Snap calling that offer!! Thanks mate.

October Goals Update 29.10.2013

Goal 1 - Play 70 Hours Total In October
Played 67.6 hours (96.6%). Month is 95.2% old. I hope to complete this goal by the end of playing tomorrow morning. This will allow me to complete goal 3 (hopefully!).


Goal 2 - Get 10 Reviews/Sweats In October
Done 9/10. Fantastic sweat with Typoking last night, couple of close spots and also I am starting to do some things he approves of now!! Just need to get one more in so hope to succeed!!


Goal 3 - Do Thorough Review Of Part 2 Of Coaching
Done 72mins of 95 mins = 76%. No further progress. Hoping to complete Goal 1 and then attack this one. Close but very possible.


Goal 4 - Post 2 Hands To Forum Each Playing Day
Hand #85 - AT iso BTN v CO, XB dry flop TPGK, min check raised on blank turn & small river bet...
Hand #86 - 3b BTN v UTG JTo and barrel TPMK


Goal 5 - Comment On 2 Hands On Forum Each Playing Day
#46 - OP isolates KK oop SB v UTG 4x and gets scared on turn when it is EV+ to bet imo...
#47 - OP cbets AK on AQ7tt UTG v BTN and gets raised small...

I was just chatting with a poker buddy of mine... Again the word "motivation" was mentioned and I just want to point out another misconception (mostly for my own benefit but maybe others will learn something).

My friend said that "successful people are not smarter, just more motivated".

We had a little chat about this and hopefully we agreed that this is not quite true.

My first point is that a lot of people do not define "motivated" correctly. For instance, top performers can still perform exceptionally well when they are not motivated. They must be able to as it is impossible to be motivated all of the time. The fact is is that they have a better knowledge of how to perform well at these times of low motivation. In fact this kind of proves that they must be smarter!

As part of my improvement process I am writing this to remind myself of something I learned quite recently....

It is all about the PROCESS. Learn everything you can about what makes successful people become successful. Then do exactly what they do.

I think we all get a bit caught up in the results side of things. We see poker players making thousands of dollars each month and the natural reactions are to want the same. So people try to learn the quick answers, the magic video series, the magic poker books, the magic poker thread that will give us "the answer".

The fact of the matter is, to become like these high stakes crushers (or anyone else for that matter) you have to emulate the process. Yes, you have to work your butt off, but that is not just studying strategy, you have to understand the process of becoming THAT SORT OF PERSON, you have to become all of the things that it takes to be a successful person.

I spend a lot of time working on this part of my personal make up and if you want to be successful like I want to, then I hope you will too.

TLDR

True. Vast majority of accidental lottery winners reported significant drop of the quality of life after ~1/2 year. They just don't know what to do as they enter a whole new world absolutely unprepared.

I think you will like this article http://www.theatlantic.com/education...t-math/280914/

Wow
I have been thinking about that a lot (especially when i gave private lessons in math and my "student" was like: meh what ever who cares i just cant do it.
Fwiw its applicable to almost anything in life imo. Mentality>all
Thanks for sharing

October Goals Update 30.10.2013

Goal 1 - Play 70 Hours Total In October
Played 69.0 hours (98.6%). Month is 95.2% old (I have been working this out wrong!). This is a cert. Actually wanted to complete this by this morning but I did not play last night. I ended up joining a new Skype group and also being introduced to some new material for mental game etc that was just way too interesting to put down. More on that to come...


Goal 2 - Get 10 Reviews/Sweats In October
Done 9/10. Have only got Thursday night to complete this! Actually I injured myself training this morning so maybe will not do class tonight so could do the last sweat later...


Goal 3 - Do Thorough Review Of Part 2 Of Coaching
Done 72mins of 95 mins = 76%. No further progress. Will have to forsake playing once I get the last hour of Goal 1 done to complete this. Should be ok as I can get up 04.00 tomorrow and do this.


Goal 4 - Post 2 Hands To Forum Each Playing Day
Hand #87 - JJ gets 3b oop by fish and he cbets otf + ott small...
Hand #88 - TT BTN v CO 3 way versus small cbet...


Goal 5 - Comment On 2 Hands On Forum Each Playing Day
#48 - OP cbets otf and ott with top two then nit donks ~ pot otr...
#49 - OP calls resteal w AQs versus nit and calls low dry flop w Ah...

Why Do So Many People Fail And So Few Succeed?


I have been looking into this a lot lately and I am only scratching the surface...


1. Is it because they are just not intelligent enough? I do not think so and I will write an article/summary to try to show this.

2. Is it because they are not motivated enough? I do not think so and I have stated this many times but will go into more detail if I think it is neccessary.

3. Is it because people are lazy? I actually think this is a very big yes. However, I think it needs some discussion as to why they are lazy (genetic, learned etc).

4. Is it because people have almost no understanding of the process of how to become successful? Kaboom!! I think so! Masses of TLDR articles to follow.....

October Goals Update 31.10.2013

Goal 1 - Play 70 Hours Total In October - VICTORY!!!
Played 70.7 hours (101.0%). Month is 98.4% old. Completed this last night after going to watch training with my daughter (injury is a lot better this morning btw!). Very happy to do this - celebrating small victories is important on our route to success.


Goal 2 - Get 10 Reviews/Sweats In October
Done 9/10. Well it is the last chance tonight. A few people have offered which is much appreciated.


Goal 3 - Do Thorough Review Of Part 2 Of Coaching - VICTORY!!!
Done 95 mins of 95 mins = 100%. Finished this off at 05.00 this morning (after training I might add ). The quality of this just amazes me and I have to seriously consider doing exactly the same again! Not sure how to structure this though but definitely will gain by doing the same video again.


Goal 4 - Post 2 Hands To Forum Each Playing Day
Hand #89 - Line check with TPNK and FD when raised otf
Hand #90 - 2nd pair and flush draw raised on flop (J95tt) oop SB v BB


Goal 5 - Comment On 2 Hands On Forum Each Playing Day
#50 - OP cold 4bet shoves AKo, I think 4b/call is better...
#51 - OP has TPTK with AK (after isolating villain IP) and villain donks pot otf (KTxtt) + ott...(nice reply from lumileijona in here)

October Goals - End Of Month Summary

Goal 1 - Play 70 Hours Total In October
Played 70.65 hours.
Very happy to complete this goal and will almost certainly repeat it in November and maybe even add 5 hours.

Goal 2 - Get 10 Reviews/Sweats In October
Done 10/10.
This certainly was a push and I have to say big thanks to Typoking (7), Sushiking (2) and Duse (1) for helping me to achieve this. I learned so much from these and will include some amount in November.

Goal 3 - Do Thorough Review Of Part 2 Of Coaching
Done 95mins of 95 mins.
Just brilliant. I think there is actually more stuff in that video I can learn so I think I will do something with this again, maybe a write up or something...

Goal 4 - Post 2 Hands To Forum Each Playing Day
Posted 49 hands!
This is excellent. Not just for the help I get in the forums but also for making me think how I played each hand that I marked. Will repeat this.

Goal 5 - Comment On 2 Hands On Forum Each Playing Day
Commented on 51 hands!!
Again this was really good for me. I very much doubt I helped anyone but it sure got me thinking about spots I do not think about myself!


Conclusion
This was a fantastic month for my progress to becoming professional. This is nothing to do with results. I am a firm believer that to get to the top you have to make small steps. The steps I am taking are turning me into the type of person who can succeed. Just got to keep this up and given time the dream will become reality...

Monthly graphs would be cool to see

October 2013 - Progress Summary

Bankroll: $705.69 (+$133.34)


Graph for month




Comments:
Great month results wise. Played 70 hours (as targeted) and 23,776 hands playing 4 to 6 tables. Won $133.34 all at NL10 so 13.3 buy-ins at 5.62bb/100. Happy to make this comeback in my bankroll after my failed shot at NL25 last month.
More important than this is the improvement in my skills. I think I am getting better both strategically in game and also in making myself into the type of person that can be successful at poker.
All of my monthly goals were completed although it was really tight with some.

Looking forward:
I am still thinking about this but I think my monthly goals for November will be very similar.
Assuming results carry on with the same trend I will take another NL25 shot at $750.
I might purchase the new course from ThinkItThrough/Bestpokercoaching.com which looks like a basic package for micro stakes players. I particularly like his style of teaching (which is why I am a member on his forum).
I don't think I am quite ready for the next part of my coaching package just yet, I can still work with the video I have from lesson 2.
I am going to read The Mental Game by Jared Tendler but this is more of an interest than a necessity. I am hoping it is about a lot more than tilt as this is not really a problem for me at the moment.

Weekly Progress Update 04.11.2013

Bankroll: $702.40 (+$4.41)


Graph for week



Comments: Another good week, feel like I am playing so much better than a few weeks ago. I think I ran pretty bad this last week too, lots of "Oh really" moments where villain had crazy hand at showdown and the usual AA<KK just to finish the week off. All good though, its all about playing as well as I can...

Goals
All goals were achieved for October - currently setting November's (although they will be very similar!).

November Goals

Goal 1 - Play 75 Hours Total In November Added 5 hours to last month as I have concerns about laziness on this!


Goal 2 - Do 8 Reviews/Sweats In October Dropped from 10 to 8. I think 10 was just asking slightly too many for the amount of hours I actually play. 8 should be perfect.


Goal 3 - Read The Mental Game - Tendler This is not just for poker reasons. I do a lot of work on mental approach to success so I am hoping this book will cover that. Hopefully it is not just all about poker tilt.


Goal 4 - Watch "How To Play From The Blinds" - Yourdoom Although this is probably not an immediate area of concern for my game just now it is a part of my game I would like to look at. I am sure there will be lots of stuff I can learn about general play in here too.


Goal 4 - Post 2 Hands To Forum Each Playing Day As before - GOLDEN!


Goal 5 - Comment On 2 Hands On Forum Each Playing Day As before - also GOLDEN!

---------------------------------------

I would like to remind myself here that a lot of this goal setting is all about becoming the sort of person who will succeed i.e it is not all about the goals themselves and reaching them (although I will do my best to do this too ) it is more about actually setting them and doing the sort of things poker pro's would do.

November Goals Update 4.11.2013

Goal 1 - Play 75 Hours Total In November
Played 3.35 (4.5%). Month is 11.7% old. I have been lazy already this month. I have been working on another project using time I should be using playing (I can work on project at other times).

Goal 2 - Do 8 Reviews/Sweats In October
Done 0/10. Volunteers please!!?

Goal 3 - Read The Mental Game - Tendler
Page 44/106. Wow, got pretty engrossed in this. Will demolish this one soon (reading at work ).

Goal 4 - Watch How To Play From The Blinds - Yourdoom
Well stone me! I have got issues with this already!! I thought I had bought access to this course but it appears I have not!! Need to either get access reinstated or change the goal!!!

Goal 5 - Post 2 Hands To Forum Each Playing Day
Hand #91 - J9 barrel turn with GS?, Easy call with 2nd straight when raised otr?
Hand #92 - Iso KJs COvMP, donked into...


Goal 6 - Comment On 2 Hands On Forum Each Playing Day
#52 - OP cbets KK on A96tt in 3b pot OOP....
#53 - AKo 3b SB v MP 60bb 4b....

November Goals Update 05.11.2013

Goal 1 - Play 75 Hours Total In November
Played 6.5 hours (8.7%). Month is 15% old. Some catching up to do you lazy idiot!!!

Goal 2 - Do 8 Reviews/Sweats In October
Done 0/8 - Not an offer in sight!

Goal 3 - Read The Mental Game - Tendler
Done 44/106 (41.5%)

Goal 4 - Purchase and study "No Bulls**t 6max Poker" from BPC
Had to change this goal from the Yourdoom one! This package sounds like it could be very well suited for me as it is supposed to be very basic. I have purchased it and had a brief look at the content - will get into it today...

Goal 5 - Post 2 Hands To Forum Each Playing Day
Hand #93 - KJo SB v BB three barrels with TPGK?
Hand #94 - KQo BB v SB fish...


Goal 6 - Comment On 2 Hands On Forum Each Playing Day
#54 - OP opens JJ in SB and hits set ott and calls turn raise on wet - should 3b turn imo...
#55 - OP opens JQo utg and flops straight, cbets bit small on AKTtt and bets turn 3 flush and gets jammed on, OP has NFD too = call for sure!?!?!?



Hmm 4 x and 2 x = not good enough


Had tough session this morning, was just fold, fold, fold, fold, really card dead. Then after I have pressed the "Sit out next BB" button on all tables I get two all in situations in succession!!
Off to work on the new course....

Hit me up on skype if you want me to sweat you. Just sayin

Definitely will! Thanks amigo!

Deepz. What do you play? stakes and games?

10NL and 25NL

Sick Thread, Subbed! GL! and keep at er!

Thanks for good luck!! I would imagine reading this gets pretty boring with my goal updates most days no!!!?

I was pretty ill yesterday so did not put my goal update in - I wrote half of it out and then just crashed.

I will do yesterday's shortly and then do today's. That's what a pro would do right?

THIS IS YESTERDAY'S - I WAS TOO ILL TO COMPLETE IT!!

November Goals Update 6.11.2013

Goal 1 - Play 75 Hours Total In November
Played 8.7 hours (11.6%). Month is 18.3% old. Major catching up still to do!!

Goal 2 - Do 8 Reviews/Sweats In October
Done 0/8. No further progress.

Goal 3 - Read The Mental Game - Tendler
Done 44/106 (41.5%). No further progress.

Goal 4 - Purchase and study "No Bulls**t 6max Poker" from BPC
Spent some good time on this. I have read through it twice now and when I played I tried to take some of the stuff on board. Playing very basic stuff and it seems to be working well. Not getting into marginal spots is a massive win rate booster I reckon!!

Goal 5 - Post 2 Hands To Forum Each Playing Day
Hand #95 - TPGK min raised on turn, think easy fold?
Hand #96 - AJo BB v BTN, TPTK on flop and turn - is flop check call too?


Goal 6 - Comment On 2 Hands On Forum Each Playing Day
#56 - OP isolates AQ and goes BB? w TPTK on mono and wonders whether to bet river IP! Bet for sure!!! (I think!)
#57 - OP calls 3b BTN v BB w TT (villain has 0% 3b over 35hands) and C w 2nd pair and R ott w OESD + 3rd pair = spew imo...

November Goals Update 7.11.2013

Goal 1 - Play 75 Hours Total In November
Played 11.3 (15.1%). Month is 21.7% old. I need to play a lot today while off work sick!!!

Goal 2 - Do 8 Reviews/Sweats In October
Done 0/8. No further progress. Difficult when ill. Have some offers to take up though...

Goal 3 - Read The Mental Game - Tendler
Done 44/106 (41.5%). No further progress.

Goal 4 - Purchase and study "No Bulls**t 6max Poker" from BPC
I have read this 4 times now!!! I think I do need to open my preflop ranges up a little in earlier positions, maybe even in CO (my 21/17 stats come from stealing so much I think). Really good stuff though and still taking it in...

Goal 5 - Post 2 Hands To Forum Each Playing Day
Hand #97 - Overpair raised on turn (again ), short fish.
Hand # 98 - NFD on mono + 3rd pair raised on blank turn villain short


Goal 6 - Comment On 2 Hands On Forum Each Playing Day
#58 - OP 3 bets QTs SB v BTN, cbets T62tt and is unsure on blank ott....
#59 - OP has AKo BB v MP, XC TPTK otf, XC two pair ott (could XR?), XC otr....


----------------------------

= 4
= 2
Not good enough!