I had a good week as far as getting in lots of hours and playing lots of hands, but my results were somewhat lackluster.
I played 36 hours and 25,321 hands, but I only ran at 1.09 BB/100 which is pretty abysmal. I know it could be worse....I could have had a losing week, but it is frustrating to play so many hours/hands and run below expectation. The good news is that I ran really hot at 5/10 and cold in 2/4 and 3/6 and still ended up winning $5,285 on the week.
Total results after week 3:
Online: +$8,370
Live: -$1050
Total: +$7,320
That is decent money, but I am pretty disappointed with that figure considering how much I have played.
I am still waiting to have a bust out week and hopefully it will come sooner rather than later!
I am going to be hard pressed to get all of the hours in that I want to in the upcoming weeks. Landon is coming out for about 10 days starting on the 5th and then I think Derek, Joey and Kelly (Derek's sister) are coming out starting on the 16th for a couple of weeks. I know all of those guests will tell me that they don't want me to miss out on playing while they are here, but it is still tough to play when people are here....not that I mind, I love having visitors.
I am looking forward to bowling tonight since I missed last week playing golf. 600 series here I come!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Week 2 update....
Week 2 started off with some promise, but I had two really awful days back to back that kind of got me in a funk as far as my poker confidence goes. I ended up having a losing week, but it wasn't near as bad as it seemed in my mind. I felt like I would never win again and I was on my way to going broke, but that obviously wasn't true. I took a couple of days off and played some golf and just tried to regroup my thoughts.
A quick side note about running bad: It is very hard to overcome the inevitable downswings that happen in poker just due to the nature of the game and the variance involved. If you are a winning player (big if in most cases) eventually you will be able to overcome any variance that gets thrown your way. However, it can be extremely dangerous to ever let variance affect your confidence and cause you to alter your winning style. In my opinion, playing bad and having low confidence in what you are doing is at the heart of just about every extended losing streak. This low confidence usually stems from some kind of negative variance you've experienced. I think it is very important that the instant you realize you are suffering from low confidence and/or not playing your best you take a step back to collect your thoughts and work on getting it fixed a.s.a.p. Sometimes it is amazing how long it takes you to realize that you aren't playing your best. Low confidence and playing bad can creep into your game so subtly that even the most self-aware person doesn't realize it is happening until a lot of damage has been done. I think this is something that a lot of poker players struggle with. It isn't ever fun to tell yourself that you are playing bad and actually quit playing or spend time on fixing your leaks before you play again. For some players it seems almost impossible for them to have enough discipline to stop playing even when they KNOW they aren't playing their best. I think these are the players that tend to have the longest losing streaks or "run bad" more than other players.
In short what I am trying to say is that the next time you think you are just destined to "run bad" or you have been the victim of too much negative variance recently I think you should examine your own psyche and recent play before you start whining about how unlucky you are. Basically, I think people would be much better off and have shorter downswings if they started taking more responsibility for their results. This type of thinking fits well with one of my favorite truths in life..."you make your own luck".
Sorry for going off on that rant, but I just wanted to get that off my chest. During week 2 I ended up winning $246 playing hold'em online, lost $1,200 playing live, lost $550 playing online tourneys, and lost $850 playing PLO online.
Online: -$1154
Live: -$1200
Total: -$2354
I am already 4 days into my week 3 and I have played quite a bit, but ran a little below expectation (1.83 BB/100). The good news is that I am crushing the little bit of the 5/10 that I have played and running poor at 2/4 and 3/6. So far I am up $4,126 this week in just over 20 hours of play.
So far I am up about $6200 since the start of this 7 week challenge which is well below what I think I should have made. However, it isn't such a bad thing to "run bad" and make over $6K in 2.5 weeks. I feel like I am on the verge of busting out of my "slump" and running hot for a week or two to get back on pace. If I can just run hot for a week or two I can make some serious money playing 8 tables. It sure is gonna be fun when that does happen! Wish me luck (not that I'll need it).
A quick side note about running bad: It is very hard to overcome the inevitable downswings that happen in poker just due to the nature of the game and the variance involved. If you are a winning player (big if in most cases) eventually you will be able to overcome any variance that gets thrown your way. However, it can be extremely dangerous to ever let variance affect your confidence and cause you to alter your winning style. In my opinion, playing bad and having low confidence in what you are doing is at the heart of just about every extended losing streak. This low confidence usually stems from some kind of negative variance you've experienced. I think it is very important that the instant you realize you are suffering from low confidence and/or not playing your best you take a step back to collect your thoughts and work on getting it fixed a.s.a.p. Sometimes it is amazing how long it takes you to realize that you aren't playing your best. Low confidence and playing bad can creep into your game so subtly that even the most self-aware person doesn't realize it is happening until a lot of damage has been done. I think this is something that a lot of poker players struggle with. It isn't ever fun to tell yourself that you are playing bad and actually quit playing or spend time on fixing your leaks before you play again. For some players it seems almost impossible for them to have enough discipline to stop playing even when they KNOW they aren't playing their best. I think these are the players that tend to have the longest losing streaks or "run bad" more than other players.
In short what I am trying to say is that the next time you think you are just destined to "run bad" or you have been the victim of too much negative variance recently I think you should examine your own psyche and recent play before you start whining about how unlucky you are. Basically, I think people would be much better off and have shorter downswings if they started taking more responsibility for their results. This type of thinking fits well with one of my favorite truths in life..."you make your own luck".
Sorry for going off on that rant, but I just wanted to get that off my chest. During week 2 I ended up winning $246 playing hold'em online, lost $1,200 playing live, lost $550 playing online tourneys, and lost $850 playing PLO online.
Online: -$1154
Live: -$1200
Total: -$2354
I am already 4 days into my week 3 and I have played quite a bit, but ran a little below expectation (1.83 BB/100). The good news is that I am crushing the little bit of the 5/10 that I have played and running poor at 2/4 and 3/6. So far I am up $4,126 this week in just over 20 hours of play.
So far I am up about $6200 since the start of this 7 week challenge which is well below what I think I should have made. However, it isn't such a bad thing to "run bad" and make over $6K in 2.5 weeks. I feel like I am on the verge of busting out of my "slump" and running hot for a week or two to get back on pace. If I can just run hot for a week or two I can make some serious money playing 8 tables. It sure is gonna be fun when that does happen! Wish me luck (not that I'll need it).
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Matt decided to prank himself....
This was our car ride home last night. Matt was a bottle of wine, infinite red bull and vodka, and a shot of tequila deep at this point.
This should be good and embarrassing for him....
This should be good and embarrassing for him....
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Oh dear Matt.....
For any of you who saw the blog that Matt posted on MY BLOG just sit back and wait....I will eventually post a blog explaining in detail the monumental prank I pull on him in retaliation. I have no idea what it will be yet, but he is going to be in town for a while. I am in no rush to get him back so if I can't come up with something before he leaves just rest assured it will be coming one day...and it will be funny!
For anyone that missed it. The blog that he posted under my name was titled "Please Help...." The subject was: .....me to get a girlfriend.
For some reason it always really bothered me when people chatted pretending to be me on my instant messenger name, used my phone to text people, and now I suppose it also bothers me when people pretend to be me and post on my blog.
I am very creative, but if anyone has any good suggestions of pranks they would like to see pulled on Matt please feel free to email them to me. Don't leave them in my comments because he will read them. My email is pncruse@yahoo.com.
Stay tuned to find out what happens when Matt decides to open one of these....
For anyone that missed it. The blog that he posted under my name was titled "Please Help...." The subject was: .....me to get a girlfriend.
For some reason it always really bothered me when people chatted pretending to be me on my instant messenger name, used my phone to text people, and now I suppose it also bothers me when people pretend to be me and post on my blog.
I am very creative, but if anyone has any good suggestions of pranks they would like to see pulled on Matt please feel free to email them to me. Don't leave them in my comments because he will read them. My email is pncruse@yahoo.com.
Stay tuned to find out what happens when Matt decides to open one of these....
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Day 2 week 2.....
To my two blog readers that left anonymous comments, but let me know who they were thanks and I appreciate you reading....to the joker that left the anonymous comment and didn't let me know who they were....not funny! Actually, it is pretty funny and I would have been shocked had one of my friends not been such a wise guy.
Day two was a good day. I was able to play 5 hours this time while still playing 8 tables. I ended up winning $1870 and ran at 3.39 BB/100 today for just over 4,100 hands. It gives me the willys to think that this is "just another typical day" of me playing poker and it still doesn't seem like I should really be able to make so much money doing what I love.
Matt and I actually made it to the gym today, but I feel like the gym got me more than I got the gym. Matt tried to sneak in and was NOT smooth at all when the lady at the front desk caught him.....he acted surprised that he had just unintentionally walked past the desk where you are supposed to show your membership card to get in. Anyway, they made him sign up for a membership if he wanted to come in for the day. Since he plans on being out here a lot he went ahead and signed up for one full year. It was going to be $199 for just that gym for a whole year. Then they pulled some strings and gave him the "Super Sport Package" (a nationwide membership that gets you in to the really nice club that is in Summerlin) for only $250 for the year. Wait a minute I thought to myself.....He is getting the same membership I have for only $250 for a year and I am paying $70/month! I ended up renegotiating my contract, but it wasn't cheap to do it (for today anyway). For some reason the best deal they could give me was $999 for the year, but I got the next 3 years for free ($250 per year). After the 4 years are up I only have to pay $150/year for the rest of my life. So I am paying much less to be a member, but it still wasn't fun giving them $1,000 today!
Who knows what we'll get into tonight, but its time to go eat somewhere.
Day two was a good day. I was able to play 5 hours this time while still playing 8 tables. I ended up winning $1870 and ran at 3.39 BB/100 today for just over 4,100 hands. It gives me the willys to think that this is "just another typical day" of me playing poker and it still doesn't seem like I should really be able to make so much money doing what I love.
Matt and I actually made it to the gym today, but I feel like the gym got me more than I got the gym. Matt tried to sneak in and was NOT smooth at all when the lady at the front desk caught him.....he acted surprised that he had just unintentionally walked past the desk where you are supposed to show your membership card to get in. Anyway, they made him sign up for a membership if he wanted to come in for the day. Since he plans on being out here a lot he went ahead and signed up for one full year. It was going to be $199 for just that gym for a whole year. Then they pulled some strings and gave him the "Super Sport Package" (a nationwide membership that gets you in to the really nice club that is in Summerlin) for only $250 for the year. Wait a minute I thought to myself.....He is getting the same membership I have for only $250 for a year and I am paying $70/month! I ended up renegotiating my contract, but it wasn't cheap to do it (for today anyway). For some reason the best deal they could give me was $999 for the year, but I got the next 3 years for free ($250 per year). After the 4 years are up I only have to pay $150/year for the rest of my life. So I am paying much less to be a member, but it still wasn't fun giving them $1,000 today!
Who knows what we'll get into tonight, but its time to go eat somewhere.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Exhausting first day of week 2....
So today was the second full day of playing 8 tables of 6 max poker on my new setup. I was really looking forward to playing today and motivated to put in a long session so that I can be sure to reach my goal of 30 hours this week. I played for about 4 hours and 20 minutes straight and it seemed like I played for about 8 hours. It really wears me down much quicker to play 8 tables instead of 6. I suppose it will get easier eventually and I will develop more stamina for playing 8 tables. I played just over 3100 hands today which would take me about 5 hours and 40 minutes playing 6 tables and I very rarely played that long when I was 6 tabling so I guess it is a pretty good trade off. I won right at $1200 today after getting off to a fairly rough start. I ended up running at 4.25 BB/100 which is slightly better than what my goal is. I know this is all very boring stuff to anyone reading this so I will stop rambling about my statistics that I am pretty much obsessed with.
For anyone that wants to comment on my blog.....I love getting the comments, but I HATE when you don't say who left the comment! I have gotten several comments from "Anonymous" and even some from people who did leave their name and I still didn't know who they were. If you are a stranger commenting on my blog let me know how you found my blog. If you aren't a stranger just let me know who left the comment.....thanks!
Matt and Josh are breaking my balls for spending too much time writing this blog (even though them talking to me is the reason it is taking me so long) so I better wrap it up. We are headed to the Bellagio to eat at Noodles. Having friends in town is horrible for watching what you eat! Matt and I have promised each other that we are going to the gym every day while he is out here (wow, that sounds extremely gay, but I am gonna leave it in here anyway) so I shouldn't have to worry too much about what I eat.
For anyone that wants to comment on my blog.....I love getting the comments, but I HATE when you don't say who left the comment! I have gotten several comments from "Anonymous" and even some from people who did leave their name and I still didn't know who they were. If you are a stranger commenting on my blog let me know how you found my blog. If you aren't a stranger just let me know who left the comment.....thanks!
Matt and Josh are breaking my balls for spending too much time writing this blog (even though them talking to me is the reason it is taking me so long) so I better wrap it up. We are headed to the Bellagio to eat at Noodles. Having friends in town is horrible for watching what you eat! Matt and I have promised each other that we are going to the gym every day while he is out here (wow, that sounds extremely gay, but I am gonna leave it in here anyway) so I shouldn't have to worry too much about what I eat.
A solid first week.
I didn't play as much as I would have liked, but I did manage to get some other much needed chores done. I finally got my taxes paid and I spent WAY too much time at Best Buy buying a new computer. First off, I want to give a shout out to my dad....he didn't bug me about paying my taxes even one time this year! There is no doubt in my mind that he had been biting his tongue since the first of the year. I managed to get them paid even if it was only one day before the deadline. So, thanks for having faith in me Pop.
I had two good days this week and the rest of them were either small wins or small loses. I ended up only playing about 25 hours and won $4239 online and $150 live. My win rate ended up being 3.65 BB/100 which is nothing special, but above the 3.5 rate that I set as my goal so I guess I can't complain. Having a 3.5 BB/100 rate probably just got a little tougher, but a lot more profitable with my new computer setup. Josh and I both got some sweet new computers which runs dual 28" monitors. I can pretty comfortably play 8 tables of 6 max NL now and my hourly rate should go up pretty nicely just from the extra two tables. I think it should raise my hourly rate by $20-40/hour so my new computer should pay for itself pretty quickly.
Matt gets in town today for 9 or 10 days so I should be pretty busy for a while. Hopefully I am still able to get my 30 hours for the week in. It is pretty retarded to think that I can't get 30 HOURS A WEEK in sometimes. I mean I am giving up soooo much money by being lazy it is sickening. So right now it is time to SNAP OUT OF IT!
I had two good days this week and the rest of them were either small wins or small loses. I ended up only playing about 25 hours and won $4239 online and $150 live. My win rate ended up being 3.65 BB/100 which is nothing special, but above the 3.5 rate that I set as my goal so I guess I can't complain. Having a 3.5 BB/100 rate probably just got a little tougher, but a lot more profitable with my new computer setup. Josh and I both got some sweet new computers which runs dual 28" monitors. I can pretty comfortably play 8 tables of 6 max NL now and my hourly rate should go up pretty nicely just from the extra two tables. I think it should raise my hourly rate by $20-40/hour so my new computer should pay for itself pretty quickly.
Matt gets in town today for 9 or 10 days so I should be pretty busy for a while. Hopefully I am still able to get my 30 hours for the week in. It is pretty retarded to think that I can't get 30 HOURS A WEEK in sometimes. I mean I am giving up soooo much money by being lazy it is sickening. So right now it is time to SNAP OUT OF IT!
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