Watch me descend into cash game madness
12-13-2022
, 11:58 PM
Quote:
What's up people, had some personal stuff going on in my life where I did not put much volume in over the last month since my last post!
I have been playing a fair bit though in the last couple weeks ramping back up, 50NL shot stuck at 1k bankroll and now plugging away at those games on stars and will continue to do so until I have 20 buy ins for 100NL. The roll is currently sitting at ~1400 or so I have almost tripled since the start of the challenge, around 1.5 months ago.
About 750 profit of that is from cash and 150-200 from a lucky tourney run in the big 16.50 after many beers lol.
December so far:
I will post at the end the month with a whole month update and what my plans are next. There is going to be some huge changes in life next year, I am really excited to see where poker will take me and I am very fortunate that I will be in a position to put 8+ hours a day in of 100% poker, see a new part of the world and seriously push myself. I hope to use this blog as a harbour for all my experiences (even if nobody reads it, I will be updating when I feel necessary to do so, almost like a public diary!).
The goals have been very consistently met since I started playing again 6 weeks ago, with emphasis on small baby steps that are realistic to achieve and get the dopamine flowing on a regular basis. I had been grinding 2 hours before work everyday and I haven't stopped that, I have also really ramped up on the study so thats been good.
One last thing, a group of friends who I met through pads poker discord 3 years or so ago decided to start a private discord. We studied a lot, became really good mates, met for some beers and yeh its been sick gelling with these guys. We have now started a public discord server with a few of us making some content for the community - mainly on tik tok and also twitch/youtube. We are doing some regular sessions and are really excited to start this community. If you would like to drop by and join in then feel free to get in the discord --> https://discord.gg/XdmzS588
gl for the rest of the month!
I have been playing a fair bit though in the last couple weeks ramping back up, 50NL shot stuck at 1k bankroll and now plugging away at those games on stars and will continue to do so until I have 20 buy ins for 100NL. The roll is currently sitting at ~1400 or so I have almost tripled since the start of the challenge, around 1.5 months ago.
About 750 profit of that is from cash and 150-200 from a lucky tourney run in the big 16.50 after many beers lol.
December so far:
I will post at the end the month with a whole month update and what my plans are next. There is going to be some huge changes in life next year, I am really excited to see where poker will take me and I am very fortunate that I will be in a position to put 8+ hours a day in of 100% poker, see a new part of the world and seriously push myself. I hope to use this blog as a harbour for all my experiences (even if nobody reads it, I will be updating when I feel necessary to do so, almost like a public diary!).
The goals have been very consistently met since I started playing again 6 weeks ago, with emphasis on small baby steps that are realistic to achieve and get the dopamine flowing on a regular basis. I had been grinding 2 hours before work everyday and I haven't stopped that, I have also really ramped up on the study so thats been good.
One last thing, a group of friends who I met through pads poker discord 3 years or so ago decided to start a private discord. We studied a lot, became really good mates, met for some beers and yeh its been sick gelling with these guys. We have now started a public discord server with a few of us making some content for the community - mainly on tik tok and also twitch/youtube. We are doing some regular sessions and are really excited to start this community. If you would like to drop by and join in then feel free to get in the discord --> https://discord.gg/XdmzS588
gl for the rest of the month!
GL !
12-14-2022
, 08:39 AM
12-26-2022
, 06:38 AM
Week 8 and closing in on the end of December and 2022!
I have had some chaotic playing patterns over the last week because I took all my equipment home with me to my parents, I am stationed up in an 'office' in the house but family are coming and going which has made getting into the flow for A game quite tricky. This was actually unplanned, I was supposed to be going to my girlfriends for xmas and have somewhat of a poker detox but after a really great 6 years we decided to part ways for several reasons, that has been really tough to process and some serious variance I had not anticipated given that I was in it for the long haul but she had different ideas.
I have resorted to playing a rather unbalanced and inconsistent amount, 1 hour here, 2-3 hours there but not at the same time on a daily basis and certainly not planned out methodically. Believe it or not for poker players looking to improve , having a consistent playing time of day, duration and location wires your brain in a way that means you 'show up' more consistently, it also allows you to stamp out potential variables to your emotional stability/ mindset etc.. when you keep everything the same it becomes more interesting when you physically or mentally deviate from your baseline.
Given everything going on some of you might say, "Steve you probably shouldn't be playing because your emotions might be making decisions instead of your logical brain" and I certainly agree with that for most people although for me poker is a safe haven, its a place I can go and be fully invested in hand after hand and almost completely check out from reality. Its like a form of meditation where outside trails of thought are recognised and are allowed to pass though, but the bouncer in my brain does not let permit these thoughts to enter into the poker brain space.
I am giving that my best effort but is something that has been hard to deal with over the last few weeks. I have really enjoyed the grind though and despite some emotional swings/ tiredness/ etc.. affecting my play with a poor schedule and inconsistent grind time and location (this has definitely affected my results over the last couple weeks) I recognise that and will continue to give those feelings the attention they deserve as they arise, let them pass through and try to remain in control.
I cant really speak for the whole year considering I hardly played but the last 8 weeks have been great and the results for December are as follows:
This whole month has been 50NL with a nice upswing to get us going and a small downswing to quickly humble us somewhat. Luckily the rake back gods have been favourable to us this month meaning the total profit is roughly +$700 .
Next year is going to be full to the brim with changes. At the moment I am feeling everything on the emotional spectrum from anxiety to excitement to indifference (in a really weird way) so I will be sure to keep my blog up to date if not for anybody's benefit apart from my own. I do not tend to journal (although I think I should) so in the meantime this block of text and memory can harbour my thoughts and if it gets read and allows me to meet likeminded people then all the better!
I have had some chaotic playing patterns over the last week because I took all my equipment home with me to my parents, I am stationed up in an 'office' in the house but family are coming and going which has made getting into the flow for A game quite tricky. This was actually unplanned, I was supposed to be going to my girlfriends for xmas and have somewhat of a poker detox but after a really great 6 years we decided to part ways for several reasons, that has been really tough to process and some serious variance I had not anticipated given that I was in it for the long haul but she had different ideas.
I have resorted to playing a rather unbalanced and inconsistent amount, 1 hour here, 2-3 hours there but not at the same time on a daily basis and certainly not planned out methodically. Believe it or not for poker players looking to improve , having a consistent playing time of day, duration and location wires your brain in a way that means you 'show up' more consistently, it also allows you to stamp out potential variables to your emotional stability/ mindset etc.. when you keep everything the same it becomes more interesting when you physically or mentally deviate from your baseline.
Given everything going on some of you might say, "Steve you probably shouldn't be playing because your emotions might be making decisions instead of your logical brain" and I certainly agree with that for most people although for me poker is a safe haven, its a place I can go and be fully invested in hand after hand and almost completely check out from reality. Its like a form of meditation where outside trails of thought are recognised and are allowed to pass though, but the bouncer in my brain does not let permit these thoughts to enter into the poker brain space.
I am giving that my best effort but is something that has been hard to deal with over the last few weeks. I have really enjoyed the grind though and despite some emotional swings/ tiredness/ etc.. affecting my play with a poor schedule and inconsistent grind time and location (this has definitely affected my results over the last couple weeks) I recognise that and will continue to give those feelings the attention they deserve as they arise, let them pass through and try to remain in control.
I cant really speak for the whole year considering I hardly played but the last 8 weeks have been great and the results for December are as follows:
This whole month has been 50NL with a nice upswing to get us going and a small downswing to quickly humble us somewhat. Luckily the rake back gods have been favourable to us this month meaning the total profit is roughly +$700 .
Next year is going to be full to the brim with changes. At the moment I am feeling everything on the emotional spectrum from anxiety to excitement to indifference (in a really weird way) so I will be sure to keep my blog up to date if not for anybody's benefit apart from my own. I do not tend to journal (although I think I should) so in the meantime this block of text and memory can harbour my thoughts and if it gets read and allows me to meet likeminded people then all the better!
01-27-2023
, 08:12 PM
HELLO EVERYONE!
Time to round off the month.
This month has been so mental, I have had to sort out a load of stuff, I quit my job, I am in the midst of planning to move to Thailand to move into a grindhouse with a really good mate of mine, I have had to juggle some serious life changes, I am single and that has been emotionally really rough to deal with (she broke up with me I was not expecting it, thought she was wifey material but apparently not!).
Plus much much more than I expected also, the emotional swings have been insane where at the start of the month I think I suffered a small dose of depression. It got to the point where I seriously meditated on it and realised that harbouring emotions of negativity within myself only affects MYSELF, well shiiiit who knew? So I have made a huge effort to dig myself out of the hole and I am really proud at the growth I have made in that area over the first part of January.
So so so, I have some big milestones behind me and also ahead!
4th Jan, the day I quit my job to play poker for a living.
24th Feb, last day of the job, already mentally checked out though haha!
April 11th, the day I start the grindhouse and REALLY dedicate my life to this goal. I am lucky and fortunate that professional life has taught me a lot about work ethic and structure and consistency and also problem solving. Will always be stoked to say I managed to go from a junior low paid position in engineering to a senior engineer in 4 years.
I am also super lucky and grateful because this change I am making is a freeroll, if in one year it all goes to **** then I can have my old job back which just relieves so much pressure.
I think the boys have a lot planned so I am super excited to get to work.
ANYWAY THIS IS A POKER FORUM!
YES I DID PLAY POKER THIS MONTH!
CHRIST IT WAS A BIT CHOPPY!
The first half of the month I was just playing super passive, lots going on etc.. I had a power session with some friends who unlocked a lot of stuff for me, which you can barely see in the second half hahah
Volume is a mix of 50NL and 100NL
also managed to bink this little thing:
100NL probably going to be the main stake going forward, quite happy with the progress in sub 12 weeks going from 5NL to 100NL lol but when playing a super aggro bankroll strat the swings are quite big for the balance. I am quite good at taking swings though so hopefully we keep the aggression LOCKED in for the next month.
Overall profit this month is about +$900
Gl guys <3 and enjoy me descend into poker madness over the next year
Time to round off the month.
This month has been so mental, I have had to sort out a load of stuff, I quit my job, I am in the midst of planning to move to Thailand to move into a grindhouse with a really good mate of mine, I have had to juggle some serious life changes, I am single and that has been emotionally really rough to deal with (she broke up with me I was not expecting it, thought she was wifey material but apparently not!).
Plus much much more than I expected also, the emotional swings have been insane where at the start of the month I think I suffered a small dose of depression. It got to the point where I seriously meditated on it and realised that harbouring emotions of negativity within myself only affects MYSELF, well shiiiit who knew? So I have made a huge effort to dig myself out of the hole and I am really proud at the growth I have made in that area over the first part of January.
So so so, I have some big milestones behind me and also ahead!
4th Jan, the day I quit my job to play poker for a living.
24th Feb, last day of the job, already mentally checked out though haha!
April 11th, the day I start the grindhouse and REALLY dedicate my life to this goal. I am lucky and fortunate that professional life has taught me a lot about work ethic and structure and consistency and also problem solving. Will always be stoked to say I managed to go from a junior low paid position in engineering to a senior engineer in 4 years.
I am also super lucky and grateful because this change I am making is a freeroll, if in one year it all goes to **** then I can have my old job back which just relieves so much pressure.
I think the boys have a lot planned so I am super excited to get to work.
ANYWAY THIS IS A POKER FORUM!
YES I DID PLAY POKER THIS MONTH!
CHRIST IT WAS A BIT CHOPPY!
The first half of the month I was just playing super passive, lots going on etc.. I had a power session with some friends who unlocked a lot of stuff for me, which you can barely see in the second half hahah
Volume is a mix of 50NL and 100NL
also managed to bink this little thing:
100NL probably going to be the main stake going forward, quite happy with the progress in sub 12 weeks going from 5NL to 100NL lol but when playing a super aggro bankroll strat the swings are quite big for the balance. I am quite good at taking swings though so hopefully we keep the aggression LOCKED in for the next month.
Overall profit this month is about +$900
Gl guys <3 and enjoy me descend into poker madness over the next year
01-30-2023
, 09:53 AM
02-03-2023
, 09:03 AM
Last edited by crazy_steve12; 02-03-2023 at 09:15 AM.
02-12-2023
, 05:33 PM
Hello All!
Little mid month update coming up for you all.
This month so far has already been pretty sweet. Mental health has been really good so far, getting over the emotional swings of Jan and December. I have been doing a boat loads of exercise by cycling to work and back everyday (~10 miles) and around 15 hours of climbing a week at the moment, this is nothing new for me I have always been a bit of a health nerd but its good I am keeping it up even during a life slump.
My FLIGHT IS BOOKED, which is a big milestone, its real hahah. I have even bought some boxes on Facebook marketplace to pack up all the stuff I don't have...
I ran super well also and got a (almost) brand new laptop which is normally £1700 RRP for £900 on eBay. I will be using it to grind on in Asia and run sims. Its a beast!
In other news Its now under two weeks till my last day at work and my last day in my flat in Bristol! I am actually now feeling some excitement which is very positive, as well as lots of sadness of course. I had a really sick night out with some good friends of mine which got quite emotional but they are coming out to visit hopefully later in the year so I am really looking forward to that!
I have also been grinding very consistently (around 1k hands a day at the ol reg tables, mixing 50 and 100 still). On track to get that $400 rake back also which is sweet.
It has been exactly 11 days since I last looked at my results, until today when I bloody registered for a short table and the cashier showed up! I was fuming but decided to peek at the results so far:
Probably got a couple hundred in leader boards and chests also which is nice.
Yeh I am running pretty well and I think I am going to do a full db review at the end of the month to iron out a couple spots. I am feeling quite confident though in my strategy but it will always need improving.
Catch you all at the end of the month, in the my next update I will officially be playing full time and getting in a lot of volume at home in my parents basement until I fly to the land of smiles.
Cya
Little mid month update coming up for you all.
This month so far has already been pretty sweet. Mental health has been really good so far, getting over the emotional swings of Jan and December. I have been doing a boat loads of exercise by cycling to work and back everyday (~10 miles) and around 15 hours of climbing a week at the moment, this is nothing new for me I have always been a bit of a health nerd but its good I am keeping it up even during a life slump.
My FLIGHT IS BOOKED, which is a big milestone, its real hahah. I have even bought some boxes on Facebook marketplace to pack up all the stuff I don't have...
I ran super well also and got a (almost) brand new laptop which is normally £1700 RRP for £900 on eBay. I will be using it to grind on in Asia and run sims. Its a beast!
In other news Its now under two weeks till my last day at work and my last day in my flat in Bristol! I am actually now feeling some excitement which is very positive, as well as lots of sadness of course. I had a really sick night out with some good friends of mine which got quite emotional but they are coming out to visit hopefully later in the year so I am really looking forward to that!
I have also been grinding very consistently (around 1k hands a day at the ol reg tables, mixing 50 and 100 still). On track to get that $400 rake back also which is sweet.
It has been exactly 11 days since I last looked at my results, until today when I bloody registered for a short table and the cashier showed up! I was fuming but decided to peek at the results so far:
Probably got a couple hundred in leader boards and chests also which is nice.
Yeh I am running pretty well and I think I am going to do a full db review at the end of the month to iron out a couple spots. I am feeling quite confident though in my strategy but it will always need improving.
Catch you all at the end of the month, in the my next update I will officially be playing full time and getting in a lot of volume at home in my parents basement until I fly to the land of smiles.
Cya
02-14-2023
, 07:35 PM
02-15-2023
, 04:50 AM
02-15-2023
, 04:51 AM
02-25-2023
, 07:31 PM
Hey Everyone, little end of month update because I will not be playing for the next couple days!
Straight into results this time for you dopamine addicts and then onto my life update!
The month netted me around +$1100 with playing + rake back + leader boards. In the next couple weeks I will also have hit my first 100k hands since restarting this journey in December. At that time I will share (maybe for my own benefit) my thoughts on how I have been playing, areas that I need to improve on etc.. I guess I am a winning player, not sure about that at higher stakes just yet. I think there is a lot of room for growth so I will be diving super deep and constructing a very concise study plan to follow.
Why put so much effort in you are ask??
TODAY WAS OFFICIALLY THE FIRST DAY I STARTED PLAYING POKER FOR A "LIVING". I am not in the position yet to call myself a pro hahah but I will be relying on the money that poker can hopefully give me as I start my travels around Asia on the 11th April, very exciting!
I packed up all my **** in my flat and left my life behind in Bristol, I am staying with my parents for the next few weeks (we live in the middle of nowhere!) before flying so I will be very much in solvertary confinement for 6 weeks or so. I thought I would feel weird/anxious/sad/scared but I feel pretty numb to be honest hahah so not sure if that is good or bad. I think having a couple months of emotional swings prior helped when it actually came to the final day/hour/minute in my old flat (which I loved to bits).
I have some very clear goals I would like to achieve before flying to Asia on the 11th April:
The goals will be SMART and will fit in timescales etc.. I will have a lot of time between now and April 11th to crack on with it and I am not using this time to slow down from working hard even though I don't have a job, this is my job now!
1. Construct a "theory" based study plan and complete the tasks, ticking off all tasks.
2. Construct a "mass data analysis" study plan complete the tasks, ticking off all tasks.
3. Perform a "player analysis" on myself using the 100k hand sample in my database and write a report detailing findings.
4. Perform "line analysis" on population using all the knowledge gained so far and write a report detailing findings.
5. play 40k hands (5k of those at 100NL, been a wimp/a little bit low confidence with just playing 100NL!).
6. Fully detail/analyse my finances and investment plans with the liquidity I have available currently. Try to create a baseline "budget" for travelling, and establish an emergency fund. Advice from the crowd is appreciated I have currently all of my money in cash earning 2% in my bank account so idk what to do with it!
7. my exercise and eating habits have wandered a little bit because I have been ill for the last 1.5 weeks so need to get that back on track.
7a. quit the snacking, main meals each day only, try to limit carbs.
7b. a run or bike ride every day
7c. climbing 3-4 times a week, one of those days training
8. daily meditation
9. reflect on the last 6 years, try to neatly package up that part of your life and let the experiences flow right back through you, and focus on the next day/month/year one at a time.
I will be trying to post perhaps a bit more regularly, about my approach and my emotions. Given I am on the scout now for EV since I no longer have a 9-5 I think this blog can make a good portfolio for potential business ventures in the future, whether that's coaching/ streaming/ etc..
And now I truly will be descending into cash game madness!
Straight into results this time for you dopamine addicts and then onto my life update!
The month netted me around +$1100 with playing + rake back + leader boards. In the next couple weeks I will also have hit my first 100k hands since restarting this journey in December. At that time I will share (maybe for my own benefit) my thoughts on how I have been playing, areas that I need to improve on etc.. I guess I am a winning player, not sure about that at higher stakes just yet. I think there is a lot of room for growth so I will be diving super deep and constructing a very concise study plan to follow.
Why put so much effort in you are ask??
TODAY WAS OFFICIALLY THE FIRST DAY I STARTED PLAYING POKER FOR A "LIVING". I am not in the position yet to call myself a pro hahah but I will be relying on the money that poker can hopefully give me as I start my travels around Asia on the 11th April, very exciting!
I packed up all my **** in my flat and left my life behind in Bristol, I am staying with my parents for the next few weeks (we live in the middle of nowhere!) before flying so I will be very much in solvertary confinement for 6 weeks or so. I thought I would feel weird/anxious/sad/scared but I feel pretty numb to be honest hahah so not sure if that is good or bad. I think having a couple months of emotional swings prior helped when it actually came to the final day/hour/minute in my old flat (which I loved to bits).
I have some very clear goals I would like to achieve before flying to Asia on the 11th April:
The goals will be SMART and will fit in timescales etc.. I will have a lot of time between now and April 11th to crack on with it and I am not using this time to slow down from working hard even though I don't have a job, this is my job now!
1. Construct a "theory" based study plan and complete the tasks, ticking off all tasks.
2. Construct a "mass data analysis" study plan complete the tasks, ticking off all tasks.
3. Perform a "player analysis" on myself using the 100k hand sample in my database and write a report detailing findings.
4. Perform "line analysis" on population using all the knowledge gained so far and write a report detailing findings.
5. play 40k hands (5k of those at 100NL, been a wimp/a little bit low confidence with just playing 100NL!).
6. Fully detail/analyse my finances and investment plans with the liquidity I have available currently. Try to create a baseline "budget" for travelling, and establish an emergency fund. Advice from the crowd is appreciated I have currently all of my money in cash earning 2% in my bank account so idk what to do with it!
7. my exercise and eating habits have wandered a little bit because I have been ill for the last 1.5 weeks so need to get that back on track.
7a. quit the snacking, main meals each day only, try to limit carbs.
7b. a run or bike ride every day
7c. climbing 3-4 times a week, one of those days training
8. daily meditation
9. reflect on the last 6 years, try to neatly package up that part of your life and let the experiences flow right back through you, and focus on the next day/month/year one at a time.
I will be trying to post perhaps a bit more regularly, about my approach and my emotions. Given I am on the scout now for EV since I no longer have a 9-5 I think this blog can make a good portfolio for potential business ventures in the future, whether that's coaching/ streaming/ etc..
And now I truly will be descending into cash game madness!
03-10-2023
, 10:03 AM
03-10-2023
, 11:33 AM
03-20-2023
, 05:45 PM
05-22-2023
, 02:57 AM