NockyNocky - My journey as an MTT pro
03-29-2017
, 08:16 PM
What's up guys! I have been debating starting one of these for a while now, so thought I'd just go for it whilst one-tabling the B55...
Intro: I'm a 22 year old student and soon to be full-time MTT pro from Lancashire, England. At the moment, I'm studying Accounting and Finance at the University of Leeds, from which I'll be graduating (I hope) this summer. The natural progression from there would be to apply to a ****-ton of graduate jobs in the hope that someone gives me the chance to work my ass off in an office for ~£25-30K a year before tax...but I have no intention of taking the standard line. Instead, I intend to put absolutely everything I have into making myself a success in this game and with any luck, making more $ than I would in the aforementioned office job along the way!
Me and Poker:
I was first introduced to the game by my uncle when I was 16, who would often be playing a tourney online when I went round to visit. I remember one time after I'd watched him on a good few occasions, he asked if I wanted to play...well obviously! He entered me into some freeroll with a couple hundred runners on a small UK site and I proceeded to get 2nd...way to hook the bait! From there, I played the weekly S&G at my golf club in the winter, along with playing some online when I got the chance on my uncle's account.
Fast forward 18 months and I turn 18...I snap make an account on stars, the morning of my 18th birthday, in spite of the fact that i'm still drunk from the night before. Proceed to dabble in every variant of NLH, in addition to the occasional mixed-game punting for the next couple of years. I had no idea really about studying the game, I didn't even have a HUD or know what one was for the first 18 months and yet by some miracle, I managed to stay in the game with that initial $100 deposit.
My first big bink came in June 2014, when I got 2nd in the $22 Saturday 6-Max for $4.2k. I had absolutely no right to be in that tournament with my ~$500 roll but whatever, I loved 6-Max, I'd just finished uni for the summer and I wanted to punt! Played MTTs a couple of days a week through the summer, made a little money then randomly decided to jump into the NL50 zoom pool when I got back to uni, as I didn't have much time for MTTs. Played 100k hands or so and won at ~4bb/100 playing a lol aggressive preflop style, which the regs eventually adjusted to and my winrate towards the end of the sample plummeted, not helped by me being in a super punty mood due to uni/life stress. I withdrew my roll in December 2014 and didn't play till April. For whatever reason, I was drawn back to the game after that time off. However, I'd spent my bankroll on life expenses and a holiday I'd booked with the gf for the summer. It was at then that I decided to seek backing from Pocarr, at which point I was exposed to the complexity of a game that I'd just seen as mashing buttons for the 4 years previous!
At Pocarr, I was introduced to a whole library of video content, HRC, flopzilla etc and never in my life have I been more excited about the process of learning! Throw in group study sessions, coaching etc and I was immersed in a world that a month previously, I didn't even know existed.
I have now been playing for pocarr for 23 months and I can honestly say that I couldn't have got close to the level that I have without their coaching and support, along with the opportunity to talk poker with so many like-minded people.
Giraffe since joining pocarr: https://gyazo.com/85f642b90570bbbe832cb25fafac00eb
As you can see, I went through a pretty long BE stretch following my initial upswing. This was a result of my own complacency and lack of effective study along with not treating the game with nearly enough respect (playing whilst watching TV, chatting with the gf etc). Last summer, I had a couple of sessions with Elliott Roe and we discussed my approach to study and playing and why, if I wanted to be successful, I just had to put far more effort into this! I took on his advice 100% and have been working a hell of a lot harder since, which mercifully has paid off in terms of results!
Giraffe since working with Elliott and getting my ass in gear: https://gyazo.com/04b042adb769c8c9e4add99c9b93e413
This brings us to today...
My current goal is to save enough money to play on my own dime, whilst paying for coaching as an expense. I only need to save up a poker bankroll, as I have a super supportive family who are willing to help me through the early stages of this journey, in order to limit the stress of 'real-life' on my ability to build a bankroll. Obviously I want to have a little set aside, but I don't require 6/12 months bills or whatever before I take my shot.
The figure that I have in mind is $10k, in order to start off playing up to $55s with, whilst possibly selling some to a couple of the juicier $109s.
Would appreciate people's advice on what they think is a sufficient roll to take a shot, along with any other advice people can give, especially anyone who has made the transition from staked -> own dime...
If anyone has any questions, comments, advice, criticisms etc just fire away and i'll do my best to respond as honestly as possible.
It's now time for me to sign off and go catch this little c*nt of a mouse which is running around my room...the joys of student housing!
Intro: I'm a 22 year old student and soon to be full-time MTT pro from Lancashire, England. At the moment, I'm studying Accounting and Finance at the University of Leeds, from which I'll be graduating (I hope) this summer. The natural progression from there would be to apply to a ****-ton of graduate jobs in the hope that someone gives me the chance to work my ass off in an office for ~£25-30K a year before tax...but I have no intention of taking the standard line. Instead, I intend to put absolutely everything I have into making myself a success in this game and with any luck, making more $ than I would in the aforementioned office job along the way!
Me and Poker:
I was first introduced to the game by my uncle when I was 16, who would often be playing a tourney online when I went round to visit. I remember one time after I'd watched him on a good few occasions, he asked if I wanted to play...well obviously! He entered me into some freeroll with a couple hundred runners on a small UK site and I proceeded to get 2nd...way to hook the bait! From there, I played the weekly S&G at my golf club in the winter, along with playing some online when I got the chance on my uncle's account.
Fast forward 18 months and I turn 18...I snap make an account on stars, the morning of my 18th birthday, in spite of the fact that i'm still drunk from the night before. Proceed to dabble in every variant of NLH, in addition to the occasional mixed-game punting for the next couple of years. I had no idea really about studying the game, I didn't even have a HUD or know what one was for the first 18 months and yet by some miracle, I managed to stay in the game with that initial $100 deposit.
My first big bink came in June 2014, when I got 2nd in the $22 Saturday 6-Max for $4.2k. I had absolutely no right to be in that tournament with my ~$500 roll but whatever, I loved 6-Max, I'd just finished uni for the summer and I wanted to punt! Played MTTs a couple of days a week through the summer, made a little money then randomly decided to jump into the NL50 zoom pool when I got back to uni, as I didn't have much time for MTTs. Played 100k hands or so and won at ~4bb/100 playing a lol aggressive preflop style, which the regs eventually adjusted to and my winrate towards the end of the sample plummeted, not helped by me being in a super punty mood due to uni/life stress. I withdrew my roll in December 2014 and didn't play till April. For whatever reason, I was drawn back to the game after that time off. However, I'd spent my bankroll on life expenses and a holiday I'd booked with the gf for the summer. It was at then that I decided to seek backing from Pocarr, at which point I was exposed to the complexity of a game that I'd just seen as mashing buttons for the 4 years previous!
At Pocarr, I was introduced to a whole library of video content, HRC, flopzilla etc and never in my life have I been more excited about the process of learning! Throw in group study sessions, coaching etc and I was immersed in a world that a month previously, I didn't even know existed.
I have now been playing for pocarr for 23 months and I can honestly say that I couldn't have got close to the level that I have without their coaching and support, along with the opportunity to talk poker with so many like-minded people.
Giraffe since joining pocarr: https://gyazo.com/85f642b90570bbbe832cb25fafac00eb
As you can see, I went through a pretty long BE stretch following my initial upswing. This was a result of my own complacency and lack of effective study along with not treating the game with nearly enough respect (playing whilst watching TV, chatting with the gf etc). Last summer, I had a couple of sessions with Elliott Roe and we discussed my approach to study and playing and why, if I wanted to be successful, I just had to put far more effort into this! I took on his advice 100% and have been working a hell of a lot harder since, which mercifully has paid off in terms of results!
Giraffe since working with Elliott and getting my ass in gear: https://gyazo.com/04b042adb769c8c9e4add99c9b93e413
This brings us to today...
My current goal is to save enough money to play on my own dime, whilst paying for coaching as an expense. I only need to save up a poker bankroll, as I have a super supportive family who are willing to help me through the early stages of this journey, in order to limit the stress of 'real-life' on my ability to build a bankroll. Obviously I want to have a little set aside, but I don't require 6/12 months bills or whatever before I take my shot.
The figure that I have in mind is $10k, in order to start off playing up to $55s with, whilst possibly selling some to a couple of the juicier $109s.
Would appreciate people's advice on what they think is a sufficient roll to take a shot, along with any other advice people can give, especially anyone who has made the transition from staked -> own dime...
If anyone has any questions, comments, advice, criticisms etc just fire away and i'll do my best to respond as honestly as possible.
It's now time for me to sign off and go catch this little c*nt of a mouse which is running around my room...the joys of student housing!
03-30-2017
, 05:55 PM
Just finished my session for the day. I've had better days but that's MTTs for you. Lost a few valuable flips, nothing out the ordinary.. will brush myself down and go again over the weekend.
Time to set some goals for the year that I'll keep track of in this thread.
Poker Goals for 2017:
-5000 MTTs from 1st April to 31st December
This should be an achievable challenge for me. I have to get some revision done this month for my final uni exams, which sod's law decided would occur right through SCOOP. That will stunt the volume I can put in but I will target 800 games total during April and May, followed by 600 average for the rest of the year.
-Study a minimum 5 hours per week.
This will be a mix of coaching, HH review, DB review, using HRC/CREV etc. I may increase this figure once I've finished uni but will leave it as it is for now.
-8evBB/100 for the year.
Challenging for sure, but hopefully this goal will push me to study and play my best whenever I'm at the tables.
Reach a $35 ABI on my own money by the time WCOOP comes around
This is approximately the schedule that I've been playing so far this year whilst backed. I'm aware that there a plenty of factors outwith my control that will affect whether I achieve this but it can't hurt to make it a goal.
Life Goals for 2017
-Improve Fitness and General Health
I'm by no means unfit but dedicating more time to poker alongside uni has certainly affected me in this regard over the last 6 months.
To do this, I will:
-Exercise (most likely run) 4+ times per week.
-Drink at least 2.5L of water per day
-Reduce my sugar intake (this is undoubtedly my biggest vice at present)
-Get down to a golf handicap of 8.
I played off 9 before university but haven't played enough the last few years and my handicap has creeped up to 11 when I have played. Went to the range for the first time in 6 months last Sunday and actually hit it okay, so there's some hope for this challenge.
-Make some fun memories with the girlfriend.
We're for sure going to go on holiday in the summer, unsure on the destination at present. Aside from that, just getting out and doing something new/fun on our days off.
Alright, well that seems like a sufficient set of goals for now! Hopefully this thread will help to keep me accountable and allow me to maximise my poker and life EV for the remainder of the year
Time to set some goals for the year that I'll keep track of in this thread.
Poker Goals for 2017:
-5000 MTTs from 1st April to 31st December
This should be an achievable challenge for me. I have to get some revision done this month for my final uni exams, which sod's law decided would occur right through SCOOP. That will stunt the volume I can put in but I will target 800 games total during April and May, followed by 600 average for the rest of the year.
-Study a minimum 5 hours per week.
This will be a mix of coaching, HH review, DB review, using HRC/CREV etc. I may increase this figure once I've finished uni but will leave it as it is for now.
-8evBB/100 for the year.
Challenging for sure, but hopefully this goal will push me to study and play my best whenever I'm at the tables.
Reach a $35 ABI on my own money by the time WCOOP comes around
This is approximately the schedule that I've been playing so far this year whilst backed. I'm aware that there a plenty of factors outwith my control that will affect whether I achieve this but it can't hurt to make it a goal.
Life Goals for 2017
-Improve Fitness and General Health
I'm by no means unfit but dedicating more time to poker alongside uni has certainly affected me in this regard over the last 6 months.
To do this, I will:
-Exercise (most likely run) 4+ times per week.
-Drink at least 2.5L of water per day
-Reduce my sugar intake (this is undoubtedly my biggest vice at present)
-Get down to a golf handicap of 8.
I played off 9 before university but haven't played enough the last few years and my handicap has creeped up to 11 when I have played. Went to the range for the first time in 6 months last Sunday and actually hit it okay, so there's some hope for this challenge.
-Make some fun memories with the girlfriend.
We're for sure going to go on holiday in the summer, unsure on the destination at present. Aside from that, just getting out and doing something new/fun on our days off.
Alright, well that seems like a sufficient set of goals for now! Hopefully this thread will help to keep me accountable and allow me to maximise my poker and life EV for the remainder of the year
03-31-2017
, 03:13 AM
04-04-2017
, 07:38 PM
Thanks Man!
I have made a solid start to the month. Played Sunday and Today (Tuesday) and reasonably happy with the quality of my play. A couple of stats that I'm working on are moving towards where I want them, so need to keep my focus on that and ensure I don't slip back into old habits.
Also been out for 2 runs so far, both just 4 miles before playing Sunday and Today...will be going out for a 3rd tomorrow.
I had a 2 hour 1:1 coaching session on Saturday and put in a 2hour study session yesterday, so decent start in regard to that goal also.
Going to add a new goal to those in the previous post, which is to go through a pre-session warm-up every time I play, rather than just jumping into the action cold. I started doing this with some structure on Sunday and I certainly don't think that it can do me any harm!
Plan for the rest of the week is to play online Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. May flick in a £220 liveament at my local casino, for which day 1 is on Friday/Saturday but not 100% decided on that yet.
In future, I think that I'll stick to updating with regard to goals once a week on Monday.
Other than that, I'll just post in here when something interesting happens like a decent score or I just feel like going on a monologue.
One-tabling the Mini Super Tuesday on the money bubble so maybe I'll have something to report in a few hours
I have made a solid start to the month. Played Sunday and Today (Tuesday) and reasonably happy with the quality of my play. A couple of stats that I'm working on are moving towards where I want them, so need to keep my focus on that and ensure I don't slip back into old habits.
Also been out for 2 runs so far, both just 4 miles before playing Sunday and Today...will be going out for a 3rd tomorrow.
I had a 2 hour 1:1 coaching session on Saturday and put in a 2hour study session yesterday, so decent start in regard to that goal also.
Going to add a new goal to those in the previous post, which is to go through a pre-session warm-up every time I play, rather than just jumping into the action cold. I started doing this with some structure on Sunday and I certainly don't think that it can do me any harm!
Plan for the rest of the week is to play online Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. May flick in a £220 liveament at my local casino, for which day 1 is on Friday/Saturday but not 100% decided on that yet.
In future, I think that I'll stick to updating with regard to goals once a week on Monday.
Other than that, I'll just post in here when something interesting happens like a decent score or I just feel like going on a monologue.
One-tabling the Mini Super Tuesday on the money bubble so maybe I'll have something to report in a few hours
04-10-2017
, 07:06 PM
Alright, time for a review of the past week. Overall, I'm fairly pleased with the progress that I am making in a lot of aspects, whilst others still need some work. Results have been meh so far this month...running really poorly in important spots but that's completely feasible in MTTs over a small sample. I just have to keep focused on making the best decisions that I can, working on both my poker and life goals and the poker results will look after itself in the long-term.
Poker Goals
Volume - 140 MTTs played so far this month. Not terrible and on track for 400 this month but i'm working on improving this further. Doing my best to maintain a higher table count for longer rather than slacking and letting sessions fizzle out 1 or 2 tabling for hours. Could also do with starting my sessions a little earlier to get some more volume in.
Study - I don't have an exact number of hours studied but i'm pretty certain that I studied at least 5 hours this week. Doing a lot of HRC stuff atm as I found that for some reason, my winrate at 10-15bb is consistently lower than at pretty much every other stack size. Going to try to investigate that further and figure out where exactly i'm leaking, so that I can make it a strength rather than a weakness.
evBB/100 - 9.93 so far over 14k hands this month. Small sample but naturally pleased with this so far. Stats overall are looking pretty solid but still have plenty of things that I'm working on improving, so hopefully I can continue to maintain a really solid winrate by maintaining focus + discipline during sessions, along with improving my thought process/strategy through my study.
Life Goals:
Improve Fitness and General Health - Went on 4 runs in the past week, all around 4 miles each. Solid improvement from 1 run in the first 3 months of the year
It's so so tough for me to be finding it difficult to run at a pace that I did at ease a few years ago but that's what you get for being a lazy mofo for the last 6 months! I just really need to push through the tough period and the progression will follow.
Get down to a golf handicap of 8 - Had a golf lesson for the first time in about five years this week. It was very different to those that I've had in the past. My golf club has recently installed a swing centre with all the latest tracking technology, so that was a lot of fun to have a lesson in there and so much better than a traditional lesson on the range. Was great to be able to see instant results on the computer of improved swing path, club head position at impact etc from the couple of tweaks the pro suggested. I also played my first round of golf of the year on Sunday. Started with 4 pars before the wheels came off a little but there was enough in there to be positive about my chances of getting back down to single figures this year!
Make fun memories with the girlfriend - None so far as we're apart atm due to easter holidays at uni. Going to go down to her house next Monday or Tuesday. We're then going to take a trip to the theatre and get some food in London which should be fun, really looking forward to it! We also began planning our summer holidays this morning...Disneyland is pretty much a dead cert as I've been saying we can go for far too long now! Hopefully, we'll also get away for a break somewhere more chilled at some point. Italy is the favourite atm but there's plenty other places in the running...should be a very fun summer
Plan for this week:
-Play 3 or 4 online sessions
-Regional liveaments Friday Evening/Saturday Afternoon (Day 2s Sunday/Monday)
-Organise a 1:1 coaching session
-First golf competition of the season on Friday. ENJOY IT first and foremost!
-Keep up with exercise, drinking water etc...
-Get some uni revision done. Really need to do some of this as I want to be able to play a solid schedule during SCOOP and that won't be easy if I have to put in a lot of time to my uni work.
From the above, it's going to be a verrrry busy week! Time to give it my absolute all on all fronts and see where we are this time next week! LFG!
Poker Goals
Volume - 140 MTTs played so far this month. Not terrible and on track for 400 this month but i'm working on improving this further. Doing my best to maintain a higher table count for longer rather than slacking and letting sessions fizzle out 1 or 2 tabling for hours. Could also do with starting my sessions a little earlier to get some more volume in.
Study - I don't have an exact number of hours studied but i'm pretty certain that I studied at least 5 hours this week. Doing a lot of HRC stuff atm as I found that for some reason, my winrate at 10-15bb is consistently lower than at pretty much every other stack size. Going to try to investigate that further and figure out where exactly i'm leaking, so that I can make it a strength rather than a weakness.
evBB/100 - 9.93 so far over 14k hands this month. Small sample but naturally pleased with this so far. Stats overall are looking pretty solid but still have plenty of things that I'm working on improving, so hopefully I can continue to maintain a really solid winrate by maintaining focus + discipline during sessions, along with improving my thought process/strategy through my study.
Life Goals:
Improve Fitness and General Health - Went on 4 runs in the past week, all around 4 miles each. Solid improvement from 1 run in the first 3 months of the year
It's so so tough for me to be finding it difficult to run at a pace that I did at ease a few years ago but that's what you get for being a lazy mofo for the last 6 months! I just really need to push through the tough period and the progression will follow.
Get down to a golf handicap of 8 - Had a golf lesson for the first time in about five years this week. It was very different to those that I've had in the past. My golf club has recently installed a swing centre with all the latest tracking technology, so that was a lot of fun to have a lesson in there and so much better than a traditional lesson on the range. Was great to be able to see instant results on the computer of improved swing path, club head position at impact etc from the couple of tweaks the pro suggested. I also played my first round of golf of the year on Sunday. Started with 4 pars before the wheels came off a little but there was enough in there to be positive about my chances of getting back down to single figures this year!
Make fun memories with the girlfriend - None so far as we're apart atm due to easter holidays at uni. Going to go down to her house next Monday or Tuesday. We're then going to take a trip to the theatre and get some food in London which should be fun, really looking forward to it! We also began planning our summer holidays this morning...Disneyland is pretty much a dead cert as I've been saying we can go for far too long now! Hopefully, we'll also get away for a break somewhere more chilled at some point. Italy is the favourite atm but there's plenty other places in the running...should be a very fun summer
Plan for this week:
-Play 3 or 4 online sessions
-Regional liveaments Friday Evening/Saturday Afternoon (Day 2s Sunday/Monday)
-Organise a 1:1 coaching session
-First golf competition of the season on Friday. ENJOY IT first and foremost!
-Keep up with exercise, drinking water etc...
-Get some uni revision done. Really need to do some of this as I want to be able to play a solid schedule during SCOOP and that won't be easy if I have to put in a lot of time to my uni work.
From the above, it's going to be a verrrry busy week! Time to give it my absolute all on all fronts and see where we are this time next week! LFG!
04-20-2017
, 10:24 PM
Pretty meh month so far. Last week I had a ton of deep runs which ended up falling just short of a significant score. Off the top of my head, across Wednesday and Thursday last week, I had 17th and 30th in the Uppercut, 13th Wednesday Challenge, 15th Counterpunch and 8th Big 22.
I did manage to get a semi-decent score on 888 on wednesday, but nothing special.
Live Poker
Played some live poker over the weekend, which I enjoyed for the most part. Made day 2 of the North-West Easter Beast (£110 freezeout with eventual £74k PP).
Sadly busted at the end of the first level of Day 2 in what was a very needly way for the gods to get me...I'm in the 1 seat and when the dealer deals my 2nd hole card (Kc), it hits my arm/hand and bounces faceup, meaning that I now receive the burn card as my hole card. I look down to see the JcJs and open to 6500 from EP at BB3k. Splashy fish calls in MP, unknown calls HJ and I think both blinds also call...843cc, i x/shove for 70k over a 15k bet by the IP player and can't hold vs AQcc. If only I'd been dealt the KJo instead
Interested to hear people's thoughts on the hand? Don't think I'd play it any differently if I had the hand again but maybe there's a gap in my thought process...
Possibly betting flop and shoving blank turns is going to be better (action dependent), given my hand needs a lot of protection multiway and both blinds are going to have plenty of 8x and draws, which they're not folding on the flop.
Volume/Multi-Tabling Struggles
Played really poorly during my online session on Sunday. I've been trying to increase volume by getting up towards 9-10 tables (low for some people i know) but it just seems to throw me off having less time to act, then I get frustrated when I make mistakes and it's a vicious circle.
Played a session today where I only 6-tabled the entire way through but I only managed to get in 20 MTTs. Enjoyed it far more and for sure played a lot better...however, i'm not sure how much extra edge I can extract from having that extra bit of focus/time but doubt I can make up for 50%+ less volume...bit of a dilemma moving forward, that I'm going to need to solve!
I have tried to setup S+T and Table Tamer in order to help with multi-tabling but i'm pretty useless with technology and it just ends up a complete mess where I have tables diving everywhere, timing out because tables aren't popping up etc!
Real Life
In terms of life stuff, I had a really fun day out with the gf in London yesterday. Went to watch Wicked, which was very good! Afterwards, we had a wander round westminster and then went to Cote Brasserie in Covent Garden for a steak...sooooo good! 4th visit to different locations of that chain and it still hasn't dissappointed
We're heading back to Leeds tomorrow morning, so i'll be taking the next couple of days off (tomorrow to travel and Saturday because stars schedule is lolbad)..will do some poker study and uni work, then put in a good Sunday session!
Bad Beat Story Incoming. Busted Mini-Thrill in 71st shortly after this fun hand. Villain had just the $700 bounty on his head
I did manage to get a semi-decent score on 888 on wednesday, but nothing special.
Live Poker
Played some live poker over the weekend, which I enjoyed for the most part. Made day 2 of the North-West Easter Beast (£110 freezeout with eventual £74k PP).
Sadly busted at the end of the first level of Day 2 in what was a very needly way for the gods to get me...I'm in the 1 seat and when the dealer deals my 2nd hole card (Kc), it hits my arm/hand and bounces faceup, meaning that I now receive the burn card as my hole card. I look down to see the JcJs and open to 6500 from EP at BB3k. Splashy fish calls in MP, unknown calls HJ and I think both blinds also call...843cc, i x/shove for 70k over a 15k bet by the IP player and can't hold vs AQcc. If only I'd been dealt the KJo instead
Interested to hear people's thoughts on the hand? Don't think I'd play it any differently if I had the hand again but maybe there's a gap in my thought process...
Possibly betting flop and shoving blank turns is going to be better (action dependent), given my hand needs a lot of protection multiway and both blinds are going to have plenty of 8x and draws, which they're not folding on the flop.
Volume/Multi-Tabling Struggles
Played really poorly during my online session on Sunday. I've been trying to increase volume by getting up towards 9-10 tables (low for some people i know) but it just seems to throw me off having less time to act, then I get frustrated when I make mistakes and it's a vicious circle.
Played a session today where I only 6-tabled the entire way through but I only managed to get in 20 MTTs. Enjoyed it far more and for sure played a lot better...however, i'm not sure how much extra edge I can extract from having that extra bit of focus/time but doubt I can make up for 50%+ less volume...bit of a dilemma moving forward, that I'm going to need to solve!
I have tried to setup S+T and Table Tamer in order to help with multi-tabling but i'm pretty useless with technology and it just ends up a complete mess where I have tables diving everywhere, timing out because tables aren't popping up etc!
Real Life
In terms of life stuff, I had a really fun day out with the gf in London yesterday. Went to watch Wicked, which was very good! Afterwards, we had a wander round westminster and then went to Cote Brasserie in Covent Garden for a steak...sooooo good! 4th visit to different locations of that chain and it still hasn't dissappointed
We're heading back to Leeds tomorrow morning, so i'll be taking the next couple of days off (tomorrow to travel and Saturday because stars schedule is lolbad)..will do some poker study and uni work, then put in a good Sunday session!
Bad Beat Story Incoming. Busted Mini-Thrill in 71st shortly after this fun hand. Villain had just the $700 bounty on his head
Spoiler:
04-22-2017
, 03:17 PM
Hey Jepser,
My setup is similar to yours with the laptop and external monitor, but I hadn't tried mosaic before. I've downloaded the trial and played a quick session earlier to test the software. It seemed to work pretty well so i'll continue using it and see how it goes!
Thanks for the help
My setup is similar to yours with the laptop and external monitor, but I hadn't tried mosaic before. I've downloaded the trial and played a quick session earlier to test the software. It seemed to work pretty well so i'll continue using it and see how it goes!
Thanks for the help
05-05-2017
, 07:25 PM
A little overdue but time for a recap of April!
Poker Goals:
400MTTs - 402 [X]
Decent enough volume considering I took the best part of a week off. Working on my ability to multitable atm. I doubt i'm ever going to be someone who can play 12+ tables but i'm trying to make it so I can play 9 comfortably without sacrificing much in the way of edge.
*Shoutout to Jepser for introducing me to Mosaic. It's made playing 8 tables sooo much easier!
For some reason Sharkscope has me playing ~40 fewer tournaments than my PT4, possibly something to do with how they treat re-entries I guess.
Results weren't ideal but nothing outside the norm either.
Ironically, I had more deep runs than probably any month ever in terms of ITM and making the final few tables but just didn't close anything at all.
That's fine though, I'm just saving the closure for the big series events
Study 5hrs/week [X]
Comfortably did this. I have purchased BenCB789's 'Tournament Masterclass' coaching series on Raise Your Edge, which has lived up to expectation so far.
I read pads say somewhere that he's one of, if not the best MTT coaches in the world and I undoubtedly agree. He's done some webinars with Pocarr and when watching the video of them back, I find myself making about 4 pages of notes, because everything he says is pretty much golden. Excited to work my way through this course
8evBB/100 - 6.13 for April. Not going to be too hung up on this in the short term. The reason I chose it as a yearly goal was so that I could get a decent sample in, such that the effect of variance would be reduced.
Life Goals:
I've let myself down a little in this regard. Started off really solid for the first half of the month with exercise, then fell off the wagon when my routine was disturbed by travelling around to live tournaments and to see the gf etc...
Easy excuse to make and I could have done more.
Fun with the GF:
We've booked to go to Disneyland Paris in June. She's been dying to go since I met her 3.5 years ago so I suppose it's about time really!
Maybe if I win a SCOOP i'll be able to take her to the Florida one
Plan for May:
-Give my all at the tables...stay focused! It's a long month and there's going to be a ton of opportunities! It's my job to make sure I give myself the best chance of taking them by being well prepared and eliminating distractions.
-Do myself justice in uni exams, hopefully resulting in getting a 1st.
-Exercise! 3 runs/circuit session etc per week. My time will be very stretched this month but I should still be able to achieve this without too much trouble!
Poker Goals:
400MTTs - 402 [X]
Decent enough volume considering I took the best part of a week off. Working on my ability to multitable atm. I doubt i'm ever going to be someone who can play 12+ tables but i'm trying to make it so I can play 9 comfortably without sacrificing much in the way of edge.
*Shoutout to Jepser for introducing me to Mosaic. It's made playing 8 tables sooo much easier!
For some reason Sharkscope has me playing ~40 fewer tournaments than my PT4, possibly something to do with how they treat re-entries I guess.
Results weren't ideal but nothing outside the norm either.
Ironically, I had more deep runs than probably any month ever in terms of ITM and making the final few tables but just didn't close anything at all.
That's fine though, I'm just saving the closure for the big series events
Study 5hrs/week [X]
Comfortably did this. I have purchased BenCB789's 'Tournament Masterclass' coaching series on Raise Your Edge, which has lived up to expectation so far.
I read pads say somewhere that he's one of, if not the best MTT coaches in the world and I undoubtedly agree. He's done some webinars with Pocarr and when watching the video of them back, I find myself making about 4 pages of notes, because everything he says is pretty much golden. Excited to work my way through this course
8evBB/100 - 6.13 for April. Not going to be too hung up on this in the short term. The reason I chose it as a yearly goal was so that I could get a decent sample in, such that the effect of variance would be reduced.
Life Goals:
I've let myself down a little in this regard. Started off really solid for the first half of the month with exercise, then fell off the wagon when my routine was disturbed by travelling around to live tournaments and to see the gf etc...
Easy excuse to make and I could have done more.
Fun with the GF:
We've booked to go to Disneyland Paris in June. She's been dying to go since I met her 3.5 years ago so I suppose it's about time really!
Maybe if I win a SCOOP i'll be able to take her to the Florida one
Plan for May:
-Give my all at the tables...stay focused! It's a long month and there's going to be a ton of opportunities! It's my job to make sure I give myself the best chance of taking them by being well prepared and eliminating distractions.
-Do myself justice in uni exams, hopefully resulting in getting a 1st.
-Exercise! 3 runs/circuit session etc per week. My time will be very stretched this month but I should still be able to achieve this without too much trouble!
05-14-2017
, 08:10 PM
Well well well. This week has been an interesting week in shaping my poker future.
Starting off from Sunday through Wednesday, I played 4 sessions where I was really disappointed in my self. Just auto-piloting so many spots, making lol calls on rivers etc and just generally playing C- game at best. Not what you need during the biggest series of the year!
Wednesday night, I spent so much time in my sleep thinking over mistakes I'd made and my sub-conscious was just on overdrive, replaying each and every hand that it remembered where I played sub-optimally...
I woke-up and knew that one way or another, I had to change something.
So Thursday, I first listened to the Elliott Roe MP3 'Letting go of mistakes' which up until now, has showed a remarkable amount of success.
I then put in a really high-quality study session, watching a video from the BenCB course and doing some related work.
Decided to grind a session Thursday as I won't get to play many more SCOOPs with uni exams starting from tomorrow. Pre-session, I listened to the Elliott Roe MP3 'Calling when you're beat' to really drum into me how stupid it is and how i'm gifting money to opponents when I do it...
The session itself went really well, stayed very focused throughout and made numerous disciplined folds along with some good calls where I took the time to really break the hand down rather than just insta-going with my first instinct.
Ended up with this:
Not a huge score by any means, but I think I played a good FT on the whole..ran really well HU, having 44>AA and A4>AK to survive before KK>some pair to close it
Today (Sunday), I played my usual session. Had to skip a few of the SCOOPs/powerfests as they'll run too late/day 2 will be during my exam tomorrow. That was slightly frustrating as obv they're really special tournies that I'd love to play but sometimes, these things can't be helped.
Session went okay, built a number of decent stacks but felt like I went pretty card and spot dead once it got to the later stages. Will be reviewing my deepest runs sometime this week to look for missed spots etc, so maybe i'll find that wasn't the case...we'll see.
Finished up 1-tabling the Title-Fight Warm-Up for a few hours, eventually ending with this:
So this week, I rediscovered why I love poker and why I want to dedicate my time to becoming the absolute best MTT player I can be.
I love the competition. I love logically breaking down spots and solving the 'puzzle' that is each individual hand.
Yes Thursday was enjoyable because I won an MTT, but I was loving it long before that happened....I was back loving it because I was immersed in the game, doing my upmost to make each decision the best that I could rather than half-assing it and expecting for the result to somehow turn out well.
Moving forward, I will strive to continually improve, both in terms of technical ability and mental game so that I can continually execute that improving ability when it matters most...in game!
I am absolutely pumped to get on the grind this summer and give it everything I have to climb the MTT ladder!
First, I have to bite the bullet and complete my final uni exams, starting tomorrow and finishing with the 4th a week on Friday. Sadly, this means i'll only get to play the final SCOOP Sunday, but it's a small price to pay before i'm finally free of the world of education.
Hope all the hero's reading this have a good final week of the series'. I'll be back trying to take the money on Sunday
Starting off from Sunday through Wednesday, I played 4 sessions where I was really disappointed in my self. Just auto-piloting so many spots, making lol calls on rivers etc and just generally playing C- game at best. Not what you need during the biggest series of the year!
Wednesday night, I spent so much time in my sleep thinking over mistakes I'd made and my sub-conscious was just on overdrive, replaying each and every hand that it remembered where I played sub-optimally...
I woke-up and knew that one way or another, I had to change something.
So Thursday, I first listened to the Elliott Roe MP3 'Letting go of mistakes' which up until now, has showed a remarkable amount of success.
I then put in a really high-quality study session, watching a video from the BenCB course and doing some related work.
Decided to grind a session Thursday as I won't get to play many more SCOOPs with uni exams starting from tomorrow. Pre-session, I listened to the Elliott Roe MP3 'Calling when you're beat' to really drum into me how stupid it is and how i'm gifting money to opponents when I do it...
The session itself went really well, stayed very focused throughout and made numerous disciplined folds along with some good calls where I took the time to really break the hand down rather than just insta-going with my first instinct.
Ended up with this:
Not a huge score by any means, but I think I played a good FT on the whole..ran really well HU, having 44>AA and A4>AK to survive before KK>some pair to close it
Today (Sunday), I played my usual session. Had to skip a few of the SCOOPs/powerfests as they'll run too late/day 2 will be during my exam tomorrow. That was slightly frustrating as obv they're really special tournies that I'd love to play but sometimes, these things can't be helped.
Session went okay, built a number of decent stacks but felt like I went pretty card and spot dead once it got to the later stages. Will be reviewing my deepest runs sometime this week to look for missed spots etc, so maybe i'll find that wasn't the case...we'll see.
Finished up 1-tabling the Title-Fight Warm-Up for a few hours, eventually ending with this:
So this week, I rediscovered why I love poker and why I want to dedicate my time to becoming the absolute best MTT player I can be.
I love the competition. I love logically breaking down spots and solving the 'puzzle' that is each individual hand.
Yes Thursday was enjoyable because I won an MTT, but I was loving it long before that happened....I was back loving it because I was immersed in the game, doing my upmost to make each decision the best that I could rather than half-assing it and expecting for the result to somehow turn out well.
Moving forward, I will strive to continually improve, both in terms of technical ability and mental game so that I can continually execute that improving ability when it matters most...in game!
I am absolutely pumped to get on the grind this summer and give it everything I have to climb the MTT ladder!
First, I have to bite the bullet and complete my final uni exams, starting tomorrow and finishing with the 4th a week on Friday. Sadly, this means i'll only get to play the final SCOOP Sunday, but it's a small price to pay before i'm finally free of the world of education.
Hope all the hero's reading this have a good final week of the series'. I'll be back trying to take the money on Sunday
06-04-2017
, 09:56 PM
Thanks guys
@Fergz, the masterclass has been great so far! I've only worked through the preflop stuff as of yet, as time has been scarce with exams, but going to be working through the classes over the next few weeks. It's certainly a hands on course and one where it will take time to learn and reinforce the content but I think that's the best way
I think i saw a 'fergz' get added to the discord group for the masterclass the other day, not sure if that's you?
Quick May Recap:
Results weren't ideal, volume was lower than I would have liked but needs must with exams...SCOOP/Powerfest overall were fairly mediocre for me, didn't really get many super deep runs going and for a large part I was playing B/C game which was really disappointing. In hindsight, it was always going to be tough to focus on MTT sessions, knowing that I have exams coming up etc but it's tough, if not impossible to just shower SCOOP altogether! Can't wait for WCOOP and to grind through a series properly for the first time ever...hopefully stars get their act together and make miniWCOOP 1/10th as that would make September a pretty special month of poker!
Not surprising that my BB/100 was on the low side for May...Higher ABI, combined with lower focus/performance levels is not the one.
June has started okay, reasonably happy with how I played today and also managed not to lose the lot on Sunday for the first time in a while
Not sure I could have squeezed many more $ out of this with the way it played out so happy enough with my performance. Quite a few ICM hands to run tomorrow so will see if i missed any marginal +EV spots.
I've also been playing some cash NL20 cash on a eurosite. Really sad I don't have a graph for that as I'm up about 8 BIs from no more than ~1k hands Super soft player pool combined with rungood is fun!
1-tabling the $55 50k on ACR just now. 35/63 with 13k UT...vamooo
@Fergz, the masterclass has been great so far! I've only worked through the preflop stuff as of yet, as time has been scarce with exams, but going to be working through the classes over the next few weeks. It's certainly a hands on course and one where it will take time to learn and reinforce the content but I think that's the best way
I think i saw a 'fergz' get added to the discord group for the masterclass the other day, not sure if that's you?
Quick May Recap:
Results weren't ideal, volume was lower than I would have liked but needs must with exams...SCOOP/Powerfest overall were fairly mediocre for me, didn't really get many super deep runs going and for a large part I was playing B/C game which was really disappointing. In hindsight, it was always going to be tough to focus on MTT sessions, knowing that I have exams coming up etc but it's tough, if not impossible to just shower SCOOP altogether! Can't wait for WCOOP and to grind through a series properly for the first time ever...hopefully stars get their act together and make miniWCOOP 1/10th as that would make September a pretty special month of poker!
Not surprising that my BB/100 was on the low side for May...Higher ABI, combined with lower focus/performance levels is not the one.
June has started okay, reasonably happy with how I played today and also managed not to lose the lot on Sunday for the first time in a while
Not sure I could have squeezed many more $ out of this with the way it played out so happy enough with my performance. Quite a few ICM hands to run tomorrow so will see if i missed any marginal +EV spots.
I've also been playing some cash NL20 cash on a eurosite. Really sad I don't have a graph for that as I'm up about 8 BIs from no more than ~1k hands
Super soft player pool combined with rungood is fun!1-tabling the $55 50k on ACR just now. 35/63 with 13k UT...vamooo
06-04-2017
, 11:05 PM
06-05-2017
, 10:55 PM
It certainly is! All my dad's side of the family are from Donegal and he used to call me Seosamh all the time growing up...I grew up in Lancashire but Donegal feels like home
Luck of the Irish on Party :P
Played really well today and ran decent obv made a tonne of deep runs, so very glad to have closed one out as it would have been a pretty bittersweet session otherwise.
Feeling really good playing full-time so far and enjoying the grind as much as ever. Lots more to come this summer with any luck!
Day off tomorrow, going to Alton Towers with the gf and some friends on our uni course!
Luck of the Irish on Party :P
Played really well today and ran decent obv
made a tonne of deep runs, so very glad to have closed one out as it would have been a pretty bittersweet session otherwise. Feeling really good playing full-time so far and enjoying the grind as much as ever. Lots more to come this summer with any luck!
Day off tomorrow, going to Alton Towers with the gf and some friends on our uni course!
06-07-2017
, 09:12 AM
I bought the full masterclass, but I believe the apprentice class will still help in building really solid fundamentals. They also allow people to upgrade from apprentice to expert in the future if you wish to do so.
I'd say it's undoubtedly good value so far, would recommend!
06-07-2017
, 09:43 AM
hey nice thrread man, subbed. you seem to have a very good approach to poker judging from this thread. keep it up
06-07-2017
, 09:33 PM
Really happy with how I played again today, unfortunately ran worse than a 3 legged donkey in every somewhat important pot...
I did show progress in terms of my mental game though...previously after losing all-ins consistently for a few hours, I would stop registering, which over the course of a year turns into a very significant leak. Didn't do that today and instead regged everything I planned to
I do still have the B33 and Contender II, where I am 35/76 and 19/47 respectively so still some hope for a daysaver. After that, it's bed, then back on the grind tomorrow!
Couple of fun hands from the Uppercut...poker isn't dead just yet
partypoker - 800/1600 NL (8 max) - Holdem - 8 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4
BB: 22,652 (VPIP: 26.24, PFR: 17.05, 3Bet Preflop: 7.84, Hands: 265)
Hero (UTG): 54,178
UTG+1: 28,880 (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 1)
MP: 45,712 (VPIP: 20.53, PFR: 18.75, 3Bet Preflop: 16.39, Hands: 152)
MP+1: 163,479 (VPIP: 31.46, PFR: 22.99, 3Bet Preflop: 16.67, Hands: 91)
CO: 64,332 (VPIP: 25.48, PFR: 18.22, 3Bet Preflop: 7.83, Hands: 263)
BTN: 79,899 (VPIP: 31.58, PFR: 15.79, 3Bet Preflop: 11.11, Hands: 19)
SB: 30,691 (VPIP: 5.26, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 19)
8 players post ante of 160, SB posts SB 800, BB posts BB 1,600
Pre Flop: (pot: 3,680) Hero has A
J
Hero raises to 3,520, UTG+1 calls 3,520, fold, fold, fold, fold, SB calls 2,720, BB calls 1,920
Flop: (15,360, 4 players) J
4 3 SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets 5,897, UTG+1 calls 5,897, fold, fold
Turn: (27,154, 2 players) 8
Hero bets 20,365, UTG+1 calls 19,303 and is all-in
River: (65,760, 2 players) 4
Hero shows A
J (Two Pair, Jacks and Fours)(Pre 65%, Flop 76%, Turn 70%)
UTG+1 shows 4
7 (Flush, Jack High)(Pre 35%, Flop 24%, Turn 30%)
Hero wins 1,062
UTG+1 wins 65,760
partypoker - 800/1600 NL (8 max) - Holdem - 7 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4
MP: 17,692 (VPIP: 26.22, PFR: 16.86, 3Bet Preflop: 7.62, Hands: 269)
Hero (CO): 54,596
BTN: 87,953 (VPIP: 60.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 5)
SB: 43,472 (VPIP: 20.00, PFR: 18.24, 3Bet Preflop: 15.87, Hands: 156)
BB: 146,519 (VPIP: 32.26, PFR: 24.18, 3Bet Preflop: 16.22, Hands: 95)
UTG: 60,332 (VPIP: 25.47, PFR: 18.32, 3Bet Preflop: 7.63, Hands: 267)
UTG+1: 79,259 (VPIP: 26.09, PFR: 13.04, 3Bet Preflop: 7.69, Hands: 23)
7 players post ante of 160, SB posts SB 800, BB posts BB 1,600
Pre Flop: (pot: 3,520) Hero has K
Q fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 3,520, BTN calls 3,520, fold, fold
Flop: (10,560, 2 players) K
K 4 Hero bets 3,485, BTN raises to 12,250, Hero calls 8,765
Turn: (35,060, 2 players) 8
Hero checks, BTN bets 13,530, Hero raises to 38,666 and is all-in, BTN calls 25,136
River: (112,392, 2 players) T
BTN shows 7
6 (One Pair, Kings)(Pre 36%, Flop 3%, Turn 9%)
Hero shows K
Q (Three of a Kind, Kings)(Pre 64%, Flop 97%, Turn 91%)
Hero wins 112,392
06-11-2017
, 08:29 PM
Results wise, things hasn't been great since the contender ship on Monday. Feel like i'm playing decent for the most part and have been building a tonne of stacks, especially today, but no dice in terms of turning stacks into scores.
Never mind, I just need to keep doing what i'm doing, putting in the study, learning from my mistakes and the results will look after themselves.
Plan for this week:
Need to get on the grind as i'm going to Disneyland Paris for 4 days with the gf next Tuesday.
Plan at this point in time is to play an MTT session on at least Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday and also going to flick in a £220 25/25 series liveament on Friday or Saturday.
Aside from that, I'll look to put in a good bit of study on the other days/mornings of playing days and also put in a few hours of cash.
Time for me to earn my time off!
Never mind, I just need to keep doing what i'm doing, putting in the study, learning from my mistakes and the results will look after themselves.
Plan for this week:
Need to get on the grind as i'm going to Disneyland Paris for 4 days with the gf next Tuesday.
Plan at this point in time is to play an MTT session on at least Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday and also going to flick in a £220 25/25 series liveament on Friday or Saturday.
Aside from that, I'll look to put in a good bit of study on the other days/mornings of playing days and also put in a few hours of cash.
Time for me to earn my time off!