I'm Alive !!!

Wow, can't believe it's been 16 years.  I've been taking steps back into the poker world over the past year.  A lot has happened since then, will most likely have to catch up over multiple posts.  But to tide you over, a nice little spicy hand from this past week.

$1/3 NL, $300 stack effective

UTG raises to 10, and villain solid-reg calls behind.  I'm on the BTN and raise it to 65 with AKo.  Blinds and UTG fold, and villain tank calls.

Flop is JJT rainbow.  Villain checks, and I check behind.  I can't rep much, and I don't want him to blow me off my equity.

Turn is 5.  Villain checks, and I check again for pot-control and figure he's calling any bet with mid pocket pairs that are beating me.

River is T.  Villain bombs it for $200 and I snap-call.  He says I'm good, and I table the A-high to the amazement of the whole table.  Pretty easy call imo.  My pre-flop raise strongly defined his range and he's never calling with any hand that has a J or T unless it's specifically JJ or TT.  I put him on counterfeited mid pocket pair and his river bet was just super bluffy.

Circles

A virtuous circle or a vicious circle is a complex of events that reinforces itself through a feedback loop. A virtuous circle has favorable results, and a vicious circle has detrimental results.

Vicious cycle
Since Vegas, I've been on a breakeven stretch.  I had fairly healthy (delusional) expectations and as a result my confidence in my game was shaken.  Hard to describe, but I was definitely out of the zone.  Felt like I was floating in space when I played; didn't know where I was at with ranges, etc.  Desperate to win again, I prob started adopting random pieces of other people's games.  I also developed a defeatist attitude that the games had become unbeatable.  As a result, I didn't want to play at all.  Started dabbling in other games, which can be a good idea but in my case, was just starting over at the bottom of the learning curve.

Virtuous cycle
More lately, I've been expanding my poker network to surround myself with people who have similar goals, work ethics, and approaches to the game.  Hearing others' thought processes, as well as having to explain / defend your own thoughts really strengthens your game.  I went over some "golden era" vertek HHs and that definitely reminded me of what worked for me before.  I definitely have an idiosyncratic style and timing to my game, and for the most part, have good reasons behind why I do things.  I hate talking poker with people that assume things and rely on certain standards.  Obviously they are already playing perfect poker and don't need to think about things.  On the other hand, I need to continually think and adjust to the changing conditions.  You're only as good as your last game.

I've also stepped up my HH review game ten-fold.  Everyday before I start my session, I go over the previous night's HHs.  At the very least, gives my brain time to get back into poker mode.  Shout outs as well to portlypig, yx32mike, and chip210 for helping to sharpen my weapons.  There are two times when you need to go over your HHs:  when you don't think you're playing well, and when you do.

ALSO:
Special thanks to Daleroxxu (world's best poker blog) for hosting his NLO H/L Hyper Shoveament Freeroll, which I was lucky enough to take down for 1st place.  Video highlights and commentary here.

June Results

Profit: +$4647
Rakeback: +$636
Games: 1961
Hours: 190

Hourly: $27.81 / hr
Per Game: $2.69 / game

Ran hot for first half of month.  Hit some turbulence for the last week or two.  The importance of daily routines / schedule cannot be stressed enough.  With that being said, I'll be looking to experiment with a few changes this month.  GL me!

Also, sorry for late responses in comments section:

I don't use a HUD because I've never figured out how to, or what the stats even mean.  On the other hand, playing HUD-less has forced me to pay attention to player tendencies and whatnot, so I usually try to avoid auto-piloting.

The link to the 2+2 thread referenced in the prior post can be found by hovering over the words "thread on 2+2" in the same post.  I guess the link text color was too similar.

I Got A 33% Raise!

Not in the traditional sense, but in poker terms I did. I was inspired by this thread on 2+2, so now I'm 16-tabling tiled continuously on dual Dell 30"s in portrait mode. Took a bit of time to find some Torx wrenches, but it was fairly simple to get them standing up without having to buy extra mounting equipment.


This should increase my volume and hourly rate. I'm probably too nitty to ever use a stacked setup, but I'm ok with that. I've been playing well lately and the results are strong. I've ran a mile or two in the mornings a few days / week and that has definitely helped a lot. I have tons of focus and energy. I want to strike while the iron is hot, so I'm looking to set some volume records this weekend. My first 15 hour session, and 200+ games in a day for Saturday and maybe Sunday if I'm feeling particularly randy. Wish me luck!

A Tale of Two Graphs

April 1 - May 9

May 10 - June 7

So for 5 weeks, I got in 1700 games at $10 / game for a grand total of $17 K. Then for the next 4 weeks, I got in 1200 games at -$2 / game for a grand total of -$2.4 K. If a magic genie had appeared to me back at the beginning of April and told me I'd play 3K games at $5 / game, I'd be fairly pleased with myself. Instead I spend a few weeks feeling like a poker god and then a few weeks feeling like a total loser. And even though my wins totally eclipse my losses, the emotional impact of those losses is far greater. I've played a fairly consistent game throughout both periods, but shit just happens. Deep down, I am still a good, thinking, winning player.

Swings suck, but if we peel the onion back another layer, we reveal another aspect of grossness. I've been really examining my game and have finally figured out that I've developed some pretty major leaks. These leaks began in April, but I kept on winning DESPITE these leaks. So the "upswing" further reinforced my leaks and made them worse. Lesson learned, and none too worse for wear. I'm just glad that I'm continuing to improve in ALL aspects of my game.

May Results

Profit: +$4309
Rakeback: +$630
Games: 1620
Hours: 143 .5

Hourly: $34.42 / hr
Per Game: $3.05/ game

I ran pretty well for the first week, and then blehh for the rest of the month. All in all, the results were decent, but I'm still disappointed because I had aggressive goals and high standards for myself. Ended with a long streak where I was cashing a decent % of the time, but they were all mincashes which are basically negligible. I'll go over a bunch of HHs today and then get back to work. This month's goals will be simple: work hard, play well.

Quick shout-out to msusyr24. He's currently 23rd in the WSOP Event 5 $1.5K NLHE. He was chiplead for a large stretch, but took some tough beats to get knocked down. If anyone can come back, he can, so GL today!

Week 3

Profit: +$1115
Rakeback: +$78
Games: 323
Hours: 28.5

Hourly: $41.86 / hr
Per Game: $3.69 / game

Finally broke out of my downswing and got the ship righted again. Last week's poor results were definitely the result of poor play and not variance. My A-game is a subtle mix of aggression and caution, so it doesn't take much for small shifts in my style to throw me off. Had some life distractions, so blehh volume. Before I sign off to crush the Sunday crowd, will leave you with this piece my friend posted on his FB. Original here.


You can’t change your entire life.
You can only change your next action.
—
You can’t change a relationship with a loved one.
You can only change your next interaction.
—
You can’t change your entire job.
You can only change your next task.
—
You can’t change your body composition.
You can only change your next meal.
—
You can’t change your fitness level.
You can only start moving.
—
You can’t declutter your entire life.
You can only choose to get rid of one thing, right now.
—
You can’t eliminate your entire debt.
You can only make one payment, or buy one less unnecessary item.
—
You can’t change the past, or control the future.
You can only change what you’re doing right now.
—
You can’t change everything.
You can only change one, small thing.
And that’s all it takes.