5k update for month (low volume). Pokerstars is over the 20 BI mark but I'm feeling good about playing there so right now I'm putting Ignition on the back burner and going to grind on PS. Maybe I'll play on iggy while I'm at work but that's going to have to be if the Global tables aren't going because I just don't want to give up any rakeback anymore if I dont' have to.

Looking to get to about 20k hands on PS asap

Looks well.
GL in 20k challenge!

Thanks, about 700 hands left so look for an update in a few days, maybe less

Certainly you do have some alligator blood to grind these small stakes to that much $ ... Deeply admire your journey!

Let's go ahead and just do a 1 year review... It was about this time 1 year ago that I decided to subscribe to Upswing Poker and join the lab. I really was inspired by KidCudi's post here on 2p2 and a few others but really he stuck out as THE success story it seemed like and I wanted to do what he did. Start at the micros and grind my way up. I thought it was going to be A LOT easier than it's turning out to be LOL.

I honestly feel like a losing player. Like one day my luck will come to an end and my bankroll will disappear in one quick session. I don't look at my overall results often (like yearly) and maybe that drives that feeling of no accomplishment. I tend to get caught up in short term results. I think this comes from studying a lot on my own and looking for some form of reinforcement feedback kinda thing. Like learning to weld, I lay some bead then look at it and adjust to temp/thickness/composition/etc etc but it's very immediate. In poker I struggle to find this and for me it can make progress seem impossible/unattainable.

Well here we are then. Ups, downs, plenty of looking like a fish in HH posts and comments. I'm not good at writing so let's just get down to the results.

Sites tracked - ACR, Ignition, Pokerstars (in order of volume)
Untracked results (honestly unknown but similar if not more because the pools are even softer especially like WSOP lmaooo)





Going into 2024

obviously looking to still establish at 25NL. I took another hit out of my BR to get ahold of some stuff I wanted to learn how to use. Didn't really impact it as much as i thought it was going to (funny how i don't even see that I'm winning and this generates $ i can spend) but in any case I have decided to shot take higher stakes tables as long as there are known fish there to play vs. I recently shotted 30nl one table + three 10nl tables and it went great. Game broke after I stacked a fish but I was happy to be the one who go on the table as there were 4 tables going and 3 of them were stacked to the gills with regs. The last table was 5 fish and I got Godseat lol sometimes we do get lucky i guess.

I'm including the 20k hand graph recently for Pokerstars because when I first played vs the pool I thought I would simply win no matter what and just crush everyone. Looking back, could have ran kinda bad but I think I just played like a donk tbh. Ended up feeling really bad about the downswing and it was kinda rough to even load up a table to try to play through it. I eventually decided to get a single coaching session from a player who has grinded through my fenced pool already and it really helped bring things back into perspective and motivate me again to grind. I think coaching consistently will be one of the most effective ways to augment my improvement. The results were not disappointing and I do think they were almost a direct result from a significant change in approach simply through mindset/mental barriers.

@slyless
This is maybe one of most proud samples as I feel so much looking at this. Struggle, uncertainty, perseverance and ultimately TRIUMPH THROUGH ADVERSITY. Turning around a bad streak into a winning sample in spite of running bad and finding proof that you can come out ahead even if you lose in hurtful spots (yes im still a massive mental fish)

So who knows what will happen in 2024. I thought I was basically ending this year Breakeven or losing and actually not. I think I'm finding a place where I just enjoy talking about stuff, learning more about how poker works and people approach it and less about like becoming a millionaire tomorrow. Seems like when i let go of the world and just play the hand I'm in at the moment, things just are better. Idk how to put into words, like zen. Results don't even matter, just doing and finding something in that process.

I hope people have found some kind of value in this blog. I mostly feel like it has gone unnoticed and is rather laughable. Like I said I'm no writer or anything. I am glad to have kept this up for over a year now because I tend to not follow through with a lot of things. I find a deep satisfaction in this game and not just playing it, study as well. The aha moments are really cool and exciting.

A lot of this blog has been pretty embarrassing to look back on and read through again (even worse my first one that I made). I'm not sure if I should make a new one for 2024, don't think it matters much. I am really proud of myself for how far I have come, I guess I can't take that away from me. I set goals, accomplished a lot, failed a lot and kept going. I'm motivated by a lot of you guys here and I'm not going to name anyone else specifically. I'm also really happy to have found a few players to work together with and talk hands etc the last few weeks, Poker can be incredibly lonely. Poker is kinda more than a game for me. It has opened up my eyes to so much in this last year that extends far beyond 2 cards and a pot.

I hope everyone had a profitable 2023 and going into the holidays, cheers!

Maybe in 2024 ill take some classes on writing.

This is a great blog, keep it up. You've made a lot of progress this year and this is only the beginning.

yes 2024 could be breakout year, glgl

It's truly inspiring to read about your journey in poker and the personal growth you've experienced along the way.

The fact that you've maintained this blog is a testament to your commitment and consistency.
It's common for individuals to underestimate the impact of their stories and experiences on others.
Your openness about the struggles and victories can be relatable and motivational for fellow poker players or anyone facing challenges in their pursuits.

Embarrassment about past entries is natural but also a sign of growth.
It shows that you're evolving, learning, and becoming more self-aware.
Consider it a part of the journey.

Here's to a successful and fulfilling 2024, both at the poker tables and in life.
Cheers!

Well said

Then it's decided. Blog stays. Going to lay out some stuff over the next few days but looks like I will make this more of a commitment if it will impact readers in a positive way.

Big thanks for the replies, your words and guidance means more than you know. Volume is no bueno this month, but i think that's expected. Quality of play has been A++ however so the last couple k hands just raking it in. I'm wondering how much table selection is affecting this uptick.




month graph (so much more brrrrr than last month )

Holidays attract a lot more Recreational Players as well. That and say Summer... I think it helps as well. I saw a Reg go up 20+ BIs in a night playing casually at 50 NL which he doesn't play usually but wanted to release a bonus.

Like this? (but not over a night so not really the same lol)

https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/1...12/index4.html

bumping if anyone wants to go back to when it started.

Okay but in all seriousness, I need a reality check. This upswing is going to end sometime (I would imagine). I'm still running really hot just stacking people left, right and center. I want to abuse the variance and confidence that I have right now to play but at the same time it feels like I'm riding on an edge. I'm back to work tomorrow so going to try to play some more today and this week I think really hit the books and finish the month by ticking off the rest of my checklist.

-the bankroll is healthy again after withdrawing and getting ahold of some cool poker stuff, so that's all good

-The Mental Game of Poker, I need to finish. I'm something like halfway through and I can easily get it done. Definitely going to look forward to this as I'm upswinging so hard and usually only going to this book (audiobook preferred) when I'm struggling really hard.

-GTOw trainer hands. I'm also about halfway through these. I was doing about 1k per day but was slacking on checking the solver on some low % spots and some errors (maybe get 1 blunder here and there from lazy zoning out can't focus. How do some people just find focus and motivation?) Anyway, I kinda enjoy the trainer work so it's perfect during work hours to kill the time and it's a perfect way to tally hours into study category for sure.

-The only thing I'm not sure will get done is the HHs posts. I could post a bunch in a row but I don't just want to spam the thread with random hands. Hmmmm maybe I should filter hands that I am doing in trainer and post those, that would make it pretty easy to find hands.

MONTH BIGGEST POTS WON (by $)
#1


#2


#3


#4


#5


#7 on list BUT REALLY THIS IS NUMBERO UNO BABY when you know, you know.


#8


#9


#10


OH NO WE FORGOT #6, this will do

BIGGEST POTS LOST

#1


#2


#3


#4


#5

#6


#7


#8


#9


#10




Well, I think we can consider this the 20 hh posts for the month then huh?

Keep it up kid. 24 is the year.

Good luck!

December. Still unhappy with volume. But I am getting longer sessions in now without breaks (1.5-2 hours full focus) so it's a slight trade off but +EV in the long run for sure to worry about focus over volume. Never been more excited to be studying. Happy New Year 2p2.





Biggest accomplishment this month is for sure mental game improvement. I have never ever been running UNDER EV and it not get to me and destroy my game. So this is big big deal for me, coupled with longer session times it's a win win win.

Oh currently shotting 30nl. Don't jinx me. But I need to grow some cajones and make a move to gtfo of 10nl. 5 bi stop loss. Already up over 4 bi so lets get it. What excuses do I have left with a 10 bi shot cushion?!?! When do i stop seeing $ amounts and live and breathe in BBs so I don't get moneyscared?

Have so many BIs that you could never reasonably go bust in your 'given BI'. i.e. unlimited BIs like 1000

You're taking a 30 shot, GL, with the 18 BBs per where you're at it should move up and degrade very little. If that 18 BBs per 100 runs over a few hundred thousand hands in the limit you're in you should have little issue with variance making life hard for you.

GL KOs on the wood for the poker gods for you!

ooof

hey man do me a favor and don't do that again.

net won -- EV won -- bb/100 -- evbb/100



Reality check is here. I'm on a nice downswing and mentally it's rough/annoying/taxing whatever you wanna label it. Idk how I can be playing this long and putting in as much effort as i do and in general just time allotted to have poker thoughts (all day) and still incapable of breaking out of 10nl. Yeah I know it's not even that bad. I don't care to compare to anyone else, I know what I'm focusing on and I'm expecting results from it. It's frustrating when I'm not getting those results because I do feel like i put a lot of heart into trying to improve. If I'm not getting results then obviously I'm going to feel like I'm doing something wrong and now I'm leveling myself into oblivion probably in the easiest pots. Guess 2025 will be our year. I was so excited to study and **** but now my ambition is completely shot.



how many more failed shots at 25/30nl you think we can get under our belt?