60k hands, 310k steps, 1 month – August 2020
08-01-2020
, 05:14 PM
Main Goals
Background
I’m a 29-year-old who has been playing full-time for the last three years. Before quarantine I was playing $2/5-$100 spread limit and firing more bullets at live tournaments than I probably should have been. Reflecting back, I’m realizing that the main reason why I’ve been able to stay afloat for this long has been due to the right people showing up in my life at the exact time that I needed them. The run good I’ve had in that regard has been insane and I don’t think I can be thankful enough. That being said, it’s time for me to level up and take better responsibility over my failures and successes.
Why am I doing this?
The main reason is to put structure around the things that I want to get better at; poker and running/fitness. I’ve always been good at dreaming up goals or building visions of what I’d like my life to look like, as well as determining the path to get there. It’s fun for me to think about how I can optimize myself and my time. But even having the map to the treasure, I’m consistently getting distracted off course, mostly by ego, fear, or laziness. I’m hoping this month-long journey will help me to learn how to better steer the ship in all of my crusades.
60k hands
My challenge starts at the .1/.25 6-max tables, a game in which I’m currently a -4.38 bb/100 loser over 28k hands. I question how much of this number is due to lacking skill and how much of it is due to lacking focus. Either way, I want/need to greatly improve both facets. I think this quantity and this structure will help me to do so. Up to this point, the most hands I’ve played and tracked in a month is right around 10k, so this will be a great push for endurance and discipline. I’m currently rolled for 25 buy-ins at this stake but in the event that I drop to <17 buy-ins, I’ll drop down to .05/.1. The hope is for this to not be an issue.
310k steps
31 days in August x Avg 10k steps/day = 310k steps
While health and fitness have always been a big part of my lifestyle, I can only consciously remember averaging this number of steps in a month one time in my life, and that was when I was backpacking in Europe. Other than that, never. Not even close. It’s hard to average that many steps/day! Seemingly even harder as poker players. As hard as it may be, there’s so many benefits to gain from it, especially from getting outside and doing it. This will be good for me as a person and as a poker player.
Run 100 miles within the 310k steps
I randomly fell in love with running this summer. More specifically running and listening to audiobooks. My longest run completed thus far is 10.6 miles and the most miles I’ve ran and tracked in a month was during July 2020 at 54 total miles. It’ll be fun taking on each of these personal records and I’m excited to share some of the insights I pull from the audiobooks I’m listening to. First book on the list is Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins.
Be better at getting better
Overall, this is the most important goal for me to accomplish. Process is so much more important than results. The main motive for me is to improve my process as a poker player and as a human. On the poker side of things, this looks like: learning how to use and routinely using GTO+, better understanding and taking advantage of the information gained on myself within PokerTracker, and showing up with full focus and attention during study and play. As a human, this looks like: less excuses, higher focus, and better accountability.
I'll be posting my daily results at the end of each day, along with updated aggregated results and any thoughts that I want to get down. Thanks for reading!
- Play 60k hands
- Complete 310k steps
- Run 100 miles within the 310k steps
- Be better at getting better
Background
I’m a 29-year-old who has been playing full-time for the last three years. Before quarantine I was playing $2/5-$100 spread limit and firing more bullets at live tournaments than I probably should have been. Reflecting back, I’m realizing that the main reason why I’ve been able to stay afloat for this long has been due to the right people showing up in my life at the exact time that I needed them. The run good I’ve had in that regard has been insane and I don’t think I can be thankful enough. That being said, it’s time for me to level up and take better responsibility over my failures and successes.
Why am I doing this?
The main reason is to put structure around the things that I want to get better at; poker and running/fitness. I’ve always been good at dreaming up goals or building visions of what I’d like my life to look like, as well as determining the path to get there. It’s fun for me to think about how I can optimize myself and my time. But even having the map to the treasure, I’m consistently getting distracted off course, mostly by ego, fear, or laziness. I’m hoping this month-long journey will help me to learn how to better steer the ship in all of my crusades.
60k hands
My challenge starts at the .1/.25 6-max tables, a game in which I’m currently a -4.38 bb/100 loser over 28k hands. I question how much of this number is due to lacking skill and how much of it is due to lacking focus. Either way, I want/need to greatly improve both facets. I think this quantity and this structure will help me to do so. Up to this point, the most hands I’ve played and tracked in a month is right around 10k, so this will be a great push for endurance and discipline. I’m currently rolled for 25 buy-ins at this stake but in the event that I drop to <17 buy-ins, I’ll drop down to .05/.1. The hope is for this to not be an issue.
310k steps
31 days in August x Avg 10k steps/day = 310k steps
While health and fitness have always been a big part of my lifestyle, I can only consciously remember averaging this number of steps in a month one time in my life, and that was when I was backpacking in Europe. Other than that, never. Not even close. It’s hard to average that many steps/day! Seemingly even harder as poker players. As hard as it may be, there’s so many benefits to gain from it, especially from getting outside and doing it. This will be good for me as a person and as a poker player.
Run 100 miles within the 310k steps
I randomly fell in love with running this summer. More specifically running and listening to audiobooks. My longest run completed thus far is 10.6 miles and the most miles I’ve ran and tracked in a month was during July 2020 at 54 total miles. It’ll be fun taking on each of these personal records and I’m excited to share some of the insights I pull from the audiobooks I’m listening to. First book on the list is Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins.
Be better at getting better
Overall, this is the most important goal for me to accomplish. Process is so much more important than results. The main motive for me is to improve my process as a poker player and as a human. On the poker side of things, this looks like: learning how to use and routinely using GTO+, better understanding and taking advantage of the information gained on myself within PokerTracker, and showing up with full focus and attention during study and play. As a human, this looks like: less excuses, higher focus, and better accountability.
I'll be posting my daily results at the end of each day, along with updated aggregated results and any thoughts that I want to get down. Thanks for reading!
08-01-2020
, 05:58 PM
08-02-2020
, 04:16 AM
Day 1
Pretty brutal start to the challenge but it feels really good to be up and running with it. The first post took more time than I expected getting my thoughts into words and learning how to post a thread. After today's sessions, dropping down to .05/.1 is very much within range but if that’s what needs to happen, that’s what needs to happen. I just want get better.
Poker
Hands played today: 1,013 Stake: $.1/.25 6-max Net result: -$175.22 Hands left this month: 58,987
Bit of a blur how today happened which definitely isn’t a good sign. It feels like I’m trying to use too much brute force to win hands. It’s late now and I’m low on energy so I’ll wait until morning to properly review today’s play.
One spot today that seems like it should be simple but wasn’t for me looked like:
Open AKo CO 2.8bb off 90bb, BTN 3b 9bb, clear 4b from us but what size and how do we play post OOP with 1:1 SPR if we airball?
I may be more fearful than I need to be of what will happen if I 4b OOP pre and then CHECK flop. I guess the antidote is just to have value within our checking range? And if opp checks back flop, we airball turn, option to bet tiny on turn to realize equity on river? Oh man head is spinning right now. We’ll see how I feel about these words in the AM.
Running
Today’s miles: 5.52 Miles ran: 5.52 Miles to complete: 94.48
Got in a nice run after the first 650 hands today. Weather was nice and pace felt smooth. I left the headphones out to let the steam out of my ears from the first session
My watch actually died on me but I’m glad it logged this far.
Steps
Today’s steps: 8,691 Steps completed: 8,691 Steps to complete: 301,309
Not the start that I was looking for but the key will be to learn from today's mistakes. Time to rest.
Pretty brutal start to the challenge but it feels really good to be up and running with it. The first post took more time than I expected getting my thoughts into words and learning how to post a thread. After today's sessions, dropping down to .05/.1 is very much within range but if that’s what needs to happen, that’s what needs to happen. I just want get better.
Poker
Hands played today: 1,013 Stake: $.1/.25 6-max Net result: -$175.22 Hands left this month: 58,987
Bit of a blur how today happened which definitely isn’t a good sign. It feels like I’m trying to use too much brute force to win hands. It’s late now and I’m low on energy so I’ll wait until morning to properly review today’s play.
One spot today that seems like it should be simple but wasn’t for me looked like:
Open AKo CO 2.8bb off 90bb, BTN 3b 9bb, clear 4b from us but what size and how do we play post OOP with 1:1 SPR if we airball?
I may be more fearful than I need to be of what will happen if I 4b OOP pre and then CHECK flop. I guess the antidote is just to have value within our checking range? And if opp checks back flop, we airball turn, option to bet tiny on turn to realize equity on river? Oh man head is spinning right now. We’ll see how I feel about these words in the AM.
Running
Today’s miles: 5.52 Miles ran: 5.52 Miles to complete: 94.48
Got in a nice run after the first 650 hands today. Weather was nice and pace felt smooth. I left the headphones out to let the steam out of my ears from the first session
My watch actually died on me but I’m glad it logged this far. Steps
Today’s steps: 8,691 Steps completed: 8,691 Steps to complete: 301,309
Not the start that I was looking for but the key will be to learn from today's mistakes. Time to rest.
08-03-2020
, 02:22 AM
Poker
Hands today: 1,013 Stake: $.1/.25 6-max Net result: -$2.24
Aggregate hands: 2,024 Aggregate Result: -$177.46 Hands left this month: 57,976
Played 1k hands today. 3-tabled to slow things down. Definitely a +EV move right now. I felt like I played better and results would say so too. Still a losing day at -$2.24 but much better than Day 1’s loss.
I should be happier about the improvement from yesterday but I’m hella frustrated with the fact that my C All-In Adj from today is worse than my C Won. It’s mostly driven from a hand 3-handed where our QQ > AA for 200bbs, but still so frustrating and I hate my ugly graph lol. Ehh, I guess that feeling is really just ego and perfectionism being sly. I gotta choose to feel differently so it doesn’t spiral into something worse. Good time for some stretching and relaxing before bed.
Two days in and this is already way more humbling than I expected. I’m one full day behind on hands and I need some proper study hours. Didn’t get out of bed until 10 today and didn’t start poker until 14:20. Lots more time to take advantage of and lots more room for growth. Go get it.
Steps and Running
Today’s steps: 8,512 Steps completed: 17,049 Steps to complete: 292,951
Today’s miles: 0 Miles completed: 5.52 Miles to complete: 94.48
No running today, two walks in the park. Good conversation with the roommate about his recent trip to Taco Bell after just consuming an edible.
TB: “Welcome to TB, order when you’re ready”
Roommate: “I’ll take the box combo”
Proceeds to window
TB: “Here you go” hands roommate bag of food
Roommate: “I ordered the BOX combo?”
TB: “Yeah?”
Roommate strongly confused but excited, leaves with bag of food
Hands today: 1,013 Stake: $.1/.25 6-max Net result: -$2.24
Aggregate hands: 2,024 Aggregate Result: -$177.46 Hands left this month: 57,976
Played 1k hands today. 3-tabled to slow things down. Definitely a +EV move right now. I felt like I played better and results would say so too. Still a losing day at -$2.24 but much better than Day 1’s loss.
I should be happier about the improvement from yesterday but I’m hella frustrated with the fact that my C All-In Adj from today is worse than my C Won. It’s mostly driven from a hand 3-handed where our QQ > AA for 200bbs, but still so frustrating and I hate my ugly graph lol. Ehh, I guess that feeling is really just ego and perfectionism being sly. I gotta choose to feel differently so it doesn’t spiral into something worse. Good time for some stretching and relaxing before bed.
Two days in and this is already way more humbling than I expected. I’m one full day behind on hands and I need some proper study hours. Didn’t get out of bed until 10 today and didn’t start poker until 14:20. Lots more time to take advantage of and lots more room for growth. Go get it.
Steps and Running
Today’s steps: 8,512 Steps completed: 17,049 Steps to complete: 292,951
Today’s miles: 0 Miles completed: 5.52 Miles to complete: 94.48
No running today, two walks in the park. Good conversation with the roommate about his recent trip to Taco Bell after just consuming an edible.
TB: “Welcome to TB, order when you’re ready”
Roommate: “I’ll take the box combo”
Proceeds to window
TB: “Here you go” hands roommate bag of food
Roommate: “I ordered the BOX combo?”
TB: “Yeah?”
Roommate strongly confused but excited, leaves with bag of food
08-04-2020
, 01:06 AM
Poker
Session 1 Hands: 887 Stake: $.1/.25 6-max Net result: -$151.17
Session 2 Hands: 1,309 Stake: $.05/.1 6-max Net result: +$23.31
Aggregate hands $.1/.25: 2,911 Aggregate Result $.1/.25: -$328.63
Aggregate hands $.05/.1: 1,309 Aggregate Result $.05/.1: +$23.31
Hands left this month: 55,780 Aggregate Result All Stakes: -$305.32
Officially moving down stakes to .05/.1. What a challenge this is right now. It’s hard to focus and think about what is really going on with me and my game. One big thing that comes to mind is to “stop trying to be the hero.” I keep calling big bets from my opponents on the river in fear that they’re bluffing me. When in reality, they always have it and I’m projecting my things onto them. Just fold and go onto the next spot. But there’s fear around just going to the next spot, what is it exactly? That I won’t get good cards? That I won’t know what to do? That I won’t hit a solid winrate unless I am perfect in every decision? Whatever it is, t’s a false belief coming from my inner critic. Need to straighten things out. How do I fix it? Acknowledging it, changing my beliefs, changing my habits. The logical answers are always right there but it can be so hard to consistently put into practice. Gotta keep pushing. This is what this effort and training is for. Work out these kinks.
2k hands in a day takes effort. Put in 7.43 hrs today. Still haven’t had a quality study/review session. Really cutting my own wounds thus far. I started my first session today at 11 after waking up around 9 and that’s the earliest I’ve started so far in the challenge. Still lots more morning to take advantage of. Lets get up earlier tomorrow than we did today.
Steps and Running
No running today, much needed run day tomorrow. Full moon walk this evening.
Today’s steps: 8,390 Steps completed: 25,439 Steps to complete: 284,561
Today’s miles: 0 Miles completed: 5.52 Miles to complete: 94.48
Session 1 Hands: 887 Stake: $.1/.25 6-max Net result: -$151.17
Session 2 Hands: 1,309 Stake: $.05/.1 6-max Net result: +$23.31
Aggregate hands $.1/.25: 2,911 Aggregate Result $.1/.25: -$328.63
Aggregate hands $.05/.1: 1,309 Aggregate Result $.05/.1: +$23.31
Hands left this month: 55,780 Aggregate Result All Stakes: -$305.32
Officially moving down stakes to .05/.1. What a challenge this is right now. It’s hard to focus and think about what is really going on with me and my game. One big thing that comes to mind is to “stop trying to be the hero.” I keep calling big bets from my opponents on the river in fear that they’re bluffing me. When in reality, they always have it and I’m projecting my things onto them. Just fold and go onto the next spot. But there’s fear around just going to the next spot, what is it exactly? That I won’t get good cards? That I won’t know what to do? That I won’t hit a solid winrate unless I am perfect in every decision? Whatever it is, t’s a false belief coming from my inner critic. Need to straighten things out. How do I fix it? Acknowledging it, changing my beliefs, changing my habits. The logical answers are always right there but it can be so hard to consistently put into practice. Gotta keep pushing. This is what this effort and training is for. Work out these kinks.
2k hands in a day takes effort. Put in 7.43 hrs today. Still haven’t had a quality study/review session. Really cutting my own wounds thus far. I started my first session today at 11 after waking up around 9 and that’s the earliest I’ve started so far in the challenge. Still lots more morning to take advantage of. Lets get up earlier tomorrow than we did today.
Steps and Running
No running today, much needed run day tomorrow. Full moon walk this evening.
Today’s steps: 8,390 Steps completed: 25,439 Steps to complete: 284,561
Today’s miles: 0 Miles completed: 5.52 Miles to complete: 94.48
08-05-2020
, 02:21 AM
5:33 in the morning, can't sleep.
Nor can I think straight. All I can think about is how wrong everything feels right now. Relationships, poker game, my inability to go deep into topics and explain them, my inner critic wanting to blame everybody else for my problems, everything feels so wrong.
Everything is so Me Me Me. But in a way it feels like it needs to be that right now in order to straighten things out. I just don’t think it has to be this tone that keeps popping up flavored in fear. I want things to be fun! Right now they’re not. Everything is so challenging to think about. But are things challenging because they’re truly challenging or because of expectations?
Both.
I think I need to detach from the expectations and bring more clarity and precision to the little things that I’m trying to learn and improve every day. Smaller steps, but steps with intention, and steps that stay on path.
What are those steps right now? How can I get better?
10:02 and just sat at my first table, 1 hour ahead of yesterday
Keys today
15:35 – 1.7k hands in, been playing since 10. Up on the session which feels good but the thing that feels the best is how much work I’ve already put into the day at this point. If I keep having days like this where I get up early and get going, the growth will come.
Was losing focus during session and wanted to type to re-scope. Ready to jump back in. 500 hands left for the day.
17:14 – Just wrapped up session. Played 2,230 hands with only a 5-minute break to heat up some food and do some jumping jacks. Feels good to have put in the effort that I put in. Ran beyond pure and still lots to work on with C All-In Adj much lower than C Won, but hitting BE with C All-In Adj is a start. Good day, real test is to back it up tomorrow. Focus on process.
Session Hands: 2,230 Stake: 10nl 6-max Net result: +$45.25
Aggregate Hands 10nl: 3,539 Aggregate Result 10nl: +$68.56
Aggregate Hands All Stakes: 6,450 Aggregate Result All Stakes: -$260.07 Hands left this month: 53,550
Steps and Running
00:16 – Good run tonight, felt good to get back at it after a few days off. Started “Can’t Hurt Me” as well. Hella excited for the listen. Audiobook is 13.5 hrs long which may just sync up perfectly for my runs during this challenge.
Today’s steps: 17,583 Steps completed: 43,022 Steps to complete: 266,978
Today’s miles: 9.8 Miles completed: 15.32 Miles to complete: 84.68
Nor can I think straight. All I can think about is how wrong everything feels right now. Relationships, poker game, my inability to go deep into topics and explain them, my inner critic wanting to blame everybody else for my problems, everything feels so wrong.
Everything is so Me Me Me. But in a way it feels like it needs to be that right now in order to straighten things out. I just don’t think it has to be this tone that keeps popping up flavored in fear. I want things to be fun! Right now they’re not. Everything is so challenging to think about. But are things challenging because they’re truly challenging or because of expectations?
Both.
I think I need to detach from the expectations and bring more clarity and precision to the little things that I’m trying to learn and improve every day. Smaller steps, but steps with intention, and steps that stay on path.
What are those steps right now? How can I get better?
- Watch YouTube videos over GTO+ and start practicing.
- Figure out what changes I can make within blind play to lower losses. Tighten up to start.
- For now, tighten up overall ranges as well.
- Proper meditation and warm-up before EVERY session. Mandatory.
- Organize mental game resources and determine approach towards each.
- Zone in more on technical things I aim to learn. It’s a process to become less superficial. It’s not just going to magically happen and it's not going to happen overnight. I need to set intentions towards it.
- Figure out the things I need to let go of. Both of myself and of other people. Forgiveness.
10:02 and just sat at my first table, 1 hour ahead of yesterday
Keys today
- Tighten ranges all around; opens, 3bets, flats
- Less calling off in big pots
- At these stakes especially, use this as an opportunity to trust your gut and calibrate to results.
15:35 – 1.7k hands in, been playing since 10. Up on the session which feels good but the thing that feels the best is how much work I’ve already put into the day at this point. If I keep having days like this where I get up early and get going, the growth will come.
Was losing focus during session and wanted to type to re-scope. Ready to jump back in. 500 hands left for the day.
17:14 – Just wrapped up session. Played 2,230 hands with only a 5-minute break to heat up some food and do some jumping jacks. Feels good to have put in the effort that I put in. Ran beyond pure and still lots to work on with C All-In Adj much lower than C Won, but hitting BE with C All-In Adj is a start. Good day, real test is to back it up tomorrow. Focus on process.
Session Hands: 2,230 Stake: 10nl 6-max Net result: +$45.25
Aggregate Hands 10nl: 3,539 Aggregate Result 10nl: +$68.56
Aggregate Hands All Stakes: 6,450 Aggregate Result All Stakes: -$260.07 Hands left this month: 53,550
Steps and Running
00:16 – Good run tonight, felt good to get back at it after a few days off. Started “Can’t Hurt Me” as well. Hella excited for the listen. Audiobook is 13.5 hrs long which may just sync up perfectly for my runs during this challenge.
Today’s steps: 17,583 Steps completed: 43,022 Steps to complete: 266,978
Today’s miles: 9.8 Miles completed: 15.32 Miles to complete: 84.68
08-05-2020
, 02:56 AM
08-06-2020
, 01:28 AM
Low Volume Today – Poker, Steps, Running
Slow day today after 4-hours of sleep last night. Can’t have any more of those this month. Thinking on and off the felt is much less efficient and tasks take longer. Only logged 343 hands and that even felt like a fight. Good life day though. Knocked out some chores, meal prep, and had a nice FaceTime with a friend that I hadn’t spoken to in over a year. Gonna get some nice rest tonight and get ready to finish off the first week with two quality days.
Session Hands: 343 Stake: 10nl 6-max Net result: $3.74
Aggregate hands 10nl: 3,882 Aggregate Result 10nl: +$72.30
Aggregate Hands All Stakes: 6,793 Aggregate Result All Stakes: -$256.33 Hands left this month: 53,207
Today’s steps: 7,695 Steps completed: 50,717 Steps to complete: 259,283
Today’s miles: 0.0 Miles completed: 15.32 Miles to complete: 84.68
Slow day today after 4-hours of sleep last night. Can’t have any more of those this month. Thinking on and off the felt is much less efficient and tasks take longer. Only logged 343 hands and that even felt like a fight. Good life day though. Knocked out some chores, meal prep, and had a nice FaceTime with a friend that I hadn’t spoken to in over a year. Gonna get some nice rest tonight and get ready to finish off the first week with two quality days.
Session Hands: 343 Stake: 10nl 6-max Net result: $3.74
Aggregate hands 10nl: 3,882 Aggregate Result 10nl: +$72.30
Aggregate Hands All Stakes: 6,793 Aggregate Result All Stakes: -$256.33 Hands left this month: 53,207
Today’s steps: 7,695 Steps completed: 50,717 Steps to complete: 259,283
Today’s miles: 0.0 Miles completed: 15.32 Miles to complete: 84.68
08-06-2020
, 02:14 AM
Of course man keep up the good work
08-07-2020
, 03:35 AM
14:30
Just sat down to play. Slow getting out of bed this morning after still feeling remnants from the 4-hours of sleep the night before. I didn’t get moving until just before 11. Feeling really good right now.
Strategy wise I’m going hella value-heavy, trimming all opens and 3-bets. It seems like there’s only a small mix of opponents at 10nl that are 3-betting with the mindset of “balanced”, everyone else is leaning heavy value. The only counter I can think of right now against opponents that are closer to balanced with 3-bets is to tighten opens even more when they’re at my tables and on my left. At least until my post-flop understanding is stronger in 3-bet and 4-bet pots. I think another counter could be to develop a limping range but it feels like that puts even more weight on post-flop understanding and could actually increase volatility right now when the goal is to decrease it.
I want to acknowledge for myself that the strategy I’m playing at the moment isn’t what I would necessarily consider “good poker”, but is what I think is the best mix for my current overall understanding of poker, coupled with my understanding of what my opponents are doing. It seems like it’s going to consistently be this ebb and flow/calibration between “how’s my overall understanding of the game?” “is my overall focus and energy in line with that?” “what are my opponents doing?” “how do I use what I understand to best attack my opponents?”
Post-session
Steps and Running
Zero running today and I booked my lowest number of steps. In a way, I’m not mad at it because it’s a byproduct of putting more work towards poker. But overall I’m just going to enjoy life more with less days having this little of movement. Proper rest and sleep is so important to maintain consistency with every aspect. Excited to get back moving tomorrow.
Today’s steps: 2,333 Steps completed: 53,050 Steps to complete: 256,950
Today’s miles: 0.0 Miles completed: 15.32 Miles to complete: 84.68
Poker
Booked a loss today, but it was a good quantity day. This was the most hands I’ve put into a day during the challenge and probably ever.
Session Hands: 2,519 Stake: 10nl 6-max Net result: -$21.10
Aggregate hands 10nl: 6,401 Aggregate Result 10nl: +$51.20
Aggregate Hands All Stakes: 9,312 Aggregate Result All Stakes: -$277.43 Hands left this month: 50,688
With that said, I got work to do. Post session I watched a rad interview with a player talking about his journey from 10nl to 100nl. Seriously good stuff, so much that I wanted to share it below. The best value you can get from anything I’ve posted so far is in this video.
Just sat down to play. Slow getting out of bed this morning after still feeling remnants from the 4-hours of sleep the night before. I didn’t get moving until just before 11. Feeling really good right now.
Strategy wise I’m going hella value-heavy, trimming all opens and 3-bets. It seems like there’s only a small mix of opponents at 10nl that are 3-betting with the mindset of “balanced”, everyone else is leaning heavy value. The only counter I can think of right now against opponents that are closer to balanced with 3-bets is to tighten opens even more when they’re at my tables and on my left. At least until my post-flop understanding is stronger in 3-bet and 4-bet pots. I think another counter could be to develop a limping range but it feels like that puts even more weight on post-flop understanding and could actually increase volatility right now when the goal is to decrease it.
I want to acknowledge for myself that the strategy I’m playing at the moment isn’t what I would necessarily consider “good poker”, but is what I think is the best mix for my current overall understanding of poker, coupled with my understanding of what my opponents are doing. It seems like it’s going to consistently be this ebb and flow/calibration between “how’s my overall understanding of the game?” “is my overall focus and energy in line with that?” “what are my opponents doing?” “how do I use what I understand to best attack my opponents?”
Post-session
Steps and Running
Zero running today and I booked my lowest number of steps. In a way, I’m not mad at it because it’s a byproduct of putting more work towards poker. But overall I’m just going to enjoy life more with less days having this little of movement. Proper rest and sleep is so important to maintain consistency with every aspect. Excited to get back moving tomorrow.
Today’s steps: 2,333 Steps completed: 53,050 Steps to complete: 256,950
Today’s miles: 0.0 Miles completed: 15.32 Miles to complete: 84.68
Poker
Booked a loss today, but it was a good quantity day. This was the most hands I’ve put into a day during the challenge and probably ever.
Session Hands: 2,519 Stake: 10nl 6-max Net result: -$21.10
Aggregate hands 10nl: 6,401 Aggregate Result 10nl: +$51.20
Aggregate Hands All Stakes: 9,312 Aggregate Result All Stakes: -$277.43 Hands left this month: 50,688
With that said, I got work to do. Post session I watched a rad interview with a player talking about his journey from 10nl to 100nl. Seriously good stuff, so much that I wanted to share it below. The best value you can get from anything I’ve posted so far is in this video.
08-08-2020
, 06:29 PM
Day 7 Steps and Running
Warm up run
Workout
Very much my hardest run in a long time due to temperature. I didn’t get started on the actual workout until 13:40, when temp was 94, which all stemmed from not getting out of bed early enough. It made me realize how everything is either a positive domino effect or negative domino effect. If I get out of bed early, I start my run earlier, less hot, more enjoyable, rest of day is more positive. Get out of bed late, get started on run later, way hotter and less enjoyable, much more dehydrated which could affect play later during session, etc.
That being said, when I do find myself in these spots, I want to look at them as opportunities rather than focus on the mistakes made. The pain from this run really pushed me to my core, but in fighting through that pain, I found so much reward.
Today’s miles: 7.26 Today’s steps: 11,933
Day 7 Poker
First game getting started at 19:15. Very late start but excited to grind. No punty bluffs today, stay a little tighter with opens and 3-bets, more aggression with value. Don’t worry about the late start. The effort is there and you’re growing. Keep it up.
Post-session
Session Hands: 2,052 Stake: 10nl 6-max Net result: +$4.35
I felt the clearest playing that I’ve felt all week during the first half of the session. I was speaking my thoughts out loud, trusting and enjoying myself, very much in flow. Half way through I got distracted by the desire to have fun outside of poker and let my attention slip via texting. Big No No. Completely clicked me out of focus and the graph shows it.
Week 1 Results
Steps
Week 1: 64,983 Week 1 Benchmark: 70,000 Variance: -5,017 Steps to complete: 245,017
Run
Week 1 Miles: 22.58 Week 1 Benchmark: 25 Variance:-2.42 Miles to complete: 77.42
Hands
Week 1 Hands: 11,364 Week 1 Benchmark: 14,000 Variance:-2,636 Hands to complete: 48,636
Monetary Results
Aggregate hands 25nl 6-max: 2,911 Aggregate Result 25nl: -$328.63
Aggregate hands 10nl 6-max: 8,453 Aggregate Result 10nl: +$55.55
Aggregate Result All Stakes: -$273.08
Positives from this week:
Things to improve on during Week 2:
Week 2, cards in the air.
Warm up run
Workout
Very much my hardest run in a long time due to temperature. I didn’t get started on the actual workout until 13:40, when temp was 94, which all stemmed from not getting out of bed early enough. It made me realize how everything is either a positive domino effect or negative domino effect. If I get out of bed early, I start my run earlier, less hot, more enjoyable, rest of day is more positive. Get out of bed late, get started on run later, way hotter and less enjoyable, much more dehydrated which could affect play later during session, etc.
That being said, when I do find myself in these spots, I want to look at them as opportunities rather than focus on the mistakes made. The pain from this run really pushed me to my core, but in fighting through that pain, I found so much reward.
Today’s miles: 7.26 Today’s steps: 11,933
Day 7 Poker
First game getting started at 19:15. Very late start but excited to grind. No punty bluffs today, stay a little tighter with opens and 3-bets, more aggression with value. Don’t worry about the late start. The effort is there and you’re growing. Keep it up.
Post-session
Session Hands: 2,052 Stake: 10nl 6-max Net result: +$4.35
I felt the clearest playing that I’ve felt all week during the first half of the session. I was speaking my thoughts out loud, trusting and enjoying myself, very much in flow. Half way through I got distracted by the desire to have fun outside of poker and let my attention slip via texting. Big No No. Completely clicked me out of focus and the graph shows it.
Week 1 Results
Steps
Week 1: 64,983 Week 1 Benchmark: 70,000 Variance: -5,017 Steps to complete: 245,017
Run
Week 1 Miles: 22.58 Week 1 Benchmark: 25 Variance:-2.42 Miles to complete: 77.42
Hands
Week 1 Hands: 11,364 Week 1 Benchmark: 14,000 Variance:-2,636 Hands to complete: 48,636
Monetary Results
Aggregate hands 25nl 6-max: 2,911 Aggregate Result 25nl: -$328.63
Aggregate hands 10nl 6-max: 8,453 Aggregate Result 10nl: +$55.55
Aggregate Result All Stakes: -$273.08
Positives from this week:
- Played more hands this week than I've played in any month
- Increased session endurance
- Study and review becoming more enjoyable and less anxious
- Learned some ins and outs of posting 2+2
- Just below benchmarks with movement
Things to improve on during Week 2:
- Better sleep/wake schedules. Taking advantage of the morning is such a benefit.
- Consistent study/review. I want to add 1 hour everyday of solely study/review to the rest of the challenge. Already ticked off for Day 1, Week 2.
Week 2, cards in the air.
08-09-2020
, 03:07 AM
Poker
18:33 – Pre Session
On the waiting lists at various tables. My mind seems to be moving pretty fast right now and semi afraid to focus on anything too specifically. Why is that? Afraid to use energy? Afraid that I don’t have the intelligence or focus that I need? Is that ego? Currently typing with my eyes closed as I’m going through my thoughts and I think this could be a good exercise for anyone.
It’s been a transitional week. While I failed all of my benchmarks, I grew a lot. I opened up clarity on how I want to live my life. The surface has been scratched but there’s still a lot of ground to cover and I want to keep going.
It comes down to focus, attention, and eliminating distraction. What’s the fear in eliminating distractions? That it won’t be worth it? That I’m missing out? That I’m being too hard on myself? That’s all false. Inner critic vibes.
When things get hard, I want to run away. I want to run to pleasure for a break, to escape the pain. I think more and more that the key is to run into the pain and find out what’s on the other side.
First table just popped up. All that matters is the present hand. I’m working on playing well with justified reasons behind actions and learning from mistakes. The objective isn’t to play how our opponents want us to play (duh). It’s to understand how our opponents are playing/thinking and then best attacking the plans they have in place. Sometimes the aggression is what scares me. Just like stress, aggression can be a hindrance or it can be an aid. All of the best players use aggression as an aid. These moments are where we build the muscle to use it as an aid. Don’t fear. Trust and then learn.
23:53 – Post Session
Session Hands: 2,034 Stake: 10nl 6-max Net result: +$13.78
Aggregate Hands 10nl: 10,487 Aggregate Result 10nl: +$69.33
Aggregate Hands All Stakes: 13,398 Aggregate Result All Stakes: -$259.30 Hands left this month: 46,602
Very much the best I’ve played all month today. I can feel things starting to naturally improve and make more sense as I’m putting in more volume. Today was the most focus I’ve brought to the tables. I looked at my phone and the internet no more the 5-6 times the entire session. There was a time where I was doing a quick browse online to see the results from golf today and I could very clearly feel how much it was taking my attention away from play and how big of a difference it was making.
At the beginning of the session I decided that I was going to start with 6 tables rather than my usual 5 to try to use it as an exercise to really get my attention on point from the beginning. The plan was to start with 6 and then drop back down to 5. I ended up playing 6 the entire time. I don’t think this is necessarily the new norm for me going forward, but it was cool to do it the whole day and I didn’t even realize I was doing it until late in my session.
It feels good to have a daily graph with C Won and C All-In Adj both in the positive and close. I found myself deep in the positive very early in the session. It was a good chance for me to see how my emotions change when things go well. I naturally got more amped up and I could feel a strong shift to being more nervous about results. I wanted to tone this down and realize that the positive results don’t change the technical approach towards things. As I was doing this a quote formed in my head that:
Endurance is seeing how long you can stay even-kill, but ready to kill.
Gonna cool down the rest of the night with some stretching and figure out what all I want to accomplish tomorrow before my next session. Good start to Week 2.
Steps and Running
No run today and very low on steps due to late start to the day and focus on poker. Inside all day! Excited to get outside tomorrow.
Today’s steps: 2,451 Steps completed: 67,524 Steps to complete: 242,474
Today’s miles: 0.0 Miles completed: 22.58 Miles to complete: 77.42
18:33 – Pre Session
On the waiting lists at various tables. My mind seems to be moving pretty fast right now and semi afraid to focus on anything too specifically. Why is that? Afraid to use energy? Afraid that I don’t have the intelligence or focus that I need? Is that ego? Currently typing with my eyes closed as I’m going through my thoughts and I think this could be a good exercise for anyone.
It’s been a transitional week. While I failed all of my benchmarks, I grew a lot. I opened up clarity on how I want to live my life. The surface has been scratched but there’s still a lot of ground to cover and I want to keep going.
It comes down to focus, attention, and eliminating distraction. What’s the fear in eliminating distractions? That it won’t be worth it? That I’m missing out? That I’m being too hard on myself? That’s all false. Inner critic vibes.
When things get hard, I want to run away. I want to run to pleasure for a break, to escape the pain. I think more and more that the key is to run into the pain and find out what’s on the other side.
First table just popped up. All that matters is the present hand. I’m working on playing well with justified reasons behind actions and learning from mistakes. The objective isn’t to play how our opponents want us to play (duh). It’s to understand how our opponents are playing/thinking and then best attacking the plans they have in place. Sometimes the aggression is what scares me. Just like stress, aggression can be a hindrance or it can be an aid. All of the best players use aggression as an aid. These moments are where we build the muscle to use it as an aid. Don’t fear. Trust and then learn.
23:53 – Post Session
Session Hands: 2,034 Stake: 10nl 6-max Net result: +$13.78
Aggregate Hands 10nl: 10,487 Aggregate Result 10nl: +$69.33
Aggregate Hands All Stakes: 13,398 Aggregate Result All Stakes: -$259.30 Hands left this month: 46,602
Very much the best I’ve played all month today. I can feel things starting to naturally improve and make more sense as I’m putting in more volume. Today was the most focus I’ve brought to the tables. I looked at my phone and the internet no more the 5-6 times the entire session. There was a time where I was doing a quick browse online to see the results from golf today and I could very clearly feel how much it was taking my attention away from play and how big of a difference it was making.
At the beginning of the session I decided that I was going to start with 6 tables rather than my usual 5 to try to use it as an exercise to really get my attention on point from the beginning. The plan was to start with 6 and then drop back down to 5. I ended up playing 6 the entire time. I don’t think this is necessarily the new norm for me going forward, but it was cool to do it the whole day and I didn’t even realize I was doing it until late in my session.
It feels good to have a daily graph with C Won and C All-In Adj both in the positive and close. I found myself deep in the positive very early in the session. It was a good chance for me to see how my emotions change when things go well. I naturally got more amped up and I could feel a strong shift to being more nervous about results. I wanted to tone this down and realize that the positive results don’t change the technical approach towards things. As I was doing this a quote formed in my head that:
Endurance is seeing how long you can stay even-kill, but ready to kill.
Gonna cool down the rest of the night with some stretching and figure out what all I want to accomplish tomorrow before my next session. Good start to Week 2.
Steps and Running
No run today and very low on steps due to late start to the day and focus on poker. Inside all day! Excited to get outside tomorrow.
Today’s steps: 2,451 Steps completed: 67,524 Steps to complete: 242,474
Today’s miles: 0.0 Miles completed: 22.58 Miles to complete: 77.42
08-10-2020
, 01:30 AM
21:09 – Late session start, high steps, no run
Latest session starting time of the month. Had some life stuff to attack that took longer than expected. Good day overall though and hit a nice steps number without a run.
Today’s steps: 12,394 Steps completed: 79,918 Steps to complete: 230,082
Today’s miles: 0.0 Miles completed: 22.58 Miles to complete: 77.42
Post-session
Session Hands: 782 Stake: 10nl 6-max Net result: +$13.64
Aggregate hands 10nl 6-max: 11,269 Aggregate Result 10nl: +$82.97
Aggregate Hands All Stakes: 14,180 Aggregate Result All Stakes: -$245.66 Hands left this month: 45,820
Played 6 tables again tonight. I definitely feel like I’m turning a corner regarding play. Lines are much clearer to see and the overall experience is so enjoyable right now. Focus is much higher.
I’ve built up some anxiousness around the number of hands I’ve booked compared the benchmark number. After tonight’s session, I’m a full two days behind schedule. Definitely don’t want this number to get any higher. Like I’ve been saying in all of my posts, I need to get my sleep/wake schedule on point so that I can take advantage of the mornings. If I can consistently get up and going any time before 8AM, my daily productivity would increase so much. It’s silly how easy this is on paper and how challenging I make it in action. I just need to create a little bit of positive momentum for myself and ending the session early tonight is the start of that momentum.
Latest session starting time of the month. Had some life stuff to attack that took longer than expected. Good day overall though and hit a nice steps number without a run.
Today’s steps: 12,394 Steps completed: 79,918 Steps to complete: 230,082
Today’s miles: 0.0 Miles completed: 22.58 Miles to complete: 77.42
Post-session
Session Hands: 782 Stake: 10nl 6-max Net result: +$13.64
Aggregate hands 10nl 6-max: 11,269 Aggregate Result 10nl: +$82.97
Aggregate Hands All Stakes: 14,180 Aggregate Result All Stakes: -$245.66 Hands left this month: 45,820
Played 6 tables again tonight. I definitely feel like I’m turning a corner regarding play. Lines are much clearer to see and the overall experience is so enjoyable right now. Focus is much higher.
I’ve built up some anxiousness around the number of hands I’ve booked compared the benchmark number. After tonight’s session, I’m a full two days behind schedule. Definitely don’t want this number to get any higher. Like I’ve been saying in all of my posts, I need to get my sleep/wake schedule on point so that I can take advantage of the mornings. If I can consistently get up and going any time before 8AM, my daily productivity would increase so much. It’s silly how easy this is on paper and how challenging I make it in action. I just need to create a little bit of positive momentum for myself and ending the session early tonight is the start of that momentum.
08-11-2020
, 04:49 AM
Steps and Running
No music or audiobook on the run today, just me and the thoughts. It’s always a push for me to hit sub 8 on 5+ miles and this one was no different. Heat a big factor again today. Happy with effort.
Warm-up
Workout
Today’s steps: 16,459 Steps completed: 96,377 Steps to complete: 213,623
Today’s miles: 7.25 Miles completed: 29.83 Miles to complete: 70.17
Poker
Challenge within a challenge - $500 up for grabs
My friend helps manage a club on PokerBros and he hit me up about a promotion they’re doing this week for $500 to whoever plays the most cash game hands Monday through Friday. Incentives line up well, gonna give it a whirl. Would be sick to accomplish original goals and take this down. Stakes are higher with plan to play $.3/.6 and $.5/1, but games much softer.
Tonight I decided to do a warm-up session at my regular games/stakes and then play on PB. I think I’ll plan to do this the whole week. I was losing in both sessions and only knocked out half of today's work but I’m really excited for the rest of the week. Let’s get it.
10nl 6-max
Session Hands: 889 Stake: 10nl 6-max Net result: -$10.37
Aggregate hands 10nl 6-max: 12,158 Aggregate Result 10nl: +$72.60
Aggregate hands Non-app games: 15,068 Aggregate Result Non-app games: -$256.03
PokerBros
Session Hands PB: 151 Stake: .5/1 Net result: -$101
Totals
Total Hands All Stakes: 15,221 Aggregate Result All Stakes: -$357.03 Hands left this month: 44,779
No music or audiobook on the run today, just me and the thoughts. It’s always a push for me to hit sub 8 on 5+ miles and this one was no different. Heat a big factor again today. Happy with effort.
Warm-up
Workout
Today’s steps: 16,459 Steps completed: 96,377 Steps to complete: 213,623
Today’s miles: 7.25 Miles completed: 29.83 Miles to complete: 70.17
Poker
Challenge within a challenge - $500 up for grabs
My friend helps manage a club on PokerBros and he hit me up about a promotion they’re doing this week for $500 to whoever plays the most cash game hands Monday through Friday. Incentives line up well, gonna give it a whirl. Would be sick to accomplish original goals and take this down. Stakes are higher with plan to play $.3/.6 and $.5/1, but games much softer.
Tonight I decided to do a warm-up session at my regular games/stakes and then play on PB. I think I’ll plan to do this the whole week. I was losing in both sessions and only knocked out half of today's work but I’m really excited for the rest of the week. Let’s get it.
10nl 6-max
Session Hands: 889 Stake: 10nl 6-max Net result: -$10.37
Aggregate hands 10nl 6-max: 12,158 Aggregate Result 10nl: +$72.60
Aggregate hands Non-app games: 15,068 Aggregate Result Non-app games: -$256.03
PokerBros
Session Hands PB: 151 Stake: .5/1 Net result: -$101
Totals
Total Hands All Stakes: 15,221 Aggregate Result All Stakes: -$357.03 Hands left this month: 44,779
08-12-2020
, 01:10 PM
Steps and Running
Quicky run today to chip away at the miles left. Need more of these little guys consistently. Sub 8 average pace again which feels good. Nice number of steps today even though just under 10k.
Today’s steps: 9,918 Steps completed: 106,295 Steps to complete: 203,705
Today’s miles: 3.8 Miles completed: 33.63 Miles to complete: 66.37
Poker
Session Hands: 588 Stake: 10nl 6-max Net result: +$9.15
Aggregate hands 10nl 6-max: 12,746 Aggregate Result 10nl: +$81.75
Aggregate Hands All Stakes: 15,809 Aggregate Result All Stakes: -$347.08 Hands left this month: 44,191
Worked through some GTO+ tutorial videos today. Had a date tonight and I didn’t knockout as many hands beforehand as I would have liked. Falling farther and farther behind on hands but will be picking pace back up rest of week. Optimistically have still played everyday in August thus far.
Within the PokerBros challenge, I surprisingly woke-up in 2nd place after Day 1, 100 hands behind the leader. I very much did not think that I would be this close with my Day 1 results. I fell back further after not playing any PokerBros hands on Day 2 but I’m confident I can catch back up and then some to snag the $500. Let's go
Quicky run today to chip away at the miles left. Need more of these little guys consistently. Sub 8 average pace again which feels good. Nice number of steps today even though just under 10k.
Today’s steps: 9,918 Steps completed: 106,295 Steps to complete: 203,705
Today’s miles: 3.8 Miles completed: 33.63 Miles to complete: 66.37
Poker
Session Hands: 588 Stake: 10nl 6-max Net result: +$9.15
Aggregate hands 10nl 6-max: 12,746 Aggregate Result 10nl: +$81.75
Aggregate Hands All Stakes: 15,809 Aggregate Result All Stakes: -$347.08 Hands left this month: 44,191
Worked through some GTO+ tutorial videos today. Had a date tonight and I didn’t knockout as many hands beforehand as I would have liked. Falling farther and farther behind on hands but will be picking pace back up rest of week. Optimistically have still played everyday in August thus far.
Within the PokerBros challenge, I surprisingly woke-up in 2nd place after Day 1, 100 hands behind the leader. I very much did not think that I would be this close with my Day 1 results. I fell back further after not playing any PokerBros hands on Day 2 but I’m confident I can catch back up and then some to snag the $500. Let's go
08-13-2020
, 03:33 AM
Steps and Running
Consciously decided to slow down pace today as effort to be a little easier on the body but still get in some miles. Sometimes slowing my pace is harder for me, more time to think about things and I can’t rush through the pain like I tend to attempt to do with other things in life. Mixing up the pace is an opportunity to see things from different angles and perspectives, which gives an opportunity for new insights.
Today’s steps: 11,943 Steps completed: 118,238 Steps to complete: 191,762
Today’s miles: 5.77 Miles completed: 39.40 Miles to complete: 60.60
Poker
PokerBros Challenge
Got word this morning that I was around 700 hands behind the leader in the PokerBros challenge. I had played 150 hands the first day and 0 the second day, so I estimated that the leader had logged about 850 hands. It takes longer to get hands in on PokerBros and the most tables you can play at once is 4. Because of the gap, I decided that I was logging all of my hands today within PokerBros. 9 hours of play and 1,445 hands later, here we are writing this before bed. If the number from today doesn’t put me into the lead, it should at least put me within striking distance and I will plan to play big days on Thursday and Friday.
The $500 up top in the challenge is really incentivizing me to focus on this for the rest of the week. The games are soft and even if I just break-even in the games, that’ll be a nice week for me. Today was a break-even day. Excited to get back at it tomorrow.
Session Hands: 1,445 Stake: PokerBros $.5/1 Net result: +$9.73
Aggregate hands PokerBros: 1,597 Aggregate Result PokerBros: -$91.35
Total Hands All Stakes: 17,254 Aggregate Result All Stakes: -$338.23 Hands left this month: 42,746
Consciously decided to slow down pace today as effort to be a little easier on the body but still get in some miles. Sometimes slowing my pace is harder for me, more time to think about things and I can’t rush through the pain like I tend to attempt to do with other things in life. Mixing up the pace is an opportunity to see things from different angles and perspectives, which gives an opportunity for new insights.
Today’s steps: 11,943 Steps completed: 118,238 Steps to complete: 191,762
Today’s miles: 5.77 Miles completed: 39.40 Miles to complete: 60.60
Poker
PokerBros Challenge
Got word this morning that I was around 700 hands behind the leader in the PokerBros challenge. I had played 150 hands the first day and 0 the second day, so I estimated that the leader had logged about 850 hands. It takes longer to get hands in on PokerBros and the most tables you can play at once is 4. Because of the gap, I decided that I was logging all of my hands today within PokerBros. 9 hours of play and 1,445 hands later, here we are writing this before bed. If the number from today doesn’t put me into the lead, it should at least put me within striking distance and I will plan to play big days on Thursday and Friday.
The $500 up top in the challenge is really incentivizing me to focus on this for the rest of the week. The games are soft and even if I just break-even in the games, that’ll be a nice week for me. Today was a break-even day. Excited to get back at it tomorrow.
Session Hands: 1,445 Stake: PokerBros $.5/1 Net result: +$9.73
Aggregate hands PokerBros: 1,597 Aggregate Result PokerBros: -$91.35
Total Hands All Stakes: 17,254 Aggregate Result All Stakes: -$338.23 Hands left this month: 42,746
08-14-2020
, 10:17 AM
PokerBros Challenge – Early afternoon 8/13/20
I woke up this morning to a message from the club owner that I was still 500 hands behind the leader in the PokerBros challenge. Being that I was 700 hands behind at the beginning of day 3 with only 152 hands played, I had high expectations of where I would be after my day 3 booking of 1,445 hands. I had been watching for the leader all day at the tables during day 3 and I’d seen him very rarely at the holdem tables. This only added to my high expectations.
The initial thoughts that came to my mind from still being this far behind weren’t pretty. It was instantly negative towards thinking about how the promotion must be a setup by the club owners, and said “player” must be in with the owners. Mind you, the accounting and presentation of the leaderboard has been a bit janky with the names of the top 3 players being posted to the clubs facebook page every morning with no hands behind each leaderboard position, simply the top 3. I kind of think they do this so that the players that don’t have a chance won’t realize they don’t have a chance by seeing how far behind they are, therefore more likely to continue playing. Regardless, it was thinking that I was using to fuel a victim mentality and that’s not going to get you anywhere.
Like I said, I’d been watching for the leader all day during day 3 to be at the hold-em tables and didn’t see him that much. Or when I saw him, he was 1-2 tabling, where I four tabled for 9 hours to book 1.4k hands. I messaged my friend around noon on day 4 when I was starting to get moving with the day and said “Where/when is he getting his hands in?” he said “All day and he plays hold em and Omaha. He played like 3 hours this morning already.” I had no idea about the Omaha tables. Never looked at those during Day 3 and certainly not during the morning. I honestly still felt sketchy about the situation but some strong realizations started to kick in.
I realized that I was trying to use excuses to cover up my own mistakes. I wasn’t mad at the potential of this club cheating a promotion, I was mad at the fact that I wasn’t hitting the marks I set out to hit. I had only played 3k total hands during the last 3 days (non-app and app games) with the intention to avg 2k hands per day this month. How did I have any room to pout? If I were hitting those marks, then the club would have no chance in cheating the promotion because my numbers would already be so good. Plus that kind of stuff is out of my control and there’s no value is stressing over things that are out of your control.
From there it was pretty simple, I had to book a massive day on day 4. If these guys were trying to cheat the promotion, which is probably/hopefully all in my head, lets force it to be really obvious by booking a massive day today. I decided that since the leader was 500 hands ahead of me, I wanted to book 2.5k hands for the day. Make him book 2k hands to be tied with me going into day 5 on Friday. Before I could get started, I had to get at least a small run in because I still have miles to log to try and meet this week’s benchmark.
Steps and Running
Shorter run today so I could get back home and get to playing on PokerBros. Easy pace and clutch listen to “Can’t Hurt Me” during.
Today’s steps: 7,558 Steps completed: 125,796 Steps to complete: 184,204
Today’s miles: 3.82 Miles completed: 43.22 Miles to complete: 56.78
Post Poker Session – Morning of 8/14/20
It’s now 7:59 AM on Friday morning, 8/14/20. I played for 14 hours straight and logged 2,408 hands on PokerBros, just shy of the 2.5k goal. At the very end I was only able to play 2 tables at once because of little traffic. The quality of my play was very much diminished as well so I figured it would be better to get to writing for this post and get a little sleep before logging back on to PokerBros for the final day of the challenge. By my estimations I should be about 900 hands ahead of the previous leader and hopefully that lines up with numbers of the club managers. I took the tracking of the leader much more serious and checked in every half hour to see if/how many tables he was sitting. Logged it as well. Maybe a bit over the top but very reassuring lol.
Thankfully the 14-hour session also went really well. Booked a W that I think takes my all game monthly total from red to green, but I really want that extra $500 to add. I can say today that I worked my butt off for it. Time for a little rest.
Session Hands: 2,407 Stake: PokerBros $.3/.6 & $.5/1 Net result: +$374.09
Aggregate hands PokerBros: 4,005 Aggregate Result PokerBros: +$282.74
Total Hands All Stakes: 19,662 Aggregate Result All Stakes: +$35.86 Hands left this month: 40,338
I woke up this morning to a message from the club owner that I was still 500 hands behind the leader in the PokerBros challenge. Being that I was 700 hands behind at the beginning of day 3 with only 152 hands played, I had high expectations of where I would be after my day 3 booking of 1,445 hands. I had been watching for the leader all day at the tables during day 3 and I’d seen him very rarely at the holdem tables. This only added to my high expectations.
The initial thoughts that came to my mind from still being this far behind weren’t pretty. It was instantly negative towards thinking about how the promotion must be a setup by the club owners, and said “player” must be in with the owners. Mind you, the accounting and presentation of the leaderboard has been a bit janky with the names of the top 3 players being posted to the clubs facebook page every morning with no hands behind each leaderboard position, simply the top 3. I kind of think they do this so that the players that don’t have a chance won’t realize they don’t have a chance by seeing how far behind they are, therefore more likely to continue playing. Regardless, it was thinking that I was using to fuel a victim mentality and that’s not going to get you anywhere.
Like I said, I’d been watching for the leader all day during day 3 to be at the hold-em tables and didn’t see him that much. Or when I saw him, he was 1-2 tabling, where I four tabled for 9 hours to book 1.4k hands. I messaged my friend around noon on day 4 when I was starting to get moving with the day and said “Where/when is he getting his hands in?” he said “All day and he plays hold em and Omaha. He played like 3 hours this morning already.” I had no idea about the Omaha tables. Never looked at those during Day 3 and certainly not during the morning. I honestly still felt sketchy about the situation but some strong realizations started to kick in.
I realized that I was trying to use excuses to cover up my own mistakes. I wasn’t mad at the potential of this club cheating a promotion, I was mad at the fact that I wasn’t hitting the marks I set out to hit. I had only played 3k total hands during the last 3 days (non-app and app games) with the intention to avg 2k hands per day this month. How did I have any room to pout? If I were hitting those marks, then the club would have no chance in cheating the promotion because my numbers would already be so good. Plus that kind of stuff is out of my control and there’s no value is stressing over things that are out of your control.
From there it was pretty simple, I had to book a massive day on day 4. If these guys were trying to cheat the promotion, which is probably/hopefully all in my head, lets force it to be really obvious by booking a massive day today. I decided that since the leader was 500 hands ahead of me, I wanted to book 2.5k hands for the day. Make him book 2k hands to be tied with me going into day 5 on Friday. Before I could get started, I had to get at least a small run in because I still have miles to log to try and meet this week’s benchmark.
Steps and Running
Shorter run today so I could get back home and get to playing on PokerBros. Easy pace and clutch listen to “Can’t Hurt Me” during.
Today’s steps: 7,558 Steps completed: 125,796 Steps to complete: 184,204
Today’s miles: 3.82 Miles completed: 43.22 Miles to complete: 56.78
Post Poker Session – Morning of 8/14/20
It’s now 7:59 AM on Friday morning, 8/14/20. I played for 14 hours straight and logged 2,408 hands on PokerBros, just shy of the 2.5k goal. At the very end I was only able to play 2 tables at once because of little traffic. The quality of my play was very much diminished as well so I figured it would be better to get to writing for this post and get a little sleep before logging back on to PokerBros for the final day of the challenge. By my estimations I should be about 900 hands ahead of the previous leader and hopefully that lines up with numbers of the club managers. I took the tracking of the leader much more serious and checked in every half hour to see if/how many tables he was sitting. Logged it as well. Maybe a bit over the top but very reassuring lol.
Thankfully the 14-hour session also went really well. Booked a W that I think takes my all game monthly total from red to green, but I really want that extra $500 to add. I can say today that I worked my butt off for it. Time for a little rest.
Session Hands: 2,407 Stake: PokerBros $.3/.6 & $.5/1 Net result: +$374.09
Aggregate hands PokerBros: 4,005 Aggregate Result PokerBros: +$282.74
Total Hands All Stakes: 19,662 Aggregate Result All Stakes: +$35.86 Hands left this month: 40,338
08-15-2020
, 04:57 AM
Steps and Running
Solid finish to a good running week. Steps and Miles in a good spot. Stretching and recovery next area for growth.
Today’s steps: 11,788 Steps completed: 137,584 Steps to complete: 172,416
Today’s miles: 6.28 Miles completed: 49.5 Miles to complete: 50.5
Poker
The challenge ended tonight and we finished on top! Very stoked and grateful about this win. The 14-hour session put us in a place to where we had an easy poker day today. Extra $500 seriously so helpful.
Session Hands: 523 Stake: PokerBros $.5/1 Net result: +$89.95
Aggregate hands PokerBros: 4,528 Aggregate Result PokerBros: +$464.04
Total Hands All Stakes: 20,185 Aggregate Result All Stakes: +$217.16 Hands left this month: 39,815
It’s cool to see how the entire ride so far this month has led up to this unexpected gift. More evidence to just keep focusing on the process in order to best be ready for when the opportunities show up.
I'm excited to get back to the 10nl tables and working on the process again. Properly tired right now so going to get some rest and reflect more tomorrow.
Solid finish to a good running week. Steps and Miles in a good spot. Stretching and recovery next area for growth.
Today’s steps: 11,788 Steps completed: 137,584 Steps to complete: 172,416
Today’s miles: 6.28 Miles completed: 49.5 Miles to complete: 50.5
Poker
The challenge ended tonight and we finished on top! Very stoked and grateful about this win. The 14-hour session put us in a place to where we had an easy poker day today. Extra $500 seriously so helpful.
Session Hands: 523 Stake: PokerBros $.5/1 Net result: +$89.95
Aggregate hands PokerBros: 4,528 Aggregate Result PokerBros: +$464.04
Total Hands All Stakes: 20,185 Aggregate Result All Stakes: +$217.16 Hands left this month: 39,815
It’s cool to see how the entire ride so far this month has led up to this unexpected gift. More evidence to just keep focusing on the process in order to best be ready for when the opportunities show up.
I'm excited to get back to the 10nl tables and working on the process again. Properly tired right now so going to get some rest and reflect more tomorrow.