From Philippines back to Belgium: Rediscovering poker after 2 years of inactivity.

Its more like u shouldn't have any expectations at all. If u dont expect anything u are never unhappy if sth goes wrong. Its hard at the beggining but if u get used to this its quite easy.

I started with poker. I dont expect anything. It just comes and goes. Whatever. I always had problems with expecting some moves from ppl when I couldnt do it at all. Ppl make their own choices and there's not much we can do about it. Ofc we always can try to force anything in their behaviour but it won't work in the longrun. Just take everything as it is.

Sry for my engrish ♦

Interesting stuff here Jonas. I always loved the ways you can think also because we can sometimes get to the same lvl of it =).

First of all, i had some drinks.. so this can be a bit sad speach or whatever.. you know my moods ♦

I rly think it all comes to what u get used to.

For example.. The child in africa can feel really happy about something that can feel like just some bullshit to you.. like for example nice heavy rain in the afternoon.. Or one special meal that doesnt come really often.. etc.

The happiness they feel can (in my not educated opinion) be much stronger than what u feel if you get a new shiny car for Xmass.. Mby just because u already have 3 of them?
(not you you ofc )

Just because its so easy and standard to except these things as things that are normal..

When u get too deep thinking about these things you can feel rly sad about how people are designed to think and exist.. But well, we are people =).

I recently read a very interesting opinion, which stated that to be really happy in life, you have to experience to be rly rly sad first.. Miserable really..

You need to fall into the dirt.. you need to eat that shit.. you need to die inside.. to actually feel happiness and realize what it means to be happy, you need to see why.. you need to understand.. why this means you should be happy.. and imho the longest and the worst your being on the ground eating that shit, the longer and more intensive you can feel the happiness afterwards..

Of course non of this is backed up by any scientific stuff. So you guys dont take me so serious.. Thats just how i feel about life sometimes =).

hey jonas, your post kinda make me wanna say somethings
i totally understand what you are goin through, since its the same for me. i think there will be a number here that will be the same. we are definitely happy with what we have, but we dont wear a smile everyday because of the privileges we enjoy over others.
this probably comes down to three elements, 1) like what juice quadre and you mentioned, we are getting normalised to our privileges and it starts to not become so special anymore, we become indiffierent to that. and yes, to have gone through epic adversity will one be continuously reminded of his fortunate circumstance, however i dont think that is a solution we can work towards. alternatively, you can spend some time regularly reflecting on your own life vs the others. it's pretty easy in cebu, u see the cook+helper everyday, guard+regular cebu people once inawhile, think about their lives and how it compares to yours.
2) we are always seeking for improvement. because of our competitiveness, we are always looking to be improving. seeing the same cooking cooking the same quality of stuff now vs 1year ago no longer makes us that satisfying, because although we are mildly contented, we want to reach greater heights. it's probably one of the drawbacks of someone who's always eager to improve, so probably can do about it, nor should we do something about it
3) you're just not an emotional person. i'm not emotional too, it takes alot to make me feel super happy or super sad. just ask yourself this, do you remember your happiest/saddest day? i dont... not that it doesnt happen, but the significance of that memory wasn't that great for me to remember that event i guess, and as a logical person, it is more important to constantly try reach that heights of happiness rather than to dwell on what has past.

conclusion: you're probably alright just tweak abit on your perspectives to gain more happiness but not lose the competitive edge

imo Jonas your applying the skilz you got from poker to rl & probably you dont know how it feals to lack something...try to watch a good movie(drama) or meet some people that doesnt have so much and ull see things differently...
MOST IMPORTANT dont try to look for bad things that make u feel diferent coz you'll start geting them all the time(own experience) and just say tx for what u have

lol at the bodyshot video. was this at J ave? hahahaha

Happiness you say?
My opinion is that we're being raised into thinking that if you can't look back on your life and say that "Hey, I lived a happy and meaningful life" we've failed at what life is.

However, none of us can really define what hapiness stipulates. What is happiness really, a good feeling in your gut that never fades away?

This might not come as an advice exactly, but maybe it gives you the chance of looking at things differently, realising that there is no ultimate goal in life stating that: "If you can't live life happily, then you might as well just die."

It's life man, what is making you unhappy is probably the fact that you don't know what happiness actually is, very few do I guess. We do not live a fairytale where it always ends in: "And they lived happily ever after".

Why bother chasing some dream of the undefined happiness which might as well just be a ghost chase when we can simply just enjoy?

Buck up man, life isn't that bad

Just an opinion, but the real reason...
Feel free to discard anything I just said, the reason I wrote in your poker blog is because I have been staying with some swedish poker players in cagayan de oro for about 1.5months now doing something similar to what you guys are doing and would very much like to get in touch with you.

Please add me here at pokerstrategy and feel free to check out my poker blog: Poker in the Philippines

Originally posted by Joenaes

Basically I wanna spent more time on non-poker related stuff since I feel that I'm losing lust for the game a little bit.

I agree a lot with his standpoints. Last years of my life, I feel that it became hard for me to be overwhelmed with joy. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a pessimistic person, not at all, I'm happy with my life in general but I have almost no mood swings anymore. I rarely feel sad, I rarely feel superhappy.

Ill give some examples:

- I currently live in the Philippines, make more money than most of my friends, live in a nice climate+place, surrounded by friends every second of the day. Having a cook+maid working for me. There is nothing I have to worry about, yet I dont feel more happy than for example one year ago. Ok, maybe I do feel a little bit more happy :f_biggrin:. However, right now my mind thinks that I was unhappy. Not because I was, but because my mind thinks I should, since my life now seems so much better. Although I'm happy now and I was happy back then. So I got a better living standard, less things to worry about, still I feel equally happy. Probably because I EXPECT things to be like this.

Now, is there a way we can prevent this? Basically, can we force ourself to be happy with the things we got? Being able to enjoy the small things in life, would increase overall happiness of life so much.

hi kuya,

i've been thinking about your questions and trying to come up with a response. it's been very hard, so please bear with me. are you ready for a wall of text? here we go.

the thing is, i believe happiness comes in different levels or stages.
the first stage involves meeting our basic needs. things like food on our plate, shelter on our head, clothes on our back, warmth when it's cold, etc. this was given in some examples here already, eg a hungry person who gets food becomes very happy. however, when all his basic needs are met regularly and he will need to get to the next level.

i think freedom to do what you want is in the next level. when you get to the point that you can buy what you like and go where you want and make decisions for yourself, it validates your freedom of choice and makes you happy. for example, a teenager (who has never gone hungry in the house of his parents) becomes really happy when he suddenly is able to do anything that he likes (either through financial freedom or disappearance of rules when he moves away).

after freedom to choose of course, lies the actual choosing. here you must ask yourself:
- what makes you happy?
- what ignites your passion?
- what makes you excited to do wake up and do (or see or touch or hear)?

these are difficult questions which you must reflect on and answer. it can also take a long time to find, and the answers may even change from time to time. here, i find that it is important to live a balanced life. because only in living life and meeting people will you have bigger hope of finding answers.

i'm sorry i can't finish this now. i need to go to my parent's house, you know it's sunday i try to think of the rest later.

love,
me

Will comment again later on, but I'm pleased to see so many reactions here, love you guys

Shipping 350bb pot in PLO with Ahi, ship it

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
PL Omaha $2(BB) Entraction
($347)
Hero ($928)

Hero posts (SB) $1

Dealt to Hero 7♦ A♠ 6♥ 8♠

Hero raises to $6, raises to $18, Hero calls $12

FLOP ($36) 5♠ 9♠ 2♣

bets $27, Hero raises to $90, calls $63

TURN ($216) 5♠ 9♠ 2♣ J♥

bets $216, Hero raises to $432, calls $23.75 (AI)

RIVER ($695) 5♠ 9♠ 2♣ J♥ J♣

shows Q♦ K♠ 3♥ 7♠
(Pre 40%, Flop 17.4%, Turn 25.0%)

Hero shows 7♦ A♠ 6♥ 8♠
(Pre 60%, Flop 82.6%, Turn 75.0%)

Hero wins $694

Pretty interesting topic imo

I think what Rio says makes alot of sense though. I mean, as humans we always try to reach new heights all the time. The grass is just always greener on the other side. And we're never happy with what we've got, not for long at least.

I also think what Wendy says makes sense. The basic needs is probably what makes us the most happy in life. This is also why some say that "it's the small gestures that matter". Because love is one of our basic needs.

I thought about it for a while. And the times I've been the happiest ever, is either related to love, or related to something I wanted really bad. Like a child really reeeeeally wants this pink pony thingie for christmas. If she waits for it for a month or two (which to a child feels like forever), and she eventually gets it, she gets reeeeeally excited and happy. Then take a hungry person. When we're hungry and we want food, it feels like forever aswell. And we reaaaally reeeally want something to eat. And when we get it, we get really happy. A man who lives without shelther, out in the cold, will think and dream about getting a place to stay. Maybe he has to endure rainy and cold nights, where it's pretty impossible to think about much else. It will probably be his nr 1 priority in life, along with food etc ofc. He'll also have alot of worries on his mind, so if he then gets a place to stay, the happyness of not longer being cold, or wet, and not having to worry for just a while... I can't imagine anything that would make me as happy as that.

So maybe it's not only about expectations, but also about needs. When is the last time you felt like you REALLY REALLY wanted something? If you can't remeber that, then maybe its not so strange you cant remember the last time you felt really happy. Or sad, for that matter. (ofc, saying "you" i just mean in general).

Maybe you should go camping for a few days. Don't bring so much food with you (enough to keep you alive yet not enough to really please your needs) and live in a less awesome atmosphere for a few days. Bet you'll at least feel happy to be back for a while after that ♦

to continue kuya...

everything i said above just concentrates on the individual. when he is self-sufficient and happy with himself, then it is time to start reaching out to others. sharing your time/ideas/love/things/experience/happiness with others will bring you a kind of fulfillment that only life with a purpose can bring. you can start with just your family, partner or close friends, eventually extend to strangers and all the people in the world. ♦ i believe man was not made to be a solitary creature, nor to just grind and party. there will come a time when such a life will probably feel empty. i congratulate you for reaching this point, and for searching for ways to improve your life even more. if you never search, you will never find.

i don't mean charity by the way, (although that is never a bad thing). many people find great excitement and happiness in doing their jobs well, others in taking care of their family, and a multitude of other things. find people who are happy and talk to them.

i think you know me well enough to know that i have a lot of happiness. i've never been in a state where i didn't have my basic needs. i don't think depriving yourself of them is the solution. i also dont think i am reaching new heights all the time. and yet i just feel so happy and so lucky and blessed. most nights as i snuggle down, this is what i think. i don't pretend to know everything and can only share my experience. in my case, majority of my happiness comes from people i love and who love me, in being a good person, and in doing meaningful work.

i know you will find what you are looking for if you keep searching.
meanwhile, you know i am here for you

Omfg. You're such a girlie.

Originally posted by jbpatzer
Omfg. You're such a girlie.

i am just trying to help by sharing my thoughts. if you have nothing constructive to add, kindly try to refrain from posting insulting remarks. i feel kinda offended tbh.

Originally posted by purplefizz

Originally posted by jbpatzer
Omfg. You're such a girlie.

i am just trying to help by sharing my thoughts. if you have nothing constructive to add, kindly try to refrain from posting insulting remarks. i feel kinda offended tbh.

Oh blimey. Sorry Wendy. You're just too nice.

Originally posted by jbpatzer
Omfg. You're such a girlie.

+1

was gonna post more or less the same thing though, at least the part about doing something meaningful (cf poker which is a zero sum game)

Originally posted by chenny8888

Originally posted by jbpatzer
Omfg. You're such a girlie.

+1

was gonna post more or less the same thing though, at least the part about doing something meaningful (cf poker which is a zero sum game)

chenny we both know you're the girl ♦

jb so you think i'm nice eh? outside. after school. be there or be square.

@all: thanks for the replies

I was planning to reply on each answer but since there are too many replies I don't have the time to do that :).

A misconception that a few of you have is that I'm not unhappy/depressed at the moment. The opposite is true, I'm happy with my life. Basically its about the lack of emotions, positive or negative. Yesterday I was thinking about why this is? Probably it is because every day feels the same here. This sounds a depression sentence but actually it has lots of positive but also negative things.

Positives:
+ The whole day is filled with things I like/enjoy. I don't have to do things anymore I don't like. Like household chores, study for subjects i don't care about, etc.
+ It's the perfect grinding atmosphere. Actually a lot of succesful people have these fixed daily rituals to improve their performance and dedication.
+ Weather is always nice (temperature-wise)
+ Surrounded by wonderful people who became very good friends.

Since two days or so I've been thinking about this. These positives can be turned into negatives if your goal is to 'experience' emotions.

Negatives:
- You don't experience something new. You don't get to do things you don't like, thus overtime you have forgotten how nice the life you now have, is.
- As said by the previous posters. Poker is a zero sum game, its really hard to feel satisfied when your life is only filled with poker and partying.
- Today I was talking to a Russian friend of mine. She was talking about the current weather there now, how it is cold and rainy. I then said: "Oh you must not like this period, do you". She replied: "i actually enjoy it in some way. it's different, and it always makes you love summer time". Very true words indeed. It made me realise that I always enjoyed looking forward to summer in winter, even sometimes to winter in summer. Also just walking around a park during Autumn can be very relaxing and might be something I subconsciously miss here, because there are no seasons.
- I always enjoyed talking to new people. I remember I went on roadtrips in Europe as a backpacker and we stayed in cheap hostels. Every night we would meet new people at the bar with each their own and unique story. You learn so much more about the world/humans/etc. when talking to so many different, mostly intelligent people.

I actually wanted to add lots more stuff in this post about other videos I've seen today but then I think this post will get too long :). I will start another one.

Take care

@dwyt: yes:)
@rdm: interesting, always welcome here. i've been thinking to visit davao in the coming weeks, if i go i will deff pass by cdo as well

Cliffs ♦

Barry Schwartz

I guess what you mean is that you're just content with life. I don't really know why I started this post, because there are a lot of things i'd like to put down but I simply can't find the words to articulate them. So that has left me mindlessly typing my thoughts out about how I can't articulate my actually thoughts, and therefore is just a bullshit ramble.

Well, after that fail, i'll try and suggest a few things, that I myself would love to be able to do if I had the resources, I think it might help because I have sort of the same problem as you regarding needing a change.

One thing, go for a walk, don't plan where you're going to go just go somewhere and enjoy it by yourself, I find this frees up my mind a lot and allows me to think about what I really want.

There's nothing stopping you just getting up and going somewhere for a few weeks/months/whatever just for a change.

Basically what I think, and you think, would help you a lot is change, so change something! There's nothing stopping you then coming back to the same life now, but a change will generally refresh you and your mind.

Sorry if all that was complete shit ♦

Originally posted by purplefizz

Originally posted by chenny8888

Originally posted by jbpatzer
Omfg. You're such a girlie.

+1

was gonna post more or less the same thing though, at least the part about doing something meaningful (cf poker which is a zero sum game)

chenny we both know you're the girl ♦

jb so you think i'm nice eh? outside. after school. be there or be square.

OK. I give in. I'm more girlie than you. I have kicked my own arse to save you the trouble.