I checked your blog from the beggining. Looks nothing changed with the hardest variation of the poker MTT. Up and down. This is the most hard job to be winning in MTT-s because the variance. Especialy from the lowest limit where the most biggest pool and most crazy players. Good luck for your challenge.
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Originally posted by VorpalF2F
Congrats on quitting smoking!
I know a lady — 50ish yrs old — that quit crack cocaine entirely by herself, but can't quit nicotine.
Thanks very much. It took me so long to finally do it but it has been the best accomplishment of my entire life.
Originally posted by irieill
Originally posted by garynicol85
4. Reduce Weight to 180lbs. Weighed in this month at 224lbs. I have put weight on even though i have been consistent with my exercise and mostly consistent with diet. I will be dialing this in tight this coming month.
5. Quit Smoking. PASSED.
Yeah! Also congrats on 5th point. Maybe 4th is related to 5th. I remember that when I quit smoking over 11 years ago I compensated it with food and gained weight for quit some time. Again I am pretty sure you will also mange this aspect.
Thanks for the kind words and support. I think you are right, i definitely felt hungrier than before. I am trying to make smarter choices now in how i satisfy that hunger.
Originally posted by BORT99
I checked your blog from the beggining. Looks nothing changed with the hardest variation of the poker MTT. Up and down. This is the most hard job to be winning in MTT-s because the variance. Especialy from the lowest limit where the most biggest pool and most crazy players. Good luck for your challenge.
You're not wrong. I spend half the time just saying "wow" to myself over and over again when i see what some of these players call with, and the other half praying for a big enough score so i can move up and get away from them. Though in saying that, if my hands just held against their crazy calls, i would already be there.
Bankroll Challenge Week 40
Tournaments Played: 34
Profit/Loss: +$3.14
Current Bankroll: $96.47
I didn't get nearly as much time to play this week as i thought i would. A very small increase in the bankroll means ive now went 3 weeks without a loss but the gains have been very minimal, hoping for a decent score soon. Now im at week 40, i have reflected a bit on the challenge so far. I really thought at the beginning, it would have been completed by now and i would be on to the next one. I did not expect to be here, 40 weeks on, with still 90% away from the goal.
And as much as the poker has not gone the way i thought it would, i have made huge gains in the other goals i set myself. I have finally, after years of trying, quit smoking and more importantly, am enjoying being a non smoker. Although my weight hasn't shifted much, i am feeling much healthier. I finally feel locked in with the fitness training, working out every single day this last week. My diet has been on point too.
The activities, although not as many as i would have liked, have been excellent and have resulted in some amazing quality time with the family. And with only 3 months left of the year, i am excited to see how close i can get to completing them.
The next few weeks are gonna be tough to get volume in as i will be the only person in the office at work, as the bosses are away on a huge family trip they have been planning for years. I love that having me in their company is allowing them to do this, and it feels great to be able help them achieve a big life goal. It does mean however that i will have to be in work for 6 days a week, working extended hours for the next 3 weeks. October may be a write off poker wise.
I only made 1 final table this week.
Originally posted by Untiltable
Originally posted by garynicol85
You're not wrong. I spend half the time just saying "wow" to myself over and over again when i see what some of these players call with, and the other half praying for a big enough score so i can move up and get away from them. Though in saying that, if my hands just held against their crazy calls, i would already be there.There might be an opportunity for a mindset adjustment here, because these are the players making poker lucrative. If you move up to where there are no donkeys anymore, you'll soon be praying to play with them again, because the alternative is neither fun nor profitable.
I mean too many bad players plays, for example 8 max on your table you got always 3-4 calls preflop even if you have AA you lost too many pot. 3-4 way flop with AA not a best chance.
Originally posted by Untiltable
Originally posted by garynicol85
You're not wrong. I spend half the time just saying "wow" to myself over and over again when i see what some of these players call with, and the other half praying for a big enough score so i can move up and get away from them. Though in saying that, if my hands just held against their crazy calls, i would already be there.There might be an opportunity for a mindset adjustment here, because these are the players making poker lucrative. If you move up to where there are no donkeys anymore, you'll soon be praying to play with them again, because the alternative is neither fun nor profitable.
Dont get me wrong, i always try to say to myself "i want them to call with this" when they call with a pair of 5's holding 85o against my pocket KKs even as they spike another 5 on the river. The only issue it brings is trying to narrow down the lucky devils range when that range is infinite.
Hello hello. Amazing to read from your progress buddy. Kerp up the good work and kerp posting updates for other members to see.
Bankroll Challenge Weeks 41 & 42
Tournaments Played: 12
Profit/Loss: -$0.79
Current Bankroll: $95.68
Very little poker played at all the last couple of weeks, only managing a small session on this past Saturday. I made 1 final table, finishing 4th to make it a near breakeven day. The last two weeks has been all go at work, and with it only being myself there, it has left me too mentally tired to play any long sessions.
The coming week, i expect there to be very little, if any, poker playing. It is my sons birthday on Saturday and we have plans for dinner and having family over, which we are really looking forward to. The week after, i have put in a couple of days annual leave, to give myself a little bit of rest when the bosses return, but more importantly, to get some long sessions in.
Bankroll Challenge Week 43
Tournaments Played: 34
Profit/Loss: +42.54
Current Bankroll: $138.22
Another week with a small amount of volume. Well like the old saying goes, it was quality over quantity. I made two final tables and managed to even close one out. The most important thing is, the bankroll has started moving in the right direction again as we move in to the last 2 months of 2025. My workload has eased off again, with my bosses returning from their big holiday. I will be having a long weekend and will be looking to get a good amount of volume in. Looking ahead to November, i should be able to get a good run of decent volume.
Originally posted by VorpalF2F
Nice results!
Do you only play MTTs?
Yeah, in my head this was always an MTT challenge as it's always been my favourite format. I have tried cash games but usually get bored of them. I have been thinking about playing cash for a few hours midweek to give myself more volume but I feel I would like to have dedicated bankroll for that.
Bankroll Challenge Week 44
Tournaments Played: 47
Profit/Loss: +$107.76
Current Bankroll: $245.98
Oh its good to be back. I didn't get as much volume as I thought i would this weekend, but i ended up with my best result since July. I played a small session on Saturday, just one of those days where i kept getting pulled all over the place before i finally sat down to play at 4pm. After a few hours i was left with 1 table and no desire to load up any more as the tiredness had massively kicked in. I did end up making the final table in that tournament but crashed out in 5th after shoving 77 from the SB into a button raise, he turned out to have QQ.
On Sunday i managed to satellite into both the EPT Mystery Special and the Sunday Storm managing cashes in both. In the mystery i only managed to sneak into a min cash after going card dead for an hour. The Sunday Storm went much better, eventually finishing in 154th for a decent score. It could have been so much better too. I opened with AA off 40 BBs from early position only to have the cutoff shove with 35 BBs. I insta called, obviously, and watched him turn over AT offsuit. The run out of KQJ gave him the straight along with all my hopes and dreams. I quickly got sent packing a couple hands later, only 30 mins before the break for Day 2.
Cant complain too much after adding over 75% too my bankroll though. Lets keep this momentum going and make some big strides next week. I forgot to save the pics off the deep runs on Sunday, here's a workaround.
October Monthly Goal Review
1. Complete The Bankroll Challenge. I didn't play much poker at all in the first couple of weeks due to work commitments. I did manage to finish the month strong and hope to keep the momentum going throughout November.
2. Play in a Big Live Tournament. I haven't managed to qualify for Prague yet, i still have a couple of weeks left to try to make it.
3. Workout Consistently.October has been my most consistent month yet, completing 19 workouts in 31 days. For the last few weeks i have been doing a full body weights workout and have added in a couple of yoga sessions. In November i will be doing a 4 day split with the weights and will try to complete some HIIT sessions on the days in between.
4. Reduce Weight to 180lbs. Weighed in this month at 223lbs. Not the loss i was hoping for. I also took measurements and i did lose 3 inches of the belly, so the re composition is taking effect.
5. Quit Smoking. PASSED.
6. Read 12 books. I managed to read a book, woohoo. I read The Dose Effect by T J Power. It was very interesting, i learned a lot about the 4 big chemicals that dictate our mood and drive and how to manage them better. I have already started putting some of what i've learned into practice.
7. Attend 3 Music Gigs With My Son. PASSED.
8. Attend 12 Football Matches With My Son. No games attended this month. Combination of hectic work schedule and other events getting in the way. I may have to call it a fail on this one as i dont see a way of finishing it before the end of the year.
9. 12 Dates With My Wife We went to a chinese buffet restaurant. Food was fantastic.
10. Take my Granddaughter Out Once Per Month Took my granddaughter to a lovely cafe and then out to a park. Great wee day out.
Really happy with the fitness results this month. Now, with only two months left to go, i may have admit defeat in one or two of the goals.
Originally posted by garynicol85
I opened with AA off 40 BBs from early position only to have the cutoff shove with 35 BBs. I insta called, obviously, and watched him turn over AT offsuit. The run out of KQJ gave him the straight along with all my hopes and dreams.
Oh boy, I share your pain at that moment. It is exactly what you are waiting for and you happily clicking the button only to be devastated a few seconds later. I always wonder if those stupid moves additionally get rewarded with the first place in the end.
Bankroll Challenge Week 45
Tournaments Played: 54
Profit/Loss: -$55.60
Current Bankroll: $190.38
Well doesn't that feel like crashing back down to Earth after i thought my bankroll was going to shoot off into orbit. It is a huge loss but im not worried. It was just one of those weekends where i just couldn't catch a break. I counted 16 times I was all in with AA pre flop for my tournament life and i only got the double up twice. That be some bad variance in these waters. I was running so bad on the Saturday, I just cut my session short. The only thing i seemed to be running well in was the power path tourneys. I now have two Step 4 tickets. I was going to play one on Saturday but decided against after seeing how the session was going. I'll aim to play one this weekend.
Originally posted by Untiltable
Originally posted by garynicol85
I also took measurements and i did lose 3 inches of the belly, so the re composition is taking effect.This is good to see! A lot of people expect the number on the scale to go down while they're also growing a significant amount of muscle, but recomp is more important. And the waist is the easiest place to measure it from.
The one thing you don't talk about much is studying and specific study methods. What does your routine look like there?
Other than that you have one of the most well balanced set of poker/life goals I've seen.
Thanks very much. Well balanced is exactly what i was aiming for when i set the goals last year. I wanted to make improvements in all areas of my life.
Studying is one area i am really bad at. My excuse has always been that i dont have time. I work full time, have a family and coach youth football and any free time i have on the weekend, i would rather play than study. After a session i will look through the tournaments that i have busted and see where i could have improved, if i see a pattern over multiple tournaments i will take note and think of how i can combat that before next session. Periodically i will have a look at some youtube videos and see if i can implement what they are teaching. I know this is not enough and i really need to build some good study habits. Looks like this will be going on the list for next years goals.
Bankroll Challenge Weeks 46, 47 & 48
Tournaments Played: 148
Profit/Loss: -$63.31
Current Bankroll: $127.07
Its been a while since my last update and its not a positive one. I didn't get a huge amount of volume over the last few weeks, managing 7 sessions, only one of which was positive. There was definitely some bad variance in those sessions but the losses were multiplied with bad tilt control. This was mostly due to heightened stress levels away from the tables hurting my time at the felt. I had an over week long battle with SCS with regards to delivery of a sofa i had purchased months ago. I have never felt rage as pure as when dealing with this company. My advice to anyone in the UK who is thinking of purchasing a new sofa, stay well clear of these charlatans. The matter is now resolved so my cortisol levels have dropped massively.
I did have one deep run in this time, getting 2nd in the Bounty Builder $1.10, still haven't been able to tick this off the trophy list. Funny thing is, if i had closed this one out, i would be break even for this update.
Im not sure how much i will get to play this coming weekend, however the following two i will be able to put some good volume into. Monthly goal update coming up next.