A man of his word, wp

Nearly shipped it again today, finished 3rd for $1200 ish. Always good to keep your promises, guys!

Most likely won't be grinding tomorrow, so can do my monthly recap now. That being said, I wasn't supposed to grind today either. Woke up this morning to the sound of my GF getting ready for an overtime shift, so I thought, 'Well, I guess I'll go to work too.'



MTTs: 739
Hours: 187
Profit: $23,196



No huge binks this month, but lots of little/medium ones. My biggest score was ~$9k on Winamax (9th) with $70k up top. Being reminded of that is mildly upsetting, despite another solid month I can't shake the feeling that it could have been much much better.

Some of the other close calls include (First place prize in parentheses):

59th $530 BB ($105k)
67th $530 BB ($75k)
13th Winamax Series Event ($40k)
35th $109 Sunday Cooldown ($25k)
31st Super Thursday PKO ($35k)
89th $109 Sunday Cooldown ($18k)

That's from my last monthly update post. As for April?

Stars: 12.02 EV BB/100 ($65 ABI)
Non Stars: 10.83 EV BB/100 ($116 ABI)

We did it, fam. Got the EV BB in double digits for both PS/non PS sites. That's probably a big reason why I had less variance/more consistent profit in April compared to previous months. Gonna try to do that again in May, or at least for the 1.5 weeks I'll be grinding before we head off to Japan/Korea.

That does mean I'll be missing all of SCOOP. I guess I don't have to, I could always spend a day or two grinding from the hotel room but that's probably not the best use of my vacation. At least not while we're in Japan. I'm far less excited about the week we're spending in Korea, so perhaps I'll squeeze in a session then.

For those of you who have visited either country, any suggestions/recommendations? I'm mostly interested in eating delicious food and playing with cute animals.

I just went through your last three threads and wow what a ride. (Had a lot of time on my hands while wife is sleeping on the couch).

I've been around a long time and remember reading your blogs as a 9-man grinder. Cool to see all of your progress and hope it continues.

I think you might just have inspired me to finally get back into the gym. Have fun with your GF in Japan.

Glad you enjoyed the threads! I'm somewhat tempted to go back and read my first PG&C, but honestly I'm a bit scared as well. Just sure I'll find so many cringe-worthy posts so I'll save that after I have a huge bink when I feel good about myself.

Side note: I also do most of my 2+2'ing when the GF is asleep, good minds think alike.



Made a little bit of money on Saturday, enough to push me past the six fig threshold for the year.



Forgot to post it here tho before Sunday's grind, and in the back of my mind my goal was to not lose $1500 to fall back below the $100k mark. Ended up losing only $1400, ship.

Made all of that back today but I'm still in sour grapes mode. Unless I finish my session with a bink it's the mood I find myself in immediately after the grind; I take a couple of moments to stew about 'what could have been' and then after a deep sigh/shower/gym session/food I move on with my life. Today's grapes are courtesy of two FT Bubbles with a combined $35k up top. Blah. Still if I zoom out a bit, month is decent so far and if I zoom out a bit further, year is excellent.

Won't grind tomorrow, but will put in big Wed/Thurs sessions as they're my last ones before I head off to Japan.

Congrats on the great year so far!

Horrific session on Wednesday, probably my least enjoyable grind in quite a while. Spent most of the day looking like this:



Was hoping to get in at least a half day's work on Thursday, but no dice -- I'm a procrastinator and left myself with too much pre-trip stuff to do. Off to Japan in a few hours, promise to take a ton of pics and then post the better ones here. This thread has been far too much 'tournaments' and I need to fill the 'trip report' and 'tasty food' quota that was promised in the title.

I love japan, give us the biggest trip report ever <3
Sidenote: does that mean you miss scoop?

Hey Aaron,

I have some questions regarding the poker setup you use while traveling. I'm planning some traveling and online poker playing as well. Do you play from a laptop or do you use a monitor? If you do have a monitor do you travel with it or do you buy a new one in a country where you will be staying some longer time.Do you have any back-up connections you use while grinding in a foreign country? What specific laptop/monitor type do you use? Thanks for the answers and Gl on the grind.

Yup, missed all of SCOOP. However, a breakeven SCOOP isn't a terrible result.

Hola

Haven't had a desktop since 2013, I found it too much of a hassle to move around with it so I switched to mediocre laptops ever since. Would simply buy a used monitor in my new location, hook up the laptop, and be good to go. But after I started playing MTTs, I learned that my mediocre laptops weren't able to handle multiple sites and my friend convinced me to buy a better one, one that I wouldn't throw away after 1-2 years. So now I've got a Dell XPS 15, it's about a year old and I've had no issues with it so far.

Re: Backup, I usually get some sort of simcard/USB stick in Mexico/Thailand and that works fine in terms of internet. Problem is, the issue is more often power/electricity and a few times last year I've found myself grinding in dark, praying my laptop battery would make it through the night.

Been home for a week, but I've had some trouble writing the trip report because there's simply sooooooooo much. Guess I'll split it into parts, not sure how many parts there will be, but we will find out together.

Japan/Korea TR, Part I: Introduction and Sushi

Spent the first week in Tokyo, and it was easily my favorite city of the four we went to (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Seoul). While Tokyo was extremely busy, people seemed to have a strong sense of order -- No one was clogging up the roads trying to take selfies, look at maps, or dawdling around. I dig efficiency. Streets were super clean as well, as Japan doesn't have many trash cans and requires more on its population to either leave their trash where they purchased it, or take it home with them. Weird but very cool.

We ate a lot of delicious meals this trip, but Sushi deserves its own entry.

Sadly, our first Sushi spot wasn't the greatest. It wasn't bad, but both my GF and I aren't the 'mall sushi' type, we've grown accustomed to eating higher quality stuff and so we were disappointed that the first restaurant wasn't special. Just tasted like an average place in Vancouver. I speculated that perhaps we wouldn't be wowed by Japan, since we were used to eating at the best places back home. I was wrong.

Our second foray into real Japanese sushi was at Sushi Dai, at the Toyosu fish market. We had to wait for two hours, but it was worth it.



The semi-fatty tuna (left column, middle row) might be the best individual piece of fish I've ever eaten. Word of advice for those visiting Tokyo: there are now two fish markets and I'd recommend the older one (Tsukiji) as it has more options for restaurants, trinkets, etc. Other one is only better if you're looking to participate in the daily Tuna auctions.

We had a second Omakase at Sushi Tokyo Ten and it was on par with the quality from Sushi Dai.



My favorites at this restaurant were the horse mackerel (bottom left), marinated squid (top left) and partly seared red snapper (right side, 2nd from the top).

But we weren't always fancy. One morning we decided to grab a light snack from the local supermarket (Life Market), and were surprised to find out that their tuna roll was really, really good. I want to add the caveat that in the US/Canada, I wouldn't be caught dead eating supermarket sushi. That **** is gross. But in Japan? Shockingly good. I guess it makes sense as the freshness of the fish is an integral part of great sushi, and Japan obviously has some of the freshest on the planet -- even in supermarkets. If I was visiting Japan on a budget, I'd have my lunches from that specific market as it's very affordable and unless you're a sushi snob, the quality will be on par with anything you've ever had. Unfortunately I didn't snap a picture of the tuna roll, because before we bit into it, I didn't think it was worth the data storage. How was I supposed to know this 'mall sushi' would change my life?!

Will try to write/post Part II on Monday, and the topic will be 'Moar Food.'

Hey Aaron,

Thanks for the reaction man on the set-up, really helpful! Just one more quick question: did you buy the 4k (3860x2160 pixels) Dell XPS 15 (https://www.coolblue.nl/en/product/8...-cnx97005.html) or the regular (1920x1080 pixels) Dell XPS 15 (https://www.coolblue.nl/en/product/8...nx97001.html)?

The more expensive one, I think. Definitely bought the most expensive model they had on the floor, I distinctly remember being trolled by my friend about the minimal difference in price considering the tens of thousands of equity that could possibly be at stake.

Japan/Korea TR, Part II: Other Japanese Food Adventures

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the lion's share of my excitement for the trip revolved around food. And while eating some top notch sushi (Check!) was my number one goal, I was looking forward to all the other dishes that Japan had to offer. Quick aside here, I think that many countries are 'one note' when it comes to food, in that everything is similar in flavor, composition of ingredients, etc and because of that, dining in that region can get old, fast. A decent example is Mexico -- Don't get me wrong, I love Mexican food and it miiiiiiiight be my favorite cuisine, but the majority of dishes are 95% identical. Japan, on the other hand, had an extensive amount of distinct dishes, including Wagyu Beef, Ramen, Soba, Udon, Teriyaki, Tempura, Tonkatsu, Japanese Curry, etc.

Ramen

Let's start in Osaka, at Moeyo Mensuke, with the greatest bowl of ramen I've ever had. Their specialty was Smoked Duck Ramen, and while the portion of duck was a bit small, it was still able to add an amazing smoky, fatty, rich flavor to the soup. Was lucky enough to get the 'Jesus seat,' the one directly in front of the chef slicing up the duck, and at one point I jokingly pushed my bowl towards him in hopes he would drop in a couple more slices of duck. He laughed, I smiled, and I pulled the bowl back towards me to keep eating. A few minutes later he slid a small plate to me with the ends of the duck breast. Vaaaaaaamos!





Had a few other bowls of Ramen on the trip, my GF's favorite was the one from Tsuta (Tokyo) which actually uses Soba noodles/calls itself a Soba restaurant. People told me it's Ramen but maybe it's Soba, not quite sure. I wasn't a huge fan of my Shio flavor, but in the restaurant's defense, I wasn't hungry -- My GF and I had eaten lunch only an hour prior, but based on the limited availability at Tusta, we rushed over for a second lunch. Also, I just might not like Shio ramen; I usually get Miso broth and Tsuta didn't have that option. My GF went with the Shoyu variety and loved it. She kept talking about it afterward, and was ecstatic to discover a few bowls of their Instant Ramen at the 7-11 near our hotel. "Whatever, it's just Instant Ramen," I thought. "And it wasn't even that good in the first place."

Wrong. Later that night she cooked it up and when I tried a bite, I was blown away. It was extremely flavorful, the noodles had a restaurant style consistency, and nothing tasted artificial. I immediately ranked it as the best instant ramen of my life, and it's probably a top ten bowl even when compared to the ones I've eaten in restaurants.




Wagyu Beef

Before this trip, I had only been in Japan once -- in the airport -- but during that layover, I ate Wagyu beef on a stick and despite it being just "meat on a stick served in the food court," it was delicious. I wanted more. We weren't able to find it in the airport, but did go to an upscale resteraunt that specialized in Wagyu beef.




Simple, but very tasty. My GF had the 'ladies cut' or whatever, I opted for the Wagyu Beef/Kobe Beef combination because...



Wasn't too expensive either, around the same price that I'd pay for a steak in Canada, but significantly better quality. Each bite -- I don't know if I'd even call it a bite because the meat is so tender -- melts in your mouth and the fat/juice coats your taste buds. Only concern is that I might have ruined myself for future meals. Haven't had a 'regular' steak since being back in Vancouver, but I'm quite sure it's going to taste like a leathery shoe.

Udon

Udon isn't as popular in the US/Canada, but I'm somewhat familiar with it and it's "aight." I do like how the noodles are thicker and soup on a cold day is always nice, but I've never thought "Oh man, you know what I'm craving right now? Udon."

After this trip, that changed.




But these pictures might not move the needle, Udon is not a photogenic food. Certainly not Instagram worthy, as Udon just looks like boring noodles in a mostly clear broth. That's what I thought too. But something about it was extremely comforting, the broth was both rich and light, the chew of the noodle was very satisfying. The fact that the Udon was served with a side of tempura was an added bonus, giving the dish even more distinct flavor/texture combinations.

Tempura/Kushiage

After enjoying tempura with our Udon, we didn't actively seek out any tempura restaurants. Towards the end of our trip, however, we decided to try something different when we stumbled upon a Michelin Starred restaurant called 'Hozenji Yokocho Wasabi.' It served Kushiage, a specialty in Osaka, which is basically a cross between Tempura and Tonkatsu, where meats and veggies are battered/fried and served on a stick. Sounded fun.



And honestly, it was fun. We were given more than a dozen different varieties of fried skewers, with detailed explanations and dipping sauces. The batter wasn't too thick, the flavors of high end ingredients were able to shine through, and from the perspective of wanting to try new things, this was fantastic. But was it worth it? No. Price point was rather high for what was essentially a fried food buffet, I think it was about $200 for the two of us. I'd be down to do this again, but would recommend avoiding a Michelin Starred restaurant and instead going with the cheaper/bar food route.

Tonkatsu

While the aforementioned fried food seemed to be poor value, the Tonkatsu was not. Cost us $15-$20 per person and given the unlimited side dishes (Soup, cabbage, rice) and how expensive Japan can be, that's quite a deal.





My favorite version was from Katsukara in Kyoto. I usually think of pork as a drier meat, but this was tender. The batter gave it a nice crunch, without being too oily. The spicy mustard/horseradish condiment had a wasabi-like kick to it, and I loved it so much that I scoured the local market for a tube to take home. Oh, and Katsukara gives the customers a mortar/pestle so you can make your own sesame paste to add to the traditional dipping sauce. I don't know if that did anything to help the overall flavor of the dish, but it certainly made the experience more fun and memorable.

Snacks

When I wasn't eating full on meals in Japan, I was finding time for snacks. Snacks were everywhere, from local markets, to convenience stores, train stations, vending machines, etc.



Some of the highlights include:
- An Oyster from the Tsukiji Fish Market that was the size of my fist
- Mini Chocolate Panda Biscuit Cookies, with both milk and dark chocolate
- Super crispy and light Gyoza
- Veggie tempura chips that somehow retained the integrity of the vegetables
- Ham/Egg Breakfast Bread
- Honey Ice Cream Parfait
- Half loaf of "Choco Bread" that was effectively a massive crossaint
- Fried cheese stick with french fries
- Matcha Green Tea Panna Cotta

I'm surely missing some stuff, but I think that's enough food content for now. Not surprisingly, I've put on some weight because of this trip, and will have to buckle down to get back to pre Japan fitness levels. But that's a rant for another time. Will get to Part III this week, and probably mix in a poker update too.

The more expensive one, I think. Definitely bought the most expensive model they had on the floor, I distinctly remember being trolled by my friend about the minimal difference in price considering the tens of thousands of equity that could possibly be at stake.

Japan/Korea TR, Part II: Other Japanese Food Adventures

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the lion's share of my excitement for the trip revolved around food. And while eating some top notch sushi (Check!) was my number one goal, I was looking forward to all the other dishes that Japan had to offer. Quick aside here, I think that many countries are 'one note' when it comes to food, in that everything is similar in flavor, composition of ingredients, etc and because of that, dining in that region can get old, fast. A decent example is Mexico -- Don't get me wrong, I love Mexican food and it miiiiiiiight be my favorite cuisine, but the majority of dishes are 95% identical. Japan, on the other hand, had an extensive amount of distinct dishes, including Wagyu Beef, Ramen, Soba, Udon, Teriyaki, Tempura, Tonkatsu, Japanese Curry, etc.

Ramen

Let's start in Osaka, at Moeyo Mensuke, with the greatest bowl of ramen I've ever had. Their specialty was Smoked Duck Ramen, and while the portion of duck was a bit small, it was still able to add an amazing smoky, fatty, rich flavor to the soup. Was lucky enough to get the 'Jesus seat,' the one directly in front of the chef slicing up the duck, and at one point I jokingly pushed my bowl towards him in hopes he would drop in a couple more slices of duck. He laughed, I smiled, and I pulled the bowl back towards me to keep eating. A few minutes later he slid a small plate to me with the ends of the duck breast. Vaaaaaaamos!





Had a few other bowls of Ramen on the trip, my GF's favorite was the one from Tsuta (Tokyo) which actually uses Soba noodles/calls itself a Soba restaurant. People told me it's Ramen but maybe it's Soba, not quite sure. I wasn't a huge fan of my Shio flavor, but in the restaurant's defense, I wasn't hungry -- My GF and I had eaten lunch only an hour prior, but based on the limited availability at Tusta, we rushed over for a second lunch. Also, I just might not like Shio ramen; I usually get Miso broth and Tsuta didn't have that option. My GF went with the Shoyu variety and loved it. She kept talking about it afterward, and was ecstatic to discover a few bowls of their Instant Ramen at the 7-11 near our hotel. "Whatever, it's just Instant Ramen," I thought. "And it wasn't even that good in the first place."

Wrong. Later that night she cooked it up and when I tried a bite, I was blown away. It was extremely flavorful, the noodles had a restaurant style consistency, and nothing tasted artificial. I immediately ranked it as the best instant ramen of my life, and it's probably a top ten bowl even when compared to the ones I've eaten in restaurants.




Wagyu Beef

Before this trip, I had only been in Japan once -- in the airport -- but during that layover, I ate Wagyu beef on a stick and despite it being just "meat on a stick served in the food court," it was delicious. I wanted more. We weren't able to find it in the airport, but did go to an upscale resteraunt that specialized in Wagyu beef.




Simple, but very tasty. My GF had the 'ladies cut' or whatever, I opted for the Wagyu Beef/Kobe Beef combination because...



Wasn't too expensive either, around the same price that I'd pay for a steak in Canada, but significantly better quality. Each bite -- I don't know if I'd even call it a bite because the meat is so tender -- melts in your mouth and the fat/juice coats your taste buds. Only concern is that I might have ruined myself for future meals. Haven't had a 'regular' steak since being back in Vancouver, but I'm quite sure it's going to taste like a leathery shoe.

Udon

Udon isn't as popular in the US/Canada, but I'm somewhat familiar with it and it's "aight." I do like how the noodles are thicker and soup on a cold day is always nice, but I've never thought "Oh man, you know what I'm craving right now? Udon."

After this trip, that changed.




I fully understand that for many readers, these pictures might not move the needle. Udon is not a photogenic food. Certainly not Instagram worthy, as Udon just looks like boring noodles in a mostly clear broth. That's what I thought too. But something about it was extremely comforting, the broth was both rich and light, the chew of the noodle was very satisfying. The fact that the Udon was served with a side of tempura was an added bonus, giving the dish even more distinct flavor/texture combinations.

Tempura/Kushiage

After enjoying tempura with our Udon, we didn't actively seek out any tempura restaurants. Towards the end of our trip, however, we decided to try something different when we stumbled upon a Michelin Starred restaurant called 'Hozenji Yokocho Wasabi.' It served Kushiage, a specialty in Osaka, which is basically a cross between Tempura and Tonkatsu, where meats and veggies are battered/fried and served on a stick. Sounded fun.



And honestly, it was fun. We were given more than a dozen different varieties of fried skewers, with detailed explanations and dipping sauces. The batter wasn't too thick, the flavors of high end ingredients were able to shine through, and from the perspective of wanting to try new things, this was fantastic. But was it worth it? No. Price point was rather high for what was essentially a fried food buffet, I think it was about $200 for the two of us. I'd be down to do this again, but would recommend avoiding a Michelin Starred restaurant and instead going with the cheaper/bar food route.

Tonkatsu

While the aforementioned fried food seemed to be poor value, the Tonkatsu was not. Cost us $15-$20 per person and given the unlimited side dishes (Soup, cabbage, rice) and how expensive Japan can be, that's quite a deal.





My favorite version was from Katsukara in Kyoto. I usually think of pork as a drier meat, but this was tender. The batter gave it a nice crunch, without being too oily. The spicy mustard/horseradish condiment had a wasabi-like kick to it, and I loved it so much that I scoured the local market for a tube to take home. Oh, and Katsukara gives the customers a mortar/pestle so you can make your own sesame paste to add to the traditional dipping sauce. I don't know if that did anything to help the overall flavor of the dish, but it certainly made the experience more fun and memorable.

Snacks

When I wasn't eating full on meals in Japan, I was finding time for snacks. Snacks were everywhere, from local markets, to convenience stores, train stations, vending machines, etc.



Some of the highlights include:
- An Oyster from the Tsukiji Fish Market that was the size of my fist
- Mini Chocolate Panda Biscuit Cookies, with both milk and dark chocolate
- Super crispy and light Gyoza
- Veggie tempura chips that somehow retained the integrity of the vegetables
- Ham/Egg Breakfast Bread
- Honey Ice Cream Parfait
- Half loaf of "Choco Bread" that was effectively a massive crossaint
- Fried cheese stick with french fries

I'm surely missing some stuff, but I think that's enough food content for now. Not surprisingly, I've put on some weight because of this trip, and will have to buckle down to get back to pre Japan fitness levels. But that's a rant for another time. Will get to Part III this week, and probably mix in a poker update too.

My Mom called the other day, asked me how work was going this month, and I said "Fine."

Not good, not great, not bad, not terrible. Just okay. Just fine.



Perhaps the meme is a bit of an overreaction. The volume is good. EV BB/100 is in double digits. Hourly is solid. By those metrics, it's been a successful month but it doesn't feel like one. As a friend of mine said to me, it's hard to complain (and receive sympathy) about negative variance when you're up money. Harder when you're up five figures in ~3 weeks, but here I am, doing that very thing.





Basically, I can't help but think that I've missed out on tons of potential equity this month. I'm 2 for 7 in Heads Up, and if I had won those other five matches I'd be looking at another ~$16k profit. Sure, winning them all is highly unlikely. Flat-out ridiculous, actually. So instead I'll focus on the most notable loss -- Where I entered HU play in the $109 Builder with a large chiplead but proceeded to lose four or five flips/60-40 spots. That alone would have added $9k to my totals.

Managed to FT the $109 Builder again on Wednesday, and again with the chiplead, but lost a huge pot/large bounty to a reg on my left (AQ < AJ). Only other reg was on my direct right and the rest of the table was fairly soft, so I'm confident if I win that pot I've got a clear path to a top three score. Perhaps even shipping it for $18k. Instead, I got 5th for $2700. An hour earlier, I lost JJ < AA in a spot where I'm crushing his range, and it was for the CL of the $530 Builder with 24 left and $35k+ up top. Still made some money, but far short of what I had hoped for.

Writing this all out does feel somewhat therapeutic, but there's a voice in my head that's telling me, among other things, to quit being so goddamn whiny. It's also saying "You're up $10k!" and "Other people are running far worse, you self absorbed idiot." And while both those statements are true, I do think at least confronting that voice in my head is helpful -- and underscores some of the mental strain that comes with playing poker/MTTs for a living. As I've said before, even "successful" months can feel like failed ones. It's quite difficult to be an optimist in MTTs, to remember all of the good fortune that allowed you to reach a certain point in the tournament, and not dwell on the misfortune that happened afterward. I guess it's a glass half full/half empty sort of scenario, where no matter how much water is in the glass, it always looks like there's room for more.

Okay, I think that's enough from me. Probably should save the rest of my pity party equity for if/when I hit another downer. Going to spend the day with my GF, celebrate her belated birthday with a fancy dinner here, and then rest up for the big work week ahead of me.

No WSOP?

Great Blog+Posts , ty

Nah, not this year. I've honestly never been that interested in the WSOP. In the beginning I couldn't fathom the idea of putting so much of my bankroll on the line in one tournament, and now that I'm actually rolled for live events, I don't want to subject myself to all the "live poker talk" at the tables and general douchebaggery that comes along with it.

That said, a friend of mine is putting on a full-court press for me to go to next year's WSOP and I'd say the odds of me playing an event or two is 50/50.

I still owe the thread a few more trip reports from Japan/Korea -- and I'll get those, I swear -- but for now it's time for a monthly recap post.

June Update

Missing SCOOP was unfortunate, but I'm not completely sure the EV was more during the series than it is/was during WSOP. With many successful mid/high stakes MTT players in Vegas, in theory the games should be considerably softer.

After missing nearly all of May due to the aforementioned holiday, I came back ready to grind and make up for lost time.

Hours: 215
Games: 814

Didn't know I played that many hours until I loaded up PT4 this morning to include the number in this post. Wow. Doesn't even include the off-table work, which is another 5-10 hours a week. So conservatively I worked 250 hours this month? Yikes. Guess it proves that I was eager to make up for that lost time, huh?

The EV BB Gods were kind to me this month, but perhaps I should have been praying to the Actual BB Gods. After spending the bulk of the past decade fretting over red lines, EV chips won, and other equity related measurements, I'm currently in a '**** this EV stuff, just let me win the damn pot" mode.



EV BB/100
Stars: 11.20 (70k hands, $69 ABI)
Non Stars: 9.66 (29k hands, $131 ABI)

Not grinding today, and a large part of that is because I haven't fully recovered from last night's session. Was a rather long session, about 16 hours, and for the most part it didn't go well. Was down $2k ish aound 5 PM and only had the $55 UFC PKO remaining where I had made $200 or so. There were ~300 people left, I had a slightly above average stack, but at that point I didn't really care. Wasn't about to punt my stack or do anything stupid like that, but after getting crushed for the majority of the day, I wasn't as invested in the particular game/session. If I had lost a flip at that moment, or even AA vs AK, it wouldn't have elicited a reaction stronger than a shrug.

With ~200 left, I had struck up a conversation with a few other regs at the table. Was fun, rare that I get to chat with people and rarer that it's a positive experience. Thanks to Croatia Ceed and Serkalem for making my 1-table experience actually enjoyable. Chipped up, got a few KOs, and then lost AJ < A6 for a massive stack. I had told the table that if I lost, I wouldn't be mad. And that was true, I wasn't too annoyed after he turned the 6. Had turned the -$2k day into a -$1k day, felt pretty good about that.

Moved my remaining 2 BBs in a few hands later with 98o and got 4 callers. One of them bet the turn of AT5T, another called, and I figured it was over. Instead, the flatter ended up bluffing out the other player on the river, showing 43ss, and my nine high took down the side pot. I was elated to win that side pot, even tho I knew it didn't do much for my long term equity. But it was fun. I had hope. And from there, I spun it up.

Unfortunately, it ended in heartbreaking fashion. Came into the FT of the $55 UFC PKO Event in 2nd place, had dreams of shipping it for ~$45k but lost in a fairly standard spot to finish 6th. The situation doesn't necessarily warrant more frustration than usual, especially if I consider the positive variance that allowed me to reach this point, but I was heated. I think the culmination being such a high equity spot + running poorly over several FTs/short handeds added up. Already feel a million times better about it this morning compared to last night and I imagine I'll be back to 100% by tomorrow. Just knew that if I grinded today I'd have a much shorter fuse when it came to short term variance, so instead of putting myself thru that angst, I took the day off.

Somehow I would have felt better about my day if I busted with 200 or 300 left and made $5500 less. Crazy how that works, right? I included this long anecdote to illustrate that at the very least, being able to recall the instances of positive variance helps me better stomach the swings and keeps the "Woe is me, I so unlucky, you other regs are trash" demons at bay.



Profit: $22,656

Might be a tad less, as the 2-Day stuff ends today -- I think it'll be $22,300 but I didn't want to wait until tomorrow to post this update. It's another solid month by any traditional measurement -- EV BB, Volume, Profit. If I had ran a bit better at the FT last night, at either of the $109 Builder FTs, or in other HUs/3-handed spots, it could have been much better. Heck, if I sun run and ship them all, it's +$150k. That would obviously be nice, but I certainly can't expect it. I can't expect to win 'my fair share' of the high equity spots, not when those spots are so few and far between. All I can do, and what I will continue to do, is rely on good old fashioned work ethic and the SNG mentality. That 'SNG mentality' refers back to how I approached those games, which means putting in tons of volume with a high edge and hoping that combination suppresses the inherent variance. Gotta keep accumulating chips, making deeps, padding the bankroll with little scores, and eventually I'll break through with a big one. But even if I don't, that's okay too.

Blessed be the Actual BB Gods.

while i know it wasnt even intended let me tell you that the subtle melancholic tone in that post combined with that monthly graph is quite a brag itself actually.
wp sir and gl for july

Turns out I've used this gif before, in this very thread. Tsk tsk. Apologies, I'll step up my gif game.

Speaking of gif game, that one perfectly sums up my update post. Well played.

I figured I'd get that sort of reaction given the juxtaposition of my tone and the overall profit number/graph. Briefly considered not posting my thoughts on the issue, but in the end I always choose honesty/transparency as I stay truer to myself and think it makes for a better read.

Played my first two HUs of the month annnnnnnnnd shipped them both. Good start to July.

Sup Matt? Hope all is well, man!

August is off to a horrific start; have yet to post a winning day, running abysmally in lates, EV BB isn't up to par, and I'm finding myself super annoyed mid session. The crux of my frustration can effectively be summed up in a short rant I had today, where I mused 'How long are you braindead brokedick regs going to go unpunished?"

People have asked me in the past why I don't broadcast on Twitch, and the fear of an outburst like that is just one of the reasons. Most streams seem so fake to me and if I was on camera, I'd struggle to keep up the act. Plus, I tend to think out-loud while playing and often say stuff that isn't super flattering to my opponents. Perhaps that alone would provide ample entertainment value, but it hurts my soul a bit -- I'm arguably the worst version of myself while grinding and broadcasting that to the world (or 30 some-odd followers) is something I'd prefer to avoid.

Re: the August downswing, it's only ~$5k and helps knowing I can bink it all back plus some tomorrow.

July was better. Not amazing, but better than August for sure. Haven't done that monthly update yet, so now seems like a good time.

Games: 541
Profit: $9727
Hours: 151
EV BB:
9.8 (Non Stars, $130 ABI)
8.7 EV BB/100 (Stars, $80 ABI)



Aside from May (when I was in Japan from the 7th-29th), this month's volume was the lowest output all year. The EV BB was also on the lower end of my perceived expectation, as I had posted double digits for several consecutive months. Both volume and EV BB/100 are still decent



but not at the levels I expect them to be. So while I'm disappointed in this month's profit, I can't sit here and blame it all on variance when I could have put in more games or had higher equity. Of course, I'm ignoring the fact that there's significant variance in a small sample of EV BB, but I don't want to go down that rabbit hole. Just want to focus on working harder/smarter and if I do that, I'm confident I'll get to where I want to be.

Oh, also -- it looks more like my GF and I will be moving to New Zealand in November. Was a coinflip a few months back, but now she's paid for a few things, filed paperwork and is waiting on the confirmation/notarization. Originally we'd talked about Australia but that would have required me to divest completely from my stable and give up the online games, both of which I just didn't want to do at this time. I'd guess we're a 70/30 favorite to follow thru with all of this and live there for six months. Never been to NZ so I'm excited to check it out. Will have to make some slight adjustments to my grind, but that's a small price to pay for brand new experiences.

Lastly, shoutout to 'AmStAf88' for his friendly banter at the $109 6-Max FT last week. Think he went on to ship it, so congrats to him.

Just read through most of your thread and im a huge fan of it. I recall reading your old threads and it was always entertaining. Got few questions on this.




1. How many months are you even in the US on average a year now? So basically you are always in Canada or Thailand and Mexico when you grind? Other places i assume you don't grind when you take short vacations right?




2. Notice you posted about in thailand or mexico and having internet and electricity issues. Im located in mexico and here... the big issue is power outage. Internet outage isn't that bad since if you have backup internet on your smart phone, you can use internet on it and tether. Of course you have to make sure you have enough power on your phone. So you always have backup internet where you are located with your phone?


What do you do when you have a power outage when you start your session or in the middle of the session. I noticed you posted when power goes out, you hope your laptop battery makes you last through the night etc when on your session. Im curious about this since i read in the thread you have a dell xps 15. What model is it? Also what processor it has? I ask this because im curious how many hours can you use it on battery when its fully charged. Because for my dell xps, even when i get a new battery, if i play say 12+ tables on stars and run holdem manager 2 for example, I won't get more than 1h45m of battery. Now i only get 1h30m at the absolute max on battery. More like 1h15m. But i have the smaller battery. But even if i do regular browsing online, i don't get more than 1h30m max.


When you play, you always have it connected to an outlet and use an external monitor right?


If power goes out for many hours, what do you do? Do you find a coffeeshop in mexico or thailand when this occurs? Because what you mentioned your laptop, you made it sound like your laptop battery could give you at least 3 hours minimum. I did recall you mention playing on your ipad but you mention you 20 table... so wouldn't that not work on your ipad? Also you mention you use pokertracker so obviously that would not work on ipad? I can imagine an ipad being a great backup if you have a few tables or 1 table only. But not if you have that many tables.


I was surprised when you said in mexico when electricity and power goes out, you ask your neighbor about using their wifi ... when i thought shouldn't the main concern be electricity? Because if you play spins or sngs, your laptop battery is more than enough to last for that. But when you play long mtt, well that can screw everything up if the power outage last longer than x hours.




3. You mentioned you have a stable of 20 guys. Also from what i read online, lot of players even the top guys online seem to be staked. But since you are the backer for your stable, then basically anything you reg and play, you have 100% of your action right? Thus if you are down 3k for the day, you are down 3k? If you are up 8k, you are up 8k? Would you say its very rare for players that play online to have 100% of their action now since it seems like everyone is staked? I read some threads where some ppl who are top online guys... mention they are staked. I thought to myself... why in the world would anyone do that if they are the top echelon of players. Also some live mtt guys seem to be staked as well who are very good.

I would very much like to see you renting about regs and in general! All those fake streamers out there..

Dowswing hit a new 'high' point today and then I shipped the $44 Turbo PKO for $1800. Felt incredddddddible to end the day with a win, even if it was barely enough to cover the day's buy-ins. Still down $8k ish for the month, but lots of month left.



Thanks! Sure, I can answer those.

For the past few years, I've been spending 6-8 months in Canada and then the remainder (when it gets cold) in Mexico or Thailand. Haven't grinded at all while in the other places -- Thought I could squeeze in a few sessions on this last vacation, but never found the time.

You're right in that power outage issues were equally, if not more of an issue bad internet.

The laptop (Never played on an Ipad, sounds fun tho) I currently own has an extremely long battery life, I think I'll get 6-7 hours if fully charged. Maybe I have the larger battery? It was the 'top of the line' model at the time, so that would make sense. Usually 6-7 hours is more than enough time to finish session and tide me over until the power comes back on. It was far easier when playing SNGs/Spins, as I could wrap up the games in an hour. But obviously that's not the case for MTTs and I've definitely had to run down to a coffee shop on break and finish up there.

In terms of backup internet, the best solution IMO is getting a sim card and using your phone. It's far more reliable than a second wired internet.

In that instance, I hadn't bought a Sim yet and was relying on the 'backup' internet that my apartment complex offered. But both were from the same company, so obviously when one went out, the other dropped too. Thankfully my neighbor (Shout out to Larry!) had his own router under a different company.

Yeah, I have 100% of my own action. Do have a friend who would snap up anything I'd put on the table, will probably hit him up during the 2020 WSOP because I'm still a big nit at heart.

Can't say for certain how many of the high stakes players are backed, but given the variance of MTTs, I can't imagine many people are actually rolled for all the EPTs and such. So it's not necessarily about how good they are, it's about mitigating risk. I think. Or maybe they're all broke degens, who knows.

You're the realest of the the realest. Sick emotional control and/or lack of emotions. When I saw it in person, I thought maybe it was because you were playing with my money, but now that you're on your own dime and have the same reaction? Mad respect.

Hey man thanks for the response and answers.



What laptop model do you have by the way? Is it by any chance the dell xps 15 9570? Can you tell me what processor, ram it uses etc? Does it have matte screen or 4k screen etc? Do you by any chance have the exact specs for this laptop? Because i want to buy the same laptop you have if it gets anywhere close to the hours you mention.


I was thinking about either upgrading my laptop or getting a new computer because of my laptops poor battery. I get max 1h30m on it. Even when i got this laptop new a long time ago, the battery was max 2h30m. When i played, it would not ever get more than 2hr max. I play like 12+ tables and have holdem manager running.


Because where im located, its prone to power outages. I have an xps 15 9550 that i bought years ago. Battery got replaced but its still pretty bad. I do have the smaller battery though... yes you most likely have that big battery. But you can play on it for 6-7 hours without it plugged in? You done that several times already? But you always have it plugged in normally when you play right? I recall you said you also play it connected to an external monitor?


Im perplexed how you can get that many hours on your laptop. I mean when you say 6-7 hours, do you mean playing while running pokertracker etc? Or you mean like just light web browsing? Because unless you make your screen minimal brightness and say no chrome tabs or music... i still can't imagine a laptop can get more than say 3 hours because aren't laptops running like full tilt when playing this many tables? I was told me getting the larger battery would not even get me double the battery life i get now because my battery is 56whr and the larger one which you have is 97whr.



Yea sim card is good backup internet.


Do you play the wsop? If you do, i cant imagine anyone not buying from you.


Wow so you are one of the few guys that have their own action then. When i hear people up or down bigger amounts, its like they dont care because they say they are backed etc.