those mountains in your latest painting look incredible man

Thanks! That's how I feel about people who can play an instrument.


I think Satoransky is a really solid role player. Very smart and doesn't turn the ball over much.

LaVine is a rising star, he's only 24 and works his butt off to get better. It will be interesting to see if he can reach superstar status. His career so far reminds me of DeMar DeRozan's... He's really good but not top 10 in league.

Lauri is very solid, I think he's a little under utilized with this team, blame the coaching on that. He's only 22!

I really really like Coby White's game. He's fun to watch, very smart, very smooth on the floor. Great hair too.

GarPax needs to go. The Bulls won't be successful as long as they are running the team. They have a really bad past (firing Thibodeau, trading Butler, spying on the players, Pax choking and punching Vinny D. when he was coach).


Appreciate that! I have a few ideas on what I want to try to paint next. I really want to do a space/planet scene and a pallet knife piece, something like this. I think this style looks so cool.

The grass is always greener on the other side.
I often romanticize about being a professional poker player. Living in Vegas, showing up at the Bellagio to play in the biggest game in Bobby’s room. In this dream I’m a regular at that game with an insane win-rate. On a daily basis I compete against the best in the world and the biggest whales, and drive home in my Cybertruck to my mansion where my wife and dogs are waiting for me. My wife doesn’t work, doesn’t have to in this world. When I travel for the high rollers she comes with me and we make a point to explore new cities and wine and dine in fancy restaurants when the tourney’s are on break. Sometimes this dream isn’t so lavish and I’m just a grinder who plays high stakes online and in bigger games live. I still drive a Camry, my house isn’t a mansion, but I’m a pro and very proud of it. I’m my own boss, make my own schedule, and make a living playing a game I love.

Sounds nice doesn’t it? When I stop and take a look at my life, in reality, it’s a good one. I’m very fortunate to have had a good childhood, loving family. Fortunate to have opportunities to live comfortably, have a nice house, have a good job… living the American Dream… yet I still dream sometimes of an alternate path. It’s human nature, to want and wonder what could be or could have been, feasible or not. Then I wonder too how many professional poker players would dream of having a different life, one kind of like mine. More stability, health insurance, no more grinding, no more mercy to the variance. Now they have a steady income that doesn’t change, the same check is always direct deposited in their bank account every 2 weeks. They contribute to their 401k and they have a solid retirement plan.

But things aren’t always as they seem. The grass isn’t always greener. Now they work in a cubicle. They have a fixed schedule and a boss they don’t respect. They’re cube-mates with a obnoxious lady, who’s appearance is very pleasant and clean… a far cry from the players he knew at the casino but at least they didn’t complain about everything going bad in their life, or gossip about others so often. There’s no seat change here, he’s stuck. 7 more hours… Getting your fingers stepped on climbing the corporate ladder. When he goes home for the day he’s completely drained mentally. That hobby he keeps putting off will have to start another day. The thrill of winning a big pot now replaced with “Thank god it’s Friday.”

My poker dream is no different. The grass isn’t so green once you look closer. My 8-5 now replaced with working evenings and nights. Downswings creating uncertainty, depleting my confidence and life roll. My weekends hardly find time for a social life, a date night even. They’re now consumed hunting for the best games and the biggest whales. The constant grind wearing… is this game still fun? I can’t imagine the stresses playing professionally brings. I find the people who figure a way through that life-style extremely admirable and perhaps that’s why it’s still a romanticized dream in my head.

Contentment is virtuous and should be strived for. Dreaming is fun and mostly harmless but really appreciating what you have is important. Living in a 1st world country grants you the benefit to have these dreams, in fact they’re likely the byproduct of having more than you need and opportunities available everywhere… it’s not about what you CAN do, it’s what do you WANT to do next. We’re so lucky, more than we know.

50nl Shot Update

Jan 6 - Jan 12
EV: Some run good never hurt anyone Mainly due to running QQ into KK, and again into a set and getting there on the river.
I made some adjustments to my game and so far it's been working out great. Still have a lot to learn but that's why it's fun.








Here's the complete 50nl shot stats/graph:

Dec 27 - Jan 12







Last night I surpassed 10bi's at 50nl and will now move up and shot take 100nl. I'll post the updated stats and graph for 50nl tonight or tomorrow.
Overall bankroll is $1,022, plus about $500 on the side that I haven't deposited.

GL at the tables all.

Here's the overall 50nl shot stats and Graph. I really made progress my last 3.2K hands after making some adjustments, studying, and fixing some leaks. I also ran really good on top of that.






Here's my top 3 winning hands and my top 3 losing hands:

Bovada / Ignition Zone, Hold'em No Limit - $0.25/$0.50 - 6 players
Replay this hand on Pokeit - https://pokeit.co/public/2Ib1Zejn4YCdGn/r

UTG (Hero): $50.00 (100 bb)
MP: $80.28 (161 bb)
CO: $50.25 (101 bb)
BU: $47.02 (94 bb)
SB: $51.72 (103 bb)
BB: $55.16 (110 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG with A♣ Q♣
Hero raises to $1.50, 1 fold, CO 3-bets to $5.25, 2 players fold, BB calls $4.75, Hero calls $3.75

Flop: ($16) 7♣ K♠ 9♣ (3 players)
BB bets $5, Hero calls $5, CO raises to $20.10, BB calls $15.10, Hero calls $15.10

Turn: ($76.30) 3♣ (3 players)
BB bets $29.81 (all-in), Hero calls $24.65 (all-in), CO folds

River: ($125.60) 4♠ (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $125.60 (Rake: $4)

Showdown:
BB shows J♣ 2♣ (a flush, Jack high)
(Equity - Turn: 0%, River: 0%)

UTG (Hero) shows A♣ Q♣ (a flush, Ace high)
(Equity - Turn: 100%, River: 100%)

UTG (Hero) wins $121.60



Bovada / Ignition, Hold'em No Limit - $0.25/$0.50 - 6 players
Replay this hand on Pokeit - https://pokeit.co/public/2Ib1Zejn4YVdZI/r

UTG: $49.79 (100 bb)
MP: $13.50 (27 bb)
CO (Hero): $57.36 (115 bb)
BU: $91.37 (183 bb)
SB: $11.75 (24 bb)
BB: $23.07 (46 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.75) Hero is CO with A♦ A♠
UTG raises to $1.50, MP 3-bets to $2.50, Hero 4-bets to $10, 3 players fold, UTG calls $8.50, MP 5-bets to $13.50 (all-in), Hero calls $3.50, UTG calls $3.50

Flop: ($41.25) 9♠ 6♠ 7♦ (3 players, 1 all-in)
UTG checks, Hero bets $43.86 (all-in), UTG calls $36.29 (all-in)

Turn: ($113.83) T♠ (3 players, 3 all-in)

River: ($113.83) 6♣ (3 players, 3 all-in)

Total pot: $113.83 (Rake: $4)

Showdown:
CO (Hero) shows A♦ A♠ (two pair, Aces and Sixes)
(Equity - Flop: 74%, Turn: 81%, River: 100%)

UTG shows K♥ K♣ (two pair, Kings and Sixes)
(Equity - Flop: 6%, Turn: 2%, River: 0%)

MP shows J♣ T♣ (two pair, Tens and Sixes)
(Equity - Flop: 19%, Turn: 17%, River: 0%)

CO (Hero) wins $109.83



Bovada / Ignition Zone, Hold'em No Limit - $0.25/$0.50 - 6 players
Replay this hand on Pokeit - https://pokeit.co/public/2Ib1Zejn4YEA6y/r

UTG: $41.22 (82 bb)
MP: $69.86 (140 bb)
CO: $89.36 (179 bb)
BU: $56.87 (114 bb)
SB (Hero): $68.78 (138 bb)
BB: $39.96 (80 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.75) Hero is SB with Q♠ K♦
3 players fold, BTN raises to $1.31, Hero 3-bets to $5.12, 1 fold, BTN calls $3.81

Flop: ($10.74) 6♠ T♣ K♥ (2 players)
Hero bets $3.50, BTN calls $3.50

Turn: ($17.74) Q♥ (2 players)
Hero bets $11.65, BTN calls $11.65

River: ($41.04) Q♦ (2 players)
Hero bets $38.99, BTN calls $36.60 (all-in)

Total pot: $114.24 (Rake: $4)

Showdown:
SB (Hero) shows Q♠ K♦ (a full house, Queens full of Kings)
BU shows J♠ A♦ (a straight, Ten to Ace)
SB (Hero) wins $110.24




Bovada / Ignition, Hold'em No Limit - $0.25/$0.50 - 6 players
Replay this hand on Pokeit - https://pokeit.co/public/2Ib1Zejn4YP10l/r

UTG: $21.50 (43 bb)
MP (Hero): $63.27 (127 bb)
CO: $44.91 (90 bb)
BU: $49.75 (100 bb)
SB: $47.25 (95 bb)
BB: $119.74 (239 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.75) Hero is MP with A♣ A♦
1 fold, Hero raises to $1.50, 2 players fold, SB calls $1.25, BB 3-bets to $2.50, Hero 4-bets to $10, 1 fold, BB calls $7.50

Flop: ($21.50) T♣ 6♥ Q♥ (2 players)
BB bets $15.32, Hero raises to $53.27 (all-in), BB calls $37.95

Turn: ($128.04) A♥ (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($128.04) K♣ (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $128.04 (Rake: $4)

Showdown:
MP (Hero) shows A♣ A♦ (three of a kind, Aces)
(Equity - Flop: 76%, Turn: 23%, River: 0%)

BB shows K♠ J♠ (a straight, Ten to Ace)
(Equity - Flop: 24%, Turn: 77%, River: 100%)

BB wins $124.04




Bovada / Ignition, Hold'em No Limit - $0.25/$0.50 - 6 players
Replay this hand on Pokeit - https://pokeit.co/public/2Ib1Zejn4YrTUd/r

UTG: $36.96 (74 bb)
MP: $50.00 (100 bb)
CO: $29.04 (58 bb)
BU: $54.52 (109 bb)
SB (Hero): $67.51 (135 bb)
BB: $61.71 (123 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.75) Hero is SB with A♠ Q♠
2 players fold, CO raises to $1.50, BTN calls $1.50, Hero 3-bets to $8, 2 players fold, BTN calls $6.50

Flop: ($18) 8♥ A♦ 9♦ (2 players)
Hero bets $9.05, BTN raises to $18.10, Hero raises to $59.51 (all-in), BTN calls $28.42 (all-in)

Turn: ($111.04) Q♥ (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($111.04) 4♥ (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $111.04 (Rake: $4)

Showdown:
SB (Hero) shows A♠ Q♠ (two pair, Aces and Queens)
(Equity - Flop: 76%, Turn: 70%, River: 0%)

BU shows J♥ 9♥ (a flush, Queen high)
(Equity - Flop: 24%, Turn: 30%, River: 100%)

BU wins $107.04




Bovada / Ignition Zone, Hold'em No Limit - $0.25/$0.50 - 6 players
Replay this hand on Pokeit - https://pokeit.co/public/2Ib1Zejn4YBp5s/r

UTG: $24.25 (49 bb)
MP: $52.24 (104 bb)
CO: $50.39 (101 bb)
BU: $35.48 (71 bb)
SB (Hero): $50.69 (101 bb)
BB: $43.14 (86 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.75) Hero is SB with K♦ Q♣
2 players fold, CO raises to $1, 1 fold, Hero 3-bets to $3.50, 1 fold, CO calls $2.50

Flop: ($7.50) T♣ A♣ J♣ (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $3.57, Hero calls $3.57

Turn: ($14.64) 4♥ (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $10.43, Hero raises to $30.30, CO raises to $43.32 (all-in), Hero calls $13.02

River: ($101.28) Q♥ (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $101.28 (Rake: $4)

Showdown:
CO shows 8♣ 9♣ (a flush, Ace high)
(Equity - Turn: 86%, River: 100%)

SB (Hero) shows K♦ Q♣ (a straight, Ten to Ace)
(Equity - Turn: 14%, River: 0%)

CO wins $97.28



I jumped into the 100nl streets yesterday and won just over a BI. For this shot I want to win 15bi before I shot take 200nl. Given the tougher competition and variance I want more of a cushion, even with the money I have on the side. I also have a lot of my game to work on honestly. I'm not playing anywhere near optimal or balanced. I might get a RUI essentials sub for a month and see if I like it. I recognize some of the spots I need to work on and theory I need to understand better so my hope is their content will help me with that. If anyone has an opinion on RUI essentials let me know your thoughts.

100nl Shot Update

Jan 14th - Jan 19th

I won about $240 today so I'm running good to start this shot which is nice. I played less than in previous weeks but I've been putting in a lot of time to study, which has really elevated my game. One thing I really like about studying and learning is the confidence it gives you when you play.










I saw the musical "Wicked" over the weekend and it was pretty good. I liked the backstory and how it all tied into the movie but I must say the music was kinda boring imo. The actors had incredible voices but idk, boring song writing. "The Book of Mormon" was better overall and had better musical numbers.

I tried a pallet knife painting yesterday. I think it turned out ok, definitely a hard technique to master. It was fun to try though. It took me about 6hrs to finish but it helped take my mind off the terrible Kobe news.

Incredible painting, thanks for sharing!

Is the lady walking a monkey? Cool painting.

Thanks!

Thanks!
Lol sure, if that’s what you see. No wrong answers in art interpretation.

That's what I saw too - it's a beautiful drawing! I'm so envious of people that have artistic skill like that.

To be honest most of what I do is just following instructions, like the Bob Ross paintings. I think most people can follow along and create something cool if they had the supplies and desire to try one. You learn technique and why you layer certain things on the canvas, ect.

100nl Shot Update

I was running really hot at first then got murdered one session where I whiffed every flop, couldn't get bluffs thru... yada yada you've heard it all before. Just variance.









I told my friend today that it feels like when Kobe died we entered an alternative reality that we didn't belong to, wasn't on the same path as the one we were in before. He was my second favorite player ever behind MJ. He's the only other guy besides Michael who had that cut throat, ultra competitive nature. I'm blown away by how many people, many barely NBA fans, who felt deeply about his passing. If you haven't seen his short "Dear Basketball" that won him an Academy Award a few years ago I highly recommend you watch it. It's only 4 mins - I think the animation was done by a Disney artist and the musical score was done by John Williams who composes all the major movies you've seen.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6gkjqd

Update? Hope all is well.

It’s been a minute but here we go…

Quarantine
My wife and I have been lucky enough to keep our jobs and work from home. Working from home has been great but not being able to go out afterwards is where the fun ends. Our drinking consumption has gone up considerably! One really good thing that’s come out of this is I’ve organized a weekly private poker game with my 3 best friends who all live out of state. We use zoom and talk sh*t while we’re in hands, like the good ol’ days. We plan to keep this going even after the pandemic. One of my friends asked me about getting started online and building a bankroll. I got him set up and gave him some coaching but he’s not taking it seriously and doesn’t understand the amount of study and work it takes to get better at cash games. That’s totally fine, just would be nice to have a close friend who is as passionate about the game as me. Still, it’s been great connecting more with my closest friends and playing poker with them.

Dogs
Owen turned 1 in Feb and both he and Abby are doing great.



Sports
Anyone been watching the ESPN doc “The Last Dance”? Leading up to to last weeks premier I’ve been watching a ton of old Bulls clips on YouTube. Back then I didn’t realize how toxic Jerry Krause was or that he wanted to rebuild a championship team. WTF! . Also didn’t know we were so close to trading Pippen and that he wanted to leave. I hope the doc gives some credit to Toni Kukoc and shows everyone how valuable he was to the team back then. I’m really excited to watch the next 2 episodes this weekend. Also curious to see what the NBA plans to do about the season/playoffs. The other day I was thinking about how this impacts LeBron's stats and chances of reaching Kareem on the all-time scoring list. He still has a chance but this doesn't help.


Art
After my last oil painting (posted in this thread) I was super inspired and decided to venture into the world of acrylics. I found a few videos on some paintings I wanted to try out and used some old paint I still had from years ago to give it a try. Problem was the paint was too old and complete crap. It was blotchy and curdled.. first time I ever threw away a painting and it felt terrible. Still inspired, I decided to go buy some new paint and brushes, even picked out two paintings I was going to do and send to my sisters. The new paint is still sitting in a Hobby Lobby plastic bag and my new brushes are still in their package. I haven’t had the desire to paint since then and I even feel guilty when I think about it. I’m sure I’ll pick it back up again at some point, just can’t force things like that.


Poker
Where I left off in my last post I was shot taking 100nl. That didn’t go so well, combo of run bad and bad play in big pots. I lost about 5BIs and started to lose the desire to play anymore. I stopped playing all together and just kept my roll on Ignition until the Galfond Challenge was about mid-way through. I’d watch his live streams on Twitch while at work and it got me interested in learning PLO. I started studying the game more and more until I finally logged back onto Ignition to start grinding 10PLO. I was really feeling passionate about learning this format and excited just to learn in general… then Covid-19 hit. Online games were popping off and I started playing more NLHE with my friends. I was conflicted between which format to play online, PLO or NLHE. I jumped into a 100NL game on Ignition to feel it out and saw some atrocious play, then decided it was in my best interest to play NLHE again. Another thing that inspired me to play again was a recent Phil Galfond interview where he explained that when he started his challenge with VeniVidi he was trying to play like a solver on every street, instead of taking any exploitative lines. Once he stopped doing that and used his strength as a player to exploit Veni he started to crush. I was feeling the same way when I was shot taking 100nl. I remember making plays because it was GTO even though I knew it was going to lose money. I was too focused on playing “right” or GTO vs making the actual right play given the info I had or confidence in myself to deviate. I’ve been playing 50nlz since then and doing well, and the roll is almost where it once was at my previous peak. I’m planning to play there awhile (or 100nlz when it runs) until I’m comfortable with shot taking 200nlz. Poker has been a great escape for me during this time.

That's all I have for now... Hope everyone is safe and doing well!

Ok, let’s get back at it. I’m planning to update this at least on a weekly basis poker-wise and more for non-poker related discussions.

I think Goals are inherently too broad and make it difficult to attack in a way that’s lasting long-term. So I plan to focus on Challenges instead, in hopes I can utilize the snowball effect to tackle steps in achieving my overall goals. I think focusing on the baby steps/adjustments are important while steering towards where I want to be as a player and as a person.

Challenges
Meditation challenge (30 days, 30mins - then 30 days, 60mins - Inspired by Naval's (@naval on twitter) 60 day Meditation challenge. This will be the hardest to implement for me )
Less Drinking (Days a week: (6,5,4,3,2/per week - one day less per week until I get to only 2)
Less/no Social Media: (Only 2+2 allowed)
Writing: (2+2 for now)
Maintain Workout Routine: (Upper/Yoga/Lower/Yoga/Upper, etc)
Hydration: (150oz per day)
Reading: (70 pages per week)
Art: (TBD - I want to try painting acrylics more and dabble into photography again. I need to finalize my challenges here)

I plan to elaborate and update on this challenge list more as we dive into the upcoming weeks.

POKER

I recently moved down to 25nl due to a downswing I experienced in at 50nl:



Instead of depositing more money I decided to hire a coach. Found some leaks and decided for quality over quantity. My Challenge is to reach 50nl again by end of the year, without adding money from my job to my bankroll. I'll be playing MMTs here and there but focus is on Cash for now.

25nl since moving down:




More to come. Excited for the life/poker grind ahead...

Hey good to hear you're doing okay with the pandemic. Nice run good in your latest graph btw.

Any new paintings to share? I particularly like to see those!

Thanks man. I haven't painted anything in months but hope to in the coming weeks. I had 2 paintings in mind and bought all the supplies for them so now it's just a matter of being motivated to do it.

Well you can use the fact that I'm waiting to see them as motivation xd

Haha I will, it def helps!

This is the most wholesome PG&C on the site.
GL

Thanks for the GL, and nice words. It inspired me to think back on some perhaps non-wholesome parts of my life but some experiences that are important to me and fun to share.

I’ve always admired people who were contrarians, well most the time anyways. I think it’s because part of me related to that attitude or point of view. Growing up I always questioned traditions. I still do. I looked up more to the celebrities who went against the grain than those who “played the part” and kept it peachy keen. There was just something genuine about someone who opposes the status quo and asks “why are we doing this or thinking this way?”.

One of my favorite contrarians was the author Hunter S. Thompson. Back in 2007 one of my best friends handed me his book, ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’ and said “Here, you gotta read this ****!”
I knew of the movie at the time but I had no idea what it was about or who he was. In the coming weeks I was instantly hooked… Hunter S. Thompson became my gateway drug. After reading that book I watched the film and fascinated over the idea of hallucinating; seeing or feeling things that aren’t really there. He wasn’t the only influence but a major one at the time.

From there I didn’t go off the deep by any means but dabbled some. Here’s a summary of the limited experiences I’ve had with various drugs:

K-12 - It’s was a synthetic weed sold legally in local head shops. I smoked it around 20 times total. It mimicked a high close to weed but left me feeling odd. Much akin to the feeling I get when I drink a Diet Coke versus a regular Coke. I feel off, my body doesn’t like it.
Acid - It’s the biggest bummer for me on this list and something I’d be willing to try to this day. I tried this only once and it didn’t work.
Ecstasy - This is my favorite drug by far. I never experienced the feeling of pure, unfiltered love like I did when I took ecstasy. I’ve taken this four times in total and would do it again in a heartbeat. The days following the experience most people feel down or depressed due to the dopamine dump the drug demands but following all of my trips my level of happiness and outlook on life were at an all time high. I found some old photos I took during one of these trips:

Keith's Phone Light Show:









Mushrooms - I’ve tried this only once with my best friend and it didn’t go so well. At first it was great, full of laughter and happiness. Then his dad came home and I got paranoid and my mind went on auto-pilot. This was back when we had flip-phones and I was calling my home phone and hanging up over 100 times that night. When I sobered up I was freaking out but noticed none of the call attempts connected somehow. I learned that it’s very important to be on a good, safe place when experimenting.
Alcohol - In order, I love: Scotch, Red Wine, Jameson Whiskey, and Hazy IPA Beer. My biggest vice to this day. I blame the Irish in me.
Coke - I’ve only done this once and most recently, about three years ago at my best friend’s bachelor party. We went to a strip club and one of my friends offered it to me in the bathroom. This was the scariest one I’ve tried. I really enjoyed it. It felt like a pill of aspirin was dripping, drop by drop down the back of my throat and I noticed I was talking a lot to everyone… I realized it in the moment because I’ve always heard people on coke talked a lot, but I didn’t care at the time. That explains it I guess…
Vicodin - Right after Moneymaker won the WSOP ME I broke my hand punching my best friend in the shoulder, during a punch off battle we had after many of drinks. That’s a really fun story for some other time… My hand was wrapped in a cast and I was prescribed Vicodin for the pain. One of our friends found a poker game that following weekend and I decided to come along. I took my prescribed Vicodin and drank a few beers. I felt relaxed and wonderful, and ended up winning the MTT. I can see why people can get addicted to feeling that way but it wasn’t for me, thankfully.
Cigarettes - I smoked from 19-22 and quit cold turkey. After my mother passed in 2008 I started smoking again, but just for a year before I quit cold turkey again.

As I’ve gotten older I’ve lost most of the enthusiasm of experiencing an altered state of mind but I still appreciate it immensely and think at times it can be very beneficial. Nowadays I only smoke weed and drink alcohol but I think the work MAPS is doing with FDA approved trials of MDMA are fantastic, at least based on my very limited experience with the drug. However, when it comes to drugs and experimenting I think it’s more optimal to be a Nit than to dive in head first.

Poker Update

+$88.16

I didn’t get a lot of cash volume this past week. I don’t get much volume as it is given my schedule but this was small even for me. There’s good reason for that however. When I dropped down stakes to 25nl I wanted to limit my tables to mostly 1-2 and focus on quality. I found this to be super beneficial and helped me get out of auto-pilot mode in certain spots.




I also played a couple of 27-man SNGs, mainly due to my best friend’s influence. He’s been grinding them hard the last few weeks and convinced me to jump into one. They are insanely soft and a nice change of pace from cash. I also like how they only last 1-2hrs versus how long MTTs can run for. Officially for this weekly update I cashed 5th in one and placed 8th in another for a small $5 profit. I played 2 more last night and cashed 2nd and 1st in those for a profit of $145 (These will be reflected in the next weeks totals).




Random Thoughts on Random Things

Doug vs Dnegs - Is this really happening?! I used to be a huge Dnegs fan, back before Black Friday. As more things have come to light over the years I’ve lost respect for him. I think he’s a fantastic tournament player but he obviously has no chance in a HU cash match against Doug. Hope this actually happens on stream and I think it will be super entertaining. Man, imagine the luxury of having to choose between watching this or the next Galfond challenge on a given day…

David Choe gave Joe Rogan one of the most beautiful compliments I’ve ever heard a man say to another man: “You’re a perfectly imperfect, unrepeatable miracle of the universe.” I highly recommend you give the podcast a listen if you’ve never heard of David. He’s a self-loathing artist who has an incredible back-story.

“Meditation*is intermittent fasting for the mind. Too much sugar leads to a heavy body, and too many distractions lead to a heavy mind. Time spent undistracted and alone, in self-examination, journaling, meditation, resolves the unresolved and takes us from mentally fat to fit.” - Naval RavikantI
My goal this week was to meditate 30mins/day but I fell short and only managed 10mins/day for 4 days. There’s no reason I can’t give up 10mins of my day to complete this so that’s my goal for the upcoming week. I believe meditation will be one of the biggest net-positives I incorporate in my life. I’ve struggled with high anxiety most of my adult life and the little bit of meditation I’ve incorporated so far has helped me tremendously.

My wife and I started to rewatch the Harry Potter films; we finished the 3rd movie today. So far they are better than I remember. Other movies I’ve seen this year that I recommend, in order:
Ex Machina
Ad Astra
The King of Staten Island
The Invisible Man

Our youngest dog Owen has a very small bump on his lower back that’s been growing a tad. I’m optimistic that it’s nothing serious and plan to set up an appointment with the vet this week. He’s been doing great otherwise.



Stocks vs Bitcoin - I’m more bullish on Bitcoin than equity stocks in general, mainly due to the pandemic, the uncertainty that brings, and the forseeable negative earning’s reports from corporations, collectively. I don’t see a quick fix to the current situation so I think we’ll be in a recession for a couple of years. Hope I’m wrong and def can be but that’s my bet. Because of this, plus the fact that the US is printing more dollars, it makes me very bullish on Bitcoin. Naturally as the dollar losses value Bitcoin can only gain because it’s limited in supply. But again, I’m no expert here.


A look ahead for the upcoming week the plan is to keep working on implementing new habits and poker-wise, to play a lot more cash.

Wishing the best for Owen, I'm a sucker for the little guy based on the pics you've posted.

I think you're right to be bullish on BTC and I share your sentiment. No clue what's going to happen in the short term since there's already been a nice move up and we might see some consolidation..or it really could just moon, but I love it if you plan on holding for a long time and have a stop set for an amount where you can sleep at night (or if you're just willing to lose it all).

Meditation has helped me with anxiety, too. There's a huge difference between 10 mins and 30 mins, and 10 mins is nothing to be ashamed of. I say just make sure you're doing it your target amount of days/week and don't test your limits too much re: the amount of minutes if you're finding the length any kind of barrier to doing it. Have patience and just keep at it; it's a marathon, not a sprint (typing this to myself as much as you as I've also been working on expanding my meditation practice).

Looking forward to the next wave of paintings!