take 2 at a PGC thread for me.

Bankroll: $5000
Weight: 199 lbs

Goals for March 15-29:

• play 40 hrs of 1/2
• study 40 hrs
  1. pages 1-45 of Poker's Postflop Course
  2. "Playbook" video series on DC

• 45 min. on elliptical per day
• 30 min. stretching/foam rolling per day
• eat according to tenets of http://perfecthealthdiet.com/

• listen to dharma talk daily (while on elliptical, perhaps)
• 15 min. meditation per day
• read through page 65 in The Whole-Brain Child

I will post results at the end of the two week period. At that time, I will also post the following two week goals. I have already studied through page 45 of Poker's Postflop Course, so this will be a quick refresher before moving on to the newer material. Playbook was chosen as a good series to get into the habit of analyzing the mathematics and mechanics of the game. I intend to move on to Applied Math series next and then REM, mostly so that I can begin to learn and practice using various softwares (Open Office/CRev/etc.) in poker analysis. See you all in a couple of weeks.

after reading this thread http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/32...g-pro-1426688/ the other night, i decided to take the advice and put $100 online and revise the playing portion of my goals for the time being.

here are my new, short-term, goals:

Over the next 10 weeks (and change), I intend to accomplish the following:

• play 25,000 hands of 4nl full ring

• read and study, Poker Math That Matters

• read and study, Hole Card Confessions

• read and study, Poker's Postflop Course

• analyze 40 river decisions using crEV

In addition to the poker, I will also be updating my daily progress for my personal health and well-being program. The goals for the coming weeks are:

• eat according to the principles of http://perfecthealthdiet.com/the-diet/

• walk/treadmill/elliptical/hiking/etc. 45 min. every day

• stretching/foam-rolling routine 30 min. every day

• read and study, Full Catastrophe Living

• do the 8-week, MBSR (mindfulness-based stress reduction) program outlined in the book

• listen to and study, Radical Self-Acceptance CDs

Starting Weight: 201.0 lbs
Starting Bankroll: $100.65 (Carbon Poker)

Over the course of the first two weeks, I plan to finish up Poker Math That Matters, Hole Card Confessions, and through page 45 in Poker's Postflop Course. Then, starting in week 3, I will begin analyzing a river hand that corresponds to whatever section of PPC that I'm in at the time per day.

As for Full Catastrophe Living and the 8-week, MBSR program, I will read through page 93 of the book in the first two weeks. Then, starting in week 3, I will begin the program, with its daily practice, as I continue reading through the book.

here, i will quickly catch up on the last couple of days:

3/21/14
weight: 199.8 lbs (-1.2 today, -1.2 overall)
ending bankroll: $113.16 (+12.51, +12.51)

• finished up PMTM today (1hr)

• got through a third of HCC (1hr)

• played 526 hands of 4nl fr (ran hot, + $12.51)

• 45 min. on elliptical

• 30 min. stretching/foam-rolling

• food log 3/21: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/dia...ate=2014-03-21

• Session 1, Talk 1 of Radical Self-Acceptance ("Relating to the Anxiety of Imperfection")

• thru page 6 in Full Catastrophe Living

3/22/14
weight: 200.2 lbs (+0.4 today, -0.8 overall)
ending bankroll: $151.25 (+38.09 today, +50.60 overall)

• studied through page 21 of Poker's Postflop Course (PPC) (1hr)

• finished up refresher of HCC (2hr)

• played 1006 hands of 4nl fr (ran hot, + $38.09)

• 45 min. on elliptical

• 30 min. stretching/foam-rolling

• food log 3/22: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/dia...ate=2014-03-22

• Session 1, Talk 1 of Radical Self-Acceptance ("Relating to the Anxiety of Imperfection") (yes, again! )

• finished reading Introduction in Full Catastrophe Living

The first section of PPC deals with the favorable scenario of being checked to while in position on the river. The initial question in the decision flow chart is, "do I have a profitable value bet? and if so, what size bet is most profitable?".

We set the stage to begin answering this initial question by reviewing the basics of an EV equation. We looked at the difference between "true" EV (TEV) and "evaluative" EV (EEV). Most of the time, we use EEV, which doesn't include our equity share of the pot, but only examines the relative value in the bet we are making. In doing so, we only look at the opponent's calling range. If he calls with more worse hands than better hands, the bet is +EV and that's all that matters. One thing to be aware of, though, is the impact that the opponent's inactive range has on the EV of our bet. As the inactive range (the hands that he simply folds to our bet) grows, there is a truncating effect on the EV of our bet. The EEV will still look the same, and that's usually good enough for our purposes: to bet or not to bet. But, the TEV of the bet will shrink, or be truncated, as the inactive range grows. Truncation, thus, has a muting effect on the amplitude of both possible mistakes when value betting: 1) betting too big when the villain's calling range is mostly better hands; and 2) betting too small when the villain's calling range is mostly worse hands. So, EEV will answer the question, "is betting better than checking". TEV will tell us by how much.

With the EV review completed, we began looking at value-betting decisions, first examining the easy scenario of having the nuts. When we have the nuts (or virtual nuts), a phenomenon described as the "doubling effect" is in play. If we have a profitable value bet at $x, then in order to have an equally profitable value bet at $2x, the villain will have to reduce his calling percent by less than half. Twice the bet, half the calls. Half the bet, twice the calls. The strength of his range dictates how large you can profitably value bet.

However, value-betting when we don't have the nuts is more complex. If the opponent's calling range is "inelastic", meaning it won't change much based on your bet size, then usually you should bet as big as possible. Most calling ranges aren't inelastic though. They are very much "elastic", meaning the villain will fold more and more of his range as your bets get bigger and bigger. This means we have to figure out what bet size yields the most profit. This is the crux of most value-betting decisions, and this is the subject of the rest of the section: Value-Betting When Checked to In Position.

3/23/14
weight: 200.0 lbs (-0.2 today, -1.0 overall)
ending bankroll: $161.31 (+10.06 today, +50.60 overall)

• studied through page 30 of Poker's Postflop Course (PPC) (1hr)

• worked on organizing notes sheet for grinding (1hr)

• played 777 hands of fr: 240 hands at 10nl and 537 hands at 4nl

• 30 min. on elliptical

• 30 min. stretching/foam-rolling

• http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/AccessingAwesome

• Session 1, Talk 2 of Radical Self-Acceptance ("The Root of Suffering")

• read half of Ch. 1, "Moments to Live" in Full Catastrophe Living

Another day of accomplishing all of my mini goals. I was ravenous today and ended up eating a lot more calories than usual. That's ok, especially because I kept it all to mostly good foods. Still no grains, vegetable oils, etc.

Saw some juicy tables at 10nl and decided to take a shot. Ended up running hot, even though I lost to 2 outers on the river both of my first two all-ins. Almost to the point in PPC that I will begin analyzing hands on a daily basis. I should wrap up the first sub section of the book (betting for value when checked to IP) by the end of the week. I think I will spend a week analyzing hands played during my session that fit that scenario before moving on to study the next section of the book (bluffing when checked to IP).

The other thing on my list is to begin to develop both a system and an aptitude for relevant note-taking. I will begin by learning/studying/thinking about a few other people's systems. There's discussion on the topic in HCC. There's a video by Josh Plotkin on DC. I believe there's a DC short on the topic by Grindcore. And there's a post or two by DGIHarris here on 2p2. Once I'm ready to practice proper observation and note-taking, I'll likely drop down to 1-2 tables so that I can really work on that skill. And away from the tables, I will be working on my math skills with my daily hand analysis. That should just about cover the two keys to good poker: 1) accurate assumptions about my opponents' ranges and actions; and 2) making the most profitable decisions based on those assumptions.

3/24/14
weight: 198.4 lbs (-1.6 today, -2.6 overall)
ending bankroll: $132.13 (-29.18 today, +31.48 overall)

• studied through page 34 of Poker's Postflop Course (PPC) (2hr)

• read and thought about DGI post on note-taking at the table (1hr)

• played 352 hands of fr, mostly at 10nl and lost abt 3 buy-ins (wtsd/w$sd = 22/29.. yuck!)

• no elliptical today

• 30 min. stretching/foam-rolling

• http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/AccessingAwesome

• Session 1, Talk 2 of Radical Self-Acceptance ("The Root of Suffering")

• finished Ch. 1, "Moments to Live" in Full Catastrophe Living

I finished studying the first section of PPC on how to determine value-bet sizing when checked to and IP on the river. Tomorrow, I am going to go over the example hand on pg. 31 in crEV (for various Hero holdings) and compare with the results that I derived by long-hand pen/paper/calculator method today. Integrating crEV into my study routine will be a regular part of my analysis. I will spend ample time working out various EV calculations by hand in order to ensure that I understand the principles, but I will be taking advantage of the software for the sake of speed and complexity. So, I will be working that hand example from the book out in crEV tomorrow as well as getting started on the first set of quizzes (Test Your Comprehension and Exercises) on section 1.

I also spent some time thinking about what role note-taking will play in my live poker progression. I have two ideas for that (not really my own). The first is a page/sheet that keeps track of reads on each seat. Maybe 10 columns (or rows, dont know yet). S1, S2, etc... fill it with initial stuff immediately upon sitting.. "S1: YAMH (300)" .. (young asian male hoodie with $300).. for each seat... then add specifics that I might be able to use help shape ranges later as more information comes. For example: "3b IP AQo" or "2p2 talk" or "DST vb TPWK" on river or "polarized cbet IP".. etc.. whatever... point is this is mostly a tool to help me stay on task and get focused practice at hand reading. Accurate assumptions!!! About opponents' ranges and their actions with those ranges!!

The other thing is to jot down all relevant information... villains, positions, stacks, street actions, physical reads, etc.. for 1-3 hands per session for analysis when I get home. Rather than being willy nilly on hand choices for this, I will try to select hands to note and study in a systematic manner. I will probably try to pick hands that correspond to whatever section I am currently studying in PPC. Next week, that will be "IP and checked to on the river with a possible value-betting hand". Next time, it may be "IP and checked to on the river with a possible bluffing opportunity". Etc.

So, that's my idea for improvement in the two keys to good poker. Developing better reads and accurate assumptions based on my at-the-table experience. And making the most profitable decisions, given those assumptions, based on my away-from-the-table mathematical analysis.

3/25/14
weight: 198.2 lbs (-0.2 today, -2.8 overall)
ending online bankroll: $132.13 (-29.18 today, +31.48 overall)
ending live bankroll: $4517 (-350 today, -383 total)

• worked out the hand example from page 31 of PPC in crEV (2hr)

• did the first set of "Test Your Comprehension" problems in PPC (1hr)

• played 2 hrs of 1/2 at Foxwoods. one big hand and I lost. details below.

• 30 min. elliptical today

• 30 min. stretching/foam-rolling

• http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/AccessingAwesome

• started reading Ch. 2, "Attitudes and Committment" in Full Catastrophe Living

I didn't play any poker online today. Instead, I headed to the casino for a very short session of live play. Things didn't go well. The first 1.5 hrs, I folded every single hand I was dealt except for KK in early position and completing the SB with 54s and T5s after 5 limpers once.

I had pretty favorable position at the table. Each of the four seats to my right were loose/bad players, sitting on between $100 and $200. The two seats to my immediate left were both very tight. And the two aggressive players were across the table from me.

I opened to $10 in MP with Th9h (only my 3rd open in 2 hrs of play) and was called only by one of the loose/bad players in the BB. We were each about $200 deep to begin the hand. The flop was Kh9d3h. Villain check-raised my $15 cbet to $50 and I decided to shove for the remaining $175 into the pot of $85. Villain paused for about 5 seconds before calling and showing KQo for top pair, no draw. The board ran out not in my favor. I think my play is reasonable, but I want to play around with it some in crEV. Will do that tomorrow.