Well, I am not usually a big fan of posting short term graphs/results but I think yesterday was my biggest winning day at cash games so to hell with it....



Must have been the fantastic review I received the evening before eh!!?

Funnily enough the guy who did review for me has had two +10BI sessions since too (makes mine look so pathetic ).

More of these please.....

GL sir, congrats on new best day!

Nice one!! Not losing a single showdown is an achievement in itself imo

Thanks guys! I perhaps should have said in my post that I do appreciate this is mostly variance but yh, appreciate the comments, TY!

Thanks for interest guys, I will finish it and tidy it up and hopefully you can get something from it. Please be patient though I am such a busy fellow!!!

*Busy Goat*

Goal 1 - Play 70 Hours Total
Played 37.1 hours which is 53% of target. Unfortunately 65% of the month has gone!! I am still super confident of achieving the target!

Goal 2 - Get Reviews
No further progress, one done and one/two booked in, just need to make the videos.

Goal 3 - Get Part 2 Of Coaching
It is happening tonight at 21.00 hours - very excited to get better!!

Goal 4 - Post 3 Hands To Forum Daily
Hand #27 - Two pair on 987tt flop.
Bit of a fail here!! I do my hand posting from work and not got any more hands from this mornings session to post!

Oh man!! Just had coaching session - absolutely fantastic! Just seeing how much I have got to learn fills me with desire and hope!!! More, more, more!!!

GL and subbed!... I'd suggest getting off stars and using deposit bonuses else where. Games at 888 poker are soft but software makes it hard to play a lot of tables.

Thank you Sir!!

Yeah, I hear these things. Trouble for me is I play early in mornings when there is not much action about. It is just so much easier for me to get games at Stars. I used to play at 888 when I first started and even I was beating NL20 there (some time ago though) by basically set mining!

At the moment I do not think about the money too much. I try to use a solid bankroll management and just get as many hours of play and study in that my hectic life allows me!

Appreciate the input though, thank you again.

just finished reading your blog, good luck mate, your posts are very inspiring and i used to play poker myself but atm dont have the br to play but when i get around 100$ i will start playing nl5. here are few places i find helpful



Adam Jones <-- guy really explains how to play at micro stakes.


2+2 strategy posts its old but there is alot you can use.
cant wait to get back on grinding

Hi Sir, thank you for those links. I heard of Adam before, maybe I will look at his videos sometime but I have a long list to study already!! I will certainly have a look through those strategy posts too, TY!!

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In other news, I am up ~ $140 at NL25 so far, running really well!!! This means I can be playing at this level for a good long while now I guess!!!

Man, you gotta love this game!! Just when I was getting excited it pulled my pants down and slapped my butt !!

Biggest winning day promptly followed by biggest losing day!



It was yesterday that the losses happened so not reviewed fully yet. I do know that I lost ~$150 with sets or better which makes me feel slightly better but also I realise that those are the hands I won the money with too!

Initial reactions are... Some set-ups, maybe some over confidence tilt, probably got it in too light when calling (on the other hand folding sets is meh) but the main thing is that I have just moved up and should not expect to be winning here yet anyway!

Bankroll is back to $701.30 so still 4 BI's left to shoot with.

All part of the learning curve

kkeep it up bro

Biggest losing hands if anyone would be kind enough to give me some grief please!?

Please note, I have not looked at these hands properly yet. I decided it is best to post them here without looking at them in case I do not be honest with myself and leave some out for fear of looking stupid!!

1.
PokerStars - $0.25 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

MP: $27.38 (VPIP: 17.17, PFR: 13.13, 3Bet Preflop: 8.51, Hands: 103)
CO: $41.43 (VPIP: 21.74, PFR: 11.80, 3Bet Preflop: 1.46, Hands: 333)
BTN: $25.00 (VPIP: 20.24, PFR: 16.67, 3Bet Preflop: 6.94, Hands: 170)
SB: $43.24 (VPIP: 53.37, PFR: 31.25, 3Bet Preflop: 10.59, Hands: 217)
Hero (BB): $33.09
UTG: $23.69 (VPIP: 36.36, PFR: 27.27, 3Bet Preflop: 18.18, Hands: 23)

SB posts SB $0.10, Hero posts BB $0.25

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.35) Hero has 5 5

UTG raises to $0.75, fold, CO calls $0.75, fold, fold, Hero calls $0.50

Flop: ($2.35, 3 players) J Q 5
Hero bets $1.90, fold, CO calls $1.90

Turn: ($6.15, 2 players) 2
Hero bets $4.90, CO calls $4.90

River: ($15.95, 2 players) K
Hero bets $7.90, CO raises to $33.88 and is all-in, Hero calls $17.64 and is all-in

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

2.
PokerStars - $0.25 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: $29.97 (VPIP: 17.17, PFR: 13.13, 3Bet Preflop: 8.51, Hands: 103)
UTG: $73.07 (VPIP: 21.74, PFR: 11.80, 3Bet Preflop: 1.46, Hands: 333)
MP: $23.95 (VPIP: 14.80, PFR: 12.40, 3Bet Preflop: 6.38, Hands: 258)
CO: $62.14 (VPIP: 53.37, PFR: 31.25, 3Bet Preflop: 10.59, Hands: 217)
Hero (BTN): $25.05
SB: $10.00 (VPIP: 19.47, PFR: 17.26, 3Bet Preflop: 2.60, Hands: 240)

SB posts SB $0.10, BB posts BB $0.25

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.35) Hero has Q Q

fold, fold, CO raises to $0.75, Hero raises to $2.20, fold, fold, CO raises to $4.50, Hero raises to $25.05 and is all-in, CO calls $20.55

Flop: ($50.45, 2 players) A J 9

Turn: ($50.45, 2 players) 4

River: ($50.45, 2 players) 7

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3.
PokerStars - $0.25 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 4 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: $36.93 (VPIP: 25.88, PFR: 24.71, 3Bet Preflop: 9.09, Hands: 87)
Hero (SB): $25.00
BB: $27.59 (VPIP: 36.36, PFR: 18.18, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 23)
CO: $25.35 (VPIP: 38.89, PFR: 27.78, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 18)

Hero posts SB $0.10, BB posts BB $0.25

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.35) Hero has 9 9

CO raises to $0.75, fold, Hero calls $0.65, BB calls $0.50

Flop: ($2.25, 3 players) Q 7 9
Hero bets $1.80, BB calls $1.80, CO calls $1.80

Turn: ($7.65, 3 players) K
Hero bets $6.00, fold, CO raises to $22.80 and is all-in, Hero calls $16.45 and is all-in

River: ($52.55, 2 players) T

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

4.
PokerStars - $0.25 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: $24.06 (VPIP: 13.87, PFR: 12.12, 3Bet Preflop: 3.27, Hands: 699)
SB: $36.04 (VPIP: 22.91, PFR: 18.99, 3Bet Preflop: 5.45, Hands: 183)
BB: $20.10 (VPIP: 18.18, PFR: 5.68, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 91)
Hero (UTG): $25.35
MP: $38.45 (VPIP: 16.82, PFR: 9.35, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 223)
CO: $29.47 (VPIP: 26.92, PFR: 25.64, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 84)

SB posts SB $0.10, BB posts BB $0.25

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.35) Hero has Q Q

Hero raises to $0.75, fold, fold, fold, fold, BB calls $0.50

Flop: ($1.60, 2 players) Q 9 A
BB bets $1.50, Hero raises to $4.90, BB raises to $19.35 and is all-in, Hero calls $14.45

Turn: ($40.30, 2 players) K

River: ($40.30, 2 players) T

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

5.
PokerStars - $0.25 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

UTG: $27.48 (VPIP: 18.92, PFR: 9.46, 3Bet Preflop: 2.20, Hands: 226)
MP: $38.29 (VPIP: 26.03, PFR: 19.44, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 74)
CO: $24.65 (VPIP: 16.07, PFR: 12.50, 3Bet Preflop: 4.55, Hands: 61)
BTN: $25.00 (VPIP: 19.61, PFR: 15.69, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 53)
SB: $15.51 (VPIP: 33.33, PFR: 20.37, 3Bet Preflop: 5.00, Hands: 55)
Hero (BB): $25.00

SB posts SB $0.10, Hero posts BB $0.25

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.35) Hero has 3 3

UTG raises to $0.75, fold, fold, BTN calls $0.75, fold, Hero calls $0.50

Flop: ($2.35, 3 players) A Q 3
Hero bets $2.00, UTG calls $2.00, fold

Turn: ($6.35, 2 players) 9
Hero bets $5.40, UTG calls $5.40

River: ($17.15, 2 players) T
Hero bets $8.20, UTG calls $8.20

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

6.
PokerStars - $0.25 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

UTG: $7.23 (VPIP: 34.62, PFR: 19.23, 3Bet Preflop: 4.35, Hands: 53)
MP: $32.08 (VPIP: 21.35, PFR: 19.10, 3Bet Preflop: 8.22, Hands: 183)
CO: $22.53 (VPIP: 32.56, PFR: 13.95, 3Bet Preflop: 3.45, Hands: 87)
Hero (BTN): $25.70
SB: $24.23 (VPIP: 22.00, PFR: 16.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 51)
BB: $25.66 (VPIP: 40.00, PFR: 22.86, 3Bet Preflop: 13.33, Hands: 35)

SB posts SB $0.10, BB posts BB $0.25

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.35) Hero has K A

fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to $0.62, fold, BB raises to $2.00, Hero calls $1.38

Flop: ($4.10, 2 players) Q 4 J
BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($4.10, 2 players) T
BB bets $2.00, Hero raises to $6.00, BB calls $4.00

River: ($16.10, 2 players) 9
BB bets $8.25, Hero calls $8.25

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

7.
PokerStars - $0.25 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

CO: $25.00 (VPIP: 17.89, PFR: 9.21, 3Bet Preflop: 2.96, Hands: 378)
BTN: $28.37 (VPIP: 22.20, PFR: 16.23, 3Bet Preflop: 3.51, Hands: 516)
SB: $14.12 (VPIP: 76.56, PFR: 19.53, 3Bet Preflop: 5.17, Hands: 136)
Hero (BB): $28.37
UTG: $26.60 (VPIP: 20.13, PFR: 15.72, 3Bet Preflop: 5.00, Hands: 162)

SB posts SB $0.10, Hero posts BB $0.25

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.35) Hero has Q Q

fold, fold, fold, SB raises to $0.50, Hero raises to $1.50, SB calls $1.00

Flop: ($3.00, 2 players) J 3 5
SB bets $1.25, Hero raises to $5.30, SB calls $4.05

Turn: ($13.60, 2 players) J
SB checks, Hero checks

River: ($13.60, 2 players) T
SB bets $7.32 and is all-in, Hero calls $7.32

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

8.
PokerStars - $0.25 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 4 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: $25.99 (VPIP: 16.07, PFR: 12.50, 3Bet Preflop: 4.55, Hands: 61)
SB: $28.88 (VPIP: 14.80, PFR: 12.40, 3Bet Preflop: 6.38, Hands: 258)
Hero (BB): $25.56
CO: $11.97 (VPIP: 19.47, PFR: 17.26, 3Bet Preflop: 2.60, Hands: 240)

SB posts SB $0.10, Hero posts BB $0.25

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.35) Hero has 6 6

CO raises to $0.54, fold, fold, Hero calls $0.29

Flop: ($1.18, 2 players) T 6 Q
Hero checks, CO bets $1.00, Hero raises to $3.60, CO calls $2.60

Turn: ($8.38, 2 players) J
Hero bets $9.70, CO calls $7.83 and is all-in

River: ($24.04, 2 players) 8

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

9.
PokerStars - $0.25 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

SB: $45.16 (VPIP: 17.70, PFR: 14.16, 3Bet Preflop: 4.44, Hands: 118)
BB: $29.01 (VPIP: 32.14, PFR: 7.14, 3Bet Preflop: 7.14, Hands: 28)
UTG: $20.00 (VPIP: 66.67, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 4)
CO: $10.00 (VPIP: 20.00, PFR: 13.33, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 16)
Hero (BTN): $37.64

SB posts SB $0.10, BB posts BB $0.25, UTG posts DB $0.25

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.60) Hero has J J

UTG checks, fold, Hero raises to $1.00, fold, BB calls $0.75, UTG calls $0.75

Flop: ($3.10, 3 players) J K 5
BB bets $1.25, fold, Hero raises to $5.30, BB calls $4.05

Turn: ($13.70, 2 players) 2
BB checks, Hero checks

River: ($13.70, 2 players) A
BB checks, Hero bets $2.20, BB calls $2.20

i will comment on all hands tonight!

But overall i couldnt see much wrong here!!

I would really appreciate that amigo, thanks.

Goals Update 22.09.2013

Goal 1 - Play 70 Hours Total
Played 48 hours which is 68.6%. Month is 78.3% old. Time is running out. Probably will spend almost all available poker time playing and not studying for next few days...

Goal 2 - Get Reviews
No further progress. One is done.

Goal 3 - Get Part 2 Of Coaching
Had my second lesson on Thursday night, really was amazing. Just listening to someone talk about probable villain ranges and making it sound so easy helps me realise how much work there is to do (this is good news, I am a worker!). I recorded the session and have watched part of it through again and will do a complete review of it as soon as I can.

Goal 4 - Post 3 Hands To Forum Daily
All big losing hands are in this post!!!

A general question:

You seem to donk a lot of flops with a set on wet boards, yet you c/r with a set on dry flops.

Why?

Hi Anakiir, thanks for dropping by!

Can you tell me which hands in particular because it is very likely that I have made mistakes and (obviously) have leaks.

One reason I might donk is if it is multiway and I have a station fish to act immediately after me.

I also would donk though if positions are not like this and I have reason to believe that the preflop aggressor will not cbet and I don't want it to check through.

Not really sure on dry boards! I think I am more likely to get the cbet so do not get much from leading there. As for whether to check/raise or just check/call I guess I check raise as villain is probably not barrelling the turn without equity anyway. Although if it was super dry I would think check/call is fine.

What you think Sir?

good luck, what type of hours are you putting in. I'm in a similar place as you except mostly NL6 and sngs and i hope to be high stakes in a few years, kinda difficult as im from U.S. ---> no volume on legal sites + college but i hope to move to malta in a few years. keep grindin'

Hi Sir, thx for GL message!

I am targeting 70 hours of play this month (I won't go into details again of all the other things I do with my time). I also get quite a lot of study time in too.

Good luck with going to Malta, I have been there myself. It is nice place but why are you particularly choosing there, relations or something?

Bankroll: $676.60

Oooh, only 3 more buy ins available in this shot!! Its cool, felt like I played well last night and this morning (by my standards ). Lost 1 BI mostly thanks to this bugger.....

PokerStars - $0.25 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: $28.98 (VPIP: 24.14, PFR: 10.34, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 30)
SB: $31.15 (VPIP: 27.83, PFR: 25.22, 3Bet Preflop: 9.76, Hands: 120)
Hero (BB): $25.00
UTG: $25.00 (VPIP: 21.88, PFR: 7.81, 3Bet Preflop: 8.00, Hands: 65)
MP: $11.53 (VPIP: 41.38, PFR: 17.24, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 30)
CO: $25.00 (VPIP: 18.75, PFR: 8.33, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 49)

SB posts SB $0.10, Hero posts BB $0.25

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.35) Hero has 9 9

fold, fold, CO raises to $0.75, BTN calls $0.75, fold, Hero calls $0.50

Flop: ($2.35, 3 players) 9 7 Q
Hero bets $2.00, fold, BTN raises to $4.50, Hero raises to $24.25 and is all-in, BTN calls $19.75

Turn: ($50.85, 2 players) 4

River: ($50.85, 2 players) T



Overall I am sure I need to stop bluff catching and/or calling with second best hands - villains are generally not value betting thin or bluffing enough. Something to work on....

September Goals Update 24.09.2013

Goal 1 - Play 70 Hours Total In September
Played 50.6 hours which is 72.2%. Month is 81.7% old. I start training each morning any time between 04.30 and 05.00 and start to play after that until I get ready for work. I need to make sure it is 04.30 for the next few days to help this or even not train at all. I am reticent to use an alarm clock though as I have used it once since February!!!

Goal 2 - Get 2 Reviews In September
No further progress - must record play tonight for the second one. One completed.

Goal 3 - Get Part 2 Of Coaching
Goal completed

Goal 4 - Post 3 Hands To Forum Daily
Hand #28 - River action with over pair when flush completes OOP
Hand #29 - AQs BTN v UTG goes three way, call turn and river?
Hand #30 - BB v CO XR with overs and GS, barrel turn when three flush comes but hit my over?

Motivating Yourself (And Why Most Of Us Suck At It!).

I have read a lot of material about self improvement (yeah a lot of rubbish in there too!). The one single thing which I believe has transformed me from being a waste of space into a highly productive soon-to-be champion is one easy, simple thing. I learned the Power Of WHY.

If you can learn the power of this small word then I believe you can achieve anything you really want to achieve.

I first learned about this from Tony Robbins (famous productivity coach) and also more recently from my new friend Kacper Postawski (a lot of these words are his). It has been written about in countless books and it will improve your life from one of stagnation, unhappiness and procrastination into a life of excitement, joy, power and accomplishment. From the time that I learned this concept my life has been transformed.

MOST PEOPLE WHO SET OUT TO MAKE AN IMPROVEMENT IN THEIR LIVES NEVER DO SO BECAUSE THEY DO NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND WHY THEY ARE DOING IT!

Like me, I feel sure that you can remember quite a few times in your life where you got very excited about doing something or achieving something. Like me, you probably made a few small steps towards your goals. For some reason though your drive, ambition and energy gradually disappeared leaving you feeling like a failure and no nearer your goal. Maybe, like me you were not really sure what went wrong - this makes you feel an even bigger failure. It does seem to be a natural process.

Think of how many times you have heard someone say they are going to stop smoking, going to get a better job, going to set up in business, going to get more/better relationships (!), going to get fit? I have said most of these countless times and heard others say them many more.

How many times have you seen and felt failure in these types of things? Well over 90% would be my guess!

Now, I can almost guarantee that the difference between the successes and the failures will be this one thing - THE POWER OF WHY.

Everytime we make a decision to do something there are two sides to that decision. Firstly there is the decision itself, for example "I am going to quit smoking", and secondly there is the reason WHY (you want to quit smoking) and also THE EMOTIONAL PRESSURE of that WHY.

Following is the real important part of this article.....

Whenever you make a decision, a commitment, or a goal the single most important thing which will determine the difference between success and failure is whether or not you have created a BIG enough REASON for you to succeed. THE POWER OF WHY.

You must answer this question:-

"WHY is this so important to me? WHY must I have/do it?"

I can guarantee you that if you come up with a good enough reason (or series of reasons) to reach your goal, one(s) that will give you the drive necessary and set your world alight, that it will become impossible for you to sit around and procrastinate.

Example of poor decision #1:

Decision: "I want to lose 20kg"

Standard reason: "Because I want to look thin and attractive"
Now this reason is just average, yes it is a reason but it just does not do anything. It is not emotional enough. It is almost impossible to commit to. It is just a simple, obvious reason and is doomed to failure.

New improved reasons:
I deserve to have a body I am proud of.
I deserve to be lively, energetic and HAPPY.
I deserve to feel attractive and sexy and I am sick and tired of living my life like this (I could get a bit saucy/rude here but hopefully you get me!?).
I am sick and tired of people looking at me the way they do and calling me names when I go out in public.

It sounds fairly simple. It makes a huge difference. There is a reason why people do not do it as well - we have an inbuilt fear of being honest with ourselves.

Example of poor decision #2:

Decision: "I am going to create a business that will generate me $20 000 in income per month."

Standard reason: I want/need more money.
I hear this all the time. Making money sounds exciting but it is not a reason at all. What do you want the money for - that MIGHT be your reason for your decision but MONEY itself rarely is! Another point is that generally people are comfortable with what they have so people rarely improve their financial situation.

You need to know WHAT you want and WHY you want it.

New improved reasons:
I am sick and tired of living an average life and will not stand for this mediocrity any longer -I am going to be financially free!!
My family deserves the best! I hate to watch them struggle with what little money we have.
My family and I deserve a bigger home so we can live like we are supposed to.
I refuse to stand by and watch my life and dreams pass me by.
It is my fault we are in this financial situation and I HATE it - IT HAS TO CHANGE!

When we make a decision to improve our lives we do get an overwhelming desire and drive for change, but most of the time it does not last and this is simply because we forget WHY we wanted to make the change in the first place.

Define WHY you want something, make it powerful and remind yourself of it EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Step 1: Make a decision
Decide on the result you want to achieve (Money/body/relationship).
What is the CRYSTAL CLEAR result you want to achive - BE SPECIFIC!

Step 2: Find out WHY you want it!
"Why is it so IMPERATIVE that I must have this in my life?"
"What will my life look like when I have created this change?"
"What will my life look like without this in my life?"
"How will other people be affected? Will they suffer without this or will their lives improve with it?"
"What is the most inspiring thing about this decision?"
You must figure out WHY you want to do this. If you cannot create enough GOOD reasons for it then it is most likely that you do not REALLY want it enough. So look deeper or you know what will likely happen!!

Step 3: Use the power of the "WHY" every day!
Write your reasons on a piece of paper.
Read them every day and take time to feel those powerful emotions each and every time.

I leave you with a quote from Tony Robbins:

"Human beings are capable of amazing things. If we have a big enough REASON to do something, we will go to the greatest lengths to get it."

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I hope this inspires and helps you my poker friends, it really has changed my life and I hope it does yours. All feedback most welcome. Good luck.