Cliffs at bottom

Hey everyone if you don't know me I'm IslandGuy. I Have been playing NLHE for just over a year now. I started taking the game seriously last spring, and made a PG&C thread with some overly optimistic goals. Since then I haven't left the micro stakes properly.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/17...m-all-1444312/

I have spent the last year struggling at Poker and not keeping steady employment. I couldn't seem to stick to good BRM and any time I had a bad session at LLSNL I would spew instead of walk away. I am learning the importance of good BRM finally after getting the **** kicked out of myself by a mix of variance, chip spew sessions, and blowing any live poker winnings on hotels and food.

In October I got hooked up with a coach here on 2+2, Keyser. He did a databese review video for me and explained how I should be thinking in terms of strategy. It was a huge help to my game, and he was keeping in contact with me answering my questions. Then he stopped responding to my pm's. Grinding wasn't working because I still had so many leaks in my game and Keyser wasn't responding to me, so I focused on work. I started to feel lost in poker, so bad my coach ditches me.
Then I found a thread explaining that he had been in accident and is in bad shape. I haven't read any updates in awhile so I don't know how he is doing now but last I heard was not very good. I hope you recover Keyser I know you helped alot of people get better at this game.

Being coachless I started looking at different coaches. There are so many and I didn't know where to start. I pm'd a friend on 2+2 asking for some help deciding who to seek coaching from. After a few days he got back to me and said he was willing to coach me, for a price I will leave undisclosed, but believe me it is a ****ing steal. He doesn't usually do any coaching, I just think he likes something about me and is willing to help for reasons only he knows.

Anyway I have had a new coach for over a week now and things are going great. He is pointing out leaks in my game that are so obvious. Simple stuff about initiative and ranges. I am so grateful to have someone that can guide me in the right direction. He has been so available and willing to help me that in just the last week I feel like I have learned more about poker than I have in the last 3 months. He had me write a plan for myself that I will post below.

So after spending the year ****ing around at LLSNL and not sticking to proper BRM, live or online, I have come to a cliff. If I don't have the discipline to follow propper BRM I will never be successful at poker. I know this to my core now, but still I make excuses for myself. Thus the cliff I have come to. If I do not stick to proper BRM then I am going to give poker up for good. I have been very open about my goals in poker with my friends and family. Sometimes to encouragement, sometimes to concern or ridicule. This is my safety net to make sure I don't cross the line from obsessive goal oriented focus to addiction. If I don't have a proper BR I am just gambling!

So here I am. I am not working atm, but that will change very soon. I am going to spend this season lobstering here in Maine. This season I am going to be staying on Matinicus Island, lobstering out there. It is a little island pop. arrox 150 residents. There are no stores or anything, it is 18 miles off shore. What a great place to play poker and save money!! So I am going to go full beast mode this season and not gaf about my carpal tunnel. Make money, save money. By December I should have well over $10K saved, maybe more like $20k not counting anything in my Bovada account at that point.
With that much money, and my coaches help through the year, I should be ready to go pro. I want to leave Maine around Christmas of this next year and go somewhere warm for the winter. If I enjoy success grinding I will come back to Maine and live in my private camp on Tommy's Island.

Because this will hopefully be my last year lobstering I want to make a blog or something starting this spring to show what it's like to live on an offshore island as a fisherman. I would like to keep this thread focused on my goals and progress though.

So here is the plan I wrote out for myself

What I Want-
To make a comfortable living playing poker online. I would like to be able to beat 200NL at 5bb/100 or more.

How I Want To Do It-
I want to do it the right way with proper BRM, discipline, self control and humility.
I want to work the season lobstering and saving money for a substantial BR and Life Roll so that I don't feel too pressured to have positive results all the time. I want to be ready to go pro by December.

How I Am Going To Do It-
With hard work and vicious tenacity. I will work with my coach whenever I can and put in as much volume as I feel comfortable with.

I am going to follow strict BRM of 20BI. Dropping down at 15BI and not moving up until I have 25BI for the next stake. I will deposit more money on my Bovada account if I need to move up quicker than my grinding will let me.

I will start saving money August 1st. I will save $600 a week minimum, but likely more at times, until the season slows down in December. At this point I will hopefully have $10K-$15K saved.

What I Am Not Going To Do-
I am not going to waiver from proper BRM. I am not going to play live poker. I am not going to let my ego get the best of me.


So hopefully I can stay on the path, because I know if I can conquer myself I can beat this game. I was reading Mental Midgets PG&C and I really like how he is posting hands live, so he knows what he was thinking. I think I should follow his lead here and do the same.

I will post more about my goals and progress, as well as graphs and goodies soon.

Cliffs

-I am stubborn and lack self control, therefore I haven't had any success in poker. This relates mostly to BRM for me.

-I have started working with a coach and my game is improving significantly

-I have given myself a strict BRM path that I am to follow or else I will give up poker for good

-By December of 2015 I want to have a substantial BR and LR saved, so I can go somewhere warm and cheap to grind NL200 for the winter

-I will be posting progress, graphs and other goal and progress related stuff


Thanks for reading everyone!

Graphs as promised

First is of the last week


This second graph is my entire database up to 25NL Some FR some 6M
http://i1254.photobucket.com/albums/...psd5e9fe76.png

Subbed, can relate to being stubborn and lacking self control as its a big issue with me.

Hoping 2015 is the year to work on that.

At my last real job my boss was from Maine and he hired like ten people from the state, nice people .

GL!

Sorry the hand converter isnt working properly. Here is a link to the hand on WT http://wt.ag/18OYEAM

As I said I am going to post trouble hands in real time. This hand just happened. V had just sat down at the table a few hands ago and posted out of turn so I know he's a fish with his 50bb stack.

I will comment more on this hand later as I am in a session atm. I really didn't like calling this river but I put V on a fairly inelastic range with some weak hands but one that also includes the nuts. With his sizing on this river and on previous streets, I just didnt see a fish playing a made flush like this. Maybe 2pr or a set.

I don't think I played this hand well in any case, but I need to focus on my session and analyze more later.

No Limit Holdem
HoldemIndictator
5 Players
Hand Conversion Powered by http://weaktight.com/

Stacks:
UTG IslandGuy $12.51
CO P5 $9.70
BTN P6 $2.58
SB P1 $5.10
BB P2 $9.40

Pre-Flop: ($0, 5 players) IslandGuy is UTG Kh Ad
IslandGuy raises to $0.30, 2 folds, P1 calls $0.25, 1 fold

Flop: 8c 9c Ac ($0.50, 2 players)
P1 bets $0.40, IslandGuy calls $0.40

Turn: Js ($1.30, 2 players)
P1 bets $0.75, IslandGuy calls $0.75

River: 5h ($2.80, 2 players)
P1 bets $1.50, IslandGuy calls $1.50

Final Pot: $5.80

Crying call otr. v seemed solid so far and i thought there were bluffs in his range. I knew it was close though and this could be a leak right here. I need to analyze this hand extensively when I am done with my session.

http://wt.ag/1xr0sVm


Me(BB) $10.09 - VP:28 PFR:17 AF:0.3 W:33|100 STL:0|33 3B:22| CB:33|0 N:2.13 Hands:18
P3(UTG) $20.24 - VP:18 PFR:14 AF:3.0 W:50|100 STL:20|100 3B:0| CB:100| N:2.62 Hands:22
P4(CO) $8.28 - VP:27 PFR:14 AF:0.8 W:50|67 STL:40|100 3B:0|0 CB:0|0 N:-4.92 Hands:22
P5(BTN) $12.40 - VP:18 PFR:0 AF:Inf. W:25|0 STL:0|100 3B:0| CB:|100 N:-1.86 Hands:22
P6(SB) $11.23 - VP:43 PFR:21 AF:Inf. W:33|100 STL:50|100 3B:0| CB:50| N:1.18 Hands:14


Pre Flop: Me(BB) with [9h,9s]
P3(UTG) folds, P4(CO) raises 0.20, P5(BTN) folds, P6(SB) folds, Me(BB) raises 0.50, P4(CO) calls 0.40


Flop: (4d,2s,4h) (2 players)
Me(BB) bets 0.82, P4(LP) calls 0.82


Turn: 6d (2 players)
Me(BB) checks, P4(LP) bets 1.10, Me(BB) calls 1.10


River: Kc (2 players)
Me(BB) checks, P4(LP) bets 3, Me(BB) calls 3


Final:
P4(CO) shows [Ah,Jh]
Me(BB) wins 10.54

Ugh last 24 hours has been rough. -7BI
I need to do some serious hand review before I get back to it tonight.

I have about 100 hands to go over from the last 24 hours or so before I get back on the tables. I have my work but out for me today, but I had better get used to it,

My analysis of the above hand

Looking at this board in flopzilla only 31% of V's range of AA-22,AKo-ATo,KQo-KTo,QJo-QTo,JTo,AKs-A8s,KQs-K9s,QJs-Q9s,JTs-J9s,T9s-T8s,98s-97s,87s-86s,76s-75s,65s-64s,54s is continuing here. He has alot of overcards and crap to get value from on this flop.

OTT I has so much equity at 73% I should have bet for value again

That river- I was beating a bluff and that is all. V has a very wide range on this river because of how I played the turn. This is a tough spot I could have avoided by betting the turn, but now that I am here the action up until this point makes a bluff very possible here from V.

Final Assesment- I should have bet turn around 60% pot to get some of the overcards and junk out of his range, while getting value from oh so many draws draws and lower pairs. As played river was a good call.

I led out on this flop because I had a very vulnerable hand multiway. It may have been the wrong move but I think it was the best line, maybe I should have sized it smaller.

I had to fold the turn because all of the draws I was charging on the flop just got there.



This is a spot Im not used to being in so I am unsure if this was the best line to take here.

I think I missed quite a bit of value on the flop and turn with this hand. I am in a session now so I will analyze this hand during my next break to try to find a better way to play here.

No Limit Holdem
HoldemIndictator
4 Players
Hand Conversion Powered by weaktight.com

Stacks:
CO IslandGuy ($15.58)
BTN P4 ($7.87)
SB P6 ($10.79)
BB P1 ($14.70)

Pre-Flop: ($0, 4 players) IslandGuy is CO Q Q
IslandGuy raises to $0.30, 2 folds, P1 calls $0.20

Flop: 5 4 9 ($0.40, 2 players)
P1 bets $0.32, IslandGuy calls $0.32

Turn: 9 ($1.04, 2 players)
P1 checks, IslandGuy bets $0.64, P1 calls $0.64

River: 6 ($2.32, 2 players)
P1 checks, IslandGuy checks


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I had notes on this guy as being spazzy, and he had showed a couple bluffs that he played like this.

It was a very tough call though because having showed said bluffs, it was hard to imagine that he would make that same move again. The board was so drawy though that I decided to make the call.

Here are my results from the last week. 2/1/15 - 2/7/15

Updates-

I have had a great week. I have been running good and making good decisions. I will have a graph for the past week at midnight tonight.

I have been working on my mental game some this week and inventorying leaks in it. I have some things in my life I need to change to help my game. Let me rephrase that. I have a ton of things in my life I shoud change to help my game, but I have come up with a few big leaks and I need to set some goals.

I am relying to much on substances and it is definitely affecting my game and my focus. I sit out an orbit on the tables every 30 minutes or so to smoke a cigarette. I can't play well without smoking weed, I drink way too much coffee. These things all affect my game. I do not want to bite off more than I can chew so I am going to start small, and as I achieve some success in some areas I will hopefully continue to plug leaks.

So I am going to quit smoking tomorrow. Actually it will be tonight at midnight. I am going to use snus for awhile to help with withdrawls and step away from the tables as much as I need to avoid getting tilted.

As far as the weed goes, I don't want to stop toking during sessions. I don't think it is bad for my game, but I don't like that my game relies on it to keep even judgement. I have a habit of smoking a bunch right before a session so that "I am in the zone" . I need to change this. I realized it wasn't the high that was helping me, it was the meditative state of clear thinking that was helping me. I don't need weed to achieve this, I need meditation!

I have some experience meditating so I should see some benefits quickly. I have told myself to just meditate for 20 minutes a day with an alarm set. If I just do the action, eventually I should reap some benefits. I started doing Yoga a few months ago when I was still on Matinicus Island, but I don't have a good space to do it where I am at now so I will just wait until I am out there again to start.

I will try to cut back on my coffee intake, but I am not going to worry about it too much right now, I think quitting smoking is a big enough task and not having to leave the tables to smoke all the time will be a huge benefit to my game.

Sooooo immediate goals...

1.Quit ****ing smoking once and for all!!
2.Meditate for 20 minutes a day
3.Stop having a power burn session just before I start playing

Well I had a great week last week, here is proof.




My Br got to a point tonight where I could take a shot at 25nl. It didn't go very well at all. I should have taken a break before I moved up and I didn't and I didn't adjust well. On the bright side, after I lost a couple bi's I droped back to 10nl. This is a first for me. My standard procedure when shot taking is to mess up and then chase my losses. This time I did the right thing and dropped back down. It sucks because the bi's I lost at 25nl will be alot harder to get back at 10nl, but if I learned something from it then I didn't lose anything.

Winnahs tilt's a wicked pissah but whatevah

Link for keyser thread? He was my coach as well and I heard the same thing about the accident....

Gl and subbed. I have same goals as you on Bovada.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/10...ation-1492473/

ah yut, Haul back and givah tha dinnahhhh!

subd

Wow it's been a while since I have updated this. A lot has happened in the last month or so. I haven't met all of my goals I set for myself, and life plans have changed a bunch.

I had to make some tough decisions about my future. My captain wasn't responding to my phone calls, to get back to the job that I don't want to go to. Ok, more reason to get serious about poker! So I needed to find a way I can make enough money to live, while moving up the stakes. I got hooked up with the guys at Imawhale and they signed me on for 25nl. This way I can move up the stakes while still withdrawing a little to help with living expenses. This may be the first best decision in my poker journey.

Since signing on with Imawhale I started crushing 25nl, and soon moved up to 50nl. I was on a rocket straight up to 200nl, but then I got overconfident. My overconfidence had me playing looser than I should have been, so when I hit a downswing it really hurt. I worked with my coach to get my preflop ranges ironed out. I have been playing much tighter preflop than I am used to, but so far the results have been great.

I have also been super inspired to put in massive volume. I played 250 hours last month on Bovada. 50K hands. Hopfully I can do 60K this month. I don't think I am on a road to burnout, I have done this long hour stuff before when I was lobstering so it's way easier to sit on my ass for 12 hours than bust my ass for 16. I am taking fewer breaks than I was a month ago by a substantial amount. I am learning to work through tilt, and I am growing ever more aware of leaks in my mental game. I am proud of how quickly I have been responding to them though.

I had a small roll on Merge to play 25nl. It went horrible. I ran worse than I ever have before. My runbad made me a little spewey, and subsequently I lost most of my BR. I have been taking a break from Merge for a while.

Since I am going to try to make poker work now, I won't be lobstering. This means my plans to save money will have to change. I no longer need to focus so much on Saving a BR, but more on saving living/travel expenses so that I can keep variance anxiety out of my game and life.
The #1 reason I decided to start taking poker seriously a year ago was so that I would have a way to make a living and live on my island. This is happening! I just moved back out to my camp on the island on windy April 1st. This is a different island than I was going to be lobstering from. This is Tommy's Island. A little 2.5 acre rock about a mile from shore. I have no running water, I use big batteries and a generator to keep my computer running, and I am the only person on the island. Family comes out for a couple months in the summer but otherwise I am isolated out here. It's a grinders sanctuary.

I have some pics in my last PG&C http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/17...m-all-1444312/

Earlier in this PG&C I said I was planning to start a blog on here about Island life on Matinicus. I am no longer going to Matinicus but hey, why not start one about living on Tommys Island? There isn't alot that goes on out here on a daily basis, but I think I could find some interesting stuff to write about. I plan to start that within the next week, I will post the link when I do.

I have a bunch more that I want to talk about but this post is already TL;DR. Thanks to anyone who has taken the time to read me!

Updates?

How did April go?

April isn't quite over yet, so I don't know.

I had a rough start to the month, but things are looking better now. I took a week off from poker to go make some monies on a boat. It was nice to get out on the water but it reminded me why I am pursuing poker.

I started playing 100nl a few days ago, started with 1 table and now I am doing 2 100nl/ 2 50nl tables. Once my backers give me the go ahead I am going to make 100nl my main game.

All in all it has been a good month, but my green line isn't anything great, I made some adjustments in my game early in the month that didn't work out so well, but I am growing still and improving every day.

I will post graphs in a few days and go into more detail.

Hey! Was just hoping you were doing alright. Sorry if I offended you. GL the rest of April.

you didn't. thanks for following.

No doubt sun