The Turning Point?
"Who you are to be, you are now becoming." - Eric Thomas
Winning session streak is now up to 7. I feel like I am improving exponentially with each session that I play in regards to making more and more optimal plays. I still have a handful of missteps that I need to work on but overall everything is starting to fall into place. I'm starting to absorb more and more crucial info at the table as well as when I go over my HH's with Kydd. Confidence in my play right now is at an all time high but I'm lacking in the volume department. I still need to work out a solid daily schedule to follow so that I can get rest in between the gym and my sessions. I think getting that rest will ultimately allow me to add another ~2 hours onto each of my sessions which will start to add up in the long run.
I feel that starting my staking deal on a pretty substantial downswing was actually beneficial for me. It ultimately made me develop some pretty thick skin in regards to being on the wrong side of variance and knowing that eventually it will all even out. Case in point:
Effective stacks ~430,
Hero covers
Preflop ($7):
Hero is in SB with 9
9
UTG+1 opens for $10 (he had been doing this a lot),
MP calls,
HJ calls, folded to
Hero who raises to $60,
UTG+1 folds,
MP calls,
HJ ships for $420,
Hero calls,
MP folds.
HJ insta flips up A
A
, takes off his headphones and starts pacing around the table like he was in the WSOP ME on the bubble. He then asks me "YA GOT KINGS?!"
Flop ($915): K
T
4
Turn ($915): 8
River ($915): 9
About time (justice from my Borgata KK vs 99 hand?).
HJ starts asking people at the table "WHAT AM I GONNA DO?!"
That happened on Monday and definitely gave me a big confidence boost for the rest of the week. I ended up getting paid back for this river throughout the week via numerous river suckouts by fish but it's no sweat. It's always nice starting off the week in the black so you have a nice cushion for the rest of the week.
Here's another hand where I felt myself really grow up as a player even if it doesn't seem special at all:
Effective stacks ~500,
Hero covers
Preflop ($7):
Hero is UTG with A
A
Hero opens for 25,
UTG+1,
BTN, and
BB call.
I had BTN pegged as one of the most passive players I had ever seen. He never showed one ounce of aggression in the 3 hours I had been playing with him.
Flop ($102): 7
8
9
BB checks,
Hero bets $65,
UTG+1 folds,
BTN raises to $150,
BB folds,
Hero folds.
I wanted to ask him what he had when I left but I didn't and still feel really confident in my fold. He's just never raising with a hand that I'm beating in this spot. Not long ago I would have shoved, gotten snapped by bottom two or 56, and lost $500.
It's become super apparent to me that making correct laydowns is such a crucial aspect of the game that I had been sorely lacking in. Taking everything into account before making these decisions is only going to boost my winrate.
I mentioned this in the chat thread already but now that I am gaining more and more knowledge I find it so much more mentally draining to put in monster sessions. I remember the good old days grinding 1/2 at Borgata where I could sit there for 10-12 hours without having to think about what my opponents had and hopefully luckboxing into a profitable session and dreaming about being a pro putting in 40+ hour weeks because it would be SO EASY. It's not...not yet at least.
So since I got to the Borgata on the 14th of Jan until now I have cashed 12 out of 13 sessions with a w/r well north of 10bb/hr over that time. Hopefully I can keep the momentum going this upcoming week and just start consistently crushing.
I fell short of a couple of last weeks goals but I am killing it in the diet & fitness department. I also booked a no soda last longer with Kydd where I win if he drinks soda before I do or I don't have a soda until 2015. This can only help with my 40 lbs lost bet as well. Will do a one month update on where I am weight wise on Feb 1st.
A staple of the Randal_Graves diet:
Goals for the week of 1/20-1/26
[28] Play a minimum of 40 hours
[X] Go over all recorded HH's after each session
[6/7] Go to gym 5 of 7 days
[7/7] Follow daily meal plan all 7 days
[3/7] Read "Thinking, Fast and Slow" 1 hour minimum per day
Goals for the week of 1/27-2/2
[ ] Play a minimum of 35 hours
[ ] Go over all recorded HH's after each session
[ ] Go to gym 5 of 7 days
[ ] Follow daily meal plan all 7 days
[ ] Read "Thinking, Fast and Slow" 1 hour minimum per day
[ ] No soda
I also bought a white board and hung it up in my room (childhood dream fulfilled) and will be keeping track of numerous goals and figures on it. Will post a pic of it once I have it all formatted.
Thanks for reading. Stay tuned. Good times are ahead.