My 2k20 NL50+ Journey: From a Hobby to a (Lucrative) Side-Income
05-31-2020
, 07:54 AM
06-06-2020
, 06:08 PM
Week 23 Update:
Week started great. Won required BI´s at 100z to take a shot at 200z. Managed to win 5 BI´s immediately after moving up, but then struggled for the most part. Got owned pretty hard by whales in some ridiculous spots which was tilting af when you move up. Played mostly during noon which seems to make a big difference when it comes to the softness of the pool. Night hours seem way better at 200z.
Despite the low volume at 200z I can already say that the pool seems much tougher compared to 100z. Main reason for this is the fish:reg ratio which is way lower especially when 500z is not running or doesn´t have many entrants.
Weekly Results
Hope I can catch some heat next week since I am pretty bad at moving down in stakes. Apart from that studied for 4 hours which is quite nice. Will take tomorrow off and spent the day with family.
GL to everyone!
Week started great. Won required BI´s at 100z to take a shot at 200z. Managed to win 5 BI´s immediately after moving up, but then struggled for the most part. Got owned pretty hard by whales in some ridiculous spots which was tilting af when you move up. Played mostly during noon which seems to make a big difference when it comes to the softness of the pool. Night hours seem way better at 200z.
Despite the low volume at 200z I can already say that the pool seems much tougher compared to 100z. Main reason for this is the fish:reg ratio which is way lower especially when 500z is not running or doesn´t have many entrants.
Weekly Results
Hope I can catch some heat next week since I am pretty bad at moving down in stakes. Apart from that studied for 4 hours which is quite nice. Will take tomorrow off and spent the day with family.
GL to everyone!
06-13-2020
, 07:01 PM
Week 24 Update:
Unfortunately, back to 100z again. Very frustrating week. Played very solid for the most part. But it was just one of this weeks where connecting with any piece of the board was like hitting the right six numbers in lottery. For me, this kind of bad run is the toughest one when you are not able to win even the smallest pots and just continuously losing money postlfop due to having always to fold at some point in the hand. I had few coolers preflop but most money was lost by having to give up at an incredible high rate postflop.
However, there were also quite a few positive things. I didn´t deviate from my default gameplan (at least most of the time) and tried always to take +EV decisions. In the past I would often start to call 3bets way too liberally and trying to “outplay” the players postflop (which obviously resulted in losing even more money).
200z is for sure tougher than 100z, but not by that margin that I at the beginning thought. Grind time plays a big role and I will try to avoid these morning sessions next time when I take shots. For now, I am back at 100z and really hope that the downswing doesn´t continue.
Weekly Results
Lets catch some heat next week
Run good all!
Unfortunately, back to 100z again. Very frustrating week. Played very solid for the most part. But it was just one of this weeks where connecting with any piece of the board was like hitting the right six numbers in lottery. For me, this kind of bad run is the toughest one when you are not able to win even the smallest pots and just continuously losing money postlfop due to having always to fold at some point in the hand. I had few coolers preflop but most money was lost by having to give up at an incredible high rate postflop.
However, there were also quite a few positive things. I didn´t deviate from my default gameplan (at least most of the time) and tried always to take +EV decisions. In the past I would often start to call 3bets way too liberally and trying to “outplay” the players postflop (which obviously resulted in losing even more money).
200z is for sure tougher than 100z, but not by that margin that I at the beginning thought. Grind time plays a big role and I will try to avoid these morning sessions next time when I take shots. For now, I am back at 100z and really hope that the downswing doesn´t continue.
Weekly Results
Lets catch some heat next week
Run good all!
GL!
06-21-2020
, 10:20 AM
Week 25 Update:
I thought after last week it couldn´t get worse, but I was wrong. Running incredibly bad. Getting coolered day in day out. In some of my sessions I managed to have a WWSF/W$SD in the low 40´s. Todays session gave me then the rest. Within 1.5k hands I got it in 5x vs AA preflop (all of them mainly in late positions) and lost every all in where I was >70% favourite. It was like a **** nightmare.
I am not a big fan of complaining about run bads since imo nobody is really interested in this kinda of stuff and it´s not really productive for yourself.
I would rather concentrate myself on accepting the variance and focusing myself more on the process than on short term results. But this sounds easier that it is and I have huge respect for the guys who manage to do this.
Got a lot better with this, but it is something which I still struggle a lot. I often said to myself this week, no matter how I run, I will stick to my routine and not get frustrated at any cost. But unfortunately the reality looks different. It is something which I need to work on. Appreciate any advice how you guys handle this.
At least I can say that during this DS my game quality doesn´t suffer too much like in the past. Ofc it isn´t at the level like when you are crushing, but I can say for sure that I wouldn´t play many hands different this month than I did.
Weekly Results
Hope you guys at least are running well and having a nice month!
I thought after last week it couldn´t get worse, but I was wrong. Running incredibly bad. Getting coolered day in day out. In some of my sessions I managed to have a WWSF/W$SD in the low 40´s. Todays session gave me then the rest. Within 1.5k hands I got it in 5x vs AA preflop (all of them mainly in late positions) and lost every all in where I was >70% favourite. It was like a **** nightmare.
I am not a big fan of complaining about run bads since imo nobody is really interested in this kinda of stuff and it´s not really productive for yourself.
I would rather concentrate myself on accepting the variance and focusing myself more on the process than on short term results. But this sounds easier that it is and I have huge respect for the guys who manage to do this.
Got a lot better with this, but it is something which I still struggle a lot. I often said to myself this week, no matter how I run, I will stick to my routine and not get frustrated at any cost. But unfortunately the reality looks different. It is something which I need to work on. Appreciate any advice how you guys handle this.
At least I can say that during this DS my game quality doesn´t suffer too much like in the past. Ofc it isn´t at the level like when you are crushing, but I can say for sure that I wouldn´t play many hands different this month than I did.
Weekly Results
Hope you guys at least are running well and having a nice month!
. I probably checked my graph this week 20+ times.
06-29-2020
, 06:53 PM
June 2020 Review
Monthly results
June was my first losing month in 2020. I think I played quite solid for the most part, but variance wasn´t on my side this month. I am pretty happy that I am able to stick to my gameplan during these kind of run bads. This is something I defo improved immensely over the last few months. I still would play the majority of my hands exactly how I have played them. This is something I couldn´t say few months back.
However, this month also showed in which area of the game I am still a fish and this is mainly mental game. I am not somebody who goes on some crazy tilt and smashes his monitor while grinding, but it is difficult for me to control my results obsession during downsings which leads to a lot frustration outside of the tables, less volume, not effective studying, etc.
In future I should concentate myself way more on the things which are within my control and try to focus myself more on the process and a healthy balanced lifestyle on and off the tables. I am really hoping that I can learn from my mistakes made in this month. If I am smart enough there are a lot of take-aways from this month which if properly processed can lead to get much better at this game.
This was it. Let´s all crush July.
GL
.
Quote:
June 2020 Goals
Poker Goals:
[] Play 80h+ (this month setting a goal how many hours I have played rather than how many hands makes more sense due to below reasons).
Got in 75h this month. Would easily achieve 80h+, but after getting destroyed for last 3 weeks on the tables I barely played any volume last few days (despite having a lot og time for poker).
[] Off-table work for 10h+. 50% of study time should be solver related.
Studied for 11.5h. However, only 2h of this were working with a solver. Pretty dissapointing. Managing playing, having a full time job and running sims and unstanding their outcome is something which I struggle a lot. I always take the easier route by watching videos when it comes to studying, which is better than not studying at all, but imo if you want to become great at this game using solvers is the way to go.
[x] Take shots at 200z if (and only if) BR allows this (7BI´s are missing so that I can take a 10 BI shot at 200z).
Managed to take my first shot at 200z. Played very well overall, but haven´t run really good. 200z is for sure tougher than 100z. The average reg is way better imo and the reg:fish ratio worse. I hope to get an another chance to take a shot in the near future. I am pretty sure that with enough off-table work I can establish myself on this stake.
[] Pool select 200z. Don´t play -EV 200z pool. Play 100z or 200NL regular tables instead.
Didn´t pool select at all, which in hindsight was a big mistake. I played a lot morning sessions. The difference in pool softness compared to peak hours is tremendous. This is something which I should defo avoid in future.
[] Check results/stats in PT4 just once a week (only exception for this is while shot takin 200z to make sure that I don´t lose more than the planned 10 BI´s).
Biggest fail ever. Don´t want to write too much about this since I eloborated on this already several times in this blog. Losing = not being able to not check results in my case. At least I am able now to not get influenced too much when it comes to sticking to my strategy, but it leads to a lot frustation outside of the tables.
[x] Update blog once a week.
Updated blog on regular basis.
Life Goals:
[x] Run at least 13 times.
Smashed this goal. Went 16 times for a run. Had my first 12km run.
[x] Continue with cooking. Learn how to prepare new dishes and avoid eating outside.
Cooking is something I started really to enjoy. Will defo continue with this. Not only that it is way healthier than eating outside but also I save quite a bit of money at the end of the month.
[] Be more productive in free time by removing unnecessary activities (mainly being on the internet wo any real purpose) and instead of that use this time to do any meaningful stuff.
Difficult to measure this goal, but I think I can do much better work when it comes to this goal. Not gonna lie I am somebody who is not so good when it comes to dealing with downswings. At the end of the month I felt quite frustrated and had few days which were a complete waste of time.
GL to everyone in June!
Poker Goals:
[] Play 80h+ (this month setting a goal how many hours I have played rather than how many hands makes more sense due to below reasons).
Got in 75h this month. Would easily achieve 80h+, but after getting destroyed for last 3 weeks on the tables I barely played any volume last few days (despite having a lot og time for poker).
[] Off-table work for 10h+. 50% of study time should be solver related.
Studied for 11.5h. However, only 2h of this were working with a solver. Pretty dissapointing. Managing playing, having a full time job and running sims and unstanding their outcome is something which I struggle a lot. I always take the easier route by watching videos when it comes to studying, which is better than not studying at all, but imo if you want to become great at this game using solvers is the way to go.
[x] Take shots at 200z if (and only if) BR allows this (7BI´s are missing so that I can take a 10 BI shot at 200z).
Managed to take my first shot at 200z. Played very well overall, but haven´t run really good. 200z is for sure tougher than 100z. The average reg is way better imo and the reg:fish ratio worse. I hope to get an another chance to take a shot in the near future. I am pretty sure that with enough off-table work I can establish myself on this stake.
[] Pool select 200z. Don´t play -EV 200z pool. Play 100z or 200NL regular tables instead.
Didn´t pool select at all, which in hindsight was a big mistake. I played a lot morning sessions. The difference in pool softness compared to peak hours is tremendous. This is something which I should defo avoid in future.
[] Check results/stats in PT4 just once a week (only exception for this is while shot takin 200z to make sure that I don´t lose more than the planned 10 BI´s).
Biggest fail ever. Don´t want to write too much about this since I eloborated on this already several times in this blog. Losing = not being able to not check results in my case. At least I am able now to not get influenced too much when it comes to sticking to my strategy, but it leads to a lot frustation outside of the tables.
[x] Update blog once a week.
Updated blog on regular basis.
Life Goals:
[x] Run at least 13 times.
Smashed this goal. Went 16 times for a run. Had my first 12km run.
[x] Continue with cooking. Learn how to prepare new dishes and avoid eating outside.
Cooking is something I started really to enjoy. Will defo continue with this. Not only that it is way healthier than eating outside but also I save quite a bit of money at the end of the month.
[] Be more productive in free time by removing unnecessary activities (mainly being on the internet wo any real purpose) and instead of that use this time to do any meaningful stuff.
Difficult to measure this goal, but I think I can do much better work when it comes to this goal. Not gonna lie I am somebody who is not so good when it comes to dealing with downswings. At the end of the month I felt quite frustrated and had few days which were a complete waste of time.
GL to everyone in June!
Monthly results
June was my first losing month in 2020. I think I played quite solid for the most part, but variance wasn´t on my side this month. I am pretty happy that I am able to stick to my gameplan during these kind of run bads. This is something I defo improved immensely over the last few months. I still would play the majority of my hands exactly how I have played them. This is something I couldn´t say few months back.
However, this month also showed in which area of the game I am still a fish and this is mainly mental game. I am not somebody who goes on some crazy tilt and smashes his monitor while grinding, but it is difficult for me to control my results obsession during downsings which leads to a lot frustration outside of the tables, less volume, not effective studying, etc.
In future I should concentate myself way more on the things which are within my control and try to focus myself more on the process and a healthy balanced lifestyle on and off the tables. I am really hoping that I can learn from my mistakes made in this month. If I am smart enough there are a lot of take-aways from this month which if properly processed can lead to get much better at this game.
This was it. Let´s all crush July.
GL
.
07-02-2020
, 06:09 AM
July 2020 Goals
Poker Goals:
[] Play 40k+ hands.
[] Off-table work for 15h+.
[] Mental game & "soft" skills:
Life Goals:
[] Go for a run 15 times. 3/15 runs should be 12km distance.
[] Continue with cooking.
[] Get into a better and more optimistic mindset.
I will try to go hard in July since I will probably take vacation in August/September. After a difficult June I think this month will be a crucial one for me. In the past I struggled to come back after downswings.
I bought a white board and will use it to break down my weekly tasks/goals. Hope that with this I can be more productive and stick to positive habits. Seeing the goals in front of me should motivate me hopefully. Not letting negative emotions come over me during run bads is something I struggled always. This month I am hoping that with structured, organized and productive daily routines I can minimize it and not measure my success in poker always based on my latest results.
Another thing when it comes to poker is that I should take more time when making decisions in game. I am already solid in regards to this (explains my low hands/hour), but I think I can still improve. I attended last month a webinar with a HS player and the detail with which he analyzed hands was incredible. He took so many factors into consideration, but his thought process was still very logical and simple at any point. It showed me that there is still a lot room for imporvement.
Outside of poker I really hope to get into a better mindset. I felt quite a lot frustrated in June. A big reason for this is also the situation caused by covid. I live abroad and not beeing able to see family, friends but mostly my parents started to effect me in June.
I wish everyone a nice July!
Let´s crush this month in every aspect.
Poker Goals:
[] Play 40k+ hands.
[] Off-table work for 15h+.
[] Mental game & "soft" skills:
- Check results just once per week
- Focus on things which you can contol and get better in regards to dealing with variance
- Optimize grinding & study days respective time management
Life Goals:
[] Go for a run 15 times. 3/15 runs should be 12km distance.
[] Continue with cooking.
[] Get into a better and more optimistic mindset.
I will try to go hard in July since I will probably take vacation in August/September. After a difficult June I think this month will be a crucial one for me. In the past I struggled to come back after downswings.
I bought a white board and will use it to break down my weekly tasks/goals. Hope that with this I can be more productive and stick to positive habits. Seeing the goals in front of me should motivate me hopefully. Not letting negative emotions come over me during run bads is something I struggled always. This month I am hoping that with structured, organized and productive daily routines I can minimize it and not measure my success in poker always based on my latest results.
Another thing when it comes to poker is that I should take more time when making decisions in game. I am already solid in regards to this (explains my low hands/hour), but I think I can still improve. I attended last month a webinar with a HS player and the detail with which he analyzed hands was incredible. He took so many factors into consideration, but his thought process was still very logical and simple at any point. It showed me that there is still a lot room for imporvement.
Outside of poker I really hope to get into a better mindset. I felt quite a lot frustrated in June. A big reason for this is also the situation caused by covid. I live abroad and not beeing able to see family, friends but mostly my parents started to effect me in June.
I wish everyone a nice July!
Let´s crush this month in every aspect.