Turning 0$ into WSOP trip

Nice stuff with Paris - who do you think will make it? Neither team is a real favorite, even though Bayern got the better odds....

Originally posted by Mantelo

Flips didn't go my way last week and it finished with a 4 figure loses. After a tiring train trip to Krakow, I found it difficult to perform on the highest level. Our daughter also got sick and I had to babysit her for couple of days, in price of studying time. And as it usually happens, if there is no calmness in your head, it will show up in results So on the weekend I went to an educational trail, to gain my focus back. And also to make some prayers to the River(s)

Nothing triggers me more than this babysit stuff. Happened to me: I am in the playpark with one or both of my kids and some mother comes up with "oh, are you babysitting them today so that mommy can take a bit of time for herself?".
"no mam, I am the father, I am not babysitting - I am parenting!"

Originally posted by SvenBe
Nothing triggers me more than this babysit stuff. Happened to me: I am in the playpark with one or both of my kids and some mother comes up with "oh, are you babysitting them today so that mommy can take a bit of time for herself?".
"no mam, I am the father, I am not babysitting - I am parenting!"

When we were first married and Mrs Vorpal said, "Can you babysit?"
I said, "No sorry, that isn't possible"
After a suitable pause I said, "It isn't babysitting when you're the father".
I can be such a jerk sometimes

Originally posted by VorpalF2F

Originally posted by SvenBe
Nothing triggers me more than this babysit stuff. Happened to me: I am in the playpark with one or both of my kids and some mother comes up with "oh, are you babysitting them today so that mommy can take a bit of time for herself?".
"no mam, I am the father, I am not babysitting - I am parenting!"

When we were first married and Mrs Vorpal said, "Can you babysit?"
I said, "No sorry, that isn't possible"
After a suitable pause I said, "It isn't babysitting when you're the father".
I can be such a jerk sometimes

phew, and I thought it was ending with you showing your draft notice...

2022/2023 Challenge
Review, week 59
Weekly profit 550 €
Previous profit 20 303€
Current profit 20 853 €
Goal profit 50 000€

Bonjour
Just got back from FPS Paris One week off but only around 10 hours of total play I just played the Main Event of FPS as other tournaments were sold out and I couldn't even make a re-entry the other day as it appears to be against the French law. I was totally card dead in this tournament and when I finally got T♠:T♣:, my opponent woke up with Q♥:Q♦: However, I got an invitation to VIP Pokerstars tournament where I finished 4th for a 1500€ prize, plus a bounty headphones for busting French celebrity

Despite not many cards action, it was full of fun activities outside. The Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Trumph Arce and so many more. For the first time I attended a PSG match, home game against Lille. It ended 4:3, probably Match of the Season. The guys above already commented about PSG - Bayern game couple of days before, but I'm not that rich for those tickets I still believe PSG might win in Germany, but everything depends if Mbappe scores a hattrick or not

Now, it is 3 weeks grind until Eureka Rozvadov. So see you at the tables!

Winter is over, welcome Spring! Photo from Paris a week ago, but it is still a little cold here in Lithuania with snow. At the moment -5 Celcis, so no sunbathing yet Hence, here comes my monthly review

1. Visit 8 countries, at least 1 of them new to me
January - Krakow, Poland (non poker)
February - FPT Paris, 500€
March - PokerStars Eureka, Rozvadov (Seat only)
April - Irish Open (Seat only)

Still fresh memories from my last trip in Paris, but there is another event on the line. Eureka Festival starts in two weeks and this time I hope to prepare well. Although I've been in Czech Republic multiple times, but it will be my first time in Rozvadov. People say that it is like little Las Vegas, only poker and nothing else to do. Well, I guess no stadium tours this time

2. Experience of 10 educational trails in Lithuania
Saidės educational trail
Karmazinai Hiking Trail

Couple of photos from my 7 km Hiking trail in Karmazinai. Took me around 4 hours but it was worth every minute!

3. Extend Trophy board or ship Major MTT online event
No big scores in February, so my small win in January is still the best so far. A score that should definitely be beaten

4. Reach Final Table in Sunday Million, GG Masters or any 1 Million Guaranteed event
Similarly like a goal before, no improvement in Sunday Million

5. Buy 5 art paintings
No big scores, no painting. But I was thinking about this one in case some luck in EPT Paris..

6. Study poker 360 hours
January - 36 hours
February - 12 hours

It was a tough month poker wise but once again the rule was confirmed. If you are not prepared, you can't expect the results. Only 12 hours of studying in February, but hopefully March will be tripled at least.

7. Foster our Homestead

This is how it looks at the moment. Small pine trees trying to break from the snow and lots of animal footsteps. I've only witnessed a fox live here, but seems like there are deers, rabbits, wolfs and hogs at least. Already thinking about recording camera around

8. Reach 50k XPoints on French Duolingo

On track at this goal with February challenge completed While being in France, I was surprised how much of the texts written in the city I can understand. Listening to local Frenchman was still difficult though

9. Finish in Top3 with Top Kickers reserve team, both in Winter and Summer seasons

We were in the fight for the medals, but eventually had to settle down with "wooden" medals. Not the most desirable position to be, but on the other hand, we gave a battle in most of the matches. Personally, it was fine competition with 12 goals scored. Missed some games due to travelling so can't be too sad with such figure.

10. Read 12 books
Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
The Craft of Intelligence - Allen Dulles

The book was written in 1963 so it is a little outdated. However, most of the spying tactics are still being deployed, especially by Russian secret agencies. I thought that it will be interesting topic to read with war happening nearby, and it gave some interesting stories for sure. The main lesson this book gave - if you enter the games of spying, your life will be constantly at risk. Stick to poker, no doubt

So that's the end of February, and the end of the winter. Finally the sun is starting to appear in the sky, bringing more happiness to people and hopefully bringing good poker results altogether Until next time!

Originally posted by Mantelo
Winter is over, welcome Spring! Photo from Paris a week ago, but it is still a little cold here in Lithuania with snow. At the moment -5 Celcis, so no sunbathing yet

Must be nice — here on Canada's We(s)t Coast winter is having one last shot at it. A huge dump of snow in Vancouver, but out here in the 'burbs not so much.

2022/2023 Challenge
Review, week 60
Weekly loses -634 €
Previous profit 20 853€
Current profit 20 219 €
Goal profit 50 000€

Some deeper runs in the tournaments but no luck in the final stages. This week is my last one to prepare for PokerStars Eureka Rozvadov, so no time for laziness. And somehow I have to complete my monthly Fish Buffet challenge at GG as poker trips take away lots of volume online

And not giving yourself stress and variance and just taking the Platinum Octopus - is that not an option?
GL in Rozvadov!

so you are making $8/hour over 60 weeks, 40 hours a week average?

hope you aren't paying g tax on your winnings in your country

you must really love poker, kudos to you sir...

in Rozvadov!

Very cool blog, subbed! Good luck on your challenges ♠_drink:

Hm no update from Eureka - how was your trip? Are you now back in springtime Estonia?
I now I am always asking very short questions, praying for your big updates to come!

2022/2023 Challenge
Review, week 62
Weekly loses -5571 €
Previous profit 20 219 €
Current profit 14 648 €
Goal profit 50 000€

Got back from Rozvadov, and as you might expect from weekly results, despite all your wishes it didn't go well I'm a firm believer that the preparation meets luck and this event was probably all way around. Even before the trip I was not feeling like I will crush this event and when you have little confidence, performance is not on the highest level either. I played 5 days One, but couldn't make into the money in neither of them.
1st bullet - I open MP Q♣:Q♦: and get 3bet jam 25BB from BU. 4 places left until the money so there is some consideration about folding, but my aims are higher than mincash so I make a call and lose a race against A♦:K♥:.
2nd bullet - 7 places until ITM when I push late position 15BB A♣:T♦: and lose flip against 9♦:9♠:. I'm still left 5BB but lose another flip the hand after.
3rd bullet - Middle of the day, UTG opens 5♦:5♥: and I 3bet jam 15BB with my favorite hand A♥:A♣:. Snap call from opponent and snap 5♠: on the board
4th bullet - MP opens, I 3bet from CO with K♣:K♥: and the guy who just sat in at our table makes a 4bet. An orbit before in the same scenario against other players I won Allins pre K♣:K♥: vs J♦:J♠:, but this time the new guy had what he represented - Aces
5th bullet - my last attempt was the exit around 15 people left to the money. MP opened and I found good looking Q♠:J♠: on the CO with 16BB. In theory I could 3bet jam (Solver approved) but I decided just to flat, the BB came along as well. FLop A♥:T♦:8♥: that original raiser continued with a small cbet. With double gutshot I made a call and we both checked J♣: on the turn. 6♥: was checked by opponent and I decided to turn my 2nd pair into the bluff and target his QQ, KK some Ax hands. It's tough for me to find natural bluffs in this scenario, but after my opponent almost snaped me with A♠:K♣:, I already new that my bet on the River was a mistake.
Not looking at the results, Rozvadov is a good place for poker. A small village with the only option to spend your time - Grind. We drove here 14 hours from Lithuania which is not ideal but not too bad either, especially if you can change the driver seat with someone. All in all, I would want to come back here one day and hopefully have better outcomes

Originally posted by SvenBe
And not giving yourself stress and variance and just taking the Platinum Octopus - is that not an option?
GL in Rozvadov!

Wise words my friend, I wish I saw this comment before I started the challenge Despite finishing slightly more in 1st position than 2nd or 3rd, I still went down 20 Buy-ins and span the lowest Rakeback on the wheel As this month is interrupted by both Rozvadov and Irish Open, I'l just focus on the latter event. However, I see some positives in playing those, mainly by studying low blind spots with shallow stacks, which often occur in late tournament phases. Maybe one day it will come handy

Originally posted by chilliyen
so you are making $8/hour over 60 weeks, 40 hours a week average?

First of all, my results definitely deserve your needles I'm not happy with those myself and it is only me to blame for not performing on the highest level. When you can't win a tournament for a long time, you start questioning yourself: "Am I running bad or am I just playing bad?". There was a nice article on PokerStrategy https://www.pokerstrategy.com/news/world-of-poker/Are-MTT-careers-about-surviving-long-enough-to-have-a-big-upswing-_126279/ where you can see that even the best players in the world had a losing or breakeven year every second year. That's huge This is the Nature of tournaments and you have to accept it if you want to succeed at it. In my case, there is a very big chance that my success in the past made me a little complacent and not that "hungry" like before. Knowing that you can live without any financial issues for at least next 10 years takes away a lot of stress, but sometimes that stress is a big factor to drive you forward. However, I'm still very happy with my present life as I never prioritized poker in the first place. You are absolutely right, "I must really lover poker" as it gave me an opportunity to raise a kid in a healthy and comprehensive environment, to travel every month, to foster my hobbies and to cherish the relationships with family members and friends. I even thought to name this blog "The poker player who didn't want to be the best", as I realized how many hours and effort you have to dedicate for being in Top 10%. The fact that I'm not far away that number and being able to live a well-balanced live can't be that bad, huh?

That is such an eloquent reply to what someone could even consider a random internet stranger's attempt to insult your choices. (Not saying it is, but indeed sounds like one).
If everyone made such concious decissions and choices, the world would be a better place.

Very inspirational and interesting blog! Best of luck moving forward ♠_grin:

Originally posted by SvenBe
That is such an eloquent reply to what someone could even consider a random internet stranger's attempt to insult your choices. (Not saying it is, but indeed sounds like one).
If everyone made such concious decissions and choices, the world would be a better place.

+1

In MTTs you can play well and still be doing -$8/hour for the whole year, it wouldn't be anything extraordinary. Variance is a

3 months passed this year ant it's time for April The sun is starting to warm the ground and the flowers are already blossoming. Let's look if my Yearly goals are blooming as well

1. Visit 8 countries, at least 1 of them new to me
January - Krakow, Poland (non poker)
February - FPT Paris
March - PokerStars Eureka, Rozvadov
April - Irish Open

In couple of days I'm heading to Dublin for Irish Open. Never been there so another country released from my bucket list. Currently have one Seat for Main event, and hopefully One bullet will be enough this time

2. Experience of 10 educational trails in Lithuania
Saidės educational trail
Karmazinai Hiking Trail
Educational trail of forest resources

High Five from the fox This time a short trail, near 2 km walk into forest. Not many exclusive or unique spots, mostly emphasizing on information of plants, trees and animals. Still a good way to refresh your head and inhale "woody" air

3. Extend Trophy board or ship Major MTT online event
No close calls on this task. I guess I still have to wait for my upswing and not consider 94,91% as locked wins pre

4. Reach Final Table in Sunday Million, GG Masters or any 1 Million Guaranteed event
Deep run in Bounty Hunters Sunday Main Event. Good result from so many runners, but it would have been nice to take it even further. Unfortunately Jack on the River sent me farewell

5. Buy 5 art paintings
As my poker results are not shining, no new Art available. So I will post a photo of the one, that is hanging for some time in my office room. Relates perfectly at the current time

6. Study poker 360 hours
January - 36 hours
February - 12 hours
March - 33 hours

Good amount of hours in March, happy with quality as well. Still trying to find the most effective way to study as we all have limited hours in our life.

7. Foster our Homestead
You could need glasses to spot some animals in these photos Some are hiding, some are running, some anymore. Seems like our cutest is enjoying not only the rising flowers

8. Reach 50k XPoints on French Duolingo

480 days and counting. Closing to 500 days milestone

9. Finish in Top3 with Top Kickers reserve team, both in Winter and Summer seasons

Last month was the "holidays" from winter to summer season. Outdoor championship starts next week so we had plenty of time to prepare physically. Personally, I find it hard to maintain my form when I travel once or especially twice a month for live poker festivals. Usually you finish late at night, food and sleep all messed up, no way to kick a ball and sometimes it is even too difficult to include a simple running. Nonetheless, not hanging my boots on the wall, not yet

10. Read 12 books
Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
The Craft of Intelligence - Allen Dulles
Father, There will always be America - Loreta Jastramskienė

The last one is a sad story about the old man who was exiled into Siberia at childhood with his mother. He was living under tragic conditions with the hope that a father escaped the Russians and travelled to United States. When he finally came back to Lithuania, there were no news about him, so all the life he was waiting for his father, even on the deathbed. A story that happened 100 years ago, but seems like repeating for our neighbors at the current time

And that concludes my monthly update. Like before, I'm happy with the process but wouldn't mind the fruits of work to show up
Good luck all at the tables