Thanks everyone, feeling over the moon about everything still!



Wow thanks so much man, last sentence made my day




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I'm headed to the airport in a few hours to (finally) go on my honeymoon that orignally got postponed 1.5 yrs ago from Victoria's surgery. We're both fully vaxxed so feeling fairly safe going and just ready for a good week off.

As far as poker (Surprisingly little poker talked about since this is an actual poker blog ) I am chomping at the bit to dive headfirst into it. Playing time has been fairly constrained and last 2 months have been on the slower end; expecting a massive summer.

I also do have pretty big personal news on the poker front but can't reveal just yet.

Will catch everyone soon, finish this month strong

Winning @ life

Enjoy your Honeymoon

Honeymoon





Honeymoon was great, it was such a relaxing time that I really needed. We stayed in the over the water bungalows and we got some of the best views I've seen in my lifetime.

It was really just nice to not think about poker/crypto/finances in general while I was gone.

The service was also amazing, our butlers (Kevin and Toni if you ever read this you guys were the best) made life as easy as possible .

Paid a pretty penny for it but it's really true you get what you pay for.


Back to reality

Unfortunately, lot of **** happened when I came back. The last day there it looks like I got bit by something (mites, bugs idk) but for the past week I've been covered in large bites taking up like 30% of my body.

The itch was horrific , felt worse than poison ivey. And playing poker was definitely distracting, hard to think what my range wants to do when my back is screaming "ITCH ME".

I am also in a very BE stretch and my blueline is absolutely tanking; but not much we can do about that.

Bank Issues

After almost 11 years at my bank (PNC), they've notified me that they're closing my account. I figure if they can close DNegs account than there's not much I can do lol.

It's very frustrating that this has happened due to withdrawals from my career which is 100% legal. Obviously the stigma of online poker can still be a *****.

That being said, I'm in great need of suggestions of banks that have worked for you. My account closes the 23rd and I need to get moving on a replacement.

Suggestions would be so helpful, thanks everyone

Health

While I've been good w the gym this year, I haven't been too good w my body overall. After the honeymoon, I reached 230 lbs, and for the first time in my life I'm overweight. I've gained 35 lbs over the pandemic and I can't lie I'm definitely feeling the weight.

Lack of activity and eating habits have been the main issues...so to combat that I'm going to track my calories for the short term (I did this in college and it worked well for me)

I have a bet with a fellow coach that hopefully fuels us both to do well, but in the interest of blog engagement and added motivation for me I will add a freeroll.

Freeroll

I will pay out a total of $10,000 US dollars in the event I am over 210 lbs by October 15th to anyone who answers (in this blog) this question.

What's your poker vision?




My Vision

When I was 23 and broke, sitting in an office chair making my 40th cold call of the afternoon. I wasn't thinking about money. I was thinking about poker! Not just playing poker...studying poker...being around poker... talking about poker...absorbing poker....poker.poker.poker.poker

I was obsessed. My vision was simply to play or be about poker as much as I wanted. Yes, there was a competitive factor of moving up in stakes but I distinctly remember the money aspect never being a driving factor (this was also why I was battling all the time in my early career)

After BTS, I was 25 and with my new knowledge I felt like I had superpowers, so to speak. So my vision had morphed, it wasn't just about playing poker... it was about being the best...

Now I didn't mean best in the world, but best in the pool was a good start.


I'm 28 now, married and have a kid on the way. And the reason I bring this up is because it was one of the first things me and Elliot Roe spoke about.

"So Jerrad, what is it that you want to get out of poker, what is your vision"?

The answer came to me immediately, but I forced myself to mull it over.

Was it playing poker? No, after 5 years of playing, while I enjoy playing the obsessive desire to play is gone

Was it being the best? No, that drive faded awhile ago and for me the ends don't justify the means

So I knew poker meant for me.

Poker is a vehicle to enhance my freedom and give me the opportunity to have complete financial freedom and time to spend it as I see fit when I eventually walk away from the game.


That's it nothing more and nothing less. The great thing is I have an opportunity to make that vision a reality.

So...What's your vision?

great post man. Especially this part

Loll throwing my hat in the 10k freeroll.

Our poker visions are pretty similar tbh. Don't really care too much about being the best.
Just want to do as well as possible in a 5-10 year stretch and move on to doing something else when i get bored.

Main appeal to me is free time and being able to throw business or professional etiquette, that come with a traditional career, out the window.

Nice! Well deserved man



I hope you hit the weight loss goal!

My current vision for poker is to eventually get to and thrive at high stakes over an extended period. There's a strong desire to be among the best one day mixed in there.

Poker is fun and freeing, however I would like it to also become a vehicle to fulfillment. Ideally, complete financial freedom will come as a byproduct of accumulating lots of EV over many years.

Did someone say freeroll? Lol

BoA has been great to me on the NJ sites, never had any issues since launch.

My poker vision has always been the same since that first shanty cash game in my college dorm freshman year. It’s to prove that I am better at this game than everyone else at the table. Winning is my drug and the cash incentive is just a little extra. I’ve thought about playing poker for a living but the stress is just not for me personally. It’s nice to be able to take a week long break after a downswing and not having to worry about living expenses. For the near future, I’d like to continue to keep poker as a fun hobby. Although I have been planning to retire early and become a winning OMC (is that a thing lol), it will allow me to retire ~20 years early and travel around the states.

Awesome to hear, thank you


I agree, think 9-5 job is just a complete non-starter for me. The dream is to never have to work again after poker.

But knowing me I'd just move onto another goal/skill that I'd like to take on


I think competitiveness is a big part for me enjoying the process of the game. I think in a world where had I a massive bankroll I'd love to play LLinus or Makeboifen and see how I measure up vs the best.

I think as I started a family, the aggressive nature of shottaking/battling has decreased as well.

We are of the same mind that poker = vehicle of fulfillment.



Yeah that's an option I'm looking for. I do think OMC's here are the king of winning 1-4bb so you are on your way

Yeah travel is definitely something on my retirement list. I do also agree that "outplaying" someone can give a kick of adrenaline.

Good posts guys I enjoyed reading them

Good luck 100% man. The pandemic has taken a toll on my health as well. I used to be really fit + healthy, working out 3x/wk and being of great weight. The first 6 months were terrible on me, gyms closed, all the healthy food places were struggling, and I gained 35 pounds. For the first time in my life I was overweight. Trying to lose the weight was a lot harder than I thought it would be, and progress was slow. Happy to say I was able to lose some of it at a rate of 0.8lb/wk for 7 months. It's a lot harder to lose the weight than put it on. Good luck sir and don't expect super fast results, enjoy the process.

It's interesting to note if it was a 100 dollar freeroll it would be more +ev for us. My poker vision is to first become a winning player. Then the goal would be to get a meaningful hourly. So about 10 euros.

Yeah, I've really noticed it on my knees. I used to be a good athlete in HS and last time I played pick up I could barely touch the rim (Pretty pathetic given my height)

I'm still 28 though so I'm hoping it can be somewhat moderate. Have been employing Yoga on top of my workouts and it's been a great stimulant both mentally and physically.


Haha but than it would be -EV for me! Awesome, I liked the ladder you put in that.

Doesn't get talked about enough, but for a non-zero type game winning is an accomplishment in itself.

Can't resist a good freeroll even if it's a 0%er, sure you'll hit your goal

"Poker vision" is a bit of an ambiguous term, but I do have goals in a few aspects. The first is as a financial vehicle, mainly as a means to financial independence. Not sure I'll be playing poker forever, but I'd like to secure myself financially through the game enough so that when I do transfer out I'm able to freely pursue whatever I'd like to.

Second is through the game itself - I doubt I'll suddenly find the work ethic or put in the hours to really compete with players at the highest levels, but I'd like to feel generally comfortable in all or almost all nodes of the games I'm interested in.

Being a strong, confident player able to live a flexible lifestyle and print ev in a wide variety of spots that arise, feeling in-control of the games I'm playing and never overwhelmed by what's going on at the table or weird lines villains are taking - that's somewhat of a poker goal for me. Whether that drives me to the point I'm extremely good, the point I'm pretty good but not among the best, or I burn out and quit long before reaching some semblance of competence in any poker variant..remains to be seen, hey

Looks like a pretty sweet honeymoon spot! Could definitely do with something like that.

For the freeroll - my poker vision is to create a profitable side hustle (hopefully among a few others) which helps me work towards financial independence, whilst still getting to fulfill my urge for competition.

Somewhat detrimental to my freeroll chances, but I've been using MyFitnessPal a heap lately and it's been pretty influential in dropping 10ish kgs for me (and that's already going from relatively lean 15%ish BF). It's easy to get pretty obsessive, and weigh every ounce of food you put in your mouth to make sure you're on top of it. The other thing I did was intermittent fasting in the first part of my weight loss/cut - but I think this is up to personal preference. Definitely helps cut out quite a few calories though.

GL!

Really hard to answer this, but it's infinite ev

...ok... i literally just wrote a novel, several pages long just anecdotes talking about how/why/what as needless filler

the tl:dr is that i want to live independently and poker can be a tool to help make that possible but it's not the only route, there are many routes available and they all mostly have less collateral damage in your life

i'm not ruling out a return to poker, in fact i see it as distinct possibility, i just think it's important not to make it your own personal identity anymore than your neighbor bob who works for allstate, he's just bob who happens to sell insurance

Poker has always been about freedom for me. I've always had the dream to be a stand up comic since I was a kid. When I worked a 9-5 and tried to go out at night to do sets it was horrible. Scared the **** out of me that I'll never get the opportunity to put the work in it takes to achieve my dream. Poker is starting to give me a way to pay the bills on a flexible schedule so I can stay up late and pursue the dream. That's why I moved to Hoboken to get the best of both worlds, online poker and the comedy clubs of nyc.

Recently discovered this thread and it's been awesome to read, makes grinding it out a little easier. Good luck with all your future aspirations.

I'm just tryna get better

Good stuff man. Yeah poker as a financial vehicle seems to be one of the biggest things for most players.

"Feeling in-control of the games I'm playing and never overwhelmed by whats going on"

Ah very interesting one, I think game selection definitely plays a big part in this. I find this is really relatable to the skill level you play. The strongest regs almost always make the game a bit more harder as they're overall strategy is much more unblemished and usually (although not always) have a bit more complex strategy.

I always have found that unfamiliarity=indecision=more mistakes. This is also a big reason why I mix sizings in some parts of my strategy. I'm betting I'm forcing more mistakes than they're making.

Good post!

Hey I'm also using myfitnesspal! That was my go to in college when I was really into my fitness.

Done a great job as far as exercise. Lifting/yoga and then running 2-3 days a week. Food has been a bit of a hit or miss as when I've had social events I usually don't eat great. Me and my wife shop pretty healthy too.

Poker as a side hustle I think is probably the best way to go for the majority of the population. Keep the love of the game high + extra income which just feels like gravy

I would've like to read you ramblings I would agree that there are a lot of potential pitfalls for poker. Yeah would also add that those who treat poker like a job/profession do the best as well

Good luck man, I can't imagine how nerve wracking that must be. I know you really got to put yourself out there.

Using poker as a vehicle to pursue your main dream is awesome. It seems like most of us are using poker as a way to get somewhere instead of just strictly playing cards.

Yeah Hoboken was a great time I'm sure you're loving it out there.


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What a month. It's been a crazy, hectic month as always but I've been really happy with my approach. Really just showing up and putting in the work both in the gym and with poker w the limited time I've had this month.

This has come after by far the worst financial month of my life. Absolutely not poker related at all either. Lot of financial lessons I've learned the hard way, but I wasn't completely reckless.

Down about 25% of my networth which sucks, but again have a strong conviction w what I put my money in.

Really happy that with the poker action very quiet I've still been grinding my lowstakes as hard as I can while I'm essentially losing 20knl in crypto lol.

Otherwise, I'm a bit stressed w money (first world problems for sure), the surrogacy expenses have had a few additional ones, and we weren't able to write off expenses as far as taxes which is a kinda big hit.

I'm also an idiot and grossly miscalculated how much I have to pay in taxes. So overall, in a bit of short term crunch but will be fine long term.

As far as poker, have ran really poorly most of the month (but thankfully not much action 5/10+) I was 23 BI down in blue line my first tracked 13k hands so feels like I had to squeeze water out of a stone.

11 days this month and then my schedule clears up... It's going to be a great summer

i actually saved it to a word file lol, can pm to you if you like

it's kinda negative though, mostly realized all my memories about poker weren't actually of poker and the only real poker ones were a gut wrenching bad beat and anglers

can relate to this, definitely hasn't been a fun week in the crypto streets.

worst case scenario, you can buy cheap crypto for a few years and then retire next bull market.

Crypto will continue to drop for the next few months, be careful and practice good Bankroll management!

I pretty much agree with all of this, it's definitely true that playing in easier games puts you in simpler spots where you feel more in control (or, in the cases with some recs playing absurd strategies...maybe you don't feel in control but you know they're handing you piles of ev anyway )

I think the key threshold for me is "feeling completely in control in games that generate enough income for a comfortable financially independent lifestyle." Not to ramble too much about myself but I've proven that I can do alright and generate enough to survive, but that's different from comfortably playing games that generate me $75-$100k a year and start getting me financially ahead.

If I could get to that point, maybe I'd still have aspirations to move up some and make more if I can see good opportunities, but I don't have the goal to be able to comfortably manage nosebleed spots with linus, makeboi, limi, etc!

Yeah go for it! I can def see that as a tournament player, w cash it's a little bit easier w the bad beats although I would say I've ran above average overall.

Yeah am with you on this one. Have about 25% of networth in crypto. Have lot of conviction with it. If it busts I have pain, but doesn't change my life. If it booms I'm a multimillionaire and pretty set for life.

I'm also very risk tolerant + high poker floor can be more aggressive w my investing

Eh definitely has shown bearish tendencies but who the heck knows at this point, can see a lot of possibilities. If I had to take a wild guess, feels like we'll have a choppy few months ahead.


yeah feel very similar about this. Poker's a hard game though, I def get at least a few spots a session where I'm unsure what to do completely.

If I ever do get to the point where I'm financially set though I'd love to take a crack at llinus/mb as a measuring stick.

Maybe one day

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Had a good poker week last week, and great weekend.

Threw a surprise party for my wife for her 30th bday. Rented out a yacht on the Hudson (bull market buy? ), open bar, food for a few hours and it was a great time.

I got absolutely wrecked though and am just getting over the hangover.



*Best picture I could find of me which is saying something

Big update coming next week!

Great pic... wife looks like she mita had a few too many as well -)

Haha A+ read, appreciate it man; hope you and your wife are doing well as well!

End of an Era

About 85% of my career has been involved with BTS. Firstly as a student, then since 2018 as a coach.

After today, I am no longer a coach with BTS.

There's no drama or any ill will to report. I have a very strong relationship with all those guys and with my recent success in poker, it was in the best interest for me and my family to really just focus on myself, especially with the direction poker is leaning towards in the US.

I love coaching. Getting to teach about a game I love is great and I do enjoy molding/improving others games, I met a lot of great people doing it. On the flip side, it was a big time commitment and on certain days could be a grind.

Overall, the time ran its course but I'll always be grateful for my time coaching there; although I will be doing some work for them as an ambassador (a few future streams are definitely in the cards) and I will be doing a monthly webinar for the upcoming BTS Academy.

It's my first coaching content that's ever available for public use so it's actually kind of exciting in that regard. These commitments though are very very small and will be less than 5 hours per month.

Coaching going forward


I get asked about coaching a decent amount so I figured I'll just put it here. I'm not looking to do any additional coaching for the remainder of 2021.

As I said, I love coaching, but it's time to really focus on strictly myself when it comes to poker. This will allow me to put a lot more time into my game and I'm truly excited for that as well as just being able to spend more time with the baby.

Speaking of baby...

Baby Updates

Everything is all good on this end. We just did our 20 week ultrasound. Was really, really cool seeing everything. Hard to believe she's gonna be here in less than 5 months.

It's kind of funny, she's not even here yet and I just feel motivated to do as much as possible. I was extremely productive this month.

I managed 60k hands even with a decent coaching schedule/ doctor visits/ and other random social events.

As far as weightloss, i dropped 7 pounds. Doing a great job working out and yoga's been awesome; really helping my tilt threshold

Other than that, not much to update everyone on. Gonna just continue to improve and think I'm really capable of still taking big leaps skill wise.

Good luck to everyone in June