Dancing with the Old Lady, the Journey continues...
07-09-2018
, 02:12 AM
On Helicopters, Dinners and Taking the World by Storm
Just finished having dinner with my lovely Dawsonite friend and since she is a pilot, she will get me a free helicopter ride to Victoria from Vancouver (roughly 100kms)
I will be heading to Whistler on Tuesday for 3 days (might extend my stay, as kind of looking forward to having an apartment with a pool, hot tub, gym and the mountains just a few meters away
) and might decide to go play a 1.1k tourney in Calgary next weekend... probably not though, as it is hard to justify the ROI compared to online and in order to make the distance of the trip palpable (972kms), I would need to logically make stops in places like Lake Louise and Canmore... I think I would rather just spend time on the island, grinding within the comfort of a cozy apartment instead of the tensed walls of a casino, while having a beach at proximity instead of, you know, slot machines and stuff 
The plan for tomorrow is to grind 5-6h, go write in a cafe, buy some BTC, get an hour Thai massage and finish the evening in the casino for a couple of hours of 4 card spewing
Kind of cool to have access to all these commodities which were lacking in the dead middle of nowhere when I was by my little lake north of Montreal just a week ago Of course, give me a few more days in the city, and all I will want to do is find a few trees, a beaver pond, and all the fracking isolated-non-urban peace in the world
+12.1k in 26h online this week, 0$ live in 4h
Run good all
Just finished having dinner with my lovely Dawsonite friend and since she is a pilot, she will get me a free helicopter ride to Victoria from Vancouver (roughly 100kms)
I will be heading to Whistler on Tuesday for 3 days (might extend my stay, as kind of looking forward to having an apartment with a pool, hot tub, gym and the mountains just a few meters away
) and might decide to go play a 1.1k tourney in Calgary next weekend... probably not though, as it is hard to justify the ROI compared to online and in order to make the distance of the trip palpable (972kms), I would need to logically make stops in places like Lake Louise and Canmore... I think I would rather just spend time on the island, grinding within the comfort of a cozy apartment instead of the tensed walls of a casino, while having a beach at proximity instead of, you know, slot machines and stuff The plan for tomorrow is to grind 5-6h, go write in a cafe, buy some BTC, get an hour Thai massage and finish the evening in the casino for a couple of hours of 4 card spewing
Kind of cool to have access to all these commodities which were lacking in the dead middle of nowhere when I was by my little lake north of Montreal just a week ago Of course, give me a few more days in the city, and all I will want to do is find a few trees, a beaver pond, and all the fracking isolated-non-urban peace in the world +12.1k in 26h online this week, 0$ live in 4h
Run good all
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 07-09-2018 at 02:23 AM.
07-09-2018
, 09:42 PM
On Inspirations and Staying True
Think what you may about D.Negs and how he might be a Poker Stars puppet (ehhhh, more rake is better and not willing to take a stance vs the corporative identity that he represents
), but the dude is probably the best ambassador we could of gotten... In an alternate reality, would we get a more charismatic character, friendly, liberal, better for the game etc. than Negraneau... I think not. But moreso than D.Negs, Phil Galfond has always been the one I looked up to, back when he had a blog on BlueFire Poker/was a coach there to the more recent RunItOnce, obviously. Phil constantly displays humility, intelligence, kindness and a maturity/awareness that always has been beyond his age (especially back in his early 20s). This said, here is an article about a twitter convoy of compliments that went on in between these two :
https://www.highstakesdb.com/8902-ph...-negreanu.aspx
In a poker world where the egos can be massive, the tinge of selfishness exacerbated and the cynicism rampant, it is breath of fresh air that a couple of peeps mutually compliment their life work, as cheesy as this might sound
In other news, someone called Maurice Hawkings a "nig*a" and got subsequently disqualified from the WSOP ME. Perhaps a bit of an overkill, but one that I am completely for. Also happy to see extreme measures taken place in different spectrums of work fields across the USA in these Trump times for sexual and racial misconduct
+2.7k in 4h online this week
Am off to Whistler tomorrow, it should be fun
Run good all
Think what you may about D.Negs and how he might be a Poker Stars puppet (ehhhh, more rake is better and not willing to take a stance vs the corporative identity that he represents
), but the dude is probably the best ambassador we could of gotten... In an alternate reality, would we get a more charismatic character, friendly, liberal, better for the game etc. than Negraneau... I think not. But moreso than D.Negs, Phil Galfond has always been the one I looked up to, back when he had a blog on BlueFire Poker/was a coach there to the more recent RunItOnce, obviously. Phil constantly displays humility, intelligence, kindness and a maturity/awareness that always has been beyond his age (especially back in his early 20s). This said, here is an article about a twitter convoy of compliments that went on in between these two :https://www.highstakesdb.com/8902-ph...-negreanu.aspx
In a poker world where the egos can be massive, the tinge of selfishness exacerbated and the cynicism rampant, it is breath of fresh air that a couple of peeps mutually compliment their life work, as cheesy as this might sound
In other news, someone called Maurice Hawkings a "nig*a" and got subsequently disqualified from the WSOP ME. Perhaps a bit of an overkill, but one that I am completely for. Also happy to see extreme measures taken place in different spectrums of work fields across the USA in these Trump times for sexual and racial misconduct
+2.7k in 4h online this week
Am off to Whistler tomorrow, it should be fun
Run good all
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 07-09-2018 at 09:48 PM.
07-10-2018
, 11:33 PM
Shark Tank
I played a very interesting hand yesterday that forced me to go in the tank for my personal longest time ever : 5 minutes (in a 1-2 game, nonetheless)
While I am not by any means the best PLO player to ever roam the earth and beyond, I still figure to be in the top 5-10% in 1-2, 2-5 and 5-10 games (unlike in holdem where I am an absolute beast of a crusher, imho) I have also been playing a bit of 200z PLO online lately to great results - sample size lol -, but this virtual volume mainly serves the purpose of clearing some promotions... Anyhow, long-story-short : am decent, understand sizings/stacks/SPR very well, but am not a GTO-button-clicking reg that conquers the world - and over again - every few seconds yo
Am sitting at the feeder table and while there remains 2-3 shortstackers buying-in for 200$ and are always a threat to limp-pot it, the table is nevertheless getting deeper (about 1k average). I have table covered (1.8k) and am still practicing the art of limping 100% from EP and do so with the very respectable A
A
92 ; V1 pots it to 20$ (300$ tilted shortstacker that just GII 3 times, all losses), V2 makes the call (solid TAG, 1500$) and V3 calls in the SB (250$, station). I was not planning on 3betting my weak Aces, but V1 is in a GO-BIG-or-go-home-crying-on-the-couch-all-night kinda mood, so I click it back to 100$, V1 unfortunately makes the call (leaving himself with 135$ behind which would of kept the bet open had he shoved 
), as do the other 2 players.
flop (450$)
2
47
There was not many flops that I was going to reinvest myself in and even remotely contemplate cbetting, but this is a pretty fracking dry board as far as this 4 card game comes ; I ponder what sizing would seem respectable while giving myself enough leeway to fold if V2 decides that he has plans of his own to conquer the world... I push 205$ in chips forward, essentially putting the 2 shortstacks all-in. V1 insta-calls, while V2 thinks for a bit before shoving for 1355$ FML . Frack all the poker gods, their little children and the shyt hole they put me in (V3 folds).
I go solidly in the tank. The first thing that I observe, is that my respiration and heartbeat are calm as can be (60-70 minute), reassuring me that whatever I decide to do, it will not be an emotional based decision What the hell does he have 
Sets are soooo uncommon... I block 2x, not many 44xx in 3bet pots (a few combos, but negligible) and sure, he has some 77xx suited rundowns, but does he pot it when my hand screams AAxx and doing so would scare the living crap out of AAxx and KKxx... I think not. Maybe a small raise, sure, or a call more likely, as what the hell would he be scared of... The thing is, our side pot is minuscule at this point (about 100$ or so), so he must have some sort of showdown value that has a chance at scooping the other fellow, like pair + combo draw/wrap like 5678... After 5 minutes and no one calling the clock on me, I call
+4k online in 9h, and +1.7k in 4h live this week
Run good all
I played a very interesting hand yesterday that forced me to go in the tank for my personal longest time ever : 5 minutes (in a 1-2 game, nonetheless)
While I am not by any means the best PLO player to ever roam the earth and beyond, I still figure to be in the top 5-10% in 1-2, 2-5 and 5-10 games (unlike in holdem where I am an absolute beast of a crusher, imho
) I have also been playing a bit of 200z PLO online lately to great results - sample size lol -, but this virtual volume mainly serves the purpose of clearing some promotions... Anyhow, long-story-short : am decent, understand sizings/stacks/SPR very well, but am not a GTO-button-clicking reg that conquers the world - and over again - every few seconds yo Am sitting at the feeder table and while there remains 2-3 shortstackers buying-in for 200$ and are always a threat to limp-pot it, the table is nevertheless getting deeper (about 1k average). I have table covered (1.8k) and am still practicing the art of limping 100% from EP and do so with the very respectable A
A92 ; V1 pots it to 20$ (300$ tilted shortstacker that just GII 3 times, all losses), V2 makes the call (solid TAG, 1500$) and V3 calls in the SB (250$, station). I was not planning on 3betting my weak Aces, but V1 is in a GO-BIG-or-go-home-crying-on-the-couch-all-night kinda mood, so I click it back to 100$, V1 unfortunately makes the call (leaving himself with 135$ behind which would of kept the bet open had he shoved ), as do the other 2 players.flop (450$)
2
47There was not many flops that I was going to reinvest myself in and even remotely contemplate cbetting, but this is a pretty fracking dry board as far as this 4 card game comes
; I ponder what sizing would seem respectable while giving myself enough leeway to fold if V2 decides that he has plans of his own to conquer the world... I push 205$ in chips forward, essentially putting the 2 shortstacks all-in. V1 insta-calls, while V2 thinks for a bit before shoving for 1355$ FML . Frack all the poker gods, their little children and the shyt hole they put me in (V3 folds).I go solidly in the tank. The first thing that I observe, is that my respiration and heartbeat are calm as can be (60-70 minute), reassuring me that whatever I decide to do, it will not be an emotional based decision
What the hell does he have Sets are soooo uncommon... I block 2x, not many 44xx in 3bet pots (a few combos, but negligible) and sure, he has some 77xx suited rundowns, but does he pot it when my hand screams AAxx and doing so would scare the living crap out of AAxx and KKxx... I think not. Maybe a small raise, sure, or a call more likely, as what the hell would he be scared of... The thing is, our side pot is minuscule at this point (about 100$ or so), so he must have some sort of showdown value that has a chance at scooping the other fellow, like pair + combo draw/wrap like 5678... After 5 minutes and no one calling the clock on me, I call Spoiler:
+4k online in 9h, and +1.7k in 4h live this week
Spoiler:
Run good all
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 07-10-2018 at 11:45 PM.
07-11-2018
, 10:56 PM
1010101010 Sign Out
I find myself once again in the heat of some rake races (2nd in both, with a combined 6k up top) and hence grinding more than I initially set out to do during this western journey. What was my financial goal again for my 4 weeks in B.C.... something like 8-15k, if I am not mistaken (can't be arsed to look it up) and which I already have crushed (and some) in barely a week's time (17k + upcoming RB) Not that I am complaining or anything - of course not 
-, yet I find myself again stuck to my virtual screen while at my feet, lies the Rocky Mountains, myriads of hiking trails and accessories like a pool, hot tub and gym. So anyhow, am making sure to schedule some time everyday to balance out the grind with one of walking, hiking, swimming, running and a lot of cafe/writing, of course . I have extended my stay in Whistler until Monday to facilitate these rake races, but "promise to self" : in the upcoming weeks, I must take a few days off to take fully advantage of the outdoors and slow that system of mine down a little
I am thinking of going to Nelson B.C. after my Dawson stint, which is a small city of 10k peeps catering to the Slocan Valley (roots living, many hippies), a ski hill, a ton of reggae concerts and a general laid back vibe I believe it would be nice to go chill for a couple of weeks and emotionally revisit my time spent there a decade ago
I have been slacking off with my Spanish lessons which clearly showed today when, after a 3 week hiatus, I struggled to keep an espanol narrative flowing and had to double-down on my concentration just to cope with our discussion
Not a big deal, mind you, as I will get back in that groove of things come winter in Spain, but my poker studying has also been going idem, as I struggle to maintain an hour weekly in the lab 
+4.4k in 14h online this week
Run good all
I find myself once again in the heat of some rake races (2nd in both, with a combined 6k up top) and hence grinding more than I initially set out to do during this western journey. What was my financial goal again for my 4 weeks in B.C.... something like 8-15k, if I am not mistaken (can't be arsed to look it up
) and which I already have crushed (and some) in barely a week's time (17k + upcoming RB) Not that I am complaining or anything - of course not -, yet I find myself again stuck to my virtual screen while at my feet, lies the Rocky Mountains, myriads of hiking trails and accessories like a pool, hot tub and gym. So anyhow, am making sure to schedule some time everyday to balance out the grind with one of walking, hiking, swimming, running and a lot of cafe/writing, of course . I have extended my stay in Whistler until Monday to facilitate these rake races, but "promise to self" : in the upcoming weeks, I must take a few days off to take fully advantage of the outdoors and slow that system of mine down a little I am thinking of going to Nelson B.C. after my Dawson stint, which is a small city of 10k peeps catering to the Slocan Valley (roots living, many hippies), a ski hill, a ton of reggae concerts and a general laid back vibe
I believe it would be nice to go chill for a couple of weeks and emotionally revisit my time spent there a decade ago I have been slacking off with my Spanish lessons which clearly showed today when, after a 3 week hiatus, I struggled to keep an espanol narrative flowing and had to double-down on my concentration just to cope with our discussion
Not a big deal, mind you, as I will get back in that groove of things come winter in Spain, but my poker studying has also been going idem, as I struggle to maintain an hour weekly in the lab +4.4k in 14h online this week
Run good all
07-12-2018
, 11:04 PM
On Restlessness
About 1001 miles faster than the speed of light is how fast the system goes when 8 tabling shorthanded, with all-ins here and there, grudge HU matches thrown in the mix, and, at times, various games like NLHE, an MTT or a PLO table for the shyts and giggles When factoring in that the system in question belongs to a 41 year old man that did indulge considerably in drugs (a little) and alcohol (a ton ) in his youth, we get a fracking revving engine at the end of the session Nonetheless, our hero does have tools at his disposals AKA meditation - ehhhh, nothing less than a yogi Master yo -, some exercising - get me my tennis shoes or running shoes baby, and I will put that Gump fellow to shame but, alas, he failed to do both of these tonight after finishing the session
This said, while it is never pleasant to have dollar signs in your eyes while reengaging the outside world (and memories of digital all-ins flash by our vision
), I will still have enough time today to grind 6h, meditate 2h, write 1h, go catch a Marvels 3D movie at the cinema - no other selection duh - and walk around/sit in a cafe for another couple of hours. That is plenty of entertainment, yo And given that I fell back to to 3rd in one of my rakeraces (with sights ahead of 2nd/4th in my bumper) while establishing myself as a favourite for 2nd in the other one (1st is still attainable), I might just slack off a bit this weekend and, you know, engage in the real world like a normal human being, go for hike, become one with nature, become a fracking tree or bark at the moon like no tomorrow
+6.2k in 20h online, +1.7k live in 4h this week
Run good all
About 1001 miles faster than the speed of light is how fast the system goes when 8 tabling shorthanded, with all-ins here and there, grudge HU matches thrown in the mix, and, at times, various games like NLHE, an MTT or a PLO table for the shyts and giggles
When factoring in that the system in question belongs to a 41 year old man that did indulge considerably in drugs (a little) and alcohol (a ton ) in his youth, we get a fracking revving engine at the end of the session Nonetheless, our hero does have tools at his disposals AKA meditation - ehhhh, nothing less than a yogi Master yo -, some exercising - get me my tennis shoes or running shoes baby, and I will put that Gump fellow to shame but, alas, he failed to do both of these tonight after finishing the session Spoiler:
This said, while it is never pleasant to have dollar signs in your eyes while reengaging the outside world (and memories of digital all-ins flash by our vision
), I will still have enough time today to grind 6h, meditate 2h, write 1h, go catch a Marvels 3D movie at the cinema - no other selection duh - and walk around/sit in a cafe for another couple of hours. That is plenty of entertainment, yo And given that I fell back to to 3rd in one of my rakeraces (with sights ahead of 2nd/4th in my bumper) while establishing myself as a favourite for 2nd in the other one (1st is still attainable), I might just slack off a bit this weekend and, you know, engage in the real world like a normal human being, go for hike, become one with nature, become a fracking tree or bark at the moon like no tomorrow Spoiler:
+6.2k in 20h online, +1.7k live in 4h this week
Run good all
07-13-2018
, 11:26 PM
Interraction
Nope (I nowadays anonymous sites), but my real name/story is, courtesy of Ben Saxton AKA bob123 and his always solid interviews :
https://www.twoplustwo.com/magazine/...erge-baril.php
My Hendon Mob is still very weak though despite my quarter/half mil in virtual/Yukon cashes (mainly online, but also 50k up in Dawson that is not listed). I do plan on being in 6 digit territory in cashes on the HM database by 2020 though (it should be relatively easy, given that I plan on buying-in for 100k in 18-19 alone).
Will quote a recent post mentioning 5 places :
1- Yup, ayahuasca definitely up there and looking to doing some more soon (I chatted with a friend that might be able to get me a few doses come September...). Here is an edited version of my ayahuascan journey published on Medium :
https://medium.com/@jeansergebaril/b...wn-9f0123584e1
2- Vipassana retreats, without a doubt remain the GOAT experience. It answers so many existential questions, brings a sense of purpose, and to know and experience through your whole body that a loving transcending force is out there, is simply sublime
3- Making luv to my dear sweetheart back in our early 20s in Dawson during a summer evening... I kid you not, but sometimes the ground (figuratively) shakes underneath some sweet-sweet love making like it did that vibrant evening
As far as favourite travelling or outdoor activities goes : camel safari in Rajasthan, India, canoeing/camping down the Yukon river towards Alaska, hiking down (and back up) the Grand Canyon while camping by the Colorado River underneath the full moon (camping for 7 days in Chilliwack by my lone self at the age of 21 for a an honourable mention).
27c right now (81f) with a low of 10c for today (50f). But that evening was chilly, probably 10-12c (52f or so).
+7.4k online in 24h, +1.7k live in 4h
Run good all
Nope (I nowadays anonymous sites), but my real name/story is, courtesy of Ben Saxton AKA bob123 and his always solid interviews
:https://www.twoplustwo.com/magazine/...erge-baril.php
My Hendon Mob is still very weak though despite my quarter/half mil in virtual/Yukon cashes (mainly online, but also 50k up in Dawson that is not listed). I do plan on being in 6 digit territory in cashes on the HM database by 2020 though (it should be relatively easy, given that I plan on buying-in for 100k in 18-19 alone
).Will quote a recent post mentioning 5 places :
Quote:
https://medium.com/@jeansergebaril/b...wn-9f0123584e1
2- Vipassana retreats, without a doubt remain the GOAT experience. It answers so many existential questions, brings a sense of purpose, and to know and experience through your whole body that a loving transcending force is out there, is simply sublime
3- Making luv
to my dear sweetheart back in our early 20s in Dawson during a summer evening... I kid you not, but sometimes the ground (figuratively) shakes underneath some sweet-sweet love making like it did that vibrant evening As far as favourite travelling or outdoor activities goes : camel safari in Rajasthan, India, canoeing/camping down the Yukon river towards Alaska, hiking down (and back up) the Grand Canyon while camping by the Colorado River underneath the full moon (camping for 7 days in Chilliwack by my lone self at the age of 21 for a an honourable mention).
+7.4k online in 24h, +1.7k live in 4h
Spoiler:
Run good all
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 07-13-2018 at 11:33 PM.
07-15-2018
, 02:13 AM
Changes
Darn, I have been going pretty hard at it to, if not bink 2nd place in the rakerace, at least preserve 3rd... and then I got suddenly passed while grinding 4h str8 playing 8 tables (6 of 400z, 2 of 200z). I mean, I just don't get it... Then again, everytime I let myself get invested in one of these death races, I always end up exhausted, on the wrong end of results and reminding myself in the end that it is all about balance... There is a difference in between the 20-28h/week and the 35-45h region... (all figures virtual, of course, as playing a single live table is not nearly as demanding, even if you have to oftentimes surround yourself with undesirable vibes, for the most part). Anyhow, will go hard at it tonight as well, then take all of tomorrow afternoon-evening off with perhaps a lighter 20-25h goal for next week...
I heard from my Belarusan friend yesterday that. If you guys remember correctly - and I don't blame you if you don't, as even I have a hard time to fellow the different lady narratives -, we had hung out in Machu Pichu and Lima and I was by all means ready to invest myself in a potential relationship. Anyhow, she is now travelling in Asia somewhere in the ex Soviet countries, but will be in August in New York for a few weeks. She wants to meet up. And will try to get a visa for Canada so we can travel together The only thing is, it is in conflict with my desired Yukon itinerary... Darn, it kinda sucks that I would have to cut short my Dawson stint to 3 weeks or so, but I think I gotta go with this, roll the dice, see if it leads anywhere... She has qualities that are just too intriguing to pass by (pretty, classy, smart, a professional coder, a strong personality, determined) even if other traits seem less compatible (living in Munich, a little high maintenance), but I mean, I think it would be a clear leak/-EV move to not take a shot...
+8.7k in 29h online, +1.7k in 4h live
edit : might just take the rest of tonight/all of tomorrow off, as during the time it took to write these lines/drink a coffee, 3rd place finds himself a good 15% in points ahead of me
(re)edit : scrap that, went back home after a couple of hours of writing the latter and grinded 4h, thus putting myself in 2nd place again Which means I have a loooonnnnnnng morning ahead to maintain this position, then will go for a hike, a massage and a movie at the cine
Run good all
Darn, I have been going pretty hard at it to, if not bink 2nd place in the rakerace, at least preserve 3rd... and then I got suddenly passed while grinding 4h str8 playing 8 tables
(6 of 400z, 2 of 200z). I mean, I just don't get it... Then again, everytime I let myself get invested in one of these death races, I always end up exhausted, on the wrong end of results and reminding myself in the end that it is all about balance... There is a difference in between the 20-28h/week and the 35-45h region... (all figures virtual, of course, as playing a single live table is not nearly as demanding, even if you have to oftentimes surround yourself with undesirable vibes, for the most part). Anyhow, will go hard at it tonight as well, then take all of tomorrow afternoon-evening off with perhaps a lighter 20-25h goal for next week...I heard from my Belarusan friend yesterday that. If you guys remember correctly - and I don't blame you if you don't, as even I have a hard time to fellow the different lady narratives
-, we had hung out in Machu Pichu and Lima and I was by all means ready to invest myself in a potential relationship. Anyhow, she is now travelling in Asia somewhere in the ex Soviet countries, but will be in August in New York for a few weeks. She wants to meet up. And will try to get a visa for Canada so we can travel together The only thing is, it is in conflict with my desired Yukon itinerary... Darn, it kinda sucks that I would have to cut short my Dawson stint to 3 weeks or so, but I think I gotta go with this, roll the dice, see if it leads anywhere... She has qualities that are just too intriguing to pass by (pretty, classy, smart, a professional coder, a strong personality, determined) even if other traits seem less compatible (living in Munich, a little high maintenance), but I mean, I think it would be a clear leak/-EV move to not take a shot...+8.7k in 29h online, +1.7k in 4h live
edit : might just take the rest of tonight/all of tomorrow off, as during the time it took to write these lines/drink a coffee, 3rd place finds himself a good 15% in points ahead of me
(re)edit : scrap that, went back home after a couple of hours of writing the latter and grinded 4h, thus putting myself in 2nd place again
Which means I have a loooonnnnnnng morning ahead to maintain this position, then will go for a hike, a massage and a movie at the cine Run good all
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 07-15-2018 at 02:19 AM.
07-15-2018
, 09:40 PM
Sunday Cruising
Put in 3h in the virtual realm today, scooped in 5.3k (+2k in RB after binking 2nd in the rakerace). Will take it easy tonight (dinner, writing, movie) then catch the mogul up the ski hill tomorrow morning and spend the a few hours hiking. This means I will only get to Vancouverin the evening, but still with enough time to purchase some BTC and go play some live PLO, then hop on a helicopter to Victoria Tuesday. Good times I tell you and I do feel a certain liberating release after the heavy grind this week
Been appreciating the solid and interesting questions lately folks, keep dem coming
I have mentioned RIO and PIO here and there, but, tbh, studying has never been my strongest suit . Especially compared to certain peeps like Pads, for instance, that just spend so much time in the lab Or even a few semi-pros/lowstakes players that I talked to who surprisingly studied in the 10h weekly region (one even studied 20-30h per week, thus compromising his volume) to weakish results 
I mean, a good week for me is 2h in the lab, which I have yet to do since the start of my Spanish journey (have been maintaining 1h weekly of poker studying). And the most I have ever put in, has a been a go-hard-at-it-month of 4h weekly
This said, I have noticed that my evolution through the game is dissimilar to most pros and perhaps resembles more a Isildur1 intuitive approach (if he actually does study). In all humility, I use exploitative lines that I have yet to see other people use at midstakes. And they work to an unwarranted/silly frequency 
I am almost embarrassed by their effectiveness, tbh 
I started my professional journey by crushing the live lowstakes (25bb/h at 1-2 over 7 years, albeit it is the softest 1-2 game I have encountered and it plays much bigger) through my own inherit exploitative approach (I would not even read the forums back then, but I did devour 20 poker books/watch Bluefirepoker videos) and hence was lacking in fundamentals. It took a little longer to beat online poker and I owe everything to RIO for accomplishing this feat. I am a sponge when it comes to those videos and certain concepts just hit me in a "aha" sorta way. Sure you become a copycat like any of the RIO elite members, yet such is the life of GTO and modern day bot : there is an equilibrium to attain which lies on pure Nash foundations. Speaking of the latter, I do own PIO, but I can't be arsed to run sims, preferring to watch videos of Tyler Forrester that crunches the numbers for me, or the always innovative lines of Ben Sulsky Each our own way, I guess, and mine has been a combination of intuition and studying fundamentals (for example, I do not use a hud and when I did, it definitely had its limits as far as my usage went). All this being said, if I had to chose in between what is the GOAT approach, GTO or exploitative play, the answer is simple : GTO all the way baby!!! Yet my unique exploitative approach gives me that extra edge vs other regs (there is not a single player that I deny HU @ 400z nowadays ).
Looking back at my 8 year journey as a pro, I have moved up VERRRRY SLoooowwwlllly up the stakes, yet I (gradually) crushed every single one. My ROI in MTTs (back when I grinded them full time), was a ridiculous 65% at ABI of 40-50$ (albeit only 6 tabling...).
. So, anyhow... I came up the stakes at a turtle pace, so scooping in THIS MUCH is very new to me (and quite overwhelming at times...), albeit, not crushing, definitely not. In the wake of this recent success, I found myself asking myself quite frequently lately, "how did I become this good?". And when I stop and observe my present game, there is not a precise aspect that comes to mind, outside of my overall GTO play being much more polished that it use to be, combined with unique exploitative lines All these aha moments add up over time and their sum create a mama fracking gangsta yo Joking aside, I do consider myself world class at this point, now time to get some form of public recognition in the form of an MTT bink
So to answer your question about me having any recommendations... not really, as I think our personal evolution is very player dependent. Looking back, I can state that I have had several notable "aha" moments that increased my winrates by large increments, but I prefer not to get into the specs of the latter. And a last point : meditation and the mental game are SOOOOOOOO underrated.
Single by choice right now, after spending 3 years (stuck) in a relationship in Asia, but will mostly likely settle down sometime in 2019... The plan is to meet a beautiful lady in Europe, hopefully in a Latin speaking country (preferably Spain or Italy), but if it works out with my Belarusan friend (odds at probably 10-15%, me thinks), it would have to be Germany which is definitely not my first choice (I don't want to learn German).
+13.7k in 37h online and +1.7k live in 4h
Run good all
Put in 3h in the virtual realm today, scooped in 5.3k (+2k in RB after binking 2nd in the rakerace
). Will take it easy tonight (dinner, writing, movie) then catch the mogul up the ski hill tomorrow morning and spend the a few hours hiking. This means I will only get to Vancouverin the evening, but still with enough time to purchase some BTC and go play some live PLO, then hop on a helicopter to Victoria Tuesday. Good times I tell you and I do feel a certain liberating release after the heavy grind this week Been appreciating the solid and interesting questions lately folks, keep dem coming
. Especially compared to certain peeps like Pads, for instance, that just spend so much time in the lab Or even a few semi-pros/lowstakes players that I talked to who surprisingly studied in the 10h weekly region (one even studied 20-30h per week, thus compromising his volume) to weakish results I mean, a good week for me is 2h in the lab, which I have yet to do since the start of my Spanish journey (have been maintaining 1h weekly of poker studying). And the most I have ever put in, has a been a go-hard-at-it-month of 4h weekly This said, I have noticed that my evolution through the game is dissimilar to most pros and perhaps resembles more a Isildur1 intuitive approach (if he actually does study
). In all humility, I use exploitative lines that I have yet to see other people use at midstakes. And they work to an unwarranted/silly frequency I am almost embarrassed by their effectiveness, tbh I started my professional journey by crushing the live lowstakes (25bb/h at 1-2 over 7 years, albeit it is the softest 1-2 game I have encountered and it plays much bigger) through my own inherit exploitative approach (I would not even read the forums back then, but I did devour 20 poker books/watch Bluefirepoker videos) and hence was lacking in fundamentals. It took a little longer to beat online poker and I owe everything to RIO for accomplishing this feat. I am a sponge when it comes to those videos and certain concepts just hit me in a "aha" sorta way. Sure you become a copycat like any of the RIO elite members, yet such is the life of GTO and modern day bot : there is an equilibrium to attain which lies on pure Nash foundations. Speaking of the latter, I do own PIO, but I can't be arsed to run sims, preferring to watch videos of Tyler Forrester that crunches the numbers for me, or the always innovative lines of Ben Sulsky
Each our own way, I guess, and mine has been a combination of intuition and studying fundamentals (for example, I do not use a hud and when I did, it definitely had its limits as far as my usage went). All this being said, if I had to chose in between what is the GOAT approach, GTO or exploitative play, the answer is simple : GTO all the way baby!!! Yet my unique exploitative approach gives me that extra edge vs other regs (there is not a single player that I deny HU @ 400z nowadays ).Looking back at my 8 year journey as a pro, I have moved up VERRRRY SLoooowwwlllly up the stakes, yet I (gradually) crushed every single one. My ROI in MTTs (back when I grinded them full time), was a ridiculous 65% at ABI of 40-50$ (albeit only 6 tabling...).
Spoiler:
All these aha moments add up over time and their sum create a mama fracking gangsta yo Joking aside, I do consider myself world class at this point, now time to get some form of public recognition in the form of an MTT bink So to answer your question about me having any recommendations... not really, as I think our personal evolution is very player dependent. Looking back, I can state that I have had several notable "aha" moments that increased my winrates by large increments, but I prefer not to get into the specs of the latter. And a last point : meditation and the mental game are SOOOOOOOO underrated.
(I don't want to learn German).Spoiler:
+13.7k in 37h online and +1.7k live in 4h
Spoiler:
Run good all
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 07-15-2018 at 09:58 PM.
07-17-2018
, 04:29 AM
Tourist Towns
Went to catch the ski lift up the hill, but when I saw a couple of hundred peeps lining up for the ride, I turned my heels, 180 degree gangsta style yo, and, like the mama fracking eternal rebel that I am, I found a desolated hiking trail/creek to sit by and mentally fence off life, the world and its Trumpish right wing politics
For the record, not that I believe that I am better than anyone else or anything else - definitely not, I appreciate differences too much for that -, but I can't be arsed to have to pay 65$ for a lift, have a hiking trail designated for us and spend the afternoon with a crowd the size of Dawson stuck on a ski hill together ; kinda defies the purpose of being one with nature, right
#ToutSeulDansLeBoisCrisse
No influence whatsoever. Ayahuasca did not open a new door for me, as this gaping breach into the spiritual realm - sorta speak -, was initially unlocked through the means of Vipassana. Ayahuasca was amazing. Bringing me instantly to where meditation does in 100 hours And I did have to fight off a few demons and ultimately purge myself from them, but it is not comparable to what thousands of hours of meditation cleansing can do to a mental psych
One of the strongest aspects of my poker game, is my mental disposition. If I happen to drop 3k, I simply shut down the lappy and engage the outside world like a light and dozy afternoon breeze yo I usually always dwell into an A game or at the very least, a B game territory (even if one cannot completely shake away the mental and physical fatigue (and depression) caused by heavy volume)).
I mentioned this a couple of years back, but I released (at the time) a heavy pain in my lower back that was directly linked to tilting. After the said liberation, I... just... stopped... tilting Of course, there is always an issue that underlines the cause of our tilt, and most of the time this source lies in some deep engrained anger, but until you go the root of the problem and scrape out that shyt, you might indulge in the vicious cycle of blaming others, the outside world or stuff out of your control like variance or running bad instead of these nasty defilements that inhabit all of us
Because I am limited (and confined) to my own perspective of a serious vipassana meditator, I do not know to what extent an ayahuasca journey will be beneficial to a non-practicioner... I mean, I can only imagine that it would be overwhelming af for certain peeps and they could just not handle the trip... Or find themselves dwelling in a nightmarish bad trip... Or the dosage simply does not work, as their body and mind are not ready for it... I think it is like everything that has to do with psychedelics and spirituality : you got to be ready for it. And no use fracking preaching to others or sharing the good word, as in the end, our journey is our own. And we are confined to our inner-self/perspective. At least for the time being...
+2.3k in 2h online, -700$ in 2h live
Run good all
Went to catch the ski lift up the hill, but when I saw a couple of hundred peeps lining up for the ride, I turned my heels, 180 degree gangsta style yo, and, like the mama fracking eternal rebel that I am, I found a desolated hiking trail/creek to sit by and mentally fence off life, the world and its Trumpish right wing politics
For the record, not that I believe that I am better than anyone else or anything else - definitely not, I appreciate differences too much for that
-, but I can't be arsed to have to pay 65$ for a lift, have a hiking trail designated for us and spend the afternoon with a crowd the size of Dawson stuck on a ski hill together ; kinda defies the purpose of being one with nature, right #ToutSeulDansLeBoisCrisse
-, was initially unlocked through the means of Vipassana. Ayahuasca was amazing. Bringing me instantly to where meditation does in 100 hours And I did have to fight off a few demons and ultimately purge myself from them, but it is not comparable to what thousands of hours of meditation cleansing can do to a mental psych One of the strongest aspects of my poker game, is my mental disposition. If I happen to drop 3k, I simply shut down the lappy and engage the outside world like a light and dozy afternoon breeze yo
I usually always dwell into an A game or at the very least, a B game territory (even if one cannot completely shake away the mental and physical fatigue (and depression) caused by heavy volume)). I mentioned this a couple of years back, but I released (at the time) a heavy pain in my lower back that was directly linked to tilting. After the said liberation, I... just... stopped... tilting
Of course, there is always an issue that underlines the cause of our tilt, and most of the time this source lies in some deep engrained anger, but until you go the root of the problem and scrape out that shyt, you might indulge in the vicious cycle of blaming others, the outside world or stuff out of your control like variance or running bad instead of these nasty defilements that inhabit all of us Spoiler:
Because I am limited (and confined) to my own perspective of a serious vipassana meditator, I do not know to what extent an ayahuasca journey will be beneficial to a non-practicioner... I mean, I can only imagine that it would be overwhelming af for certain peeps and they could just not handle the trip... Or find themselves dwelling in a nightmarish bad trip... Or the dosage simply does not work, as their body and mind are not ready for it... I think it is like everything that has to do with psychedelics and spirituality : you got to be ready for it. And no use fracking preaching to others or sharing the good word, as in the end, our journey is our own. And we are confined to our inner-self/perspective. At least for the time being...
+2.3k in 2h online, -700$ in 2h live
Spoiler:
Run good all
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 07-17-2018 at 04:38 AM.
07-17-2018
, 02:57 PM
Quote:
Congrats on crushing the last few weeks and thanks for responding. I fly out to SE Asia tomorrow for a few months most likely, starting in Bangkok. I think when I get to Chiang Mai I might look into a meditation course of some kind as plenty of people far smarter than me seem to massively support it.
Suggestion here : Chaing Mai is where I did my first meditation course, but I very STRONGLY recommend to do a vipassana course with Goenka, as opposed to the more common vipassana courses that includes walking meditation that you find in (Wats, not a meditation centre) Thailand. For me, the difference was night and day. My first ever retreat in an organized institution (a Wat in Chaing Mai) was tough as hell and I did not get a ton of benefits from it. Where as a 10 day course in complete silence of Goenka's teachings (the Buddha's, really), take you to places I had (all of us) never been before . It is also more organized, like a structured course. With discourses, thorough explanations of the meditation technique and a manager and teacher to always assist you etc. that I believe will satisfy moreso the intellectual curiosity of a Westerner (and poker player).https://www.dhamma.org/en/locations/directory#TH
There are 9 centres in Thailand, all of which (usually) organize a bus ride for you from BKK, but I am sure there is one very near Chaing Mai... (I have not checked it out). If you do happen to do one of Goenka's courses, please chime in and let us know of your experience bro
Peace
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 07-17-2018 at 03:08 PM.
07-18-2018
, 02:48 AM
On Variance and Monies
Couldn't catch an Uber ride/taxi, so when the bus came storming down the road, I jumped on the opportunity to hop in to get to downtown Victoria. The problem is, I did not have any change, so I paid with a 20$ bill, momentarily forgetting that you do not get any change back in buses Not that it would of mattered really, as I probably would of jumped in anyways, given that the alternatives were taking a cab at the same price (topped with more waiting time), but you should of seen the stunned bus driver mutter "ohhh, wow, that is a lot of cash!!!" to then give me 5 - five - day passes
The thing is, poker makes you utterly desensitized to monies. My lone disconnection today cost me significantly more than this bus 8x ride. In the end, for the bot-hyper-rational-GTO-clicking-mama-frackers that we have turned to, these life incidents just become another form of variance that we easily rationalize, brush away as run bad : we fold, muck, and move on to another hand yo, but for our bus driver, I just overpaid 8x!!!
I forget who, but a guest was saying on the Remko podcast whiles back how Tom Dwan booked a suite at the Aria for a couple of weeks at 1k/night (or something ludicrous), and when questioned on this eccentricity, he simply answered “I am playing so HIGH online lately that I need the extra space to feel comfortable”. Yeah. It makes sense. Or at least to us who have chosen to play a 2 or 4 card game professionally and to whom variance is just another part of the big equation. Of course, I remain a minimalist and do not believe in excess a la Durrrr, yet my personal relationship with monies has been changed forever (and ever, amen).
In other news, that 5-5-10 PLO game yesterday has shun light on the fact that I still need to study dearly in order to crush top midstake regs…. My leaks were exposed as they often are when I am playing with a better player and he cracks open my soul in broad daylight and leaves it there to dry underneath the scorching afternoon tropical unforgiving sun I do not think that I am very far away, mind you, but still miles upon miles away from my holdem game which is elite af. Furthermore, I am not a big fan of some of the Vancouver regs. They are very clicky, never show any love for the stranger at the table and not sure how they expect their game to survive if they lack no skills in making poker fun again (no kidding the games here are dead). Of course, I am a pro, I do not need to be entertained like a rec does, but I also got up when when it got down to 4 handed, not because the stakes mattered to me (they really don’t) when playing versus only likely pros, but I did not want to sit with those entitled peeps and discussions of dropping 70k at baccarat in a couple months (albeit entertaining, I must admit...).
+4.1k in 4h online, -700$ live in 2h
Run good all
Couldn't catch an Uber ride/taxi, so when the bus came storming down the road, I jumped on the opportunity to hop in to get to downtown Victoria. The problem is, I did not have any change, so I paid with a 20$ bill, momentarily forgetting that you do not get any change back in buses
Not that it would of mattered really, as I probably would of jumped in anyways, given that the alternatives were taking a cab at the same price (topped with more waiting time), but you should of seen the stunned bus driver mutter "ohhh, wow, that is a lot of cash!!!" to then give me 5 - five - day passes The thing is, poker makes you utterly desensitized to monies. My lone disconnection today cost me significantly more than this bus 8x ride. In the end, for the bot-hyper-rational-GTO-clicking-mama-frackers that we have turned to, these life incidents just become another form of variance that we easily rationalize, brush away as run bad : we fold, muck, and move on to another hand yo
, but for our bus driver, I just overpaid 8x!!! I forget who, but a guest was saying on the Remko podcast whiles back how Tom Dwan booked a suite at the Aria for a couple of weeks at 1k/night (or something ludicrous), and when questioned on this eccentricity, he simply answered “I am playing so HIGH online lately that I need the extra space to feel comfortable”. Yeah. It makes sense. Or at least to us who have chosen to play a 2 or 4 card game professionally and to whom variance is just another part of the big equation. Of course, I remain a minimalist and do not believe in excess a la Durrrr, yet my personal relationship with monies has been changed forever (and ever, amen
).In other news, that 5-5-10 PLO game yesterday has shun light on the fact that I still need to study dearly in order to crush top midstake regs…. My leaks were exposed as they often are when I am playing with a better player and he cracks open my soul in broad daylight and leaves it there to dry underneath the scorching afternoon tropical unforgiving sun
I do not think that I am very far away, mind you, but still miles upon miles away from my holdem game which is elite af. Furthermore, I am not a big fan of some of the Vancouver regs. They are very clicky, never show any love for the stranger at the table and not sure how they expect their game to survive if they lack no skills in making poker fun again (no kidding the games here are dead). Of course, I am a pro, I do not need to be entertained like a rec does, but I also got up when when it got down to 4 handed, not because the stakes mattered to me (they really don’t) when playing versus only likely pros, but I did not want to sit with those entitled peeps and discussions of dropping 70k at baccarat in a couple months (albeit entertaining, I must admit...). Spoiler:
+4.1k in 4h online, -700$ live in 2h
Run good all
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 07-18-2018 at 03:01 AM.
07-18-2018
, 10:09 PM
Bookings.(all over the)net
Booked the rest of my trip, weathering my virtual clickings through an AirBnB on (Salt Spring for 8 days, where I will be focussing a full week on the grind if not spending time at the beach and eating out), a rented car (picking it up tomorrow), a helicopter back to Vancouver followed by a flight directly to Dawson, hence leaving myself an open slot this weekend for crashing on the beach hippie style yo Yup, yup, I will not worry much about wifi connections this WE, nor a 2 card or even a 4 card... Nope folks, nada fracking zilch for this homie that will plunge his lifestyle back 20 years ago in honour of the first time he came to the island with 100$ in his pocket and stinky af, but nonetheless always found ways to get free food or a beach to crash on (I was lucky as f**k that it did not rain for 2 months str8 that summer, a timeline that coincided with my dharma bum stretch )
K-A-W-H-L-I fracking L-E-O-N-A-R-D (jeez, I almost forgot). I am still letting it sink in, but this is as Blockbuster as it comes... Not just for the Raps, that is, but as far as the NBA goes, there has never been as big of a star-for-star trade. I am convincing myself to like it because... I mean... what other choice do we have, right But seeing Derozan leave really f**king hurts, no 2 ways about it If I had to choose in between giving ourselves a 12-30% chance at winning the finals for say 2 years str8 or take 12 years of strong regular season play (at a 45-60 wins clip) and a yearly chance at making it to the finals, however infinitesimal the odds of the latter (and even if the hope was illusional at best), I would take the second choice. I like the game. I appreciate a respectable team. I enjoying belonging to the top 10 teams, even if it means being stomped by an elite club year in and year out.
+7.2k in 8h online, -700$ in 2h live
Run good all
Booked the rest of my trip, weathering my virtual clickings through an AirBnB on (Salt Spring for 8 days, where I will be focussing a full week on the grind if not spending time at the beach and eating out), a rented car (picking it up tomorrow), a helicopter back to Vancouver followed by a flight directly to Dawson, hence leaving myself an open slot this weekend for crashing on the beach hippie style yo
Yup, yup, I will not worry much about wifi connections this WE, nor a 2 card or even a 4 card... Nope folks, nada fracking zilch for this homie that will plunge his lifestyle back 20 years ago in honour of the first time he came to the island with 100$ in his pocket and stinky af, but nonetheless always found ways to get free food or a beach to crash on (I was lucky as f**k that it did not rain for 2 months str8 that summer, a timeline that coincided with my dharma bum stretch ) K-A-W-H-L-I fracking L-E-O-N-A-R-D (jeez, I almost forgot
). I am still letting it sink in, but this is as Blockbuster as it comes... Not just for the Raps, that is, but as far as the NBA goes, there has never been as big of a star-for-star trade. I am convincing myself to like it because... I mean... what other choice do we have, right But seeing Derozan leave really f**king hurts, no 2 ways about it If I had to choose in between giving ourselves a 12-30% chance at winning the finals for say 2 years str8 or take 12 years of strong regular season play (at a 45-60 wins clip) and a yearly chance at making it to the finals, however infinitesimal the odds of the latter (and even if the hope was illusional at best), I would take the second choice. I like the game. I appreciate a respectable team. I enjoying belonging to the top 10 teams, even if it means being stomped by an elite club year in and year out.Spoiler:
+7.2k in 8h online, -700$ in 2h live
Run good all
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 07-18-2018 at 10:18 PM.
07-20-2018
, 01:53 AM
Dusted Foot Prints
So the plan is to drive around the island for a couple of days, thus taking fully advantage of the wheels I have just rented and the next 48h before next week’s heavier grind schedule begins. Even though I do not have camping gear with me (outside of pocket knives, a first aid kit and a teensy blanket), I still plan on crashing on a deserted beach or tucked away in the woods by a fire.
#RevisitingMyHippieDays
I caught an obscure flick at the cinema yesterday, Leave No Trace, which depicts the marginal lifestyle of a Dad and his teenage daughter living off private Park land off on the fringes of a north-western US of A city (most likely Portalnd)…. As they get arrested/taking into child custody, we learn that the dad is an ex soldier suffering from PTSD. We never get a clear look into his psych, yet several hints of his depression and anxiety shine through his visible distress, his refusal to reengage society and his facial feats that at times scream out “HELP ME!!! F**KING HELP ME, I CAN’T TAKE THIS ANY LONGER!!!” Of course, he never asks for help. Instead, he flees into the wild, forever engaging in a fight for survival in the desolated open space.
This movie will definitely not be everyone’s cup of tea. It finds itself promoting a minimalist approach both stylistically (anti-sensational as it comes) and in the philosophy that its narrative embraces, of course. Hence, for someone like myself that likes to surround himself with different kind and interesting peeps such as the numerous loners that end up in the Yukon running away from civilization/themselves, I found it to be quite engaging. In its subtle tone. And portrait of inner suffering. And depiction of the magnificence of the Wild. We need more movies like this
When I went to pick up the car today, the sales rep put me on the spot when he offered me insurance options (which I initially declined). His tone then became slightly condescending when he started asking me
- “what will you do if you get an accident?”. I was not convinced, so I followed suit by getting to the facts :
-“It is not mandatory to get insurance, right?”, to which he replied the negative, so I added “If I scrap the vehicle, I will simply pay the 40k.”. The guy stared at me from above with this fracking arrogant smirk painted on his face, so I got a little impatient and got str8 to the point :
- “Ok man, I will be honest with you : I play poker professionally and I go through 40k swings monthly, so if I do happen to total the vehicle, I will just write it off as a bad month. But there is no way I am paying an extra 60% of the price that was initially quoted online just for insurance!!!”.
The guy changed his tone, became much more friendly/inquisitive about playing poker as a pro and also reduced the insurance price by 1/3 The odds of me getting an accident over the span of 11 days are definitely not superior to 0.7% (240$ in insurance to cover 40k), but whatever, I just wanted to get on with life and stuff at that point. People. Money. People and money
The car in question. +7.3k in 12h online, -700$ in 2h live
Run good all
So the plan is to drive around the island for a couple of days, thus taking fully advantage of the wheels I have just rented and the next 48h before next week’s heavier grind schedule begins. Even though I do not have camping gear with me (outside of pocket knives, a first aid kit and a teensy blanket), I still plan on crashing on a deserted beach or tucked away in the woods by a fire.
#RevisitingMyHippieDays
I caught an obscure flick at the cinema yesterday, Leave No Trace, which depicts the marginal lifestyle of a Dad and his teenage daughter living off private Park land off on the fringes of a north-western US of A city (most likely Portalnd)…. As they get arrested/taking into child custody, we learn that the dad is an ex soldier suffering from PTSD. We never get a clear look into his psych, yet several hints of his depression and anxiety shine through his visible distress, his refusal to reengage society and his facial feats that at times scream out “HELP ME!!! F**KING HELP ME, I CAN’T TAKE THIS ANY LONGER!!!
” Of course, he never asks for help. Instead, he flees into the wild, forever engaging in a fight for survival in the desolated open space.This movie will definitely not be everyone’s cup of tea. It finds itself promoting a minimalist approach both stylistically (anti-sensational as it comes) and in the philosophy that its narrative embraces, of course. Hence, for someone like myself that likes to surround himself with different kind and interesting peeps such as the numerous loners that end up in the Yukon running away from civilization/themselves, I found it to be quite engaging. In its subtle tone. And portrait of inner suffering. And depiction of the magnificence of the Wild. We need more movies like this
When I went to pick up the car today, the sales rep put me on the spot when he offered me insurance options (which I initially declined). His tone then became slightly condescending when he started asking me
- “what will you do if you get an accident?”. I was not convinced, so I followed suit by getting to the facts :
-“It is not mandatory to get insurance, right?”, to which he replied the negative, so I added “If I scrap the vehicle, I will simply pay the 40k.”. The guy stared at me from above with this fracking arrogant smirk painted on his face, so I got a little impatient and got str8 to the point :
- “Ok man, I will be honest with you : I play poker professionally and I go through 40k swings monthly, so if I do happen to total the vehicle, I will just write it off as a bad month. But there is no way I am paying an extra 60% of the price that was initially quoted online just for insurance!!!”.
The guy changed his tone, became much more friendly/inquisitive about playing poker as a pro and also reduced the insurance price by 1/3
The odds of me getting an accident over the span of 11 days are definitely not superior to 0.7% (240$ in insurance to cover 40k), but whatever, I just wanted to get on with life and stuff at that point. People. Money. People and money The car in question. +7.3k in 12h online, -700$ in 2h live
Run good all
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 07-20-2018 at 02:00 AM.
07-20-2018
, 10:28 PM
Cars and Phones
The car is a natural on the roads, zooming away like no tomorrow Problem is, I had to remove my foot from the pedal given that I already got a 400$ ticket today (4 points) and potentially 2 others for burning red lights
When my phone told me to take a left turn (no GPS in the car, so using my iphone), I obliged, slightly confused in the process and holding up the device to check out the ensuing direction... When I engaged on the new road at 20kms/h or so and a copper turned on her red light/abruptly did a 180 behind me, I thought she simply got a call, having done nothing wrong, right Wrong. It turns out that using a phone as a GPS is a big NO-NO, even if she rapidly realized that
A)- I am from out of town.
B)- Am lost.
C)- Am driving a rented vehicle.
But, tbh, I think that she only pieced up my story once the ticket was written... Anyhow, I did not care much for the fine, was joking around with the cute lady officer (cutest cop I ever saw, I kid you not), and when she asked me in a friendly banter "how long am I on the island for?" and I answered, she suddenly changed her tone and asked "can you drive while using your phone in the Yukon!?!".
I mean, I get that she has quotas of fines to fill and all... I get that it is her job to hand out tickets (she even said so in a very friendly way) and I TOTALLY deserve a ton of fines given my overall long term driving equity, but this one is quite ironic. Anyhow, when she changed her tone/became less friendly, I did have to specify that "I know my way around the Yukon and hence do not need to use a GPS and I never use my phone while driving". Anyhow. Irony. That and probably receiving another (or 2) red light infractions, as I had not noticed the cameras up there until I had burned 2 reds (one of those situations where the light turns yellow... you do not have enough time to stop... red ).
+7.3k in 12h online, -700$ in 2h live, -400$ for driving this week
Run good all
The car is a natural on the roads, zooming away like no tomorrow
Problem is, I had to remove my foot from the pedal given that I already got a 400$ ticket today (4 points) and potentially 2 others for burning red lights When my phone told me to take a left turn (no GPS in the car, so using my iphone), I obliged, slightly confused in the process and holding up the device to check out the ensuing direction... When I engaged on the new road at 20kms/h or so and a copper turned on her red light/abruptly did a 180 behind me, I thought she simply got a call, having done nothing wrong, right
Wrong. It turns out that using a phone as a GPS is a big NO-NO, even if she rapidly realized that A)- I am from out of town.
B)- Am lost.
C)- Am driving a rented vehicle.
But, tbh, I think that she only pieced up my story once the ticket was written... Anyhow, I did not care much for the fine, was joking around with the cute lady officer (cutest cop I ever saw, I kid you not), and when she asked me in a friendly banter "how long am I on the island for?" and I answered, she suddenly changed her tone and asked "can you drive while using your phone in the Yukon!?!".
I mean, I get that she has quotas of fines to fill and all... I get that it is her job to hand out tickets (she even said so in a very friendly way) and I TOTALLY deserve a ton of fines given my overall long term driving equity, but this one is quite ironic. Anyhow, when she changed her tone/became less friendly, I did have to specify that "I know my way around the Yukon and hence do not need to use a GPS and I never use my phone while driving". Anyhow. Irony. That and probably receiving another (or 2) red light infractions, as I had not noticed the cameras up there until I had burned 2 reds
(one of those situations where the light turns yellow... you do not have enough time to stop... red ).+7.3k in 12h online, -700$ in 2h live, -400$ for driving this week
Run good all
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 07-20-2018 at 10:33 PM.
07-21-2018
, 09:43 PM
Dancing in the Sand
Ehhhh, gone are dem hippie days As attested yesterday by the shivering island cold that made me take refuge in the comfort of my car, as oppose to brave it out in the bush/on a beach... I did get removed from a parking lot by a (very understanding) Park's Canada agent, so after already a couple lawful incidents during the day adding up, it was time to call it quits and snooze in the backseat... That and the fact that I had no camping gear... Or perhaps that I am just fracking old
I have been looking into going to play the WSOPC in Montreal and darn, the return flight is just 900$ from Whitehorse-Vancouver-Montreal (about 10 000 kms) I am a click away from booking it, but will give it a couple of days to let the idea sink in... I would fire away roughly 15k in BIs and travel expenses would amount to 1-1.3k (would crash at my folks 30 minutes away from the casino/borrow their van)... Darn, almost purchased the flight while writing these lines
https://www.playgroundpoker.ca/wsopc...ournament-2018
(I would play the ME, highroller and superhighroller and perhaps the omaha at the end).
Am in Tofino now, but booked a motel in Port Alberni tonight where I will get a good night's sleep (just 3h yesterday), grind and watch some movies.
+9k in 14h online, -700$ live in 2h
edit : clicked on the flight after all So will be there for 8 days and assuming my Belarusan friend does not change her mind, I will be playing 4 events (15-18k in BIs)
edit 2 : Was just served by the most hideous/monstrous Canadian girl I have ever seen. She looks deformed (her face completely burnt) similarly to folks I have seen in Vietnam affected by the procuct Orange. She is the hostess and when I first stepped in the restaurant and first saw her, I had a split nano-second of stupor - barely discernible of a reaction, really - that briefly transpired ... Not a big one, mind you, but enough that she also felt a bit uncomfortable at first. Darn, you wish you could take those moments back, and even if I was henceforth cool/normal, the struggle that she most go through, is most likely unspeakable... All the power to her, life is oftentimes f**ked and overwhelmed with suffering to transcend
Peace
Ehhhh, gone are dem hippie days
As attested yesterday by the shivering island cold that made me take refuge in the comfort of my car, as oppose to brave it out in the bush/on a beach... I did get removed from a parking lot by a (very understanding) Park's Canada agent, so after already a couple lawful incidents during the day adding up, it was time to call it quits and snooze in the backseat... That and the fact that I had no camping gear... Or perhaps that I am just fracking old I have been looking into going to play the WSOPC in Montreal and darn, the return flight is just 900$ from Whitehorse-Vancouver-Montreal (about 10 000 kms)
I am a click away from booking it, but will give it a couple of days to let the idea sink in... I would fire away roughly 15k in BIs and travel expenses would amount to 1-1.3k (would crash at my folks 30 minutes away from the casino/borrow their van)... Darn, almost purchased the flight while writing these lines https://www.playgroundpoker.ca/wsopc...ournament-2018
(I would play the ME, highroller and superhighroller and perhaps the omaha at the end).
Spoiler:
Am in Tofino now, but booked a motel in Port Alberni tonight where I will get a good night's sleep (just 3h yesterday), grind and watch some movies.
+9k in 14h online, -700$ live in 2h
edit : clicked on the flight after all
So will be there for 8 days and assuming my Belarusan friend does not change her mind, I will be playing 4 events (15-18k in BIs) edit 2 : Was just served by the most hideous/monstrous Canadian girl I have ever seen. She looks deformed (her face completely burnt) similarly to folks I have seen in Vietnam affected by the procuct Orange. She is the hostess and when I first stepped in the restaurant and first saw her, I had a split nano-second of stupor - barely discernible of a reaction, really - that briefly transpired ... Not a big one, mind you, but enough that she also felt a bit uncomfortable at first
. Darn, you wish you could take those moments back, and even if I was henceforth cool/normal, the struggle that she most go through, is most likely unspeakable... All the power to her, life is oftentimes f**ked and overwhelmed with suffering to transcend Peace
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 07-21-2018 at 09:51 PM.
07-23-2018
, 04:14 AM
Salty Springs
Just picked up 3 hitchhikers this evening ; funny how their livelihood of squatting, being broke, chilling, embracing the outdoors and living off pennies brought back so many memories... And the smell of being shower-free as well, haha
It feels amazing to be here Now I recall why the Gulf Islands are, along with the Yukon, my favourite spot in the country And I caught myself thinking today how easy it could be to do 6 months here and 6 months in Europe every year...
So the grind begins. Am looking at 35-40h this week, 4h of studying (2h Spanish and 2h omaha) and would like to book 15k. I know that setting the bar that hi in terms of profit might be a bit demanding, especially given that the initial monthly goals were a mere 8-15k (34.7k thus far), but such is the mind set whilst in the midst of a TITANIC upswing : that nothing can stop us from conquering the world, yo
-100$ in 3h this week
Run good all
Just picked up 3 hitchhikers this evening ; funny how their livelihood of squatting, being broke, chilling, embracing the outdoors and living off pennies brought back so many memories... And the smell of being shower-free as well, haha
Spoiler:
It feels amazing to be here
Now I recall why the Gulf Islands are, along with the Yukon, my favourite spot in the country And I caught myself thinking today how easy it could be to do 6 months here and 6 months in Europe every year...So the grind begins. Am looking at 35-40h this week, 4h of studying (2h Spanish and 2h omaha) and would like to book 15k. I know that setting the bar that hi in terms of profit might be a bit demanding, especially given that the initial monthly goals were a mere 8-15k (34.7k thus far
), but such is the mind set whilst in the midst of a TITANIC upswing : that nothing can stop us from conquering the world, yo -100$ in 3h this week
Run good all
07-23-2018
, 11:31 PM
Diversification
This week's poker schedule has 2 open slots in it for some leisure time (after accounting for the grind, studying and meditation) : a 3 hour opening in the afternoon and 2 hours in the evening (the latter could be more, but I am old/come back home after sunset). Anyhow, used the first allocated one for some island exploring (more to come tomorrow) and ultimately ended up swimming in a pond/lake where 25 or so nudist hippies gather on a dock, roasting naked in the sun while chatting away I have not done this in a long time (skinny dipping and hippie hangouts). It is not really my scene anymore, unlike 20 years ago.
It did shine light upon the fact that I am very flexible as far as different social groups goes ; I can easily hangout with hippies and speak of meditation, the environment, spirituality, social awareness etc. ; yuppies and indulge in some fancy dining, talks on politics, history, social issues or technology ; dwell within redneck circles and embrace topics pertaining to hunting, fishing, the outdoors and sports teams ; intellectual peeps and discuss cinema, philosophy and literature ; with geeks and engage subjects like cyber security, blockchain technology and how to remain anonymous online I think that when at its best, poker can bring some of these different kind of folks together, especially when grinding live in different countries. This said, I believe that the social gathering that speaks the most to me, is at a meditation centre where introverted peeps group up to transcend their own ego/become a better person
It is definitely not the smartest EV decision to be playing the upcoming highroller events in Montreal, but I feel that this is it, these next couple of years are the peak of my poker venture and I am aiming for the skies baby Besides that, I am rapidly closing in on a satisfactory amount of monies saved up for retirement, so I want to take shots for the fun factor/the challenging aspect of playing vs top players yo I will also come in more prepared this time around, with 10 hours of MTT studying prior to the events.
Thx bro. And yeah, I have started having this sentiment (very) recently, that yup, I have made it Of course, being successful is definitely not the most important aspect of life, but it is a little something, nonetheless.
+2.5k in 9h this week
Run good all
This week's poker schedule has 2 open slots in it for some leisure time (after accounting for the grind, studying and meditation) : a 3 hour opening in the afternoon and 2 hours in the evening (the latter could be more, but I am old/come back home after sunset). Anyhow, used the first allocated one for some island exploring (more to come tomorrow
) and ultimately ended up swimming in a pond/lake where 25 or so nudist hippies gather on a dock, roasting naked in the sun while chatting away I have not done this in a long time (skinny dipping and hippie hangouts). It is not really my scene anymore, unlike 20 years ago.It did shine light upon the fact that I am very flexible as far as different social groups goes ; I can easily hangout with hippies and speak of meditation, the environment, spirituality, social awareness etc. ; yuppies and indulge in some fancy dining, talks on politics, history, social issues or technology ; dwell within redneck circles and embrace topics pertaining to hunting, fishing, the outdoors and sports teams ; intellectual peeps and discuss cinema, philosophy and literature ; with geeks and engage subjects like cyber security, blockchain technology and how to remain anonymous online
I think that when at its best, poker can bring some of these different kind of folks together, especially when grinding live in different countries. This said, I believe that the social gathering that speaks the most to me, is at a meditation centre where introverted peeps group up to transcend their own ego/become a better person It is definitely not the smartest EV decision to be playing the upcoming highroller events in Montreal, but I feel that this is it, these next couple of years are the peak of my poker venture and I am aiming for the skies baby
Besides that, I am rapidly closing in on a satisfactory amount of monies saved up for retirement, so I want to take shots for the fun factor/the challenging aspect of playing vs top players yo I will also come in more prepared this time around, with 10 hours of MTT studying prior to the events.Thx bro. And yeah, I have started having this sentiment (very) recently, that yup, I have made it
Of course, being successful is definitely not the most important aspect of life, but it is a little something, nonetheless.+2.5k in 9h this week
Run good all
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 07-23-2018 at 11:43 PM.
07-24-2018
, 06:41 PM
Expectations vs Goals
You know you are in a hippie town when the girl at the cafe recognizes your t-shirt as being an Alex Grey drawing I feel much more inspired since being on the road again ; it seems that whenever I come on 2 + 2 to blog a few lines, I always have A TON of stuff on my mind, finding myself oftentimes taking notes for future posts (not that added motivation was needed, given my daily walls of texts and all ). Idem with my happiness level : if Quebec saw me dwell in a 6.6/10 territory, I am perhaps in a more promising 7.6 territory right now... Still miles away from how I felt in Europe, but nonetheless pretty smoothing yo
So this is how good I have been running lately : after booking a 2.5k profit in the morning yesterday, the evening saw me drop 60% of that profit and I took it like a fracking loss (was still up 1k for the day) But part of it was my unwarranted spew at the end of my session (due to fatigue, most likely), which is very uncharacteristic of yours truly and, alas, made me snap-quit my tables. It reminds me of a buddy up in the Yukon that does well in the 1-2 game. He had been running like God for a month and found himself up 800bbs on a certain Friday evening, like had been the case every weekend that summer. Except this time around variance threw him a curve ball : he did not meet his recent (unrealistic) expectations of cashing out 2000bbs or so, instead dropping down to 500$ in profit. I mean, 250bbs is nothing to frown upon, but our friend's facial features just melted as tilt settled in and in a matter of hours, he found himself spewing not only his initial BI at da pokerz, but dumping a few thousand at the blackjack tables Expectations, I tell you... (entitled) Expectations are much different than structured goals ainec.
Thx for the compliments and chiming in Also found your PG & C after looking up your profile and will be following bro, GL
My numbers keep changing as I am adapting to this new reality of scooping monies after monies after... TBH, when I first set on this poker journey, my initial ambition was to make perhaps a steady 100-150k yearly (at the most), and engaged this 2 card game path as it suited my nomadic livelihood moreso than for the end results, but I never - NEVER - imagined making it this far So anyhow, my semi-retirement goals have hence adapted.
My current BR is in the mid-low 6 digits and would love to ultimately have a cushion of mid-high 6 digits, 1 mil+. Nevertheless, when I speak of retirement, I should specify that is more in terms of a smooth transition from poker occupying a decent chunk of my time, to being relinquished in the background in favour of stuff like meditation retreats, a more structured writing schedule and some volunteer work. I have been averaging 23h/week for 2018 (25h weekly when factoring in studying), so would like to see this number climb down (in 2-3 years) to perhaps 8-10h/weekly with more focus on the live grind/tournaments, as opposed to the more demanding multi-tabling virtual grind.
Pretty cool that we have had a similar path in this game Question : did you actually read this thread from the beginning, or just picked it up along the way? Just asking as with my never ending lengthy posts, am curious if peeps are brave enough to navigate their from the get-go when Adam and Eve were still
+700$ in 13h
Run good all
You know you are in a hippie town when the girl at the cafe recognizes your t-shirt as being an Alex Grey drawing
I feel much more inspired since being on the road again ; it seems that whenever I come on 2 + 2 to blog a few lines, I always have A TON of stuff on my mind, finding myself oftentimes taking notes for future posts (not that added motivation was needed, given my daily walls of texts and all ). Idem with my happiness level : if Quebec saw me dwell in a 6.6/10 territory, I am perhaps in a more promising 7.6 territory right now... Still miles away from how I felt in Europe, but nonetheless pretty smoothing yo So this is how good I have been running lately : after booking a 2.5k profit in the morning yesterday, the evening saw me drop 60% of that profit and I took it like a fracking loss (was still up 1k for the day)
But part of it was my unwarranted spew at the end of my session (due to fatigue, most likely), which is very uncharacteristic of yours truly and, alas, made me snap-quit my tables. It reminds me of a buddy up in the Yukon that does well in the 1-2 game. He had been running like God for a month and found himself up 800bbs on a certain Friday evening, like had been the case every weekend that summer. Except this time around variance threw him a curve ball : he did not meet his recent (unrealistic) expectations of cashing out 2000bbs or so, instead dropping down to 500$ in profit. I mean, 250bbs is nothing to frown upon, but our friend's facial features just melted as tilt settled in and in a matter of hours, he found himself spewing not only his initial BI at da pokerz, but dumping a few thousand at the blackjack tables Expectations, I tell you... (entitled) Expectations are much different than structured goals ainec.
Quote:
Great blog man, can't believe I only found this a month or two ago!
Even though I have a family and am not doing the nomadic thing at all, I can really relate to a lot of what you write. Probably because we are both older and been playing poker for a living for a long time, aren't immersed in the poker world/scene/media, have had a slower but longer curve than many players who peaked and flamed out quickly that has seen us have our best years lately, and play significant hours at med-high stakes both live and online.
Anyway, I really enjoy the updates and your style of writing. One question, what is your $ figure for retirement you have in mind?
Even though I have a family and am not doing the nomadic thing at all, I can really relate to a lot of what you write. Probably because we are both older and been playing poker for a living for a long time, aren't immersed in the poker world/scene/media, have had a slower but longer curve than many players who peaked and flamed out quickly that has seen us have our best years lately, and play significant hours at med-high stakes both live and online.
Anyway, I really enjoy the updates and your style of writing. One question, what is your $ figure for retirement you have in mind?
Also found your PG & C after looking up your profile and will be following bro, GLMy numbers keep changing as I am adapting to this new reality of scooping monies after monies after... TBH, when I first set on this poker journey, my initial ambition was to make perhaps a steady 100-150k yearly (at the most), and engaged this 2 card game path as it suited my nomadic livelihood moreso than for the end results, but I never - NEVER - imagined making it this far
So anyhow, my semi-retirement goals have hence adapted.My current BR is in the mid-low 6 digits and would love to ultimately have a cushion of mid-high 6 digits, 1 mil+. Nevertheless, when I speak of retirement, I should specify that is more in terms of a smooth transition from poker occupying a decent chunk of my time, to being relinquished in the background in favour of stuff like meditation retreats, a more structured writing schedule and some volunteer work. I have been averaging 23h/week for 2018 (25h weekly when factoring in studying), so would like to see this number climb down (in 2-3 years) to perhaps 8-10h/weekly with more focus on the live grind/tournaments, as opposed to the more demanding multi-tabling virtual grind.
Pretty cool that we have had a similar path in this game
Question : did you actually read this thread from the beginning, or just picked it up along the way? Just asking as with my never ending lengthy posts, am curious if peeps are brave enough to navigate their from the get-go when Adam and Eve were still Spoiler:
+700$ in 13h
Run good all
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 07-24-2018 at 06:48 PM.