blonde poker forum

After spending the end of last year playing in different online mtt's varying in buy in from $2 - $30+ I have met someone from another forum who has been giving me some coaching on playing stt and basic stt strategy.

This year I intend to only play 9, 18 and 45max games on stars along with the occasional large comp but very few. I am going to start with playing 6 tables but hopefully with the help of TN I will be up to 10 or 12 in no time.

This could fall on its arse at the first hurdle but I thought I would give it a go and where better to post it than here.

I have been reading the diarys on here and the majority are excellent reads, its not my intention to turn this into a diary but more of somewhere public that I can post my days/weeks results and take all the advice positive or negative from the experienced guys on here.

I will initially be playing at the $3.50 level, this will all be staked at a 50/50 split with the same guy who has been giving me the coaching.

The volume I play will depend on work schedule but I aim to play a minimum of 150 games a week, I am aware that this isnt huge volume but I still feel that its enough to combat the variance.

My goals for 2013 are:

To play: 8000 games minimum

Hopefully reach the 7$ level by the end of the year.

Build a big enough personal roll where I can take next year on myself

Play a handful of live events and take a few shots at bigger comps.

Wish me Luck :)

In for the ride..

Good luck :)

Good luck!

Just a starting point 8000/150  = 53.?! so this year would need to be extra long for you to meet your goal on your weekly target :) just a thought!

He did say minimum of 150 per week, only need to up it to 154 to be way over ;)

i was wanting to make him aware of how close it was if he goes for 200 he should way cover it and allow for the odd week off etc! that is all :)

Yeah the 150 is a minimum target a week 600 per month, but I will more than likely have some months where I play far more and others where I am just short, its all work dependant and how much free time I can free up to stick into poker.

Bubble this is a very valid point, I have allowed for summer holiday etc. I will need to review the plan but I think that I will stick to the 150 and see how I go.

Thanks for pointing it out!

A rarity to see some tangible, modest, realistic, specific goals in one of these threads. Good luck sir, I bet you cruise past the $7 buy-in level before the summer.

agreed stick to it work hard! dont be to afraid to take shots as long as you have a clear plan and say if i lose X i will go back down etc!

good luck! however you should definitely be 12 tabling at the min with TN, won't make much $$ playing 6-8 tables. i guess your coach will help you with that!

is this on stars? there are the weekly BOP which are pretty decent for SNG's up to 27 players.

Not the best of starts ran pretty bad today but with such a small sample its to be expected. Nothing to worry about yet, aslong as the upswings out weigh the down we should be fine.

Games Played 32

Profit: -$56.99

After a pretty miserable start to this yesterday I had a coaching session today where we went over all of my previous days hands... There was some bad run but also there was some shocking play on my behalf... some small leaks that lead to me spewing chips and putting myself in tough spots where I didnt need to be.

Anyway im feeling a lot more positive now.

Games Played: 73

Profit: -$73.08

I could beat myself up already that im in a small hole but I have to take the positives out of it, 73/8000 is such a tiny sample so I am more than confident that this will turn around sooner rather than later.

Good luck with the challenge, i don't know if you put it but are you playing turbo's or the standard speed sit n gos? allso i don't know if others will agree but i think in general the 18 player sit n go's will give you a better win rate, the standard from what i saw last year is worse in those than stt's as you don't have as many regs in them. In the one table games it seems that half the players are 4/8/12+ tabling and it doesnt seem anywhere near the same ratio in the 18 mans.

Yeah I have been playing the turbo's... I have mainly been playing the 9's but have played the odd 18 and 45 man.

I normally run a set of 6 games 4 x 9's and 1 of the other 2.

I will be trying 8 tables tomorrow, the main issue I have is that I dont like cascading the tables and have them tiled over my screen. I only use my laptop so I think that any more than 8 could be tough

we will see how it goes over the coming weeks and months!

With the volume targets you have set why don't you just play one specific game and try and master that one ? Never been a fan of mixing different sngs, even the best players in these games pick up small leaks when they start mixing.

If you want to play more tables try stacking them and see how you find it.

GLGLGL.

Do you think you could be trying to run before you can walk?

A month ago you were posting amateurish HH's, one where you overshoved a million bb's deep in a tourny with the virtual nuts and now you are 8 tabling????

Dont want to sound negative as i'd love you to succeed and prove me wrong, and hopefully you do, just wondered that's all, dont want you going broke as I love your enthusiasm for the game!

I appreciate your advise and will put it to my coach/staker and see what he thinks, I feel a lot more comfortable in the 9 seaters, and what you say makes sense. You play a 9 seater different to a 45 so I can see what you mean about the small leaks etc.

Thanks

I played 1,500 9 mans last year ave stake $3.50 as per sharkscope for just $511 profit. Not much money to be made there, only made top 10 in the SNG weekly leaderboard twice too but players were a lot weaker in the 'KO' format, as people just call off 50-60% of stack with any ace to try and KO someone.

Dont worry about the negativity both valid questions, I wont go broke because I am in a 50/50 staking partnership with coaching so im not playing with my own roll, which helps to a certain degree but also the added pressure of playing with someone elses dollar has taken a little bit of getting used to.

Any more questions feel free to ask!

Bit of advice I have taken from more knowledgable people than myself:

- Get really specifc about not only the whats but the whys of each goal and the underlying reasons for wanting this
- Understand what obstacles may get in your way and how you will overcome them
- How will you pick yourself up when you are down?  What will inspire you to keep going?
- Get into mental game work, read/get free audio verison of The Mental Game of Poker - just so so helpful for anyone putting in volume

I have been doing loads of work on goals and it has really helped me get motivated, find inspiration when I need it, understand why I play poker and why I want to achieve my goals and how that will benefit me in ways other than just the obvious potential financial gains.  I also really break down each goal so I know the steps it takes to get there.

Most of all, GL in 2013.

Great Post.. Thanks!!

Another horrible day, but managed to dig myself out of a hole for more or less a break even session.

On a positive side note it was good to see Demba Ba sign for us, should give us the strike power that we have been missing.

Games Played: 128

Profit: -$68.09

Coach has been over my hands and thinks im just on the wrong side of variance, I am getting in ahead the majority of the time and just getting coolered or losing the flips. The key is that I havent been tilting and keeping my head.

2 days to play 22 more games to hit the 150 for week 1. This wont be a problem and I will squeeze as many as I can in to get ahead of the 8000. This will allow for my weeks holiday to egypt in the summer and any other time that I feel I need to take off.

Sat watching "The Green Mile" with the mrs and I loaded up a 180 $2.50 game I finished 2nd for a nice little score and to get myself back on track...

Updated stats for the year :)

Games played: 130

Profit $7.99

Its coming up to the end of my first week in my year challenge... so far so good, I think its been good that I started on a 25 buy in down swing so that I dont get to far ahead of myself thinking that I can crush these games and build myself up for a mighty downswing. I have never put in any serious volume in at any level and its been an interesting week. I am not sure what a normal downswing at these games are but after doing some research and reading some of the threads on here I think it varies but can be as much as 30-50 buy ins.

I know some of you guys stick in my weeks volume in a day (mondatoo), but for the time being im happy with the amount I have got in. I have set another little goal to beable to 10 table by the end of april. I am currently still 6 tabling, I just struggle with stacking the tables cause sometimes they change screen to another table as your about to click, and cascade is a bit all over the place. I need to spend more time on TN and understand it a bit more. The reason I only play 6 at the min is because I can tile them all over my screen.

I have only played 32 games today, but had a positive day. I had a coaching session again this morning looking at bubble spots and bubble play which is helping me move in the right direction.

Games Played: 162

Profit: $34.56

I plan to play a little bit tomorrow which will help get ahead of myself, I am off to austria for a few days in Feb with work so I need to make up for the short fall next month.

Always enjoy reading your updates chelseaboy, keep it up!

Thanks Mike, today I am going to try and 8 table and use cascade... I have been thinking about it for a few days and the more people I talk to tell me that in order to increase my volume and play more tables I need to get used to either cascade or stack. I could tile if I had a bigger monitor but then the HUD is so tiny it does get confusing at times.

In my first post I stated that I had no intention of turning this into a diary, but its clear that this is exactly what it is... I will post later on a bit about myself, poker history etc.

I tend to tile and stack (not sure if this is ideal or not) But i use this when im playing different types of games. Say you can stack your 18 mans together and your 27 mans together etc.

Do you not find that when stacking the tables that they can change just when your about to click and then get caught out folding or raising on the wrong table? Might just be me! :S

No it doesn't. Buy tableninja too.

So the end of week 1 report...

The good news is that its ended in a profit, the bad is that it isnt much of a profit, but I cant dwell on that because it very easily could of been a 100+ losing week if I didnt come second in the 180man. Anyway today I decided to persevere with cascading the tables and found that 8 tables was very do able and after a set or two felt comfortable. With this being said I have played quite a few games today.

Games Played: 225

Profit: $13.76

I tried to copy a picture of the graph but I wasnt sure how so ive attached it for those who want to see.

Playing in the Big 5.50 with a blonde member not sure who he is.... ILOVELAGER he is crushing the early levels at the minute giving some dutchy some abuse who wants to play HU $200!! :)

Great laugh!!

Well im in the money in The BIG 5.50... now time to climb that ladder

7504 started

70/906

Long way to go!! ;) but nice to make the money in a biggie even if at the min it is only a small cash!! nice to get a run, and a possible sweat depending on the next couple of hours :)

GLGLGL grind away fella :D

Lost a few flips a sick one AK<JQ for a chunk of chips

245/333 now.

Ahh well still have 20bbs

This is pretty sick... nearly out

PokerStars Hand #91968044888: Tournament #702010281, $5.00+$0.50 USD Hold'em No Limit - Level XXIV (1200/2400) - 2013/01/07 13:30:42 ET
Table '702010281 216' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: Agarkoff-KI (159512 in chips)
Seat 2: Hremia (98045 in chips)
Seat 3: KurtKraut (78986 in chips)
Seat 4: FoldAAKK22 (27389 in chips)
Seat 5: 82_Optimus (57310 in chips)
Seat 6: Fogster (105358 in chips)
Seat 7: Basis211 (94056 in chips)
Seat 8: trigs06 (28316 in chips)
Seat 9: CFC2012 (32686 in chips)
Agarkoff-KI: posts the ante 300
Hremia: posts the ante 300
KurtKraut: posts the ante 300
FoldAAKK22: posts the ante 300
82_Optimus: posts the ante 300
Fogster: posts the ante 300
Basis211: posts the ante 300
trigs06: posts the ante 300
CFC2012: posts the ante 300
Basis211: posts small blind 1200
trigs06: posts big blind 2400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to CFC2012 [As Jh]
CFC2012: raises 2640 to 5040
Agarkoff-KI: folds
Hremia: folds
KurtKraut: folds
FoldAAKK22: folds
82_Optimus: folds
Fogster: folds
Basis211: folds
trigs06: calls 2640
*** FLOP *** [3c Td Ad]
trigs06: checks
CFC2012: bets 6990
trigs06: calls 6990
*** TURN *** [3c Td Ad] [5d]
trigs06: checks
CFC2012: bets 20356 and is all-in
trigs06: calls 15986 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (4370) returned to CFC2012
*** RIVER *** [3c Td Ad 5d] [Ks]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
trigs06: shows [Jd Qh] (a straight, Ten to Ace)
CFC2012: shows [As Jh] (a pair of Aces)
trigs06 collected 59932 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 59932 | Rake 0
Board [3c Td Ad 5d Ks]
Seat 1: Agarkoff-KI folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Hremia folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: KurtKraut folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: FoldAAKK22 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: 82_Optimus folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Fogster (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: Basis211 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 8: trigs06 (big blind) showed [Jd Qh] and won (59932) with a straight, Ten to Ace
Seat 9: CFC2012 showed [As Jh] and lost with a pair of Aces

Managed to spin what I had left back up to 10bbs so still here! ;)

Keep it up man, coaching seems to be going well for you. Multitabling is all practice, you'll get there if you keep trying and pushing.

Thanks, somehow managed to nurse the small stack, still have 10bbs on another break.

179/204

need to find 2-3 double ups!!

Gone in 184th

Jammed early pos with AJ and ran into 10 10

ahh well... seems a waste of 5+ hours but profit is profit I suppose!!

PokerStars Hand #91970261851: Tournament #702010281, $5.00+$0.50 USD Hold'em No Limit - Level XXVIII (2000/4000) - 2013/01/07 14:10:04 ET
Table '702010281 216' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: Agarkoff-KI (337316 in chips)
Seat 2: babagidag (135468 in chips)
Seat 3: elektrik966 (170952 in chips)
Seat 5: mrmeshuggah (63549 in chips) out of hand (moved from another table into small blind)
Seat 6: Fogster (173030 in chips)
Seat 7: Basis211 (53956 in chips)
Seat 8: trigs06 (106813 in chips)
Seat 9: CFC2012 (44465 in chips)
Agarkoff-KI: posts the ante 500
babagidag: posts the ante 500
elektrik966: posts the ante 500
Fogster: posts the ante 500
Basis211: posts the ante 500
trigs06: posts the ante 500
CFC2012: posts the ante 500
Fogster: posts small blind 2000
Basis211: posts big blind 4000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to CFC2012 [Js As]
trigs06: folds
CFC2012: raises 39965 to 43965 and is all-in
Agarkoff-KI: folds
babagidag: folds
elektrik966: folds
Fogster: calls 41965
Basis211: folds
*** FLOP *** [4s Qs 7d]
*** TURN *** [4s Qs 7d] [Qc]
*** RIVER *** [4s Qs 7d Qc] [8d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Fogster: shows [Tc Th] (two pair, Queens and Tens)
CFC2012: shows [Js As] (a pair of Queens)
Fogster collected 95430 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 95430 | Rake 0
Board [4s Qs 7d Qc 8d]
Seat 1: Agarkoff-KI folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: babagidag folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: elektrik966 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Fogster (small blind) showed [Tc Th] and won (95430) with two pair, Queens and Tens
Seat 7: Basis211 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 8: trigs06 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: CFC2012 showed [Js As] and lost with a pair of Queens

I had a positive day yesterday, I didnt get much volume in because I had lots of work to do and I had the Big 5.50 running for 5 hours+ but the small amount I did play had some good results.

Games Played: 242
Profit: $51.05

I think daily updates could get a bit long winded, for now I will carry on but I think soon I will just post a weekly report. Unless people like the daily updates.

I didnt really know much about the Battle of the Planets on stars but I am determined to make the Mars leaderboard at some point this year :)

Another good evenings work... Now that im 8 tabling the numbers soon rack up. Im still struggling to put a really good set together but the positive is that im still turning over a small profit, and seem to be on a bit of an upswing! (lets hope I dont jinx myself)

Games Played: 296
Profit: $81.08

296/8000 is very small sample but lets hope this good run continues!! ;)

The evenings session started horribly... I had 2 min cashes in 18 games. So found myself in a bit of a hole but soon turned it around by winning a 45man and then went on a decent run in the following few games. I feel a lot better with push/folding and starting to understand and learn more and more everyday.

I feel that im on the right side of variance at the minute, im still getting in ahead the majority of the time but they are starting to hold a little bit more instead of getting sucked out on... Im not going to go on about bad run and make a huge deal of it cause I think that it has to be expected and we all have our ups and downs, you just need to take it on the chin.

Games Played: 331
Profit: $116.88

Its clear that when I run good I need to keep it to myself... I have had an awful nights play... been battered all night variance really did come back with a bang!! I have been on roughly a 22 game down swing. I even took a break and went to the gym for an hour hoping that it was just a bad few hours but I have come back from the gym and its still going... Just have to ride it out and hope that it turns around sooner rather than later.

Games Played: 401

Profit: $43.54

Session loss of 73.34 (This amounts to 20 Buy Ins!)

The only positive note about all of this is that I am 100 games ahead of my target and still 3 days left of play, however I am going to the Alexandra Palace on sunday to watch Ding v Neil Robertson in the masters so that should be a good day out.

I have been looking at what it takes to get to Gold Star... I am 1755vpps short at the minute but that works out at another 938 games for me to get in this month... I am not making it a goal for this month if it comes then great if not I will make it a goal for another month in the year, but I think that it would be a good achievement to reach it on my first month playing the games that I play.

Tomorrow is another day!

The 3 day downswing continues... Starting to beat me up a little bit but if im going to do this properly then I have to expect it and be able to cope with it. My luck adjusted winnings is about 100$ short of my actual... I havent put a great deal of volume in over the last couple of days cause my gf and I have come back down to the midlands for the weekend, as I said in an earlier post I am off to Ally Pally tomorrow to watch Ding against Neil Robertson in the masters.

Games Played: 432

Profit: $0.39 bit sick to swallow when 3 days ago I was on a 100+ upswing.

If any of you on here that grind a large volume of stg's could shed some advice I would appreciate it... is this just normal variance? What sort of downswings have you been on? The only positive out of all of this is I have $35 in bonus's to collect, but I dont want to add that to my roll yet I would rather let the VPP's build up.

I have had 200+ buyin downswings, long break even stretches (like 5k games) playing a mixture of 45/180/turbo mtts. It happens to just about everyone in todays games, admittedly at the lower levels the swings should be not as big because your roi should be bigger.

Thanks for the reply... I just have to ride it out, and wait for the upswing... I feel that im playing solid and get in ahead the majority of the time so I know that eventually it will pay off.

I sat in a $5.10 hyper donk fest..

1881 runners 61 left and im 43/61

I only have 10 bb so need to find a shove in the next few hands as its only 6 handed.

1.5k FTW

Lets see if I can climb the ladder as much as possible... $20.69 in the bag and the jumps arent that big until the last 18

Called an all in with AQ ran into AK

Board ran out AJQ J x

Boom 20/40 but still only 10bb ish

Im out in 33rd I jammed the button with 8bb with K 10 and ran into QQ

$37.62 for my troubles!!!

ahh well another cash in a mtt so cant complain... I can feel a bink coming soon!! ;)

I had a brilliant day at the snooker yesterday... a real back and forth game between Ding and Robertson, in the end Robertson came back from a 5-3 hole to win 6-5. Great game and a great day out... Looking forward to the crucible in April now...

As for the poker... I have had a quiet weekend and not really played a great deal, partly due to being away and partly down to taking a few days rest after running pretty horribly for the best part of last week. This being said I have given up on the idea of reaching Gold this month and it will have to be put off for another month later on in the year, in the mean time I need to get back to winning ways and keep on learning and grinding.

Running Totals so far:

Games played: 439
Profit: $32.80

I suppose I should be happy that im still in profit but if I am going to take this seriously as I intend on doing I need to be making more money than $32 in a 400+ game sample, but at the same time 439/8000 is still relatively small sample size. If im still saying the same thing at 2000/8000 then someone please tell me shut up :)

I havent posted in a few days for a few reasons, I have been questioning after 3 weeks whether I can really do this and grind these 3.5 stg's day in day out after struggling to get out of this downswing, I have been going over my Hand histories on a daily basis with my coach and he says that im just on the wrong side of variance at the minute and that if I keep playing the way I am that I will soon come out the other side. Very similar story to when I started this challenge 3 weeks ago. I need to get it into my head that I cant win everyday :)

However I let "tilt" "ego" and just out right frustration get the better of me and went searching for the BIG bink. I dropped best part of $70 playing in big mtt's and failed to make any deep runs.

I think the main reason for the "tilt" was that I started to think like a loser... If I was getting it in ahead I was waiting for the suck out and if I was behind I knew I wouldnt hit. Just a negative horrible attitude that probably effected my game for the rest of the day and led me into a hole.

As it stands the running totals are

Games played: 589

Profit -$85.09

I need to concentrate more and not let myself get emotionally charged when I start to go on a bad run, this is easier said than done,  but I think I have the mind set and the mentality to make sure that this was a 1 off and not let it get to me in the future. After all its only $85 not $850!

I am going to give 2 of the TCOOP events a run on my own dime. The 55 shootout and the 33$ speed on sat, I have sold 25% to my coach at spot and plan to play a few more as the week goes on. I know these events are a bit of a crap shoot but you have to be in it to win it.

I would offer to sell more on here as I dont really have the roll to play any of the big ones but I havent reached the elusive 300 yet and I have no real track record other than the few cashes that I had end of last year. CFC2012 on stars!

You have a coah and i guess he knows what he is talking about, so grind away and don't tilt obv.

BTW i assume that you are using HEM, how do you filter to show specific weeks, i have found a way but i am sure there is an easier method?

Any way gl, will keep an eye on thread.

Steve

Yeah I met the coach on another forum, he likes to stay anonymous for some reason but he grinds the $15 stts for a living. He knows what he is talking about and the sessions are always very informative.
I have been to passive as a player and not taking enough of an aggressive edge during the later stages of the game. This is prob basics to many but I am still learning and confident that I will develop into a better player.

Yeah I am using HEM1 click on Results and then the filter should be on the left hand side where you can adjust whatever date range that you want.

Thanks again for following.

keep grafting if your tiliting over small stakes your going to struggle at the higher levels where the downswings are brutal. I always found my issues at lower stakes were due to it not meaning enough. Just concentrate keep grinding and if you feel tility un reg and walk away after your done. Easiersaid than done i know but its an important thing to be able to do if your going to win long term

Just as an aside you've had a really incredible rise from your first posts on blonde. I'm expecting big things by the end of this year. Keep working hard.

I'd take 5% in any TCOOP events you play if your selling at spot? Pm me some details and if you want to book it for the first two events, might not see blonde before the first one and I'd hate to miss out :) We can sort out any after from there.

Thanks again for the posts of encouragement and advise.

I am in the process of getting "The Mental Game of Poker" on the mrs Kindle...

I dont read a great deal other than the paper and the odd sports magazine so this will be a bit of a challenge on its own but im hoping that the information in here grabs me and keeps me interested to read it from cover to cover.

The last book I read was "The Big Miss" Hank Haneys story about his time as Tiger Woods coach, a really good book that had me in awe of how much of a winner that Tiger Woods is and was. He was so determined and driven from such a young age its frightening.

Anyway im going a bit off topic, im hoping that this book will help me deal with variance and my mental side of the game lately where I have been becoming increasingly frustrated with how the sessions have been going and that I cant seem to stick 2 good sessions in back to back... Very much a yo yo over the last 5-600 games.

 

Ive started reading "The Mental Game of Poker"... im not that far in but I can relate to lots that is being said, the main one initially is that I am to results orientated and feel that this is effecting my play.

Therefore I am no longer going to post day or week updates but I will post a monthly update at the end of the month. I have become so graphs, numbers, profit, loss orientated that I have been letting this effect my game. Ultimately leading me to tilt and allowing small leaks to enter my game.

I will still write on here but will leave the results alone.

Good idea.

Not being results orientated is one of the biggest challenges most newcomers face, because it's so unnatural - we have to train our brain to work in a totally different way to how it wants.

Really enjoying your diary chelseaboy, please keep the updates coming. If you do find the print version a little heavy going you might want to consider the audio version. As far as I know (possibly Barry Carter can confirm or deny this) you can still get a totally free download of it here:

http://jaredtendlerpoker.com/mental-game-of-poker/free-copy-of-tmgp-audiobook/

I got a copy (as well as buying the Kindle version) and it was easy, no strings attached. I just pop it on when I'm at work or driving and is a fantastic listen. Also, if you're working on your mindset you might want to have a look at Nick Wealthall's "Winning Poker Blueprint" which I also found to be a great value for money investment and has helped me immeasurably. A quick Google will find it. I hope you find some of it helpful but again, good thread chap!

I suppose after 5 pages I should have a little introduction...

My Name is Sean, im 26 years old and have been playing poker on and off for a number of years, never really taking it to seriously with any direction, motivation or goals. I had on numerous occasions spun up 50$ into 500-1000 but always looked for the biggest game I could sit in and then end up losing it all.

I left school at 16 with a handful of GCSE's after moving back to England from Montreal Canada where my mum had recently divorced from her husband...with my lack of desire to carry on in the education system I decided that the army was the right route for me. After doing 42 weeks training at "Arborfield Training Centre" near Reading I was sent on my way to Blandford Forum for trade training where I successfully passed out as an "Area System Operator" in the signals.

From here I was shipped on my way to Bruggen, Germany for 3 years. While I was there I traveled all over the place... my favorite being a nice 6 week stint in Cyprus. I also went on numerous courses while based in germany, I was a qualified PTI ( Personal Training Instructor ), I had my skill at arms, and successfully gained my wings!  Getting my wings was a big thing and from there I was convinced to head to "Hereford" at the time I was only 21 and looking back far to young, naive, and had no idea what I was getting myself into. After 4 months into a 7-8 month course I failed and was shipped out.

I was posted to 2 Signal Regiment in York which was just up the road from my gf who was at Lincoln university and shortly after I decided to sign off, and get out.. This would be my downfall... I left the army with lots of military qualifications but nothing really relative to the normal way of life...I struggled to find a job that I liked and struggled to get used to normal life and normal people. (for anyone who has been in the army or any military personel will know what I mean)

I moved back home with my parents in Rugby and got a job working for U.P.S delivering parcels, this is where my poker sort of started and ended. I used to go to the Isle of Capri casino in Coventry ( its now been taken over by Grosvenor Casinos) and play in the weekly comps, normally no more than 25£ buy in and cashed in a few here and there but nothing major to report, however one night a brummie lad was over and I had ran deep in the comp and got talking about the cash table etc.

2 hours later I sat at the 50p-£1 table with £30 I ran like a god and ended up cashing out just over £400. I remember driving home that night thinking Wow this is easy... Ive been working all day for £7.25 an hour and ive just made £400 in next to no time. Needless to say I went back over the following night sat at the same table but with 100 and there was a guy there called "Mad Dog" an old boy dripping in gold from leicester. I remember asking if this seat was taken next to him and he shook my hand and said "hi, im mad dog" I just smiled nervously and sat down... with in 5 hands I realized why he was called mad dog... he was all in in the dark for £150... I laughed asked the other guy next to me if he was for real and he just said that he was in for about 1k.

I left that night with £1005... I remember it like it was yesterday cause I put 5£ on 0 as I was walking out and 32 spun in...

so in 2 nights I had won 1400£ I was now thinking that all my xmas' had come at once... over the next few months my work life deteriorated I was delivering enough parcels to clear the shelf in the back of the van to get my head down for a few hours, I was staying in the casino until 6am going straight to work and then sleeping when I could.

I didnt realize at the time but that 1400 didnt last long I was up and down, and before I knew it I was running myself into quite a bit of debt and with that I lost my job. I hit rock bottom the gf of many years had left me and I didnt really know where to turn.

I took a job in a warehouse 4 years ago to clear my debt working for 13.5k a year. An almighty dent in the ego after jumping out of planes for a living and beasting un fit squaddies... to cut a long story short 4 years later and numerous promotions, I am now living in Newcastle as an Area Sales Manager, company car, decent healthy salary all with the same company... and the maturity and mental strength to start playing poker again. ( and got my gf of many years back :) )

When I look back and how my game is now to what it was back then when I thought I was good is a huge difference, and then I talk to some of you guys on here and realize that I still dont know anything compared to where I want to be. So with a lot of hard work, studying, short term and long term goals I think that I can become a solid player. I have no intention leaving my job but I love the game and would love to use this as an added bonus to the life roll and to take some bigger shots at some of the bigger live comps.

Hope you enjoyed the read, just a lil bit about who I am and where ive come from.

Great belated introduction :D Best of luck

Just played in TCOOP event number 32. Won a 2.75 sat for the 7.50 entry, didnt have a rebuy but used the add on and finished in 693/19067 for $156.20 nice little score but I was having visions of the 64k 1st prize :)

Been reading quite a bit of the Mental Game and not really put a lot of volume in this week, I have realised that I need to be in the right frame of mind to play otherwise I might aswell just set fire to money cause I lack the concentration to stay focused when not in the mood to play.

Sean, i'm running a sort of workbook approach to The Mental Game of Poker on this forum.  I have started it and need to move on to the next section next week sometime.  It would be great if you took a look in and helped me get some legs on the thread.

The idea is to share ideas, thoughts, processes, etc.  Barry Carter has already been in the thread to give his approval of the approach.

I can also recommend Nick Wealthall's course, which is currently Breakthrough Poker Coaching.  If you want to know more about that I'd be happy to give you the lowdown on what you can expect for around £30 per month

Hi Blue, I have been reading your thread about the book and so far so good, I wont comment on all aspects but if I have a point to get across I will post, so far though chapter 1 is pretty much as I read it and I think that your approach is a very good idea.

I feel that the book has helped me already and I have only just scratched the surface, so lets hope that it makes me a far more complete player.

I went back home to Rugby to see the family this weekend, and to play golf on an indoor simulator for my cousins bday, we played the front 9 of pebble beach and the back 9 of a french course called Le Tempete or something like that.

It was a good laugh and with the terrible weather we have had lately it was good to swing a club.

As for poker we are coming up to the end of the month and I will post the monthly stats, they arent the best this month but its been a good learning curve along with a few large buy in (for me) attempts at a big bink while the TCOOP was on.

Next month I will solely be concentrating on the 18 mans and see how I go, if I get the chance I will attempt to reach gold, but I am off to Austria for a few days for work, and have quite a lot on so will monitor it closely over the first 2 weeks and decide whether im going to go for it or not.

Keep going at it mate, looking forward to your next rail

End of month review...

I havent really managed to get a lot of volume in over the last 10 days and this is for 2 reasons. 1) I have had work commitments to focus on but mainly 2) The backer/staker what ever you wish to call him has moved from 1 country to another and has disappeared off the face of the earth. I havent had a HH session in over 10 days now and I did need a re load that I havent been able to get. I have however deposited some myself to cancel out the tiny make up I was in but still yet to hear from him.

I am only playing the 3.5 stg's so its not a huge amount of money at all but the coaching is what I have been relying on lately and learning as much as I can. This isnt an excuse for not turning in a profit for the month but a small loss over my sample while still learning and tweaking my game is a positive.

I am not sure if I can carry on funding this myself if my backer/staker doesnt show his face I know its not much but my current personal situation has changed slightly... my partner is currently unemployed so I am having to pay for everything which doesnt leave a great amount left in the pot.

My current set up is that he funds me 100% for 50% of the profits and 50% of all bonus's... Im not sure if this is normal protocol as I have never had a staker/backer before. Without posting on the staking thread until I know for sure that he is no longer available but would anyone else be interested in a similar scenario? with coaching? I feel that I have come a long way already in 1 month and that it wont be long until I am crushing these games.

This month I will be taking some advice from "mondatoo" and I will only be playing the 18man stg's this way I can concentrate on 1 game type instead of 9,18's,45's and 180s.

Ive been trying to post the pic of my graph but I cant reduce it enough...

Im -$39
over 700 games

I have also lost $100+ in some of the TCOOP events aswell,  but they were played on my own dime and not the backers as he only backs me for stg.

So im still on a bit of a downswing, nothing major or anything to be worried about but I still havent heard a thing from my staker so this could come crashing to a halt, unless I find someone else to take on the action or if I hear from him.

I will give it another couple of days before I post in the staking section, but if not I will re evaluate the situation and wait until the gf gets a job (she has an interview on monday) and then think about going at it on my own dime.

:S

A Run Good Story

So yesterday I did my normal football accy where I deposited 20£ on SkyBet and put £10 on Chelsea, Watford, and Palace... obviously Chelsea let me down away to the toon... I also put 5£ on a a hail mary bet where numerous sides let me down...

Realising that I still had 5£ left in my account I logged in to see what I could stick it on and noticed the "skypoker" tab at the top and thought why not lets try and spin it up...

After 3 and a bit hours, 4-5 level jumps and numerous crazy people calling me off and raising into me when I had the nuts I am now sat with £263.08 in the account! :)

Question for those who read my thread and know whats going on.

I am no longer in make up after paying it off the other day... circa $30 which isnt anything at all, I have still not heard from the backer and have 0$ of his in my account. If I was to deposit myself and play and win would he still be entitled to 50% of the profits? I am a bit confused cause the guy has been more than helpful with me and improved my play quite drastically so I dont really want to bite the hand that fed me but at the same time I still havent heard anything from him and its putting everything on hold!

Sounds like he broke the agreement by not reloading you when required, or keeping in touch, so I think i'm right in saying you don't owe him 50% of anything, and really shouldn't have had to pay the make up back, if the backer decides to finish the agreement the swallow the make up.

I would send an email, or make reasonable attempts to contact them (which it sounds like you have), and if they don't get back to you in a reasonable time you're free of any obligations.

Sounds like you've more than covered your obligations, good luck at the tables.

$5.40 KO 10K GTD

Im 40/129

4480 started!

2.8k ftw

AK<AQ

10/101

Then lose a huge hand next hand

KK < AQ FFS

86/100

Next hand Double up

AQ>K10

57/96

I have about 8BBs 63/88

*Sigh*

PokerStars Hand #93461522327: Tournament #679197131, $4.00+$1.00+$0.40 USD Hold'em No Limit - Level XXV (8000/16000) - 2013/02/03 17:30:19 ET
Table '679197131 106' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: CFC2012 (97004 in chips)
Seat 2: Sergej87 (303352 in chips)
Seat 3: dickss123 (349621 in chips)
Seat 4: legionerfish (118790 in chips)
Seat 5: gringokkkk (159368 in chips)
Seat 6: senveben481 (297502 in chips)
Seat 7: kxbrazil (61226 in chips)
Seat 8: jpsantoss (73520 in chips)
Seat 9: patou2345 (144839 in chips)
CFC2012: posts the ante 1600
Sergej87: posts the ante 1600
dickss123: posts the ante 1600
legionerfish: posts the ante 1600
gringokkkk: posts the ante 1600
senveben481: posts the ante 1600
kxbrazil: posts the ante 1600
jpsantoss: posts the ante 1600
patou2345: posts the ante 1600
kxbrazil: posts small blind 8000
jpsantoss: posts big blind 16000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to CFC2012 [Qc Kh]
patou2345: folds
CFC2012: raises 79404 to 95404 and is all-in
Sergej87: folds
dickss123: folds
legionerfish: folds
gringokkkk: folds
senveben481: folds
kxbrazil: folds
jpsantoss: calls 55920 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (23484) returned to CFC2012
*** FLOP *** [Kc Qs 2c]
*** TURN *** [Kc Qs 2c] [2s]
*** RIVER *** [Kc Qs 2c 2s] [6c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
jpsantoss: shows [6h 6d] (a full house, Sixes full of Deuces)
CFC2012: shows [Qc Kh] (two pair, Kings and Queens)
jpsantoss collected 166240 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 166240 | Rake 0
Board [Kc Qs 2c 2s 6c]
Seat 1: CFC2012 showed [Qc Kh] and lost with two pair, Kings and Queens
Seat 2: Sergej87 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: dickss123 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: legionerfish folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: gringokkkk folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: senveben481 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: kxbrazil (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 8: jpsantoss (big blind) showed [6h 6d] and won (166240) with a full house, Sixes full of Deuces
Seat 9: patou2345 folded before Flop (didn't bet)


Gone in 67th... another mini sweat, been deep a few times just lack that bit of run good at the minute to FT

WP, and unlucky, these are a minefield, glad to see you called the KK :)

Good read.  Good luck with the challenge...

Well what can I say this has pretty much crashed and burned... my staker still hasnt shown his face and since moving back to the U.S hasnt even sent me an email to let me know whats going on. My partner is still struggling for work so I dont really have the finances to take a decent run at this on my own dime.

Its been 6 weeks that I havent heard from him and given up on the stake agreement. I have put a stake request up on another forum to be staked to play the same games I was for my previous staker, however after playing a bit of live cash at the weekend I think I might give NL25 a go and see what the game is like.

I had just typed out a long post in the staking part of the forum on here to be staked to play NL25 but after re reading it I thought better of it and deleted it. Instead if any of you that read this thread before or read it now would be interested please PM me and we can discuss further.

If not I will leave this thread alone until I manage to either A) find someone willing to take a punt on me with coaching or B) My partner gets a job where I can deposit a decent amount without worrying about it.

I feel as though ive let myself down with all this, but im sure I wont be down for long. Hope to hear from one or more of you soon :) if not flip good and ill be back on here soon!!

So its been a pretty long month, read a lot of HH/Diaries/blogs and watched a lot of you tube videos over the last few weeks. Ive played live a few times when I have been back in the midlands for my work sales meetings but not playing my A game knowing that I dont have a second bullet in my pocket.

The good news is that the mrs has an interview today in Newcastle at 4pm, she has been working a 40hr week this month but on a 0 hours contract so tomorrow when I get paid I have the luxury of a few hundred spare that I can now afford to take a shot at this on my own dime without worrying about my life roll.

Its crazy, I moved up here with work and earning more money than I ever have before in a good job, but with 1 income to cover everything its been tough, makes me wonder how these people who are on min wage survive and with kids etc.

Anyway, I have decided that I am going to play cash and start at NL10 I will deposit $150 so that will give me 15bi but I have another $150 bullet readily available should this not work out. I intend to play 6 tables and feel that I have the game to build my roll.

I can realistically play approx 16-20hrs a week depending on work etc. A question to the cash regs on here (pleno, alex,) what is a realistic goal for me to achieve in doing this? How many hands can I get in a week and at what winrate should I be looking at.

I had a staking agreement previous where I was getting coaching, I will be doing this on my own so I will be spending atleast 1 session a week to go over my HH and see if I can spot any glaring leaks. If possible and someone has the time to I would like to send it to someone on here to go over aswell. ( I know this is highly unlikely as most of you are busy with your own things going on, but if you dont ask and all that.... shy kids get nowt! ;) )

I will post my graphs on here at the end of every session, however big or small so that I can keep track of it all! All poker players love a Graph! ;)

Well its nice to think that this time tomorrow I will be back grinding... I have the small feat of competing in an event on Saturday called "Cumbrian Commotion" its a 10km run 25km mountain bike and a 1km kayak... Being that I was in the military 5 years ago as a P.T.I mentally I should piss it but physically the old temple (body) has changed over the years and I have over indulged slightly so I may find it a tough day out. Doesnt help that its still snowing up here and the temp isnt expected to get any higher than 2 degrees!! NICE!!!

pretty much supplemented by family tax credits/working tax credits /child benefit.

Used to work with single parent women working 20 hours a week on £8 an hour and they would get about £800 a month in Working tax credits, which was about as much as they earned. If they didn't get that help they wouldn't bother working and get about £800 a month from the government paying for rent etc.

So our Tax money basically... its very frustrating when you earn an above average wage yet still struggle then those who earn min wage end up better off than those earning circa 30k a year but have to pay for everything...

ahhh well Rant Over!!!

Id rather have my pride than be one of the millions of scroungers out there today!!

So you would want them on the dole getting the same in benefits or working and once their kids are of a certain age their careers can progress and come off all benefits? It's a bridge to encourage/allow people to work without being in the catch 22 situation of it not being worth it :)

Unfortunately, pride is a luxury that some people can't afford.

hmmm very valid point... I can be narrow minded at times... I think the system encourages those who have no intention of working or developing a career. Young girls leave school, have a child and then they get all the benefits, house, etc. Then when these children grow up they have never seen mum or dad go to work so they get caught up in the system of "why should I work when they never have" I dont have anything against those who are working and trying to earn and raise a family, I feel for them and rightly so they should get their wages made up in tax credits etc. However I feel that these people are the minority!

Fellow chelsea boy you would be amazed at how many families are getting tax credits and (or) housing benefits. Just think of average rents and average wages. Then add bills and taxes food and petrol, then do the maths!

I know, I didnt mean anything I have said in a bad way, just find it amazing how the cost of living and other things is forcing the middle class to erode!!

We are very quickly getting to the point where you are either well off, or in poverty! There doesnt seem to be that middle class anymore!!

Question for the reg online cash grinders... do you sit 6 or 9 seat tables? and why? Are the 9 seaters softer than the 6?

I just finished a mini session this morning, I only played 4 tables so I could both concentrate and start to label up the players at this level. The session started out well but finished pretty dull. I had some good hands and played some solid poker early on, and quickly won 1bi then started to get good cards but not getting paid off, followed by getting good cards only to be bettered.

The starting roll was $150 and I have lost roughly 1bi. I did run into AA twice once with QQ and another with AQ on a Q 6 8 board.

I have marked a few hands (12) and if anyone on here doesnt mind Id like to send to them to go over... skype address is sean.clarke1403

I also noticed that quite a few of the people that were playing 8+ tables were sitting with the minimum and just trying to spin it up? is this something I will come across as I move up or just something they tend to do at the lower levels?

Overall -$11.01

I have to go and buy a helmet for this competition tomorrow but will be back on later for another session, I am going to stick to max 4 hour sessions to make sure I try to play my A game.

Nice to see you are on track and rolled Sean.  Hope you find some help with hand histories - PHA board a few?  Or use other forums elsewhere and spread out the feedback - pocketfives or 2p2?

Have you looked at other staking options, if that is still a route you are interested in - like Bankroll Supply or Pocarr for example?

Still snowing in Cumbria.  Are you in Newcastle but from Cumbria originally - if so, where?

'Enjoy' your challenge tomorrow.

Hello mate, I have given up on the whole staking idea, my sample size in tiny and I understand that for someone to stake me or back me they would want to see more results than I currently have to offer... so for now I have rolled myself and giving the online cash scene a go!!

I am originally from Rugby near Coventry but recently (august last year) moved to Newcastle for work. I know the weather isnt great but I just got an email telling me that its still on and in the small print all competitors need to have a helmet!! :S

I will post a few on the HH when I get back... see what peoples thoughts are!

Its been a bit of a crazy day... I dropped 5.5bi in the space of about 30 hands... ran into about 4 sets on 4 diff tables with an over pair to the board... but on the positive I didnt let it effect me and ive managed to grind my way out of the hole and now sat with a tiny profit :)

Overall

2170 hands played

Profit $0.59 could very easily been -60+ really happy that ive managed to keep calm and dig myself out of it!!

you're talking NLHE right? I think fundamentally the games are similar but stylistically they play out much differently, the simplest reason being that 9max is generally a LOT tighter (more players with more hands) it's goes a little deeper but its really just down to preference. Try both, see what you like - I know shipitonetime who has a diary here reg grinds them both at the same time.

Be very cautious/attentive as you go into a different format though.

Good decision on the staking thing mate, learn it all yourself, on your own money it's so much better for morale/less pressure/more fun

glgl

Suuprlim yeah NHLE I should of been clearer...

I have gone to load up HM this morning for a session and its not working... so I have put the session on hold to try and get this sorted... My laptop has been going crazy today with error after error...

Still cant fix HM it just wont open!! If I reinstall will I lose database?

Complete system Reboot complete... I tried to restart the computer earlier and it just went nuts... couldnt load windows or anything... few hours later and a system reboot complete and im back on...

Database gone, re installed HM and everything else... complete NIGHTMARE!!

Grrrr I seem to have a self destruct button!! Again played some solid poker then run into AA a few times and BOOM the self destruct mode is enabled!!

So frustrating!! I need to enforce a 2bi stop... soon as I lose a few biggish pots I start widening my range and when I miss start barrelling off like a man possessed!! After being up 4.5bi I finish the session down 5 bi!!

So really when I think about it I lost about 10!!! Buy ins!! What a muggle!! The swings are pretty brutal and I need to get on top of it asap or I will just end up going Busto!!

Here is the graph... ive had to start from scratch cause of my laptops malfunction this morning which is quite annoying but when I left off I was only pennies in profit!

 ;stickaforkinme; ;grr; ;grr;

After my little tantrum earlier I went on a mission to find some chips for me tea... I am currently walking like I have been in prison for the last 6 months after being anally raped one after the other... for those that follow me on here will be pleased to know I completed the event yesterday, the results havent been posted yet but it was very hard going, cycling and running in 2ft of snow over the pennines... I am in tatters today.

Anyway, I couldnt find a bloody chip chop that was open on a sunday evening... so settled for curry and chips from the chinese... Still screwing from my poor play and mental state from earlier I decided I would leave it alone tonite and watch the last round of the golf on the tele and see Tiger take his place on top of the world again!!

Gutted!!!! postponed because of thunder storms... so I demolish my food and load up another 8 tables of NL10 within half an hour im down 5bi and in a 100$ hole for the day!! GREAT NEWS when I only started with a 15bi roll cause I was going to "crush" these games!! LOL

I quickly closed 4 tables and carried on playing with 4 tables.. I started to get some cards AA twice a few KK, QQ, and started to get paid off a lil bit at a time... I am happy to announce that I clawed my 5bi downswing back and had a BREAKEVEN session!! However it feel like its been a WIN to claw it back!!

as I am writing this I lose a pot AcKc to 4c5c he flops the straight flush!! NICE!!!

Time to shut her down and go to bed I think...

Welcome back Chelsea boy, post :)

Thanks for the welcome back, I havent really been anywhere and still been on here on a daily/weekly basis reading the blogs that I have followed for sometime now just havent really posted anything.

quick recap...

I have come to the conclusion that no matter how good a player I think I am or thought I was in truth without the correct BRM and attitude to handle the swings I am and was just donating money to the daily grinders. Basically I am just another fish in the sea. With this is mind I havent really played much poker at all, I have been working quite a lot and dedicated a lot of my energy and time into another challenge.

A few years ago my cousin Sophie was born with Down Syndrome, I decided 78 days ago that I would run a minimum of 5km a day for a 104 days (the day I leave to go to Egypt for a weeks break) to raise money for the "Down Syndrome Research Foundation". I am quite happy to report that I have ran every day for 78 days and a total distance of 411.50km I have been using the app Runtastic to post all my runs on facebook for my family and friends to follow.

I have raised a total of £368.61 so far with a further £1 a day for everyday that I run to add to this....so if I dont take a rest day which I dont plan on I can add another £104 to the total :)

On the poker front I have been saving all my spare cash for my Holiday with my partner to Egypt on the 25th of July and deciding whether or not I will continue to play or not, I love the game and have a huge passion for it. But the reality is that if I dont control my BRM and attitude then I am just wasting my time and money. I thought about posting on the staking thread to get something going but I dont feel I have the results or credibility on here to warrant asking to play with another mans dime, however it would help with the BRM issue.

Run 79 today with another 25 to go :)

http://www.justgiving.com/Sean-Clarke1

Mate, great post, very honest. I have no doubt you're not a 'fish' (fekking hate that term tho, so overused to defend individual shortcomings). It's very easy to get seduced nye the success of some of the big winners on here - my only advice is to play to a level which isn't detrimental to your work, relationship, etc. If you manage a bink then great, but be sensible with brm in the meantime.... Gl

Run 80 tonight to take me to a Total of 421.54km or 261.93 miles!! ;) Only 24 days till I stop this madness and the same till I go on holiday.

I have loaded up my stars account with a Total of $53 I am going to give 5nl a run... should someone who reads this wish to come in with me at spot (50/50 split based on $50) to help with my BRM then it would be great cause I would be reluctant to attempt to spin it up when I know its not all my money. I need to forget that its nl5 and play the same as I would if I was sat with £100, this is where I have struggled in the passed at the lower levels and just flick it in without a great deal of thought.

I am only going to 4/6 table for now and see how I get on, need to stay focused. The g/f is away for the next few weeks with work so I should get plenty of time to stick some hours in pending I can nurse this small roll :D

I completed run 81 tonight and feeling a bit sore for it, I have had my ups and downs over the last 81 days depending on the time of day I run, what ive had to eat, how much sleep I have had... a lot of little factors that you wouldnt normally think of if you were running just a few times a week. Everyday day does start to take its toll on the body after a while.

anyway enough about that... I have had a little session playing NL5 as I said I would I have been 8 tabling and feel quite comfortable at the level. I have to keep telling myself that this is all part of the learning and that spinning it all up in NL50 or the highest game my roll will let me is not the way forward. I have so far managed to control myself and just stick to the 9 seater nl5.

I have marked a few hands that I will post in the HH to see if I am taking the right line in certain spots. It felt good to be back playing after not playing for the last few months. I have won 3bi over roughly 3500 hands.

Not sure where to start, yesterday I played 3500 hands of 5nl and finished 3bi up... As much as I was trying to convince myself that I am happy with it I cant hide the fact that at this level and this amount of money really doesn't mean anything to me... 1 bi is the equivalent to about £3. Today after losing the 3bi I was up yesterday and a further 4 in some pretty standard spots, set over set, AA v KK, etc. I decided that all sense would go out the window and I would try and spin it up with a bit of ZOOM!  ;grr; ;grr; ;grr; ;grr; ;grr; ;grr; ;grr;

Fortunately I went on a bit of a run playing 25plo zoom and spun my $25 up to $228.78 (+10 bonus)... ;applause; ;applause; ;applause; ;applause;

This is where the problem is...  ;yellowcard; I have done this on numerous occasions spun 25-50 up to anything between 200 - 1000 and always end up spewing the lot away after giving up on a structured plan when I start to run bad. I dont understand how I can be so dedicated, motivated, and disciplined when it comes to physical training yet when it comes to POKER all common sense seems to go out the window.

I am now asking for a bit of help or advice... based on a roll of $238.78 where should I go and what should I do?
a) Try and play some 10nl
b) Go back to playing micro stg and the odd mtt
c) Withdraw it and call it a day :S

I should be happy cause I have spun up nothing to a £150 but I recognize the same mistakes that I always make and dont seem to be learning no matter what I do...

I cant be the only person with this issue on here, can anyone shed any light?

Are you talking about giving it all up as option C?

It all seems to stem from Mental Game issues really.  Having a clear set of goals, knowing the real why of why you want to achieve them, etc.

Great thread on this with Jared contributing that helped me answer some questions, at the time, which I can link you by PM?

Am I on the right track with this or not?  Or are you just not sure on a best path forward and do want to stick with it?  In which case, similar questions need to be answered.

Just play to enjoy playing imo, if its a hobby its supposed to be fun.

If you have the disposable income to knock it in occasionally and redeposit then just do that.  Bankroll management, grinding out tiny profits at micro cash etc are all well and fine but they will make playing poker a chore and unless you intend to quit work and rely on it long term theres just no need to do that.

I'm not saying you have to become a losing player, just that you don't have to have a set bankroll that you play within, just use whatever money you have spare/losable at the time and play at levels where it actually means something.

I think you make a valid point in the fact that it should be fun and I should be playing as a hobby. I have a decent job that I enjoy to pay the bills etc so if I can make a few extra hundred from time to time playing poker then great, if I lose whatever I have deposited its no big deal cause it was expendable income anyway and its not as if I rely on poker to pay life bills....

That is the new attitude I am going to have towards the game... This being said I have continued to play $25plo zoom today and after giving a little bit back from yesterday I started to run hot again and proceed to run over the tables for a couple of hours. :)

I started with $53 4 days ago and now sat with $350.55 lets hope I dont jinx myself and I keep running ridiculously HOT!!! :)

I dont think my version of HEM1 has picked up all my hands on the plo zoom table so the graph is seems to be a bit short...

I cant get enough of this plo25 zoom... I seem to be playing super aggro and getting paid off everytime that I have the nuts... I know im just on a heater at the minute and dont expect for one second that its always this easy to crush this game, but long may it continue for the time being.

I have had 6 winning sessions in a row now, they havent been the longest sessions and I have only been playing 1 table while reading blogs on here and other poker related articles so the  volume is such a tiny sample I cant read to much into it. However what I can read is that my starting roll of $53 a few days ago is now a nice tidy.......$481.35

#LOVETHEGAME

Still not sure why HEM is out but not going to worry about it to much...

Dodging the WORLD!!!

PokerStars Zoom Hand #100994886992:  Omaha Pot Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2013/07/05 7:42:54 ET
Table 'Thyestes' 6-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: mugaali ($11.92 in chips)
Seat 2: accaugl ($24.96 in chips)
Seat 3: CFC2012 ($24.79 in chips)
Seat 4: Dnila176 ($30.75 in chips)
Seat 5: bababaubau ($24.20 in chips)
Seat 6: Luiz Carl854 ($26.60 in chips)
accaugl: posts small blind $0.10
CFC2012: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to CFC2012 [As Jh Ks Ac]
Dnila176: raises $0.50 to $0.75
bababaubau: folds
Luiz Carl854: calls $0.75
mugaali: folds
accaugl: raises $2.25 to $3
CFC2012: raises $7 to $10
Dnila176: folds
Luiz Carl854: calls $9.25
accaugl: calls $7
*** FLOP *** [5c Th 8c]
accaugl: checks
CFC2012: bets $14.79 and is all-in
Luiz Carl854: raises $1.81 to $16.60 and is all-in
accaugl: calls $14.96 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($1.64) returned to Luiz Carl854
*** TURN *** [5c Th 8c] [5s]
*** RIVER *** [5c Th 8c 5s] [4s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
accaugl: shows [Tc Kc Kh Qh] (two pair, Kings and Fives)
Luiz Carl854: shows [Jc 6c Qc Jd] (two pair, Jacks and Fives)
accaugl collected $0.34 from side pot
CFC2012: shows [As Jh Ks Ac] (two pair, Aces and Fives)
CFC2012 collected $73.12 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $75.46 Main pot $73.12. Side pot $0.34. | Rake $2
Board [5c Th 8c 5s 4s]
Seat 1: mugaali (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: accaugl (small blind) showed [Tc Kc Kh Qh] and won ($0.34) with two pair, Kings and Fives
Seat 3: CFC2012 (big blind) showed [As Jh Ks Ac] and won ($73.12) with two pair, Aces and Fives
Seat 4: Dnila176 folded before Flop
Seat 5: bababaubau folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Luiz Carl854 showed [Jc 6c Qc Jd] and lost with two pair, Jacks and Fives

Lol at the jjq6, kid must love parsley, call 2/5ths of stack pre with a pretty bad hand!

Loving the Parsley :)

Another small hour session done... and another winning session :)

Incredible that the roll is now $585.38 been a huge few days!! :)

Another session down... I have been playing a couple of 1hour sessions a day for the last few days... I find its helping with my concentration and also not allowing me to get into a deep head to head with anyone... I have been loading up 2 tables and leaving when 4-6 buy ins up... I cant believe how crazy the zoom game differs to the normal game.

I have been hitting the world, and really running well. I need to remember this when it turns on me :)

Roll up to $684.28 Plus I have $25 in bonus to get but not sure if I should use my FPP's or just let them build up while im running HOT!  ;applause; ;applause; ;applause;

Congrats. make hay whist the sun shines.

Tough Session

I caught a case of second best and dropped $100 in the space of about 1500 hands... not to worry though, I knew the swings were quite brutal playing zoom omaha. I had numerous AA against KK or QQ cracked but its to be expected.

I reached the 5000vpp point so I had a $50 bonus to cut the loss in half, I still have to been really happy that I only had $50 a week ago and im still sat with $600+ I would of normally tried to spin it up in a 2/4 game or something silly like that.

I am going to do my daily run and then register for some comps tonight see if I can get a decent sweat!! :)

Roll: $634.64

Good luck mate, what are you playing? I am about to play a few