Here's a guess-update so far - lemme know if you spot any mistakes/I missed a pick(s):

$1 - acbarone
$1,974 - Mecastyles
$2,222 - starting gun
$2,500 - Sauron92
$2,600 - chaserr
$2,801 - Ditch Digger
$2,900 - Twistedd
$3,100 - jdawg91
$3,401 - Mecastyles
$3,500 - jdawg91
$3,550 - LT777
$3,777 - starting gun
$3,876 - Rusemandingo
$3,975 - Ditch Digger
$4,203 - mcc3504
$4,444 - ONLYRAISEAA
$5,565 - dfb89
$5,928 - Zima421
$6,969 - sippin_criss
$8,755 - Zima 421
$12,369 - sippin_criss

Just re-guess on your 2nd one Ruse, the 2901 is not eligible.

ineligible :
darthwager
IllSkill
istack_u5

Play money "freeroll" :
LeadbellyDan - $22,222

Thank you, I appreciate that Michael. Hopefully the US intrastate/federal thing becomes an option for all of us in the next few years, and we can click buttons from our (real) homes on legitimate sites.

I live in North Park, a few minutes from the 805, so it's a pretty short commute (15-20 minutes to Border). It could take a while from PB, depending how deep in you live (for all the 20-something awesomeness, the infrastructure seems pretty bad for that neighborhood getting in-out ).

You probably want a Sentri Card, or least a Passport Card/Ready Lane access (if you're only doing it once a week, etc.).

Thank you, haven't seen you around Stars SNGs for 3-4 years. Nice to know the (semi-) old (in poker-years) folks are still around.

Ty. I'd celebrate with pizza or something, but would probably get lost

I'm curious to see how the bidding goes. The fact that it's a wall of text for instructions seems to have skewed things a bit.



Ty.

Tyty.

Isnt grinding <$10 just a waste of time considering how much you make on normal games?

Very impressive year, very inspiring. Looking forward to following your 2014! Cool freeroll format also.

3450

It depends, I like to mix it up every few years, and have wanted to do this for awhile. Whatever gets you motivated.

My normal games are probably going to be **** for the next couple of months anyhow, so not much harm in playing fewer/being more selective there to start the year.

In unrelated tangential news, I found out this holiday that two of my great-great grandparents from my Mom's side emigrated to the US from....

She wasn't sure whether my great-grandfather was born there as well, or here in the US shortly after his parents came. I'm a Euro-mutt, but that's still kind of crazy.

That's awesome.

Hey Gramps, any goals for 2014 yet?

Though here's a personal question for ya. I'm 28.5, licensed CPA in California, but unable to get a stable/solid job due to terrible work history. You were a bit older when you started playing for a living. I have a temp job, the pay is ok but a bit low for someone with my experience but it's very boring. Thinking of doing the Mexico internet poker thing for a living, but I have a lot of doubt in my ability. Was a very solid sng player on tilt before BF. Any advice to help me make my decision?

3199

is it Isle of Mannite or Isle of Manner?

I mean, "it depends." Do you still wanna CPA under different circumstances/just need to grind your way up? Playing poker will probably seem great for 3-6 months (i.e. anything different will probably seem great for 3-6 months cause it's not what you are/were tired of). For us Americans, long-term, it's going to be very challenging $$-wise and life-wise in many ways.

If I was Canadian, European, etc. living in a regulated/semi-regulated poker market with no income tax, then it *could* make more sense to switch to poker, esp. if you keep your other options open.

It just all depends. For some people, being the poker expat long-term is an awesome solution. Others get real withered real quick. Everything in between. Maybe the other Mexico grinders can chime in.

Not sure, I just hope certain reckless/disrespectful/rogue Stars employees don't go terrorizing the streets of my homeland in 2014.

$1 - acbarone
$1,974 - Mecastyles
$2,222 - starting gun
$2,500 - Sauron92
$2,600 - chaserr
$2,801 - Ditch Digger
$2,900 - Twistedd
$3,100 - jdawg91
$3,401 - Mecastyles
$3,500 - jdawg91
$3,550 - LT777
$3,777 - starting gun
$3,876 - Rusemandingo
$3,975 - Ditch Digger
$4,203 - mcc3504
$4,444 - ONLYRAISEAA
$5,565 - dfb89
$5,928 - Zima421
$6,969 - sippin_criss
$7,266 - elcid
$8,755 - Zima 421
$12,369 - sippin_criss
LeadbellyDan - $22,222

It depends, but I think my crappy work history is preventing me from getting interviewed/selected for jobs. I have very shaky work history. You're living out a dream, making a lot of money playing online poker and essentially being your own boss. I guess I'm just sick of the politics behind getting a job and just want my natural ability/talent to be the driving force of my success, not people who decide whether or not they like you enough to hire you.

You might be right about me not probably like poker, but I don't really like my current job either. I'm just exploring other options and wanted your thoughts/viewpoints.

For those playing the Gramps drinking game that's a shot...

4,727

hooray for searching my name on 2p2

<3 gramps

2390

Agree that real jobs can suck the life out of you at times. Same with poker. No one answer out there. I would guess (without knowing you obv) you'd enjoy it for a few months, and then from there some major variance in experience starts to kick in

Then there's the 5-year, 10-year, 20-year, etc. plan (or conscious lack of plan/take-it-as-it-goes life approach).

did ditchdigger and twistedd block the bet of anything between 2752 and 2949? i would've wanted to bet right in the middle of that.

i want to think of good blocking strat but I guess I'll just go with


2753

Hahaha

Damn guess you want me grinding drunk tonight

1420

5235

Gramps, slightly off topic: other than yourself who do you consider the best 6m hyper turbo players playing today?

[QUOTE=Gramps;41612287]Here's a guess-update so far - lemme know if you spot any mistakes/I missed a pick(s):

$1 - acbarone
$1,420 - kleath
$1,974 - Mecastyles
$2,222 - starting gun
$2,390 - Alex Wice
$2,500 - Sauron92
$2,600 - chaserr
$2,801 - Ditch Digger
$2,900 - Twistedd
$3,100 - jdawg91
$3,199 - Rusemandingo
$3,401 - Mecastyles
$3,500 - jdawg91
$3,550 - LT777
$3,777 - starting gun
$3,876 - Rusemandingo
$3,975 - Ditch Digger
$4,203 - mcc3504
$4,444 - ONLYRAISEAA
$4,727 - Clayton
$5,235 - a octopus
$5,565 - dfb89
$5,928 - Zima421
$6,969 - sippin_criss
$8,755 - Zima 421
$12,369 - sippin_criss

Guessed <50 from someone: (Guess again)
JechtSphere
SiQ

Actually, when someone honestly answers that question, it can be good insight into how they think/approach the game. I've heard as an answer people in whom there's obvious leaks, but they crush one or two aspects of the game. So...the person answering probably sees the crush-aspect, but misses/doesn't have the best grasp on the other part(s)/nuances (or is leveling/partial-leveling).

I've heard people referred to in very negative lights who do some subtle things well IMO. Or maybe their style will suffer in many contexts, but the current SNG inter-dynamic in the player pool means that an otherwise more suboptimal approach is actually the way to go b/c it gives them some built-in hidden advantages. Etc. The 3rd or 4th best player at the table can be the most or least profitable one in that moment, depending.

Some people put more emphasis grinding heavy volume, knowing that they have leaks that exist and not getting to address them/study/improve as often, b/c they want to max their hourly/yearly/$$-while-the-opp.-is-there. They're a better grinder/$-earner and worse "player" than the person who is committed to putting in lots of time improving as he goes, sacrificing $$ and hourly. Who's better/worse?

Some styles do much better over a long time period, while some styles will crush for 5 or 10 thousand games, then really have some issues. If the latter player only plays for a week, disappears, then play for a week again, etc., then it's hard to measure/put that player to the test. Maybe they're well-aware, are being overly-exploitative, and could adjust well over time, or maybe they'd really struggle with the added long-term issues of consistent heavy-volume.

I think the very best are the ones who are going to consistently work on all parts of their game, adjust well to the people they're playing against (good, meh, and bad), have a game that works over the long haul, be able to recognize the shifts/changes that occur in the SNG ecosystem, and adapt to whatever changes occur.

And (maybe most importantly) realize they don't have it all figured out. Just 'cause you're good now doesn't mean **** in 3 or 6 or 12 months. Those whose mental state fails that last part tend to fall the hardest (unless they're really, really good and/or lucky).

$7219

glgl man, I know eric tried doing something similar last year, like grind up to SNE from the micros or something - not sure if it ever panned out like he hoped, but hope you enjoy the ride and stress-free couple of months!