Becoming a Winner by Developing my Mental Game
07-01-2014
, 02:30 PM
June goals:
[ ] Play only 16nl (no 25nl til I have a profitable month)
Oh, whoops. Played a bunch of 25nl, probably 10k hands or so.
[ ] Finish month in black BEFORE RB etc
No go, alas.
[x] Keep midset as strong as in May (quit sessions when tilt creeps in)
I think I achieved this; still motivated to play, look forward to every session, not scared to get back to the grind.
[x] 30k hands
Easy, smashed it.
[x] Post some hands (I have never made this a habit)
I posted a few.
[ ] Post 3 hands that I played v. badly (imo)
Forgot about this one.
June graph:
[ ] Play only 16nl (no 25nl til I have a profitable month)
Oh, whoops. Played a bunch of 25nl, probably 10k hands or so.
[ ] Finish month in black BEFORE RB etc
No go, alas.
[x] Keep midset as strong as in May (quit sessions when tilt creeps in)
I think I achieved this; still motivated to play, look forward to every session, not scared to get back to the grind.
[x] 30k hands
Easy, smashed it.
[x] Post some hands (I have never made this a habit)
I posted a few.
[ ] Post 3 hands that I played v. badly (imo)
Forgot about this one.
June graph:
07-08-2014
, 12:49 PM
Sod's law:
I drop down in stakes after being brutalised at 25nl. As soon as I start up again at 10nl, I hit a HUGE heater
[ ] Sustainable
[x] Typical
In all seriousness, being raped by the deck has definitely helped my mental game in the bad times, and playing vs the 25nl regs for a couple of months has really, really helped my game.
Hopefully July will bring smiles.
I drop down in stakes after being brutalised at 25nl. As soon as I start up again at 10nl, I hit a HUGE heater
[ ] Sustainable
[x] Typical
In all seriousness, being raped by the deck has definitely helped my mental game in the bad times, and playing vs the 25nl regs for a couple of months has really, really helped my game.
Hopefully July will bring smiles.
07-15-2014
, 05:09 AM
07-24-2014
, 04:08 AM
Game is so easy when you run good:
The dip in the graph ~19k was a small shot at Party 25nl, which was typically the time where I ran badly and lost two AI pots where I was a big favourite.
In all honesty, although I'm abv running well, I think I'm completely crushing 10nl; I've really improved my game since getting crushed at 16/25nl the past few months.
Plan is to finish up the month at 10nl, stay there for August to rebuild the roll a little before taking a 5BI shot at 16nl. If that succeeds, I'm planning to move up very aggressively; I've been playing these stakes far too long, and now that I feel like I'm crushing (rather than beating) the limit, I'm keen to smash my way up to 50nl as quickly as possible.
I have my roll spread over 3 sites atm, since I like to play the supersoft Party games from time to time, and I just love that FTP software still; I just have a soft spot for it. Is this smart, or would I be better off just lumping it all onto Stars so I have a larger roll and can be more aggro with moving up? I currently have ~$650 on Stars, but my full BR spread across all sites is about $1400
Sometimes I feel like I am forcing myself to stay at the nanos by spreading my roll too thin, especially in the past where I felt like I was only a marginal winner.
The other good news is that at the end of the month I'll be grabbing ~$250 in bonus cash. Alas, volume hasn't been great this month so I doubt I'll be able to retain Goldstar.
The dip in the graph ~19k was a small shot at Party 25nl, which was typically the time where I ran badly and lost two AI pots where I was a big favourite.
In all honesty, although I'm abv running well, I think I'm completely crushing 10nl; I've really improved my game since getting crushed at 16/25nl the past few months.
Plan is to finish up the month at 10nl, stay there for August to rebuild the roll a little before taking a 5BI shot at 16nl. If that succeeds, I'm planning to move up very aggressively; I've been playing these stakes far too long, and now that I feel like I'm crushing (rather than beating) the limit, I'm keen to smash my way up to 50nl as quickly as possible.
I have my roll spread over 3 sites atm, since I like to play the supersoft Party games from time to time, and I just love that FTP software still; I just have a soft spot for it. Is this smart, or would I be better off just lumping it all onto Stars so I have a larger roll and can be more aggro with moving up? I currently have ~$650 on Stars, but my full BR spread across all sites is about $1400
Sometimes I feel like I am forcing myself to stay at the nanos by spreading my roll too thin, especially in the past where I felt like I was only a marginal winner.
The other good news is that at the end of the month I'll be grabbing ~$250 in bonus cash. Alas, volume hasn't been great this month so I doubt I'll be able to retain Goldstar.
Last edited by alphabetsoup; 07-24-2014 at 04:14 AM.
Reason: bonus!
07-24-2014
, 05:58 AM
wauw, nice going mate 
I think you're way over rolled for 10nl. Would be playing 25nl with 1400. I used to be really nitty with BR management to, but I've changed my mind and now I think it's a waste of potential ev. Of course it's crucial to move up and down according the the BR rules, and also to not let the swings affect you.
Many people can't play with smaller BI requirements because their roll fluctuates much more (percentage wise) than if they'd have a stricter BI requirement and that affects them so they play worse. One way to get around this is by checking the balance less frequently to avoid dealing with any potential stress that might arise due to the fluctuations. Also understanding why you'd want to play with smaller BI requirements and that moving up and down more often is a natural part of that strategy.
Also you always want a couple more BI for the next stake to make up for the lower expected winrate.
Obviously some people just prefer playing with a very high amount of BI which is also fine. Each to their own.
About playing on several sites, I think it's something more often used by small/midstakes+ players because at lower stakes there'll often be enough good tables at just one site. Maybe varying your play helps keep you interested so that's good.
I think you're way over rolled for 10nl. Would be playing 25nl with 1400. I used to be really nitty with BR management to, but I've changed my mind and now I think it's a waste of potential ev. Of course it's crucial to move up and down according the the BR rules, and also to not let the swings affect you.
Many people can't play with smaller BI requirements because their roll fluctuates much more (percentage wise) than if they'd have a stricter BI requirement and that affects them so they play worse. One way to get around this is by checking the balance less frequently to avoid dealing with any potential stress that might arise due to the fluctuations. Also understanding why you'd want to play with smaller BI requirements and that moving up and down more often is a natural part of that strategy.
Also you always want a couple more BI for the next stake to make up for the lower expected winrate.
Obviously some people just prefer playing with a very high amount of BI which is also fine. Each to their own.
About playing on several sites, I think it's something more often used by small/midstakes+ players because at lower stakes there'll often be enough good tables at just one site. Maybe varying your play helps keep you interested so that's good.
08-06-2014
, 01:59 PM
July all finished up, slightly rigged giraffe for the month:
Slightly rigged as I've included 30th June since I had a megaheater on that evening. July cash results was actually about $210, whcih obv. I'm super happy with.
I also came 3rd in a live tourney this month for £150. I'm finding my feet live, I feel much more comfortable than I did when I started out a few weeks back.
The other day I also binked 2nd in a $1 1000man cap donkament on Stars for $127
I've started messing around with online tourneys since my tourney game is/was pretty poor, so I'm getting some practice in for the live games by playing online. They play very, very differently though, but strong fundamentals are strong fundamentals, and that's what I'm trying to build. My cash game is good, and I'd like to get my tourney game up to the same standard so I'm better all round.
The problem is that I'm not getting much cash play in around all of this donkament action, so I need to try to find some time to get some hands in.
That said, goal for this month is only 20k hands.
Slightly rigged as I've included 30th June since I had a megaheater on that evening. July cash results was actually about $210, whcih obv. I'm super happy with.
I also came 3rd in a live tourney this month for £150. I'm finding my feet live, I feel much more comfortable than I did when I started out a few weeks back.
The other day I also binked 2nd in a $1 1000man cap donkament on Stars for $127
I've started messing around with online tourneys since my tourney game is/was pretty poor, so I'm getting some practice in for the live games by playing online. They play very, very differently though, but strong fundamentals are strong fundamentals, and that's what I'm trying to build. My cash game is good, and I'd like to get my tourney game up to the same standard so I'm better all round.
The problem is that I'm not getting much cash play in around all of this donkament action, so I need to try to find some time to get some hands in.
That said, goal for this month is only 20k hands.
08-08-2014
, 04:10 PM
09-09-2014
, 04:08 AM
August in the bag, profitable month for both cash and loldonkaments:
Cashaments:
Donkaments:
Really crappy volume for cash, but I've been playing MTTs a bunch so my sessions have been dominated by those for the most part. Also been playing a bunch of live MTTs with limited success, and there's only so much time for poker in a week, so it's been tough to get in as much online cash play as I usually do.
This month is looking to be similar, but I'm gonna try to dedicate a week to playing cash exclusively. I'm thinking about playing fewer tables but really table selecting hardcore and picking Super+EV lineups at 25nl and up; my BR is more than big enough and if I'm honest with myself, I should be way more aggressive with my shots rather than grinding hard at lower limits.
I'll try to update during/after "cash week".
I binked a (lol) 0.55c 500 cap donkament yesterday, and i feel like my MTT game has improved significantly. Hopefully I can bink a bigger BI donk soon enough. I've had a few deep runs but had some crushing suckouts that have eliminated me when it looked like a FT run was pretty inevitable. Fingers crossed I make a big score this month!
Cashaments:
Donkaments:
Really crappy volume for cash, but I've been playing MTTs a bunch so my sessions have been dominated by those for the most part. Also been playing a bunch of live MTTs with limited success, and there's only so much time for poker in a week, so it's been tough to get in as much online cash play as I usually do.
This month is looking to be similar, but I'm gonna try to dedicate a week to playing cash exclusively. I'm thinking about playing fewer tables but really table selecting hardcore and picking Super+EV lineups at 25nl and up; my BR is more than big enough and if I'm honest with myself, I should be way more aggressive with my shots rather than grinding hard at lower limits.
I'll try to update during/after "cash week".
I binked a (lol) 0.55c 500 cap donkament yesterday, and i feel like my MTT game has improved significantly. Hopefully I can bink a bigger BI donk soon enough. I've had a few deep runs but had some crushing suckouts that have eliminated me when it looked like a FT run was pretty inevitable. Fingers crossed I make a big score this month!