I only played about 3 hours today, but I still won a decent chunk of money. Our cable internet was finally supposed to be ready today, but of course when they came to set it up it couldn't go as planned. Our cable modem was linked to the account in my name and our account at our new house is under Josh's name so I had to be on the phone for about an hour getting that straightened out. Then once I got the modem working I couldn't get the router to work. I decided to take a break from fooling with that to play for a bit and I promptly got disconnected twice in about 15 minutes so back to work on the new internet I went. I finally got it working and played a fairly short session. I decided that I was going to give poker stars a try since they always have more full rung games running than full tilt does.
The games seemed pretty good there, but I suppose it could just be because none of the players on stars are used to the way I play. Then again, I don't know how they play either, but there seemed to be plenty of bad players on there.
On full tilt I lost $945, but I won $3689 for a total profit of $2,744. I need to get some poker tracker issues resolved with poker stars so I can just use that to see how much I won/lost each day.
Update on my challenge progress:
Online: +$9,508
Live: -$224
Total: +$9,284
Amount needed to reach goal: $10,716
That is some pretty good progress if I do say so myself! I still have about 8 or 9 days left to reach my goal. It will still be very tough, but I am really in the groove as far as my poker game and my willingness to put in the hours.
Time to go get some dinner and find something entertaining to do tonight.
**EDIT**
I couldn't think of anything exciting to do after dinner and I was bored so I decided to watch a cardrunner's video while I played two tables of 3/6 NL. I ran pretty well and won $734 in only 72 hands. I also goofed around and played some 30/60 Stud Hi/Lo with the intent to hit and run. I am definitely not a favorite in this game, but I thought it would be fun to goof around in. I ante'd off about $50 before I made a flush on my first 5 cards and he folded. I won $44 playing that a quickly left the game. So, I made an additional $778 to add to my challenge results.
They now look like this:
Online: +$10,268
Live: -$224
Total: +$10,044
Amount needed to reach goal: $9,056
Over half way there!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Meh...
I had another good day online winning $1330 in about 3,000 hands, but I lost $1468 playing 10/20 at the Bellagio. The game wasn't very good, but I told myself I was going to try to get more comfortable in that game so I played it anyway. I hate the feeling of thinking that other people in the game are better than me and it is no fun when they are the one applying the pressure to me. I don't really think they are better players than me, but it will just take some time before I get used to playing in a bigger game with deeper stacks. I had a few cooler hands today online, but I am sure I was on the good end of some that I am failing to remember. I am definitely feeling more comfortable playing the 5/10 games online. Full Tilt has a limited number of full ring games running at 3/6 and higher so I got some money on stars, because I noticed they have WAY more full ring games running than full tilt does. It will suck not getting rakeback while playing on there, but the FPP's you earn make up for that a little bit. Hopefully, the ability to play more higher stakes full ring games will more than make up for the lack of rakeback.
I need to hit the sack so I can get up and own some more people online tomorrow.
So far this is how my challenge is going:
Online: +$6,764
Live: -$224
Total: +$6,540
Amount needed to reach goal: $13,460
Today was my first losing day of the challenge. I won't be able to have too many of those if I am going to reach my goal. I suppose if I am going to have a losing day one where I lose $150 isn't so bad.
Sorry the content of my blogs has been painfully boring lately, but I am writing them more to keep myself motivated to reach my goals than anything else at the moment. I promise to post some cool stories or something entertaining soon.
I need to hit the sack so I can get up and own some more people online tomorrow.
So far this is how my challenge is going:
Online: +$6,764
Live: -$224
Total: +$6,540
Amount needed to reach goal: $13,460
Today was my first losing day of the challenge. I won't be able to have too many of those if I am going to reach my goal. I suppose if I am going to have a losing day one where I lose $150 isn't so bad.
Sorry the content of my blogs has been painfully boring lately, but I am writing them more to keep myself motivated to reach my goals than anything else at the moment. I promise to post some cool stories or something entertaining soon.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
I had a very up and down day.....
I ended up winning $1759 and I played a really long session online (about 6 hours). I increased the limits that I played and unfortunately I did the worst at the highest limit that I played. I played some 10/20 NL and lost a little over a buy-in there, but did very well in the 5/10 and 3/6 NL. The good thing about being uncomfortable when playing 10/20 is that it makes 5/10 and 3/6 not seem nearly as big and I am much more comfortable playing those. I am not quite sure that is the way it is supposed to work, but I guess whatever it takes to move up in limits will have to do.
I never was really down today, but I was up almost $4,000 at one point and I had a lot of other fluctuations along the way.
So after 2 days of really solid grinding this is what my 2 week/$20K challenge looks like:
Online: +$4,746
Live: +$1,224
Total: +$5,970
Amount needed to reach goal: $14,030
Just as it always seems to happen when I am in the mood to do some serious grinding I have a visitor in town tomorrow so I am not sure how much playing I will get to do tomorrow. One of my fraternity brothers, Ben Hendren and his wife Hope, are in town and we are going to go to Red Rock to hang out in the sportsbook and watch some NFL football.
**Edit**
Just as I was going to bed I had a message pop up on my computer that said I my seat was open in a game I had been waiting on. I had been on the waiting list for about 2 hours and one of the biggest fish online was still in the game. It was a 10/20 NL 6max deep table. I immediately got stuck $1400 while laying in bed and then I put an amazing cooler on the fish to end up winning $688. Real quick: I raised with KQ, he called with 66, the flop was QQ6 and I turned the 4th Q. Somehow he still paid me off about $1400 additional once the 3rd Q hit the turn....I don't know what he planned on beating, but it was still unlucky for him. In the 15 minutes I was in the game he went from having around $7K in front of him to being busted and off the site. Glad I got a little bit of it.
New challenge update:
Online: +$5,434
Live: +$1,224
Total: +$6,658
Amount needed to reach goal: $13,342
I never was really down today, but I was up almost $4,000 at one point and I had a lot of other fluctuations along the way.
So after 2 days of really solid grinding this is what my 2 week/$20K challenge looks like:
Online: +$4,746
Live: +$1,224
Total: +$5,970
Amount needed to reach goal: $14,030
Just as it always seems to happen when I am in the mood to do some serious grinding I have a visitor in town tomorrow so I am not sure how much playing I will get to do tomorrow. One of my fraternity brothers, Ben Hendren and his wife Hope, are in town and we are going to go to Red Rock to hang out in the sportsbook and watch some NFL football.
**Edit**
Just as I was going to bed I had a message pop up on my computer that said I my seat was open in a game I had been waiting on. I had been on the waiting list for about 2 hours and one of the biggest fish online was still in the game. It was a 10/20 NL 6max deep table. I immediately got stuck $1400 while laying in bed and then I put an amazing cooler on the fish to end up winning $688. Real quick: I raised with KQ, he called with 66, the flop was QQ6 and I turned the 4th Q. Somehow he still paid me off about $1400 additional once the 3rd Q hit the turn....I don't know what he planned on beating, but it was still unlucky for him. In the 15 minutes I was in the game he went from having around $7K in front of him to being busted and off the site. Glad I got a little bit of it.
New challenge update:
Online: +$5,434
Live: +$1,224
Total: +$6,658
Amount needed to reach goal: $13,342
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Predictions....
So last time I set a goal it was to play 30 hours online and win $5000 in a week. It has been two weeks since I set that goal and I am just now to the point where I have profited $5,000 online. I don't know how many hours I played in that time, but I am sure it was more than 30 and it took me longer than the week it was supposed to.
Recently, I have been talking to a few different really successful poker players whose approach to the game I respect a lot. We discussed a lot of stuff that was very interesting to me, but I was really surprised at how much money these guys claimed to have won and also how much they said they had spent on unnecessary things during their poker careers. I like to spend my fair share of money, but I have nowhere near the spending problems that these guys have. I feel like these players that I have been talking to are all great players, but I don't feel like they are THAT much better than I am. This line of thinking raised a few questions for me.
1. Why have they won so much more money than me?
2. How can they still have so much money despite outlandish spending habits when I have relatively low spending habits?
3. What makes them so much better than me?
Thinking about all of these questions made me realize that my work ethic and/or desire to make serious money is way lower than all of theirs. When I say serious money I mean the kind of money that goes above and beyond what it takes to live the very comfortable lifestyle that I currently live. These guys are all grinders that play way more hours than I do and at higher stakes. I feel like I am certainly good enough to beat the stakes that they are playing, but I don't want to put in the time to get comfortable playing those same stakes. I have moved up in limits since I moved to Vegas, but it has been an amazingly slow progression (in my opinion). I remember feeling incredibly uncomfortable when I was trying to move up and become a regular 2/4 NL player online. I felt totally exposed and as though I was playing my hands face up. I felt the same way when I tried to move up by taking shots at the 5/10 NL live games. I played so tight that it was almost impossible for me to book a winning session without putting a huge cooler on one of my oponents. Now I feel like I am the best player in any 2/4 NL game online or 5/10 NL live game that I play in and couldn't be more comfortable than I am in either of those games. This is getting to be a bit of a ramble, but it boils down to the fact that if I want to make serious money I need to make a serious effort at putting in more hours at higher limit games. I simply have to get more comfortable playing these higher stakes to make the kind of money I know I am capable of. Hopefully, I am going to start playing some more 10/20 NL live and a lot more 5/10 NL online.
Today, I felt like I played really awesome online and had some good results to show for it. I ended up winning a little over $3,000 online and over $1200 live. It feels good to have a $4,200 day and I think that shouldn't be too uncommon for me if I am able to get comfortable playing these higher stakes.
I predicted to Matt today that I can feel a big 2-3 week heater coming up and that today was going to be the start of it (this was predicted early in my online session today). I am really going to try to cram as much poker as I can in for the next two weeks solid and see if I can put up some of the types of figures these guys were talking about making. I am setting a lofty goal for myself of making $20,000 before October 11th. It will be very hard to get there, but I feel like it can be done. I always set goals that I know are very attainable, but this time I am purposely setting one that is very difficult and should I reach it I will feel a real sense of accomplishment.
So if I count today as my start this is how my progress towards $20K in 2 weeks looks:
Online: +$3,051
Live: +$1224
Total: +$4,275
Amount needed to reach goal: $15,725
Recently, I have been talking to a few different really successful poker players whose approach to the game I respect a lot. We discussed a lot of stuff that was very interesting to me, but I was really surprised at how much money these guys claimed to have won and also how much they said they had spent on unnecessary things during their poker careers. I like to spend my fair share of money, but I have nowhere near the spending problems that these guys have. I feel like these players that I have been talking to are all great players, but I don't feel like they are THAT much better than I am. This line of thinking raised a few questions for me.
1. Why have they won so much more money than me?
2. How can they still have so much money despite outlandish spending habits when I have relatively low spending habits?
3. What makes them so much better than me?
Thinking about all of these questions made me realize that my work ethic and/or desire to make serious money is way lower than all of theirs. When I say serious money I mean the kind of money that goes above and beyond what it takes to live the very comfortable lifestyle that I currently live. These guys are all grinders that play way more hours than I do and at higher stakes. I feel like I am certainly good enough to beat the stakes that they are playing, but I don't want to put in the time to get comfortable playing those same stakes. I have moved up in limits since I moved to Vegas, but it has been an amazingly slow progression (in my opinion). I remember feeling incredibly uncomfortable when I was trying to move up and become a regular 2/4 NL player online. I felt totally exposed and as though I was playing my hands face up. I felt the same way when I tried to move up by taking shots at the 5/10 NL live games. I played so tight that it was almost impossible for me to book a winning session without putting a huge cooler on one of my oponents. Now I feel like I am the best player in any 2/4 NL game online or 5/10 NL live game that I play in and couldn't be more comfortable than I am in either of those games. This is getting to be a bit of a ramble, but it boils down to the fact that if I want to make serious money I need to make a serious effort at putting in more hours at higher limit games. I simply have to get more comfortable playing these higher stakes to make the kind of money I know I am capable of. Hopefully, I am going to start playing some more 10/20 NL live and a lot more 5/10 NL online.
Today, I felt like I played really awesome online and had some good results to show for it. I ended up winning a little over $3,000 online and over $1200 live. It feels good to have a $4,200 day and I think that shouldn't be too uncommon for me if I am able to get comfortable playing these higher stakes.
I predicted to Matt today that I can feel a big 2-3 week heater coming up and that today was going to be the start of it (this was predicted early in my online session today). I am really going to try to cram as much poker as I can in for the next two weeks solid and see if I can put up some of the types of figures these guys were talking about making. I am setting a lofty goal for myself of making $20,000 before October 11th. It will be very hard to get there, but I feel like it can be done. I always set goals that I know are very attainable, but this time I am purposely setting one that is very difficult and should I reach it I will feel a real sense of accomplishment.
So if I count today as my start this is how my progress towards $20K in 2 weeks looks:
Online: +$3,051
Live: +$1224
Total: +$4,275
Amount needed to reach goal: $15,725
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
I finally did some grinding....
I had planned on really grinding when I got back to Vegas and while I was playing quite a bit it was more gambling than grinding. I was playing mostly PLO and playing a little higher than usual and trying to win a lot of money quickly. My swings were pretty big both up and down with yesterday being a pretty big downer. I lost almost $5,000 yesterday, but I was up pretty good before that so it didn't hurt too badly. That is part of the problem...it never seems to hurt when I lose anymore, because I have so much money in my account and I know I won't really miss the money if I lose.
Well, today I really got back to the grind and played some of my bread and butter full ring no limit. I played mostly 2/4, but also included some 3/6. I played abut 3 hours and was up around $200 when I noticed myself not playing my best. I took a break, ate some lunch and then started playing again. I played much better and won some big pots in the next 3 hours. I ended up winning $2,221 in just over 6 hours of playing. I ran a little better than I can expect in the long run, but it wasn't too out of the ordinary to win that much in 3500+ hands.
Josh and I then went to the Bellagio and played 5/10 live for a couple of hours and I was in one of the best games I have been in a while. I won $710 there.
So for all the ups and downs I have had this week I am up about $1200 total. It could be better, but it could also be much worse.
Oh, before I went home for my reunion I was down to 212 lbs. I ate like a total pig while I was home and when I weighed myself just 2 weeks later I was at 221 lbs. This morning I was back down to 216. I have been eating great (except tonight I did eat some In and Out on the way to the Bellagio), but I'm having trouble getting my swimming done. Hopefully I can get back into the swimming again soon. I want to get to 200 or maybe lower, but I don't have any time frame to do this in.
Well, today I really got back to the grind and played some of my bread and butter full ring no limit. I played mostly 2/4, but also included some 3/6. I played abut 3 hours and was up around $200 when I noticed myself not playing my best. I took a break, ate some lunch and then started playing again. I played much better and won some big pots in the next 3 hours. I ended up winning $2,221 in just over 6 hours of playing. I ran a little better than I can expect in the long run, but it wasn't too out of the ordinary to win that much in 3500+ hands.
Josh and I then went to the Bellagio and played 5/10 live for a couple of hours and I was in one of the best games I have been in a while. I won $710 there.
So for all the ups and downs I have had this week I am up about $1200 total. It could be better, but it could also be much worse.
Oh, before I went home for my reunion I was down to 212 lbs. I ate like a total pig while I was home and when I weighed myself just 2 weeks later I was at 221 lbs. This morning I was back down to 216. I have been eating great (except tonight I did eat some In and Out on the way to the Bellagio), but I'm having trouble getting my swimming done. Hopefully I can get back into the swimming again soon. I want to get to 200 or maybe lower, but I don't have any time frame to do this in.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
One week goal....
I am starting small. I want to get back into the groove of making money on a steady basis.
I want to play 30 hours of online poker by next Sunday night (September 22) and I would like to make $5,000.
Sorry for the low content, but I just want to get something written down before I start playing.
I want to play 30 hours of online poker by next Sunday night (September 22) and I would like to make $5,000.
Sorry for the low content, but I just want to get something written down before I start playing.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
I'm ready to get back into my "routine"
I hardly have anything in my life that resembles anything that could be confused with a routine, but believe it or not I am ready to get back into my routine. I always do a lot of traveling and am constantly having friends visit me, but I usually manage to mix in some pretty decent stretches of hardcore poker playing between these times of leisure. However, since I did so well in my tournament I have been rather unmotivated to buckle down and get back to my routine. It seems like I haven't played any serious online poker during this entire time. I have had people come visit me, gone to visit other friends on several occasions, and gone home to visit family and friends for what seems like a month straight. I have spent lots of money on random stuff, lost considerably more than I have won playing poker, and eaten like a pig all while failing to exercise outside of the one time I swam in the lake at home.
I am really looking forward to getting back to Vegas and going grocery shopping for some decent healthy food. I don't want the stupid whole-foods type of healthy stuff, I just want to buy a ton of healthy choice/lean cuisine frozen meals and some applesauce and/or carrots type of snacky food. It sounds so boring, but I can't wait until my days consist of: getting up around noon, going for a swim, doing some push-ups and sit-ups so I can rationalize not going to the gym to really work out, weighing myself and charting my weight loss progress, eating some healthy frozen meal, taking a shower, playing 5-6 hours of hardcore online poker, winning lots of money and playing increasingly sharper for everyday that I stick to my routine, eating something else pretty healthy for dinner that I can make at home, watching some TV, maybe going to play some live poker at night, avoid doing any chores that can possibly be put off until a later date, not receiving or making one phone call for an entire day, and getting in my own bed with my own TV playing the same episode of sportscenter over and over all night long once I fall asleep about 3 minutes after getting into bed. I always claim that I don't like sticking to schedules, but I am pretty excited about getting back to this one and I think it is about the only kind that I am capable of enjoying. I believe this to be true because it is one that I chose, has virtually zero accountability to anyone except me, and is full of stuff that I think are fun/rewarding. Even with a schedule that is so non-demanding I am sure I will again grow bored with it and get burnt out sooner than I thought possible which will result in me searching for my next vacation stop along the way. Until then I look forward to getting home and making the most of my fresh start and clear mind.
I hope to get some moderately short term goals posted in here before I get back to to work so I have something to shoot for.
I am really looking forward to getting back to Vegas and going grocery shopping for some decent healthy food. I don't want the stupid whole-foods type of healthy stuff, I just want to buy a ton of healthy choice/lean cuisine frozen meals and some applesauce and/or carrots type of snacky food. It sounds so boring, but I can't wait until my days consist of: getting up around noon, going for a swim, doing some push-ups and sit-ups so I can rationalize not going to the gym to really work out, weighing myself and charting my weight loss progress, eating some healthy frozen meal, taking a shower, playing 5-6 hours of hardcore online poker, winning lots of money and playing increasingly sharper for everyday that I stick to my routine, eating something else pretty healthy for dinner that I can make at home, watching some TV, maybe going to play some live poker at night, avoid doing any chores that can possibly be put off until a later date, not receiving or making one phone call for an entire day, and getting in my own bed with my own TV playing the same episode of sportscenter over and over all night long once I fall asleep about 3 minutes after getting into bed. I always claim that I don't like sticking to schedules, but I am pretty excited about getting back to this one and I think it is about the only kind that I am capable of enjoying. I believe this to be true because it is one that I chose, has virtually zero accountability to anyone except me, and is full of stuff that I think are fun/rewarding. Even with a schedule that is so non-demanding I am sure I will again grow bored with it and get burnt out sooner than I thought possible which will result in me searching for my next vacation stop along the way. Until then I look forward to getting home and making the most of my fresh start and clear mind.
I hope to get some moderately short term goals posted in here before I get back to to work so I have something to shoot for.
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