Note to self:
Stop calling pre flop when you don't have good reason to.
Question for anyone reading:
When you call from the blinds do you always have a plan for when you miss the flop?
I bet you don't.
Friday, 9 January 2009
Monday, 5 January 2009
Protecting Wins
Now that I am playing semi-professionally there are a couple of things that I will to need to do more often:
Play Poker!
Make withdrawals from my Bankroll
Number 1 seems pretty obvious but I have not played as much poker as I would have liked to in the last few months due to non poker life.
When I do get time to play I do focus on short term variance a little and this sometimes stops me playing.
I completely buy in to the theoretical ‘long run’ and know that it makes no difference whether I am up or down for the day (or month) yet I still find that when my first session of the day turns a profit I am less inclined to play again. I feel I want to protect my winning day.
The exact opposite happens when I lose my first session and now I want to grind and grind and grind until I am unstuck for the day.
This is ok (but not ideal) when poker is a hobby but my semi pro budget relies on me playing a certain number of hours per week in order to hit some supernova milestone bonuses and it was obvious to me that I needed to find a way of putting the hours in.
What I have decided to do brings me nicely on to point number 2 of making regular withdrawals.
From now on I will be paying myself an hourly wage of $25 when at the tables. This a fair bit below my actual and projected hourly rates but still a decent amount to ‘earn’ and 20 hours poker per week on top of my part time office job will be more than enough for all the family to live on.
At the end of the week I will withdraw my poker salary (eg 20 hours * $25 = $500) and any additional winnings will help my bankroll continue to grow.
Now regardless of whether I am up or down for the day I will still have made money :)
Play Poker!
Make withdrawals from my Bankroll
Number 1 seems pretty obvious but I have not played as much poker as I would have liked to in the last few months due to non poker life.
When I do get time to play I do focus on short term variance a little and this sometimes stops me playing.
I completely buy in to the theoretical ‘long run’ and know that it makes no difference whether I am up or down for the day (or month) yet I still find that when my first session of the day turns a profit I am less inclined to play again. I feel I want to protect my winning day.
The exact opposite happens when I lose my first session and now I want to grind and grind and grind until I am unstuck for the day.
This is ok (but not ideal) when poker is a hobby but my semi pro budget relies on me playing a certain number of hours per week in order to hit some supernova milestone bonuses and it was obvious to me that I needed to find a way of putting the hours in.
What I have decided to do brings me nicely on to point number 2 of making regular withdrawals.
From now on I will be paying myself an hourly wage of $25 when at the tables. This a fair bit below my actual and projected hourly rates but still a decent amount to ‘earn’ and 20 hours poker per week on top of my part time office job will be more than enough for all the family to live on.
At the end of the week I will withdraw my poker salary (eg 20 hours * $25 = $500) and any additional winnings will help my bankroll continue to grow.
Now regardless of whether I am up or down for the day I will still have made money :)
Friday, 2 January 2009
December Review
Happy new year!
2008 was a good year for me on all fronts and I am looking forward to turning semi-pro!
Overall a quiet December poker wise but here is a summary of my December targets:
Continue A Fine Plan
I needed to stop looking at my results and made a plan to fine myself $10 for every time I looked at my results during a session. I can honestly say that since I made that post on 17 November 2008 I have not looked at my profit/loss for the session once. The effect this has had on me mentally is incredible and my game is heading to a level I never thought possible.
A fine plan indeed.
Start Video 'To Watch' List & Continue Poker Math Studies
I will be playing semi-pro in 2009 and am drawing up a weekly schedule to allocate time for play, study and review. Will post schedule when finished.
Work on Range Analysis & Work on Moves and Optimal Lines
Carry over to January 2009
Google Groups?
Carry over to January 2009
Review 25+ BB hands and record percentage
I failed to do this but my semi-pro schedule will allow for a 3 hour review of the previous weeks hands.
Profit Share Package?
I am about to trial a profit share coaching programme with one student.
2008 was a good year for me on all fronts and I am looking forward to turning semi-pro!
Overall a quiet December poker wise but here is a summary of my December targets:
Continue A Fine Plan
I needed to stop looking at my results and made a plan to fine myself $10 for every time I looked at my results during a session. I can honestly say that since I made that post on 17 November 2008 I have not looked at my profit/loss for the session once. The effect this has had on me mentally is incredible and my game is heading to a level I never thought possible.
A fine plan indeed.
Start Video 'To Watch' List & Continue Poker Math Studies
I will be playing semi-pro in 2009 and am drawing up a weekly schedule to allocate time for play, study and review. Will post schedule when finished.
Work on Range Analysis & Work on Moves and Optimal Lines
Carry over to January 2009
Google Groups?
Carry over to January 2009
Review 25+ BB hands and record percentage
I failed to do this but my semi-pro schedule will allow for a 3 hour review of the previous weeks hands.
Profit Share Package?
I am about to trial a profit share coaching programme with one student.
Thursday, 18 December 2008
Exciting news
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 :)
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, 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 :)
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