It's Just a Ride

[VBlue]

Just a few photos from a couple of weeks ago when I took the boy up 'The Heights' to the North of Kendal when it had put a little snow down on the Sunday morning.

View of the Auld Grey White Town.

Click to see full-size image.

The Boy - Roscoe

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Having a bit of fun peeking through the gate

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Want to go home know Daddy - it's cold and I'm tired

Click to see full-size image.

[VBlue]

The Process Model - Analyse

I don't know many poker players who relish putting in the hours away from the table to improve their game.  Even some players who I know who have some decent success in poker shy away from knuckling down, even for a few hours a week, and seriously looking at the holes in their knowledge and leaks in their game.

I know that as part of my process to improve my game, to move it on in a considered and meaningful manner, I need to study.  I have made a bigger commitment in these last six months than I have previously by continuing to complete the Breakthrough Poker Coaching (BPC) material and I remain up-to-date in doing so - month seven awaits and I have two modules to complete of month six. 

I have also done bits and pieces of The Mental Game of Poker exercises to help build my game beyond just working on strategy.  However, my commitment has been less consistent and although I am pleased with what I have done, it needs stringing together into a solid plan.  They key for me is to see analysis and coaching as just as much fun and just as much a part of my game as the hours spent actually playing and to relish seeing the hardwork transform into better play.

The Process Model is something that many people use, knowingly or not, in any field of performance, not just sports or games.  There are three key areas in which I have done some work, but I want to focus just now on the area I have committed to the least and that is analysis.

Following a Dojo with Jamie Burland and a couple of modules of the BPC course and having done bits of analysis I feel like I can now commit to a regular weekly session and I want to get the most out of the few hours that I do have for this.  I will certainly be setting some goals, much as I do with playing session goals, and ensuring I find a way of rewarding progress that I make as way of reinforcement and encouragement.

I may use the session to look through a full tournament hand history and look for spots that I am working on and how I am playing.  I now I need to remain objective and look at the hand from an outside perception and ask 'could I have taken a different action and if so, what would have happened had I taken that different action'.  I will also likely do some sessions with marked hands only that I post for review on the PHA boards and some other recommendations from Jamie - big pot reviews, villain analysis, CO/BU/SB/BB report, and 22+/AQ+ report.  I have never done any of the latter with HM2.  Pokerstove analysis will form a major part of this work, of course.

I must also make a plan to start note-taking post-session and I have a good note template that Jamie supplied which should give structure and also help me think about hands in play.

I will talk some more about the Process Model soon, namely the Prepare and Evaluate stages.

[VBlue]

Quarterly Review

I think it's much the case with me, as with many people, that it feels like two steps forward and one step back.  Maybe even one step forward and two steps back at times, so the former is surely progress?

My commitment to bettering myself as a poker player continues to be hampered mainly by my availability to the cause.  Late finishes mean tired starts to the following workday.  Family time and other demands mean less playing time, which in turn means that I inevitably want to play rather than work on my game away from the tables.

Despite this, it is important to look at what I have achieved and have a sense that I am moving towards my goals rather than away from them.

Financial Goals

For the first time in 2013 I have achieved the first reward level on Black Belt Poker which means I can play four freerolls this month in an attempt to win some prizes such as satellite tokens to their big live and online events coming up, an actual live seat direct, some iPOPS tokens, or shares in Sam Razavi in his next Sky Cash Game.  

I earned enough points mainly through the loyalty of playing the full eight week league last time.  The new league began just two weeks later and I made it HU in the opening leg, to lose out to a lad from the poker club up in Carlisle who I used to run tournaments alongside.  Whilst I cracked overpairs twice at crucial all-in stages to propel me to a final table, I think I played the dynamic better and hope to have a real challenge at winning the whole thing and strike off one of the goals I made at the start of the year.

All other financial goals are as yet unrealised.  The live tournament goals are on hold until I can grow my online roll enough to play sats more and of course this goal will be helped by hitting any of my other goals to take down each of the regular MTTs I play in once in 2013.  I have had a few deep runs but no three figure scores yet.  Crucially, I am profitable and having a few little boosts here and there including the league second place return of just under $100.

I am very keen to play a one-year anniversary tournament at Blackpool Paris next Saturday - a £40 entry with £10 bounty and £5 rake, £1k added and 4 x £25 special bounties.  100 runners with alternates.  I'll keep you posted if I decide to reg.

Non-Financial Goals

I won't dwell here as I have spoken already in the last couple of posts about this topic.  I have got a few things to be happy about and some that require better commitment to.

I'm happy to have written a Poker Mantra to keep my mind firmly fixed on the reasons why I commit so much of my thoughts to this game and I'm happy to be doing work on my mental game again.  I'm continuing to complete the online coaching material too.

The Diary

The massive promotional push I did on Twitter and Facebook was effective in boosting new reader numbers but I'm not sure that the number coming back each time are as great.  However, I'm happy overall with the readership level.  I'm less happy that the diary seems to be one of the least interactive I read on blonde so need to think about why that is and address it.

I want to continue to write something a little different to the other diaries.  I will probably keep hand histories to the PHA board for now as it makes more sense for my purposes.  I'll keep adding photos on weekends and as I get out more up the Fells if the weather ever improves and I get the boy a backpack.

Life

My outlook on life can vary wildly; I can go from incredibly clear moments where I feel totally in control, to the complete opposite and feeling quite helpless.  This diary might begin to chart that, depending on how much I open up throughout.  After the recent high of performing at the comedy night and getting clarity on my poker goals and work situation things came crashing back down a little.

Firstly I got a text last Tuesday just before regging a few tournies and the league game to say that the Piranha has no work to go back to after Easter.  She has been with an agency working two late shifts providing adult care at a local college and the hourly rate has been good.  It has dented our plans for the year and means we have to cut back on some expectations just as we seemed to be turning a corner financially.  That said, we are still going to see some improvements and I have a short-term strategy in place which should still mean we can do the things we wanted to.  Of course, she is back out looking for more work already.

Secondly, we both got stomach bugs and mine kicked in at about 7pm Tuesday.  I unregged all games other than the league (loyalty points to be earned) and thought I would just play that as I watched TV until I wanted to go to bed.  Four and a half hours later, and half the night in the bathroom, and I had come second.

Our weekend in Liverpool suffered too as The Piranha was still not right and I was still a little off colour too.  We went to see Derren Brown's new show which was good in parts but a little disappointing.  Our meal out was OK and with 50% off softened the blow.  When I ordered a gin and tonic and the waitress replied, in a heavy Iranian accent, 'What is gin?' I knew it would not be our night.  We left the theatre and went straight back to our £50 a night bed.  Breakfast was OK and a trip to the Tate Modern and walk around Albert Dock was a nice couple of hours to ourselves.

For now, it's back to the league and a full night of MTTs with my eyes firmly on the prize of a good placing in the league and striving for that decent MTT score I need to open up my options for online games and sats to live UK tour events.

[VBlue]

Playing MTTs on a School Night

I had another deep run last night in the $1k GP on ipoker with a top 20 finish for a bowl from over 1k runners.  I tend to play ipoker and 888 due to the smaller fields, affordable buy-ins for my bankroll, and softer tables.

I am struggling a little when I go deep though as last night was 12:30am and would have been ~2am had I won it.  I am usually up between 6am and 7am depending on who is getting up with the boy that morning.  7:15 would be a massive lie-in.  By the time I got to sleep last night it was 1:30am.

888 tournament start times have been affected by the clocks changing and now start one hour later.  I don't want to be regging at 8:45pm for a tournament that often goes five/six hours.  There are no other appealing tournaments at the time I like to start regging, which is usually 6:30pm-7:30pm.

I am now seemingly limited to play two regular nightly tournaments on ipoker - a $1k GP and $3k GP.  I dropped the rebuy as it also finishes later and I think is closer to a 3am finish.

The compounding problem is one late night finish means tiredness the next night so I don't feel like having two together and will only play a small freeroll tonight, which I qualify for with my reward status, when I could have played a 'full' night of MTTs as well whilst I'm at it.

As I have said, my small roll also means I don't have much to split.  Do skypoker, PKR, Ongame, or anyone else offer any better schedules for me does anyone know?

[RED-DOG]

Getting people to interact is soo difficult.

You make an effort to write something that you really like and no one says a Dicky bird. Then you make an off the cuff remark and it sparks a 5 page debate.

Go figure.

[Tal]

^^^

What he said.

Rest assured it is being read and enjoyed.

[VBlue]

Thanks Red & Tal.  I read all of the currently active diaries on here and mostly enjoy doing so.  There is a compliment in there somewhere.

Skint

There has been much discussion about pricing up shares for staking of late.  I do not want to offer any further thoughts on the particular matter, but there is some relevance to my own situation, albeit on a much smaller scale right now.

I would like to play more online that I currently do; my bankroll is severely restricting my schedule selection as I try and stay sensible and continue to play mainly $1-$3 tourneys with an occassional $5 game.  I'm continuing to play pretty well and run OK and my ROI continues to improve.  I was going to be able to play a live tournament next week out of my own money but unfortunately it looks like personal expenses - the plumber, the car, clothes and a toddler bed for the boy, weekend away in Liverpool, nursery bills, school and family holidays to pay off, and all chances of having a couple of hundred quid spare are gone. 

It's pretty annoying to have to miss this one as I have rarely had chance to play out live much over the last few years, outside pub poker games, and the added £1k to a 100 runner field £40 tournament with £10 headhunter would have been fun.  What is more annoying is that I will have money but not for another couple of months now, since The Piranha lost her contract work, whilst we get back to being straight again.  Looks like July for a trip to G Casino is my next hope unless I get a win online for £100 or so.  Such is the life of the small-stakes player.

Mark Up

There is an article written by Kevin Williams which has some good advice for those seeking to sell shares:

"Mark-up is a difficult thing to get right. It's very hard to accurately assess your true ROI, particularly in live tournaments. It's also important that both buyer and seller feel like they're getting a good deal. The usual factors are:

1. The person's track record in similar events
2. The perceived 'softness' of the field
3. The buyer's overall opinion of the seller's ability in general
4. The going rate of other players that are selling"

I think it is his comments in relation to the last of these four points that offers the most interesting and thought-provoking insights:

"This is the tricky one. In an ideal world, mark-up would represent a bit less than the seller's ROI so both parties feel like they're getting a good deal. I.e. if you thought you had a genuine ROI of 30% (or 1.3), you might sell at 1.2.

The problem is that it's sometimes a crowded market place and you may need to undersell yourself a little to compete. In the WSOP Main Event, for example, the structure is so good and some of the players are so poor that lots of top players would probably be technically underselling themselves if they sold at less than 1.8."

[jgcblack]

^^^

What he said.

Rest assured it is being read and enjoyed.

I've had the same thing in my diary before... it feels a little strange to put a lot of thought and effort into a post and this page has a lot from you.  Then get nothing... I try to make a joke of it sometimes.. and occassionally incite a discussion with a particular comment or pic.  But what did really suprise me was the amount of people who came up to me last time I was at DTD and said "oh I read your blog by the way... really funny... keep it up!"

That helped.. main thing imo is to make sure you're doing all this for yourself and if others get involved then bonus...

[VBlue]

main thing imo is to make sure you're doing all this for yourself and if others get involved then bonus...

Absolutely agree and I am.  I am also doing it for other reasons too though (as feedback helps me learn and grow and I like the idea of raising my profile as it could lead to other opportunities in the future).  I do see it as a bonus and it is massively appreciated that others even bother to give their time to read, let alone join in.  It is not frustration on my part, but I do want to keep thinking about ways to make the diary more interactive.

Thanks John.  Am following yours too.

[ruud]

Do you have a real first name?

Mine is Mark btw, but everyone calls me Ruud...

I may be in Kendal next week also...

[RED-DOG]

Do you have a real first name?

Mine is Mark btw, but everyone calls me Ruud...

I may be in Kendal next week also...

Does he know?

[ruud]

Do you have a real first name?

Mine is Mark btw, but everyone calls me Ruud...

I may be in Kendal next week also...

Does he know?

You will notice I made absolutely sure to get my spelling correct there!

Glad to have for this diary moving though, even if it is with gratuitous filth... Herbie will be along to join in soon no doubt, shortly followed by Tal, averting his eyes

[AJR14]

Been catching up on diaries, this is a good read. good pics as well!

couple of questions

- Have you found post session note taking works for you? It is something i have done a lot of in the past but my enthusiasm to keep doing it drops. Do you have an example of the sort of template you use?

- You mention availability to play MTTs due to work, family etc and say its something you struggle with. You ever play cash? I saw you used to play SnGs, you still play them? I know cash is a completely different game than MTTs but if one of your major issues with poker is availability cash games will sort that out as you can sit whenever you like.

Gl at the tables

[VBlue]

Ruud - I am Mark.  I was hoping to go to Blackpool next Sat for Paris Blackpool's one year anniversary £1k added tournament, but funds are looking poor so looking unlikely.

AJR - thanks mate.  I haven't actually got to doing post-session note-taking yet but I have planned to do some this Sunday.  I have a note template which Jamie Burland gave me, but I need to rewatch the video coaching session I have to remind myself what notes he takes.  You can have the template by all means - I'll fire it on PM to you.

Cash - I'm considering taking up some Zoom/Speed poker, potentially staked, potentially with a coach who is a mate.  I really like playing tournaments though and have played very little cash over the years.  I understand it would solve a lot of my problems but I can't seem to tear myself away from the tournament format.  I also recognise it will likely help my post-flop play in tournaments, so maybe a session a week for rake (what do rake dollars make? reward points, as Bruce Forsyth might say) and for the benefit of bankroll growth as well.

I'm not sure I agree with people who say stuff like play SnGs or cash for steadier bankroll growth than MTTs - although someone will probably show me how this is the case.  I played 1k STTs at $5 turbos, ran like shit in the main, and broke-even.  I saw Kevin Williams graph for a $3k return at slightly higher stakes and over about 3k tournaments but I'm sure he had a similar stretch and I'm told it's not uncommon.  I don't want to repeat that experience.

[VBlue]

I'm not up to my usual high standards; I only just got it.  Moar smut is most welcome.  Incidentally, the boy says 'moar' exactly like that.