Seen the Doctor, it's not good news...

...I've been diagnosed with a severe case of FPS, and it's incurable it seems. I've got it real bad. :( It's killing the confidence in my game as my graph goes up, and then I go and ruin it all, by doing something like: shoooovvvinng. Sorry, had to add the Sinatra in there.. I had a 10/8 nit open UTG, we're both effectively 200bb's deep and I call with KQs OTB, there's a 80/xx drooler in the blinds and he's coming along so I'm happy. Flop is JJQr, UTG leads out I call, and the SB fish calls too (he's all-in). The turn is a 9 of diamonds, which gives me a TP, a gutshot and a flush draw, so I call another bet, and the river bricks off and UTG takes a while before checking to me. Now, I can check behind here and lose the hand, or I can shove 150bb's deep and get this fucker to fold AA/KK, which I think a 10/8 is weeellll capable of doing, so I take a little, and over shove the pot, which I've done earlier and shown down a set, so my image is good, but no, he insta calls, I actually think he clicked the 'call any' button because it was virtually before I even pressed shove, and he flipped AA and scooped a 375bb pot.

The table breaks as the fish has gone, and he says "the fish has gone so I'm off too" and I was like "that river, I thought I could get you off AA/KK" He sits for about 15 seconds more, and leaves. With my money. FML.

Back to the original subject though, by far my biggest leak is FPS. Really, it's got really bad recently since watching some LAG videos, I've upped my 3bet a lot more and don't have the acquired aggression to follow through on later streets if called on the flop, it's like I instantly put them on overpairs which they aren't folding, or TP which would require me to fire 3 barrels, which has never ever worked when I do it.

When I concentrate I crush 25NL, but then I ruin it at the end of session by doing stupid things, making moves. I know I'll plug it eventually, but it's frustrating because it's holding me back from moving to 50NL, I think I'm actually going to create a custom felt for my tables that says "DON'T SPEW. Stop. Think. Fold." Or something along those lines, because it's a hench leak which has me by the horns and won't let go.

Your leak is Concentration

Ever since I was a kid, my school reports would come back something along the lines of "very clever, but distracted too easily and has a lack of concentration." or "talks too much in class, but when he concentrates, he's a stop student." My weakness has always been concentrating for long periods, and when I put my mind to something I can excel, but it's focusing for long periods which is a weakness for me, and for a lot of others too.

In Poker, we need to make the right decisions when they come along, but to make the right decisions, we've got the focus on everything else that went on in the hand, like "what could villain could on the flop and then lead the turn with", or "what could villain raise the flop with but then check the turn with", instead of "I've got AA, we're stacking off here always." And that's the trap too many players fall into, not concentrating at the right times, but playing their cards for face value.

Yesterday I started a session and decided to really focus on my hands, and I found that talking aloud to myself was critical to this. I wasn't thinking about anything else, I wasn't listening to music, I was just watching everything around me and discussing my thought process aloud, and it worked like a treat. I was taking down a lot of small pots and my profits for the session were growing, where as without concentration, more often than not your HEM/PT line is going down until it comes across a big pot, then it dwindles again, before it comes to another big pot.

I felt myself wiening off my peaks levels, and as I did, my profits started shrinking as the session went on, I was making decisions off the cuff because I had a big hand, and I wasn't thinking too much before I clicked, and this has accounted for a whole amount of profits, massive amount, amounts you wouldn't believe. I was up 2BI last night before making 2 decisons which took me back down to ground zero, all because I wasn't concentrating on the hand when it was a clear fold, even with a straight.

If you find yourself losing concentration in session, quit. It's as simple as that, you're losing a ton of value, and a ton of money. Don't play because you wanna rack up 40k hands this month, it's just not worth losing $$$ over. Talk aloud and make the right decisions, maybe even record the session with Camtasia if it helps you talk aloud as standard, it helps, a lot..

Dilemma, Help Me!?

Ok, I've spotted a 22" monitor in the Stars Store, it's sexy as fuck, and this is it.Now I have 10k FPP's, this baby cost 26k. I can earn about 4k per month give or take with GoldStar, so it'll give me about 4 months IMO, although I'd hope to be at 50NL by then, so I'd say 3 months, max 4. The dilemma is, whether I should move to FullTilt for Rakeback? I have an RB account over there but the player pool just seems so much smaller than Stars, and I've heard it's definitely a lot tougher because of the reg:fish ratio. I don't mind sitting with regs at my tables as I feel I can exploit a lot of their weak tendencies, but having a bigger pool will definitely make it more benifical, but is it worth going with RB for it?

Or should I stay another month @ Stars until I've gotten a better winrate at 25NL, and then move to FullTilt? HELP!

Well, I lied

So I have played a little bit of teh Pokerz in the last couple of days.

Up a few BI, I played a good session tonight but ran okay, and I've steamed through 'What Would Joe Tall Do', which I'll name WWJTD from now on if ever mentioned. He's a limit players so obviously doesn't have the same mindset others have, as some of his plays have shown in the video, but having a DC Exec. with him, they kinda clear the mindset and give a whole new thinking of the hand, it's very good so far, definitely the most interesting series thus far in terms of the spots you get in every day.

Goals wise, I've marked all this months down as I won't be playing much on the weekend (I probably lied here too). I've put a K (for kinda) down on 25NL, as although I beat it, it was swingy and not very convincing, so I wouldn't call it consistent, but I would say the porblems were completely my fault, so I was 50/50 on that one, plus I didn't want a negative. ><

Will probably stick another post up at the end of August, for now chums.. (and btw, have reached GoldStar for the month the other day, good news.)

No more grinding until September

So I've decided to take a couple of days off. I withdrew $150 from my $750 roll to buy a couple of pairs of jeans and I ran bad pretty bad after that. I played very bad aswell, for the first time ever I shoved in anger with a gutshot and villain snapped with AJ high, and he held. I was just running so bad, getting so infuriated with getting c/r on the driest of boards, all my cbets were being called down, and I wasn't in the mood to adjust to it, I was just feeling so annoyed at the time.

I finished watching Unconventional Wisdon the other day aswell which was a sick series, prolly gonna give it another watch some time as I missed a lot out, but I feel I learnt a bit from the series on the whole, and next up, 'What Would Joe Tall Do'? I like what I've seen of it thus far, so it looks good.

I'll set my goals for September now as I wanna get straight into it when it comes around, I wanna watch a whole series before then and just refine my game a little as it's gotten a little stale imo.

• Beat 25NL for over 7bb/100.
• Play at least 25k hands.
• Watch at least 2 video series'

I feel 7bb/100 is a start, I had a rocky month and came out on top before my swing/bad play, so if I can work on my game a little and refine so rough edges, it'll give me a good base to work on and eventually crush it, little steps I guess.

[x] 6 months [x] my birthday [x] $1k

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/54/poker-beats-brags-variance/x-6-months-x-my-birthday-x-1k-565594/

Gogogogo

Job, College and Poker

Okay so I had an interview on Saturday, which went very well. Said I would have got the job on the spot 12 months ago but in the recession their getting so many good applicants for jobs that he needs to go away and think about it, so he said he'll give me a call in a few days after he interviewed the rest of the applicants. Really hoping I get it, like desperately hoping I get it.

I rung my college and spoke to finance, they said the course is £1.3k, which is a big no no at the moment. Unless of course my 2 NVQ's don't count as full NVQ's for the coming year, which I hope to God is the case, and I also hope that if I'm able to do the course without paying, that the hours aren't too long as if I get the job, the hours are 17:30-21:30 Mon/Tue/Wed, and 18:30-22:30 on Thur/Fri, so I don't wanna have to turn down college because I'm working silly hours.

In all honesty, the only reason I'm going back to college is for a bigger circle of friends, something to do in the day, and some more qualifications. I'd prefer to play Poker for a living over anything else realistic at the moment, and although I really would like to go into computing, I don't wanna borrow money from family when I know they can't afford it, and then in 3 years down the line finish college and not even get a career in the field to follow it up, give them the money back and say "thanks, but I didn't even need it."

Poker wise I took a day or two off last week because I was playing well behind my best, and it was costing me. I was real tired too the majority of the week do I didn't feel like grinding. I put in 500 hands last night and was up just under a BI, although it should have been a lot more. In general I'm finding 25NL easy, I just fail to make lay downs and continue to make stupid river calls, so I need for that to change before I gain a decent WR, I don't even look at my WR that's how meh it is, I think I'm just breaking even.

Football started on saturday, fuck yeah! 6-1 away to Everton, sick result and a sick performance. Got Celtic away tonight which won't be easy, generally we're the better team, but at Parkhead I believe they could probably beat most teams in the world, their fans are pretty much like their 12th man over there, so an early goal or two to silence them would be perfect for the rest of the night. I'd settle for a score draw (away goal), although a clean sheet and a win would be perfect.

First time 24 tabling

So yesterday I decided to give 24 tabling a go for the first time. I've 12 tabled and 16 tabled before but I gave 24 tabling a shot and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, except my eyes started bleeding after an hour and I quit +2BI. It was only 10NL as I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it at 25NL obviously, and I was as high as +5BI until I got AKs in against AA pre, and got 2 outered on 3 different occasions, but it was a good experience I guess.

Hit a bit of a swing at 25NL, although I was playing far from my best game, I mean real far. I got into spots I shouldn't have, made a call when I knew I was beat (villain shoved for pot on 65AA8 river, and I had AQ, it's probably a piss easy fold, I don't think he does this with A7-AJ, and of course he flipped 88. Got QQ in against T8o on T74tt flop and he spiked a T on the turn obv.

College wise I've gotta give them a ring in the next few days and see how much I've gotta pay for the course. Of course I can withdraw my roll, and I wouldn't even care if I had to withdraw my entire roll, I would love to get a coaching/stake deal from 2+2. Kinda difficult to look for a job right now too as I don't know what's going on with college and what days I'll be there, so although I'm still looking it'll hard to apply for full-time jobs when I start college in 4 weeks..

Birthday in about 8 days too! Going out with 2 good mates on the saturday, and the saturday after prolly go down the pub 'n watch the Arsenal/Man Utd game with a mate I went to school with, probs won't get too pissed. Not.

SilverStar for next month and update

So I've played about 13k hands so far this month, so I'm nearly half way to completing my prop bet with Prem. I've racked up about 1.3k VPP's aswell so Silver's in the bag, and I only need about 1.7k for Gold, so unless I get sick ill or something, I don't see it being a problem.

Last night was a good night, was sitting at one table 500bb's deep at one stage, in which I won my biggest pot - http://www.pokerhand.org/?4566106 Obviously I snap fold the flop and the turn if the UTG limper folded either pre or flop, but I just new the SB had a monster, I'd sat with him for 500 hands at the table, he'd let me steal a whole bunch without playing back, so when he 3bet I guessed he had a monster. I originally put him on KK+, and I was hoping it was AA as he'd have had a lot more equity on the turn once I hit my straight. Don't know what UTG was thinking though, fortunately he played it so badly I was allowed to see a turn. SH1P IT!

I'm finding 25NL quite easy, if a little swingy, I just need to choose my spots a little wiser and try not to spew in spots which should be avoided. By the end of the month I want to try and get my garph going up consistently, instead of up, down, up, down, up, down and back up.

All these 5am's (and then waking up 4 hours later) I keep having are having an effect though, I'm fucked. =(

Downswong

Hit my worst downswing so far, was only 5BI but in the space of time it happened, it was pretty sick, I cut my sessions short because of it. I felt myself tilting and I couldn't win a hand to save my life, I was putting a lot of money in and having to fold on the turn or river because of certain circumstances.

All my big hands were hitting the wettest flops possible, like AQs on a QT9 monotone flop to which I was check raised on, I figured the villain is never value raising anything I beat, and he's never ever bluffing on a board like this so it's safer to lay it down than see a turn card and still have to fold a brick.



So that's my graph for the last few days, as you can see I ran okay for the first 1.5k hands, and it just went down hill from there, had my best day ever, $119, then had my worst day ever the very next day, -$116. Probably grind some tonight and see if I can ride it out, or just move to 10NL for some fun to blow off some steam and get over it there while crushing the terrible players down there.

Not sure how many hands I've done this month, but I must be nearing 7k I think, which is good because I'm on track. I'm also on track to achieve Gold Star next month at Stars too, earned 638VPP's this month and we're only on the 6th day, so if I can get 100 per day Goldstar will be mine. Not sure why I'm even on Stars tbh, I could be making RB at FT while taking advantage of the $600 deposit bonus, I kind of wanted to get settled at 25NL before I switched sites, so we'll see how it goes, if I don't hit GoldStar I think I'll move next month.

Prop Bet with Prem + August Goals

Ok, so I've started a little motivational prop bet with Prem (eBuddy from SFM!), nothing major which'll effect either of our bankrolls, but just something little to get us each grinding. Basically he needs to play 25k hands (he plays 50NL), and I need to play 30k hands, with at least 15k of them being 25NL. I also need to finish unconventional wisdom on DC, which I'm 2 episodes through, although I may re-watch them if I have time. So yeah, only a $25 wager, I'm confident I'll do mine, and I'm pretty confident Prem won't reach his (sorry man). =)

As for August goals, well I don't wanna set a profit margin because I just wanna concentrate on getting better, working on better lines to take and figuring out others so I think I'm going to experiment this month with a few things. I want to beat 25NL consistently through the month, obviously play 30k hands, watch atleast 2 series' on DC and maybe I'll add something else in there too.

For now, bitches.