Get Rich or Die Tryin' - Be Here Now

@Zhusy - TY! ♠_biggrin: I did play a lot of MTTs in the past, but now I rarely play them. When I started playing poker I played mostly MTTs and I loved them.

Update: I caught a cold and I stopped showering with cold water for a while. I had a lot of people around me who were sick, so I'm not surprised at all. I am doing my best to recover as fast as possible.

This is my best month so far. If I continue like this for the end of the month, all my goals will be completed for October. I think the reason why everything goes so well is, because, first thing in the morning I plan my day(to-do list) and before I go to sleep I evaluate it. Profit is not so good, but I don't really care. ♠_grin:

November will be an exciting month. I will compete in a dance competition. It is a charity event organized for kids who survived cancer. I really hope a lot of money will be raised! ♦ Another event will be our dance team 10th anniversary, we are planning a huge party! ♠_drink:

You are strange!

Showering cold, dance competition, reaching your poker goals...

... it seems you are the opposite of me :-)

Originally posted by SvenBe
You are strange!

Showering cold, dance competition, reaching your poker goals...

... it seems you are the opposite of me

At least he has good taste in cars!
There are 2 types of cars, BMW and other vehicles.

By being opposite you mean poker goals?

nah,

i am not dancing and as discussed earlier i am also not a big fan of cold showers (mimimi).

@SvenBe - I am crazy!! ♠_biggrin:

@Zhusy - I agree! But I would add Mercedes to. So 3 types of cars: BMW, Mercedes and other cars. ♠_cool:

End of October: This month started badly, but I turned things around and made October the best month so far. Profit was no so much(850$), but it doesn't matter. I completed all my goals for this month, improved a lot, made new, powerful habits and now I'm confident that if I continue like this in the next months/years I'm going to become a mid/high stakes winner.

November goals:
Maintain Gold status on 888
Review everything
Plan every day
Play NL100
Watch 15 poker videos
Read one book
Keep a clean room/ buy new desk!
Wake up earlier(start playing earlier)
Only cold showers
Do well in dance competition

:diamond:Buy new desk [DONE]

I used to be a very messy person, rarely cleaned my room, never organized anything. Now, two months ago that changed. Keeping a clean and well organized room has some amazing benefits, for example you'll be more productive and less stressed. I plan to buy a plant or a little aquarium with a fish and some awesome back-light. ♠_biggrin:

Interesting hand:

888 Poker - $0.50 NL - Holdem - 9 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

MP: $50.00 (VPIP: 17.01, PFR: 10.85, 3Bet Preflop: 3.74, Hands: 7,001)
MP+1: $53.62 (VPIP: 18.86, PFR: 15.30, 3Bet Preflop: 5.66, Hands: 1,503)
MP+2: $49.42 (VPIP: 18.56, PFR: 5.39, 3Bet Preflop: 2.34, Hands: 334)
CO: $66.45 (VPIP: 17.90, PFR: 13.98, 3Bet Preflop: 3.76, Hands: 899)
Hero (BTN): $66.51
SB: $27.67 (VPIP: 26.72, PFR: 15.75, 3Bet Preflop: 4.23, Hands: 368)
BB: $49.12 (VPIP: 47.76, PFR: 5.97, 3Bet Preflop: 2.86, Hands: 67)
UTG: $52.01 (VPIP: 10.00, PFR: 6.67, 3Bet Preflop: 7.69, Hands: 30)
UTG+1: $77.86 (VPIP: 38.55, PFR: 11.52, 3Bet Preflop: 1.20, Hands: 167)

SB posts SB $0.25, BB posts BB $0.50

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.75) Hero has A♥ A♣

fold, UTG+1 calls $0.50, fold, fold, MP+2 raises to $1.25, fold, Hero raises to $4.50, fold, BB calls $4.00, fold, fold

Flop: ($11.00, 2 players) T♥ A♦ 9♣
BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($11.00, 2 players) Q♠
BB checks, Hero bets $15.00, BB raises to $30.00, Hero raises to $62.01 and is all-in, BB calls $14.62 and is all-in

River: ($100.24, 2 players) T♣

Hero shows A♥ A♣ (Full House, Aces full of Tens)
(Pre 87%, Flop 99.9%, Turn 100%)
BB shows T♦ 5♥ (Three of a Kind, Tens)
(Pre 13%, Flop 0.1%, Turn 0%)
Hero wins $96.24

Turn: I figured, that if I want to end up going all-in here I need to overbet turn. Also in this case if he calls a 7-8$ bet, I believe he will call the 15$ bet too. I was a little surprised when I saw he's hand. ♠_drink:

Desk looks solid!

Congrats for the goals done. ♠_drink:
I m having issues myself about cleaning the house... not so easy.

About the hand, I didnt knew this kind of fish actually exist in NL50. Surprised. And good math analysis.
Keep rockin my friend.

@Afulibador, bonecore - Thanks for following my blog and reading my updates! Don't worry I don't spend so much time with cleaning daily, maximum of 15 min/day, but it's enough to maintain it clean.

Update: Excellent news: Do well in dance competition [DONE]

The hard work and dedication payed off, we won the competition. It was one of the best shows we've ever done. The event was also very successful, a lot of money was raised. I hope I will soon have a video to with the dance. ♠_thumbsup:

Poker: Struggling with getting up earlier and starting sessions earlier, I want to make a habit of this so I must start doing it! I am losing in November, but very little volume and I'm under EV with a lot, so nothing to worry about. ♠_biggrin:

It's been one year since I started writing the blog! It's the first time I re-read every post, it was like reliving the past year :)) One thing that I noticed was that at the beginning I was writing dry posts, only about poker, and my last posts were completely different, they were more about my life as a poker player. Now I understand the importance of having a journal/blog and I recommend everyone to start one today! ♠_thumbsup:

One quote from my blog: "I want to share some thoughts about cancer: It might sound crazy or surprising, but overall I don't regret that I had cancer. I think about it as a good thing, probably the biggest life lesson I ever got. It made me more motivated, I'm less stressed by the little things or problems and care more about what's important: like friends and family. It made me want to help others: “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” ― Winston S. Churchill. The fear of cancer coming back is present every day, even in my dreams sometimes, but I'm sure that one day I will learn to get over it. It's important to live every single day like it's a gift and be grateful for it."

In the past year I grew a lot, I learned a lot and I experienced a lot, overcome challenges, completed goals, learned from failures, each day I'm getting better and better. I am thankful for the life I have, for my family and friends, I feel blessed and lucky to have them around. ♠_love:

BE HERE NOW!

November wasn't as successful as October, I failed my most important goal: getting up earlier. I failed my plan some days, because I got up very late(after 10+ hours of sleep), this made me feel bad, unmotivated, I procrastinated and couldn't focus enough to play A-game. I have okay profit, but haven't improved as much as I wanted, because I always started my sessions late and didn't have time. I feel awful because of this, but I am changing this. I made a decision 3 days ago and since then I am doing alright. I am not hitting the snooze button anymore! ♠_biggrin:

Enough with the negativity, here is the plan for December: ♠_thumbsup:
Keep Gold status on 888 and Pokerstrategy
Play NL100
Plan every day
Wake up earlier every day!
Review everything
Watch 10 poker videos
Cold showers
Keep a clean room
Go on trip with the organization which helps kids with cancer
Read one book
Eat healthy / Train / Rest enough
Buy comfortable chair

I have an idea for my next post, I know that I have to write down the answer, but it takes time to think about it: Where do you see yourself in 5 years? If anyone wants to share his own vision feel free to write it down here. ♠_thumbsup:

Quick Update: So far December is a weak month, I had very little motivation, didn't focus during sessions, failed my daily goals and lost a lot of money. ♠_cry: But I know that I need times like this, because I will learn from my fails. Every time during my poker career, when I had bad periods of time they were followed by huge improvements and incredible A-game. I will turn this month back in profit!

This is the graph for December:

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? ♠_biggrin:

Now it's a good time to think about my long-term goals and to create a vision of who I want to become in 5 years:

I will be in a good relationship and looking forward to start a family
I will stay healthy and happy
I will travel the world(every continent!)
I will have developed awesome social,business skills
I will become a high-stakes poker player(NL1000)
I will have my own growing company

I will continue to update this list if any new idea comes up ♠_smile:

First of all, I wish everyone a Happy New Year! I hope 2016 will be your best year yet!
I'm not going to write much about 2015, it was full of ups and downs, I made less profit then in 2014, but still learned a lot and grew a lot. My focus is on 2016 now, based on my observations and review of last year here are my goals and plan of action:

Goals for 2016:
Treat poker like a pro! (huge improvements, grind higher stakes(NL200), build big BR)
Get rid of procrastination
Self improvement (big progress) => Happiness
Save 10000 Euros!
Travel(visit 3 different countries, Hungary excluded)
Stay healthy
Plan my company/ create a great vision of who I want to be
Make tattoo => Be Here Now (Learn to live in the present)

Plan/ How to make 2016 MY BEST YEAR EVER:
Remember, I am making a living playing poker, so be dedicated to doing my best!
Plan every day, week(Sunday night) and month
Review before every day/ Watch videos daily!
Find challenges!
Wake up earlier/ start playing earlier!
Re-read this plan often!/ Visualize my goals!
Instead of watching meaningless Youtube videos or browsing Facebook/Instagram start reading poker related forums or watching Pokerstrategy videos!
Write more often in my blog
Read books, take notes, just sit down and do it, the result will be pleasing
Face your fears/ Be willing to fail/ Take action every day/ Trust yourself
Motivational meetings to discuss about goals, visions and books
Ignore the naysayers/ Break the rules!
Wake up earlier/ Start playing earlier!/ Work like hell!
Cold showers!
Spend less money on useless things(observe where am I wasting money)
Rest enough/ Train/ Eat healthy(cut down on sugar, replace morning coffee with fruits and black tea)
Remember, health is the most important thing!

This is it! I am ready to reach my goals in 2016, ready to work hard and live life to the fullest! Remember: "The future will come by itself, progress will not." ♠_biggrin:

Originally posted by kidzoltan
Spend less money on useless things(observe where am I wasting money)

Generally, small and repeated spending is a budget-killer

@Zanardi1 - Thanks for your comment, it's probably true for me to, because I very often go out for a coffee/ eat lunch, even multiple times a day.

I've joined the 2016 Goal Getter challenge.
My main two goals are:
Play 80k hands (changed to 80k from 100k, quality vs quantity)
Read and take notes of two books (one is Dale Carnegie - How to Win Friends and Influence People, I haven't decided the other one yet)

I decided to go for high, but doable goals to keep the challenge interesting. ♠_biggrin:
I wish good luck for every other person who is in the challenge! ♠_drink:

2016 started really well, I had lots of fun and partying, very high energy, almost no procrastination. I feel that I am living my life to the fullest and being in the present moment. 2016 will be the year of no excuses, with lots of positive changes. ♠_biggrin:

Quick update on the Goal Getter Challenge: 25k hands so far this month, I'm playing more hands, but also lower stakes. The book(Dale Carnegie - How to Win Friends and Influence People) I'm reading is awesome, I recommend it for anyone who wants to improve their social/communication skills. I'm planning to write a short summary about the book here in the blog after I finish it, hoping that someone else will get interested to and read the whole book.

My new Pokerstars mug, to keep me motivated: ♠_biggrin:

Great goals. Good luck.

I stopped taking sugar in my coffee a while back and was amazed to find how lots of other things tasted different.
(Hope you don't love chocolate, it's going to taste really sweet; actually when you want to treat yourself, i recommend really dark chocolate it has a significantly less sugar)

@corsc - Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! I really love dark chocolate, now that you reminded me I'm going to buy myself some. ♠_thumbsup:

Update on Goal Getter promotion: 44k/80k played and managed to read Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People book. After some loosing days to relax and take a brake from poker, I watched The Pursuit of Happiness, a very inspiring movie based on a real story. I can say it was pretty useful, because this is what happened next day: ♠_drink:

Now, as I promised I made a short summary of Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People book:

Become a Friendlier Person:
1. Don’t criticize, condemn or complain.
2. Give honest, sincere appreciation.
3. Arouse in the other person an eager want.
4. Become genuinely interested in other people.
5. SMILE.
6. Remember that a person’s name is to that person the
sweetest and most important sound in any language.
7. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about
themselves.
8. Talk in terms of the other person’s interests.
9. Make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely.

Win People to Your Way of Thinking:
1. The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.
2. Show respect for the other person’s opinion. Never say, “You’re
wrong.”
3. If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
4. Begin in a friendly way.
5. Get the other person saying, “yes, yes” immediately.
6. Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.
7. Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.
8. Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view.
9. Be sympathetic with the other person’s ideas and desires.
10. Appeal to the nobler motives.
11. Dramatize your ideas.
12. Throw down a challenge.

Be a Leader:
1. Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
2. Call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly.
3. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other
person.
4. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
5. Let the other person save face.
6. Praise the slightest improvement and praise every
improvement. Be “hearty in your approbation and lavish in
your praise.”
7. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
8. Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.
9. Make the other person happy about doing the thing you
suggest.

Conclusion: The book is full with examples for every "rule", it was worth reading all of it. The examples show how to use this techniques in the everyday life. I had lots of "aha" moment, while reading the book and already started using this things in my interactions with people. I recommend it for everybody, who works with people or who wants to improve their social/leadership skills.

Now I have to decide, which self improvement book to read next ♠_biggrin:

Originally posted by kidzoltan
...
Quick update on the Goal Getter Challenge: 25k hands so far this month, I'm playing more hands, but also lower stakes. ...

I thought I saw you playing NL10, like it's not difficuilt enough to move up

Anyway good luck with your goals, with new PS mug