Ty, yes that is the eventual goal. Need to have a live BR of around 10K first which I will build through Bovada and trading. Plan on starting playing 5/10 once my live roll is 10K.

At this time I will also get some coaching as well. So I do eventually want to be crushing live, but still plan on playing online first until I'm properly rolled for live.

I'm still going to wager when I come back, but when I do I will ALWAYS stick to my disciplined BR management plan

from now on my #1 rule and mantra is,

MY NUMBER 1 GOAL IS TO PROTECT MY CAPITAL!!

I will never make a crazy wager again and always adhere to strict BR management and rules.

until mid June I will be driving Lyft fri-sun to make extra money and save extra.

Already thinking about how I am going to allocate funds. And came up with a good idea on how I can allow myself to be aggressive with small amounts I am willing to lose / balance that with a disciplined approach when it comes to sports wagering.

I will be back mid June which is prime time to bet baseball because there's a good enough sample size to see where everything is at and use stat analysis. I posted on here some pages back about my run I had betting baseball where I turned 400 into 21,000 and cashed out $20,000.

So by mid-June I am assuming I will have 10K to put to work.

7000 is going into my TD Ameritrade account.

2500 will go into my Bovada account for poker / disciplined sports wagering with a disciplined unit structure. In this account I will NEVER violate my money management rules.

200-300 will go into my 5dimes account. This 200-300 I will be completely okay with losing, risking all of it and being extremely aggressive with it to try and turn something small into something big. If I bust this amount, I will replenish it where/if I see fit

I think keeping everything separate is going to be huge and allowing myself to be aggressive with a small amount I am completely okay with losing will help. Glad I have a plan and will continue to post goal updates etc. Hit my goals this week so far and heading to gym again now.

After some more thought, I really am happy with this break I am deciding to take.

After 14 weeks, my head will be so clear, I will have my workout schedule engraved into my subconscious and I will be feeling the best I have felt in a couple years. Couple that with the fact I will have a good amount of funds to put towards everything and I think I will never have to take myself out of the game again and will consistently build my accounts.

The other thing is, I love trading, poker and sports betting. Taking a break from the 3 things I love to do is going to be a huge test to my discipline and will-power as well.

By the end of the 14 weeks, my self-discipline and will-power will be so strong that I can't see myself ever having issues with them again.

It will also be interesting to see where my head is at 14 weeks from now after not doing any of my favorite things. Will I even want to come back or will something change?? We will see. I'm actually going to take some time to watch training videos and subscribe to a poker site so I can focus on studying and getting better so when I return my game won't be rusty and will have actually improved.

I still really want to play 5/10 cash in LA and can't see myself not wanting to continue to work towards this goal. This could be another solid source of income for me down the road. Just need a live 10K BR which I will work on building up through trading/bovada profits when I return.

Weekly Workout Goals

X

Was in the gym Mon-Thu.

Weekly Reading Goals

My first new book is arriving today and the rest are arriving next week. I will be starting The Practicing Mind today.

-Goal is to have at least 100 pages read by next Friday (3/25)

Weekly Diet Goals

X

Happy with my intermittent fasting this week. I did have a couple cheat treats because work had ton of food yesterday for St Patrick's day and piece of cake today for somebody's birthday. Overall, happy with my dieting and have to treat myself here and there.

I plan on posting summaries of every book I finish reading between now and June 15. Excited to start new book, should be good read.

So, my diet this weekend was pretty poor. Went above and beyond a couple cheat meals. Starting this upcoming week I am going to make the gym on Saturday a requirement as well for the next 13 weeks at least.

So my new gym requirements are going to me Mon-Thu & Sat. Instead of leaving Saturday optional, it is going to be required. This will definitely help with my dieting over the weekend. I know on days I am working out that I have to be way more disciplined on what I eat because I want to avoid feeling like crap when working out.

I think adding Saturday is going to be huge for the next 13 weeks. Once the bootcamp ends, I may go back to just Mon-Thu, but definitely for now Mon-Thu & Sat until June 17th. I will probably just make Mon-Thu & Sat a requirement for good as well. I realized I get too lazy if I take 3 days off from the gym in a row. It's too much mentally, so breaking it up with Saturday workout in between should be good.

Also, I want to emphasize in here how crappy I feel today from my poor eating. Like, my stomach feels like absolute doo-doo. I think I taught myself a lesson this weekend about what happens if I go above and beyond a couple cheat meals. Stomach just feels like garbage today.

So unfortunately, this weekend I couldn't get myself motivated to drive Lyft. If I drive Lyft for the next 13 weeks Fri-Sun, I will be able to save an additional $2,600.

I have had trouble lately getting myself motivated to drive Lyft. So the next 13 weeks I am going to make it a requirement to drive Lyft Fri-Sun and my goal is to make at least $200 every Fri-Sun.

If I don't hit Lyft one weekend, I will push back my return by a week. Every weekend I miss, my return gets pushed back. This extra savings for me is going to be huge by June 15 getting me above 10K savings.

Mentally it's tough because after driving Lyft for about a month last summer, I realized after gas etc, it equated to like $9.50/hr which is just super terrible. I don't like trading my time for crap money but I think this is a good way to discipline myself even more so when I return I can remember how much worse it can be and how my favorite hobbies are a privilege.

And if my lapse in discipline ever occurs again, punishing myself with driving Lyft seems right. So 13 weeks driving Lyft for me Fri-Sun along with the rest of the discipline and motivated bootcamp. This will allow $2,600 extra in savings which should motivate me enough and is huge.

So, I already finished The Practicing Mind and hit my reading goal for the week. Was a great compact 140 page read that I definitely got a lot out of. I am going to try and write a summary on the best things I took away from the book in the next couple days. Definitely loved the book though.

Also, on progress to hit workout and diet goals.

Next up on my list is Daily Self Discipline - Martin Meadows. Can't start reading it yet because the shipment is arriving in the next couple days.

Weekly Reading Goals

X

Yearly Reading Progress/Plan

3/15 completed

Think and Grow Rich [X]

Trading in the Zone [X]

The Practicing Mind [X]

Daily Self Discipline [ ]

Mastery [ ]

The Undefeated Mind [ ]

Outliers [ ]

Gorilla Mindset [ ]

Master Key to Riches [ ]

Trading Psychology 2.0 [ ]

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator [ ]

The Mental Game of Poker [ ]

Come Into My Trading Room [ ]

The Course [ ]

Mastering Pot Limit Omaha [ ]

So I made up my mind last night that I am going to pursue my MBA full-time at a top 10 school. Instead of putting all my energy towards poker outside of work, I am going to put most of my energy towards studying for the GMAT and scoring 700+.

I will start this process Jun 20. I will still play poker but only after I have hit my study requirements for the week. So I will be playing poker much less but still playing weekly and posting in here.

Once I start school again I will have more time to play poker.

For being a veteran, I can use the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Basically the government pays for most of my school and pays me monthly to help me pay bills while I am in school. I still have a lot of my Post 9/11 GI Bill left (only used about half of it in undergrad).

So I'm going to start studying for the GMAT and still play poker once I return in June. And will continue posting here. If I get into a school I really want to go to, I should be able to double my salary after graduating. My goal is going to be to get into the private side of Investment Banking (Associate) and do Mergers and Acquisitions. If I don't pursue this now, I could see myself regretting not at least attempting to in the future. Should be interesting.....

Poker will always be here, but I only have a small window to try and get into I-Banking (27 years old).

Weekly Workout Goal

X X

Weekly Diet Goal

X X

Weekly Reading Goal

X

Weekly Lyft Goal

N/A - So I'm not driving Lyft again this weekend. My sister flew in a Thu night and it's Easter tomorrow. Wife and I share 1 car so wasn't able to use car. No big deal starting next week I will drive for the next 12 weeks straight and still be able to save an extra $2400. Still hit my other goals and already feeling a lot more disciplined.

Worked out today and I think adding Saturday is huge.

Also, I don't really miss poker/sports wagering as much as I thought I would. I'm looking forward to starting to study for the GMAT though and to still play poker a bit.

I do really miss trading. Love the market and can't wait to get involved again.

This week's reading goal is to start and probably finish Daily Self-Discipline. My amazon order is late and books still not here, no bueno. Not a ton to read, pulled back out my How to Be an Investment Banker book to brush up more on accounting/finance. Also have been looking through Law of Success by Napoleon Hill which is a 550 page monster bible. Will read through that here and there. Especially the Self-Control chapter.

Weekly Workout Goal - Hit gym Mon-Thu & today.

X X X

Weekly Diet Goal - Intermittent fasting every day even today. Had a couple cookies today, pizza last night from whole foods and some jelly beans for cheating and might have some ice cream. Other than that ate great all week.

X X X

Weekly Reading Goal - my amazon order never came with my books. They had to re-ship some stuff so a little behind on reading, still waiting for the rest of my discipline books, they should be here next week

X

Weekly Lyft Goal - still struggling with this. Drove last night for a little over 3 hours and made $51. Actually not bad hourly last night. But I really don't want to drive tonight. I am definitely going to drive tomorrow during the day. But I don't think I'm going to hit $200 for the week. Will probably be more like $120-$150 extra for this week driving Lyft. Don't feel like driving tonight and wife needed car during the day today.

Overall, still feeling great and glad I am being very disciplined. When I come back to poker I should be ready.

I decided I am coming back to the stock market mid April. It is earnings season and I have a disciplined smart strategy I want to use that isn't very risky at all. So I will be back in the market in a couple weeks which is exciting.

I have started struggling with not playing poker. Have had multiple times now where I almost talked myself into playing and then realized I am not doing it and sticking to my guns until mid June. My return date for poker will be June 20th or later. I still plan on starting to study for the GMAT but may push it back later from June. Will probably start studying for the GMAT in the fall actually but am definitely starting this year.

Weekly Reading Goal - finally got my discipline books from amazon today. Goal is to finish Daily Self Discipline this week. Pretty short 138 page read.

Lyft - only ended up making $51 extra this week from Lyft, $150 short of the $200 goal. Next week my goal is to make $300, I'm legit not going to stop driving each day until I clear $115. I'm putting a nice chunk of savings into my trading account on April 15th so want to use next week/weekend to make a decent sum from Lyft.

Excited to implement my strategy in the market here in a couple weeks and finally be back and disciplined, following my new and improved trading plan / rules.

Lyft: I still have been trying to think about my optimal plan for Lyft. I realized when I get to Friday and have no rides completed for the week, the task of trying to make $200 seems overwhelming because I will be spending a ton of time in the car Fri-Sun.

So I thought about it more and right after the gym during the week I am going to drive for 3-4 hours. I'm wide awake after the gym and usually just read/relax at home before bed. If I can get 5 rides a day Mon-Thu, this should set me up to complete 45 rides for the week. If I complete 45 rides for the week, I get a 10% bonus.

So my new goal for Lyft is going to be to complete 45 rides a week until June 20th. I think if I drive a little every day of the week it will be a lot less overwhelming. If I complete 45 rides in a week, I'm thinking I should be able to make in the 300-400 range extra a week (not including operating expenses of gas & food).

I only completed 2 rides last night but it's a start and something to build on for the week. Goal is to complete 5 rides at least tonight and tomorrow night and grind to hit 45 rides for this week. Should be interesting.

For the gym, on progress to hit workout goals for week. For diet, on progress to hit IF (intermittent fasting) goals. For reading, already almost done with daily self-discipline, should have it completed by today. Really light, soft read and not that deep of a book. Although author does provide some useful insights, a lot of what he writes about I have already read in other places.

Also will have to scale back weekly reading goals a bit because I will be driving more and less time for reading (usually read after gym during week).

Hopefully I can find a good routine / driving habit for Lyft for next 11 weeks. And I think I have figured it out. And have a good plan that will keep me motivated to drive (300-400 extra a week is really significant for savings). Will be interesting to see what I am actually making after averaging 45 rides for a couple weeks.

Yearly Reading Progress/Plan

4/15 completed

Think and Grow Rich [X]

Trading in the Zone [X]

The Practicing Mind [X]

Daily Self Discipline [X]

The Undefeated Mind [ ]

Mastery [ ]

Trading Psychology 2.0 [ ]

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator [ ]

Come Into My Trading Room [ ]

Outliers [ ]

Gorilla Mindset [ ]

Master Key to Riches [ ]

The Mental Game of Poker [ ]

The Course [ ]

Mastering Pot Limit Omaha [ ]

Started the undefeated mind and already looks like I am really going to enjoy this book. Looks like it will be an awesome read. Should have 100 pages completed by end of week. Finished Daily Self-Discipline, overall average book.

Lyft

I only was able to get 3 rides last night. Everything is so spread out in LA area. So in two nights I have only done 5 rides and made $43.

I'm not sure if I will be able to get 5 every weeknight and therefore, may not be able to do 45 rides a week.

If I drive some every day, I will be able to hit my weekly earning goal of $200. Overall, just going to keep trying my best and drive every day and see where I am at end of week. I need to be in bed by midnight to get 6 hours of sleep so I can be productive at my day job. Usually start driving Lyft Mon-Thu around 8-9PM right after getting out of gym, so not a ton of wiggle room.

Overall, just grateful I'm making some extra money and will be able to save more for the market and poker/wagering when I make my return June 20.

I will post some pics in here of my family and me sometime this weekend to show everybody what my primary motivator is. =)

I think it's very important to express gratitude daily and the thing I am most grateful for in my life is my healthy, loving, beautiful family.

Weekly Workout Goal Didn't get in the gym today but still hit main goal of Mon-Thu. Last 2 weeks was in gym 5 days, this week only 4 but still hitting main goal and keeping chain going. Hopefully should be able to get back on Saturday next week. Overall, feeling great and glad I now have the Mon-Thu workout schedule as a habit around 7-9PM.

X X X X

Weekly Diet Goal - still going strong with intermittent fasting and used to the routine now. Eating window 2-10PM, first meal around 2PM.

X X X X

Weekly Reading Goal - finished one discipline book and have read 48 pages in undefeated mind. Goal is to read another 100 pages by this time next week.

X X

Lyft - drove Lyft tonight for 3 hours and made $55. Not bad at all. For the week have made $106 and hopefully can make another $50 tomorrow. I took a nap Friday when I got home and didn't end up driving when I woke up otherwise I would have hit $200 this week. No more taking naps on Fridays. Just going to drive right away. I should be able to get 45 rides next week with my new driving plan.


pics:

wife and kids



wife



me in finance gear

Hi I just ran into this thread I really admire how you are keeping up with your thread/blog and how detailed to you are with your goals to keep you committed. Since I just ran into to this thread I have not read all of your past blogs to see where you are at now in regards to playing professionally live in LA.

I see you have a lot of balance in goals which is definitely admirable not many have those (including myself). Reading a few of your posts is really inspiring. I play on ACR NLHE and I sometimes have issues with discipline as well. I also want to get back into shape I used to play High School Basketball and some basketball leagues as well after high school. So your thread is something I can relate in some aspects.

Keep it up man I will definitely try to keep updated on this thread so I can as well integrate some of your routines that would fit me.

Thank you!! This thread has been a great way for me to get my goals down some where and keep myself honest.

Following a workout routine with a set schedule should def help with the discipline.

My favorite book by Napoleon Hill is Master Key to Riches and he has a chapter in there dedicated to self-discipline. Will-power is like a muscle and if we do something everyday that requires will-power we should find ourselves progressing well with regards to discipline. So for me, pushing myself to workout after a long day is how I train my will-power. I think this is my year to get my discipline and money management skills down pat and to really come back strong in June and have a big run.

Good to meet you and welcome to my thread! I'm huge on self improvement and mind development so always trying to do things to better myself in those areas, glad to hear my posts have helped get you fired up! I do enjoy talking about these things too and am pretty passionate about it, maybe someday I'll make a video about what I have learned. =)

667

Also, I noticed in life, when I am working out consistently I feel my best. When I feel my best I perform my best.

Working out helps get my mind vibrating at a different level than normal. When we get our minds consistently vibrating at a different level than normal we can really start to gain different perspectives and see things from a new light. Basically, working out is how I get myself naturally high and is a form of medicine IMO

Just read a great article about one of the greatest. This article really gets into Kobe's mind and how the most successful people approach things. Very motivating.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/15...ys-kobe-bryant


"Kobe is who he is," Lakers head athletic trainer Gary Vitti says now. "That's what makes him Kobe Bryant. Kobe is not the most talented player. He'll tell you that. He and I have discussed this. But he's got all those other things that override that. Tracy McGrady was more talented than Kobe, and they were contemporaries. But there are certain things that separate Kobe from the rest of the pack. I don't think anybody would've been able to stop him. I think if Jesus came down and said, 'Kobe, you can't do this,' Kobe probably would've said something like, 'Why don't you stick to making water into wine and raising people from the dead, and I'll take care of this basketball thing.'"

Weekly Workout Goal - Hit it Mon-Thu again. Feeling great still, will have to take progress pic soon. Plan on working out on Saturday as well to get 5 for week.

X X X X X

Weekly Diet Goal - still going strong with intermittent fasting and used to the routine now. Have been eating only 1 meal this week around 2PM. After I get home from gym and driving Lyft, instead of having my 2nd meal, have been drinking a muscle milk instead. Should get more cut and lean even faster substituting the muscle milk for my second meal.

X X X X X

Weekly Reading Goal - already hit goal of 100 pages in undefeated mind. Have about 90 pages left. Should be finished with book early next week. Goal for week is to finish Undefeated Mind and start Mastery.

X X X

Lyft - so this week Lyft is doing a promotion, $30/hr from 5-7PM all week. It's really $24/hr after their 20% cut but still I couldn't pass up $24/hr. So from Tue-Thu I drove 6-7 to get the guaranteed $24 and then did at least a couple rides after the gym.

This should be the first week I surpass $200. Already at around $100. I should be able to get 45 rides for the first time as well. When I hit that, I get 10% back of the 20% cut they take.

At 13 rides for the week so far, so goal is to do at least 15 tonight and try to have the 45 done by Saturday so I don't have to drive at all Sunday. Should be interesting to see exactly how much I make when I hit 45 rides.

Overall, happy with my consistency and discipline / will-power, should have a good amount saved by June - at least 9K if I keep driving Lyft.

So on Saturday, I ran to the beach and walked back. I live 1.2 miles from the beach and will go wayy to long without seeing the water. I think every Saturday I'm going to start running to the beach as my 5th workout of the week. I need to continuously remind myself of my surroundings and not get too lost in life. I'm very grateful for being so close to the water and think it's good to get out more and enjoy outdoors/nature.



Also, I hit my goal of doing 45 rides this week. What a grind that was. I won't be doing 45 rides much - maybe 1/2 times a month max. With 45 rides, I ended up making an extra $390 for the week. After gas expenses more like $300 for the week. I get 90% of the below funds (80% if you do less than 45 rides in a week). This really comes out to like $12.90/hr which isn't very good but I'll take the extra funds for now.



Generally, I'm just going to try and do $200 a week extra, but wanted to see what I would make if I hit 45 rides.

All in all, spending about 55 hours at my corporate job and 23.25 hours driving Lyft, about 10 hours at gym, put in a grind of a week. And that was all Mon-Sat, taking today off from everything, just going to read a bit.

Weekly Workout Goal - Hit main goal of Mon-Thu. Plan on running to beach again on Sat for the extra 5th workout. 6 weeks strong now =). Feel great. Son's birthday is tomorrow.

Saw a couple people at the gym this week I hadn't seen for a while and they both noted I looked better and asked if I lost some weight. Good to know my work is paying off. Actually interesting with my body though, when I started I weighed 185 now just weigh 183. I just lost some fat and put on some extra muscle and probably got a bit more cut. Plan on getting into a circuit training routine and using more supplements here in the next couple months. Need to take some progress pics soon too.

X X X X X X

Weekly Diet Goal - still going strong with intermittent fasting and used to the routine now. Have been eating only 1 meal this week around 2PM. After I get home from gym and driving Lyft, instead of having my 2nd meal, have been drinking protein shakes. Did have a couple treats but still stuck to IF plan and progress continues.

X X X X X X

Weekly Reading Goal - Finished Undefeated Mind, pretty good read. Got kind of boring towards the end. Excited to start Mastery and looking forward to reading Jesse Livermore's book after that.

X X X X

Yearly Reading Progress/Plan

5/15 completed

Think and Grow Rich [X]

Trading in the Zone [X]

The Practicing Mind [X]

Daily Self Discipline [X]

The Undefeated Mind [X]

Mastery [ ]

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator [ ]

Trading Psychology 2.0 [ ]

Come Into My Trading Room [ ]

Outliers [ ]

Gorilla Mindset [ ]

Master Key to Riches [ ]

The Mental Game of Poker [ ]

The Course [ ]

Mastering Pot Limit Omaha [ ]


Lyft - With bonuses last week made 470 in 23.25 hours of driving but that's before gas (about 100) and taxes. Have made 50 this week and will drive tonight and tomorrow night and should be able to hit/get close to the 200 goal.

Trading - So I had a rough week trading this week. Broke a couple trading rules and lost like 2K. I'm surprised I still broke some rules I shouldn't have and suffered a lapse in discipline in this area. Disappointed in myself but I will bounce back. I realized, I will not be playing poker until my trading account is at least above 10K. So break has potential to go longer than June depending on where I am at by then.

Poker - I am going to wait now until my trading account is above 10K to put any more money towards poker. So may be a bit longer than June before I start playing again. By the end of this year I should have at least 20K saved so I will definitely be playing poker again this year, probably more like July/August now. I need to make sure I have my first passion - trading and the markets squared away before I start poker back up.

You and I have similar interests. I trade from home full time and am trying to build a roll on Bovada. But alas, I don't have youth on my side (47) but I do work out 6 days a week with P90x at home. Saves a ton of time going back and forth from the gym.

Good luck in your endeavors and always maintain self discipline in both trading and poker.