Today is my last day of full time employment!
For the last couple of months Helen and I have been thinking a lot about what to do about childcare when her maternity leave ends. Without going into the fine details we basically decided that Helens business must not suffer (she is self employed) and after a lot of number crunching we decided the only option was for me to resign and become a house husband.
I resigned a few weeks back but my employers have been very understanding of the situation and have given me the opportunity to work part time and mostly from home.
I am very grateful at how accommodating they have been and my boss actually said to me that he understands my daughter and my wifes business are more important than my job and they will just have to accept it!
So for the next two weeks I will be taking some time off for the xmas holidays and from 1st January 2009 I will be a part time Underwriter, part time house husband and semi-professional poker player/coach.
Pretty cool life balance imo :)
Thursday 18 December 2008
Thursday 11 December 2008
The Evidence
How to win 3 buyins in 19 hands:
Fish 1 said, "wauew"
Fish 1 said, "thats lucky"
sgb5000 said, "sry ul"
Fish 1 said, "a2 and hit like that"
Fish 2 said, "not 1 in million"
Fish 2 said, "but 3 in million"
Fish 1 said, "raise with crap i aearly"
Fish 1 said, "and hit against set"
Fish 1 and Fish 2 both left at this point. gg all.
All pretty standard really but the chat made me chuckle. "sry ul" is about the only thing I ever type in the chat box these days and then just leave them to get more and more annoyed :)
Fish 1 said, "wauew"
Fish 1 said, "thats lucky"
sgb5000 said, "sry ul"
Fish 1 said, "a2 and hit like that"
Fish 2 said, "not 1 in million"
Fish 2 said, "but 3 in million"
Fish 1 said, "raise with crap i aearly"
Fish 1 said, "and hit against set"
Fish 1 and Fish 2 both left at this point. gg all.
All pretty standard really but the chat made me chuckle. "sry ul" is about the only thing I ever type in the chat box these days and then just leave them to get more and more annoyed :)
Friday 5 December 2008
Monday 1 December 2008
November Review
Back up my hands
Not very interesting and I still haven’t done this but I have just bought a nice new external hard to back up some important poker and non poker stuff.
Hand Group Reviews
I have started to group certain hands together and intend on doing some detailed analysis using excel in the new year. Already I have realised I am not using the button to full effect.
Study Poker Math
Another long term project that is going well. I have done a lot of work on 3betting ranges and looking for spots to 4bet bluff.
Finish Planning Hands/Anticipation Article
It’s sort of finished but I am not that happy with it and can’t work out why!
Watch MTT or PLO vids
Watched a grand total of 0. Did do some work on my MTT strategy though and finished 15 of 1700+ in supernova tourney on Saturday. Cashed for $260 which is not bad for a freebie but I was starting to think I was in for a nice $9k boost to the roll until my AKs ran into KTo AIPF. Lol donkaments.
Investigate Website
I have been looking at Google Groups. It looks cool and could be used for some poker/coaching stuff I have in the pipeline.If anyone reading has experience in using Google Groups I would love to hear from you.
Work on numerous coaching ideas
My priority as always is to ensure my current students are given the best possible service and I am constantly working on ways to make this happen. Having said that I do have room for one or two more students.
Play a session or two!
Success, just :)
Thursday 27 November 2008
Red Line Confession
I have played over 200k hands of shorthanded no limit cash games.
The majority of my hands have been at 200NL.
I have lost over $5,000 in non showdown pots.
In other words my red line goes down.
SHOCK……HORROR……OMFG……..CALL THE RED LINE POLICE
Ok seriously this whole red line thing is getting a little bit silly now and I think it’s time everyone started focusing on what is really important – winning at poker.
I strongly believe that many ‘break even’ or ‘slight winners’ own themselves day in day out and don’t improve because they aspire to play a certain style more than they aspire to win money.
Obviously they aspire to both and think they go hand in hand but unfortunately this isn’t always the case.
There seems to be a misconception that a straightforward TAG is not profitable anymore and you need to play ‘small ball’ or ‘LAG’ or ‘red line poker’ (I just made that up but you know what I mean) if you are to be a regular winner.
People watch a coaching video, or read a book, and then hit the tables to try and copy the style. Most choose their spots badly and own themselves because they don’t understand why they are making these plays. They just think they ‘should’ be making these plays and want to be like *insert pro here*.
The biggest problem I see is that these players do not understand a TAG style at all.
They do not understand TAG and they do not want to. They want to be a LAG.
They do not understand that all winners play a style that has TAG foundations.
The biggest winners may have built a wonderful game on top of those foundations but the TAG style is still there.
In fact the very best players are able to effortlessly switch between TAG and LAG at just the right time. Yes a LAG will play TAG sometimes too!
So back to the red line.
I am not saying that a positive red line is bad. It’s usually good.
What I am saying is you should look to improve your overall game and focus on making the best decision on every street of every hand and make your decisions based on the information available.
As your decisions improve your red line may shoot up, it may level out, or it may crash like the stock market.
Who cares?
I guarantee that as your decisions improve your most important line (the green one) will only go one way - UP.
Aspire to maximise your green line.
The majority of my hands have been at 200NL.
I have lost over $5,000 in non showdown pots.
In other words my red line goes down.
SHOCK……HORROR……OMFG……..CALL THE RED LINE POLICE
Ok seriously this whole red line thing is getting a little bit silly now and I think it’s time everyone started focusing on what is really important – winning at poker.
I strongly believe that many ‘break even’ or ‘slight winners’ own themselves day in day out and don’t improve because they aspire to play a certain style more than they aspire to win money.
Obviously they aspire to both and think they go hand in hand but unfortunately this isn’t always the case.
There seems to be a misconception that a straightforward TAG is not profitable anymore and you need to play ‘small ball’ or ‘LAG’ or ‘red line poker’ (I just made that up but you know what I mean) if you are to be a regular winner.
People watch a coaching video, or read a book, and then hit the tables to try and copy the style. Most choose their spots badly and own themselves because they don’t understand why they are making these plays. They just think they ‘should’ be making these plays and want to be like *insert pro here*.
The biggest problem I see is that these players do not understand a TAG style at all.
They do not understand TAG and they do not want to. They want to be a LAG.
They do not understand that all winners play a style that has TAG foundations.
The biggest winners may have built a wonderful game on top of those foundations but the TAG style is still there.
In fact the very best players are able to effortlessly switch between TAG and LAG at just the right time. Yes a LAG will play TAG sometimes too!
So back to the red line.
I am not saying that a positive red line is bad. It’s usually good.
What I am saying is you should look to improve your overall game and focus on making the best decision on every street of every hand and make your decisions based on the information available.
As your decisions improve your red line may shoot up, it may level out, or it may crash like the stock market.
Who cares?
I guarantee that as your decisions improve your most important line (the green one) will only go one way - UP.
Aspire to maximise your green line.
Tuesday 25 November 2008
Supernova ftw
Played for an hour last night and finally made Supernova on Stars.
Have been saving up my FPP’s for ages and will probably use them to claim cash the cash bonuses which are looking pretty good, especially as the pound is so weak at the moment.
To clear each $1,500 bonus I need to earn FPP’s equivalent to around 20,000 hands and have 3 months to do it.
Time to start playing a bit more!
Have been saving up my FPP’s for ages and will probably use them to claim cash the cash bonuses which are looking pretty good, especially as the pound is so weak at the moment.
To clear each $1,500 bonus I need to earn FPP’s equivalent to around 20,000 hands and have 3 months to do it.
Time to start playing a bit more!
Monday 17 November 2008
A fine plan
For a long time I have been searching for a way to stop myself looking at my results during a session.
I am not going to go into the reasons why but looking at results during a session is –EV.
It just is.
If you disagree you are wrong!
So at the weekend I looked into the possibility of removing winrate from HEM and it is not quite possible to do so. I can remove it from the reports tab, but not the sessions tab, so curiosity is still just a click of a button away.
In view of this I have come up with the following plan:
1) For every session I will have HEM open on the Hands tab. There are no results here but I will still be able to mark hands for later review.
2) Every time I go to look at my stats during a session I will be fined $10. This money will be removed from my bankroll and put into a savings account for my daughter.
3) To ensure that I don’t just leave the results tab open (to avoid frequent fines obv :) my wife will do random checks on me whilst I am playing. If caught I must stop my session immediately and will have to put an additional $100 into the savings account.
4) All fines will be recorded and included in my overall stats summary spreadsheet. Funds will removed from bankroll at the end of each month.
This is a big challenge.
Bring it on!
I am not going to go into the reasons why but looking at results during a session is –EV.
It just is.
If you disagree you are wrong!
So at the weekend I looked into the possibility of removing winrate from HEM and it is not quite possible to do so. I can remove it from the reports tab, but not the sessions tab, so curiosity is still just a click of a button away.
In view of this I have come up with the following plan:
1) For every session I will have HEM open on the Hands tab. There are no results here but I will still be able to mark hands for later review.
2) Every time I go to look at my stats during a session I will be fined $10. This money will be removed from my bankroll and put into a savings account for my daughter.
3) To ensure that I don’t just leave the results tab open (to avoid frequent fines obv :) my wife will do random checks on me whilst I am playing. If caught I must stop my session immediately and will have to put an additional $100 into the savings account.
4) All fines will be recorded and included in my overall stats summary spreadsheet. Funds will removed from bankroll at the end of each month.
This is a big challenge.
Bring it on!
Monday 10 November 2008
No news is good news
The baby, coaching and my ‘real job’ are keeping me so busy that apart from a reverse sweat coaching session I haven’t played any poker for over a week!
I do have a plan that will increase my playing time significantly in 2009 and will hopefully have everything sorted in the next few weeks. Watch this space….
I do have a plan that will increase my playing time significantly in 2009 and will hopefully have everything sorted in the next few weeks. Watch this space….
Sunday 2 November 2008
$1k Club
Been knocking on the door for a while and today they were kind enough to let me in :)
$1/$2 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com
Stacks:
Pre-flop: ($3, 6 players) Hero is CO
2 folds, Hero raises to $6, 1 fold, SB raises to $16, 1 fold, Hero calls $10
Flop:
($34, 2 players)
SB bets $22, Hero raises to $62, SB calls $40
Turn:
($158, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $110, SB calls $110
River:
($378, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero goes all-in $366.85, SB goes all-in $334.90
Final Pot: $1047.80
Hero shows:
SB shows:
Hero wins $1076.75 ( won +$521.90 )
SB lost -$522.90
$1/$2 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com
Stacks:
| UTG | ($281.00) | ||
| UTG+1 | ($200.00) | ||
| Hero | ($554.85) | ||
| BTN | ($485.00) | ||
| SB | ($522.90) | ||
| BB | ($200.00) |
Pre-flop: ($3, 6 players) Hero is CO
2 folds, Hero raises to $6, 1 fold, SB raises to $16, 1 fold, Hero calls $10
Flop:
($34, 2 players)SB bets $22, Hero raises to $62, SB calls $40
Turn:
($158, 2 players)SB checks, Hero bets $110, SB calls $110
River:
($378, 2 players)SB checks, Hero goes all-in $366.85, SB goes all-in $334.90
Final Pot: $1047.80
Hero shows:
SB shows:
Hero wins $1076.75 ( won +$521.90 )
SB lost -$522.90
Saturday 1 November 2008
Friday 31 October 2008
October Review
Is it really the end of the month already!?!
I have had a pretty good month overall and will post some stats or a graph or something later.
As far as my targets for the month are concerned I most certainly underestimated the amount of playing time I would lose with a new baby in town but things are all good right now :)
Premier League
Watch 8 Poker Videos
I actually watched more than 8 but not sure how much they benefit they have these days. I really feel like I am at a stage were I need to study my own game more and make small tweaks rather than try to incorporate things I pick up in videos.
40 2Hour Sessions - Max 4 tables
26 in total which is not bad. Also played some shorter sessions towards the end of the month which I enjoyed more (because I made $$$ obv).
Specific focus area per session
This has been huge for me. Pick a different area to focus on each session and suddenly I don’t feel the need for other things going on in the background. Not only do I notice a lot more in my ‘focus area’ for that particular session, but I remember much more from previous sessions because I was actually paying attention!
No looking at session stats during play
Getting much better at this now although I still do it in about half of my sessions. I was considering removing stats from my HEM to stop me looking at all but can’t work out how to do it on the sessions tab.
Marked Hands and 50+BB Post Session Review
Started well with this but during winning times I feel less inclined to review sessions. Not sure if this is the right attitude but I am really still searching for the best way to review sessions and I am sure I will review more when I go pro and/or my next downswing occurs.
Note - doesn’t mean I don’t review individual hands because I have been doing this quite a lot.
Championship
Work on general guideline notes
Done and ongoing.
Create Monthly Review Procedures
Done and ongoing.
Hand Group Review
Work in progress.
Create Monthly Back Up Procedures
Work in progress
Make Supernova
About 7,000 hands to go.
10 Treadmill Runs
Epic fail – managed 4 but am now just an unfit slob.
I have had a pretty good month overall and will post some stats or a graph or something later.
As far as my targets for the month are concerned I most certainly underestimated the amount of playing time I would lose with a new baby in town but things are all good right now :)
Premier League
Watch 8 Poker Videos
I actually watched more than 8 but not sure how much they benefit they have these days. I really feel like I am at a stage were I need to study my own game more and make small tweaks rather than try to incorporate things I pick up in videos.
40 2Hour Sessions - Max 4 tables
26 in total which is not bad. Also played some shorter sessions towards the end of the month which I enjoyed more (because I made $$$ obv).
Specific focus area per session
This has been huge for me. Pick a different area to focus on each session and suddenly I don’t feel the need for other things going on in the background. Not only do I notice a lot more in my ‘focus area’ for that particular session, but I remember much more from previous sessions because I was actually paying attention!
No looking at session stats during play
Getting much better at this now although I still do it in about half of my sessions. I was considering removing stats from my HEM to stop me looking at all but can’t work out how to do it on the sessions tab.
Marked Hands and 50+BB Post Session Review
Started well with this but during winning times I feel less inclined to review sessions. Not sure if this is the right attitude but I am really still searching for the best way to review sessions and I am sure I will review more when I go pro and/or my next downswing occurs.
Note - doesn’t mean I don’t review individual hands because I have been doing this quite a lot.
Championship
Work on general guideline notes
Done and ongoing.
Create Monthly Review Procedures
Done and ongoing.
Hand Group Review
Work in progress.
Create Monthly Back Up Procedures
Work in progress
Make Supernova
About 7,000 hands to go.
10 Treadmill Runs
Epic fail – managed 4 but am now just an unfit slob.
Monday 27 October 2008
Coaching Link
Link to my CR coaching page is on the right.
Didn't play much this weekend for various reasons but did manage to fit in a quick +$1200 session saturday morning :)
Didn't play much this weekend for various reasons but did manage to fit in a quick +$1200 session saturday morning :)
Friday 17 October 2008
Blogging
CR coaching is (almost) all systems go!
I have seen my coaching 'page' and am happy with the introduction program and rates that I am offering. Forums now have a coaching section which will soon be open for public viewing and I will probably post a link here as soon as it goes live.
I encourage all my students to keep a blog and the same goes for any potential students reading this. Blogging is a fantastic way to track your progress, brag, rant, review hands or even just post random thoughts.
From a coaches perspective it gives a great insight into your current state of mind and, perhaps most importantly, shows your coach that you are constantly thinking about your game.
I check all the blogs I have linked on the right almost every day and some of them have not been updated for ages. If you are one of these lazy people please update soon because I am going to have a clean up and you will have to be deleted. Nothing personal!
Also, if you have a blog you would like linked please let me know.
I have seen my coaching 'page' and am happy with the introduction program and rates that I am offering. Forums now have a coaching section which will soon be open for public viewing and I will probably post a link here as soon as it goes live.
I encourage all my students to keep a blog and the same goes for any potential students reading this. Blogging is a fantastic way to track your progress, brag, rant, review hands or even just post random thoughts.
From a coaches perspective it gives a great insight into your current state of mind and, perhaps most importantly, shows your coach that you are constantly thinking about your game.
I check all the blogs I have linked on the right almost every day and some of them have not been updated for ages. If you are one of these lazy people please update soon because I am going to have a clean up and you will have to be deleted. Nothing personal!
Also, if you have a blog you would like linked please let me know.
Tuesday 14 October 2008
Better times!
Had a great session with my coach last night.
Format was a simple Q&A over AIM and we discussed a couple of more advanced lines that I need to add to my armoury.
I have never done a session this way before, either as student or coach, and thought that it worked great. Tri had some hand histories ready to test my thought process and I now have the whole conversation printed out to refer to when thinking about these alternative lines.
The most importnant thing I learned is that if there is a particular move you hate to face, then not only do you need to learn how to counter it, you really need to have this in your own book of moves too.
Am working hard on my game, getting some good advice, and at least for today and am running hot hot hot!
Format was a simple Q&A over AIM and we discussed a couple of more advanced lines that I need to add to my armoury.
I have never done a session this way before, either as student or coach, and thought that it worked great. Tri had some hand histories ready to test my thought process and I now have the whole conversation printed out to refer to when thinking about these alternative lines.
The most importnant thing I learned is that if there is a particular move you hate to face, then not only do you need to learn how to counter it, you really need to have this in your own book of moves too.
Am working hard on my game, getting some good advice, and at least for today and am running hot hot hot!
Friday 10 October 2008
OK lets go :)
$1/$2 No Limit Holdem
5 players
Converted at weaktight.com
Stacks:
Pre-flop: ($3, 5 players) Hero is CO
1 fold, Hero raises to $6, 1 fold, SB calls $5, BB calls $4
Flop:
($18, 3 players)
SB bets $14, BB folds, Hero calls $14
Turn:
($46, 2 players)
SB bets $6, Hero raises to $36, SB calls $30
River:
($118, 2 players)
SB checks, SB says "lets go", Hero bets $72, SB folds
Final Pot: $118
Hero wins $188 ( won +$60 )
BB lost -$6.00
SB lost -$56.00
5 players
Converted at weaktight.com
Stacks:
| UTG | ($184.00) | ||
| Hero | ($403.90) | ||
| BTN | ($238.00) | ||
| SB | ($267.30) | ||
| BB | ($55.00) |
Pre-flop: ($3, 5 players) Hero is CO
1 fold, Hero raises to $6, 1 fold, SB calls $5, BB calls $4
Flop:
($18, 3 players)SB bets $14, BB folds, Hero calls $14
Turn:
($46, 2 players)SB bets $6, Hero raises to $36, SB calls $30
River:
($118, 2 players)SB checks, SB says "lets go", Hero bets $72, SB folds
Final Pot: $118
Hero wins $188 ( won +$60 )
BB lost -$6.00
SB lost -$56.00
Thursday 9 October 2008
Your Dream Coaching Programme..........??
Good news!
I have been approved as a CR coach and need to submit something for my own coaching page.
I'm not extactly sure how this will work but am going to spend some time designing two or three packages that I think will be attractive to potential students, and also think about how to make my rates both competitive and fair.
I have a pretty good idea of what I am going to do already but would really appreciate comments and suggestions from anyone reading this blog. Basically I would like to know what your dream coach would deliver.
If you would prefer to send me this privately please let me know and I will get in touch by e-mail or AIM.
Thanks in advance :)
I have been approved as a CR coach and need to submit something for my own coaching page.
I'm not extactly sure how this will work but am going to spend some time designing two or three packages that I think will be attractive to potential students, and also think about how to make my rates both competitive and fair.
I have a pretty good idea of what I am going to do already but would really appreciate comments and suggestions from anyone reading this blog. Basically I would like to know what your dream coach would deliver.
If you would prefer to send me this privately please let me know and I will get in touch by e-mail or AIM.
Thanks in advance :)
Wednesday 1 October 2008
Monday 29 September 2008
Playing the Parent
My wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl last Wednesday night :-)
Things got a little bit scary towards the end but mother and baby are back at home now and doing great. I am extremely proud of them both.
Whilst in the hospital my newborn daughter soon realised that crying resulted in being picked up from her cot, normally by her dad. After a while it wouldn't take long before the tears came when in the cot, then she gets picked up and tears immediately stop. Put her down a bit later, tears again......repeat.....repeat.....
So in the evening the midwife comes and puts her in the cot. No tears. Just quickly to sleep.
So when being put in her cot (or facing open raise) she plans her hand as follows:
Cry (3bet) vs dad, he will pick me up;
Sleep (fold) vs midwife as she will leave me to cry (4bet)
That's my girl!
Things got a little bit scary towards the end but mother and baby are back at home now and doing great. I am extremely proud of them both.
Whilst in the hospital my newborn daughter soon realised that crying resulted in being picked up from her cot, normally by her dad. After a while it wouldn't take long before the tears came when in the cot, then she gets picked up and tears immediately stop. Put her down a bit later, tears again......repeat.....repeat.....
So in the evening the midwife comes and puts her in the cot. No tears. Just quickly to sleep.
So when being put in her cot (or facing open raise) she plans her hand as follows:
Cry (3bet) vs dad, he will pick me up;
Sleep (fold) vs midwife as she will leave me to cry (4bet)
That's my girl!
Friday 19 September 2008
Blog Etiquette
So I have stolen an idea from a fellow blogger ------------------------>
Could anyone who knows Malfaire please pass on my thanks to him and let him know I have put a link to his blog on this page as a reward.
Hopefully that is sufficient to satisfy grinders etiquette.
Could anyone who knows Malfaire please pass on my thanks to him and let him know I have put a link to his blog on this page as a reward.
Hopefully that is sufficient to satisfy grinders etiquette.
Tuesday 16 September 2008
Self Ownage :(
I dropped 17 buyins this weekend and am $3k down for the month to date!
Whilst I suffered some beats I have to be honest and say that I owned myself by:
1) Playing 6 tables
2) Playing too fancy
3) Taking experimental lines
Lately I have been trying some new things, but choosing my spots badly. It is all well and good knowing what a fancy play is but it is much more challenging to apply it correctly, and have a back-up for when it doesn't go to plan. I haven't been planning hands and my game is suffering badly.
What did I say about bet/FOLDING? How does my brain turn this into bet/SHOVING?
Whilst I suffered some beats I have to be honest and say that I owned myself by:
1) Playing 6 tables
2) Playing too fancy
3) Taking experimental lines
Lately I have been trying some new things, but choosing my spots badly. It is all well and good knowing what a fancy play is but it is much more challenging to apply it correctly, and have a back-up for when it doesn't go to plan. I haven't been planning hands and my game is suffering badly.
What did I say about bet/FOLDING? How does my brain turn this into bet/SHOVING?
Monday 8 September 2008
I bet you need it? Er, wtf does that mean?
$1/$2 No Limit Holdem
5 players
Converted at weaktight.com
Stacks:
Pre-flop: ($3, 5 players) Hero is CO
1 fold, Hero raises to $6, BTN calls $6, 1 fold, BB calls $4
Flop: 
($19, 3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $14, BTN calls $14, BB calls $14
Turn: ($61, 3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $34, BTN goes all-in $420.80, BB folds, BTN says "i bet you need it...", $287.65 to Hero ($287.65)?
5 players
Converted at weaktight.com
Stacks:
| UTG | ($296.10) | ||
| Hero | ($341.65) | ||
| BTN | ($440.80) | ||
| SB | ($97.70) | ||
| BB | ($295.65) |
Pre-flop: ($3, 5 players) Hero is CO
1 fold, Hero raises to $6, BTN calls $6, 1 fold, BB calls $4
Flop:
($19, 3 players)BB checks, Hero bets $14, BTN calls $14, BB calls $14
Turn:
($61, 3 players)BB checks, Hero bets $34, BTN goes all-in $420.80, BB folds, BTN says "i bet you need it...", $287.65 to Hero ($287.65)?
Wednesday 3 September 2008
Whats your plan?
I have started to write an article on the importance of planning hands and how anticipating your opponents’ next move can have a major impact on your game.
I tell my students over and over and over again how important this is but for some reason I have become a little relaxed about it myself lately and need to re-focus.
Hand planning is so important that my goals for September will be very simple and straightforward
September goals
1. Plan every hand and anticipate future actions.
2. Stick to plans and trust reads (bet/fold really does mean fold if he raises!!)
3. Mark and review at least 5 hands per week and be able explain plan and thought process.
4. Post hands on CR for comments and analysis of thought process.
I tell my students over and over and over again how important this is but for some reason I have become a little relaxed about it myself lately and need to re-focus.
Hand planning is so important that my goals for September will be very simple and straightforward
September goals
1. Plan every hand and anticipate future actions.
2. Stick to plans and trust reads (bet/fold really does mean fold if he raises!!)
3. Mark and review at least 5 hands per week and be able explain plan and thought process.
4. Post hands on CR for comments and analysis of thought process.
Monday 1 September 2008
A whole year of 6 max cash
I have been playing 6 max cash games for exactly one year so this is the story so far…..
I really can’t believe it is only a year ago that I decided to switch over from donkaments and give cash games some serious attention. I used a bit of my bankroll to buy the nuts of a computer and put some dollars on stars to use as my 6 max ‘roll’. My surplus bankroll was put into a separate savings account, not be used to top up my new bankroll.
I began at 50NL and started OK but was soon introduced to a thing called variance. Obvioulsy I had experienced variance in donkaments but suddenly everything was much more intense. My daily swings were pretty scary to begin with but I soon discovered Cardrunners and was comforted by similar stories in the forums. For the next few months I worked hard on the fundamentals, watched CR videos and browsed the forums a lot. I focused hard on my pre-flop game, probably too hard, and from some of my early blog entries it is clear that I was by no means a good player. The games were so bad however that I was crushing 50NL and ready to move up.
I found the move to 100NL very tough and was up and down between the levels for a while. There where many “F*** cash games” moments during these times and I was close to quitting on a number of occasions. Fortunately I always came back more determined than ever the next day.
I was now facing better opponents but my biggest problem was my play on later streets (if only I had known that at the time). I was still focusing too much on my pre-flop stats thinking ‘if I can play 21/18 I will crush 100NL’. Well to play 21/18 you need to be ready to play on the turn and river as well because people don’t fold to your cbets so much and this was a problem for me!
With good table selection, however, I managed to grind my roll up and in March 2008 I moved up to 200NL. After a longish breakeven stretch I got some coaching and it was made clear to me how bad my turn/river play actually was. Immediately things improved and this was my biggest ‘light bulb’ moment to date!
I have now played almost 100,000 at 200NL and am beating it for exactly 3PTBB/100. This includes all my pre-coaching numbers and since that ‘light bulb’ moment my 200NL winrate is higher.
Overall my first year of cash games has been great fun and I have enjoyed learning something new every day. I have made good progress, and will hopefully continue to do so, but the biggest lesson I have learned is that I will never stop learning.
I really can’t believe it is only a year ago that I decided to switch over from donkaments and give cash games some serious attention. I used a bit of my bankroll to buy the nuts of a computer and put some dollars on stars to use as my 6 max ‘roll’. My surplus bankroll was put into a separate savings account, not be used to top up my new bankroll.
I began at 50NL and started OK but was soon introduced to a thing called variance. Obvioulsy I had experienced variance in donkaments but suddenly everything was much more intense. My daily swings were pretty scary to begin with but I soon discovered Cardrunners and was comforted by similar stories in the forums. For the next few months I worked hard on the fundamentals, watched CR videos and browsed the forums a lot. I focused hard on my pre-flop game, probably too hard, and from some of my early blog entries it is clear that I was by no means a good player. The games were so bad however that I was crushing 50NL and ready to move up.
I found the move to 100NL very tough and was up and down between the levels for a while. There where many “F*** cash games” moments during these times and I was close to quitting on a number of occasions. Fortunately I always came back more determined than ever the next day.
I was now facing better opponents but my biggest problem was my play on later streets (if only I had known that at the time). I was still focusing too much on my pre-flop stats thinking ‘if I can play 21/18 I will crush 100NL’. Well to play 21/18 you need to be ready to play on the turn and river as well because people don’t fold to your cbets so much and this was a problem for me!
With good table selection, however, I managed to grind my roll up and in March 2008 I moved up to 200NL. After a longish breakeven stretch I got some coaching and it was made clear to me how bad my turn/river play actually was. Immediately things improved and this was my biggest ‘light bulb’ moment to date!
I have now played almost 100,000 at 200NL and am beating it for exactly 3PTBB/100. This includes all my pre-coaching numbers and since that ‘light bulb’ moment my 200NL winrate is higher.
Overall my first year of cash games has been great fun and I have enjoyed learning something new every day. I have made good progress, and will hopefully continue to do so, but the biggest lesson I have learned is that I will never stop learning.
Friday 29 August 2008
Rusty but ready to go
Tomorrow the family fly home and I will be back at the tables.
I squeezed in a *big losing* session a few days ago and I didn't feel too comfortable in the games to be honest. A break always seems to have a negative impact on my game but hopefully I will be able to get back to winning ways quickly.
I have a few minor amendments to make pre-flop and have decided to strip down my HUD to a very basic VPIP/PFR/AF/Hands. There were so many numbers and colours on my screen before that I was forgetting some important fundamentals.
I am also in the process of designing bespoke hover pop ups to give me the numbers when looking to outplay people (so watch out stars regs lol).
Have a good one and let the boomswitch be with you - and me too obv!
Oh and........
Spurs have lost their first 2 games and play chelsea away on sunday. Looking likely to be 0 points from first 3 games. Pre-season optimism crushed and no more footy comments from
me :(
I squeezed in a *big losing* session a few days ago and I didn't feel too comfortable in the games to be honest. A break always seems to have a negative impact on my game but hopefully I will be able to get back to winning ways quickly.
I have a few minor amendments to make pre-flop and have decided to strip down my HUD to a very basic VPIP/PFR/AF/Hands. There were so many numbers and colours on my screen before that I was forgetting some important fundamentals.
I am also in the process of designing bespoke hover pop ups to give me the numbers when looking to outplay people (so watch out stars regs lol).
Have a good one and let the boomswitch be with you - and me too obv!
Oh and........
Spurs have lost their first 2 games and play chelsea away on sunday. Looking likely to be 0 points from first 3 games. Pre-season optimism crushed and no more footy comments from
me :(
Tuesday 26 August 2008
Monitors
I have been doing some research and have decided a 30" monitor is the only way forward for an aspiring poker pro.
I think I will go for this:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/displays/review/2007/05/23/Samsung-SyncMaster-305T-30in-Monitor/p1
Now I need to find a company that will deliver to the isle of man!
I think I will go for this:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/displays/review/2007/05/23/Samsung-SyncMaster-305T-30in-Monitor/p1
Now I need to find a company that will deliver to the isle of man!
Friday 15 August 2008
Green is good
This is my month so far:
13 successive winning sessions followed by a brutal 5 buyin defeat!
If you look at the EV number it looks like I am running well but I really don't think I am.
The problem with EV stats is that when you get to the river it is alwalys neutral EV. So when you flopped set on a rainbow board is beaten by some crappy gutshot/backdoor flush combo then this doesn't go towards the EV numbers, unless of course you are all in before the river.
My family is visiting for the next 2 weeks, so probably won't be playing much at all, but the month should be a profitable one ;)
Getting away from poker just for once, the football season starts today (you can call it soccer but whatever) which is exciting.
My team have made some good signings and have been on fire pre-season, really need to get off to a good start today, COME ON YOU SPURS!!!
13 successive winning sessions followed by a brutal 5 buyin defeat!
If you look at the EV number it looks like I am running well but I really don't think I am.
The problem with EV stats is that when you get to the river it is alwalys neutral EV. So when you flopped set on a rainbow board is beaten by some crappy gutshot/backdoor flush combo then this doesn't go towards the EV numbers, unless of course you are all in before the river.
My family is visiting for the next 2 weeks, so probably won't be playing much at all, but the month should be a profitable one ;)
Getting away from poker just for once, the football season starts today (you can call it soccer but whatever) which is exciting.
My team have made some good signings and have been on fire pre-season, really need to get off to a good start today, COME ON YOU SPURS!!!
Wednesday 13 August 2008
Waiting game
Following on from my Supernova calculations you may have guessed that going pro is being given some serious consideration!
A couple of years ago Helen and I made a lifestyle > career decision and moved from London to the Isle of Man.
I gave up a very well paid job in London but Helen is self employed and works from home which made the transition nice and smooth.
I do have a job over here now, but it is brain numbingly dull, with zero prospects and I would not be sacrificing anything career wise to give poker a shot.
I have calculated that $4,000 per month would effectively be ‘break even’ compared to my salary once tax, travel etc has been taken into consideration and poker income is tax free for us which makes a real difference.
I have a bankroll of $40,000 ready and waiting in a separate poker account, plenty more in savings and we could easily survive for 18 months or so with no money at all coming in. Everything points to a resignation right?
Well in normal circumstances it would but Helen is pregnant with our first baby, due 30th September and she is currently on maternity leave (not getting paid) and if I resigned now we would have zero guaranteed income for when baby first enters the world. Whilst we are both 100% convinced going pro is the way forward, waiting just a few more months is probably the most sensible thing.
Whether being sensible is +EV or –EV is another discussion entirely.......
A couple of years ago Helen and I made a lifestyle > career decision and moved from London to the Isle of Man.
I gave up a very well paid job in London but Helen is self employed and works from home which made the transition nice and smooth.
I do have a job over here now, but it is brain numbingly dull, with zero prospects and I would not be sacrificing anything career wise to give poker a shot.
I have calculated that $4,000 per month would effectively be ‘break even’ compared to my salary once tax, travel etc has been taken into consideration and poker income is tax free for us which makes a real difference.
I have a bankroll of $40,000 ready and waiting in a separate poker account, plenty more in savings and we could easily survive for 18 months or so with no money at all coming in. Everything points to a resignation right?
Well in normal circumstances it would but Helen is pregnant with our first baby, due 30th September and she is currently on maternity leave (not getting paid) and if I resigned now we would have zero guaranteed income for when baby first enters the world. Whilst we are both 100% convinced going pro is the way forward, waiting just a few more months is probably the most sensible thing.
Whether being sensible is +EV or –EV is another discussion entirely.......
Wednesday 6 August 2008
Supernova Heights
Playing 200NL consistently for the past few months has put me on course for stars Supernova level before the end of the year.
This will be pretty cool and the main benefits for me will be:
250% FPP multiplier
Higher bonuses available
Entry to $50k MTT every Saturday
I have started to think about what Supernova means in real money terms if I decide to play full time in 2009.
Estimate
12,000 hands per week * 50 weeks = 600,000 hands per year
600,000 hands * 0.525 VPP per hand = 315,000 VPP’s per year
315,000 VPP’s * 3.5 Supernova Multiplier = 1,102,500 FPP’s per year
Bonuses available at $4,000 per 250,000 FPP’s
1,102,500 / 250,000 * $4,000 = $17,640 per year
Milestone Bonuses
200,000 VPP’s = $2,000
300,000 VPP’s = $3,000
$17,640 + $2,000 + $3,000 = $22,640 per year
So average of $1,886 per month in bonuses based on twelve thousand hands per week at 200NL.
I am pretty decent in MTT’s as well so would expect some cashes if I play the $50k tourney every week.
Overall I think $24,000 per year (or $2,000 per month) is easily doable just by 4 tabling 200NL. This is actually pretty conservative as I think I would play more hands and also it is unlikely all hands will be at 200NL.
Now I just need to budget my BB/100 over 600,000 hands :)
This will be pretty cool and the main benefits for me will be:
250% FPP multiplier
Higher bonuses available
Entry to $50k MTT every Saturday
I have started to think about what Supernova means in real money terms if I decide to play full time in 2009.
Estimate
12,000 hands per week * 50 weeks = 600,000 hands per year
600,000 hands * 0.525 VPP per hand = 315,000 VPP’s per year
315,000 VPP’s * 3.5 Supernova Multiplier = 1,102,500 FPP’s per year
Bonuses available at $4,000 per 250,000 FPP’s
1,102,500 / 250,000 * $4,000 = $17,640 per year
Milestone Bonuses
200,000 VPP’s = $2,000
300,000 VPP’s = $3,000
$17,640 + $2,000 + $3,000 = $22,640 per year
So average of $1,886 per month in bonuses based on twelve thousand hands per week at 200NL.
I am pretty decent in MTT’s as well so would expect some cashes if I play the $50k tourney every week.
Overall I think $24,000 per year (or $2,000 per month) is easily doable just by 4 tabling 200NL. This is actually pretty conservative as I think I would play more hands and also it is unlikely all hands will be at 200NL.
Now I just need to budget my BB/100 over 600,000 hands :)
Saturday 2 August 2008
August Targets
Premier League
1. Conduct hand reviews and post problematical hands on forums.
2. Recognise and avoid passive tilt.
3. No looking at stats during session. This includes last lap.
4. No AIM or Internet during play.
5. Give study full 100% concentration. It is not an inconvenience!
Championship
1. Study standard lines for playing OOP.
2. Work on play from blinds especially in unraised pots.
3. Mark hands during session and save for future reference and coaching purposes.
4. Improve understanding bet sizing on all streets (relevant to hand planning).
Lower League
1. Website
2. No 400NL before $40k roll.
3. Learn Omaha Cash
4. Learn HU Cash
Friday 1 August 2008
July Review
Premier League
1. Conduct hand reviews and post problematical hands on forums.
I am doing pretty well with this and am using my coach and the forums to develop my understanding in key areas.
2. Recognise and avoid passive tilt.
Still searching for the sweet spot between over aggression and passive spew. Grey area is reducing bit by bit.
3. No looking at stats during session. This includes last lap
I’m terrible at this but am doing a little better over the past week or so.
4. No AIM or Internet during play.
Success!
5. Give study full 100% concentration. It is not an inconvenience!
I am really getting into watching videos again and also doing a lot of work on hand reviews, pokerstoving ranges etc.
Championship
1. Use button, or more specifically position, to put opponents under pressure.
I am doing pretty well with this but need to think more about when to fire turn and river bullets.
2. Work with coach on monthly reviews.
Holdem Manager is great for monthly reviews and have started a spreadsheet to compare some crucial stats on a monthly basis.
3. Develop workflows for balanced strategy including c-betting.
I have made some small changes for my pre-flop game and will be monitoring progress in August.
4. Plan hands based on opponents. Start plan pre-flop and adjust pre-flop play if necessary.
See above. Pre-flop style has changed a little and planning hands is crucial.
5. Be prepared to check fold flop when out of position, even if I have the lead.
OOP = Out of Power. I suck out of position and need to work on this area of my game.
6. Resist the urge to play some 400NL. I still want to crush 200NL first.
I am considering going pro in 2009 and have therefore turned into a bankroll nit, however, when my roll hits $40k I will mix in the occasional 400NL session to test the water.
Lower League
1. Website
2. Revise coaching rates – Have submitted application to be a CR Coach up to 100NL
3. Learn Omaha Cash.4. Learn HU Cash – Am up $170 at 50NL HU for July over very small sample size. I find HU a little boring to be honest but it may be because I am playing so low.
Thursday 31 July 2008
July Results
This is my 200NL graph for July:
Pretty ugly stuff mid month but do have some positives to take from the bad times.
Will do an overall review tomorrow but poker made me over $2700 in July and that is after deducting a pretty hefty up front payment to my coach so would have been closer to $4k otherwise.
Not bad for a month where all my posts seemed to be full of negativity :)
Tuesday 29 July 2008
Thursday 24 July 2008
Sigh
So I spoke to soon.
This hand from last night sums up how I am running lately:
http://weaktight.com/289861#html
More fighting back to do and if I manage to break even at 200NL for July I will be pleased.
This hand from last night sums up how I am running lately:
http://weaktight.com/289861#html
More fighting back to do and if I manage to break even at 200NL for July I will be pleased.
Wednesday 23 July 2008
Fighting Back
First of all thanks to everyone for their support during tough times......which lasted all of four days :)
Over such a short period i'm not sure it even qualifies as a downswing but just posting that graph provided me with the motivation required for a big review of my game. HEM is great for such a review and it actually took me a lot less time that I was expecting.
I have learned from past experience that it is a mistake to keep starting from sctratch and instead I have identified two, possibly three, concepts that need some work in order to fine tune my game.
Over such a short period i'm not sure it even qualifies as a downswing but just posting that graph provided me with the motivation required for a big review of my game. HEM is great for such a review and it actually took me a lot less time that I was expecting.
I have learned from past experience that it is a mistake to keep starting from sctratch and instead I have identified two, possibly three, concepts that need some work in order to fine tune my game.
Monday 21 July 2008
Want to watch my B game?
Then check this out:
http://www.deucescracked.com/videos/53-King_For_a_Day_Part_Deux/387-Season_Premiere
This was the last 30mins of a session and at the time I was 5 buyins down. Was definitely not at my best so perfect time to hit the record button for coach to have a look.
EDIT:
I just realised this session was recorded during the downswing graph below.
This is a good example that bad results can easily take you off your A game and if you are not fully aware of what is happening at this point your entire roll could be in danger.
http://www.deucescracked.com/videos/53-King_For_a_Day_Part_Deux/387-Season_Premiere
This was the last 30mins of a session and at the time I was 5 buyins down. Was definitely not at my best so perfect time to hit the record button for coach to have a look.
EDIT:
I just realised this session was recorded during the downswing graph below.
This is a good example that bad results can easily take you off your A game and if you are not fully aware of what is happening at this point your entire roll could be in danger.
Thursday 17 July 2008
Downswingaments
If all goes to form then tomorrow will bring my first ever 20 buyin downswing.
Dropping 17.5 buyins over 4,500 hands is pretty damn impressive if you ask me and it has got to the point that getting stacked just makes brings a wry smile.
The poker mindset tells us downswings don't exist. This suggests otherwise:
Wednesday 16 July 2008
Out of Power
Have decided it's time to learn Heads Up and started by watching an old Krantz video where he goes over the basics like starting hands etc.
One thing that struck me more than anything is the empahsis of playing hands in position. He translates OOP to "Out Of Power" and obviously this is not exclusive to heads up games.
I have had a bit of a downswing recently and reviewing sessions is even more important during these times. Posting some hands on CR has helped but most of all it seems that I am have a bit of a problem playing big pots with no Power.
One thing that struck me more than anything is the empahsis of playing hands in position. He translates OOP to "Out Of Power" and obviously this is not exclusive to heads up games.
I have had a bit of a downswing recently and reviewing sessions is even more important during these times. Posting some hands on CR has helped but most of all it seems that I am have a bit of a problem playing big pots with no Power.
Monday 14 July 2008
Results can take care of themselves
For some unknown reason I now find it impossible not to look at my stats all the way through each session.
Making the best decisions over and over again is the key to maximising profit, yet I find myself constantly checking my short term stats (like every 20 hands) which is just ridiculous and must stop!
Avoiding stats until session is over is going to be my number 1 priority until I get this awful habit under control.
The above contributed to a slight loss at 200NL this weekend but on a more positive note I finished 4th of 1127 in a $26 donkament on Saturday night for almost $2,300 ;)
Making the best decisions over and over again is the key to maximising profit, yet I find myself constantly checking my short term stats (like every 20 hands) which is just ridiculous and must stop!
Avoiding stats until session is over is going to be my number 1 priority until I get this awful habit under control.
The above contributed to a slight loss at 200NL this weekend but on a more positive note I finished 4th of 1127 in a $26 donkament on Saturday night for almost $2,300 ;)
Thursday 10 July 2008
Understanding Leverage
“Essentially, the beauty of Leverage in position means that our opponents can basically do nothing right”
- Balugawhale, Leverage is your Friend (DC Article)
Putting your opponent in a situation where they can do nothing right can only be a good thing!
- Balugawhale, Leverage is your Friend (DC Article)
Putting your opponent in a situation where they can do nothing right can only be a good thing!
Thursday 3 July 2008
Coaching endorsement
E-mail received from a student of mine today:
Just want to thank you again for taking a losing 50NL player to a winning 100NL player. Thought you might like to see this, hope you get a kick out of it.
Love it!
Tuesday 1 July 2008
July Targets
Premier League
1. Conduct hand reviews and post problematical hands on forums.
2. Recognise and avoid passive tilt.
3. No looking at stats during session. This includes last lap.
4. No AIM or Internet during play.
5. Give study full 100% concentration. It is not an inconvenience!
Championship
1. Use button, or more specifically position, to put opponents under pressure.
2. Work with coach on monthly reviews.
3. Develop workflows for balanced strategy including c-betting.
4. Plan hands based on opponents. Start plan pre-flop and adjust pre-flop play if necessary.
5. Be prepared to check fold flop when out of position, even if I have the lead.
6. Resist the urge to play some 400NL. I still want to crush 200NL first.
Lower League
1. Website
2. Revise coaching rates
3. Learn Omaha Cash
4. Learn HU Cash
1. Conduct hand reviews and post problematical hands on forums.
2. Recognise and avoid passive tilt.
3. No looking at stats during session. This includes last lap.
4. No AIM or Internet during play.
5. Give study full 100% concentration. It is not an inconvenience!
Championship
1. Use button, or more specifically position, to put opponents under pressure.
2. Work with coach on monthly reviews.
3. Develop workflows for balanced strategy including c-betting.
4. Plan hands based on opponents. Start plan pre-flop and adjust pre-flop play if necessary.
5. Be prepared to check fold flop when out of position, even if I have the lead.
6. Resist the urge to play some 400NL. I still want to crush 200NL first.
Lower League
1. Website
2. Revise coaching rates
3. Learn Omaha Cash
4. Learn HU Cash
Monday 30 June 2008
June Review
One session to go this month so will post graph later. June has been profitable but I always seem to have a bad start to the month which sucks. I have bouncebackability though and numbers are green again :-)
Premier League
1. Review every hand of each session played where I VPIP and see flop.(NB. On hold pending new PT3 replayer. I need opponents stats overlayed on replayer in order to review the hands objectively.)
I have switched to Holdem Manager and the replayer does everything I need. Having said that I have not been reviewing every VPIP hand and this may be less of a priority as I become more comfortable with my game. Or maybe I am just a slacker.
2. No looking at stats during session. This is a tilt indicator and must stop session immediately
I don’t do very well with this and need to do better!
3. Give study full 100% concentration. It is not an inconvenience!
I am doing pretty well with the studying and enjoying the Deuces Cracked videos.
4. Maintain Session Checklist
This is no longer required a Holdem Manager does it for me.
Championship
1. More work on understanding of Leverage.
Nothing to report.
2. Develop monthly review filters/reports for PT3;
3. Think about my coaching requirements (ie how to get most from being coached)
These two are grouped together as I am thinking about getting my coach to do a monthly review for me.
4. Develop workflows for balanced strategy in 3 bet pots
Am looking into various software applications to help me with this and other workflows (eg cbetting).
5. Use button more
More work needed. Also need to mix up my play when in position.
6. Adjust opening hands more depending on opponents still to act.
Getting better but need to adjust to opponents better in general. Switching tables too often is not good for me so I need to just stick around and adjust instead. (Obviously I will leave if table is very bad).
7. Check Raise sometimes!
I just never seem to get into spots where check raising is necessary. I must be missing something!
Lower League
1. Revise FLAG starting hands - Done
2. Website
3. Learn Omaha - Played a few $20 heads up sit n goes. Showing a profit over a tiny sample.
4. Learn Full Ring
5. Learn HU
Premier League
1. Review every hand of each session played where I VPIP and see flop.(NB. On hold pending new PT3 replayer. I need opponents stats overlayed on replayer in order to review the hands objectively.)
I have switched to Holdem Manager and the replayer does everything I need. Having said that I have not been reviewing every VPIP hand and this may be less of a priority as I become more comfortable with my game. Or maybe I am just a slacker.
2. No looking at stats during session. This is a tilt indicator and must stop session immediately
I don’t do very well with this and need to do better!
3. Give study full 100% concentration. It is not an inconvenience!
I am doing pretty well with the studying and enjoying the Deuces Cracked videos.
4. Maintain Session Checklist
This is no longer required a Holdem Manager does it for me.
Championship
1. More work on understanding of Leverage.
Nothing to report.
2. Develop monthly review filters/reports for PT3;
3. Think about my coaching requirements (ie how to get most from being coached)
These two are grouped together as I am thinking about getting my coach to do a monthly review for me.
4. Develop workflows for balanced strategy in 3 bet pots
Am looking into various software applications to help me with this and other workflows (eg cbetting).
5. Use button more
More work needed. Also need to mix up my play when in position.
6. Adjust opening hands more depending on opponents still to act.
Getting better but need to adjust to opponents better in general. Switching tables too often is not good for me so I need to just stick around and adjust instead. (Obviously I will leave if table is very bad).
7. Check Raise sometimes!
I just never seem to get into spots where check raising is necessary. I must be missing something!
Lower League
1. Revise FLAG starting hands - Done
2. Website
3. Learn Omaha - Played a few $20 heads up sit n goes. Showing a profit over a tiny sample.
4. Learn Full Ring
5. Learn HU
Thursday 26 June 2008
I want to crush 200NL
My new coach has come back with a review of my video and an unprompted apology for the delay. Maybe I don’t need to look elsewhere just yet!
I am going to review his comments in more detail at the weekend but he has said that overall my game is strong and I can be a winner at higher levels ;)
I want to be totally happy with my game before I consider moving up though and this is certainly not the case at the moment. I still have some leaks that would be pounced on by the better players at 400NL and I am happy to carry on at 200NL for the time being.
To be fair these leaks were probably not evidenced in the video I sent over and I am thinking some PT review/workshop style coaching sessions would work for me.
I am going to review his comments in more detail at the weekend but he has said that overall my game is strong and I can be a winner at higher levels ;)
I want to be totally happy with my game before I consider moving up though and this is certainly not the case at the moment. I still have some leaks that would be pounced on by the better players at 400NL and I am happy to carry on at 200NL for the time being.
To be fair these leaks were probably not evidenced in the video I sent over and I am thinking some PT review/workshop style coaching sessions would work for me.
Wednesday 25 June 2008
Coaches run below expectation as standard
So coach number 2 seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. A bit of a shame as he really did help me a lot in just a few sessions.
In view of this I submitted an application to Deuces Cracked and sent payment of $175 for my first hour lesson with yet another coach. The DC coaching process is a little cumbersome to begin with but after a week or so I had an e-mail conversation with coach number 3 and agreed to submit a 60 minute video for him to review.
The analysis was due by the weekend and I am still waiting. Have heard nothing further from him so have no idea what is causing the delay but yet again I feel like I will need to look elsewhere sooner rather than later.
Maybe I am just unlucky but this makes me even more determined to give my own students the best possible service at all times.
In view of this I submitted an application to Deuces Cracked and sent payment of $175 for my first hour lesson with yet another coach. The DC coaching process is a little cumbersome to begin with but after a week or so I had an e-mail conversation with coach number 3 and agreed to submit a 60 minute video for him to review.
The analysis was due by the weekend and I am still waiting. Have heard nothing further from him so have no idea what is causing the delay but yet again I feel like I will need to look elsewhere sooner rather than later.
Maybe I am just unlucky but this makes me even more determined to give my own students the best possible service at all times.
Saturday 14 June 2008
Memo to Poker Gods
OK Poker Gods.
I know I said I am happy to leave things in your hands but this is getting silly now.
There are only so many 2 outers a man can take before he starts thinking that this variance thing is nonsense and the clear way to poker fortunes is to play 80/40 and never fold.
So come on poker gods just play fair and have me running at neutral EV by the end of the month.
In other words you owe me $2,754.03 dammit :)
Wednesday 11 June 2008
EV Adjustments
Above is s snapshot of my stats for all of May and June to date.
The interesting thing with these stats is that if you look carefully it shows that I was running hot in May and the doomswitch has returned for June.
Now this is all just variance that I have experienced many times throughout my poker 'career' but normally around this time my confidence would be crushed and I would be thinking about rebuilding my game once again.
This time, however, I have concrete evidence that I am running badly and therefore have no reason to panic. As long as I am getting my money in good more often than not then I am happy to leave the rest in the hands of the poker gods :)
Saturday 7 June 2008
OMG HM FTW!!
HOLDEM MANGER RULES - THIS IS THE REPLAYER
Seiroulsy buy it and I promise you will not be disappointed. Have been using for one day and the features are just so unbelievable good compared to anything I have used before. Things I can now do include:
Hover over stats to get even more comprehesive stats. This gives nice uncluttered screen.
Click on HUD stats to see every stat you can imagine about that player.
Double click to switch to stats for that session only.
Flag hands just played for review after the session.
Make notes in HUD.
See EV stats for each hand/session
In addition to that the replayer is just superb. It overlays the HUD on the replayer exactly as if you were playing in real time and you can make notes etc in replayer for future HUD reference.
I'm sure I have only scratched the surface but I have been in a great mood today despite my crappy run at the tables continuing.
PT3 can keep my money. I will win it back from all those loyalists on the forums insiting PT3 is great. I'm off to look up their squeeze play percentages.
Seiroulsy buy it and I promise you will not be disappointed. Have been using for one day and the features are just so unbelievable good compared to anything I have used before. Things I can now do include:
Hover over stats to get even more comprehesive stats. This gives nice uncluttered screen.
Click on HUD stats to see every stat you can imagine about that player.
Double click to switch to stats for that session only.
Flag hands just played for review after the session.
Make notes in HUD.
See EV stats for each hand/session
In addition to that the replayer is just superb. It overlays the HUD on the replayer exactly as if you were playing in real time and you can make notes etc in replayer for future HUD reference.
I'm sure I have only scratched the surface but I have been in a great mood today despite my crappy run at the tables continuing.
PT3 can keep my money. I will win it back from all those loyalists on the forums insiting PT3 is great. I'm off to look up their squeeze play percentages.
Friday 6 June 2008
Poker Tracker - It's all over!
My relationship with Poker Tracker is coming to a close.
I have been constantly changing my mind on the whole PT3 vs HM issue and have stayed loyal to Poker Tracker predominately for the following reasons:
1. PT2 was a great product.
2. PT2 support was fantastic.
3. PT3 beta was buggy, but this is expected of any beta and the commercial release promised to have everything I was looking for
4. PT3 had a ‘secret’ feature to be unveiled with the commercial release that would blow away all competition
5. HM looked good but had a limited trial of 2,500 hands
6. HM would take more getting used to (in other words PT is the easy option)
7. HM support was a little lacking
In view of the above I pre-ordered the PT3 commercial release. Unfortunately this has proven to be a mistake and I have just read on the forums that they have decided not to give any more refunds.
It has come to light since I pre-ordered that:
1. PT3 has been released far too soon.
2. The commercial release is less stable than the unstable beta.
3. People responsible for PT3 are not the same guys as PT2. I think pat sold out.
4. The new people are offhand and unprofessional (some are borderline rude) on the forums when customers dare to complain about the lack of functionality.
5. They have a support ticket system which is overloaded and they have decided best policy is to ignore all tickets. Their attitude now is along the lines of ‘you people should realise we have more important things to do than reply to the support tickets.’
6.The PT3 ‘secret’ feature happens to be a fish finder/tables selection tool that will require a monthly subscription and is actually an add on from a ‘business partner’. There are other similar products available for a one off payment.
It is acknowledged by the new PT3 people that HM is a currently a far superior product.
PT3 are relying on the loyalty and patience of their existing customers whilst they catch up, and are supremely confident (some would say arrogant) that PT3 will blow away the competition when it is fully functional.
This is all well and good if PT3 was close to being fully functional but it isn’t. Another thing they haven’t grasped is that HM is also adding new features and not standing still waiting for PT3 to catch up. I am starting to doubt it ever will.
So today I have taken the plunge and paid for HM. Am currently waiting for my validation code and looking forward to getting all my hands imported. I’m sure there will be some teething problems but I’m ready to take them on. (Note to my IT Consultant aka Aaron – you are on call this weekend!)I have effectively written off the amount I paid for PT3 (did I mention they won’t give any more refunds because too many people want one?) but maybe one day I will be enticed back by the fully functional version.
It will probably be PT4 by then though and I will be expected to pay again!
Tuesday 3 June 2008
Brutal Session
This is split into 2 short sharp sessions.
I cut the first session short when I ran a bluff into quad 5's and my AA into KK at the same time (the K hit).
I took a break and came back determined to put the 1st session behind but soon found myself being owned by 60/15/3 types with half buy in stacks.
I have been back through the hands and I can honestly say I have played OK.
The challenge now is to bounce back tomorrow and I am going to record the next session for my coach to review.
Sunday 1 June 2008
June Targets
Premier League
1. Review every hand of each session played where I VPIP and see flop.
(NB. On hold pending new PT3 replayer. I need opponents stats overlayed on replayer in order to review the hands objectively.)
2. No looking at stats during session. This is a tilt indicator and must stop session immediately
3. Give study full 100% concentration. It is not an inconvenience!
4. Maintain Session Checklist
Championship
1. More work on understanding of Leverage.
2. Develop monthly review filters/reports for PT3
3. Think about my coaching requirements (ie how to get most from being coached)
4. Develop workflows for balanced strategy in 3 bet pots
5. Use button more
6. Adjust opening hands more depending on opponents still to act.
7. Check Raise sometimes!
Lower League
1. Revise FLAG starting hands
2. Website
3. Learn Omaha
4. Learn Full Ring
5. Learn HU
1. Review every hand of each session played where I VPIP and see flop.
(NB. On hold pending new PT3 replayer. I need opponents stats overlayed on replayer in order to review the hands objectively.)
2. No looking at stats during session. This is a tilt indicator and must stop session immediately
3. Give study full 100% concentration. It is not an inconvenience!
4. Maintain Session Checklist
Championship
1. More work on understanding of Leverage.
2. Develop monthly review filters/reports for PT3
3. Think about my coaching requirements (ie how to get most from being coached)
4. Develop workflows for balanced strategy in 3 bet pots
5. Use button more
6. Adjust opening hands more depending on opponents still to act.
7. Check Raise sometimes!
Lower League
1. Revise FLAG starting hands
2. Website
3. Learn Omaha
4. Learn Full Ring
5. Learn HU
Saturday 31 May 2008
May Results
Overall May turned out to be a pretty decent month and I now class myself as a full time 200NL player.
This is the review of my May targets with comments in blue:
Premier League
1. Review every hand of each session played where I VPIP and see flop.(Thanks to PT3 for making this possible)
Started well with this but fallen away a bit lately. Need to do betterbut PT3 does tilt me sometimes. Hopefully the new build will arrive soon and hopefully replayer will be better and more reliable. Seeing the opponents stats when reviewing a hand would be awesome.
2. No looking at stats during session. This is a tilt indicator and must stop session immediately.
This is very hard for me and I would guess I acheive it no more than 30% of the time. I am working on a session review spreadsheet which will give me very accurate stats to guage this in future.
3. Give study full 100% concentration. It is not an inconvenience!
Dueces Cracked videos are great and I pause and take notes as necessary. Keep up the good work!
Championship
1. Work on understanding of Leverage.
This has helped me in MTT's but cost me in cash games. More work needed.
2. Cascade tables during session if more than 2 tables.
Disaster and binned after 4 days. You can guess where on graph above!
3. Develop session checklist.
Sorted and will start using tomorrow. Promoted to Premier League.
4. Improve session review spreadsheet.
No Progress.
5. Follow Monthly Play/Study Cycle as follows:
1 Hour Study 6 Max
4 x 1 Hour Sessions
1 Hour Study MTT1 x MTT Session
Didn't really stick to this. Is fine to do as I please as long as I continue to study.
Lower League
1. Find 200NL coach - Done
2. Monthly PT review filters - Promoted to Championship
3. Study Pocket Pairs stats by position
4. Study 3bet Pot Stats
5. Website
6. Learn Omaha
7. Learn Full Ring
8. Learn HU
Sunday 25 May 2008
Saturday 24 May 2008
Thursday 22 May 2008
Rates
I am not advertising for students at the moment but still get approached by the odd Cardrunner who has heard about me on the forums.
I would say my 50NL intro programme is pretty good value at $150 but I am struggling to find a rate that is fair to both student and coach once the intro programme is done.
Previously I have been working on an hourly rate of $50 but that doesn't work so well in practice. What happens is people book a session assuming it will be an hour, but the sessions usually run for 90-120 minutes and they (understandably) expect to pay for the first hour only.
Some of my students have now moved up to 100NL and I will probably start charging per session. Coaches usually charge 1 buy in per hour but I am thinking $95 per 90 minute session.
This works out at just under $65 per hour, which is still worth it for me despite being way below my new hourly rate at 200NL tables ;-)
I would say my 50NL intro programme is pretty good value at $150 but I am struggling to find a rate that is fair to both student and coach once the intro programme is done.
Previously I have been working on an hourly rate of $50 but that doesn't work so well in practice. What happens is people book a session assuming it will be an hour, but the sessions usually run for 90-120 minutes and they (understandably) expect to pay for the first hour only.
Some of my students have now moved up to 100NL and I will probably start charging per session. Coaches usually charge 1 buy in per hour but I am thinking $95 per 90 minute session.
This works out at just under $65 per hour, which is still worth it for me despite being way below my new hourly rate at 200NL tables ;-)
Tuesday 20 May 2008
10,000 Hand Update
Stats for my first 10,000 hands since I hired my new coach:
As you can see I am running pretty hot and no doubt the boomswitch will disappear soon but is nice to see some consistently green stats!
As you can see I am running pretty hot and no doubt the boomswitch will disappear soon but is nice to see some consistently green stats!
Wednesday 14 May 2008
Valuetown Express
Last night I had the first sweat session with my new coach.
It has been 10 days since I sent him video of my ‘A’ game and his initial recommendations were to:
Start open raising for less in late positions, but open a wider range of hands
Ignore my image when opening in late positions
Stop being ‘flop averse’
Stop missing value on later streets
In order to achieve number 4 I asked him to send me hand histories from a few of his recent sessions for me to study. Whilst looking through these hands it hit me smack in the face where I am going wrong lately.
Put simply, I have been focusing so much on the showdown value of my hand that I have not been betting these hands for value on the turn and/or river. Missing value on later streets, where the bet sizes are biggest, is such a huge leak I am surprised I have been winning at all lately!
Working with a coach who is so comfortable at this level is going to be gold. Already the change in my thought process is amazing, and I would be embarrassed to watch how flawed my ‘A’ game was just 10 days ago, but it goes to show how much confidence (or lack of it) can affect my winrate. When confidence is high I play a solid aggressive style but when confidence is low I go way too passive on later streets and this is proving to be a costly problem.
At the moment confidence is high and I get a great buzz when my new found value bets are paid off.
Saturday 10 May 2008
Running Bad
"The Professional does not run good or run bad. He does not pleasure himself or torture himself with artibituary time frames and accounting. He just plays."
-Tommy Angelo, Elements of Poker
I need to 'just play' more.
-Tommy Angelo, Elements of Poker
I need to 'just play' more.
Tuesday 6 May 2008
Missing Value
I have managed to find a new coach and he has immediately picked up on my miserable attempts to get to valuetown. This hand is a classic example of my opponent holding a hand he won't bet/bluff but will probably call a river bet given the action so far.
Ps. This hand was played AFTER I was made aware of the problem :-(
Ps. This hand was played AFTER I was made aware of the problem :-(
Friday 2 May 2008
Full Tilt Poker - I sort of apologise
No they haven't given me rakeback and yes I am still bitter!
However I am reading the FTP Strategy Guide - Tournament Edition and it is excellent.
Some of it is very relevant to cash games too and may help if you are looking to open up your game. NLHE: The Theory of Leverage, chapter by Howard Lederer, is pure gold!
However I am reading the FTP Strategy Guide - Tournament Edition and it is excellent.
Some of it is very relevant to cash games too and may help if you are looking to open up your game. NLHE: The Theory of Leverage, chapter by Howard Lederer, is pure gold!
Wednesday 30 April 2008
May 2008 Targets & Experiments
So here is my target league for May 2008. I mentioned there was just one target worthy of Premier League status but after more thought the top league is already taking shape.
Premier League
1. Review every hand of each session played where I VPIP and see flop.
(Thanks to PT3 for making this possible)
2. No looking at stats during session. This is a tilt indicator and must stop session immediately.
3. Give study full 100% concentration. It is not an inconvenience!
Championship
1. Work on understanding of Leverage.
2. Cascade tables during session if more than 2 tables.
3. Develop session checklist.
4. Improve session review spreadsheet.
5. Follow Monthly Play/Study Cycle as follows:
1 Hour Study 6 Max
4 x 1 Hour Sessions
1 Hour Study MTT
1 x MTT Session
Lower League
1. Find 200NL coach
2. Monthly PT review filters
3. Study Pocket Pairs stats by position
4. Study 3bet Pot Stats
5. Website
6. Learn Omaha
7. Learn Full Ring
8. Learn HU
Premier League
1. Review every hand of each session played where I VPIP and see flop.
(Thanks to PT3 for making this possible)
2. No looking at stats during session. This is a tilt indicator and must stop session immediately.
3. Give study full 100% concentration. It is not an inconvenience!
Championship
1. Work on understanding of Leverage.
2. Cascade tables during session if more than 2 tables.
3. Develop session checklist.
4. Improve session review spreadsheet.
5. Follow Monthly Play/Study Cycle as follows:
1 Hour Study 6 Max
4 x 1 Hour Sessions
1 Hour Study MTT
1 x MTT Session
Lower League
1. Find 200NL coach
2. Monthly PT review filters
3. Study Pocket Pairs stats by position
4. Study 3bet Pot Stats
5. Website
6. Learn Omaha
7. Learn Full Ring
8. Learn HU
Tuesday 29 April 2008
Setting Targets
I have been a bit slack in setting myself targets over the past few months and am going to make more of an effort in this regard.
In the absence of targets I tend to be a bit too results orientated and forget what I am trying to achieve. Problem is I have set myself targets in the past that were fundamentally flawed.
The poker mindset has a good section on setting targets and has helped me stop setting silly targets like “win 4+BB per 100 hands this month or else you suck” but I still I seem to set targets that are dismissed very quickly (usually a week tops!) and this is what led to the title of my blog. My wife tells me I am way too fickle (typical Tottenham fan :-) and that I need to stick to the targets I set myself. That’s the whole point of targets right?
Well yes, but some of my targets are more like experiments and if I am clearly getting things wrong I would prefer to go back to the drawing board immediately, rather than wasting time trying to achieve a target that is clearly flawed. Having said that I want to expressly state these ‘experiments’ as this forces me to review and analyse rather than just ditching them because I have a couple of bad sessions.
So here’s my solution to setting targets:
I am going to create a monthly league for my experiments with promotion and relegation depending on how they perform.
Premier League
This will be the holy grail for an experiment. If they make it to the Premier League then they have proved their worth and will feature in every set of monthly targets. It is very difficult to make it into the premier league and but once an experiment gets there only serious and consistent underperformance will result in relegation.
There is currently just one target worthy of premier league status and this will be revealed in my targets for May 2008.
Championship
This is the division for experiments battling for Premier League status. They will be thoroughly tested during the month and will have to work extremely hard to prove they are worthy of promotion. Those that do not live up to expectation may get another shot at the Premier League next month but may also be relegated to the Lower League. Experiments relegated from the championship are likely to drop out of the league altogether pretty soon after.
Lower League
This division will be made up of experiments that have tried and failed in the past, most of which claim to be sleeping giants, together with new experiments that have not yet had the chance to make the top. All experiments dream of making it big but for now it is a long way off.
So now I have a system in place. All I have to do is stick to it!
In the absence of targets I tend to be a bit too results orientated and forget what I am trying to achieve. Problem is I have set myself targets in the past that were fundamentally flawed.
The poker mindset has a good section on setting targets and has helped me stop setting silly targets like “win 4+BB per 100 hands this month or else you suck” but I still I seem to set targets that are dismissed very quickly (usually a week tops!) and this is what led to the title of my blog. My wife tells me I am way too fickle (typical Tottenham fan :-) and that I need to stick to the targets I set myself. That’s the whole point of targets right?
Well yes, but some of my targets are more like experiments and if I am clearly getting things wrong I would prefer to go back to the drawing board immediately, rather than wasting time trying to achieve a target that is clearly flawed. Having said that I want to expressly state these ‘experiments’ as this forces me to review and analyse rather than just ditching them because I have a couple of bad sessions.
So here’s my solution to setting targets:
I am going to create a monthly league for my experiments with promotion and relegation depending on how they perform.
Premier League
This will be the holy grail for an experiment. If they make it to the Premier League then they have proved their worth and will feature in every set of monthly targets. It is very difficult to make it into the premier league and but once an experiment gets there only serious and consistent underperformance will result in relegation.
There is currently just one target worthy of premier league status and this will be revealed in my targets for May 2008.
Championship
This is the division for experiments battling for Premier League status. They will be thoroughly tested during the month and will have to work extremely hard to prove they are worthy of promotion. Those that do not live up to expectation may get another shot at the Premier League next month but may also be relegated to the Lower League. Experiments relegated from the championship are likely to drop out of the league altogether pretty soon after.
Lower League
This division will be made up of experiments that have tried and failed in the past, most of which claim to be sleeping giants, together with new experiments that have not yet had the chance to make the top. All experiments dream of making it big but for now it is a long way off.
So now I have a system in place. All I have to do is stick to it!
Saturday 26 April 2008
Repping a monster or just tilting?
I don't post hands much but wanted to test out the replayer recommended by Disconnected.
Pretty cool site http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/index.php
Hopefully this will work!
Pretty cool site http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/index.php
Hopefully this will work!
Tuesday 22 April 2008
Rant: Full Tilt Poker = Bunch of C***s
They still won't give me rakeback and yes I am bitter.
Excuse they give is that I am attached to an affiliate (even though I signed up directly via their website) and when queried I got a bullshit response from their support department saying it's against privacy policy to tell me who I am attached too. They can offically go fuck themselves.
When I win the world series my mission will be to stop as many players as possible from playing on FTP - then they will regret treating customers like this :-)
Excuse they give is that I am attached to an affiliate (even though I signed up directly via their website) and when queried I got a bullshit response from their support department saying it's against privacy policy to tell me who I am attached too. They can offically go fuck themselves.
When I win the world series my mission will be to stop as many players as possible from playing on FTP - then they will regret treating customers like this :-)
Thursday 17 April 2008
Poker Break
My daughter is visiting us this week and so poker has been on the back burner. Is nice taking a break when you have started the month well ;-)
I did play for an hour or so on Tuesday to make a video for my microstakes group. For this session I wanted to demonstrate my flexible aggressive (FLAG) style which I beleive to be optimal for SSNL.
Obviously I dropped a couple of buy ins!
I did play for an hour or so on Tuesday to make a video for my microstakes group. For this session I wanted to demonstrate my flexible aggressive (FLAG) style which I beleive to be optimal for SSNL.
Obviously I dropped a couple of buy ins!
Thursday 10 April 2008
Review Cycle
So far for April I have managed to stick to the following cycle:
1 Hour - 50NL 8 Tables
1 Hour - 100NL 4 Tables
1 Hour - 200NL 4 Tables
At the end of each hour I look through all of the VPIP hands using PT2 replayer and make notes on any errors made. For the most part it has been marginal 'errors' like missed cbets and double barrell opportunties which really could have gone either way.
During a review yesterday I made a note 'spewy flop call of half buyin stack check/shove on 788 board' and realised that my pure spew plays have been few and far between this month. Also I have had no real tilt issues as the play/review cycle forces me to spend time away from the tables when I am most likely to play badly (ie after a tough losing session).
1 Hour - 50NL 8 Tables
1 Hour - 100NL 4 Tables
1 Hour - 200NL 4 Tables
At the end of each hour I look through all of the VPIP hands using PT2 replayer and make notes on any errors made. For the most part it has been marginal 'errors' like missed cbets and double barrell opportunties which really could have gone either way.
During a review yesterday I made a note 'spewy flop call of half buyin stack check/shove on 788 board' and realised that my pure spew plays have been few and far between this month. Also I have had no real tilt issues as the play/review cycle forces me to spend time away from the tables when I am most likely to play badly (ie after a tough losing session).
Friday 4 April 2008
Quick Update
Have been mega busy with coaching and poker study lately!!!
Had a bit of a software disaster with my microstakes group last week. Mikogo and Skype just couldn't handle 8 people at once so we have agreed to change the format slightly and pre-record the sessions. On reflection I think this is actually more beneficial as everyone involved can really prepare for the review sessions and I think people will get even more out of the revised plan.
50NL coaching is going very well. All my current batch of students are coming to the end of the intro course with high confidence levels and for the last few sweats they have all run like god. Happily their heater is so big it reached all the way over to me when I had a rare chance to play myself yesterday!
For April my target is to play short 1 hour sessions and review EVERY vpip hand played during that hour before I am allowed to play again. Is actually much easier than it sounds and I have started a log of errors for a permanent record.
Play - review - improve.....repeat.....
Had a bit of a software disaster with my microstakes group last week. Mikogo and Skype just couldn't handle 8 people at once so we have agreed to change the format slightly and pre-record the sessions. On reflection I think this is actually more beneficial as everyone involved can really prepare for the review sessions and I think people will get even more out of the revised plan.
50NL coaching is going very well. All my current batch of students are coming to the end of the intro course with high confidence levels and for the last few sweats they have all run like god. Happily their heater is so big it reached all the way over to me when I had a rare chance to play myself yesterday!
For April my target is to play short 1 hour sessions and review EVERY vpip hand played during that hour before I am allowed to play again. Is actually much easier than it sounds and I have started a log of errors for a permanent record.
Play - review - improve.....repeat.....
Tuesday 25 March 2008
Fun at 50NL
My 50NL coaching has started well and I have been playing some 50NL for 'research'.
I have been 12 tabling without breaking stride and it just hits home to me how important it is to be comfortable at the level you are playing. Tannenj said in his latest video how you need a bit of a swagger at your level and that is how I feel playing 50NL, as opposed to feeling out of my depth sometimes at 200NL.
The game is much less stressful when you have nothing to prove!
On a different subject, my 25NL course has not been the roaring success I first thought. Maybe I have not marketed it well enough but there was a pretty shitty post from a regular CR member, who I don't know from adam, which I think has put doubt in peoples minds.
I do not understand why this guy would post such a thing. I sent a PM asking him to explain to me privately but as expected he isn't big enough to give me a reply.
Not much I can do about it now although I must thank Pawel for putting in a good word for me on my thread and I will run the course starting this sunday even if the few that have paid so far are the only takers. It will be a good experience whatever and I have already learned some valuable lessons.
I have been 12 tabling without breaking stride and it just hits home to me how important it is to be comfortable at the level you are playing. Tannenj said in his latest video how you need a bit of a swagger at your level and that is how I feel playing 50NL, as opposed to feeling out of my depth sometimes at 200NL.
The game is much less stressful when you have nothing to prove!
On a different subject, my 25NL course has not been the roaring success I first thought. Maybe I have not marketed it well enough but there was a pretty shitty post from a regular CR member, who I don't know from adam, which I think has put doubt in peoples minds.
I do not understand why this guy would post such a thing. I sent a PM asking him to explain to me privately but as expected he isn't big enough to give me a reply.
Not much I can do about it now although I must thank Pawel for putting in a good word for me on my thread and I will run the course starting this sunday even if the few that have paid so far are the only takers. It will be a good experience whatever and I have already learned some valuable lessons.
Friday 21 March 2008
Students galore!
My ideas for coaching 25NL and 50NL have been very well received by the cardrunners community and it looks like coaching will be take up most of my poker time to the end of April at least.
In view of this I am going to play these levels for a while and use the opportunity to test PT3 some more.
The fact that I suck at 200NL has nothing at all to do with this - honest!
In view of this I am going to play these levels for a while and use the opportunity to test PT3 some more.
The fact that I suck at 200NL has nothing at all to do with this - honest!
Monday 17 March 2008
Saturday Night is Donkament Night
Have binned Holdem Manager idea as support sucks, could well be a blessing in disguise though as I am now running PT3 beta 6 with realtime HUD and this is looking awesome. PT3 is starting to excite me.
Haven't played much this weekend as I am going through a study and review phase but did manage to final table saturdays $18k guaranteed on party. Crashed out in 7th but still a nice $600 profit whilst watching the cricket!
Haven't played much this weekend as I am going through a study and review phase but did manage to final table saturdays $18k guaranteed on party. Crashed out in 7th but still a nice $600 profit whilst watching the cricket!
Thursday 13 March 2008
Trackers
Been busy with work last few days and haven't played much but lost a few buy ins since breaking the 1k day barrier.
Have managed to get most of my stats into PT3 beta and have to say that it looks very good. Am getting a bit impatient though as they keep putting the release date back. I did a sweat with a student on sunday who uses Holdem Manager and this appears to do all the new PT stuff, HUD looks good and it is ready to go.
For the sake of $80 I am tempted to just go with Holdem Manager for now as this does have a big edge over PT2.
Have managed to get most of my stats into PT3 beta and have to say that it looks very good. Am getting a bit impatient though as they keep putting the release date back. I did a sweat with a student on sunday who uses Holdem Manager and this appears to do all the new PT stuff, HUD looks good and it is ready to go.
For the sake of $80 I am tempted to just go with Holdem Manager for now as this does have a big edge over PT2.
Saturday 8 March 2008
Thursday 6 March 2008
I got lucky
Last night was weird.
First up I did a video review for one of my students and then played a couple of 200NL sessions.
First session I felt completely at ease with my game, more than ever before. I was playing well, making tough but correct folds, and making some well timed moves against decent lags. I was planning hands, sticking to my plans but adjusting where necessary, I was well and truly in the zone. I only won a buy in or so but when I finished the session I was very pleased with my play.
I then had a break and some food and later sat down to play again. I'm not sure what happened to me during the break but I came back to play some of the worst poker I have ever played!
I am not kidding, I was truly awful and I thank the poker gods for smiling on me just this once. Overall I booked a decent win for the day, yet I am really pissed off with myself for playing so bad.
I have never felt bad about winning before. I like winning.
The worst thing is that that I cannot work out why I played so bad and therefore can't think of an adjustment to make. Normally I can identify some contributory factor (eg. i was tired, i will stop playing tired) but the only thing I can think of in this case is that I started to think poker is easy and I was invincible.
Or maybe I just cannot handle sucking out in a big pot and just have to do everything I can to get the money back to the intended recipient as soon as possible. If that is true I have developed a major new leak!
First up I did a video review for one of my students and then played a couple of 200NL sessions.
First session I felt completely at ease with my game, more than ever before. I was playing well, making tough but correct folds, and making some well timed moves against decent lags. I was planning hands, sticking to my plans but adjusting where necessary, I was well and truly in the zone. I only won a buy in or so but when I finished the session I was very pleased with my play.
I then had a break and some food and later sat down to play again. I'm not sure what happened to me during the break but I came back to play some of the worst poker I have ever played!
I am not kidding, I was truly awful and I thank the poker gods for smiling on me just this once. Overall I booked a decent win for the day, yet I am really pissed off with myself for playing so bad.
I have never felt bad about winning before. I like winning.
The worst thing is that that I cannot work out why I played so bad and therefore can't think of an adjustment to make. Normally I can identify some contributory factor (eg. i was tired, i will stop playing tired) but the only thing I can think of in this case is that I started to think poker is easy and I was invincible.
Or maybe I just cannot handle sucking out in a big pot and just have to do everything I can to get the money back to the intended recipient as soon as possible. If that is true I have developed a major new leak!
Wednesday 5 March 2008
Coaching Update
I now have 4 students and we are working our way through my newly designed Introduction Programme. Is taking up a huge amount of my time but is going well and very much worth it to see how well these guys are doing already.
It seems that a lot of low stakes players, especially cardrunners members, have just a few small leaks which are stopping them beat their current level. It is just amazing what a slight change in style can do for your game and so far the adjustments I have suggested have been well received.
Yesterday I spent over 3 hours producing a session review video. I started off by importing the hand histories into poker tracker and looking for any obvious leaks. I then went through hands using the PT replayer and made notes on any hands I wanted to use in the video. Finally I recorded my thoughts on the hands in question and tried to explain my thought process.
Haven't watched it back but I know I say 'erm' a lot......hopefully that won't be too off putting for my student and he will be more intertested in what I am saying around the erms!
It seems that a lot of low stakes players, especially cardrunners members, have just a few small leaks which are stopping them beat their current level. It is just amazing what a slight change in style can do for your game and so far the adjustments I have suggested have been well received.
Yesterday I spent over 3 hours producing a session review video. I started off by importing the hand histories into poker tracker and looking for any obvious leaks. I then went through hands using the PT replayer and made notes on any hands I wanted to use in the video. Finally I recorded my thoughts on the hands in question and tried to explain my thought process.
Haven't watched it back but I know I say 'erm' a lot......hopefully that won't be too off putting for my student and he will be more intertested in what I am saying around the erms!
Monday 3 March 2008
Calling Stations and Moving Up
Have moved up to 200NL on pokerstars. Doesn't seem to be a huge difference in these games and in fact they are very similar to the 100NL games at full tilt. Table and seat selection is going to be the key.
I have noticed when moving up a level I always seem to play a little too aggressive for the first few sessions. I think this is because I am trying to prove to my opponents that I belong at this level and am not 'playing scared'.
This is not too much of a problem (better than playing too passive) but the fact is my opponents will mostly be unaware that I am new to the level. I will just be another unknown, my play will be taken at face value, and when I make a spewy 3 barrell bluff into a calling station, they will label me as an over aggressive donk!
The crucial thing here is to learn is to make adjustments and use this image to my advantage. My opponents are now much more likely to be paying attention.
I have noticed when moving up a level I always seem to play a little too aggressive for the first few sessions. I think this is because I am trying to prove to my opponents that I belong at this level and am not 'playing scared'.
This is not too much of a problem (better than playing too passive) but the fact is my opponents will mostly be unaware that I am new to the level. I will just be another unknown, my play will be taken at face value, and when I make a spewy 3 barrell bluff into a calling station, they will label me as an over aggressive donk!
Note to self:
A calling station don't fold QQ at whatever level, whatever the board and repping a monster with effectively air is therefore -EV!
The crucial thing here is to learn is to make adjustments and use this image to my advantage. My opponents are now much more likely to be paying attention.
Friday 29 February 2008
Poker CV
I would like to put up a link to a pdf document here.
If anyone could tell me how to do this it would be very much appreciated!
If anyone could tell me how to do this it would be very much appreciated!
Wednesday 27 February 2008
Top Weekend
Have been away this weekend for the Carling Cup Final. The new Wembley Stadium is truly breathtaking and the atmosphere inside was amazing, most of the noise coming from us in the Spurs end of course!
Great Stadium.
Great Day.
Great Result.
Good news on the poker too. Have finalised my 'Poker CV' and have designed an Introduction Programme for potential students.
I haven't advertised this yet but already have 3 students signed up for the six step intro programme which is cool.
Will try and get some links up on this later......
Great Stadium.
Great Day.
Great Result.
Good news on the poker too. Have finalised my 'Poker CV' and have designed an Introduction Programme for potential students.
I haven't advertised this yet but already have 3 students signed up for the six step intro programme which is cool.
Will try and get some links up on this later......
Friday 22 February 2008
Thursday 14 February 2008
Coaching
I have been thinking about coaching for some time and am almost ready to coach people playing 50NL and below. Just need to work out rates etc.
Cardrunners are looking to officially endorse some coaches and hopefully I will be getting involved with that although I am sure they will have a lot of people to choose from. My coach is on the panel so hopefully he thinks I am good enough....he didn't tell me to stop dreaming when we discussed it so that is a good start :-)
I think there should be a bit more to it as stats can be manipulated to look better than they actually are. Honest stats can also be skewed by many different variables. For example I have been experimenting a lot with different plays and styles at 100NL lately and that has a huge affect on my short term win rate. Long term it will benefit me greatly as I now have a better understanding of how my opponents are thinking and can adapt accordingly.
The site and tables you play also have a huge effect on stats. On one site my style is 18/16/5 and the same level on a different site is more like 25/21/3.
When I was first looking for coaching I just wanted to be able to play 'LAG' as I thought this was optimal. I now realise that the style you play should be flexible based on the table you are playing and more specifically the seat you have at that table.
I aim to teach my students a Flexible Aggressive style or 'FLAG'.
Just a footnote on Marc's comment on my last post regarding filters. I am still searching for a solution and PT3 is proving to be a real pain. Beta 4 has been released but they are using PostgreSQL 8.3 which is not supported by PT2 from what I understand. I spent sooooo much time trying to get beta 3 to work, and beta 4 has the potential to screw up my system yet again. I'm not going to chance it so will wait for PT3 final version to be released.
Have been using the cardrunners session replayer though which is pretty cool and highlights the pots you have been involved in.
Cardrunners are looking to officially endorse some coaches and hopefully I will be getting involved with that although I am sure they will have a lot of people to choose from. My coach is on the panel so hopefully he thinks I am good enough....he didn't tell me to stop dreaming when we discussed it so that is a good start :-)
From my reasearch is seems that potential students are particulary interested in the stats of the people offering their services as a coach.
I think there should be a bit more to it as stats can be manipulated to look better than they actually are. Honest stats can also be skewed by many different variables. For example I have been experimenting a lot with different plays and styles at 100NL lately and that has a huge affect on my short term win rate. Long term it will benefit me greatly as I now have a better understanding of how my opponents are thinking and can adapt accordingly.
The site and tables you play also have a huge effect on stats. On one site my style is 18/16/5 and the same level on a different site is more like 25/21/3.
When I was first looking for coaching I just wanted to be able to play 'LAG' as I thought this was optimal. I now realise that the style you play should be flexible based on the table you are playing and more specifically the seat you have at that table.
I aim to teach my students a Flexible Aggressive style or 'FLAG'.
Just a footnote on Marc's comment on my last post regarding filters. I am still searching for a solution and PT3 is proving to be a real pain. Beta 4 has been released but they are using PostgreSQL 8.3 which is not supported by PT2 from what I understand. I spent sooooo much time trying to get beta 3 to work, and beta 4 has the potential to screw up my system yet again. I'm not going to chance it so will wait for PT3 final version to be released.
Have been using the cardrunners session replayer though which is pretty cool and highlights the pots you have been involved in.
Friday 8 February 2008
The Gray Area
Am reading The Elements of Poker by Tommy Angelo and it is a superb book.
Here is a small extract:
"When you examine a betting decision......remind yourself that debates point to close decisions, and that close decisions matter least, and that the answer is sometimes unknowable."
I think this is very relevant to posting hands in forums such as cardrunners and my coaching group. A lot of the hands posted are very marginal all in decisions that are in the middle of the 'Gray Area'. The forum posters will debate the rights and wrongs of the play but these are not the hands we should be focusing on as 'close decisions matter least'.
In view of this I think I will start reviewing my medium sized pots. Need to give some thought to how I filter these hands though. Maybe a task for PT3.
Here is a small extract:
"When you examine a betting decision......remind yourself that debates point to close decisions, and that close decisions matter least, and that the answer is sometimes unknowable."
I think this is very relevant to posting hands in forums such as cardrunners and my coaching group. A lot of the hands posted are very marginal all in decisions that are in the middle of the 'Gray Area'. The forum posters will debate the rights and wrongs of the play but these are not the hands we should be focusing on as 'close decisions matter least'.
In view of this I think I will start reviewing my medium sized pots. Need to give some thought to how I filter these hands though. Maybe a task for PT3.
Tuesday 5 February 2008
Half-term report
I am half way through my 10,000 hands and playing 2 tables. It really is helping me develop my game a lot quicker.
I have decided that my session reviews need to be done every 5,000 hands (instead of 10,000) and I already have a number of additional things I need to work on.
Here are my 2 tabling stats so far:
And my target update:
1. Use site specific Bankrolls. 100NL FTP. 50NL Stars.
I am now playing 100NL on FTP only.
2. Play only 2 tables.
Am doing this but need to avoide net surfing, checking e-mails etc during quiet periods.
3. Range Equity Maximise
Need to focus more on opponents hand ranges.
4. Monitor and develop 3-betting strategy
Improving and ongoing.
5. Try and remove emotion from all decisions
Getting better but not there yet!
6. Watch and make notes on 1 opponent each session
I have found that focusing on 1 opponent makes me play a lot worse! This is to be changed to 'make notes on all opponents where possible and also note on possible notes they have on me'. For examole 'this guy watched me check/raise all in with nut flush draw'.
7. Practice good table selection
Ongoing.
8. Use time bank for difficult decisions
Need to do this more. Need to think much more about villains line and range of hands. Also I think I need to go to showdown less and by doing so give off less information.
9. Accept that if I play well I can still lose in the short term and vice versa
The 'vice versa' bit doesn't seem to happen that much!
I have decided that my session reviews need to be done every 5,000 hands (instead of 10,000) and I already have a number of additional things I need to work on.
Here are my 2 tabling stats so far:
And my target update:
1. Use site specific Bankrolls. 100NL FTP. 50NL Stars.
I am now playing 100NL on FTP only.
2. Play only 2 tables.
Am doing this but need to avoide net surfing, checking e-mails etc during quiet periods.
3. Range Equity Maximise
Need to focus more on opponents hand ranges.
4. Monitor and develop 3-betting strategy
Improving and ongoing.
5. Try and remove emotion from all decisions
Getting better but not there yet!
6. Watch and make notes on 1 opponent each session
I have found that focusing on 1 opponent makes me play a lot worse! This is to be changed to 'make notes on all opponents where possible and also note on possible notes they have on me'. For examole 'this guy watched me check/raise all in with nut flush draw'.
7. Practice good table selection
Ongoing.
8. Use time bank for difficult decisions
Need to do this more. Need to think much more about villains line and range of hands. Also I think I need to go to showdown less and by doing so give off less information.
9. Accept that if I play well I can still lose in the short term and vice versa
The 'vice versa' bit doesn't seem to happen that much!
Monday 4 February 2008
Going deep at PKR
Played an MTT on 3d site pkr.com on saturday. Entry was $60 and I finished 4th for $1520!
To be honest I played appalling bad for the first couple of hours but sucked out a couple of times and made the money with an average stack and just 50 people left. I have a good record of going deep from this position and happily that proved the case.
I have never played on pkr before and I thought it was good fun. No poker tracker or HUD but lots of bad players and the cash games looked pretty juicy too. Aimed more at gamers than poker players so possibly money to be made there, but multi tabling would be tough.
Also had coaching session on sunday and my 6 max game is coming along nicely, so all in all a good weekend all round :-)
To be honest I played appalling bad for the first couple of hours but sucked out a couple of times and made the money with an average stack and just 50 people left. I have a good record of going deep from this position and happily that proved the case.
I have never played on pkr before and I thought it was good fun. No poker tracker or HUD but lots of bad players and the cash games looked pretty juicy too. Aimed more at gamers than poker players so possibly money to be made there, but multi tabling would be tough.
Also had coaching session on sunday and my 6 max game is coming along nicely, so all in all a good weekend all round :-)
Friday 1 February 2008
Finding the right balance
I am a quarter of the way into my 10,000 hands mission.
I definitely feel that I am improving as a player by playing just 2 tables but at the same time I am already becoming a little impatient and want to add more tables.
The main reason for this is that the disavantage of playing 2 tables is now obvious. I am reducing my hourly rate.
I could 4/6 table 50NL and make more money per hour, however if i did this then I would not improve as a player and would have less chance of playing higher stakes, which is the long term goal.
So sacrificing some short term winnings will have long terms benefits.........time will tell.
I definitely feel that I am improving as a player by playing just 2 tables but at the same time I am already becoming a little impatient and want to add more tables.
The main reason for this is that the disavantage of playing 2 tables is now obvious. I am reducing my hourly rate.
I could 4/6 table 50NL and make more money per hour, however if i did this then I would not improve as a player and would have less chance of playing higher stakes, which is the long term goal.
So sacrificing some short term winnings will have long terms benefits.........time will tell.
Tuesday 29 January 2008
Me and computers don't mix
PT3 beta is out and it ruined my weekend!
Something went wrong during installation and....well to cut a long story short I will just say that I lost access to my PT2 database and have spent most of my waking hours since saturday morning trying to rescue it. Think I am almost there now but must have rebooted windows about 200 times in 3 days.
For the record - Vista is well and truly crap and restore points are completely worthless. My advice to anyone reading is back up your SQL database very regularly, I had mine backed up to 4th Jan 2008 and without that would have been a lot lot worse.
Something went wrong during installation and....well to cut a long story short I will just say that I lost access to my PT2 database and have spent most of my waking hours since saturday morning trying to rescue it. Think I am almost there now but must have rebooted windows about 200 times in 3 days.
For the record - Vista is well and truly crap and restore points are completely worthless. My advice to anyone reading is back up your SQL database very regularly, I had mine backed up to 4th Jan 2008 and without that would have been a lot lot worse.
Thursday 24 January 2008
January has been cut short !
I have just finished 'The Poker Minsdet' and can highly recommend this book. It was pure coincidence that I was going through my first real downswing on the cash games - downswings are much more common in large field MTT's - and the book really helped me focus on the right things.
As a direct result of reading this book I have decided to end January early and change the way I judge my results. I will no longer be setting monthly targets, such as "play 30,000 hands at 4+ BB/100", as I now understand that my monetary results are out of my hands, to a certain extent at least.
Instead I will break my results up into 10,000 hand sections, followed by extensive review. I will then set targets for the next 10,000 hands based on the review and experience of the previous section.
My targets for the next 10,000 hands are therefore as follows:
1. Use site specific Bankrolls. 100NL FTP. 50NL Stars.
2. Play only 2 tables.
3. Range Equity Maximise
4. Monitor and develop 3-betting strategy
5. Try and remove emotion from all decisions
6. Watch and make notes on 1 opponent each session
7. Practice good table selection
8. Use time bank for difficult decisions
9. Accept that if I play well I can still lose in the short term and vice versa
I could go on but that is probably enough for now.............
As a direct result of reading this book I have decided to end January early and change the way I judge my results. I will no longer be setting monthly targets, such as "play 30,000 hands at 4+ BB/100", as I now understand that my monetary results are out of my hands, to a certain extent at least.
Instead I will break my results up into 10,000 hand sections, followed by extensive review. I will then set targets for the next 10,000 hands based on the review and experience of the previous section.
My targets for the next 10,000 hands are therefore as follows:
1. Use site specific Bankrolls. 100NL FTP. 50NL Stars.
2. Play only 2 tables.
3. Range Equity Maximise
4. Monitor and develop 3-betting strategy
5. Try and remove emotion from all decisions
6. Watch and make notes on 1 opponent each session
7. Practice good table selection
8. Use time bank for difficult decisions
9. Accept that if I play well I can still lose in the short term and vice versa
I could go on but that is probably enough for now.............
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