Hi!

I've some goals in poker and in life that I like to share with you guys. I'm doing this to keep myself accountable, and in the process, I hope I can entertain you guys with some nice hands and graphs. At the same time, I might encounter some like-minded people that can motivate me as well.

Last July I finally finished my bachelor's degree in Psychology. It took a while, because of several reasons I will not dive deeply into right now. I'm not going to get my master's degree just yet, because at this point I want to play poker full time instead. I've been playing poker for years now, but never as seriously and as much as I should've had. Reasons for this are being too busy with uni, but also me being a bit of a lazy piece of ****.

My goals for the upcoming year:

(1) play poker for at least 25 hours a week;
(2) study poker for 10 hours a week. Mostly PioSolver, but also some analyses on direct opponents and talking with other regulars about hands I'm unsure about;
(3) move up in stakes;
(3) going to the gym five times a week;
(4) running at least two times a week;
(5) meditate at least five times a week.

I will try to update fairly regularly.

My results:

I play heads up cash on PokerStars

Subscribed, GL OP!

sick. subbed.

GL OP

GL, very good that you have a degree already, I'm a teacher (non poker related) so have studied a ton of pedagogy with a tiny bit of psychology, I hope to learn more of the latter some day, maybe on a masters or just a course.
Happy to see HU is still alive on stars, do you have any interesting stories? I heard there were some cartels back then trying to control who sat at the tables, is that still a thing nowadays?

Sent from my moto g(8) power using Tapatalk

Subbed, gl mate!

Thanks guys! I appreciate the support!

I'm really happy I have a degree now because I have a backup plan. I'm also not planning to play poker forever. What are you teaching?

Yea, HU is still alive. It's obviously harder than a couple of years ago, but this is true for every format. I haven't heard anything about cartels influencing who could sit or not; that sounds crazy!

Yesterday I played for 5 and a half hours and studied for around 2 and half hours.

Results:



Since four weeks ago I have had pretty bad pain in my lower back, which results in me not being able to work out. Running is painful and going to the gym isn't going well either. Not being able to work out sucks big time, because it has such a positive impact on my ability to focus, handle stress, and on my sleep. I really need to get it fixed ASAP, since I already notice the negative effects of not being able to work out.

sick wr op. In, gl

Hi guys,

Since the start of the thread I'm running insanely well; long may it continue! I'll give a proper update on Sunday, but just wanted to show you guys the graph since Monday and some fun hands.

Some hands:

Thought it was a fine call at the time, but might be total spew. Will check PioSolver later

PokerStars Zoom, Hold'em No Limit - $1/$2 - 2 players
Replay this hand on Pokeit

SB: $330.95 (165 bb)
BB (Hero): $732.97 (366 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($3) Hero is BB with 6 7
SB raises to $5, Hero 3-bets to $21.20, SB calls $16.20

Flop: ($42.40) 8 6 8 (2 players)
Hero bets $18.15, SB calls $18.15

Turn: ($78.70) T (2 players)
Hero checks, SB bets $54.22, Hero calls $54.22

River: ($187.14) 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, SB bets $237.38 (all-in), Hero calls $237.38

Total pot: $661.90 (Rake: $1.25)

Showdown:
SB shows A 9 (a pair of Eights)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 65%, Flop: 30%, Turn: 20%, River: 0%)

BB (Hero) shows 6 7 (two pair, Eights and Sixes)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 35%, Flop: 70%, Turn: 80%, River: 100%)

BB (Hero) wins $660.65

Bink against reg

PokerStars Zoom, Hold'em No Limit - $1/$2 - 2 players
Replay this hand on Pokeit

SB (Hero): $884.26 (442 bb)
BB: $309.24 (155 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($3) Hero is SB with J J
Hero raises to $4.60, BB 3-bets to $20.70, Hero 4-bets to $58.55, BB calls $37.85

Flop: ($117.10) T Q 7 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $27.80, BB calls $27.80

Turn: ($172.70) J (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $42.55, BB calls $42.55

River: ($257.80) 2 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $397.65, BB calls $180.34 (all-in)

Total pot: $618.48 (Rake: $1.25)

Showdown:
SB (Hero) shows J J (three of a kind, Jacks)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 68%, Flop: 17%, Turn: 95%, River: 100%)

BB shows T Q (two pair, Queens and Tens)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 32%, Flop: 83%, Turn: 5%, River: 0%)

SB (Hero) wins $617.23

Against very angry man

PokerStars Zoom, Hold'em No Limit - $1/$2 - 2 players
Replay this hand on Pokeit

SB (Hero): $443.01 (222 bb)
BB: $249.99 (125 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($3) Hero is SB with Q 7
Hero raises to $4.60, BB 3-bets to $18, Hero calls $13.40

Flop: ($36) 4 T Q (2 players)
BB bets $11.47, Hero calls $11.47

Turn: ($58.94) 2 (2 players)
BB bets $50.77, Hero calls $50.77

River: ($160.48) 8 (2 players)
BB bets $169.75 (all-in), Hero calls $169.75

Total pot: $499.98 (Rake: $1.25)

Showdown:
BB shows 5 9 (high card, Queen)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 39%, Flop: 9%, Turn: 0%, River: 0%)

SB (Hero) shows Q 7 (a pair of Queens)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 61%, Flop: 91%, Turn: 100%, River: 100%)

SB (Hero) wins $498.73



Graph since Monday:

I'm a primary school teacher.

That angry man chat capture hahahaha, may your good run continue

people freaaak out HU lol

inspiring ****, LFG OP

67 hand, not sure his combo wants to barrel off, he will have so many bluffs that float flop and barrel turn (QJ Q9 K9 K7 to name a few), blocking both straights + fullhouses seems pretty good.

though we are obviously not very high in range.

would be interested to know if A9 is overbluff, in which case call looks even better

Subbed.

What winrate do you need to beat the rake at your stake?

Are you getting exclusive poker challenges?

I am also curious how does your study routine look like.

Too many questions, I know

glgl

subbed, gl !

subbed. Great results

I imagine your degree has tied in nicely with poker

I'm not even sure the A9 is an overbluff, but I imagine so. I did look at the specific hand in PIO, and my call was 0EV.

(1) I think you pay around 10bb/100 at 200z.
(2) I'm unfortunately not getting these exclusive poker challenges. I really hope rakeback comes back to PokerStars after this pilot.
(3) It's mostly studying PioSolver for the first 2 hours of the day. After that, I open GTOTrainer and see how much I deviate from GTO strategy. With repetition you eventually deviate less and less from GTO strategy.

Thanks, guys!

I don't think it really helps that much tbf. I think if I would've decided to play poker full-time 5 years ago I would be playing much higher stakes than I'm playing now.

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The week is over and poker went pretty well. Unfortunately, I didn't complete my fitness goals, but this is due to a back injury that forces me to take it easy. Normally I like to run, but I just can't run more than two kilometers without pain, which is really ****ing annoying. Instead, I went to the gym and used a cross-trainer to still get some cardio in.

Upcoming Friday I'll go to a doctor that has helped me tremendously in the past with a similar injury, so I hope I can up the cardio and weight training next week again. I'm still going to try to reach the same goals this week, but I might fail.

(1) Playing poker: 23.07/25
(2) Studying poker: 10.22/10
(3) Gym: 2/5
(4) Cardio: 2/2
(5) Meditation: 3/5

Results:



Next week I'll try to study 20 hours with a friend of mine, so I'll probably play a bit less than the planned 25 hours. If I make 35 hours again in total - studying/playing - I'll be happy.

Hi guys,

I'm Dutch and from 1 October I can't play on Stars anymore. From this date, we can only play on sites that have a license, and Stars will have to wait a few months before they can apply for one. I basically have two options right now:

(1) Learn 6max and play on GGpoker in the upcoming 6 months. I thought about learning 6 max, but I don't really know where to start. I don't even have a clue what proper preflop ranges look like and I have never studied the game before. Maybe there is someone that is interested in learning heads up and is willing to teach me 6max in exchange for heads up coaching. Of course, you would need to be a proven winner at 100z-200z at least. Hit me up if you're interested, and maybe we can work something out.

(2) I move abroad for 6 months and will live in a country that is tax-free. If someone knows about a house with poker players that still have some room for me hit me up as well. Maybe we can work something out.

Can definetly recommend Austria, Vienna if you like the big city maybe like Innsbruck if you like the mountains! Just moved to Vienna myself and first 3 weeks have been great! Dont think 6max is too different post flop obviously preflop ranges and have to adjust but its mostly headup with just way tighter ranges! Think you will get the hang of it pretty quickly

Jo guys,

This will be a 6max thread from now on! PokerStars doesn't offer real money games to their Dutch customers anymore, so I'm planning to take my action elsewhere. I'm a bit gutted atm, since I finally can play full-time after years of not being able to play full-time and then this **** happens.

I hope the transition to 6max is not that hard, but I imagine it's going to take a while before I crush 6max. I have literally 0 experience with 6max, so be prepared to see some spewing and awful plays in the beginning. I think I will start out with some coaching and studying PioSolver for the first month or so.

Thanks for reading!

Good luck!

Think you will get to grips with it quickly compared to if you were going from tighter to looser ranges. I guess it will be a more experience type learning curve to see how 6max players think differently about the game.

Let's hope so! Going to watch Kanu7 course first and after that I will get coaching from Kanaxis. The goal is to get 100 hours of studying in this month and do around 40 hours of playing. I hope that's enough to at least beat 100nl.

Results last month for heads up:



Volume pretty low, but I was on vacation for the first 10 days of September.

Change of plans!

I will move abroad in a month so I can continue to play heads up; destination Malta! The idea is that I will stay there for half a year.

I've invested too much time and effort to let this hurdle stop me from pursuing my goal to become an elite heads-up player! It wasn't an easy decision, since I'm living together with my girlfriend and of course it's not easy to leave your girlfriend and doggo for a longer period of time. What is great though, is that my best friend will join me for the entire stay in Malta, which makes the step so much easier!

In the upcoming 28 days - until the 7th of November - I will try to get in 30 hours of studying each weak. Each Sunday I will update whether I completed this goal.

All my goals for the upcoming week:

(1) 30 hours of studying
(2) 5x gym: 2x push, 2x pull and 1x legs
(3) 2/3 cardio sessions
(4) 7x meditation (I really want to make this a habit again!)
(5) Stop studying before 11:45 PM

LETS GOOOO

Sick commitment! Rooting for you

Good Luck!! Hope everything will go great

Thanks, man! I'm following your journey as well and I hope you succeed in all your endeavors as well!

Thanks! I like that your first comment is in my thread!

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I didn't complete any of my goals this week, which is embarrassing. It's kind of boring to only study and not being able to put your training into practice. But still, it's no excuse for such lazy behavior! Upcoming week I'll try to do better. You can't become one of the best by being such a lazy piece of ****.

Last week:

(1) 20/30 hours studying
(2) 3/5 gym (didn't train legs like a true gym bro!)
(3) 1/2 cardio
(4) 4/7 meditation

I promise that I will do better next week!

Jo guys!

I've moved to Malta and I will live here for the upcoming 6-7 months. The prediction is that PokerStars will get hold of a license in July, so I think I will return home by then. I'm so stoked that I'm able to play poker again and I can't wait to become better and crush 500-1k in some time.

I'm going to try to update this thread every Sunday.

My goals for this week are:

(1) Spend 35-40 hours on poker/studying;
(2) Get a gym membership and get at least 3 sessions in;
(3) Read 10 pages a day of The Mind Illuminated;
(4) Meditate every day; preferably first thing in the morning.

GOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGO

Good luck in life/tables for those that are reading!