Diary of a MTT Grinder Wannabe

[GreekStein]

Ant you can't keep any sort of routine up for longer than a week.

now you realise why I bet against you vs a-mon gorn? He's got an edge if u train super hard every day

[Ant040689]

Yup wp sir.

[strak33]

It is true though , he is trying to help.

[Ant040689]

It is now that time of year I am going to reflect a little on how things went for the last 12 months and I must say my progress as a nlhe tourney holdem player has been great. Never has there been a year that I have improved so much, with my confidence at an all time high when I am playing well and I seriously consider myself to have the potential to be right up there eventually in terms of the best online mtt grinders in the country. But currently that will never happen.

Along with the capacity to 16 table on a 15.4 inch laptop with ease pwning ppl at the height of my game I can safely say that my "standard/average" game has me just above the profits line and really struggling.

Reasons for this mainly lie with not exercising and having a more rounded life. I really should be seeing new places and going out a little bit more. Sounds like I'm depressed but I am not I just keep on taking the easy option of playing poker rather than doing new things that requires some effort. The lack of doing this results in my mood towards poker varying and being able to have disgustingly mad tilt sessions.

There are other reasons I tilt as well though and the main one which I am happy to say I have mainly ironed out, is playing too many low limit tourns with very slow structures, I mean they have got to be the worst thing going. You play a $22f tourn for about 6 hours with only 139 runners and you come 11th. You have just wasted your life and then can continue to ruin the rest of your more expensive grind getting a little too creative and manic.

I have dealt with this recently in playing only turbo games from 50 euros downwards so the lower prizepools are being played at a swift speed and then I can play some more turbo satellites for the 100fs and above where the real money is. It has me playing the most fun grind of my life and I really enjoy playing again.

With the positive approach I can also see my flaws so much more clearly and can also see that my turbo game, for years, has been my strongest suit, but I am only seriously utilising the skill now! This year if I have achieved anything I know my poker playing self so much better and have started to make good changes to playing the best I possibly could.

For this next coming year though I need to get tough. I have to exercise for 30 mins daily min, probably going to take up squash as I heard this is more fun than gym. I also need to eat within my means and also plan my food to be around me at the start of a 12 hour shift so I don't have to play and arrange food during it (hello? Dominos?). I am also going to list a lot of the best live events coming up this year with the best turbo satellites into them and looking to qualify for as many as possible. Nothing better than a poker hols imo and would love to carry on going around the world while playing. Only been to Malta, Slovenia and Miami/Caribbean thus far, should start winning some more of these packages! Need to put in the doggy work first though but I do hope I start pwning these sats.

Also I am going to start reading Jared Tendlers book. Can only assume the book was designed for me I will deploy all tactics it suggests as I have seen it have a positive effect on many on this forum already.

Mainly for the next year, I am going to make the most of everyday. If I am going to play poker I am going to do so as prepared as possible and when I am not I am going to enjoy every minute of what I would hope will be becoming a more well rounded life. Looking forward to 2012 a lot as i think I have got through ironing out the toughest parts of my game to mend. I just need to start putting in some seriosuly sick, controlled, volume!

Have a great Xmas everyone and a happy new year!

[Ant040689]

Just split 3 handed in an 8r on stars for just shy of $6k, biggest single cash in basically a year.

[Biddy 62]

Well done lad, chuffed for you. Get you off to a good start in 2012.  Curry- tried Akbars bit and and miss. Recommend one in Wath, Naz's cafe lovely place and snaps cracking. About 4 miles out of Rotherham. Happy new year.

[pleno1]

happy xmas

[Ant040689]

Well done lad, chuffed for you. Get you off to a good start in 2012.  Curry- tried Akbars bit and and miss. Recommend one in Wath, Naz's cafe lovely place and snaps cracking. About 4 miles out of Rotherham. Happy new year.

Don't really frequent sheffield/rotherham much, have a mate that lives up there and i know a few guys on here live around there so thought i should put a warning out there for how bad the tikka massalla is there! cheers for the info though.

And cheers, happy new year to you and pleno

[Fenix35]

great score ant well done mate

[GreekStein]

Weeee wp mate!

[Ant040689]

Tyty peeps. Wanna carry on the good scores to cover the possible sick downturn of playing every event of the turbo festival on stars and losing next month .

[mondatoo]

Congrats on the bink mate, have a good Xmas and glgl for 2012.

[Ant040689]

Congrats on the bink mate, have a good Xmas and glgl for 2012.

Cheers, you too. Just to let u know mond I will be playing the 180 man's $15 and $30 as fillers if I start busting out early on my normal grind, as I know your name mine is anup returns, the new mtt poker phenom :p.

Had some very close shaves last night including a 14th in a tourn with $15k up top losing a flip. Came 2000th odd in the big Sunday mill for $850ish losing a9<j10 aipf. Came second for 540e in a 2.5k gtd and managed to be down about $300 on the night.

It was mainly due to me sleeping from 7pm till 10pm and instantly playing all the 10 clock turbos which in the first hour, still dreary eyed, I spunked a lot of good opportunities, but I cuddn't miss out on the big Sunday mill.

Late regged 150 mins in with 15 bbs, lol, was a proper gamble but at one stage I was really doing well and leading the table with only about 3000 left then got stung AQ<A10 and j10<AQ against a shortie.

The plan I currently have is to play all good value turbos from the $22f to $80f/55e range and then try to satellite into the slower structured $109fs+ as I said before I have a problem with slow structures unless big money is on the line. Something I only really noticed recently  but the adjustment I am making for it has had me get some great results.

Now to today I am thinking about an Xmas shop but don't know what to get my mum/dad, 4 bros, 3 sisters and 3 nieces in a sort of £300 budget, with one bro and my mum having 50 quid each of that budget to themselves.

[Ant040689]

went for a disney store rais for my nieces, buying a spa treatment for my mother, headphones and john wayne/clint eastwood box sets for my dad, and a superdry cos-style manbag for my bro, and my eldest niece is getting a shopping spree on me because i have failed her up until now for birthdays and xmas.

to poker and i mentioned before i have had a nice bink on pokerstars, and the day before that i actually came third in a tourn for 2k and yesterday cashed on there for 1k, so i am doing alright. with the decent amount of money on there now i have decided to basically play every turbo tourney on there from the 11-82 dolla range being careful to step down after a bad run.

anup returns is my name on there if any of you ever fancy a rail, will normally be regging from 16.30-23.00 daily. at the moment i am eating variance hard today and i hope it turns around.

[Ant040689]

5/42 on a turbo on stars atm 5k ish up top, if any of you fancy it.