I also STRONGLY believe (contrary to what many would think) that as a motivated person, one can make life as an online poker player the perfect enviroment to incorporate a wellness plan and prove how discipline and planning can truly improve one's overall quality of life, and in turn directly improve one's poker performance.

BINGO! I couldn't agree more.

10/8/2014

POKER

On my 2nd biggest downswing since I started the thread. I have been running as bad as I ever have, and it definitely has led to me falling back into some old habits. There are a couple guys I play against a lot who play super exploitably and are really easy to play against, but are just hitting everything versus me for the last week. As bad as I ran in August, when I ran 22k below EV, this feels like I'm running worse all in all. I kind of had a breakthrough yesterday after watching some RIO vids and then having a good solid session, but started again today and ran bad/played bad. I am still up around 10k for the month and am probably just going to take the majority of tomorrow off and go hiking.

I can't expect things to go like last month, and I don't, so I am not feeling any sort of pressure nor do I have a monetary goal of where I would like to be at the end of the month. I kind of got over the hump financially for the time being and in that sense this swing doesn't bother me like the last one did.

What bothers me most is my inability to see the big picture when things aren't going well. I've had the most financially successful year of my life, and I still act like a baby when I run bad. Its not like it just bothers me a little either, I get tilted right away each session if a couple things go the wrong way. This is just so ridiculous given the big picture. I need to constantly remind myself to keep things in perspective, and I'm just not very good at that yet when I'm in the moment while playing.

I am thinking I just might have to take time away whenever I start to feel this way. I have pressured myself into playing every day for awhile now, and since I can afford to take some time off, I think it might be the answer to the emotions that at this point in my career I can't help but feel when things aren't going well.

I am going to dive back into MGOP later tonight and try to bang it out.

I have gotten a bunch of admin stuff done the last few days in preparation for the move, and that's actually been really satisfying. I think I've noticed it even more because I haven't been getting any satisfaction from poker lol. It's a comforting feeling to be able to derive satisfaction from getting simple tasks done, in part because I have been so focused this year on solely monetary goals.

WELLNESS

WORKOUT: ARMS (10/6)
3x10 rope pressdowns/3x10 dmbl curl
3x10 bench press/3x10 concentration curl
3x10 skull crushers/3x10 hammer

WORKOUT: LEGS (10/7)
3x10 Leg press
3x10 deadlift
3x10 glute kickbacks
3x10 calf raises

WORKOUT: BACK (10/8)
3x10 Pullups
3x10 Lat Pulldowns
3x10 T-Bar Row
3x10 Dumbell row

10/13/2014

POKER

I have been going through some of the same stuff, not playing that well and not having a lot of fun playing, so I have been taking some time off and doing other things. It's good because I actually have a lot of stuff I need to take care of before I move, and it feels pretty good to have some time away from the grind. I have been waiting for the motivation to hit me, but it hasn't yet. It also means I'm still at 10k on the month, which I'm fine with, with a big breakeven stretch. I am a lot farther ahead mentally then I was a couple days ago.

I am going to try to have a very productive day away from the tables today, and come back fresh tomorrow, motivated and ready to work. I didn't go to the gym all weekend, and didn't put in quality hours working, so it's not like I'm going to get motivated doing that. Laziness breeds laziness, at least with me. I need to be productive in all areas in order for me to be productive at work. But I enjoyed hanging out with my girl yesterday watching football all day. I'm also in the middle of Twin Peaks and enjoying it so much. It's definitely one of the best shows I've ever seen.

That said I had a good couple days. I went on a really good hike and did some work away from the tables, and did sweat sessions with a friend. A good portion of my packing is done and now I'm just mainly waiting on some banking stuff, and then I'll have pretty much everything in order for Mexico.

I did deadlifts and hamstring curls the other day, and my hamstrings have been really sore since then. I have been stretching them out and need to keep that up.

I'm heading into NYC tonight to watch MNF tonight with one of my best friends, so I'm excited for that. Trying to fit in seeing everyone before I go.


WORKOUT: CHEST (10/10)
Flat dumbell (1 arm at a time) 3x10
Incline dmbl (1 arm) 3x10
incline barbell 3x10
flye machine 3x10

Got to stay motivated! Watching motivational videos on YouTube helps me when I'm feeling lazy. Check out MuscleProdigyTV, he has some really good stuff.

Where exactly are you going in Mexico. I'm in Socal. My wife is Mexican. We went down a month ago or so to scout out some possible spots to buy something so we can go down there a couple times a month. Plus it would serve as a possible retirement place down the road.

10/15/2014

POKER

Up until today this has been a pretty tough month for me mentally. I was up 20k and dropped almost all of it. I haven't put in nearly the volume I had been the previous months, but I kind of expected that.

I make it a point not to talk too much about my personal life, but I have been going through some stuff that has been bothering me, and I know its affected my effectiveness at work (I don't know how much, but I know its played a significant part). Anyways, I had some breakthroughs today, both personally and professionally, and I feel very refreshed and fine with where I'm at. I am in a position now where if I don't make any money for awhile it is ok, and there is great comfort in that. But my confidence is back, and that was the biggest thing I had been missing at work lately.

I'll put up my stats anyways, since I haven't done it in awhile and I want to keep myself accountable. I am still shooting for 30k+ on the month. I know I'll have to get hit with some rungood in order to get there, since I will be very busy getting ready for my move, but I still like to have a goal in my mind.



WELLNESS

ARMS (10/13)
curls 3x10/pressdowns 3x10
pullups 3x10/bench press 3x10
skullcrushers 3x10/concentration 3x10
hammer curl 3x10

LEGS (10/14)
hamstring curls 3x10
squatlantis squats 4x10-12
kickbacks 3x10
quad extensions 3x10
leg press 3x10

BACK/SHOULDERS (10/15)
pull ups 3x10
t-bar row 3x10
dumbbell row 3x10
side delt raises 3x10
front raises 3x10
rear delt machine 3x10

thanks man i'll check it out

I'm curious why you play such a spread of games. I can see that the volume isn't close but why open a 50nl game at all at this point? Is it just when waiting for bigger games or are you testing different lines...?

Keep crushing OP, very impressive results. I wish you to end your downswing very soon Gl!

Good read. Started playing American site recently myself. Playing the same stakes. GL. Sub'd

Thanks guys.

Played some last night and this morning and feel better than I have all month mentally. I also narrowed down my apartment hunt, watched 2 RIO vids, and got some stuff up on craigslist. Going to dig in for a long weekend of grinding and expecting good results if I keep this same mentality.

very nice blog. keep it up!
How do you like RIO? I would like to sign up at a site, but dont know exactly which one.
Or read/study Jandas book. Any suggestions?
Cheers,
Finja

You'll be back on track in no time. Tough stretches are inevitable but it seems like you are doing a good of not making it worse than it needs to be and having a good self awareness about personal life bleeding over into your grinding mindset.

(not that being up 10k halfway through the month is really that tough!)

Thanks. I def recommend RIO

Thanks. I was happy that I stayed cognizant and realized that I was playing bad. However, I want to be careful I don't want to just label it as a bad stretch due to some negative personal stuff and move on. I really need to continue to learn from my mistakes. There was some terribad play in there. I really do think thru good old trial and error I discovered a couple techniques to deal with tilt pretty effectively though, which is a good feeling.

I had a big day yesterday, almost all HU. I want to make sure to get myself into the right mindset before starting a 6max session. I generally will always spew off a couple stacks before adjusting my aggression back to 6max levels, and I am hoping that by posting here I am doing just that.

Whats the thought process behind lifting every day instead of the standard 3x p week?

pro athletes lift 4x per week during the off season and take one day off completely and do intense cardio which would be muscle building for most humans on the other 2 days

just thought id chime in

His workouts are not that hard. Doing them everyday just builds him back up stronger from the base. Just like army training. Probably the best thing to do after injuries. I ****ed my ligaments in my left arms and im thinking of doing that once the pain is gone

10/20/2014

WORKOUT: CHEST (10/16)
1 arm dmbl press 3x10
1 arm incline 3x10
incline bench 3x10
flye machine 3x10
12 min cardio

WORKOUT: SHOULDERS (10/20)
dmbl press 3x10
side delt raise 4x10
front barbell raise 3x10
rear delt machine 3x10 drop set

POKER

Going badly, still breaking even, up like 10k on the month still. Um I honestly have to say I've kind of come to terms with it and its not really bothering me. I have kind of moved into full on "moving" mode, and I have a lot to do for the move, so it's good anyways. Plus I'm reading 2 poker books so I think it will help for when I get back on the full on grind once I'm settled in Rosarito.

I got some heads up coaching from a good friend who came over all day on Saturday, was super helpful.

That's pretty much it poker wise, not feeling as motivated as I should I suppose so will re-evaluate sometime later on.

Looking for some wisdom... This looks like a big problem to me at first glance. Then my brain says "but I should be losing in the blinds cause I'm folding often". But then I look at that VPIP from the SB and it says WAY to high!

Have any thoughts for me? Mind sharing what your blinds win rate looks like?

Apologize if it is out of line posting this on your thread.

[IMG][/IMG]

Hey man,

Everyone loses out of the blinds, so don't worry about that. But yeah why is your vpip so high from there? You should be really tight out of the blinds, especially starting out, because you have to play OOP postflop. Only thing I can think of is that there are a ton of limped pots at 50nl and you complete a lot? Other than that things look ok. You might want to tighten up a little more utg. I can PM you later on with my SB stats to compare.

Lies, I don't lose in the blinds..



Edit: Wait am I a nit?

I'm not sure you understand how the blinds work. If you folded every hand you would be -50bb/100 in the small blind and -100bb/100 in the bb. Your almost break even in the blinds... It's a small sample but your actually doing great although seems like your flatting way to much in the sb. My coach actually recommends opening like 45% of hands in sb but that is if first in. You should probably be 3b'ing or folding a lot of the hands your flatting. Sorry to derail your thread Clyde. That is why you should pm him this or keep it in your own thread

edit: i just noticed that was your bb/hand which ive never seen before so maybe you are losing a lot more then i thought. Ive always just seen bb/100 totals by position and not per hand so sorry. I do agree though if their are a bunch of limpers it's fine to limp along with hands that play great MW vs a lot of fish. I doubt that is happening as much as your calling in sb though. If it's only one guy that limped still much better to raise one limper, 3b or fold imo.

edit2: Your a beast Clyde and enjoy your thread

Is this Real? You are making like at least 30-40k a month playing poker online??? Very encouraging post and congratualtions with all of the success. I just started getting into poker in the summer. I was unemployed and had no money to my name so could only play 2 to 5nl. I was making like 30bb/hr on 2nl. lots of all in crazy fish. Now that I am employed with a good job I'm about to make a sizeable deposit and try grinding up on nights and weekends. starting low again at 5-10nl cash games to establish a win rate and move on from there. This post has got me excited about learning and getting better for sure.

I should prob mention that 30bb/hr was 2-3 tabling (i'm pretty new) so prob like 15-20bb/100hands. I felt like this was a good start. (yes i know i cannot expect that in higher levels/ with a bigger sample size). Nonetheless It is encouraging to see someone who had worked hard and had so much success. It can be hard to find people that are supportive of your efforts to make money playing poker outside of the poker community. Most people I know are concerned I am going to become a compulsive gambler degenerate I think haha. Just since I have become so interested in the game.