenge

Day 72

Worked out to prepare for new years madness tonight
Coached 1 session
Had coaching session 90 minutes for 2nd format
Contacted all my family,friends and gfs to wish them great times tonight and thank them for being very important part of my life
Figured out what I will wear tonight to pimp out some girls
Soon my best friend will arrive with Stanko and we will pre party at my place

Expect very soon update for 2015 goals and challenges

Would give myself 3.5 out of 10 for productivity today!

Here are the results of completed challenge:

- 75/72 study hours completed
- 3827/6000 games completed
- 100/100 coaching sessions completed
- 43 out of 30 CrossFit trainings completed
- 20 out of 10 videos for automated coaching/staking system completed
Additional work with fellow reg 8 and a half hours
Grinded 2nd format 42.5 hours

Challenge recap

Studying
Area I improved most in! Super satisfied with 3 advanced edges that I studied in depth, reviewed and gained huge advantage over my opponents in SNGs. This resulted in ROI increase as well which is normal thing to expect as I was doing things the right way with studying!
Also very happy that I studied 4 other formats despite 6 max SNGs! The idea was to figure out where I could get to higher hourly in less time but also improve a lot as a player. Happy to say that I found it and will dedicate a lot of time to this format in 2015. Might even update what it is soon

Grinding
SNG grinding fail!
I was table selecting, using Sharkystrator + introduction of Spins messed things up with steady traffic etc
Despite that I could have played more games, at least 20-30 hours of grind which would result in 400-600 games more.
I am however super satisfied that I managed to despite failing SNG grinding goal grind other formats and land on 2nd format where I spend most of my time now.
It was perfect way to test the waters, see where I am at vs general population and regs to figure out how hard I need to work on this format to reach satisfactory hourly. Results have been great - more on that in future.

Coaching
Managed to hit my coaching hours goal the very last day!
It was very difficult considering that when I started the challenge I had more students that I have now.
In the meanwhile I have parted ways with students that have no interest to become poker professionals and follow up on their goals and promises. 2015 will show if this was right way to do things since I gave up on immediate profit but long term I prefer having people who are serious about their intentions and follow through vs people who are just wasting their and my time.
When I coach I try not to only help my students to become better players but I want to help them improve in all aspects of their life. In that aspect I am giving them way more value then any coach out there would because I really care for them to make it with poker as a career choice and job. For those that say want to be pros but don't follow through on studying grinding sessions goals in general it is long term waste of time to work with.
I have realized this towards the end of the year when a lot of my students came up with unrealistic plans or plans that were just shame to even offer me.
I can happily say that demand for my coaching is huge, I get offers on daily basis, my rates have gone up by double and I offer very specific deals and choose future candidates super carefully!
In 2015 there will be my brother, best friend, and 4 more students in the program from which 2 may quit along the way when they hit really hard downswing or obstacles with their current mental game/mindset. I hope by the end of 2015 they will all do great - lets see what happens.

CrossFit
Working out from home was fantastic. 4 main exercises that are awesome to do I tend to mix up and push myself in the work outs. Those are : push ups, sit ups, squats and burpees.
I will continue working out this way + when I move to place with built in gym I will use it as well for some weight lifting and even more cardio.
Overall I am super satisfied with this area, my weight has not increased, my muscle definition is not suffering, I am keeping my shape.

Automated Coaching
Idea was to record videos and to automate coaching in 2015. During the challenge I have run into financial obstacles with family expenses so I decided to decrease variance and not rush decision with extending the program/going really big in 2015.
Idea for doing videos is still active, I will get to this project more in future for sure as soon as I feel my BR will be adequate to hire 10 more people right away. This may happen by the end of 2015 or sooner but I am definitely in no rush as next year focus will be on what I can do mostly with my time not on others!!!

Everything else
Spent time with family, best friend, hooked up with some girls, watched tons of Partizan Belgrade games, had time to regenerate (mostly evenings before bed time) to watch some favorite tv shows, visit Belgrade and some other places etc

Overall very happy and satisfied with how whole challenge went!

I will be posting soon 2015 goals and challenge in the thread.

Thanks for following and hopefully you found something interesting and inspiring for yourself!

2015 Goals and Challenge

Health
Maintain 82kg weight, eat healthy and work on not getting drank when going out with friends

Working out
Work out 150 times in 365 days.
This includes all sort of work outs - running, in home working out, gym, CrossFit temple attending etc

Family
Spend + keep in touch as much possible time with my brother and father + my close relatives from Montenegro who are in Belgrade.

Studying
Study 300 hours in 365 days. This time will include studying in both formats!

Coaching
Coach 300 hours in 365 days. With current number of students in coaching this should be completed without many problems!

Grinding
Grind 1500 hours in 365 days!
Idea is to grind both formats for approximately 10 months 5 hours per day.
This will be very difficult thing to accomplish considering all the other things going on!

Profit expectations
Stay on Poker Stars , hit minimum SN 200k and post RB make 40k$ minimum!

Traveling
Visit Belgrade, Herceg Novi and if some huge upswing happens go to London to visit my friend Stanko.
Also move from Nis on 15th of January to dedicate to purely grinding!

Girlfriends
Keep in touch with ex gfs, organize hook ups whenever needed and hook up with new waitresses

Friendships
Hang as often as possible with my best friend + keep in touch with my true friends who have always been there for me no matter what.

I wish all my followers and fellow Poker Strategy members to enjoy tonight their new years celebration!

I will see you all in 2015 and lets make it count even more than 2014!

Here I go with official 1st update in 2015!

I would like to share with you underlying theme of 2015 Challenge. This message should help to all the others who are lacking commitment in any area of their life.

Now onto the official update for the 2015 challenge.

2015 Challenge

Worked out 1st thing in the morning
Coached 1 session
Went for coffee with my best friend and had lunch with his family later on
Grinded 2nd format 5 hours total (3 sessions, 1x1 and 2 x2 hours long)

Now recharging, need to hit the bed soon as tomorrow we are living for weekend trip to have some fun! I will write more about this in some near future.

For those of you that have been wondering for too long about 2nd format, I will share it with you know.

In 2015 I will be playing 6 max CG on Poker Stars!
I have spent about 2 weeks studying 6 max CG and have set some expectations in 2015 for it which are:

- Comfortably 3 table ZOOM NL 50
- Reach win rate of 6bb/100
- After this is reached move ZOOM NL100 and improve even more as a player + earn higher hourly then in SNGs
- Consider switching to other rooms/networks for higher RB and weaker player pool for even higher hourly

I am loving the 6 max ZOOM so far. It is very fast paced poker, decision making is immediate and people who lack proper game plan will definitely burn money there easily.
I have spent so far over 20 hours studying cash games and it seems like I am owning the limit. Today I lost twice all ins pre flop with AKs vs 109s (he got the straight) and AKs vs 76o (he got FH!) Both hands were over 100bbs deep worth of course.
Sample is still super small, but I will share with you my graph from today and from 1st of December (officially I started grinding from mid December 6 max CG).

Graph from today 2 tabling Zoom NL50 on Stars for 5 hours:

Graph since I started studying and grinding ZOOM NL50 on Stars (mid December):

Here are some key reasons why I decided to give 6 max ZOOM a go:
- Sessions can be lot shorter vs SNGs which enables me to have even better focus which results into more +EV plays overall
- Improvement as a player
I feel that opponents that I play on regular basis in SNGs are not challenging me enough. Feel that I have solved the limit of 15s and due to family expenses and supporting other students with staking, I am not able to play 30s full time which are also soft if done with proper table selecting. CG on the other hand is entirely new area for me and it makes me work super hard to fix my leaks daily and push myself further!
- In CG every hand maters!
Yes, it is as simple as that. If your game is lacking in some areas, it will show and you will burn money. If you don't know post flop how to play IP or OOP it will show. Same thing for pre flop and everything else. So in that sense, CG is perfect way to keep on improving as a player, understand ranges,opponents, adjusting and readjusting + eventually learn GTO from it.
- CG vs SNG has higher sealing for improvement therefore better hourly long term.
This is no brainer. Just look at what introduction of Spins did to traffic on 30s and then how all the limits are even more reg infested now. I can have a very solid ROI of 5-6% on 15s, most likely 2-3% on 30s, but the problem is even with 20 tabling there isn't enough traffic with proper table selecting. To hit the same hourly that I have now, I need to beat ZOOM NL50 3 tabling with win rate I was mentioning above which I feel is very achievable with my work rate and dedication. Once I move to ZOOM NL100 it will be even better hourly so that is where I plan on going in 2015.
- ZOOM is super convenient to grind.
This is absolutely true, you can open it any time of the day and have enough people to 2 table it. This is super important for me as I will be moving on 15th of January and 6 out of 7 nights a week I will be grinding live CG so my online grind will have to happen during the day. ZOOM allows me to grind 1-3pm,3:45-5:45pm and 6-7pm easily (which is my time management for the move on 15th!). ZOOM will also allow me to grind with ease when I am in Herceg Novi Montenegro. When I am done with beach, training, in the afternoon times after lunch I can easily get 3-4 hours of grind without any difficulties! So this is perfect.
- Last year I studied HU Hypers, this year I choose 6 max ZOOM.
The idea is simple. I want to constantly test myself, learn new things in poker, find the best options out there for me and as time goes by become fluent in various types of formats and areas.
- Proving to myself that I can crush CG will allow me to teach others as well.
Just like I teach SNGs and help people with their HU game, I will be eventually able to offer CG coaching.

Will I be grinding this year only ZOOM instead of SNGs?
The answer is no!
I still plan to play SNGs but starting today until 15th of February I will be grinding ZOOM NL50 on Stars exclusively. The reason is quite simple. I would like to get very decent sample and check if my win rate is appropriate to stick with it or just study it on the side!
If I do manage to have by 15th of February around 6bb/100 and grind 3 tables of ZOOM NL50, I will really consider switching the formats for the long term hourly increase.
If I don't hit 6bb/100 but say I have 3 or 4bb/100, I will return from 15th of February full time to SNGs and study on the side CG to improve my win rate.
Finally, I may mix both things since it makes no sense to grind SNGs 1 to 3pm so I will grind ZOOM then and then later sessions SNGs.
It is all out in the open now! You all know what are the plans for 2015!

Finally here is the update for 2015 Challenge:

Things completed so far in the challenge:
0/300 Study hours
1/300 Coaching sessions
5/1500 Grinding hours
1/150 Work outs

Plan for tomorrow is:
- Wake up before 9am and complete work out
- Pick up best friend by 9:30am and hit the road
- Enjoy the trip, hit the pool and relax
- Try to squeeze in 1 hour of CG studying at some point while away!!!
- Grind some CG in the night live + visit the night club (go out)
- Hit the bed whenever it feels right from all the going out and partying
- Prepare for Sunday to enjoy it to the max + play some more live poker!

Originally posted by IvicaIliev77
One of the best videos I have watched in a really long time. Already watched it twice, plan on watching it more - so much great stuff in it.

Please take time to watch and learn from this fantastic video!

P.S. Once you watch it , you will relate to a lot of things I do already ♦

Thx for sharing this, really good video.
Also like your thoughts on cashgame vs sng. But since you play zoom now it would be cool to post some hands, lets say one intresting hand in week for start. Not forcing you to do this but i am interested in seeing some of NL50 magic.

I like your structured approach to poker, life and blogging... wish u gl @ zoom tables, one sng-reg less... feel like additional amaya-changes could soon make sngs even tougher and more regs will switch formats, which could make them softer again

u looking forward to asian cuties much?

and another question coming to my mind: when starting with a totally new format (i ask that as a guy, who only ever played 6max sngs seriously) how do you approach studying? you bought run-it-once-acc for 6max cashgame? or coach? or do you analyze other good regs and look what they are doing to get an idea whats to do and not to do in that new format?

peace bro, gl for 2015

Originally posted by Zemnieks11

Originally posted by IvicaIliev77
One of the best videos I have watched in a really long time. Already watched it twice, plan on watching it more - so much great stuff in it.

Please take time to watch and learn from this fantastic video!

P.S. Once you watch it , you will relate to a lot of things I do already ♦

Thx for sharing this, really good video.
Also like your thoughts on cashgame vs sng. But since you play zoom now it would be cool to post some hands, lets say one intresting hand in week for start. Not forcing you to do this but i am interested in seeing some of NL50 magic.

Welcome Zemnieks11!
I am very glad you enjoyed the video. It is definitely an eye opener and should be played to kids in primary school in my opinion. Some very powerful messages in it!
Regarding your suggestions to post the hands, I will think about it. There is several reasons why I stopped posting hands. Regs come and start abusing the blog for personal tilt which leads to negative energy which I don't want nor need in my life. Primary reason for not posting is not to give away strategy advice I have spent and keep spending time investing in finding the edges, getting better and moving the bar higher. Imagine what it would look like if I posted a hand that took me to analyze for 1 hour and give away "the secret" for specific spot (position vs position, on specific texture) and just lay out best possible play discovered? This is the whole beauty of CG I believe. It takes tons of studying pre flop and then when you get to post flop you realize how little people know and are far away from perfect game or game that exploits any other opponent type.
Might post some no brainer type of hands just for the fun like AKs 5 bet shove and getting called by 76o 100bb deep for laughs

Thanks for stopping by and look forward seeing you more in the blog!

Originally posted by enjoy2playAK
I like your structured approach to poker, life and blogging... wish u gl @ zoom tables, one sng-reg less... feel like additional amaya-changes could soon make sngs even tougher and more regs will switch formats, which could make them softer again

u looking forward to asian cuties much?

and another question coming to my mind: when starting with a totally new format (i ask that as a guy, who only ever played 6max sngs seriously) how do you approach studying? you bought run-it-once-acc for 6max cashgame? or coach? or do you analyze other good regs and look what they are doing to get an idea whats to do and not to do in that new format?

peace bro, gl for 2015

Hey my friend!
Happy new year to you!!! All the best in 2015, may all your wishes come true for you!

As always, happy to see you here
Don't rush and hope yet! I am not leaving SNGs for real, I am just dedicating next 45 days or so to NL50 ZOOM. If by any chance I don't get to 6bb/100 3 tabling, you will see me back on SNGs!
Even if I do reach my targets for ZOOM I will play 30s 6 max to keep in shape for SNGs. I know how much you miss me there so I have to come and party with you ♦

Asian girls are whole other story but lets just say that in a year or two there will be sick challenge with them also
I sincerely hope that in 2015 3 main things will happen which will allow me to consider move to Asia in 2016.
- Me making enough money post RB to pay off apartment mortgage/credit (20k euros)
- My brother beating 7s 6 max, grinding super steady and making 1.5k euros per month
- My dad settling with some steady job that he loves to do
Apart from these 3 things, everything else is secondary to me! But yeah,if all that happens I can see myself moving to Thailand or Philippines or something to have fun with my Asian girls

Regarding your studying new format questions, lets just say all of the above.
In 2014 I watched quite a lot of CG videos as I was always(and still am) impressed how much better these guys are in general vs us that play SNGs. So I always was curious what they do, why they do it and how I can apply that in SNGs. I think I was very successful in 2014 applying just some of CG concepts but in 2015 I plan to go extra mile with this.
Ideally I would love to be making 100k a year post RB and lets face it, this goal is easier to reach with CG compared to SNGs.

If you want to study new format, whatever it is, find people that are best in it and try to figure out why they do things the way they do. Spend tons of time studying outside of tables by watching videos, analyzing hands and strengthening your thinking process + game plan. Without grinding all this is not good as you have to see where you are at vs opposition. Taking additional coaching from somebody that knows all this is always a +EV move!
I did all this in past 20 days and am already noticing how much my game has gone up.
No I did not purchase any subscription outside of Poker Strategy for videos. You have tons of great coaches here for CG that you can learn a lot from and improve.
As with everything with life, key thing why people don't improve and get stuck is they lack the grit or drive to succeed 100% in what they aim to accomplish which just takes all the other aspects that make them get stuck and/or quit eventually (not working on their game enough, not grinding enough, not asking for help from better players, not analyzing their game while at the tables, not posting nor analyzing the hands enough, not leading blog/challenge, no direction in where they want to go nor how to get there etc).
Think of this as an example:
Lets say I said something like: I would like to sleep with xy porn star girl!
Just saying that is day dreaming but making an action plan how to accomplish and follow through is what matters.
Say that I wanted to accomplish such thing I would have to:
- Do the research where these female porn stars are doing their business
- How much would it cost me to get to those places, rent a room and pay their fees
- How much are external costs (visa , plan tickets, accommodation, food , going out etc)
- How to make this happen (how many hours would I need to work to get to that amount of $, how much would I need to save per month for it)
- Only then I can set realistic time to accomplish it!

Hope all this made sense. It is a a pattern I keep seeing with people in everything in life. I have taught over 200 people guitar lessons and over 70 people poker. The same thing happens. Most people daydream and fail to set action plans and follow through with them which results int disappointment unhappiness and failure. We all fail in life but if you don't have big picture in plan and your approach how to get where you are going then you will let those failures get you and bring you down.

Thanks for stopping by my friend, as always pleasure seeing you here.

Enjoy your 2015 and I will see you at the tables even if it will be for kicks

2015 Challenge

Update for 3rd of January (yesterday)

Worked out 2 times (at home in the morning + gym and swimming at the hotel!)
Grinded live CG 4 hours
Went out to club until 4:30am and had awesome time

Things completed so far in the challenge:
0/300 Study hours
1/300 Coaching sessions
5/1500 Grinding hours
3/150 Work outs

Here is what has happened today and what is in plan for the rest of the day:
- Worked out 1st thing in the morning (squats, push ups and sit ups)
- Ate healthy breakfast
- Responded to tons of friends on Skype (over 1 hour)
- Updated blog (responses + challenge now)
- Plan to study 1 hour CG now
- Either grind 1 hour CG or hit the gym + pool for 1 hour
- Play live MTT at 4pm as freeroll
- If I bust earlier, take laptop and grind minimum 2 hour CG!

Will update blog and challenge tomorrow about what happened for the rest of the day today!

Enjoy the remainder of the weekend !

2015 Challenge

Update for 4th of January (yesterday)

Worked out 2 times (room and then gym + swimming)
Studied 1.5 hours (reviewed game plan 1 hour, checked marked hands 30 minutes)
Grinded online ZOOM 3.5 hours (3 sessions 1 hour, 2 hours , 30 minutes)
Played live MTT + live cash 7.5 hours

Things completed so far in the challenge:
1.5/300 Study hours
1/300 Coaching sessions
8.5/1500 Grinding hours
3/150 Work outs
12 hours Live Poker

Here is the plan for today:
- Eat healthy breakfast (done)
- Complete the work out in the gym and do some swimming (leaving in 10 minutes)
- Pack stuff and leave for Nis (around 11am)
- Unpack home and relax 1 hour
- Do 1 hour of CG studying in the late afternoon
- Evening arrange a hook up with a girl or stay in and grind 4-5 hours online CG

- Evening arrange a hook up with a girl or stay in and grind 4-5 hours online CG (yea right) ♦

So, how was on date?