SnS Stands Up (and calls) One More Time Than The Rest

29.08.2013

Day 60 of the challenge, yeeey!!!

I am still in Germany at my Mom's place. Had another coaching with SF today and we went through some planning stuff for the next month. I made up some solutions to issues that may come up when I want to establish some new habits.

My sleep rhythm is regular, but pretty messed up. I still got visit from a friend from my studies. We always stay awake until 5a.m. or so, wake up at 1-2 and then the same thing again. My Mom's place is also really annoying since she complains a lot about electricity bills, and that we eat all her food and stuff. ♦ So, I am not that concentrated regarding poker and my focus wanders away. I also should get rid of playing times when she is around, and I'm happy to be in Groningen again, very soon! Then I will turn my rhythm upside down again and start new.

Regarding my strategic leaks I am really confused. I say I don't know where to start analyzing my game, but I think the reality is that it is just an excuse. I probably should start by going through the biggest pots that went to showdown, and then maybe continue analyzing medium pots that went to showdown, and after I analyzed the biggest showdown pots I maybe go over middlish pots that did not went to showdown, because I still think that I am calling too much, preflop, same as postflop, and folding on later streets after put a decent amount into the pot. Before I did not do this I will not hit the tables again. Guess I made a lot of bad decisions today.

30.08.2013

Yeeeeyyy, we're going to Hamburg! Tonight we will departure from Hannover, gonna have a fuckin nice weekend over there, and eventually we will be travelling back to Groningen.

Pokerwise I played 1,4k Hands of Speed and ended up playing really relaxed and did not make one big mistake, so everything's fine.

Have a nice evening guys.

31.08.2013

I spent almost the whole day just with my friends in a mate's father's flat. There was not much time to grind since we only got one LAN cable to share the inet. I ended up playing 500 hands on speed.
Further I used the time with grinding Poker Tracker, went through some hands, and also started to read some Eckhardt Tolle. This guy is genius. What he teaches is in many ways quite buddhistic and I had about 3-4 epiphanies ONLY reading the first chapter.

The most important one was: "You are not your mind" - This implies that we should not identify ourselves with what we think, but rather with what we really are. Often our mind takes control of us and it intrudes our whole being in a way that is pretty destructive. The mind uses our past in order to create future events that are quite similar to what we have already experienced. Let's take my big down 2 months ago where I lost 2/3 of my BR. When I had some smaller downs after it, this memory always traced me and didn't let me think positively about the future. It's pretty cool realizing more and more bullshit our mind produces. Only by being aware of how my mind works I can change and take control over it.

Leak

Calldowns oop.

This guy plays a really nitty style. I normally would have folded the river but I saw some really weird stuff before where regs would triplebarrell with bullshit in those spots, also choosing sizings like he did. Because so many draws are just busto I call the river, expecting to be good 25% of the cases easily.

iPoker - $0.20 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BB): 110.45 BB
UTG: 103.25 BB (VPIP: 26.51, PFR: 24.34, 3Bet Preflop: 10.59, Hands: 428)
MP: 49.25 BB (VPIP: 16.98, PFR: 13.21, 3Bet Preflop: 5.26, Hands: 53)
CO: 23.75 BB (VPIP: 66.67, PFR: 16.67, 3Bet Preflop: 33.33, Hands: 6)
BTN: 52.85 BB (VPIP: 13.41, PFR: 9.76, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 83)
SB: 116 BB (VPIP: 12.00, PFR: 4.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 27)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has K♦ J♥

fold, fold, fold, BTN raises to 3 BB, fold, Hero calls 2 BB

Flop: (6.5 BB, 2 players) 2♥ K♣ 9♥ Hero checks, BTN bets 3.25 BB, Hero calls 3.25 BB

Turn%s: (13 BB, 2 players) 9♦ Hero checks, BTN bets 9.1 BB, Hero calls 9.1 BB

River%s: (31.2 BB, 2 players) 3♠ Hero checks, BTN bets 15.6 BB, Hero ???

1.09.2013

I'm back in Holland! Yes, Baby! Since I'm gone from Hannover my mind feels endlessly free, it's pretty awesome. Pokerwise, though I did not play a lot (~500 hands/day), the last 3-4 days were kind of mindblowing. I did not structure my sessions, nore did I set session lengths, I just started grinding when I wanted. I could have much more fun playing and therefore I could play my A-Game (worst: good B-Game) constantly. Of course it makes more sense to keep on setting session goals and reflecting a lot, prospectively, and I don't say that not preparing for a session was the reason for playing so "good" - the real factor was the different environment. I was hanging around with friends I know from my studies, and it was a great mood among us all the time.

Today we came home really late, at 1:30am or so. I also felt like grinding a short speed session. After 30 minutes I stopped because I could watch myself caring more and more about results as my stack becamse smaller and smaller on the right table (lol). I also made one small, though bad, decision.

If I did not have to do so much tomorrow, I would grind a bit longer after a break because regs go crazy these times... (all on tilt or so).

Hand:

I'm not too sure what the correct play is. I think calling here is fine since we are a bit deeper and villain can definitely squeeze pretty wide here. Especially AQs plays very well in position. I don't like 4bet/call in this spot because we don't know how he reacts to 4bets (does he shove light? does he call light oop? is he folding all his bluffs? etc)

As We call and the coldcall dude shoves, I'm pretty sure he has a pocket or some random hand most of the time. Can't imagine him trapping AK or QQ+ here. Fortunately he shows up being dominated

iPoker - $0.20 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: 139.9 BB (VPIP: 36.17, PFR: 34.04, 3Bet Preflop: 16.67, Hands: 48)
UTG: 117.8 BB (VPIP: 21.31, PFR: 15.34, 3Bet Preflop: 1.61, Hands: 366)
Hero (CO): 111.55 BB
BTN: 100.5 BB (VPIP: 26.88, PFR: 23.13, 3Bet Preflop: 7.46, Hands: 168)
SB: 100 BB (VPIP: 22.93, PFR: 19.27, 3Bet Preflop: 3.50, Hands: 535)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A♥ Q♥

fold, Hero raises to 3 BB, fold, SB calls 2.5 BB, BB raises to 12.5 BB, Hero calls 9.5 BB, SB raises to 100 BB and is all-in, fold, Hero calls 87.5 BB

Flop: (212.5 BB, 2 players) 5♦ 6♦ 4♠
Turn%s: (212.5 BB, 2 players) 9♣
River%s: (212.5 BB, 2 players) K♣

Hero shows A♥ Q♥ (High Card, Ace) (Pre 71%, Flop 80%, Turn 93%)
SB shows J♠ A♠ (High Card, Ace) (Pre 29%, Flop 20%, Turn 7%)
Hero wins 201.9 BB

Hey

Could you post your graph from the beginning of the challenge ? Can't seem to find it ...

Originally posted by wlcKeD
Hey

Could you post your graph from the beginning of the challenge ? Can't seem to find it ...

Hey man!

I stopped posting graphs a while ago because I realized that it helps me alot getting rid of being too results-oriented.

However, here's the graph of the last 40k hands on iPoker in BB. As soon as my slow laptop can spit out the graph for stars I can also post it.

As you can see, it was a rollercoaster and I ended up BE, mostly because of my mental issues that I began solving 2 weeks ago. Currently I am still really relaxed and don't take things too serious.

Okay.

Today I had a short Skype Session with Gordon. He informed me about the rough details of the possible deal. Unfortunately I have to say NO to it. For my current life situation working 10 hours (exkl. breaks) each day is just too much. I want to improve in many life areas and that wouldn't be possible at all if I decided to work with him over the next year at least. Nevertheless, blogging für 60 days was a great experience and I learned a lot about myself throughout the time. I will think of another thread title and continue this blog in the future.

Right now, the user Mitzkracher is coaching me up to NL200. Great thing is he is also a real life friend of mine (we are both from Hannover, Germany).

I will make up a plan for the next weeks and post it here. Right now I finally blocked the contact to my ex-GF so that I stop thinking at her all the time. Now it's going to be Psychology, Poker, and Pickup.. this time for 100%! No excuses.

Hello Mates,

Long time, no read hm? I must say that I did not continue my project in the past because of some huge motivation leaks. I also had to cash out my bankroll some months later to survive in the Netherlands for another 6 months. Now I am kind of back, starting again at 20NL on microgaming.

What happened this year so far?

- Quit my studies, but stayed in the Netherlands to do fulltime Pickup
- started to dance Salsa (I'm quite good in it already :))
- stopped having money // no job & no poker haha
- moved back to Hanover
- started working in a Casino (just for the irony) as a bartender
- cashed in for €250 on 10NL and moved up to 20NL some days ago

This time it should become all better

My main motivation to grind right now is to have enough money for travelling in a couple of months. I am not sure where to go exactly, but I thought of a) Australia, b) USA, or c) Latino-America. Latter enables me to relearn my Spanish and improve in that area, places like Australia or USA are also great. Let's see...

My main leaks right now

Realistically seen, I have great difficulties with session reflections and soaking in new content especially when I am not running great. Often times I just want to grind and that's it. But then I realize that this goes wrong after a while. I had a good upswing on 20NL but then I started slacking in my concentration and suddenly I am BE for >5k hands and my focus is gone.

But at the same time I find it really difficult where to start working on my game again. Maybe I should write down three major leaks every day I grind and then from a sample of a week I should look for these leaks in particular. Sounds like a legit idea.

My enthusiasm about math is also rather limited. Hmm... Actually I want to keep it simple.

My major poker goals for the coming 30 days

1) Develop a good routine for every day I play. This includes a nice warm-up, session structure, and a good cool-down.

2) Reflect a lot / Do a blog entry for every day I play (3 major leaks + 2 Hands)

3) Do not look at the graph or the bankroll for these 30 days. Don't post anything about it, don't think about it that much.

My long term goals with poker

1) Beat 20NL in the long run
2) Again, Become a winning player on 50NL

With that it's enough said I guess. For everyone reading this, thank you already. I definitely write into this blog to share my stuff with you guys, will definitely leave some useful comments in your blog as well.

Cheers and rock it!

Hi Party People!

Long time no see.

A lot of stuff happened since back then. As I wrote already I declined Gordon's offer to work with him. I also quit poker for more than six months. This time I do not want take it so seriously and devote all my spare time to the game, but just have some fun playing some hands here and there while writing a bit about my current life-style.

After spending three years in the Netherlands to study and playing poker I moved back to my hometown of Hanover (Germany) to work part-time in a Casino (who wonders ♦ ) for the last four months. Three weeks ago a friend of mine who studies in Vienna, asked me if I want to move with him to Austria spending the next four months there. I agreed and now it's just one week of relaxing in Germany until I hit off to Austria YEAAAAH!!!! I'm excited for a new environment and a sick time in the capital.

Poker Goals March - June 2015
(listed after priorities)
1. Fixing my broken poker mind.
My mindset is quite fucked atm. I have times that I play super sick and concentrated, play out my opponents and act thoughtful and rational. There are other times (mostly after I already played 2 or 3 hours, or in the middle of the night) that end up with me becoming a automatic-button-click-monkey, or just becoming emotional. This costs me a lot of money and is mainly the main issue I want to handle writing and reflecting on my poker game. There are many variables involved, mainly I have problems with right nutrition, regularly exercising, and sticking to in beforehand set session-lengths.

2. Playing 30k Hands / Months on 20NL

3. Reflecting every day I play
a) Two Hands of the Day
b) Figuring out sticking points (mentally and strategically) --> Improvement!

4. Posting sick stuff and stories about my life.

Can't wait to have some interesting discussions with you guys.

Cheers,

Sebastian

Yo, that's my Graph from this month, so far:

And all I did was meditating a lot throughout the day and being really aware and focusses at the tables. I even had 2-3 huge tilt sessions within it. Nobody can tell me that 20NL is a limit you can't beat without deliberate reflection and practice off the tables. The importance of the mindset (I have the feeling) is like 70-80%.. Ok, I've been playing poker for 3 years now, but still..

I will just keep on grinding 20NL on iPoker since it's super profitable. As you can see...

Hand 1
iPoker - €0.20 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BB): 104.7 BB
UTG: 124.3 BB (VPIP: 21.41, PFR: 17.87, 3Bet Preflop: 8.67, Hands: 1,371)
MP: 100.5 BB (VPIP: 17.24, PFR: 5.17, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 59)
CO: 100 BB (VPIP: 25.84, PFR: 21.77, 3Bet Preflop: 11.34, Hands: 891)
BTN: 101.5 BB (VPIP: 24.85, PFR: 21.41, 3Bet Preflop: 7.25, Hands: 510)
SB: 168.4 BB (VPIP: 13.51, PFR: 8.11, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 38)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has J♥ J♦

fold, fold, fold, BTN raises to 2 BB, fold, Hero raises to 7 BB, BTN calls 5 BB

Flop: (14.5 BB, 2 players) 3♥ 4♠ 3♠
Hero bets 9 BB, BTN calls 9 BB

Turn: (32.5 BB, 2 players) T♠
Hero checks, BTN checks

River: (32.5 BB, 2 players) T♥
Hero bets 25 BB, BTN raises to 85.5 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 60.5 BB

Hero shows J♥ J♦ (Two Pair, Jacks and Tens)
(Pre 57%, Flop 72%, Turn 70%)
BTN shows Q♣ A♠ (Two Pair, Tens and Threes)
(Pre 43%, Flop 28%, Turn 30%)
Hero wins 193.35 BB

Hand2:
Hero (BB): 101 BB
UTG: 90.5 BB (VPIP: 17.65, PFR: 14.63, 3Bet Preflop: 5.00, Hands: 815)
MP: 154.4 BB (VPIP: 21.31, PFR: 18.40, 3Bet Preflop: 4.02, Hands: 560)
CO: 27.4 BB (VPIP: 100.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 1)
BTN: 148.7 BB (VPIP: 21.43, PFR: 17.78, 3Bet Preflop: 8.44, Hands: 1,330)
SB: 54.35 BB (VPIP: 29.77, PFR: 6.11, 3Bet Preflop: 10.17, Hands: 133)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has J♠ K♠

fold, MP raises to 2.5 BB, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls 1.5 BB

Flop: (5.5 BB, 2 players) K♥ 6♥ 2♥
Hero checks, MP bets 3.3 BB, Hero calls 3.3 BB

Turn: (12.1 BB, 2 players) Q♣
Hero checks, MP bets 7.25 BB, Hero calls 7.25 BB

River: (26.6 BB, 2 players) 8♦
Hero checks, MP bets 20 BB, Hero calls 20 BB

Hero shows J♠ K♠ (One Pair, Kings)
(Pre 45%, Flop 55%, Turn 73%)
MP shows 9♠ A♥ (High Card, Ace)
(Pre 55%, Flop 45%, Turn 27%)
Hero wins 63.3 BB

Seriously, If you really want to win on this limit, just wait for those kinds of spots.

Hand 1
iPoker - €0.20 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: 122.7 BB
UTG: 149.2 BB (VPIP: 19.78, PFR: 14.29, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 92)
MP: 100 BB (VPIP: 28.57, PFR: 28.57, 3Bet Preflop: 16.67, Hands: 21)
CO: 111.6 BB (VPIP: 28.57, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 7)
Hero (BTN): 166.65 BB
SB: 95.5 BB (VPIP: 15.38, PFR: 13.08, 3Bet Preflop: 6.12, Hands: 133)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has T♥ T♣

fold, fold, CO raises to 2 BB, Hero raises to 7 BB, fold, fold, CO calls 5 BB

Flop: (15.5 BB, 2 players) 3♠ 9♠ 2♥
CO bets 7 BB, Hero raises to 22.5 BB, CO calls 15.5 BB

Turn: (60.5 BB, 2 players) J♣
CO checks, Hero bets 25 BB, CO calls 25 BB

River: (110.5 BB, 2 players) 6♥
CO checks, Hero bets 77.35 BB, CO calls 57.1 BB

CO shows 2♦ A♠ (One Pair, Twos)
(Pre 29%, Flop 25%, Turn 11%)
Hero shows T♥ T♣ (One Pair, Tens)
(Pre 71%, Flop 75%, Turn 89%)
Hero wins 233.75 BB

Hand 2
iPoker - €0.20 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: 48.5 BB (VPIP: 26.67, PFR: 13.33, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 30)
UTG: 193.9 BB (VPIP: 10.53, PFR: 7.02, 3Bet Preflop: 3.85, Hands: 58)
MP: 100 BB (VPIP: 23.52, PFR: 19.56, 3Bet Preflop: 10.47, Hands: 467)
CO: 318.8 BB (VPIP: 17.14, PFR: 14.29, 3Bet Preflop: 6.25, Hands: 72)
BTN: 141 BB (VPIP: 23.53, PFR: 18.96, 3Bet Preflop: 10.07, Hands: 1,127)
Hero (SB): 304.6 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 9♥ 9♣

fold, fold, CO raises to 3 BB, fold, Hero calls 2.5 BB, BB calls 2 BB

Flop: (9 BB, 3 players) 3♥ 9♠ 3♠
Hero checks, BB checks, CO bets 5.4 BB, Hero raises to 12.5 BB, fold, CO raises to 37 BB, Hero raises to 61.5 BB, CO raises to 86 BB, Hero calls 24.5 BB

Turn: (181 BB, 2 players) K♥
Hero checks, CO bets 127 BB, Hero raises to 215.6 BB, CO calls 88.6 BB

River: (612.2 BB, 2 players) T♠

CO shows A♠ 7♣ (One Pair, Threes)
(Pre 29%, Flop 0.4%, Turn 0%)
Hero shows 9♥ 9♣ (Full House, Nines full of Threes)
(Pre 71%, Flop 99.6%, Turn 100%)
Hero wins 597.2 BB

:f_biggrin::f_biggrin::f_biggrin::f_biggrin::f_biggrin::f_biggrin::f_biggrin: