"What we think or what we know or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do." - John Ruskin

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!





S/W Side



Mandalay Bay



I did a little better than last mini challenge on the volume/study targets but still have to get better.

Hope everyone has a good holiday season and is getting energized for the new year!

I'll have graphs, and some thoughts on 2015 and plans for 2016 in the next update.

Here is my latest vlog-



Here is an original called "Tranquil Conclusion"-



Here is one of my paintings (a good friend is expecting a new baby within the month and this will be her name)-



I'm glad you liked it.

True, I made pretty good progress in some areas, room for improvement in other.

All credit to Rob for sharing his bits of wisdom on the poker life. Yup gotta geton the grind.


Mini Challenge #35

1.5/5 hrs of poker study
36.5/50 hrs of poker

2015 GOALS

[1312] 1800 hrs of quality volume (average 150 hrs a month)
[308.5] Miles Run ([x] Run Rock n' Roll Marathon)
[35] Learn 36 new healthy recipes
[350] Paint 360 paintings
[350] Take care of at least one thing on my to do list every day
[35] Write 18 songs and learn 18 covers on guitar
[ ] Take a trip to Europe
[22] Organize 36 opportunities for poker players to volunteer in LV
[12] Go out 36 times, improve my social skills and become the best man I can be
[13] Read 36 Books

Pure,
Blazed through over half of this entire thread in the last two days. Very inspirational and encouraging! Thanks to YOU I've gotten back to my goal setting (been a Jim Rohn fan for years), signed up for 2+2 for the first time and am ready to take my poker to the next level. I'm even considering starting my own poker goals thread to document this next journey.
Found your thread after reading through Matt Moore's, Aesah's and Rob Farha's. Enjoyed all of them. I really gotta compliment you on your artwork and general approach to life. Very motivating.
Good luck to you in the future. Live long and prosper!




-APW

Subbed.

Thanks for sharing this with the community. I've read/skimmed through your entire blog and really enjoyed it. You seem like a nice guy and I'll be routing for you.

"No such thing as spare time. No such thing as free time. No such thing as down time. All you've got is life time. Go." - Henry Rollins

Las Vegas Strip



Lead Mead



Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe



Reno, NV



Venice Beach, CA



Sedona, AZ



Chicago, IL



Valley of Fire





Hoover Dam and Mike O'Callaghan/Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge



2015 Graph 13/hr Over 1338 Hours



Here's the Breakdown by Stakes

1/2 Graph 14/hr Over 363.5 Hours



1/3 Graph 15/hr Over 325 Hours



2/5 Graph 13/hr Over 642 Hours



Happy New Year!!! Massive thank you to everyone who followed along and participated in here this year, you are all awesome and I hope you all conquer everything you set out to do in 2016!

2015 was a great year over all, I took on a lot of goals related to areas besides poker and did some traveling and made new friends. I feel like I made a lot of progress on those goals. I completed some, fell short on others. I want to review them individually and assess where I'm at as objectively as possible while keep a positive mindset and internalizing the lessons I've learned so I can direct my attention toward the future and what I plan to accomplish in 2016.

2015 GOALS

[1338] 1800 hrs of quality volume (average 150 hrs a month)

74% complete

This was a tough and ambitious goal and I kind of fizzled out in the later half of the year. I started off with a 200 hr b/e stretch and ended on a 600 hr b/e stretch which highlights the necessity of having 6 months or more worth of living expenses stashed away to make it through the poker draughts. I wanted to want to play a lot but I ended up feeling burnt out easily and didn't have the energy to focus and play my best. I think there is a lot more to this than the hours at the table. Sleep, nutrition, exercise and days off to recover are all critical and interrelated to the volume at the tables. As far as quality goes studying, reviewing sessions and discussing hh are all very important. I need improvement in all these areas.

[310.5] Miles Run ([x] Run Rock n' Roll Marathon)

100% complete

Training was fun, I explored a few new parks around LV. My consistency was pretty good, I ran just about every other day. I should've been putting in more long runs (15+ mi) though, I need to plan and execute those better going forward. Running my first marathon was an exhilarating experience, it is hard to explain how awesome it felt to train hard all year and have it culminate with the completion of this difficult objective.

[36] Learn 36 new healthy recipes

100% complete

Nutrition has always been weak spot for me. I still eat way too much fast food which I know is utter garbage. I did go through periods where I ate a high ratio of healthy clean foods but I also went through periods where I slipped back into the habit of subsisting on primarily fast food and drinking sugary energy drinks and soda. It is incredible how much clearer I think when I am eating clean and drinking no sugary beverages. I need to stay on top of that this year.

I got all of my recipes out of the book Superfoods.

[360] Paint 360 paintings

100% complete

I think this was the toughest goal aside from the 1800 hrs of poker. I must have spent atleast 360 hours on creating and experimenting with art along with sharing it all on social media which is the most time I've ever devoted in one year. I built a new wordpress website and opened a new flickr, pinterest, twitter, instagram, tumblr and facebook page to promote and share my art.

[360] Take care of at least one thing on my to do list every day

100% complete

This was hard to track precisely. I did keep a to do list and tried to take action everyday and checked off multiple things on some days. It is really important to not neglect things or procrastinate.

[36] Write 18 songs and learn 18 covers on guitar

100% complete

It was super fun to learn and record a bunch of songs. I have a tendency to just noodle around for hours and this goal kept me productive and focused. Most of these songs I would not be able to remember so I am glad they are all recorded so I can go back and relearn them anytime I wish. I also got to perform them on the bridges.

[ ] Take a trip to Europe

2% complete

I wasn't able to save up the funds necessary to make this trip in 2015 but I did think about it a lot and I hope I will be able to this year. I decided the countries I most want to visit are Italy, Germany and Sweden.

[23] Organize 36 opportunities for poker players to volunteer in LV

64% complete

I think we did a lot of good work this year. I didn't quite organize as many events as I wanted to but it's a good start. Participation was somewhat sporadic so I think I need to text reminders and keep on a consistent schedule. I think I can grow this group more this year and help even more people and the environment.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/10...ation-1539274/

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/10...world-1493253/

[12] Go out 36 times, improve my social skills and become the best man I can be

33% complete

It looks like this goal is the lowest completion % aside from the Euro trip, I could have easily knocked this one out if I had committed to it. Nevertheless, I do think I made some decent progress. I feel less anxious in social situations and I think cold approaching is good in that regard. I met a bunch of wings off RSDNation toward the end of the year and it's definitely better to have friends to go out with. I had some decent results from online dating, went on a few dates and got laid a few times.

[15] Read 36 Books

39% complete

I read a lot of great books this year and still half through some at the moment. It can be pretty time consuming but worth it. I think I could have read more if I listened to more audiobooks.

1 No Excuses - Brian Tracy
2 Superfoods - Judith Wills
3 Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu
4 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey
5 Essays and Poems - Ralph Waldo Emerson
6 The Richest Man in Babylon - Samuel Clason
7 6 Pillars of Self Esteem - Nathaniel Braden
8 Crush It! - Gary Vaynerchuk
9 How to Live on 24 hrs a Day - Arnold Bennett
10 The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand
11 The New Psycho-Cybernetics - Maxwell Maltz and Dan Kennedy
12 Friedrich Nietzsche: The Giants of Philosophy - Richard Schacht
13 Inside the Poker Mind - John Feeney
14 Marathon Training - Jeff Galloway
15 Meditations - Marcus Aurelius

Here is my latest vlog-



Here is a JFA cover called "Beach Blanket Bongout"-



Here is one of my paintings-



Cheers, I would urge you to start your own PG&C, the benefits are countless.

MM, Aesah and Rob's threads are all very inspiring to me as well.

"There's always people doing better and worse. Just compare yourself to the people doing better, then you never get cocky." - Tai Lopez

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

Mini Challenge #36

1/5 hrs of poker study
26/50 hrs of poker

This post is already way TL;DR so I'll post 2016 goals tomorrow.

I'm living in Vegas too. Happy New Year Carl!

Good stuff Pure! I love the hard level of honesty and work ethic you share in your day to day poker journey! It's not that easy to just auto fire up the brain and play every day! The mental struggle is real, as is the burn out factor and you shared both openly so appreciate that!

Your list of books, which non poker book on that list did you enjoy the most and why?

Definitely get me on your text list for next volunteer work scheduled, and also lets get a hike in next week if you are up for it!

Gonna be a great 2016 and I look forward to our continued poker networking and friendship!

This year I want to really focus on time management and scrutinize my use of time so I eliminate slacking off and laziness while maximizing productivity and progress.

Here is a brief overview of how I plan to allocate my time in 2016.

These are my process goals. I'll get deeper and more detailed as far as specific outcomes I will accomplish and a few other miscellaneous goals I have for the year in my next full update on the 11th.

2016 GOALS

[ ] 1800 hrs poker
[ ] 360 hrs art
[ ] 360 hrs dating and social life
[ ] 180 hrs music
[ ] 180 hrs volunteering/organizing
[ ] 180 hrs reading
[ ] 180 hrs to do list
[ ] 72 hrs meditation
[ ] 180 runs/180 calisthenics sessions
[ ] Travel to 6 new places + Europe

very strong 2016 goals Carl. I'm also very impressed with the variety and amount of your goals you achieved in 2015. We should meet up at some point to talk about time management and goal achievement, although you clearly have a better track record than me!

Good job in 2015 and good luck in 2016 Carl! I think you're about as well-traveled as anyone on here, what are your top three places you've visited so far? (Not specifically for poker, just overall)

I noticed you have had goals for study hours in the past, especially in mini challenges, but none overall for 2016 - any reason for that?

Hey pure, pretty sure I've seen you around and I've definitely been following the thread. Best of luck this new year and see you on the tables!

Thanks, same to you!


Thanks, it was my most productive year if I include the headway I made towards my goals as a whole despite only winning half of what I won last year at the tables.

Very true, nobody is a completely soulless machine than can flip a switch and be in "crush poker mode" at will. It wouldn't be worth the sacrifice.

I'll keep you up to date on the volunteering. Yes I'm down for another hike soon.

I would have to give them all a thumbs up. I read a variety from self development, entreprenuership, philosphy, novels, to health and fitness. If you are looking for a specific recommendation it would depend which topic most interests you.


Cheers, the sentiment is mutual!


Thanks, I think it will be a formidable challenge to knock all these out.

I am happy about what I was able to do last year but we can always do better and try harder.

We should definitely grab a bite and chat soon.


That's hard to narrow down but if I had to choose I would say South Florida, Chicago, New Orleans top the list.

I do have some study and sharpening the saw related goals for 2016. I will elaborate on them in my next update on the 11th.


Cool dude, feel free to say what's up. Same to you!

"I am not discouraged because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward." - Thomas Edison

Las Vegas



Random Classic Car



XS



I want to kick off the year by breaking down my goals and determine in detail what exactly I plan to accomplish this year.

I've decided to start posting HH in here again on a regular basis. I'll wait at least 24 hours before posting results in a spoiler to allow for discussion.

POKER

I will play 1800 hours of quality volume.

-This was the standard I set last year and I will attempt it again this year.
-I plan to study consistently and post about 36 different poker concepts I find interesting ITT.
-I will post 180 hand histories in the strategy sub-forums and in here.
-I will encourage and support all of my peers in the PG&C sub-forum.

ART

I will invest 360 hours in my art.

-I will participate in 4 art shows to exhibit my work.
-I will work with new techniques and mediums.

DATING AND SOCIAL LIFE

I will invest 360 hours in my dating and social life.

-I will go out 72 times.
-I will cultivate new friendships with people in the fitness, art and music worlds.

MUSIC

I will invest 180 hours in my music.

-I will record 18 original songs and 18 covers.
-I will perform 36 times.

VOLUNTEERING/ORGANIZING

I will invest 180 hours in organizing The Poker Player Volunteer Organization

-I will research ways to make our crew more effective and create an impact.
-I will create fliers and videos to promote our cause
-I will recognize and reward the best volunteers

READING

I will invest 180 hours in reading and education.

-I will upload 36 video book reviews

TO DO LIST

I will invest 180 hours in taking care of things that need to be done.

-I will prioritize my most important tasks and complete them accordingly.

MEDITATION

I will invest 72 hours in meditation.

-I will meditate 12 minutes nightly before going to sleep.

RUNNING/CALISTHENICS

I will complete 180 runs and 180 calisthenics sessions.

-I will run 2 marathons.
-I will add on to my customized calisthenics program and increase difficulty progressively.
-I will eat as cleanly as possible.

TRAVEL

I will travel to 6 new places + Europe

-Tampa (Hard Rock)
-Boston/NYC/DC (Foxwoods, Parx, Maryland Live!)
-Dallas (Winstar)
-Seattle (Muckleshoot)
-Italy/Germany/Sweden

This post is already super long so I'll just give some brief thought on a poker concept than interests me. I just want to argue that it is better to have a balanced betting range postflop than a balanced checking range. When you have value hands and bluffs in your betting range you will sometimes win the pot uncontested with hands that have no SDV and you may develop an image that will allow you to get more $ out of your value hands. But mixing value hands and air in your checking range by "slowplaying" to be deceptive, you will not be able to win a pot uncontested with your air and you will likely win a smaller pot with your value hands than if you had remained straightforward and aggressive with your value hands.

Hand 1:

1/3 NL (7 handed)
V1 (1000)- mix of loose passive and loose aggressive
Hero's Image (300)- tag

Preflop (4):
Hero is MP dealt KK
Hero raises to 12, MP calls, LP calls, V1 calls from SB.

Flop (47):
J75
V1 checks, Hero bets 30, MP folds, LP folds, V1 calls.

Turn (107):
6
V1 checks, Hero bets 60, V1 calls.

River (227):
A
V1 shoves for 175 effective, Hero folds.

I am pretty confident my hand is best OTF and OTT, perhaps I could have sized a little bigger. River is a weird spot, NFD is possible some random 2p. Also some missed draws. I think it's really close. V was racking up ready to leave so I figured he would be less likely to bluff.

Hand 2:

1/3 NL (9 hands)
V1 (185)- new to table
Hero's Image (400)- haven't been in any hands V1 has seen

Preflop (4):
Hero is BB dealt A2
MP limps, MP raises to 15, V1 calls in LP, BTN calls, Hero calls, limper calls.

Flop (72):
J86
Checks through.

Turn (72):
K
Checks to V1 who bets 35, folds to Hero who raises to 105, folds to V1 who calls.

River (282):
J
Hero checks, V1 bets 65 AI, Hero folds.

I think I should have probably just check/jammed OTT. River I might actually be good vs bricked draws. I'm not sure if V would bluff with so little left. In hind sight I think it's a call given pot odds.

Here is my latest vlog-



Here is an original called "Omnipresent Fear"-



Here is one of my paintings-



Mini Challenge #1

[50] 50 hrs poker
[13] 10 hrs art
[1] 10 hrs dating and social life
[1.5] 5 hrs music
[0] 5 hrs volunteering/organizing
[4.5] 5 hrs reading
[6.5] 5 hrs to do list
[.5] 2 hrs meditation
[10] 5 runs/5 calisthenics sessions

2016 GOALS

[50] 1800 hrs poker
[13] 360 hrs art
[1] 360 hrs dating and social life
[1.5] 180 hrs music
[0] 180 hrs volunteering/organizing
[4.5] 180 hrs reading
[6.5] 180 hrs to do list
[.5] 72 hrs meditation
[10] 180 runs/180 calisthenics sessions
[ ] Travel to 6 new places + Europe

super impressed by your drive and diligence.

Thanks again for the great blog. I approve adding more HH's.

If you visit Seattle, check out Tulalip too. Also, PM me, would like to meet you.

Just to make sure I understand your mini-concept, I think you're saying it's more important/valuable to add bluffs to your bets than it is to add strong hands to your checks. I think I agree, but of course, it depends on what types of mistakes your opponents mostly make. Adding bluffs to your bets is useful against people who fold too much, and, as you said, also helpful against people who may over-react to being bluffed by then calling too much.

I think adding strong hands to checking range is only helpful against people who are sufficiently aggressive, so for most of llsnl, this is not necessary. That said, against the better half (maybe only a quarter) of my opponents, I think it is helpful to check some strongish hands. My gut has me doing this OOP much more than IP. I go for much thinner value IP than OOP. For example, I raise A7ss from HJ, CO, BTN and BB call. Flop is A94. OOP if there is a good player in CO or BTN, I will likely check flop. If I was OTB with three opponents, I'd likely bet that.

This is not really about adding strong hands to my checking range, but more about position. My view is that whether to check strong hands is determined by whether I am in position. I am seldom checking strong hands IP. So to take it back to your question, I definitely feel that it is not important to balance by checking strong hands IP, but it may be valuable OOP. Balancing your betting range might be more important IP than OOP, the opposite of balancing your checking range. So I propose a two by two matrix, like this:

Is balancing your range valuable at llsnl?

...................OOP IP
betting range.. N Y
checking range Y N

This is more of a gut feel, and I would like to think more about it.

Thanks, I've been keeping track of a lot of these things the last couple of years but this year I will be even more meticulous as far as time spent doing each activity.




Tulalip and Muckleshoot are the only casinos in the vicinity with 5 blind games correct? Sure I'll shoot you a PM when I head up there.

My statement is really generalized as far as overall strategy, there are some exceptions. My main point is that TAG and LAG styles are going to win a lot more than TP and LP styles.

I think I follow, what you are saying. I tend to chk to either c/f or c/r when OOP and V is IP with initiative rather than donk bet.

When we are in position we don't have to check until after villains have acted on the current street so they can't utilize this info until the next street or never if we are already at the river. So striving to have a balanced checking range IP is much less important.

VS stations we should be betting a wide merged value range with no bluffs. VS villains who do fold sometimes we should be betting a narrower value range with some bluffs. In either case we will be betting our strongest hands. Therefore the best strategy is to fastplay rather than slowplay.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Not sure how important balance is at 1/2-1/3, but once you move up to 2/5+ you definitely want to add more strong hands to your oop checking range, as you will get floated more often especially if you have a weaker/tighter image

Not to be a negative Nelly on your 2016 goals (and I realize they are goals so not all will be achieved), but why did you set such similar goals to 2015 when you admit that those goals were so difficult to reach?

I mean, you have a ton of goals there. And they are going to take a crapload of time to complete. Like, 1800 hours of poker ... and finding all that time to paint ... and finding all that time to study ... and make music ... How about a goal of actually getting some sleep? LOL.

Plus, if you travel to Europe it's going to significantly reduce your poker for that time frame.

After looking at your 1/3 and 2/5 graphs ... what is your projection for playing time in each of those games in 2016? More 1/3 or more 2/5?

You continue to be an inspiration to the rest of us out here trying to get to the next level. Keep it up. Hoping to make another trip to Vegas this year. If I do, dinner is on me once when I'm there.

GOOD LUCK!

Snoqualmie also has a $5 blind game, 2/5 though with a $300 max buy-in. (3/5 with $500 max at Muck and Tulalip). Sno is a little smaller generally, but can also be good at times.

Sick thread sir, I am subbed.

"I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor." - Henry David Thoreau

Las Vegas





Fighting Fuzzy Thinking



I'm just about finished reading "Fighting Fuzzy Thinking in Poker, Gaming & Life" by David Sklansky, great book overall. There is a section that talks about counting combos when weighing each possible hand in your opponents range and the effect of card removal. 6 combos for any pocket pair, 16 combos for any unpaired hand comprised of 12 unsuited and 4 suited hands. We can take into account any cards in our hand or on the board and reduce the probability our opponent holds certain hands.

For instance AK is a better hand to get AIPF than QQ because they are both about a 20% underdog vs KK+ but AK holds blockers therefore our opponent can have only have 6 combos of KK+ rather than if we have QQ which has no blockers and our opponent has 12 combos of KK+.

Hand 3:

1/3 NL (7 handed)
V1 (400)- lag, 3b me a few times an I just folded
Hero's Image (600)- tag, I've 3b a few times, pfr/cbet given up a few times, haven't gotten to SD with weak hands

Preflop (4):
Hero is BB dealt KJ
V1 raises to 8 in MP, BTN calls, Hero 3b to 40, V1 calls, BTN folds.

Flop (85):
J64
Checks through.

Turn (85):
3
Hero checks, V1 bets 20, Hero calls.

River (125):
A
Checks through.

This is a smaller open than usual for V1 so it's a good spot to squeeze. OTF I would cbet pretty much 100% if I bricked but I happen to flop what is more than likely the best hand so I see if I can induce. OTT He probably puts me on AK or AQ since I checked twice so he makes a weak bet, no real reason to raise here. OTR I am hoping he takes another stab but he doesn't fall for it.

Hand 1 Results:

Hand 2 Results:
Here is my latest vlog-



Here is cover of "Inside Edition" by Throat Oyster -



Here is one of my paintings-



Possibly true, better players will utilize position more effectively and render less hands +EV to play in EP.

You make a good point. The goals I set are very daunting and time consuming. But hey this is the poker goals & challenges subforum

I know some players that have eclipsed 2000 hrs/yr, so I feel 1800 hrs is attainable. I could have done it last year had I stayed disciplined and committed. The hardest part for me is staying interested and engaged while at the poker table. My interest waned and my quality of play suffered, combine that with some less than favorable card distribution and I didn't make any money in the last 6 months.

I value sleep too, I try to get in 8 hrs/night.

I would like to play mostly 2/5 and shot take 5/10 by the end of the year. I was just about to take some 5/10 shots last July before encountering this 700 hr b/e stretch. My bankroll has regressed significantly due to living expenses so I am in the process of rebuilding at 1/2 and 1/3. I feel my 2/5 w/r can potentially be a lot higher so long as I study hard and stay focused at the tables.

I'm aiming to make it out to Europe for a couple weeks in Nov or Dec so I will have to work hard up to that point.

I hope to see you out here in LV, perhaps at WSOP!

Thanks for the info!

TY sir!

Mini Challenge #2

[26.5] 50 hrs poker
[7.5] 10 hrs art
[4] 10 hrs dating and social life
[1] 5 hrs music
[2.5] 5 hrs volunteering/organizing
[3] 5 hrs reading
[3] 5 hrs to do list
[.5] 2 hrs meditation
[3] 5 runs/5 calisthenics sessions

2016 GOALS

[76.5] 1800 hrs poker
[20.5] 360 hrs art
[5] 360 hrs dating and social life
[2.5] 180 hrs music
[2.5] 180 hrs volunteering/organizing
[7.5] 180 hrs reading
[9.5] 180 hrs to do list
[1] 72 hrs meditation
[13] 180 runs/180 calisthenics sessions
[ ] Travel to 6 new places + Europe

**** staying interested and engaged is so hard for me too

I don't know if I agree with Sklansky about having AK rather than QQ. While, the blocker effects you posted are true, I think in typical all in situations,, QQ can dominate more hands than AK. I feel players are more willing to get it in with pocket pairs that are dominated by QQ rather than big aces dominated by AK.

That's just my experience though, curious what other people think.

Thats a great thought. Im having trouble deciding which is better myself

It's called a grind for a reason. I'm hoping that posting hh and going over some study material will help make poker a little more interesting again.


The example is not from the book, it's something I heard a long time ago, don't remember the source. This is open to debate.

Here is a more specific example to illustrate a point. Suppose we are 500 effective and open AK UTG for 25, 1 call, and a TAG on BTN 3b to 100, and we shove. We have blockers to AA, KK and AK so there are less combos of hands V will auto snap us off with and may 3b/f TT, JJ and perhaps even QQ if we have a nitty image. Therefore we have more fold equity.

AKs, AKo has 40% equity vs QQ+, AKs, AKo

QQ also has 40% equity vs QQ+, AKs, AKo

QQ does have a higher equity edge vs a wider range but usually AK and QQ will both be strong enough to stack off with.

Are those numbers correct? AK vs AA should weight it to much less than 40%