Belated Update:
Plan of updating this earlier didnt work out so well. Partly because updating when running bad isnt as fun. But also the bad grind shifts in Thailand started to more and more cannibalize my mental wellbeing. That led to a lack of Motivation and finally brought me to the decision of having to book a flight into a different Timezone asap. In my final Weeks there, I at least got to enjoy the perks of Bangkok by exploring the probably most vital Tinder-Ecosystem on earth and indigesting a massive amount of delicious Food. That was fun!
So, exactly 14 Days ago i left Bangkok super stoked about being somewhere else soon. For me, there is nothing more exciting in Life than leaving something behind and getting to know something new. Actually, Friends from home often criticise this Mentality. In Gemany a non-binding Nature is somehow perceived as bad. For me, being bound to a Location and a certain circle of People definately has some suffocating Effects.
Between Thailand and South-America i managed to spend exactly 24hrs in my Hometown , which was barely enough to see my beloved ones
.
Been there , done that. [x]
Flying into Venezuela isnt as easy anymore as many carriers dont offer flights to Caracas anymore, for security Reasons. So, i had a 2 day layover in Bogota , which i used for 2 Days of moderate Drinking with a non-poker Friend from Germany who lives in Bogotà since 5 Years. Guy loves drinking in Tiendas ( small shops that sell sweets , cigs and beer). So i spent a lot of time with him and colombians of all ages drinking Beer sitting on tiny stools while trying to practise my admittedly improvable Spanish.
Had a very warm welcome at the beautiful Isla Margarita. Relocated Colombian grinder mate from Stable was here already and he basically set up everything before i arrived. Also, to those not familar with the economical Situation here: Venezuela suffers hyperinflation. That makes Life tough for Locals. For People like us, that earn in USD/EUR it is incredibly cheap. We live in a 3 BR/2 Bath + Pool Townhouse, style bit rustic but clean and convenient, in some kind of gated Community, have a Maid who is here 3-4 Days a week and a personal Driver who provides us with Food daily. Fixed Price for all of that is less than 150USD/Person/Month. The climate is amazing. Its an carribean Island. It´s rarely colder than 24 C° and if its too hot theres always a little Breeze. Beach within reach.
Time-Zone stone cold nuts for MTTers. I feel like having found Paradise although i am aware that the Situation is super-bad for locals. I still don´t feel like taking advantage of the Situation, as i actually feel economy-wise it can´t get any worse and hopefully i´ll be part of something growing here. The human and geographical Potential of the Country is huge and it is still the Country with the biggest Petrol Resources on Earth. #thinkpositive #crossfingers
One the first Day-Off, we went to some Beach. While i didn´t manage to make Photos, we got to heat-up the local economy a bit by ordering Mojitos, succulent Seafood, Massages and a caricaturist who captured me and my grinding Mates in a better way than every Photo could have:
Teh pokerz also finally went well. I lost a lot of (my backers) Money in Thailand and start to feel the time-zone could be a Reason. On the other Hand , the sudden Appearance of Results in MTTs is never an Indicator for Anything at all :P . While my overall evbb was in order i often felt so exhausted at the ends of the Session. Try having semi-deep Runs at peak-Events when being in Asia and starting a session at 7pm.
My fellow Housemates are super-enthusiastic about studying, and as one is a CG-Grinder and the other plays MTTs theres a well-balanced mix of opinions during our study-Sessions . Got to know PIO for the first Time actually. It´s fun and super-interesting to use but def need to spend more time on figuring out what its good for practically in MTTs.
Also being surrounded by positive, ambitious Guys helps a lot. I have always been a bit sad about the fact, that i never managed to make many friends in the german-speaking community as theres so many people who theoretically could provide super-valuable Input.
On the other Hand, i never really wanted to, as the general attitude of most mid-european Grinders comes off as quite cynical and negative to me. Also i feel the Background of most european Grinders is very often "spoiled Kid having the Luck of being in a Situation where they could spend their early 20s studying Poker because of parental Support and not having to work to survive". I envy those but also cant really relate to them.#shotsfiredeurope
The Guys in my Latino Circle are mostly People who have had normal Jobs before and got into to Poker after. One of the Crusher Guys i study with went literally from Trucker to Pokerpro. Many interesting Biographys overall.
Anyway, these Latinos def spread a lot of positve Enthusiasm for the Game and i really enjoy that. I am an emotional Person and get negatively influenced by non-positivity quite easily.
Also, results-wise poker went slightly better finally since being here:
Last edited by rotisseur; 03-26-2018 at 12:02 PM.