Splitting zoom and reg tables atm. Reg tables are a lot softer with the
4 table cap so I see no reason not to keep playing them.


The more Louis C.K. I watch, the more I think he's the GOAT

As far as short joke writers go, Anthony Jeselnik is probably my favourite. Kevin Bridges is imo the best story teller right now.


I really like Joe Wilkinson as well. His twitter cracks me up so much.



Ty mate! Always love popping into your thread for motivation


Chiang Mai is a great city. You move there mainly for poker?

lol exactly


Downloaded both. TYVM!


Back and ready to grind! Got myself booked into a small apartment in a very Thai area of Bangkok so that I can really focus on grinding out the rest of the year strong. I booked it on airbnb so I'm no doubt overpaying for it but I just wanted an apartment ready to walk into and it's nice to not have to worry about any extra bills at the end of the month.


Had a really great time showing my friend around Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Pai. Did all the standard touristy things. Checked out some go-go bars, washed some elephants, ate some rotis, rented a scooter and did mushrooms in Pai. It was just a really good time from start to finish, but I did start to miss grinding by the end of the trip. Going to make the most of the rest of the year for sure!





Sun setting over the Pai Canyon

Fire in the maternity ward had me in absolute stitches. Jesselnik's ability to misdirect the audience, deadpan demeanour and dark humour makes him one of my favourites.

I'm a very big Andrew Schulz fan too. I saw him live in New York and thought he was absolutely hilarious. I'd definitely check out his YT if you're not already familiar.

tomato

-----------------------
more about the shrooms please

Yea, I have a lot of respect for Andrew Schulz. He motivates and inspires me to keep constantly writing. Expect a lot more content to be posted on my YouTube channel in 2020.


500 baht per shake and they tasted like blueberry juice. I did them 3 days in a row and on the third day I didn't feel the trip was anywhere near as strong as the first two days even though I had consumed the exact same amount. I had heard from people that doing mushrooms shortly after coming off a trip will usually result in a weaker impact on your consciousness, so I guess that must've been what it was.

Being on the trip made me appreciate the beauty in the small details of things more. I loved looking at pictures I took on my phone of the Pai Canyon and really examining the picture like a work of art. It also enhanced my ability to focus solely on one sound and drown out everything else, whether it be sound of the river flowing, the beat of a song or the crickets and birds chirping. I also loved just looking up at night and seeing the stars. Big negative of living in the cities is all the light pollution.

Completely different experience to anything I've felt on alcohol, weed or cocaine. Would recommend anyone to try mushrooms at least once if they can do it in a safe environment and in a good mindset.

--------

Turn is probably a bit punty but river seems like a perfect bluff


PokerStars Zoom, Hold'em No Limit - $0.50/$1.00 - 6 players
Replay this hand on Upswing Poker

UTG: $100.34 (100 bb)
MP: $120.69 (121 bb)
CO: $112.04 (112 bb)
BU: $115.02 (115 bb)
SB: $119.84 (120 bb)
BB (Hero): $103.50 (104 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($1.50) Hero is BB with A♥ K♦
3 players fold, BTN raises to $2.50, 1 fold, Hero 3-bets to $10.50, BTN calls $8

Flop: ($21.50) Q♣ 3♦ 4♣ (2 players)
Hero bets $6.94, BTN calls $6.94

Turn: ($35.38) 6♠ (2 players)
Hero bets $25.88, BTN calls $25.88

River: ($87.14) J♠ (2 players)
Hero bets $60.18 (all-in), BTN calls $60.18

Total pot: $207.50 (Rake: $2.50)

Showdown:
BB (Hero) shows A♥ K♦ (high card, Ace)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 44%, Flop: 25%, Turn: 14%, River: 0%)

BU shows 8♠ 8♣ (a pair of Eights)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 56%, Flop: 75%, Turn: 86%, River: 100%)

BU wins $205

Hahah absolutely minced, which spastic reg made this calldown?

I’m not great at cash so bear with me. Why is that a terrible call down? OP is repping really thin there. Can he really be tripling off with AA or AQ on that runout? So he’s really down to QQ and QJs (and 57s if that’s in his bluff range) for value.

Obviously not having a club would be ideal.

Ofc he can tripple AQ, its bb vs btn

Tru.

Some Argentine. I tanked forever on the river so I can why he would look me up.


-----

Made some really spewy mistakes yesterday which cost me a lot of bbs. Going to run a few pio sims then get back at it. Sleep schedule is pretty messed up but a messed up sleep schedule is actually ideal for grinding in Thailand so as I'm focusing on poker more than anything else I'm just going to go with the flow and not worry too much about routine for the rest of the year.

I want to be a bit more productive as well when I finish grinding each day and work on writing comedy instead of just pulling up netflix, youtube or whatever. Got an open mic gig downtown on Wednesday night so I hope I can write a full 5 minutes set to try out there. Got some ideas for bits and a few in the bank so I should be able to piece something together.

----



Cold, cold runout vs a monster whale

PokerStars, Hold'em No Limit - $1/$2 - 6 players
Replay this hand on Upswing Poker

UTG: $482.47 (241 bb)
MP: $80.00 (40 bb)
CO (Hero): $249.63 (125 bb)
BU: $342.38 (171 bb)
SB: $291.11 (146 bb)
BB: $200.00 (100 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($4) Hero is CO with 5♣ 4♣
UTG raises to $6, 1 fold, Hero 3-bets to $16, 3 players fold, UTG calls $10

Flop: ($36) 7♠ 6♥ 3♦ (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $17, UTG calls $17

Turn: ($70) 3♣ (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $56.86, UTG calls $56.86

River: ($183.72) 3♠ (2 players)
UTG bets $90, CO (Hero) folds

Total pot: $183.72 (Rake: $2.75)
UTG wins $180.97




vs std reg

PokerStars Zoom, Hold'em No Limit - $0.50/$1.00 - 6 players
Replay this hand on Upswing Poker

UTG (Hero): $102.22 (102 bb)
MP: $154.53 (155 bb)
CO: $68.25 (68 bb)
BU: $133.14 (133 bb)
SB: $136.58 (137 bb)
BB: $100.00 (100 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($1.50) Hero is UTG with J♣ K♦
Hero raises to $2.30, 2 players fold, BTN calls $2.30, 1 fold, BB calls $1.30

Flop: ($7.40) 9♣ J♠ 9♥ (3 players)
BB checks, Hero checks, BTN bets $3.52, BB folds, Hero calls $3.52

Turn: ($14.44) 4♦ (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN checks

River: ($14.44) Q♣ (2 players)
Hero bets $4.53, BTN raises to $14, Hero raises to $96.40 (all-in), BU folds

Total pot: $42.44 (Rake: $2.12)
UTG (Hero) wins $40.32





glgl

yo craig, just found this. subbed and gl's as always <3

Here is the spastic Argentinian reg that made that calldown with 88

Yeah going to finish the year strong. Thai timezone so good for grinding. Maybe do the islands later.

Lol didn't know that guys playing vpip of 20 are making these kind of calls...

Thanks for your support, Ben. Greatly appreciated!


I had to learn the hard way.



Spend yesterday with my eyes glued to the election coverage. Now that that's out the way I can get back to focusing on grinding until my parents get here next week.

I feel like if I was to spend time following politics going forward I would probably be unhappier than if I just blocked it out as best I can, so for the 100th time I'm going to try and go on the low-information diet and try and be as productive with my time as I can. It will be pretty tough because I would describe myself as a political junkie, but it's a habit I really need to kick as it's ate up so much of my time and did nothing for me except fear the future and have an increased level of disdain for people with different opinions to me. Not good at all. Especially since I live on the other side of the world so the domestic and constitutional issues I care about most won't have any impact on my life while I'm here.

Volume hasn't been too great, but I've been running a lot of sims. Happy with the progress I've been making over the last few days.


vs an unknown probable reg. Looks like a really weak fold but who ever bluffs with this line on an AAxxx board?

PokerStars Zoom, Hold'em No Limit - $0.50/$1.00 - 6 players
Replay this hand on Upswing Poker

UTG: $296.98 (297 bb)
MP (Hero): $108.56 (109 bb)
CO: $101.00 (101 bb)
BU: $112.15 (112 bb)
SB: $151.06 (151 bb)
BB: $150.98 (151 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($1.50) Hero is MP with Q♦ A♦
1 fold, Hero raises to $2.30, CO 3-bets to $7, 3 players fold, Hero calls $4.70

Flop: ($15.50) 7♥ A♣ 2♦ (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $12.51, Hero calls $12.51

Turn: ($40.52) A♥ (2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks

River: ($40.52) 9♦ (2 players)
Hero bets $25, CO raises to $81, MP (Hero) folds

Total pot: $90.52 (Rake: $2.50)
CO wins $88.02


Vs standard reg


PokerStars Zoom, Hold'em No Limit - $0.50/$1.00 - 6 players
Replay this hand on Upswing Poker

UTG: $208.67 (209 bb)
MP: $48.24 (48 bb)
CO (Hero): $103.71 (104 bb)
BU: $100.00 (100 bb)
SB: $331.24 (331 bb)
BB: $134.87 (135 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($1.50) Hero is CO with 5♣ 6♣
2 players fold, Hero raises to $2.30, BTN 3-bets to $7.50, 2 players fold, Hero calls $5.20

Flop: ($16.50) J♦ 7♦ 4♠ (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $7.84, Hero calls $7.84

Turn: ($32.18) J♥ (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN checks

River: ($32.18) 9♦ (2 players)
Hero bets $43.72, BU folds

Total pot: $32.18 (Rake: $1.61)
CO (Hero) wins $30.57




The dream vs whale

PokerStars, Hold'em No Limit - $1/$2 - 8 players
Replay this hand on Upswing Poker

UTG: $139.96 (70 bb)
UTG+1: $299.42 (150 bb)
MP: $285.09 (143 bb)
MP+1: $334.95 (167 bb)
CO: $251.84 (126 bb)
BU: $337.91 (169 bb)
SB: $223.66 (112 bb)
BB (Hero): $214.55 (107 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($3) Hero is BB with T♣ Q♣
UTG raises to $4.64, 2 players fold, MP+1 calls $4.64, 3 players fold, Hero calls $2.64

Flop: ($14.92) 6♥ 8♠ J♦ (3 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $5.46, MP+1 calls $5.46, Hero calls $5.46

Turn: ($31.30) 9♠ (3 players)
Hero checks, UTG checks, MP+1 checks

River: ($31.30) 5♦ (3 players)
Hero checks, UTG checks, MP+1 bets $30, Hero raises to $150, UTG folds, MP+1 calls $120

Total pot: $331.30 (Rake: $2.75)

Showdown:
BB (Hero) shows T♣ Q♣ (a straight, Eight to Queen)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 45%, Flop: 37%, Turn: 100%, River: 100%)

MP+1 mucks K♦ 7♦ (a straight, Five to Nine)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 55%, Flop: 63%, Turn: 0%, River: 0%)

BB (Hero) wins $328.55




going to put in a shift today with pio and on stars. Then I've got a comedy project to work on before bed. gl guys

My parents were visiting me here in Bangkok these past few so I wasn't able to put a lot of time into playing. Now that they're away again I really feel motivated to put in the hours and finish the year strong. I've also been experimenting with taking Modafinil before I play. Would love to hear feedback if anyone reading this has had much experience with it.




What can you do?

PokerStars Zoom, Hold'em No Limit - $0.50/$1.00 - 6 players
Replay this hand on Upswing Poker

UTG: $100.50 (101 bb)
MP: $51.40 (51 bb)
CO: $95.76 (96 bb)
BU (Hero): $104.00 (104 bb)
SB: $67.93 (68 bb)
BB: $119.37 (119 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($1.50) Hero is BTN with J♦ J♣
2 players fold, CO raises to $2.50, Hero 3-bets to $8, 1 fold, BB 4-bets to $21, CO calls $18.50, Hero calls $13

Flop: ($63.50) J♥ Q♦ A♠ (3 players)
BB bets $98.37 (all-in), CO calls $74.76 (all-in), Hero calls $83 (all-in)

Turn: ($304.26) 8♥ (3 players, 3 all-in)

River: ($304.26) 5♣ (3 players, 3 all-in)

Total pot: $304.26 (Rake: $2.50)

Showdown:
BB shows Q♠ Q♣ (three of a kind, Queens)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 18%, Flop: 72%, Turn: 83%, River: 100%)

CO shows K♣ K♦ (a pair of Kings)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 67%, Flop: 23%, Turn: 14%, River: 0%)

BU (Hero) shows J♦ J♣ (three of a kind, Jacks)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 15%, Flop: 5%, Turn: 2%, River: 0%)

BB wins $301.76



Christmas Whale

PokerStars, Hold'em No Limit - $1/$2 - 8 players
Replay this hand on Upswing Poker

UTG: $225.69 (113 bb)
UTG+1: $35.50 (18 bb)
MP (Hero): $210.43 (105 bb)
MP+1: $532.33 (266 bb)
CO: $742.10 (371 bb)
BU: $200.00 (100 bb)
SB: $200.00 (100 bb)
BB: $313.11 (157 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($3) Hero is MP with K♥ K♠
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $2, Hero raises to $8, MP+1 calls $8, CO calls $8, 2 players fold, BB calls $6, UTG+1 calls $6

Flop: ($41) 7♥ 2♠ 4♠ (5 players)
BB checks, UTG+1 checks, Hero checks, MP+1 bets $20, CO calls $20, 2 players fold, Hero calls $20

Turn: ($101) K♦ (3 players)
Hero checks, MP+1 checks, CO checks

River: ($101) Q♣ (3 players)
Hero bets $25.55, MP+1 folds, CO raises to $74, Hero raises to $182.43 (all-in), CO folds

Total pot: $249 (Rake: $2.75)
MP (Hero) wins $246.25




This is a mistake I make far too often. Should've obviously bet flop or turn myself. This x/c turn line caps my range so much that any reg can just own me with a big bet on any blank river. I knew as soon as I called the turn I'd be folding to his high frequency river bet but at the same time x/f turn just seemed too weak and nitty.

PokerStars, Hold'em No Limit - $1/$2 - 9 players
Replay this hand on Upswing Poker

UTG: $311.58 (156 bb)
UTG+1: $108.00 (54 bb)
MP: $254.40 (127 bb)
MP+1 (Hero): $226.85 (113 bb)
LP: $502.15 (251 bb)
CO: $200.00 (100 bb)
BU: $198.27 (99 bb)
SB: $247.85 (124 bb)
BB: $333.12 (167 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($5) Hero is MP+1 with Q♦ A♠
1 fold, UTG+1 checks, 1 fold, Hero raises to $8, LP calls $8, 4 players fold, UTG+1 calls $6

Flop: ($27) K♥ Q♣ 2♠ (3 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero checks, LP checks

Turn: ($27) 9♦ (3 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero checks, LP bets $16.67, UTG+1 folds, Hero calls $16.67

River: ($60.34) 3♣ (2 players)
Hero checks, LP bets $93.19, MP+1 (Hero) folds

Total pot: $60.34 (Rake: $2.75)
LP wins $57.59



glgl for the rest of the year

I highly suggest to not take adderall/modafinal/vyvanse/etc. I ended up going down a pretty dark path that started with just a small amount of modafinal per day and by the end I was taking a lot of stimulants in the morning and then dosing myself with xanax at night apart from drinking and smoking bud just to be able to get some sleep. Always said I'd never be one of those tragedies and that it would be easy to manage, but damn, I lost my way very quickly.

Long term effects of abusing those + 1 other drug led to my heart issues and now I deal with anxiety and panic attacks on a daily basis due to the stupid decisions I made 3.5-6 years ago. Never had any anxiety in my life before that and never a panic attack or even anything close to feeling like that.

GL on the tables regardless mate

Hey man, been following your thread for a while but haven't posted yet, my bad. Im also a grinder in Thailand (Chiang Mai to be exact) and used modafinil in the past.

I used to take it when playing the graveyard shift in order to get the "prime time" for MTTs. I would wake up at 8pm, hit the gym and take half a pill (sometimes a whole one) at about 10.30-11pm. Then I would play until 6-7am and go to bed around midday to repeat the cycle again.

It worked quite well to keep me alert and awake during those hours, and that's actually one of the clinical proven uses of it: to help people with shift work sleep disorder. The problem was that it was very hard for me to come down when I wanted to sleep. I would go to bed at around midday and sometimes I would wake up around 2-3pm and be unable to fall back asleep again. My apartment was noisy and not dark enough and that didn't help. Also my life situation was not the best as I had a lot of stress and anxiety. Don't think moda was the only factor for my sleep schedule issues but surely a contributing one.

Another downside was that I felt my mood swing a lot, specially when I was under its effect but also on days when I would not take it. When I was looking at a stupid meme and laughing hysterically or getting all blue for a sad story on the newspaper I realized my mind was not as centered as it should be.

Now take all this with a grain of salt because as I said I was in a complicated life situation so is hard to know how much of my issues were because of moda and how much was because poor life choices and other real life factors. Also, taking it 5-6 times per week was probably not the best way to dose it.

I also found modafinil to be addictive. Not physically addictive but more of a psychological addiction like weed. After I moved back home for a while and didn't have the need to play the graveyard shift no more, I decided I was not gonna take it as it made no sense, but I still had a lot of pills I had bought when I was in Thailand and it was very hard for me not to take one. I would look at them nearby me and had to resist the temptation to just say **** it and go for it. Is the same with weed to me: yea, I can watch a movie sober, but you know that if you smoke a joint before it'll be so much more fun and colorful and captivating, so you have to resist the temptation to do it. After a while tho, it wears off.

I feel it does help to keep you more alert and motivated to learn and go deep on stuff. A stupid spot would become super interesting and it would make me want to go deep into analyzing it and talking about it to other fellow pros. This was great for studying but not so much when you're grinding, as I would have 8 tables requiring me to make a decision and I was still talking to a friend on skype about a trivial spot.

Now I haven't taken moda for over one year when my last purchase ran out, and that last time I ordered it got flagged at customs and instead of the package I received a letter at my condo saying I had to show up at customs office on Chiang Mai airport. There, I had to open the package in front of a customs officer and respond to some questions such as what those pills were, what kind of illness I had, if it was the first time I ordered, if I had a prescription for them, etc. I got away with saying it was the first time I had ordered (bs) and that I just used them as a supplement. They gave me a brochure explaining what I could and could not order from abroad, and after paying an "import tax" (roughly 1.2k baht) and receiving a reprimand from the lady, I walked away with the package. Now im worried to order again as she told me not to order again and they probably remember me or have my information there, but Id love to get some for studying, which I think is the best use you can have for moda.

It was a long post, but there you have my full experience with modafinil lol, hope to hear your take on it and how it helped you (or not).

Hope you crush on this 2020.

dont take them dude, theres really no need, listen to Jdawg. (sorry to hear that btw dude, have you tried cbd?)

I haven't yet but people keep telling me I should. The issue is I get really panicky now taking anything (even medicine....luckily I'm never sick but yea, I can basically not take medicine without giving myself a panic attack). Have also read of some people with similar as I that it took them a while to find the right CBD for themselves and they were worse off until they found the correct CBD for themselves and that is a turnoff to me. I would have to take it the first few times with someone with me but yea, should try it. Other thing told to me is that I should super microdose shrooms to even me out, but CBD seems like a better starting point

took them for a prolonged period in uni and it's not a good place to be. Justifiable for extremely urgent things at a stretch, as a habit really really not a good idea.

Any nootropic cannot really compare to good exercise, diet and sleep anyway in my opinion fwiw.

cbd is diff, I understand your hesitation, I had it also, I dont really like taking anything my self, but even tho Ive felt great for a couple years I still kind feel it some times. I got a lot better after a couple Psilocybin trips cause I was able to pin point* the root of my anxiety, and let it go afterwords. about a month ago I started taking cbd and its been great. I would try it and be happy with whatever comes your way, thinking that you are moving in the right direction.

Im already have the new badge of mushrooms ready for microdosing, cant wait to get started

PE I did the

it helps for sure, but unfortunately is not that easy for every body. I did calisthenics, 1h cardio (running or mtb) yoga, taichi and meditated every day, 8+h of sleep and still felt anxious 99% of the day.

the thing is imo, that when youre having episodes, or an extended episode this thing dont help like a magic pill would. they do regulate and its the right thing to do long term, but it doesnt help right away.

I think they approved mdma or Psilocybin treatment in the uk,!? I deff would take that route if medically I was able to

I took 9 modafinals consecutively, with an 8 hour break between taking each one... almost made me cry

ended up with some permanent anxiety after stimulant use as well, stil about 16 years later, and pretty severe that seemed to come on suddenly after about a few months of abusing stimulants. LSD and mushrooms trips did not really work for me, or counselling. Even if its a rare thing that only some are susceptible to, its probably not really worth it.

Thanks for all the responses guys. I must be honest, I definitely wasn't expecting such unanimous disapproval. It's not necessarily a bad thing though as most of what I hear from people irl is positive things about what it's done to their motivation levels, concentration ect... I really like it for writing comedy especially. Anytime I want to spend a few hours turning little notes and ideas I have into bits to try out on stage I take a modafinil and I can sit at my desk with my notebook and write page after page. But I will think twice before swallowing each pill from now on as Jdawg's post is pretty terrifying.


Pretty disappointing December given how it's got the reputation for being the most profitable month of the year.




2019 was a very successful year for me in every way, bar financially. I would go as far to say that it was the best year of my life. In January I moved to Thailand. Next week it will be one whole year since I left Scotland. One year since I ran away from my past mistakes and started again with a clean slate, on a continent where nobody knew who I was and I wasn't scarred the reputation that I had in my hometown.


There's many, many benefits to living in south east Asia but one of the big ones for me is that it's so much easier to meet people and make new friends here than if I were to move to any English speaking city where I didn't know anyone. The expat communities in whatever circles you want to mix in are very welcoming in all the cities I've been too here. This is really great for me as one the things that was stopping me from moving out of my hometown and into the city was always the fear of never gaining new group friends out there while the friends I left behind moved on with their lives. Knowing that for however long I stay in this part of the world that won't be an issue is a very comforting feeling for me.


Other positive changes in my life that I made in 2019 were that I got back into stand-up comedy after a near four-year hiatus, I quit alcohol (One bad night in Summer where I got scammed for like 12k in Chiang Mai made me go cold turkey and I haven't looked back) I started going to the gym regularly, stopped being a vegan soy boy and I am better at German now than when I was in Berlin this time last year.

Other highlights of 2019

- Flew business class for the first time in my life. (DUBAI to BKK)
- Met up with my best friend as a kid who I hadn't seen for 6 years
- Absolutely killed it performing at Stand-up Hanoi in October. Biggest crowd I had in 2019 and I couldn't have dreamed for a better reception.



I know that I need to do is put more effort into stand-up and getting ahead of the curve in poker and I'm sure 2020 will top 2019!


I'm leaving Bangkok to move to Hanoi in February as well. Won't be there forever, just 6-9 months most likely.


gl with all your 2020 goals guys!