♠ A Show of Force ♠ Mid-Highstakes Action

I do think society pushes on us standards to have as much as possible.

But that's because we live in a consume society and it's in the companies' best interest for us to just want more and more.

yea, those marketing guys do a lot.

We can see poker itself as example. Fish are working long work hours boring or shitty jobs and then they lose the money at poker. They are paying practically for nothing. For fun maybe. I am not sure if they really could not find smth other for fun and free or cheaper. But the poker room marketing teams do good and I wish they do even better

For me to play poker without wining would not be fun. Unless MTTs where you can loose in long run, but have chance to win big prize like in lottery.

When friends offer to play some other game and putting in the pot even like 1 $, I do not want, because I know in that other game they have skill. The game has randomness, you know those board games like monopoly. So similar to poker.

Originally posted by M1rCea
thanks Zanardi, i know it's the only reason u're here
Finally took the time to render this

A short clip where I go a bit indepth on how the concept of accountability helped me in my journey and how it actually is pretty elusive and hard to proactively keep in your life.

too loud cars in the street sometimes.

About external pressure. You mean little pressure, or hard enough so that you start to feel stress?

About going to job regardless of how I feel. I would really want not to go to job when I feel bad. Maybe I am just half productive, so its waste of time. Maybe would be good to do smth like sports that time to make you feel better. Or like if in the morning I feel good, but after few hours of work I start to feel shitty, I wish I could also stop working that day and I could go really rest. And of course I would want to earn enough money for living with that schedule. I mean, when I feel bad, or bored, just do less hours in a month.
So then probably you would get much less stress. You would go to work for fun, not for starting to feel shitty.
Like now, I probably could go away after half day of work and then work another missing hours on weekend when I feel rested. But I am not doing so because I want to have totally free weekend and forget the work.
And I think with poker its same. We play poker for fun. And to earn money. But earning money we can in not fun job. But poker is about earning money and having fun. So if you mean by pressure - to have stress, and make poker become like other shitty jobs, then I do not agree

Hey SpeedFanatic, you bring up some very good points, will write up a post soon going deeper into what you said - but for now in short, I don't think the pressure should make you feel stressed in a bad way, but it should be enough to make you not want to look bad/ feel bad, and also reward you somehow.
Secondly, I think you develop an identity and your emotions and mind want you to stay the same, they do not want you to evolve and have a sick life because that would be too uncomfortable / outside of your current reality.

The main thing today is I wanted to share a post from an entrepreneur I respect, which really got me thinking - it applies to poker as well.

How To Become More Successful... By Not Working???
A lot of entrepreneurs struggle with getting their work accomplished on a daily basis
… and I’ve taken some time off to study this phenomenon.
Guess what I found out?
I found out that most of them are working ALL the time.
I get it.... “If you work all the time, won’t you be able to get more work accomplished?”
Surprisingly no… It’s actually counterintuitive.
I believe that we have to take some time off every now and then to recharge our mental batteries and find new and creative ways to see the world and solve our problems.
Just working all the time leads to mental exhaustion
… and that leads to a lack of diligence and focus in your work.
Here are a few activities that can help recharge your mental batteries:
- Lifting weights
- Taking a hike
- Spending time with a friend
- Spending time in nature
- Going on a bike ride
- Swimming
- Meditating
All of these activities help you connect with your “authentic / higher self” so that you can come back to your work refreshed and ready to take on the world.
So aim to take 2 hours of each day to do something that energizes and rejuvenates you…
You’ll notice a difference in the way you work.... trust me.
Let me know in the comments about what activities you do to relax and recharge your energy.
- Aleks Vitkin

This really is in line with what I was reading about Rockefeller about pacing yourself. I thought you just want to work as much as possible, any time for recreation can be spent to work more, so it's pretty useless. I am slowly putting together in my mind a new paradigm for success, motivation and a happy life.

Careful though, not to mistake recreation for petty distractions like going into zombie mode with TV/Facebook/Youtube and other cheap stimulation.
For me it would def be something that doesn't involve sitting in front of my PC b/c I already do too much of that.
Things like going to the gym, going for a walk/run/rollerblading, going out with friends, meeting new ppl/girls, playing sports, hiking, spending time in nature in silence, going on a date with a girl I like, writing (maybe?).

Live the Good Life

Daniel SoF

There is no justice (hand vs reg)

$0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 4 Players

Hero (SB): $113.59 (113.6 bb)
BB: $103 (103 bb)
CO: $101.50 (101.5 bb)
BTN: $150.49 (150.5 bb)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A A
2 folds, Hero raises to $3, BB raises to $9, Hero raises to $22, BB raises to $103 and is all-in, Hero calls $81

Flop: ($206) Q Q K (2 players, 1 is all-in)
Turn: ($206) T (2 players, 1 is all-in)
River: ($206) 7 (2 players, 1 is all-in)

Results:

Weekly BR Challenge Report
Played Hands: 5.791
Results: -$215
Current BR: $8.621
34 weeks

Big update coming soon! Meanwhile I'll leave you with a big pot I played earlier

$0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 4 Players

SB: $98.15 (98.2 bb)
BB: $269.42 (269.4 bb)
Hero (CO): $239.71 (239.7 bb)
BTN: $306.34 (306.3 bb)

Preflop: Hero is CO with T T
Hero raises to $2.50, BTN raises to $10, 2 folds, Hero calls $7.50

Flop: ($21.50) Q 6 T (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $15.05, Hero raises to $49, BTN calls $33.95

Turn: ($119.50) 7 (2 players)
Hero bets $69, BTN calls $69

River: ($257.50) 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $178.34, Hero calls $111.71

Results:

And a heavenly blessed beauty

Can't decide if I like blondes or brunettes better.

Daniel SoF

$0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 4 Players

SB: $98.15 (98.2 bb)
BB: $269.42 (269.4 bb)
Hero (CO): $239.71 (239.7 bb)
BTN: $306.34 (306.3 bb)

Preflop: Hero is CO with T T
Hero raises to $2.50, BTN raises to $10, 2 folds, Hero calls $7.50

Flop: ($21.50) Q 6 T (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $15.05, Hero raises to $49, BTN calls $33.95

Turn: ($119.50) 7 (2 players)
Hero bets $69, BTN calls $69

River: ($257.50) 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $178.34, Hero calls $111.71

Results:

Spoiler

$480.92 pot ($4.00 rake)
Final Board: Q 6 T 7 8
Hero mucked T T and won $476.92 ($237.21 net)
BTN showed K A and lost (-$239.71 net)

could you explain your thinking process ott&otr.Do you think this is the best line to take and induce some bluff shoves otr or are you missing some value against AA-KK?

Originally posted by M1rCea
Weekly BR Challenge Report
Results: -$215

Originally posted by SPeedFANat1c
We can see poker itself as example. Fish are working long work hours boring or shitty jobs and then they lose the money at poker. They are paying practically for nothing. For fun maybe. I am not sure if they really could not find smth other for fun and free or cheaper. But the poker room marketing teams do good and I wish they do even better

I don't know if I agree here with you. Maybe the chaps we call fish have jobs they love and they don't mind at all losing $50 once in a while by playing 90% VPIP. However, I think we are all like this, more or less, simply due to the fact that we want to spend our earned money. There is no point in hoarding all the money we can make and spent the least amount possible on food, water and electricity.

As an example, we go to the movies. We pay an amount for the ticket. The Hollywood marketers may as well think that the movie goers work in their job only to part for a small amount of their earnings so they can make Leo di Caprio and the whole crew millionaires. This perspective is correct, but the movie goers' perspective is also correct. Leo gets millions of dollars and the movie goers get 2-3 hours of fun. It's +EV for everybody.

BeyondAverage, TT hand: During the hand I thought he's never calling off with KK-AA anyway, and I give him the chance to bluff some missed combodraws.
Thinking a bit afterwards, from an overall game plan perspective it's not good and I would have to go ahead and still shove my value range OTR, I don't really have hands that want to start bluffcatching b/c he doesn't have 9x in his range, or BDFD's for that matter.

Zanardi, u make a good point.
--------------------------------------------------

Some interesting updates this week, most notable being that I'm no longer in Romania:

In the video I discuss moving to Malta, mention some socializing with romanian strippers. Also going into the topic of how you view yourself in relation to others, if you view it as a competition, ego thing, or as a collaboration, a team. Interacting with others with their benefit in mind as opposed to just thinking 'what can I get out of this?'.

Weekly BR Challenge Report
Played Hands: 9.648
Results: $1589
Current BR: $10.210
35 weeks

This week I've started shooting 200NL again, my approach is way different this time around, mostly going for regular tables, table selecting harder, playing 5-6 tables (although should stop at 5 actually), try to keep my sessions short. I'm really struggling with keeping my tables on a low number because I get to put in such less volume, but my quality is SO much higher I feel like.

I should be working on my game more off the tables, but I have no idea what to work on/which path to take. At least I'm thinking ingame more.

Overall life is VERY good in Malta, living right by the sea, in a sick flat, with my coaches - a highstakes reg and a GTO master, both of which are very cool guys, we often hit the gym together, along with another of the group of coaches.
Also, there's so much potential for fun adventures, like meeting a lot of girls etc, but first I have to get into momentum with it, since I got so out of that mode from just sitting in my room for 4 months straight back in my hometown. Already went out with a yoga teacher, which was pretty interesting.

All this aside, my main focus now would be to crush NL200 as fast as possible, so I can keep living here, b/c the costs are way higher than in Romania - I would spend ~2x than I used to in Bucharest. So I should keep that in mind as a priority.

Peace out
SoF

Blockers Deluxe. Don't try stuff like this lol.

$1/$2 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players

Hero (CO): $388.19 (194.1 bb)
BTN: $200 (100 bb)

Preflop: Hero is CO with K T
2 folds, Hero raises to $4.50, BTN raises to $16.50, 2 folds, Hero calls $12

Flop: ($36) A T K (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $16, Hero calls $16

Turn: ($68) 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN checks

River: ($68) 7 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $167.50 and is all-in, Hero calls $167.50

Results:

why are you not betting the River?

e) remembered that you wanted to c/r^^

LOL... he reps nothing with this line.. is he a reg?

i want to leave you a message
add me on community please

thanks

Originally posted by M1rCea
Weekly BR Challenge Report
Played Hands: 5.791
Results: -$215
Current BR: $8.621
34 weeks

Big update coming soon! Meanwhile I'll leave you with a big pot I played earlier

$0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 4 Players

SB: $98.15 (98.2 bb)
BB: $269.42 (269.4 bb)
Hero (CO): $239.71 (239.7 bb)
BTN: $306.34 (306.3 bb)

Preflop: Hero is CO with T T
Hero raises to $2.50, BTN raises to $10, 2 folds, Hero calls $7.50

Flop: ($21.50) Q 6 T (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $15.05, Hero raises to $49, BTN calls $33.95

Turn: ($119.50) 7 (2 players)
Hero bets $69, BTN calls $69

River: ($257.50) 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $178.34, Hero calls $111.71

Results:

Spoiler

$480.92 pot ($4.00 rake)
Final Board: Q 6 T 7 8
Hero mucked T T and won $476.92 ($237.21 net)
BTN showed K A and lost (-$239.71 net)

And a heavenly blessed beauty

Can't decide if I like blondes or brunettes better.

Daniel SoF

sick hand how in the word he could play like that I would thinkg its a fold on river, because would not expect there a bluff at all, when so many got there. What range you did put him on? I mean there are sometimes some maniacs, but how often

Update: ok later saw you wrote that you do not want bluffcatch this also

@panda - yeah , don't u agree w/ x/R riv? I am thinking I will mostly check my range on this river, not sure if I'm leading much. legit?
@2reac - yeah, russian reg
@waza - done
@speed - how many got there? think of some hands that make sense for him to have that beat us. I think there are very few. I did not want to bluffcatch because I thought I should keep valuebetting, not because I think I am afraid I'm losing vs his range

@speed - how many got there? think of some hands that make sense for him to have that beat us. I think there are very few. I did not want to bluffcatch because I thought I should keep valuebetting, not because I think I am afraid I'm losing vs his range

yea, tried to think, really its hard. It also depends on his 3bet range in that position. And if he flats most of 9x, then there is even harder to think of what beats us. The only thing - even if there is single combo that beats us, it still might be that he only bets there a single combo to a good hand reading player, who does not fold, because he he thinks that there are rarely a value. BUt there starts leveling if he is not leveling, then probably he has to bet balanced range.

Weekly BR Challenge Report
Played Hands: 11.240
Results: $418
Current BR: $10.650
36 weeks

Some core lessons from this week, recorded on Sunday. You can also see a bit of the flat.

Speaking in a softer voice, because flatmate was sleeping.

Enjoy, like the vid and subscribe if u found it useful motherfuckers.

Daniel SoF

Originally posted by M1rCea
Weekly BR Challenge Report
Played Hands: 11.240
Results: $418
Current BR: $10.650
36 weeks

Some core lessons from this week, recorded on Sunday. You can also see a bit of the flat.

Speaking in a softer voice, because flatmate was sleeping.

Enjoy, like the vid and subscribe if u found it useful motherfuckers.

Daniel SoF

so much better to listen without those background noices like wind or cars.
I am also in distractions mode, even watching your videos is distraction but hoping to hear something usefull from mid stakes player

Nice place you got! Love that view I think your life will def be more balanced there!

Originally posted by vonki
Nice place you got! Love that view I think your life will def be more balanced there!

hey thanks vonki, that's what i'm striving for haha

Actually recorded a new video just on Moving to Malta, since a lot of people have been asking me how it is here, and others are interested in moving to Malta as well. It's recorded on the road to the gym, I'm joined by one of my flat mates, who's also a RIO coach.
I talk about general expenses, night life, rent prices, maltese girls, the dream machine, etc. Also included some images with the view, with surrounding little pretty streets, so enjoy.

What did you think about the vid? About the dream machine's upside down monitors?
Like, sub, gl at the tables.

Daniel SoF