AMA: TwiceT

Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.

Originally posted by jbpatzer
I just finished the Mental Game of Poker, and there's some interesting stuff in there about emotion and its effect on your mental processes. He really pushes the idea that 'no emotion' isn't a good thing. Have you read it yet?

Didn't read it yet. I do agree no emotion at all is not necessarily good, also I don't think it's rly possible. I just learned to be extremely objective with my play and I does work well for me to keep emotions aside for the most part.

Originally posted by BradleyWin
Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.

How should I understand that? I know this quote is by Buddha and I did read a few meanings and explanations to it. I still don't 100% get how I should understand it regarding the last question / the thread overall / myself in general .... ?!

Those are just spambots, so don't take it to serious.

Originally posted by TwiceT

Originally posted by Luupainaja
I bit more personal question, ofc you dont have to answer if you dont want to. Why did your long relationship with your gf ended? Was this somewhat connected to poker?

Poker had just been part of my life for ~ 1 year when she broke up. It alone didn't have a massive impact. Main reason - this obv is just a short answer - was that I am overall overplaying a lot (I still am ). I wanted everything and at that time I had 2 studies running, a job and my first year as poker pro. It was all very demanding and - although I rly tried my best - I couldn't quite spend as much (quality) time as I should have with her.

I learned that trying my best is not enough and only because we think we do enough doesn't rly mean it is enough. Our ideas about the future were also not quite identical/coherent. Sad story overall. Well, actually just a sad ending. 6 Years were great, I just f*cked it up

Ofc there are upsides to it as well, its not all bad. Although she broke up it wasn't as easy for her as well. She probably was smarter than me and realized (I didn't, I thought our relationship would last another 70 years lol) I needed to go monkeystyle alone for some years before I could settle down.

One more thing though, quite related to your question. While do think Poker let me develop incredible skills (outside game strategy), I also do think it has a few rly rly bad disadvantages for relationships. Mostly, (which is good for Poker, Trading etc) I absolutely learned to act emotionless and rly think every decision through properly and take the best decision fact wise. The problem is, sometimes its tough to get it out of your system and I might have gotten too cold at times. I'm very loyal etc, I didn't get an asshole due to Poker, but I got very rational about many things. I am sure this will help me a lot in my business ventures but at the same time I'm sure I need to be cautious not to overdo it in RL. I also never tilt in RL, even if run rly cold. And I also tell others not to freak out when things happen that are not under their control. We can only deal with the spots we get into, most of them we can't control.

Most people don't understand that and think they have the "right" to be angry/upset about things. But actually that doesnt help at all. Ofc, if we made a mistake it's good to be angry and learn from it. But we shouldn't flame around about all those things that we cannot influence (e.g. somebody crashes your car, blackout in your apartment and you cannot watch your favourite movie ....)
And they also tilt due to my attitude cuz they oftentimes do not understand how I can think that way.

However, I know I have to work on it and be self-aware about it.

Thanks for your answer. I've almost lost my gf (its really difficult time for me right now) and although i dont play that much poker and poker is not a lion's share in this, i still think me taking poker seriously has some impact on it. One thing is that coldness in emotions you mention, but what worries me more is that poker dictates my moodswings and how i act with my close ones. When i run good, i'm nice to my close ones, when i run bad, i sometimes pour it out on them. I dont like this, that is not how it should be. For me its not as much of a problem that poker doesnt leave any time for my gf (its all about time managment), its just poker takes over my emotions. I really want to fix this, its interesting how poker forces you to deal with your emotions, to watch them how they flow.

I think thats good actually, to see that you and others around you are something far more important than passing emotions. And i think in the end of the day, poker teaches you that, when you improve some tiltfree playing.

And another thing that i was accused of by my gf - poker, allegedly, reduces your sex drive... Because poker satisfies your competition and alfa-man desires, so theres not much left for sex. Wow, if true, this is frightening...

do you think 10-15bb/100 is a sustainable winrate at nl200-1k sh?

oh and i bet you've been asked this before. what's the difference between FR, SH and HU in your opinion? i mean, what makes a FR/HU/SH player succesfull?

Hi TT,

Over the course of my studies I've been continuously been bumping into the idea of taking a least a day off/week and even some hours each day, something like I work till x pm and after that it's my free time. I obviously don't do this and the only time I don't work it's the time I spend with my gf, which is like some time everyday and a half to a full day / week.

What do you think about this and how much non-working time did you allow into your daily/weekly schedule since you started with poker?

Originally posted by TwiceT

Originally posted by BradleyWin
Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.

How should I understand that? I know this quote is by Buddha and I did read a few meanings and explanations to it. I still don't 100% get how I should understand it regarding the last question / the thread overall / myself in general .... ?!

pretty sure the word is 'money'

Hello TwiceT!

Could you please share your HU SNG HUD with us?
Which stats are a must and which should be used on later limits? I got $50 on Party and wanted to try it out - I'm playing $6 HU sng without stats (maniac BR ). I'm still alive and watching HU content.
What BR would you advice for $11, $22?
Currently I'm playing 1 table, because I'm adapting to new version of the game. I think I won't be able to play more than 2 tables at the time for a very long time. HU sng is something different than cg so less auto moves are wanted I think. Also my game is cg sh, so no hu experiences.

Any other advice/ thought/ comment is welcome of course

Originally posted by yaxkukmian
Hello TwiceT!

Could you please share your HU SNG HUD with us?
Which stats are a must and which should be used on later limits? I got $50 on Party and wanted to try it out - I'm playing $6 HU sng without stats (maniac BR ). I'm still alive and watching HU content.
What BR would you advice for $11, $22?
Currently I'm playing 1 table, because I'm adapting to new version of the game. I think I won't be able to play more than 2 tables at the time for a very long time. HU sng is something different than cg so less auto moves are wanted I think. Also my game is cg sh, so no hu experiences.

Any other advice/ thought/ comment is welcome of course

I cannot rly share any hud atm as I just started to use HEM2 a week ago and didn't rly adjust the default hud.

However, speaking of HU SNG I dont think a special hud is extremely important. Most important skill to develop is getting an idea about how your opponent thinks about the game in general faster than he can about your game. Matches are usually short so we cannot get significant reads and stats. Its about the small things early on we can identify that give as a big advantage.

Dont worry about stats too much, 1on1 Poker is about rly focusing on your opponent and as long you dont play 3+ tables, I think you can do that without a hud.

Originally posted by DeMarcohsp
Hi TT,

Over the course of my studies I've been continuously been bumping into the idea of taking a least a day off/week and even some hours each day, something like I work till x pm and after that it's my free time. I obviously don't do this and the only time I don't work it's the time I spend with my gf, which is like some time everyday and a half to a full day / week.

What do you think about this and how much non-working time did you allow into your daily/weekly schedule since you started with poker?

First of all I dont think there is a general guideline we should follow. We are all so different, everybody has to develop his/her own working style.

For me personally it's pretty easy: I only do what I like to do (studying/reading stuff, playing/studying/teaching poker, working on business ventures, hanging out / having fun with friends (or even unknowns ♦ ), dreaming about what to do in my next life ... ) and I do it to an extreme extent and I even plan on being more sick and crazy in doing things. On a sickness scale I'm above standard, but I would like to see myself doing things even more different than others ♦ )

So with that attitude in mind, I dont need to set any working hour times. I just do what I like to do 17/7

If ten parties or social events come up in a row that I think rly enrichens my life, i defintely join and dont work or play poker. I dont wanna divide life in "fun parts" and "not-fun parts". Media talks about work-life balance all the time. I have to laugh everytime i read it. I only have a life balance. Work (as in doing something to earn $$$ to make a living cuz currency atm is the way to exchange products/services) is A PART of life such as happiness, joy, hate, sorrow, anger, hope, dreams, spontanious random actions, family, enemies, friends, sleep, sex, food .... etc etc

I dont wanna plan like "4 hours plaiyng poker, 3 hours admin business stuff, 1 hour going for a beer with a friend, 2 hours meeting a hot girl on thursday eve, 6.5 hours party on saturday in a club, 2 hours studying"

I dont schedule breaks, I dont schedule "office / grinding" hours. I just do, what feels like the right thing to do for my life with my current knowledge.
This is a poker forum, ok. So regarding poker:
I dont play at all between 08:00 and 16:00. Just not many good games running compared to 18:00 - 04:00
I just never coach after 18:00 (cuz its prime time for own grinding or social stuff)
I almost alwas have lunch around 3 pm.
I do play a lot when tables are good. I dont play much when tables are not good.

So I do have some kind of structure on a daily / weekly / monthly basis. But within that structure, I dont limit myself at all. If I feel good and mentally strong enough, I do play 12 hours. If I don't I might just play 30 mins and decide to make a break. I do analyze afterwards why I was so weak / tired and try to find adjustments for the next time.

So back to your question: I dont have any "working time". What I do have is LIFE-TIME. 24 hours a day and an unknown amount of days to come. 7 hours sleep on avg. makes 17 hours a day I can use. If I have good reasons to, I grind all hours. I might just study 12 hours and watch TV 5. I might just spend 12 hours with a friend and 5 more in bed. I might just work 8 hours on a business idea and play golf the other 8 hours.

I that freedom

[Edited by fruktpuff]

Originally posted by vmarqui
do you think 10-15bb/100 is a sustainable winrate at nl200-1k sh?

oh and i bet you've been asked this before. what's the difference between FR, SH and HU in your opinion? i mean, what makes a FR/HU/SH player succesfull?

only 2 tabling or if you are TT on PLO

HU: table selection, best level of tiltcontrol. master those two, and you are a killer

SH/FR: I wouldnt make much of a distinction. Table selection, understanding positions, image, table dynamics and being capable of continuously adjusting your game to your opponents.

being self critical and learning all the time is crucial for all types of games.

Originally posted by Luupainaja

Originally posted by TwiceT

Originally posted by Luupainaja
I bit more personal question, ofc you dont have to answer if you dont want to. Why did your long relationship with your gf ended? Was this somewhat connected to poker?

Poker had just been part of my life for ~ 1 year when she broke up. It alone didn't have a massive impact. Main reason - this obv is just a short answer - was that I am overall overplaying a lot (I still am ). I wanted everything and at that time I had 2 studies running, a job and my first year as poker pro. It was all very demanding and - although I rly tried my best - I couldn't quite spend as much (quality) time as I should have with her.

I learned that trying my best is not enough and only because we think we do enough doesn't rly mean it is enough. Our ideas about the future were also not quite identical/coherent. Sad story overall. Well, actually just a sad ending. 6 Years were great, I just f*cked it up

Ofc there are upsides to it as well, its not all bad. Although she broke up it wasn't as easy for her as well. She probably was smarter than me and realized (I didn't, I thought our relationship would last another 70 years lol) I needed to go monkeystyle alone for some years before I could settle down.

One more thing though, quite related to your question. While do think Poker let me develop incredible skills (outside game strategy), I also do think it has a few rly rly bad disadvantages for relationships. Mostly, (which is good for Poker, Trading etc) I absolutely learned to act emotionless and rly think every decision through properly and take the best decision fact wise. The problem is, sometimes its tough to get it out of your system and I might have gotten too cold at times. I'm very loyal etc, I didn't get an asshole due to Poker, but I got very rational about many things. I am sure this will help me a lot in my business ventures but at the same time I'm sure I need to be cautious not to overdo it in RL. I also never tilt in RL, even if run rly cold. And I also tell others not to freak out when things happen that are not under their control. We can only deal with the spots we get into, most of them we can't control.

Most people don't understand that and think they have the "right" to be angry/upset about things. But actually that doesnt help at all. Ofc, if we made a mistake it's good to be angry and learn from it. But we shouldn't flame around about all those things that we cannot influence (e.g. somebody crashes your car, blackout in your apartment and you cannot watch your favourite movie ....)
And they also tilt due to my attitude cuz they oftentimes do not understand how I can think that way.

However, I know I have to work on it and be self-aware about it.

Thanks for your answer. I've almost lost my gf (its really difficult time for me right now) and although i dont play that much poker and poker is not a lion's share in this, i still think me taking poker seriously has some impact on it. One thing is that coldness in emotions you mention, but what worries me more is that poker dictates my moodswings and how i act with my close ones. When i run good, i'm nice to my close ones, when i run bad, i sometimes pour it out on them. I dont like this, that is not how it should be. For me its not as much of a problem that poker doesnt leave any time for my gf (its all about time managment), its just poker takes over my emotions. I really want to fix this, its interesting how poker forces you to deal with your emotions, to watch them how they flow.

I think thats good actually, to see that you and others around you are something far more important than passing emotions. And i think in the end of the day, poker teaches you that, when you improve some tiltfree playing.

And another thing that i was accused of by my gf - poker, allegedly, reduces your sex drive... Because poker satisfies your competition and alfa-man desires, so theres not much left for sex. Wow, if true, this is frightening...

Imho, you mentioned the most dangerous thing about a profession like Poker or Trading:

"but what worries me more is that poker dictates my moodswings and how i act with my close ones."

I will only say, that I think it's great that you realize it is a problem in your life and that you need to start dealing with it. I will also say that I think it's rly bad to have Poker outcomes dictating your mood. You don't have the right to be a good friend only when you win and a bad one if you lose. Or arrogant when you win and humble when you lose. Dont let Poker or Uni or your Job dictate your moodswings too much. Ofc the big events will always be visible cuz they are not common and you cannot easily work on your mindset after winning e.g. a sunday major.

I put a lot of thought into solving that for me and I think it's something we all have to find our own way to deal with it that suits us. Its not only important to work on your game when becoming a PokerPro, you definitely have to work on specific parts of your PokerMindset a lot. Poker dictating your moodswings is an important topic. Unfortunately I don't think there is an easy solution to it.

Check out Jared's thread. Maybe you find some help in there. But at the end of the day, YOU have to solve that problem. Imo you shouldnt try to work on it with friends, but I would work on it with your GF. Especially if you are living with her 7 days a week. She is the closest person to you (not "closer" than family members, but closer physically) and I think she has to be involved.
I think there are articles written from the GF of a PokerPro for GFs of other PokerPros (google it, im pretty sure about it) If you plan on playing for a longer time, she has to understand at least the basics about the game (I mean the implications and the nature, not strategies) and its just more credible to hear it from somebody in the same situation.

Originally posted by CheckBop
Will you stake me for NL25?

Stake thread: NL25 SH Stake Request - 20K hands.

Your own words :

Originally posted by TwiceT

Originally posted by CheckBop

Originally posted by z1pz0r

- that being said you have textbook stats. definitely withing the range where u can say its almost optimal for lower stakes nlhe sh. i rly like most of your stats.

- i dont get why u play those limits if u play those stats. looks like u know what this game is about. move up imo and rly learn this game

I'm looking into it tomorrow

Originally posted by TwiceT

Originally posted by CheckBop

I'm looking into it tomorrow

[Edited by fruktpuff]
Check.

You have been denied applying for stakes Twice now CheckBop, and have been given the reason for why both times.

If you keep trying to apply outside of the forum designated for Stake applications, in addition trying to ignore the stake request rules by giving skype information, this may end in your losing your forum priviledges completely.

Two weeks will do it for now.

Regards,
Richard

Hello TT.

I saw in a response you gave previously that you never play between 8:00 -16:00 and you prefer playing between 18:00 - 4am which is very reasonable I guess.
I wanted to ask you what is your opinion about playing between 4am -8am. Are these still good hours (in poker terms of course)?
The reason I ask is because I want to increase the hours I play so I was thinking that I could play 2-3 hours very early in the morning and 2-3 hours after 18:00. Since I can't put much volume yet ..like playing 4 or 6 consecutive hours I thought that by doing two separate sessions would be easier and this way I ll have time to rest in between. I also like waking up early and I have much energy these hours.

If you have any further advice in terms of increasing the hours of playing is very welcome of course.

Thank you in advance for your help

biggest amount of hands played in a session and a longest session? ♦

Originally posted by phantommm92
biggest amount of hands played in a session and a longest session? ♦

+ most hands played in a single month

This thread is pure gold