@keviii thanks, I appreciate it. @iamalwaysontilt thanks, I too am surprised that the win rate has climbed up to 78%, but it will def lower over the course of the year. This 1st quarter I have had some gd win streaks of 6,8,11. Today, I am going to try to break my 1 game losing streak.
Yep. im thinking about doing a vlog segment, but not sure when. Im kind of private guy, so its a big leap for me to post a video. Im just trying to work up the courage, and the right time. I appreciate your interest in this thread.

I will be playing at HSI, Hollywood, and Belterra this week. I have to turn in my 2 NCAA brackets at HSI before the playin games Tuesday, so I will prob head there tonight. This should be a very exciting NCAA tourney!!
My Final Four on Bracket 1: UL,Ohio St,Mich,Ind. Bracket 2: Duke,Wis,Gtown,Miami. Winner of each rd receives $1k, and overall winner receives $2,500. #onetime
Sidenote: I drew Kansas in a separate promotion at HSI. How this works is - I can cash in after any round for $x, or "let it ride". {Rd 1 (play n game) $10, rd 2 $25, rd 3 $50, rd 4 $100, rd 5 $250, rd 6 $500, rd 7 $1000 (champion)} I'll prob let it ride no matter what all the way to the "Elite 8/$250". At that point, I will have to see who their playing (a big underdog I'll let it ride, a top 4 seed-cash in for $250).

Good luck up at Belterra....maybe you'll have a lil run good in the tourney.....what day are u heading up their?

Have a another streak going, but its the one I despise! 3 sesh losing streak = -$913.

*From Good to Bad*
IMO ----Hardest thing about poker is playing through a downswing. There is a lot of 2nd guessing; along with a defeated self-pride. This all converges into quite a humbling experience. More so, it’s a feeling of a shaken confidence -which can be indeed dreadful if playing with this “doubt” mindset. The downswings not only effect me mentality, but physically too. It’s a depleted body sufferance mixed with a bit more anxiety and headaches.
Nothing worse than working all week for nothing! It feels so unproductive and flunkee! This week, not only did I lose some big money, but also hurt my hourly. My hourly dropped to the tune of -$6 (32/hr-26/hr)! Now my drives to the poker room feel a bit longer and are consumed with interweaving pos/neg thoughts…”Am I playing solid?”...”Should I play today?”...”Why am I choosing this life?” But after all the 2nd guessing, the mental/physical strain, soul searching reflection, and a thorough self analysis; I always go back to my numbers (numbers guy). My numbers tell me that I’m still averaging a gd hourly!, and…I’m still making a decent living!…So, SHOW UP AND KEEP PLAYING ! That’s what I do-“I KEEP SHOWING UP.”
The current 3 game losing streak doesn’t put me in a great mood, but I try not to show it outwardly. It’s really hard to not let my job performance, or lack thereof, affect my daily living. It takes a head strong attitude to fight through this, and that’s what I’ll do.
Music usually helps me during these tough times, and as of late, the Karate Kid theme song has been great therapy. ..”You’re the best! Around! Nothing’s gonna ever keep u down!”
Keep showing up…

Welcome to pro poker lolz.

But seriously....you have a solid hrly nothing to be sad about, dont be results oriented.

Just a forewarning, if your coming before the deepstack, no reason to play cash games at Hollywood--it is pretty much dead. HSC is only 20 minutes from Hollywood.

subscribed !

GL OP

Quick question; Do you find it more beneficial for you to play at HSI during the hours you're currently playing or during the night?

@GatorXP thanks for the uplifiting words
@moayourlawn thanks for the forewarning. I thought that $550 was this week, and that was the reason to head there. Prob head there on 28th. How is HSC cash? Can u buy-n for half deep stack on 1/2? Do they run 1/3nhle regularly, and is it $500 max or half deep stk? Thanks
@manzanito thanks for the thumbs up.
@johnnycasino- I do find it more beneficial for me to play the 10-4p shift, for a couple of different reasons. Primarily, it helps with the home front. My gf, and our 2 daughters all get home around 4pm, so I like to be home smwhere between 3-5ish. That way I can help with my 9yr old's homework, change diapers, hv family dinners, go to various functions (gymnastics, dance, school activities, etc.), and anything else in the family life grind. Secondly, I like the 10-4pm shift because it’s a lot of the same people during those hours. Although a few solid grinders play this shift, there are also a lot of the same elderly retirees day n day out. I have spent a lot of hours studying their plays, demeanor, and hand ranges from these folks, and feel I have a good read/feel on them = which is favorable. On the flip side, the night and weekend crowd can be +ev as well. One can find a lot of recreational players and drunken gamblers during those late hours. I like playing nights from time to time, but day shift is more conducive for me. Great question-I like how u think!
I am happy to report that I completed the 12 Step Downswing Run-Bad Program Friday. The first step was acknowledging the downswing. ..” Hi I’m Rayz, and I’m officially running badly.”… Followed by, a lot of musical therapy, vigorous exercising, spiritual meditation, and group discussions… Then admitting to myself that last week was uninspiring, unproductive, useless, unrewarding, and I could have played some hands better... The last step was looking in the mirror and saying, “I’m good enough, smart enough, and doggone it people like me”… I am very pleased to get my certificate and be done with the 12 step DRBP program! ! Friday it was back to the felt… Friday and today went well +$492. #KarateKid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DIETlxquzY

HSC is 1/2 200max and 2/5 w/ 500 max. The games have been super soft since the opening with alot of new faces and rec players ordering drinks etc. although my NL has been limited to me waiting for PLO game to open I've taken notice of all the rec players and have done great so far. about 30 hrs. on weekends and 15 during week at NLHE. With that being said the PLO games have been great so far too!

Good to see you booked a couple wins after the runbad. Gl

Not really a fan of only being able to buy in for 100bbs. I think more strategy is involved when playing w deeper stacks. which helps the more skillful player. I wish it was 150-200bbs. Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

Yeah I prefer buying in for more than 100bbs, though like PLOChris said, the games are super soft. I figured you meant your were going this week, which the deepstack wasn't going on. Though this coming week, the cash games may be good at Hollywood.

What flight are you playing? I might be there to play--good luck either way!

Thinking about the 11am flight on 28th. I somehow need to change my pessimistic attitude towards tournaments. Since i hv bageled 5 tourneys, it's hard to get amped to play the Deepstack. But I'm gonna give it a shot. I wasnt planning on playing it due to the cash downswing, but I got that turned around pretty quickly. So why not-this could be the time to go the distance, who knows... Gl @moayourlawn if u play
After @johnnycasino asked me about my work schedule (days or nights?), I thought i wd try a all night sesh. So yesterday at 5pm i clocked in, and the first 4 hrs were really swingy! One hour i wd b down -$400, and a few hours later up a couple. The first table broke around 7pm, and i got moved to another table where it was much of the same, swingy. The middle hours (hrs6-10) I was getting back on track and hovering around $100-$200 ahead. At this time, there were 2 active tables left, and the casino was getting quieter. The casino definitely has a different vibe at 4 in the morning! Its a hollow feeling, and depressing to see the problemed degenerate gamblers still there playing slots, and drunks still at the bar. As the second to last active tabled shriveled down to just 2 of us, we decided to play heads up until one of us got a seat at the last active table. The 2 hrs of heads up reminded me of the glory days on Tilt/Stars. I 3x every button, and cbetted every flop and won a little bit. Then he finally got a seat, and I took a 4am dinner break. After I devoured my hot ham and cheese, and fruit salad, i went on a half mile walk to rejuvenate the body. I walked to the on site hotel and back, and I must admit I also took my chances of not being seen and did some jumping jacks in the bathroom. I know weird, but i had to get the blood flowing...I could start to feel the fatigue set in a bit, but wanted to push myself to the max w/o it being detrimental to my play. I was in it for the long haul...Finally I get seated around 5am, and never looked back! The last 4 hrs of play when stacks were getting deeper it became very profitable for me. Not $300, not 4, not 5, not 6, not 7... Happy to report, I was the last man standing at sunrise and +$938. What a cool feeling to see the last active table dwindle down to just Me! To be the last man standing, and walking out of the poker room to the sunrising was surreal. #soul-survivor
Just waking up from my midday nap and trying to figure out what day it is... Rayz

Great job bro! The night crowd there is a whole different breed, but seeing that sunlight after a long session and being up is a euphoric feeling, makes you feel like you accomplished a long quest. And props to you working out before you go to HSI and play. I have two lifting partners that I workout with 5-6 times a week around the 7 PM mark, get home, take a shower and head to HSI around 9-10.. I don't think the majority of players realize the importance of getting 30 minutes to and hour of exercise a day. Your mental stamina increases 2 to 3 times more than the average player. Just think, even if you were a decent player and you were surrounded by players of the same talent level, you can go in knowing you have that mental edge on them, knowing that they just sat around all day while you busted your ass for a short period of time to get that advantage over them. They will slip up more often and you'll be the apex predator that takes advantage of their mental mistakes.

Also, I know you can't play every night with the family thing and all, but when you do get the opportunity, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT EVERY TIME.

I'm in love with this thread!! Keep it coming!!

Keep it up good sir!

@callygal @harby33
Typing this just shortly after taking a couple life beats. Here it is...4am can't sleep/tossing and turning/weird dreams/3nsame bed/getting kicked by baby/where my covers go/...screw it, I'm getting up #phase1. Head to lobby/gift shop/cafe...#phase2. Back to rm, and try to take a quiet shower (no such thing), brush teeth/deo/body spray/ and then try to find my clothes in the dark-get dressed 5am.#phase3...Check Bravo App, and i see 1 game is going. I call poker room, and they tell me 6 players and 1 deep stack. Doesn't sound promising, but still decide to take the walk to the poker room. I whisper to my gf that ill meet her back at the room at 10am to check out.#phase4... Walk to poker room and see a reg coming my way in the opposite direction. Hey says, "u headed to poker room?",...,"sorry man, the table just broke" 6am#phaseout #pokerlife
Yesterday- bought in for $800. +$373 5hop.
Today-planning on logging 8 hrs.
Tomorrow-will be thinking positive. But realistically-prob another $550 dump on tourney.

Bought in for $300 added $200 = $500 total. cashed out $420 = -$80 today.
I made one bad call that cost me $60. Pretty bland day. 7hrs op.

Saw your twitter--I guess I can't feel bad about how my tourney day went, as it was pretty much identical to yours (played Wed. night).

@moayourlawn our time will come!

People often say what a cool job I have….It’s not all peachy all the time. Matter of fact, the poker lifestyle can be straining. Case in point, yesterday I decide to play the Hollywood Harley Classic ($550buyn, Harley Fat Boy overlay). I leave around 5:30p, and after ten minutes of driving I’m sitting at a standstill in rush hr traffic. Over the next hour my speed was anywhere from a complete stop to 40mph. About 6:30p, and only 30miles from my house, the traffic finally disperses and now was able to go the speed limit. Finally the open road and I start thinking about the tourney, and a game plan. I got the radio blaring, snacks in the passenger seat, and a window crack w a cool breeze. It was such a beautiful day, and the outlook is now looking promising…..That suddenly changed, when out of nowhere I heard a thud. The car is now pulling a bit to the right and driving a little bumpy. No way! It can’t be…A flat tire! I pulled over, and as soon as I opened the door I smell the burning rubber odor. I walked around to my front passenger side, and sure enough FLAT. At this time it’s 7pm, and tourney is just getting started. So I’m changing a flat tire on a curvy highway with cars flying by at the speed of sound (what it feels like when 5ft away from me). It didn’t take long to notice I was the amusement of a lot of cars driving by honking at me. This only confirms my belief that many people just love to see others fail. So now I have black tire hands, a little grease on the face, and getting annoyed by all the honkers. After the tire is on, and I put the spare kit puzzle back together in the trunk, and it’s off to the tourney… What is usually a 1hr40min drive for me, turned into 3hrs! I arrive at 8:30p, late register and take my seat. It didn’t take long before I noticed this is the best table draw I cd ask for. Players are calling some big “All ins” with just one pairs on wet boards… Believe it or not, occasionally it was gd. I just needed to catch some hands, and I knew people were going to pay me off. That was the problem though; I wasn’t getting any playable hands. I was getting dealt hands like 94off 90% of the time. I knew this table line up wasn’t going to last long, and this wasn’t the time to get crappy cards! But that’s how it was all the way to dinner break. After dinner, there were 90 players left from 270ish(all flights combined) and I still have a avg stack. Even though I was card dead, I was patient, playing good, and still in the tournament. It was just a matter of time before things were going to turn around. Then the hand came to turn this madness around. …
UTG-straight forward player, solid but not creative-ABC
Villain/button-massive chips(100+bbs). Just moved to table. Played 2 orbits and raised 50% of hands pf. The read is loose/gambler. Not a great player, but getting lucky. Observed a few questionable plays.
100-400-800
The hand is… Utg limps and folded to me in Hijack (w66) I limp as well, Villan/button 2.5x to 2k, and utg flats, and I call (23bbs). The flop is 348. Utg checks, I check with the intention of raising the Villain’s automatic flop bet. Villain bets 7k, UTg folds, and even though Villain could very easily have the best of it I liked my chances and felt I was good. So I raise AllIn 16k, and he calls w AJ. Ace on turn. 4 on river. Game over. A good read, but bad luck.
Win $291 in 1/3 cash. Overall-lost -$259poker, $40gas, $100flat tire, many hrs of wasted time, and I get home and find my $10comp food voucher in my back pocket that I forgot to use.
Not a cool job…..

I know whatcha mean about the poker life style. People don't understand how gut wrenching it can be. Keep it up, and keep playing your best. You have some good numbers right now. Don't let the tournaments get you down. Keep grinding. I appreciate this thread. It is helping me stay motivated as well! Thank you, and will be following you all this year.

1st Quarter Update as of March 30, 2013.

Cash Games= +$9,917 on 338 hrs = 29.3/hr. On pace for $39,668

Averaging 26hrs/wk. *Need to log more hours to get it to the average of 30+/wk I’m shooting for per challenge.

Longest winning streak = 11 winning sessions. Longest losing streak= 3 losing sessions. *Both streaks happened this month (March).

Win Rate=72.2% Average Buy In= $381.

Tournaments = -$2,330 (0 for life). These tournaments are really getting to me!!! I have played so good in these tourneys, and have nothing to show for it. In all the big tourneys I’ve had some great looks to get it the money, but end up getting bad beats in the late stages. It seems to happen over and over for me. It’s mind boggling. Taking at least 3months off from tournaments!

Promo Wins = +$100

OVERALL = +$7,687 (damn tourneys)

Trying to remain the focus, and not get burned out. The biggest temptation for me is wanting to play bigger, but I can gaurantee I will not do that until this challenge is completed. Just 1/2nlhe, and 1/3nlhe this year only. (95% of my play has been 1/2 and 5% 1/3). Gonna spend Easter weekend with the fam, and back to the felt Monday. I hope everyone has a great Easter!!

Good luck, it's been a good read so far.

Have you considered not doing tournament? You seem to be throwing away a lot of your winnings grinding at the cash game.

@jrh thanks for checking out the thread. I too agree that I have been dumping too much in tourneys compared to my cash roll. Tournaments are such a big tease, and looking for that one big score. Mayb I need to attend a tourney rehab facility! It so frustrating too. I hv been in sm gd spots in lot of tourneys only to get bad beated out of them just short of the money. Ugh!
Yesterday -$350
Today- currently at Planet Fitness getting the work out on, then to poker room. Don't worry table mates, I wont put u on odor tilt- i will freshen up before I play.