Skuz's Road to 500nl+ 2018
06-01-2019
, 06:48 AM
May Update
Monthly update for those who are interested.
For those of you who were wondering why I hadn't posted a monthly update for March and April, it was because I was overseas and didn't grind any online.
I will note (not shown in the graph, but I am running like 15~ buyins above EV since coming back).
To be completely honest I am not sure how I have managed to post such an impressive graph despite not playing online for nearly 3 months. I honestly thought I would come back an absolute terrible player as I did not study as much as I would like. I only really studied for SB vs BB (SRP) as the SB, 3b pots as the BB vs UTG and some BTN vs BB SRP. I also went through quite a lot of high stakes hands whenever I had long travel journies.
Obviously there is a lot of a run good. I am above EV and my card distribution has felt great.
It will be interesting to see how I move into June, my game has changed so much since February. I hate to say it but I think playing just over 300 hours of live poker on my trip has made me a different player (for better or for worse, I am not sure yet).
Major changes in my game that myself and my study group have noticed when reviewing hand histories. Overall I think I have become more an exploitative player.
- Using sizing tells way more
- Timing tells
- Hero calling more spots
- Bluffing a lot more
- Splitting ranges more
- Explo folding less?
- also a whole lot of weird ****
Personally, I think I have become a better player overall. My fundamentals have stayed constant but my exploitative style of my game has improved immensely (probably due to the live grind). My biggest concern about these changes are whether or not this new strategy will be implementable at higher stakes where the regs are a lot better and can probably adapt quicker to being led down parts of the game tree they have not studied for. That being said, some of the weird **** I do has been implemented in the higher stakes so I guess this might be still applicable as I move up.
The only issue I have with all this new stuff that I am doing is that I am finding myself punting and spewing way way way way more than I used to. I used to pride myself on minimising the spew but now I seem to rationalise it as "experimental". Until I correctly manage this spew tard skuz, I will not be progressing to 500nl.
Aside from all this ^^^ I am really enjoying being back on the online grind. I am motivated as ever to be back and working on my game. June and July will give me a better idea on whether I have become absolutely deluded or the new strategic changes will make a big difference to my progression up the stakes.
Also new video should be out tomorrow. Been in bed all day today sick. Will record tomorrow.
Last edited by skuzlad; 06-01-2019 at 06:54 AM.
06-02-2019
, 06:09 PM
Yeah I used to think timing tells were stupid but it looks like there is a recognisable and universal trend.
Been in the YT lab. Inclusive words make progress videos feel more inclusive and more personal to the viewer :P
06-03-2019
, 06:23 PM
Quote:
Also
I woke up this morning to find quite a few of my Road to 500nl videos removed by youtube because it was deemed as "inappropriate content". Has anyone experienced this and know of any solutions to fixing this?
06-20-2019
, 03:49 PM
Quote:
Since I am going to be busy in the next week or so (due to Christmas and New Years), I will not be putting in much volume for the rest of the year and have decided this is an appropriate time to do my review.
WARNING - LONGEST POST EVER
Before I get into my year review I will quickly post my December graph and some notes about December.
December was a strange month. Ran awfully at 500nl - losing 20 buyins but ran amazing at 200nlz winning 50 buyins. I netted +30~ buyins but only made like 600$ this month.
Start off with graphs and stats
***The results for below are purely for Ignition
***The results start from mid December 2017
*** 200nlz results change from the Summary and the graph? (not sure why)
Results by stake:
Overall Graph:
200z Graph:
200z Graph with SD winnings
I am honestly not sure where to start with this. There are some things I am happy with and there are some things I am disappointed with.
Negatives:
- Fell short of the 1m hands I wanted to grind out
- Regular table winrates (across all stakes) have been poor
- 500nl results are awful
Positives:
- Moved up from 50nl to 200nl within 1 month
- 200nlz results are very consistent
- Zone results are good
- Average hours per week seem reasonable (31hrs/week)
When I first sat down and constructed my 2 year poker plan. I set myself a 30k AUD goal target for 2018. So against my plan, I have exceeded this goal by more than 3x (including live poker and other sites/apps). Although I will set non-monetary goals for 2019 as I have learnt that monetary goals are ineffective.
Background context:
For those who are unfamiliar with my thread, I became a poker "pro" in mid December 2017. It all started when I arrived back in Australia from my 6 month trip to Europe and Japan. Whilst I was in Japan (in the last few weeks of my trip) I decided that I wanted to try make a living independently, away from my university degree and a standard 9-5 job. I constructed a very detailed 2 year plan that would essentially allow me to build up enough capital to start real estate investing by 2020. It basically involved three aspects - poker, investing and business. Poker would be the main source of income - the capital made from poker would immediately be invested (primarily stocks and crypto) and the business plan would be developed along the course of the 2 years and executed towards the end of 2019. If my objectives were not met then my plan would be immediately terminated and I would go look for a job. It doesn’t mean I give up but just means I need to be realistic about the situation and attempt a different path to my end objective.
Brief Recap of Year
Dec 2017 - Started playing poker again at 50nl on ignition. Started first "poker study group" with the trash reg/troll Bani.
Jan 2018 - Moved up to 200nl but had my worst downswing of the year (-47buyins). Mentally not prepared and took ~2 weeks off. Spent that two weeks working really hard on off table skills (mental toughness, discipline, ego and humility). Also developed a system with my friend that would improve routine and structure for my poker hours.
Feb 2018 - Came back and grinded myself out of the downswing and had my 3rd best month of the year
March -Apr 2018 - Increasing volume and consistently grinding
May 2018 - First serious population database analysis/study at 200nlz. Wrote up a number of reports for population - particularly on tendencies and exploits.
July 2018 - One of my worst months. First 500nl shot. Structure and routine all over the place due to the World Cup. Sleep schedule flipped around and overall quality of play was very low. A mid year wake up call to get my **** together.
August 2018 - Eliminated all bad habits and had my highest volume month (~96k hands) as well as my highest $ month despite failing a 500nl shot. My 2nd 100k hand challenge. Started a study group with Scottycorbett and Kiebhoy. Since the formation of this study group, my poker skills has increased 5x.
September 2018 - The month I felt the most burnt out. Continuing high volume lead to some performance issues. Study volume at an all time high.
October 2018 - Low volume month. Trip to Melbourne with study group and grinded the live scene for a week.
November -Dec 2018 – Broken and Updog joined study group. Multiple failed 500nl shots but 200nlz WR very high across this period.
Thoughts on poker full time
This year has been an awesome learning experience. I have learnt so much about myself grinding day in and day out. I have also made some friends a long the way which has helped with my ability to stay focused and improve on my game. Being a professional poker player is not as easy as people make it out to be. There is a lot of hard work and stress that is involved.
Finally I want to post a few Dos and Don’ts that I have learnt from this year. I am hoping these points may be helpful for those looking to play this game for a living.
-DO treat poker like a sport. Warm up (something I don’t do enough of). Review each session, train (study) and ensure you are at peak performance levels.
- DON’T set monetary goals/challenges – sets you up for stress and will significantly affect your performance
- DON’T overdo volume. Make sure you choose a sustainable level of volume that can be realistically maintained across the year.
- DON’T be aggressive with your bankroll. You need this capital to sustain your winnings. Always ensure that you are sufficiently rolled for your “main” (the one you are most comfortable/good win rate) stake. This will help with stress and performance.
- DO make friends within the poker community. You never know what kind of positive experience or opportunities may arise.
- DO try and join a study group. Make sure the people who join are motivated and hard working. Also make sure that they are the type of people you would be friends with outside of poker.
- DO make sure you live a healthy lifestyle. If your body is in good shape, so will your mind. Eat well, do physical activity, sleep well and socialise (cliché)
- DO set yourself a routine or at least some sort of weekly or daily structure. You need something core so that your mind builds habits. If you fall out of habits you will notice performance starting to decline.
- DON’T focus your study in a vacuum. Always tailor it to the population you play in.
- DO keep yourself accountable. I have this thread and my close friends outside of poker to do this. I have mentioned this before but my friend and I would email each other every morning with a plan of the day.
-DO construct a backup plan. If poker ends up failing or you lose interest, it is really important there is some sort of foundation that you can fall back on to make a living. Knowing I have a degree and some business/employment opportunities helps with stress.
*- DO ensure you improve/develop/study your mental game. This is by far the most important lesson I have learnt this year. Long term success in poker stems from this. In my opinion, it is way more important than table skill study. At the end of the day, this is your number one tool when playing. If your mind is not in good condition then your performance levels will probably drop. At elite levels of competition and sport, the difference between elite and non elite players is based on their mental (there are numerous academic articles on this).
I am sure there are a few more other tips that I might add later but these are the main ones that come to my mind.
TLDR
- Results at 200nlz were good, rest were average or poor.
- Proud of my work ethic across the year
- Improved my poker skills across the year
- If you are wanting to become a pro – make sure you preserve and improve your mental game no.1 important aspect in my opinion.
2018 Review
Since I am going to be busy in the next week or so (due to Christmas and New Years), I will not be putting in much volume for the rest of the year and have decided this is an appropriate time to do my review.
WARNING - LONGEST POST EVER
Before I get into my year review I will quickly post my December graph and some notes about December.
December was a strange month. Ran awfully at 500nl - losing 20 buyins but ran amazing at 200nlz winning 50 buyins. I netted +30~ buyins but only made like 600$ this month.
Results for 2018:
Start off with graphs and stats
***The results for below are purely for Ignition
***The results start from mid December 2017
*** 200nlz results change from the Summary and the graph? (not sure why)
Results by stake:
Overall Graph:
200z Graph:
200z Graph with SD winnings
Poker Results Review
I am honestly not sure where to start with this. There are some things I am happy with and there are some things I am disappointed with.
Negatives:
- Fell short of the 1m hands I wanted to grind out
- Regular table winrates (across all stakes) have been poor
- 500nl results are awful
Positives:
- Moved up from 50nl to 200nl within 1 month
- 200nlz results are very consistent
- Zone results are good
- Average hours per week seem reasonable (31hrs/week)
When I first sat down and constructed my 2 year poker plan. I set myself a 30k AUD goal target for 2018. So against my plan, I have exceeded this goal by more than 3x (including live poker and other sites/apps). Although I will set non-monetary goals for 2019 as I have learnt that monetary goals are ineffective.
My Experience as a Poker "Pro"
Background context:
For those who are unfamiliar with my thread, I became a poker "pro" in mid December 2017. It all started when I arrived back in Australia from my 6 month trip to Europe and Japan. Whilst I was in Japan (in the last few weeks of my trip) I decided that I wanted to try make a living independently, away from my university degree and a standard 9-5 job. I constructed a very detailed 2 year plan that would essentially allow me to build up enough capital to start real estate investing by 2020. It basically involved three aspects - poker, investing and business. Poker would be the main source of income - the capital made from poker would immediately be invested (primarily stocks and crypto) and the business plan would be developed along the course of the 2 years and executed towards the end of 2019. If my objectives were not met then my plan would be immediately terminated and I would go look for a job. It doesn’t mean I give up but just means I need to be realistic about the situation and attempt a different path to my end objective.
Brief Recap of Year
Dec 2017 - Started playing poker again at 50nl on ignition. Started first "poker study group" with the trash reg/troll Bani.
Jan 2018 - Moved up to 200nl but had my worst downswing of the year (-47buyins). Mentally not prepared and took ~2 weeks off. Spent that two weeks working really hard on off table skills (mental toughness, discipline, ego and humility). Also developed a system with my friend that would improve routine and structure for my poker hours.
Feb 2018 - Came back and grinded myself out of the downswing and had my 3rd best month of the year
March -Apr 2018 - Increasing volume and consistently grinding
May 2018 - First serious population database analysis/study at 200nlz. Wrote up a number of reports for population - particularly on tendencies and exploits.
July 2018 - One of my worst months. First 500nl shot. Structure and routine all over the place due to the World Cup. Sleep schedule flipped around and overall quality of play was very low. A mid year wake up call to get my **** together.
August 2018 - Eliminated all bad habits and had my highest volume month (~96k hands) as well as my highest $ month despite failing a 500nl shot. My 2nd 100k hand challenge. Started a study group with Scottycorbett and Kiebhoy. Since the formation of this study group, my poker skills has increased 5x.
September 2018 - The month I felt the most burnt out. Continuing high volume lead to some performance issues. Study volume at an all time high.
October 2018 - Low volume month. Trip to Melbourne with study group and grinded the live scene for a week.
November -Dec 2018 – Broken and Updog joined study group. Multiple failed 500nl shots but 200nlz WR very high across this period.
Thoughts on poker full time
This year has been an awesome learning experience. I have learnt so much about myself grinding day in and day out. I have also made some friends a long the way which has helped with my ability to stay focused and improve on my game. Being a professional poker player is not as easy as people make it out to be. There is a lot of hard work and stress that is involved.
Finally I want to post a few Dos and Don’ts that I have learnt from this year. I am hoping these points may be helpful for those looking to play this game for a living.
-DO treat poker like a sport. Warm up (something I don’t do enough of). Review each session, train (study) and ensure you are at peak performance levels.
- DON’T set monetary goals/challenges – sets you up for stress and will significantly affect your performance
- DON’T overdo volume. Make sure you choose a sustainable level of volume that can be realistically maintained across the year.
- DON’T be aggressive with your bankroll. You need this capital to sustain your winnings. Always ensure that you are sufficiently rolled for your “main” (the one you are most comfortable/good win rate) stake. This will help with stress and performance.
- DO make friends within the poker community. You never know what kind of positive experience or opportunities may arise.
- DO try and join a study group. Make sure the people who join are motivated and hard working. Also make sure that they are the type of people you would be friends with outside of poker.
- DO make sure you live a healthy lifestyle. If your body is in good shape, so will your mind. Eat well, do physical activity, sleep well and socialise (cliché)
- DO set yourself a routine or at least some sort of weekly or daily structure. You need something core so that your mind builds habits. If you fall out of habits you will notice performance starting to decline.
- DON’T focus your study in a vacuum. Always tailor it to the population you play in.
- DO keep yourself accountable. I have this thread and my close friends outside of poker to do this. I have mentioned this before but my friend and I would email each other every morning with a plan of the day.
-DO construct a backup plan. If poker ends up failing or you lose interest, it is really important there is some sort of foundation that you can fall back on to make a living. Knowing I have a degree and some business/employment opportunities helps with stress.
*- DO ensure you improve/develop/study your mental game. This is by far the most important lesson I have learnt this year. Long term success in poker stems from this. In my opinion, it is way more important than table skill study. At the end of the day, this is your number one tool when playing. If your mind is not in good condition then your performance levels will probably drop. At elite levels of competition and sport, the difference between elite and non elite players is based on their mental (there are numerous academic articles on this).
I am sure there are a few more other tips that I might add later but these are the main ones that come to my mind.
TLDR
- Results at 200nlz were good, rest were average or poor.
- Proud of my work ethic across the year
- Improved my poker skills across the year
- If you are wanting to become a pro – make sure you preserve and improve your mental game no.1 important aspect in my opinion.
06-28-2019
, 01:35 PM
