Good post. I've completely abandoned the headphones in the last 6 months. Rec players like joking around, chatting etc. I like it too, but even for pros who would prefer silence, it's good to be approachable and crack the odd joke here and there to keep the table feom going quiet. Recs don't like a silent table.

Unless you don't speak english, (or you're in a country where most people are chatting in non-english and you only speak english) why not just talk to people?

I've always found it more interesting than listening to music anyway and tbh, the people who generally want to chat are usually the most interesting people at the table.

Think about it, if you're playing a 5k euro buyin and the dude is some recreational player, hes probably pretty successful at whatever he's doing. Why not take the time to just talk to these people, you'd be surprised what you'd learn. Sometimes the guy is just a dentist and it's w/e but sometimes you meet some pretty cool people. The added benefit being you may be able to make some decent networking connections.

I prepared for this Sunday almost like it was a champion boxing fight. I didn't play for four days, had hypnotherapy with Elliot and knew exactly how I was going to approach it. I slept oerfectly, ate well, dressed properly.

After 2 hours I had smashed my only mouse and threw a dart across the room and into the wall

I was so frustrated that I my hud wouldn't work, that was fixed after an hour or so but then stars lagged when I had 4bet with aces in two tables and my opponent had 5bet shipped for 60ish bbs on both tables in my highest buy in tournaments. Was so tough to take just watching me time out and then fold. Also had 88 in a 4bet pot on 88392 where he was def calling the river. Checking back quads at least I didn't get a penalty.

I think I played 7.5/10 today which I was happy with. Maybe 45 minutes I played 5/10 but was steady 8/10 throughout.

Came 12th in .fr hr at <a8 vs elky. Lots of ridiculous run bad that I'll refrain from moaning about.

Managed to finish 1/130 in .fr sunday special and come back tomorrow at 3200bb with 750k which is 5x average and 2x 2nd place.

Have another session with Elliot and will prepare for the live trips with some advice from him. Btw my friend takes all the action I don't want in the 25k if anybody just wants a sweat then message me asap, no markup for readers of the blog. Have no idea how the field will be but my friend who is well up to date with this kind of stuff imagines it will be good value. Just send to me on stars in euros and pm me. By the time I sort financials out tomorrow I'll reply to everybody and if you are too late I'll send back before I start.

Will keep tables down tomorrow, probably play 4 tables or so, I may even make a video out of it, not sure yet.

you played without mouse after?

Amazing if finished session with hotkeys only lol

will take 5% of the 25k.

I cant really send stars right away (no horses awake), but just confirm in this thread/skype that i have action.

glgl

Haha nah girlfriend celetaped it all together but wasn't so comfortable.

Omg that all sucks but at least after reading this I don't feel so bad after getting busted by setup of rec player anymore

thx for busting me in the 100k gtd

Well saved Sunday, second for 13k euros + fps Monaco seat. Won around 80% of pots from 130-2nd in the tourney. Had a great session with Elliot first and was in beast mode.

Not selling any more %s for 25k, if you've sent/spoke to me now you're booked.

Just seen this, congrats and go crush Malta!

#beastmode gl in malta

#anygivensunday!

so much respect for u sir! grats again on the score and enjoy the time in malta!

tell me how it feeeeeeelsssss to just sit down on sunday knowing the bankroll will increase

gg and gl in malta

^^^ Sundays are gonna be renamed to Paddays (pronounced: Paddys), or in Pads talk... paydays.

Lot of respect, good luck in the tables and living the dream

Wp yet again, obv.
Re: The Monaco seat. Out of interest, let’s say you had already won an FPS Monaco seat on .com, when you win it on .fr do they give you cash instead?

Beast! GL in livements! I will have a sesh with Elliot now and I hope it can be as good as it was/it is for you! gogo

I have recently been getting mental game coaching from Elliot Roe, focusing on hypnotherapy, I had some demons in the back of my poker mind like probably every poker player has. It's hard to accept that you did something terrible you know? Like over the last few years I have perhaps shut off things in the back of my head that I wasn't proud about. There is about 5 river calls that were having a huge effect on me. I needed to conquer them, but to do that I needed to face them. Over the last 10 days I've tried to change my philosophy on poker altogether. I would previously wake up at 3.55, know big 75 was starting in 5 minutes and just stay in my pjamas, start playing, not eating, not washing, not seeing day light, not approaching the game correctly at all. At the end of the day if a professional athlete acted the way that I do then there is no way they could/would ever be successful. I guess I'm lucky because the other people in my industry are just as bad and just as lazy. I have often called out people in interviews that poker players are so lazy etc. I do believe it a lot, but who am I to critique when I am far, far, far away from the finished product.

EPT Malta, Day 1 - 25k Euro High Roller

I spoke to Elltiot before this tournament about all the demons I had in my head from previous tournaments. My main concern was that when I start poorly I chase to get back into chips. In this tournament I quickly (2nd hand) went from 50k to 42k. After the hand I was really happy, this was the chance to see how good I was mentally and judge improvement.

I started the day with breakfast at 9, gym at 10, Massage at 11, Spa at 12. I meditated and then went for a healthy lunch before turning up 30 mins after the start.

My starting table was really good, I had the fish who plays under MonteCarlo on stars and a few other people who seemed bad regs/fish.

Not so many interesting hands from this table so will keep it brief.

Hand 1)

Russian? (maybe this was eccentricbg who I swapped with in the tournament and limps a lot as his default strategy but at this point I assumed he was a fish as he wasnt speaking English and had limped :P) limped the hijac at 100/200/25, the button (bad Russian fish) makes it 800 and I overcall big blind with 66 and hijac completes.

Flop 654ddx, checked to button who bet 1200, I called and then the hijac made it 4800. I tanked and made it 14.5k leaving PSB on the turn and he folded.

Interesting spot, generally I would flat as I wouldnt want to get in 200bbs pre flop. I expected him though to be way way more likely to limp 44/55 than hands like 87s. There was so many bad turn cards that would kill my action and I assumed that he would never fold a set so I uncharacteristically raised the flop. I basically never do this, but with a flush draw out there I just never expected him to fold a set. I assume now its eccentricbg and he assumed he had a range advantage and button had to fold a lot and he expected me to c/r hands that would be able to continue.

Anyway that table was dreamy but I got moved to a table with PhilBort, Shane Gamble, Timex, Negriin, Wizo, Caecilus, it was probably the most reggy table.

Hand 2)

This is a 2 part hand, first hand is important for history. I defend bb with Q3s vs Shane Gamble cut off open. Board kj352 checked to the river where I min bet 1bb and he smile and calls.

Orbit later its the first BVB spot with Timex, I think he perhaps views me as a little aggressive. I limp 300 and he checks. Flop Q52, I check and he checks back. Turn 8, I lead 500, he calls. River (1800 pot) I smile and lead for 300. He makes it 1800, I tank and then jam for 37000. Whole table found it a little bit funny, I think hes basically never bluff raising here, but I also don't think his value range is ever j9 as he will go larger, it felt very much like 2 pair. Perhaps t8o kind of hand. I won't say what I had here as possible he reads here.

Wizo see's this as one of his first hands at the table...

Hand 3)

I raise 900 utg at 300bb (I've been making it 800 before this) with AK (obv) Negriin, a pretty lets say "aggressive" Argentinian guy jams for 4.3k. Ole cold calls the sb pretty quickly. I decided to make it 11.7k from around 35k and he calls.

The flop is JT8, and he leads 9k, I folded.

I think flop is a super easy fold. I think he should never, ever, ever have AQ/KQ pre flop when my range is always AK/QQ+ and it would just be huge spew to call imo. I did have a backdoor flush draw but just assumed he was leading a set/qq/kk and I didn't want to jam as I felt I never have fold equity and its likely that turns will be super difficult to play. Except a Queen nothing is really great right?

So I fold and both players turned over AQ, I was a little bit shocked and I guess this was the second test for me mentally in the tournament. I really, really believe mental game is going to seperate players in these high rollers as all the regs can play decent. I obviously wasn't going to berate him or anything like this, but I guess it was semi difficult for me to just continue without skirming for the next 60 seconds!

Ole continues playing pretty aggressive.

He 3bets button vs cut off with 22 vs Negriin who defends TT. Flop at2, but ole rivers a 4 flush.

Hand 4

It's after dinner, I open TT to 1900 with 30k at 400/800, Shane Gamble 3bets button to 5100. Negriin then makes it 9100 off 30k. It's weird, I very much doubt he uses AK with this sizing as Prat shouldnt fold much to it. I really think theres a strong chance hes FOS, but its a really tough one, I let it go and I'm pretty happy when Shane Gamble jams as he likely had it.

Hand 5

I've not 3bet Ole at al yet. He opens to 1800 at 800bb in mp and I call the button with AcJd

Flop is T52ssx

He cbets 2300. I decided to call. I think I'm good and I think he barrels the turn when I improve too.

Turn is 8s, he checks and I decide to check back. I wasn't so sure here, I think I rep better by checking turn and betting river small than unloading the clip also preffered the lower variance route.

River is 4s and he checks. I decide to bet 4100 into around 10k. I just don't know what bluffs I get to the river with. AQ/AK 3bet pre, kq bets turn, 8x doesn't bluff, I don't cold call 97 etc pre. I don't expect him to fold Ks as people hate folding those kind of hands, but if he has 77sx it would seem like a pretty easy fold. He threw a 5k chip in and shower J8hh so I bit my lip and carried on the grind.

Hand 6

I limp bvb vs timex the second orbit in a row. The first one was the hand where I min bet/3bet jammed the river. I expected him to raise wider here assuming that he looks stronger because he checked the first time. He made it 1400. I had around 32k and made it 5300. I think the kind of hands he checks back here are like J9s, 87s and hands that don't want to be limp/raised, I assume he's raising a polarizing range especially with this sizing so would imaging some 73o and ofc his good hands too. I make my sizing big to represent a polairzed range (I have Q5s btw). I think my hand isn't easy to play post flop vs a 3.5x raise. If I had q8s I would be happy seeing a flop as I flop way better, so I think bluffing Q2-Q6s and K2-K6s and then l/r value hands too would be a decent counter strategy.

The flop was KT2, I checked and he checked back. I assume he has showdown value here rather than hands liek gutshots. Imagine he has AJ/AQ/Kx/Tx very often. I was happy to just c/f the hand and accept its a bad board.

The turn was T. Interesting card, we can both have a lot of Tx, but I decided to rep a wider value range (I wouldnt bet Kx here ott) and potentialy rep QQ/JJ/Kx on the river rather than trying to rep Tx here. I don't even have any Tx in my l/r range here anyway I guess. He checks back so I now assume he has AJ/AQ pretty much always, maybe the occasional A5s kind of hands too?

River is 9o and I feel like this kind of hits me more than him. At least in the moment I expected him to bet QJ/J9 if he played these pre flop the same somewhere before the river. I'm unsure if he just gives up flop/turn with 98s kind of hands. But I guess those would be the top of hsi range. I decided to bet 6.4k into 12k ish and he called me very quick with AJ. It was a really good call, I thought about the hand afterwards and perhaps I'm repping too thin with my size and I could go like 3.8k or something instead. Sometimes you just gotta say nh tho.

I go from 20k-40k-25k-35k-25k-40k in lots of different pots.

Hand 7

One of these pots that I've missed somewhere is really interesting. I can't remember the exact sizings unfortunately atm as I'm really tired but Phil Bort opens Hijac. I decide to 3bet the button with 76s. He has started raising looser and my image was pretty tight at this point. He defended (I think it was like 550-2300 (bigger because we're deeper)

The flop was T87dds. He checked and I decided to bet 1.6k. I don't imagine he would c/r that often here. I mean sure the board favours him but I have 3bet the button and can have lots of hands that connect hard here too. I think generally he will always c/c flush draws and pair+draw etc. He did go ahead and c/r to 5kish. Was very interesting. I have a good blocker to a set and I think he never has a flush draw here so when I 3bet the flop I think he calls/folds v often and doesnt really ever jam. I made it 11kish and he called. The turn was a jack and I was giving up here, I assumed he had a straight or a set/2 pair. The river was a 7 and he bet 7200 into around 26k. Super small bet and I think people may be tempted to call off here and perhaps I should but I think that if I never expect him to defend the flop with air/ambitious floats oop then its super contradictoray for me to then go and call this river bet. I used to always give myself excuses or reasons to call, now I really just want to be super focused and play A game as much as possible. I passed after a minutes deliberation or so.


Hand 8

Blinds are just about to go to 500/1k but are at 400/800. Ole has been opening a lot. He has a biggish stack, he has momemtum from running really good against negrin with the 22 and T9. Perhaps he feels a little invinceable He opens to 1900 and I decide to 3bet from the hijack with 99. I think he thought I would 3bet wide here because he was opening a lot of pots and he probably saw me as aggressive. I expected him to 4bet fold quite often as when I 3bet here I have a super polarised range. I never have KTs or 98s kind of hands, its more like A9o and K9o kind of hands etc. He made it 11.5k which I was pretty happy about and I jammed. He called with AK and flopped a king.

I remember the first time I played a 10k. It was in Vienna and I remember super super vividly how I felt in the train station. I was sitting there thinking jesus ****ing christ I just played a 10k tournament wtf. I doubted myself as I have done whenever I've busted day one of a live tournament. This time it feels so much different, in Vienna it was maybe exactly 1 year ago I was very unsure of myself, perhaps clicking buttons at times and definitely had mental problems both pre tournament and during tournament. I feel in such a good place right now and it will sound weird and I apologise to investors if this sounds rude but I really was quite happy that I ran bad in lots of spots. I got to really critique myself and how I would respond. I'm really not trying to sound arrogant here, I know I make mistakes every tournament I play don't get me wrong but seeing lots of play from regs that I really think must be bad or from fish that is undoubtedly bad really makes me positive about the future of tournament poker. People think its a dying breed but I think emotion and pyschology is such an important factor that even the best regs will really struggle to master.

I am anything from the finished product, I'm way, way off, but I have so much desire to be number 1 in my own rankings for both live and online tournaments this time next year. I don't care about poker awards, pocket fives, gpi or anything else. I've let that stuff control my ego way too much over the last 12 months, I just want to look back and tell myself "good job man, wp"

That AQ hand by ole made me smash my mouse on your behalf. It's been too long since my last Elliot session apparently. Or maybe I just don't have to worry about being polite here....

Also in the J8s hand where he made an 8. I think u can have small pps w/o a flush but I still think his call is pretty lol.

Really cool post, man.

enjoyed the last post again, that aq seems really ambitious from ole.

nice post bro gl in all the other events. think i saw u storming past me arounf 10pm or so i guess thats when u busted. lemme know if u have time/feel like grabbing lunch or dinner tomorrow i assume we both have off days ( then again maybe u re reentering/playing the 1k- if so best of lcuk ad ttyl)

Read all this in a few hours, GL in Malta man!

Nice mindset man. GL in the next ones, will be following! And yes, Elliot is amazing and very helpful!