A Blog to Somewhere: March Results

i am gonna read all ur blog tomorrow because i am drunk right now

Originally posted by kenthmp
^ maybe bcoz it's his own post?

nailed it.

besides, i dont deserve much credit.

Originally posted by ulairiiii
i am gonna read all ur blog tomorrow because i am drunk right now

nh sir

Originally posted by datsmahname
currently 3k hands behind pace. going for the platinum bonus will be difficult.

Very funky chart. I wish you lots of success.

ty

August Goals
[17K] Hands: 30K+
[1] HU SNGs: 5+
[-] Articles: 2+
[x] Coachings: 1-3 (includes PS weekly coachings)
[x] Session Reviews: 3-4
[~350] PokerStrategy Points: 500+ (maintain Gold Status)

Another month with low volume. Idk how these 200k/mo grinders do it. Even so, the month had many high points. In back-to-back months I've topped my all time monthly results. This has allowed me to move up in stakes & I'm currently getting to know the new player pool which has been really interesting.

Big thanks to PokerBob38 and Taavi for doing session reviews. At one point in the month I was a bit discouraged & those reviews really help me to think clearly about my short-term results.

I also met up with my coach a couple of times and have developed a strong habit of marking ~every hand where I have a tough decision. Even though I slacked on articles and my HU play it was still a productive month for studying.

Next month I'll likely be taking part in the PS public private coaching with TerrorBlade again. I find its an interesting challenge to play when others are in a strong position to criticize my decisions, and discussing my thoughts during hands can also be very instructive.

September Goals
[ ] Get back Gold Status on PS.
[ ] 5 HU SNGs
[ ] 2-3 Coachings (1 PPC next week?)
[ ] 20K Hands (75% @ new stakes, aiming for +2BB/100)
[ ] 1+ article(s)
[ ] 2-3 session reviews

good luck with your goals

16k hands/month is solid, especially when you 1-3 table. Nice results

keep going

thanks ulairiiii

Taavi, hit me up again sometime soon if you want to do another session review. I think mid next week is good right now.

Northern Appalachian Mountains,
Chaleur Bay Area,
New Brunswick, Canada.

A couple weeks ago I was surprised by frantic knocking at the door. I had just wrapped up a session review and was sitting down to eat dinner before grinding online. It was my neighbour and a friend of the family, and she had other plans.

Sixteen hundred kilometers away in a field on the east coast of NB, Canada rests "the green machine". I'm told its a kind of house on wheels... and it needs a new roof. Her brother had decided to go rock climbing, and her healthy 71 year old father planned to stay that way. Naturally, she would leave in 3 hours, return in a weak or so, and travel for 20 hours each way with no other companion but the cat. How could I say no?

To say "I don't get out much" is more than an understatement. For several years now I've gradually come to enjoy living like a hermit. Clearly, I was an option of last resort. It was only later that I learned she had gotten a hold of my mom to talk strategy. I like the outdoors, had never been to the East Coast, and she really needed someone to step up. Hook, line, sinker.

And now for a little bit of history repeated...

2.4 Billion years ago, modern day New Brunswick, Canada was at the bottom of an ocean along a chain of under water volcanoes. It was something like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge today. Massive amounts of molten rock, rich in metals like lead and copper was constantly creating new ocean floor.

Life was pretty pretty different in those days. For starters, there weren't any multi-cellular organisms to be found. No beer or blondes, but no taste buds or eyes either. Safe to say that if you were a cyanobacteria in a past life you wouldn't know what you were missing. That's not to say we wouldn't have a lot in common: DNA, proteins, but more importantly... flatulence.

One of the big differences then is that there was hardly any free oxygen floating around. For perhaps a billion years various metal minerals would oxidize and soak up anything that happened to be released, but life had an ace in the hole.

Think little cattle... perhaps a few trillion, and rather than chewing cud they're synthesizing energy from light (photosynthesis). Rather than releasing methane they're releasing oxygen. Lots of oxygen. These little cattle were cyanobacteria and after a while, when all the minerals were saturated, free floating oxygen levels started to climb.

More oxygen doesn't sound all that bad. After all, these days we tend to use up almost as much as we can get. So it may surprise you to learn that this caused possibly the largest mass extinction event in the history of our planet and an ice age that lasted... oh, just 200 million years or so. Its been suggested that as much as 95% of the life on earth died as a result, and those little farts were no exception.

Of course, we now know that life managed to turn things around but it wasn't until about 400 million years ago that my travel destination even made landfall. Tectonic plate collisions along the coast of modern day North America started to force the land upward creating the Appalachian Mountain System. At its peak they were as tall as the Himalayas. Imagine a massive 30,000 ft centerpiece on the Pangaean super-continent and you'll start to understand.

Over the next 400 million years Pangaea would break apart, the Appalachians began to erode, and today they rise to just 6600 ft. In New Brunswick the tallest peak, Mount Carleton is just 2700 ft tall.

Mount Carleton not my image

Granted, Plate Tectonics and much of the history of the earth represents theory but in science thats saying quite a lot. As a point of contrast, Mi'kmaq tribes had a theory about how Sugarloaf Mountain, NB was formed. The leader of a clan of Giant Beavers had pissed off the god, Koluskap by blocking up a river & preventing the salmon from spawning. Apparently diplomacy wasn't Koluskap's strong suit, opting to launch their leader through the air. Upon landing at the site it immediately turned to rock for no apparent reason leaving Canada home to the worlds largest fossilized beaver.

not my image View from Top of Sugarloaf Mountain, NB, Canada.

This brings us more or less up to the present. In the early evening on the 22nd, after 18 hours of travel we arrived at her parents home. The next day we started on the roof before noon and finished up before dinner. The green machine was much more like a one room cabin than a house.

At low tide, just before dinner, I went down to the ocean and walked the sand bars that extended well out beyond the shore line some 50 ft and still the water was no deeper than an inch or two. From the shore it would look almost like walking on water. Oddly enough, I recall the water in the Golf of Mexico being much more salty.

On the third day we visited Pabineau Falls on a First Nations reserve, ate fresh lobster sandwiches, and after that we went down to Stonehaven, a little irish/scottish/english settlement that seems like its hardly changed in more than 100 years. For a long while they mined sandstone here for industrial tool sharpening.

Me at Pabineau Falls

View along the shore line at Stonehaven

Me at Stonehaven

Old Waterfall at Stonehaven

On day 4 we went to Kouchibouguac National Park. The mosquitoes were really bad so we didn't spend much time on the nature paths, but this park has one of the most incredible beaches I've ever seen. Its hardly connected to the main land at all and sits a bit like a giant sand bar some 500m out in the ocean. That evening we visited the City of Moncton and I got to see "Magnetic Hill". Its a kind of visual illusion that leads you to think you're going down hill when you're actually going up... so when you stop the car it appears to climb back up the hill without any effort. The streams look like they run up hill as well, and even once you know whats happening your visual system never quite adjusts.

Kouchibouguac National Park Beach not my photo

The rest of the week I spent mostly reading my books. I was looking forward to going home, and we finished up the roof so quickly that I started to feel like there weren't enough reasons to hang around that long. By Sunday, hurricane Irene had reached the east coast of Canada and so we ended up staying until Monday afternoon. The drive back was a painful 30 hours, and I think both of us were quite relieved to get the hell away from each other for a while.

Today I participated in TerrorBlades public private coaching session for FL 6-handed players. I'd like to give a big shout out to everyone who participated in the chat. PostFlopMonster, PokerBob38, Nikita1974 (unless i'm mistaken), and others.

PPC is an excellent offering by PokerStrategy which gives players the chance to receive live play coaching while also allowing for public chat questions and comments. This is my third appearance on TerrorBlade's Silver FL 6-max Coaching.

My last appearance was a little over 2 months ago. I was enduring a sizable downswing and it was amazing to me how incompetent I was playing in many areas that I had already worked on.

This learning had allowed me to become "consciously competent" to an extent (as Jared Tendler would say), but my emotional clout over losing was making it very difficult to play at my peak - I was reverting back to conscious incompetence.

In other words, my b-game was poor primarily because I had not developed the kind of unconscious competence which would allow me to make correct decisions WHILE enduring a run of difficult results.

Jared Tendler may have given me the kind of dialog which allows me to simplify the process, but that coaching session made it abundantly clear that I needed to work harder to ingrain the skills i was developing so that I would make strong decisions even under sub-optimal conditions.

I thought I'd include a few hands from the session that highlight some of the areas of my game that we worked on.

Hand #1

• In this hand Hero checks back an unfavorable spot. The BB is extremely peely and un such a board I did not expect to have the fold equity to make up for my value equity deficit. To me, this implied that c-betting was not justified. A bet on the flop may be correct but here we highlight the importance of analizing flop textures before deciding to c-bet.

Poker Stars $0.50/$1.00 Limit Hold'em - 5 players

Pre Flop: (1.5 SB) Hero is CO with Q T
UTG calls, Hero raises, 2 folds, BB calls, UTG calls

Flop: (6.5 SB) 7 5 6 (3 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, Hero checks

Turn: (3.25 BB) 3 (3 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, Hero checks

River: (3.25 BB) 3 (3 players)
BB bets, UTG raises, Hero folds, BB calls

Final Pot: 7.25 BB

Hand #2

• Here I defend with a suited 2-gapper and flop a marginal draw against an unknown. I decided to just check/call given that I would have many semi-bluffs on this board and do not want to have to many bluffs in my range. I would have to call a 3-bet & would then be put to difficult decisions if i turned a pair against my unknown opponent.

Poker Stars $0.50/$1.00 Limit Hold'em - 6 players

Pre Flop: (1.5 SB) Hero is BB with 6 9
3 folds, BTN raises, 1 fold, Hero calls

Flop: (4.5 SB) 4 7 3 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets, Hero calls

Turn: (3.25 BB) A (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets, Hero folds

Final Pot: 3.25 BB
BTN wins 3.1 BB
(Rake: $0.15)

Hand #3

• Here I check/raise a strong draw & value bet thinly with bottom pair. Here we see how value betting with weak made hands on draw heavy boards can put our opponent to difficult decisions.

Poker Stars $0.50/$1.00 Limit Hold'em - 5 players

Pre Flop: (1.5 SB) Hero is BB with T 2
2 folds, BTN raises, SB calls, Hero calls

Flop: (6 SB) 7 9 6 (3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, BTN bets, SB folds, Hero raises, BTN calls

Turn: (5 BB) 2 (2 players)
Hero bets, BTN calls

River: (7 BB) 9 (2 players)
Hero bets, BTN calls

Final Pot: 9 BB

Hand #4

• In this hand we discussed the notion that raising the turn may be the best decision given that the pot is 3 ways, the flop & turn caller peels very widely, and I should have more than 33% equity against their range. Thin value raises are extremely important in LHE and this is an area of my game that I continue to work on.

Poker Stars $0.50/$1.00 Limit Hold'em - 6 players

Pre Flop: (1.5 SB) Hero is BTN with A 2
1 fold, MP calls, 1 fold, Hero raises, 1 fold, BB calls, MP calls

Flop: (6.5 SB) J 4 6 (3 players)
BB checks, MP checks, Hero bets, BB calls, MP calls

Turn: (4.75 BB) A (3 players)
BB bets, MP calls, Hero calls

River: (7.75 BB) 7 (3 players)
BB bets, MP folds, Hero calls

Final Pot: 9.75 BB

Hand #5

• Here my original plan was call flop/raise turn. When the 3flush hit I decided to call down instead. From the chat we discussed whether or not raising the turn was better. I feel that calling down is superior because our opponent may have a wide 3-bet range on this turn with hands like a pocket pair + weak FD. We simply do not have a strong enough read. I would probably have to raise/fold here if i decided to raise the turn. Basically, I didn't want to fold what could be the best hand for the price to call down.

Poker Stars $0.50/$1.00 Limit Hold'em - 6 players

Pre Flop: (1.5 SB) Hero is BTN with 9 9
2 folds, CO raises, Hero 3-bets, 2 folds, CO calls

Flop: (7.5 SB) T 3 6 (2 players)
CO bets, Hero calls

Turn: (4.75 BB) 5 (2 players)
CO bets, Hero calls

River: (6.75 BB) 8 (2 players)
CO bets, Hero calls

Final Pot: 8.75 BB

Hand #6

• In this hand we discussed our river value bet & whether or not it was an obvious bet or a thin bet. Our opponent was unknown to me at the time but fishy. The T does give him some pairs, he may check/call some Jx on the 3flush, and while he may well call down any 6x hands I didn't think he would pay off much wider than this given that the board is fairly coordinated. I still felt it was a value bet but to me it seemed pretty thin.

Poker Stars $0.50/$1.00 Limit Hold'em - 5 players

Pre Flop: (1.5 SB) Hero is BTN with 8 A
UTG calls, 1 fold, Hero raises, 2 folds, UTG calls

Flop: (5.5 SB) 6 8 J (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets, UTG calls

Turn: (3.75 BB) T (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets, UTG calls

River: (5.75 BB) 3 (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets, UTG folds

Final Pot: 5.75 BB
Hero mucks 8 A
Hero wins 5.5 BB
(Rake: $0.25)

Hand #7

• Here we're up against a very spazy opponent. Earlier he called in the BB with AJ, check/raised a K T 5 flop and called a 3-bet. He proceeded to check/call a turn 3 and check/raise/call a 2 river. With this read in mind we considered the possibility of capping the flop for thin value.
• On the turn or river I perhaps should have raised given that he may overplay a flush or a wide range of other hands. After his play with AJ I should perhaps expect him to continue vs my raise even when he is bluffing.

Poker Stars $0.50/$1.00 Limit Hold'em - 5 players

Pre Flop: (1.5 SB) Hero is UTG with A 5
Hero raises, 2 folds, SB calls, 1 fold

Flop: (5 SB) K K 5 (2 players)
SB bets, Hero raises, SB 3-bets, Hero calls

Turn: (5.5 BB) 5 (2 players)
SB bets, Hero calls

River: (7.5 BB) Q (2 players)
SB bets, Hero calls

Final Pot: 9.5 BB

I've been feeling more depressed than usual for the last couple of days. So, I want to try and review some of the recent progress with my game in the hopes that it will bolster my focus and confidence.

What concerns me isn't poor results. I've been running really well this month and feel like shit regardless. At this rate I'd nearly triple my highest earning month to date.

I don't mean to say that I "should" be happy about short term results. Relying on things you can't control in order to feel happy is a fools game... but I should be happy with the hard work I'm putting in. Part of me knows that I am, but somehow its not enough.

Being mentally prepared for a difficult run of luck is important. I have to be able to run bad and play well regardless, but right now I'm not confident that would happen. Getting back this confidence matters a lot to me especially now that I've moved up in stakes. I have a few ideas about how to do this, and I hope this will be one of them.

For people who suffer with depression, maintaining a realistic perspective rather than an overly negative one can be difficult. Maybe evaluating my progress will serve a bit like a metronome to keep me on pace.

Summary this week:

• 120+ PS points
• 6-max Public Private Coaching with Terrorblade
• Heads Up Coaching with Russian mid/highstakes Pro, AdamantHQ
• 4K hands, 63% of them @ new stakes
• Review with Taavi1337 ~100 marked hands
• 2+2 monthly Session Review
• Dusty Schmidt's "Improving away from the table" article

don't let the childish commentary fool you. This documentary will blow your freaking mind 15 minutes at a time. The only serious criticism i have here is that its a bit slow at times.

Just a quick update on my foray to greener pastures: 1/2 LHE. You may recall that...

Originally posted by datsmahname
I took a few shots at 1/2 a few months ago but for more than one reason the results were...

Well! with some luck and determination things have turned right around for me at 1/2. I've more than doubled my lifetime hand volume there in the first part of this month, and managed to climb into the black.

I'm also fast approaching my one and only new years Poker Goal. Unless I train-wreck the next ~2K, I'll clear 50K hands at .5/1+ with 1BB/100 or more. Coming up with a decent challenge for the next several months will be quite satisfying, and I hope that fighting in this way can short-live my current "emotional downswing."

This(one time)

Just for fun i made a little uTube video.

Midnight conversations about love, peace, and unity hang long in the moist air of an unconventional Opera House; an oasis of sorts, breaking up the cold shoulder culture found through Toronto during the late 1990's. It was a drug induced cornucopia of childish innocence where thousands move like tribal dancers to the sound of base so deep your chest vibrates. A culture such as this could never survive, but for long moments it was capable of such perfect beauty that its loss will always be remembered as a tragedy.

August 15th, 1998. The last RCMP.

Originally posted by datsmahname
Just for fun i made a little uTube video.

Nice thin value bet w AJ in hand #43 on upper left table!

Originally posted by PostFlopMonster
Nice thin value bet w AJ in hand #43 on upper left table!

Heh, every time i had AJ i was crushing the board... I flopped a boat, turned a boat, and flopped top top... so you must be joking

MILESTONE COMPLETE
At the start of this year I listed one goal for poker: 50k hands at +1BB/100 above my regular 2010 stakes (.25/.50 USD). Today I completed that goal.

Here are the results.

(75% of all hands played this year fit the criteria)

Since we still have 3.5 months left in 2011, I've decided on a new 2011 goal of 50K hands of just 1/2 which is roughly 15K hands a month for the rest of the year.

I'm also going to set a conservative winrate goal of +1BB/100... in other words my goal is to table select well, focus on plugging leaks, and improve my play on a monthly basis.

I also have to come up with a simple way of rewarding myself for each month that I play enough hands to reach this goal.

Gratz on milestone completion m8 and for being consisent in times when things dont look good

Im following yours and Taavi blogs with great interest, since im trying to do the same thing, climb in FLSH stakes and start making some profit. Used to play FR only from time to time (and experimented with NL,PLO aswell) but now i will try to concentrate on SH only and learn the game.

Keep up the good work and remember that hard work always pays off.