They say good things come to those who wait.. So I'ma be at least an hour late.

Hey man

Sick Sick Graph! You are on

How many tables do you play out of interest? and do you find with less tables you tilt more?

i'm only asking as i am trying to balance my playing a-game and not tilting when someone sucks out which is what has been happening lately.

Obviously you have been working on your mental game so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Hey mate, nice to see you back here

Yeah I've been going very well. Yesterday actually was my first poor performance of the month. I ran bad, but after reviewing, I think I've made mistakes worth of around 2.5 buyins in total... Lost my rhythm a little bit. Now will have to respond and deliver, not necessarily in terms of cash, but decisions made. Everything's still very much OK for now, tho.

To answer your questions, I usually play 5 regular tables. Been trying to increase it to 6, but for whatever reason I don't feel that comfortable in decision making then. So for me it's actually the opposite, I tilt more when I play more tables, because I suffer from mistake tilt quite a lot, especially if I made a mistake versus a reg.

In your case, I'd start from the basics. Play around with some poker variance simulators. Put in, say, 5k hands for a short-term sample, 5bb winrate to simulate a decent winner and see what kind of swings are absolutely expected in poker. I'm sure you heard it all before, but tilting after suckouts is one of the most pointless and inefficient things in poker. Try to put your focus on your game, on every single decision and try to eliminate unnecessary thoughts like dwelling on bad beats, because you probably don't even realize how many mistakes you are doing at the tables even when you think you are playing well.

Whenever you feel like you are starting to tilt, sit-out for a bit and inject some logic like "This is the vital part of the game which will never change and the reason I make money, so the only option is to make peace with it" or "I got the money in good which is my mission in poker, nothing to worry about". If you feel it does not help and you still steam no matter what, take a break until you cool down. Listen to some mental game poker podcasts away from the tables OR while playing. You'll find some easily in google. If you are serious about it, get a book called "The mental game of poker" and work with it. It does not read like a novel, it's actually a workbook and you have to work with it.

And then grind, grind, grind until you see how common getting sucked out on is. You'll then realize there are so many more important things to spend your energy on.

Thanks very much for the advice!

I'm going to find one of those Audio books tonight and play 4 tables and see how I do. 6 tables makes me make too many mistakes and 2 tables tilts me when I lose big hands to fish. Deffinately need to work on my mental game as I play well when I work hard and concentrate.

Good luck at the tables !

Originally posted by stompy91
Thanks very much for the advice!

I'm going to find one of those Audio books tonight and play 4 tables and see how I do. 6 tables makes me make too many mistakes and 2 tables tilts me when I lose big hands to fish. Deffinately need to work on my mental game as I play well when I work hard and concentrate.

Good luck at the tables !

the audio books from elliot roe are awesome...i got a couple of them 1 of which is 7 minute tilt buster...it is absolutely awesome ..if you need let me know.cheers..

Yeah, what's it called and where can I get it?

Thanks.

Friend request sent.

Sharing is caring guys, nice to see that this thread can help some people.

So December so far is a roller coaster. It started off great, we even moved up to 50nl, but then we faced some challengez!

As a result, it's probably not a surprise that this picture (took it a couple of days ago) sums my up my daily activities pretty accurately.

No, I mean everything is still awesome. True, it's tough at times, I had some entitlement, ego and injustice tilt issues, but this is why I hold that book in my hand. To see EV rise is encouraging and BsB is very supportive too, so what's there to complain about really? On top of that, there's also rakeback.

Best thing is that I can clearly feel the improvement. Sure, sometimes it's hindered by bad luck/bad play because of emotions, but when I am on it, I feel like a completely different player than I was two months ago. I am starting to see what is actually happening at the tables. Decision making, planning of the hand, confidence... I am taking lines and actions which were an unknown territory for me just a while ago. We have a coaching session, talk about a spot, I make notes and adjustments the next session I play and it yields me a buy-in of profit. Finally, I am starting to SEE why I was just a marginal winner/breaking even guy for so long.

This is why I dedicate this lovely bootleg to BrokesoBroke. Because, well, he literally is waking me up and making me see, in every way of poker.

(Please listen to it only with good speakers with some bass or quality headphones)

Things left to do for December is to reach my goal of 40k hands played, but I already have 34k clocked in, so even though volume will be reduced because of Christmas, it should be no problem.

And obviously, to keep working well. It's now been 29 days straight in a row I played poker, really want to make it a month. Such consistency helps in bringing solid state of mind to the tables and makes it easier to think long term. Which is hard when you run bad.

Originally posted by Pkrpains
Running good makes it all easier of course, but I definitely feel that the quality of my mental game has increased by doing these things. Sustaining all of that when I hit a rough patch will be a test, sure.

OK, so now that I shared some good results, positive things and am feeling optimistic, doomswitch in 3..2..1..

December has been a fun month so far.

Compared to November, it's a clear improvement as can be seen below after looking at some numbers. 1.5 times more EV won in 1.5 times less hands.

I also reached my volume goal:
Volume. To me, it's really a solid amount of hands. December will be harder to reach something like that because of the obvious reasons... But I still aim for 40k or so.

So there is plenty to be happy about. There has also been solid improvements in mental game, attitude, tilt control, recognition of emotions, confidence, motivation. And these were my main areas of focus before the month! Obviously I am a human, got affected a couple of times and made mistakes, but that is a part of a learning process and expecting to play perfectly under such circumstances would be unrealistic to say the least. Hell, my old me probably would have just taken another half a year break from poker.

Technical game also has been improved I believe, it's just not translating into results at the moment, so that one is hard to prove.

I've played poker for 32 days in a row now. Probably a good time in every way to take a little time off. I wish everyone a Merry Christmas, have a good time with your families and please forget about all that commercial stuff. Focus on what is real.

With love,
Emis

Merry Xmas! You deserve a break! Great job! Not a lot of people can pull running 1k below EV and still pull a positive EV LINE!!! May 2016 bring back all the EV for you!@!

Hey BsB, always nice to see you in this thread! Thank you for everything you do and for all those good wishes. I WILL deserve some payback, and will it come or not, that is it's own choice.

//

Really needed a break. Spent some quality family time, had a nice Christmas party with a bunch of friends and now am feeling refreshed when that hangover is gone.

Best thoughts usually come after some rest and I think this is now happening to me as well.

I realized I am STILL not working hard enough. My volume goal last month was 40k hands. It looked a lot to me and I was happy to achieve it. But then I saw some successful people who played 60k in a month and said that their volume suck. That's a difference between people who actually achieve and average Joes like me.

Poker is hard nowadays. It's easier for some who are more naturally suited for the game (aka have talent) and harder for others who love poker, but have to learn and adopt all the required skills, qualities the hard way. The more I try, the more I realize how much effort has to be given in order to advance.

Yes, last two months for me were a step forward in a good direction. In two months I played more than 100k hands. But I must take it to the next level starting ASAP.

// Final December recap

I think I've said everything I wanted about this month in my previous posts. Not much to add to it. Hopefully December buys itself something nice with my EV bucks. GG, was a pleasure, you really improved me as a player. Thank you and goodbye.

Obviously we can't control how we run. But when I will finally catch a decent upswing, there's gonna be blood.

Motivation levels sky high. I crave for success. So, really looking forward to what 2016 has in store. Personally it's going to be a big year, in many ways. Poker is an important part of that.

Hopefully this hand I played in today's session can be a nice introduction to what's probably going to be a deciding year in poker for me.

saw flop | saw showdown

Hero (BB) ($66.15)
UTG ($124.95)
MP ($54.85)
CO ($66.50)
Button ($62.15)
SB ($16.75)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q♠, Q♥
2 folds, CO raises to $1.25, Button calls $1.25, 1 fold, Hero raises to $5.50, 1 fold, Button raises to $9.75, Hero calls $4.25

Flop: ($21) 9♥, A♠, 9♣ (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $0.50, Hero calls $0.50

Turn: ($22) Q♦ (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

River: ($22) Q♣ (2 players)
Hero bets $8.35, Button raises to $51.90 (All-In), Hero calls $43.55

Total pot: $125.80 | Rake: $3

Wow! You running hot! :))) Keep the good work up! Things will get better
Happy 2♣:K♦:T♥:6♠:

Hotter than fire, mate. Nice to see you ITT! People like us we gotta stick together! Best of luck in 2k16 to you yourself. Cheers

So these New Year celebrations and things related to that delayed the start of my 2016 campaign a little bit. I played my first session on Monday, which means that already I am on a back foot a little bit. I had only 5 poker-less days in December, and that is including Christmas, New Year, etc. This means I'll have to try and make up for these 3 days lost by playing a bit more every day.

It's funny. Even though I don't work because of the injury and stay at home at the moment, it's not that easy for me to lock down on poker and put in sick volume. I have family around, especially my younger sister and I enjoy spending time with her, so closing the door, leaving her alone and clicking mouse in front of the computer would seem a little inappropriate for me... I would not feel good about it. For example, today we were cooking these things. Had tons of fun!

This is why I average around ~2k hands a day for some time now. It's not spectacular, but still a decent number. My goal for January is 50 000.

First sessions of 2016 went well:

But of course December started even better and we all know what happened later. So I don't really put any emphasis on these results. It's just a good feeling to finally get a break and run above EV for a bit. ♠_pleased: And, well, people love graphs.

I thought a lot about what goals should I set for the year. Problem is, one year is quite a lot of time in such a dynamic environment, it's hard to come up with realistic and sensible goals. I'll have two of them.

Established player @200nl by the end of the year.
Being a proper, easy to work with student of BsB to sustain constant improvement.

Really, consistency is the key for everything and I am a hard believer that it's a necessary piece of the puzzle if one wants to succeed. When I ask myself "why did not I make it earlier", one of the answers is that I just wasn't consistent. Bursts of motivation then long periods of inactivity, thoughts all over the place, etc.

Having a mentor I fully trust really helps in this area. Now I am not only responsible for myself, I also have a business partner (let's put it this way) who I don't want to disappoint. I am a man of integrity and last thing I want to do is to let him down after the belief that has been shown in me and an opportunity that was given. It's much easier to be inspired AND motivated for longer periods of time, which builds habits. Having habits that are related to goals is a straight way to achieving them. Little by little, day after day. This is how it happens.

Next Monday I am participating in Cabin Crew recruitment day. Several successful people who pass through all 3 stages of recruitment land a job in an airline as junior flight attendant. I've been considering this career pretty seriously and am going to give it a shot. The result will alter my plans for the coming half a year at least. If I make it, I'll have a stable job which I'd (from the looks of it) like and still have time to play. If not, chances are I'll turn to poker really seriously. Thing is, those recruitment days are also full of variance. Just like a multi table tournament. Lots of participants and only a few lucky ones land it. I realize it's much more likely that I am going to fail than to make it, but I'm really after a change of career. Let's give it a go.

GL! You will get higher than 200NL by the end of 2016

Thank you sir, I really hope you're right. It's going to be a hard!

// Time for some funny hands.

These two versus the same guy... I am probably not in his friend list now.

SB ($106.85)
BB ($213.70)
Hero (UTG) ($85.10)
MP ($283)
CO ($92.50)
Button ($89.65)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, J
Hero raises to $1.50, MP raises to $5.25, 4 folds, Hero calls $3.75

Flop: ($11.25) 10, 6, J (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $7, Hero calls $7

Turn: ($25.25) 6 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $19.50, Hero calls $19.50

River: ($64.25) 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $57, Hero calls $53.35 (All-In)

Total pot: $170.95 | Rake: $3

Results below:

___

SB ($97.25)
BB ($79.40)
UTG ($240.80)
Hero (MP) ($113.40)
CO ($11.10)
Button ($44.05)

Preflop: Hero is MP with K, A
UTG raises to $1.50, Hero raises to $6, 4 folds, UTG raises to $12.50, Hero calls $6.50

Flop: ($25.75) 3, A, 6 (2 players)
UTG bets $11, Hero calls $11

Turn: ($47.75) Q (2 players)
UTG bets $27.20, Hero calls $27.20

River: ($102.15) 7 (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero checks

Total pot: $102.15 | Rake: $3

Results below:

Ouch!

MP ($78.60)
Button ($54.30)
SB ($85.60)
BB ($67.55)
Hero (UTG) ($60.25)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, K
Hero raises to $1.50, MP calls $1.50, Button raises to $6.50, 2 folds, Hero raises to $14, 1 fold, Button calls $7.50

Flop: ($30.25) 6, 3, 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $40.30 (All-In), Hero calls $40.30

Turn: ($110.85) 9 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($110.85) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $110.85 | Rake: $3

Results below:

____

Button ($20.75)
SB ($43.85)
BB ($220.20)
UTG ($121.05)
Hero (MP) ($247.10)
CO ($60.75)

Preflop: Hero is MP with Q, K
UTG raises to $1.50, Hero raises to $4.75, 2 folds, SB calls $4.50, 1 fold, UTG calls $3.25

Flop: ($14.75) J, 2, 8 (3 players)
SB checks, UTG checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($14.75) 5 (3 players)
SB bets $10, 1 fold, Hero calls $10

River: ($34.75) 7 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $30, SB calls $29.10 (All-In)

Total pot: $92.95 | Rake: $3

Results below:

And in this one got owned hard myself.
Button ($37.95)
SB ($92)
Hero (BB) ($65.40)
UTG ($104.50)
MP ($66.30)
CO ($90.90)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q, J
UTG raises to $1.50, 2 folds, Button calls $1.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $6, UTG calls $4.50, Button calls $4.50

Flop: ($18.25) 2, 6, 3 (3 players)
Hero checks, UTG checks, Button checks

Turn: ($18.25) 6 (3 players)
Hero bets $11.75, UTG calls $11.75, 1 fold

River: ($41.75) K (2 players)
Hero bets $47.65 (All-In), UTG calls $47.65

Total pot: $137.05 | Rake: $3

Results below:

Oops.

Originally posted by Pkrpains
Next Monday I am participating in Cabin Crew recruitment day. Several successful people who pass through all 3 stages of recruitment land a job in an airline as junior flight attendant. I've been considering this career pretty seriously and am going to give it a shot. The result will alter my plans for the coming half a year at least. If I make it, I'll have a stable job which I'd (from the looks of it) like and still have time to play. If not, chances are I'll turn to poker really seriously. Thing is, those recruitment days are also full of variance. Just like a multi table tournament. Lots of participants and only a few lucky ones land it. I realize it's much more likely that I am going to fail than to make it, but I'm really after a change of career. Let's give it a go.

Just came back home from the assessment day. Passed through all 4 stages. ~35 of us started the day, only 9 made it to the last stage, myself included. I am happy with my performance, would rate myself at around 8.5/10. We'll see if that's enough. Overall, there's hardly a thing I would change if I had another go, maybe just a couple of answers could have been better. Other than that, really happy about the way I handled myself.

Now's the hardest part - waiting for a call or an email until Wednesday. Then the big news are going to come! But deep inside, I know I'm not drawing dead.

Ladies and gentelmen,

I GOT THE JOB!!! I fkn made it! They selected me along with only a few other people!

What a start of the year. Obviously, this means a safer future for me, especially having in mind that there will be lots of career possibilities if I do well, so once again, it's up to me to do well! Add to it the fact that I'll be able to play poker, too. I am a really happy man right now. Needed that one to feel safe.

Do I look like a flight attendant?

Congratulations man ! ♦

You deserve it!

Cabin crew is the best! I nearly became part of BA crew many years ago. Tough course!
Congrats also on the impressive start to 2016 too.

Regards

Matt