Didn't realise I posted the hand, that's interesting to see it again, I recalled the action slightly wrong when I wrote about it funnily enough.
Thanks for all the replies, will respond to them when I get to them having gone through the thread, time for part 3. Hope it's not an anti-climax because it's probs not as interesting...
Ok so I'd just found out my gf was pregnant. Looking at my blog it seems I'd had a bit of a downswing Nov/Dec 2008 (although absolutely nothing in relation to previous epic downswings I'm sure). So I was really out to prove I could make a living sufficient to support a family. I started 2009 with a €250 bankroll on the premiss that even if times got rough and it came to be that I didn't have a large bankroll to work with, I could still make enough money from the game. It seems I made €2000 profit doing this in
January. So the experiment seemed to work, and I had another good month playing small stakes Heads Ups in March which I actually had a staking proposal for on Blonde (
here) after I spent February doing little more than breaking even at small stakes LHE.
So I was feeling good that I had proven I could beat the small stakes to earn a decent living. My attitude was now totally different. I could care less about trying to win back what I had lost 18 months ago, paying the bills was what was important. I guess I have matured in that sense. My parents were very worried that I had no respect for money at one point, which I obviously didn't or else I'd never have had the sick spin ups I did, nor the 'spin downs'. They would have seen me have a very nonchalant attitude to spending £100, which obviously at times in my poker career has been very little, perhaps even just a big blind, but to them it was a lot of money. They have told me over the last year that they are happy I finally have some respect for money. Perhaps it's because I have less of it I'm not sure, but I think it's also from having a bit more life experience now.
I really wish I hadn't bothered with the whole Black Belt Poker thing in May. I had trekked down to the launch night in London, and it sounded like a cool idea, and it felt kinda nice that Neil Channing even knew who I was. Obviously the sensible thing to have done would have been to play heads ups. But I was aware that 'gherkin' on Boss Media, who had been a thorn in my side in the games on Boss for nearly two years, was gonna be in the games, and I was worried that HUSNGs just weren't gonna rake enough for their liking. I thought with a couple of CardRunners videos and my ability two years previously to crush a high stakes game would mean 0.25/0.50 cash games wouldn't exactly prove a problem. Well, I was wrong. Nits and short-stackers + quality graders made these games bloody tough, and I obviously had some leaks. I moved over to SNGs in the second two weeks but was playing double or nothings. It took me a while to adapt to the 6-max strategy, as opposed to the 10-man which I had done well in when I had dabbled in these games previously. By the end of the grading I had done little to prove I was a solid winning player, but I still felt shafted because I had fulfilled all other criteria and tbh had been bullshitted a bit by Neil who made some false promises when I nearly dropped out recognising I was doing shit. Anyway, that's water under the bridge now, and not something I'm at all bothered about.
I think another reason I didn't want to play heads ups in the grading was because I was bored of them. Perhaps I just don't like making money or something I don't know. They were a game I was well proven in, but I think you burn out on these games quicker than other formats of poker for some reason. I can 20 table SNGs for 8 hours, but I'll be damned if I can 2 table HUSNGs for that length of time. Sod that! Anyway, June was around the time Salfi started being active on the forum, I remember seeing
this thread and I perhaps Sharkscoped him and stuff. I was surprised you could make such good money from such small stakes. I have always had people telling me I should play MTTs but I've just never been into the whole time-commitment thing, and this looked like a good compromise.
I've done well in them pretty much since I started. I guess the key to these is volume. I started off tiling 8 tables or something, and playing just enough to earn a decent amount each month, but I've seen what I can do when I really grind now, so it's all about putting in the hours. These games seem perfect for me in that they are low variance,with my biggest downswing being around $1500, and even though I feel like I don't have that tilt button I mentioned earlier anymore (well it's probably still there, just well hidden), when you've established a pretty looking graph, you can't get too upset about even a bad-downswing.
I honestly have no desire to do anything remotely gambling orientated. I've found a game I have a good edge in, I'm making decent money, and I have put so many hours into grinding, it would seem pointless. I can barely be arsed to play poker if I haven't got a whole week to put into it, cos I recognise that playing for a couple of hours is barely going to make any difference. So I'm pleased to say sick spin ups and the pit games are something I've put well behind me.
It's funny I talk about volume cos I've played sod all online all this month, but I guess I've earnt a break, and the win in Galway means I can have it guilt-free. I don't really play all that much live, but I was kinda due a win in a live tournament if you look at my
Hendon Mob. It was really nice to get the monkey off my back as it were.
Although the money I've earnt this year has only really been enough to support my family and put a small amount into savings, this is the best year I've ever had poker-wise. It's been the least mentally draining and the most fulfilling. My girlfriend used to make me this comfort food whenever I'd had some horrible losing/donk session to make me feel better. A jacket potato with cheese and beans. The fact that she has made me this meal zero times this year is perhaps the best indicator that I'm finally doing things right...