Accomplish the objective and get the best out of myself!

hahahahah :f_biggrin:

Originally posted by Hesticus
Yo dude!

Non-showdown winnings are mostly like this, especially at the beginning. The biggest reason is inexperience but not only from yourself. People at NL2 suck at folding

Thanks for your comments!

Cheers,
Hesticus

Makes sense! Will comment more on the stupid way I think so you can help me hahaha :f_biggrin::f_biggrin:

Update Week 13

BR Week 12: $98.66
BR Week 13: $99.41
Profit/Loss according to HM2: $1.04
Hands played: 1,569
BB/100: 3.31/100
Rakeback: $0.28
Net Profit/Loss: $0.75

Finally, the rake back comes close to accurate

Graph Results

It's been quite a long time since it has been so volatile I have a few ideas how this is possible.

Information Overload

That's right, I have been reading quite some of TMGOP 2 and have read about 65 pages so far. As you can see on my Dropbox, the amount of files added isn't really stagnating TMGOP has already stated in their book that even this book could be an information overload for you since you have to take into account many new things. I truly like to work on my mental game and get my mind straight and I do believe it is working. However, with all the new information soaked up I can only imagine that it takes time to get used to doing new things next to playing poker.

Variance

This is one of the reasons as well. I am a proponent in trying to avoid the 'let's blame it the variance'-principle So far, it has worked and I came with many other reasons. However, I have been tracking a record of the variance and have a look at the following image:

For those of you who are interested in the details, please click this link.

The last 4 hands were all-in hands that were lost. The equity on my end were also unfavorable. Does this mean these were all bad calls/shoves? Not necessarily. Of course, with some hands I beat more hands than with others. However, in the end, I was simply dominated. This also let me think at higher stakes that more of these situations is going to happen and I will need to be fully prepared for this. That is, non-showdown winnings need to be improved, showdown winnings overall as well. I sometimes need to find a way to make a hero call or hero fold. Above all, I need to study my game to a higher level if I want to keep up with the competition.

Trial & Error

During last week, I was trying to play on 4 tables as well without financial success. However, I have been recording an A-game journal as stated in one of my previous updates and this has been working quite well for me. In the last 1.5 weeks, I hadn't played my C-game in such great extent so I wanted to push myself as TMGP 2 suggests. Trough this trial & error, I was able to spot my C-game way more clearly and know where I need to work on. For instance, where I thought that I had relative high equity hands way more under control, it turns out that I still need to work on this since I lost again with AK vs TT on a wet flop (:Tx::Qx::Ax: ). In the end I am not ashamed that I lost these hands. It only confirms me that I know better where to work on. I also noted that I don't have low pair values under control. That is, I spew chips with lowest pairs in order to pick up the pot if no one takes action. However, at NL2 this is incredibly dangerous since people don't fold here

Something Else

As the name of this thread already implies, I will start in September with my Masters and would have to make a Gmat in order to be allowed to actually study at a university where I want to. I have tried to obtain a scholarship but this didn't work out. So I have to put all my strength together to study this frigging Gmat The test of the Gmat is 26th of April. I will need to bulk up my study time for this Gmat and would have to put poker aside for a few weeks. I will therefore ask SvenBe today if I can take a break from the Bankroll Challenge and have a new update from the 2nd of May

Hand Discussion

Hand 1

Would you have flat called pre-flop here?
Would you have called the 3 streets from villain?

Hand 2

Could we bet OTF OOP?

Alright, hope you enjoyed it and will keep reading my blog I will let you know the answer of SvenBe and update you all accordingly!

Cheers,

Hesticus:f_drink:

Hi everyone!

Have gotten the answer of SvenBe and was given green light to postpone my bankroll challenge.

I will be posting again from 26 March on as I will be very much occupied with my study for the Gmat. Of course, I will let you know about the result (if I am not too ashamed ).

Cheers,
Hesticus:f_drink:

GL my friend! I am sure you will suceed!

Hey man,

Good luck with the Gmat, will be waiting for your news.

Hand 1: looks solid to me, he is playing a lot of hand and agressively. You could always be facing two pairs, but most likely draws, pairs + draws or Qx.

Hand 2: I like to keep impressions and as the pre-flop raiser and with a spade flush blocker would probably barrel flop and turn. UTG seems tight solid and BTN seems passive. Maybe those are the kind of situations you need to improve your no-showdown profit

Originally posted by vonki
GL my friend! I am sure you will suceed!

Thanks for your kind words

Originally posted by heltucosta
Hey man,

Good luck with the Gmat, will be waiting for your news.

Hand 1: looks solid to me, he is playing a lot of hand and agressively. You could always be facing two pairs, but most likely draws, pairs + draws or Qx.

Hand 2: I like to keep impressions and as the pre-flop raiser and with a spade flush blocker would probably barrel flop and turn. UTG seems tight solid and BTN seems passive. Maybe those are the kind of situations you need to improve your no-showdown profit

Yes, with hand 1 you're right, he did show up with 2p I think with 3 solid barrels on this board you are mostly not up against anything lower than KQ so I was drawing here at best.

Hand 2 was maybe a good idea since with a spade flush blocker, I only need to be worried for Jx hands on later streets since they will keep calling me off. Sets will raise me here so I can safely fold instantly. Low pp may call 1 street but I might have taken an aggressive line here. Ah well, next month another month

Cheers,
Hesticus

Hey guys

Well, the Gmat didn't go as planned. Didn't get enough points and have to look for another solution. I have a couple of options, have made list with the variables that come with the options and weigh these. Seems like the best solution is to find a job and find an opportunity in the future to do an MBA if I'm lucky a company wants to help me with it (so far for my whole title here on the blog ). Anyway, it right away hits my fear of failure because in a way I feel I failed even though it's not like that. I just can't stop the thought of looking and finding a nice job and at the beginning having in my head that I could have done better. I could have made a Master degree already and have a more fancy position or better salary, those kind of things. In practice it doesn't work this way of course because I know (with the help of the Mental Game of Poker) that I want recognition and making my own decisions. Recognition isn't only achieved by having a Master degree and a fancy title. Recognition can be achieved in many ways but it just doesn't feel that way right now for me. Anyway, I just make use of my strong points and that is that I have a lot of motivation in me and I will manage this, no problem. I will find a job and live another day Who knows what the future will bring.

I will start playing poker from this week on. I will have to make a few things right and will give a second update next Monday. I will start reading MGoP this week as well and continue where I left Feel like playing again!

Cheers,
Hesticus

Update Week 19

BR Week 13: $99.41
BR Week 19: $100.87
Profit/Loss according HM2: 1.46
Hands played: 345
BB/100: 21.2
Rakeback: $0.30
Net Profit/Loss: $1.46

Graph

Didn't play too many hands because I was preparing quite some stuff. I also deleted my hands on HM2 during my re-occurring SQL problem I still do but I think this week I will have a bit more time left to play but let's see. My first priorities will be finding a job, get a bit more connections and work on my fear of failure.

Fear of Failure
I finally found a website in which I can also work. However, I also see that these websites do not deviate so much from MGoP. It always gives assignments with certain questions that are all similar. In fact, I'd say the MGoP has a bit more in depth questions and I see actually the solution what I can do when I know I will be confronted with my fear. I now also see the difference when indeed I have my A-game, B- or C-game with regards to my flaws as a person. When I have my A-game and feel good it isn't that obvious that I have a fear. I am a sales person and when I feel good, people don't really see that I have this fear because I know what I have to do and have to say. However, when something totally unexpected happens, my brain shuts down completely and I lose control over my own thinking. That's where the trouble starts. I will have to live with this for the rest of my life and that is OK. However, there are ways around everything and there is indeed a way to get my energy on such level that most of the time I can prevent that I shut down completely. I recall moments in my life that someone said something totally unexpected to me and I couldn't say anything. I also remember moments in my life that I just instantly said something totally unexpected back in which I was even surprised by myself that I said that. I remember that people then even said 'wow, that was a really good one'. It was like an automatic response and at first I didn't know where it came from. Now I know that during the times it happened, I felt comfortable with my surroundings, I had good conversations, people treated me with respect, didn't try to make me feel inferior and my energy level was rising because of this. This means that I need to have a rising energy level and have to be with people who also give me that. It is actually a simple concept because you don't need to have a great study of knowing this. However, different people come with the answer through different ways. I have my way and I am satisfied to see the solution now and that I also can explain to myself why.

Hand Review

Alright, so far the mental aspect of my game

Hand 1

Would you have played this one differently?
Would you even call OTF against such a bet?

Hand 2

Can we call 1 street here?

And my first BB

Alright guys, that's it for this today. Hope you enjoyed reading

Cheers,
Hesticus:f_drink:

Hey man, nice blog you got here. I had about 2 bad weeks my br challenge was going the wrong direction (somewhere between running bad and playing bad) so its nice to see you're doing well. Comparing the hands you're posting now to the ones you posted at the beginning, your game seems to have improved by a lot.

My thoughts on -

hand 1 : I would rather fold OTF here against a psb. Villain does not seem overly agressive and in a 3-way pot I would consider his range as very strong (TP+) and I think you even have to consider that your gutshot might give you an expensive 2nd best hand.

hand 2 : I think I would call another barrel here as Villain is very agressive and the turn K is a good card for him to fire again, he still might have a lot of semi bluffs in his range, especially as he only bets 50% and I don't think you would get 3-barrel bluffed too often on this limit. On the other hand you still got equity against any better pair. I think its close though and folding or calling is a marginal decision I guess.

hand 3: Def preflop fold, you should have seen this coming!

Keep up the good work and good luck at the table!

Glad to see you back here.

I totally agree, self-improvement books really changed my life and are super interesting! I really believe I have a much much brighter future than I would have had if I had gone "mainstream" like the people I had around me growing up.

Originally posted by LeSavant
Hey man, nice blog you got here. I had about 2 bad weeks my br challenge was going the wrong direction (somewhere between running bad and playing bad) so its nice to see you're doing well. Comparing the hands you're posting now to the ones you posted at the beginning, your game seems to have improved by a lot.

My thoughts on -

hand 1 : I would rather fold OTF here against a psb. Villain does not seem overly agressive and in a 3-way pot I would consider his range as very strong (TP+) and I think you even have to consider that your gutshot might give you an expensive 2nd best hand.

hand 2 : I think I would call another barrel here as Villain is very agressive and the turn K is a good card for him to fire again, he still might have a lot of semi bluffs in his range, especially as he only bets 50% and I don't think you would get 3-barrel bluffed too often on this limit. On the other hand you still got equity against any better pair. I think its close though and folding or calling is a marginal decision I guess.

hand 3: Def preflop fold, you should have seen this coming!

Keep up the good work and good luck at the table!

Yo dude!

Thank you very much for your kind words, much appreciated and it means a lot to me

Yes, I kind of agree as well, T8s isn't a wonderful hand but sometimes you just want to get this experience haha.
My pocket 88 are indeed disputable. Perhaps it differs per limit/experience/etc.
Yes, good one ♦ Will fold my KK next time pre

Cheers,
Hesticus:f_drink:

Originally posted by vonki
Glad to see you back here.

I totally agree, self-improvement books really changed my life and are super interesting! I really believe I have a much much brighter future than I would have had if I had gone "mainstream" like the people I had around me growing up.

Hi Vonki!

Always appreciate your input and you have done so a lot for the last months Always a good feeling to see we think similar on many topics!

Cheers,
Hesticus:f_drink:

Update Week 20

BR Week 19: $100.87
BR Week 20: $108.43
Hands Played: 1,073
BB/100: 35.2
Rakeback: $0.98
Net Profit/Loss: $7.56

Graph

I believe I don't really need to make a loss anymore on NL2 So I was thinking of setting new goals in which I did. I had the feeling that I wasn't being pushed enough lately so I would have to spice it up a little. Luckily for me, I am quite motivated so making goals wasn't too hard for me
If you want to read the full extend (short- and long-term), just go to my Dropbox and read on!

Short Term Goals

- Reduce the number of mistakes in big pots by 50% before the end of July
- Having shots at NL5 before the end of June. / Mid of July
- Play NL5 before the mid of July / End of July
- Increase stamina by playing at 4 tables for at least 60 minutes by 15 June / End of June
- Play at least 200 hands per session
- Keep going to gym at least 5 times per week / 4 times per week
- Get a job in Thailand or Europe before end of June / Mid of July

I have broken down every goal in here to make it viable. Hope it works but I will work hard for it

Hand Review

A couple of hands I'd like to review.
Hand 1

Who would have made this call?

Hand 2

Would we raise already OTT here?

I have been going out a bit too much lately and shouldn't do that actually However, it's also fun to make new connections and I think it is worthwhile in a way because I would need to get a new job before the end of July

Any questions or discussions, feel free to comment

Cheers,

Hesticus

Hand 1 is a fold.

Hand 2 is played fine, whereas cbetting small would also be an option because you won't be getting a lot of money anyways by his middle PP's and you maximally charge his flushdraws. As played I'd probably just shove the river for value

Hey man, you're almost inspiring talking about your motivation and setting your goals.
Do you think maybe we could talk some time, you could help me setting some goals (:

First hand: the opponent seems to call a lot behind from his VPIP,even though it's a small sample, but I believe you're ahead of his range and didn't quite understand why you checked on the turn. I would just bet ATW and expect to see a weaker ace, weaker pocket pair or draw.

Second hand: Preflop seems ok, but why did you checked on the flop ? As a preflop raiser and with strong ace would you be checking also ? You might do that so he bets on the turn, but I believe he wouldn't do it that often after you re-raised him preflop. I think it is +EV to just play as you would if you had an ace and missed the flop. bet flop, turn and river hoping for value.

Connections are aways good, just make sure you're not putting that in front of your commitments.

GL man

Originally posted by MisterSnS
Hand 1 is a fold.

Hand 2 is played fine, whereas cbetting small would also be an option because you won't be getting a lot of money anyways by his middle PP's and you maximally charge his flushdraws. As played I'd probably just shove the river for value

Thanks dude! Much appreciated I guess villain went for 3 streets of value after all

Originally posted by heltucosta
Hey man, you're almost inspiring talking about your motivation and setting your goals.
Do you think maybe we could talk some time, you could help me setting some goals (:

First hand: the opponent seems to call a lot behind from his VPIP, even though it's a small sample, but I believe you're ahead of his range and didn't quite understand why you checked on the turn. I would just bet ATW and expect to see a weaker ace, weaker pocket pair or draw.

Second hand: Preflop seems ok, but why did you checked on the flop ? As a preflop raiser and with strong ace would you be checking also ? You might do that so he bets on the turn, but I believe he wouldn't do it that often after you re-raised him preflop. I think it is +EV to just play as you would if you had an ace and missed the flop. bet flop, turn and river hoping for value.

Connections are aways good, just make sure you're not putting that in front of your commitments.

GL man

Hey man!
Yeah sure, we can talk Add me on Skype (Hesticus) but I am not that of a good talker (unless I prepare and record myself beforehand, I recently discovered). I can, however, write a small report about what options you have to bulk up your game, if you like? That isn't too hard for me.

Thanks for the comments about the hands. I checked the river on hand nr 1 because my hand here wasn't good enough for 3 streets of value. There are hands in villain's range that do beat me (AJ+ mostly). When he bets we can narrow his range to strong Aces and 2P (which he had).

I checked the flop on hand nr 2 because my hand was strong enough to slowplay it (I pretty much flopped the nuts) and I had position. Indeed, because we cannot extract too much value OTF from villain, a smart alternative is to x flop and bet on later streets. This allows villain to think we also could be weak.

Cheers,

Hesticus:f_drink:

Makes sense, I'm not much of a cash game player (:
I've added you on skype

Update Week 21

BR Week 20: $108.43
BR Week 21: $112.39
Hands Played: 2,747
BB/100: 7.21
Rakeback: $2.68
Net Profit/Loss: $3.96

Graph

Can you see the learning curve? I have thought about my graph and how come I see the swings but it can only be because of the following reasons:

- Increase of volume
- increase of the amount of tables

It's not so hard to see this and I won't go into much detail. I also see that I still have trouble with my relative equity, especially when it is against an aggressive fish. Of course, I control it when I play 2 or 3 tables but when increasing it is just harder to make the right decision, which I very much like to see. I can at least confirm that I still need to work on this. In any case, I have lots of work to do because I am still playing NL2. However, I feel that with my mental game, I have an edge since I won't bring my game in jeopardy. I also have the feeling that it won't happen too much at later stages and that this mental skill I have gained over the last 3 months, will be a significant advantage over other players.
In the end, I'd rather have graphs like this with a lower but steady and sustainable profit in which I have learned what was the reason for my swings than for a short time a high profit and suddenly making a long-term loss without knowing what is really the case. Now it's a matter of reducing my mistakes by 50% before the end of July as my short-term goals indicate

The Mental Game of Poker

I finished both books with assignments of the Mental Game of Poker It was a great journey and I truly loved all of it! I can recommend it to every poker player. Most of the time I read people who play poker fail once in their journey of playing poker or stop completely playing poker by giving certain reasons. The most striking thing is that most of these reasons I read all have to do with their mental state. They find that they aren't winning enough as they expected, their life isn't balanced enough, they are stressed for the moment, something unexpected happens and don't know how to deal with it and many of those things. I personally can't blame them for these things because it is something we all have to deal with. I also am in the situation I need to find a job for the moment. However, books like TMGP will definitely help you to understand how to deal with these problems. You will find your self for a better part (not 100% of course, because I believe you will always have to work on yourself and you will always find that there is something you need to work on or something that is a weakness that you haven't spotted before).
I am now reading a smaller book about some basic math in poker and now together with TMGP I have a better approach in handling this topic. This topic is just something I need to work on myself with a step-by-step approach. If you are interested in the details, just follow my A-game journal

Hand Review

Hand 1

I know we can call here with 2p but would you?

Hand 2

Who would have thought the outcome?
would you have called this one?

Hand 3

Would you have called OTT? According to Baluga we cannot call but concerning the stat of villain, what would you do?

Alright, hope you enjoyed the feed guys If you have any questions or you want to discuss something, feel free to leave a comment!

Cheers,
Hesticus:f_drink:

PS: A happy birthday today to me is also welcome Cheers!