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.

Week 2

Profit: +$308
Rakeback: +$87
Games: 396
Hours:34

Hourly: $11.62 / hr
Per Game: $1.00 / game

Started off hot last Sunday with a $36 180 win, and then have mincashed my way down since then. I can definitely say that I've been making some superthin calls lately, so will go over some HHs to look for spots to improve / avoid. Have also spewed a number of times at early levels, which was totally avoidable.

Surprises come when there are differences in expectations and outcome. I've been running so well lately that this week feels like a losing one. Just have to remember to view things in totality. The most important thing is to align expectations and effort.

Week 1

Profit: +$4,184
Rakeback: +$216
Games: 545
Hours:50

Hourly: $88.00 / hr
Per Game: $8.07 / game

I'm about on track as far as profits go, and a little bit behind on volume. Healthy ROIs (50-60%) at 12s and 36s. I was a lil concerned that the daytime crowd would be tougher, but haven't noticed too many differences. 6-8 hour sessions are definitely my sweet spot. 2-3 hour sessions are a waste (load-up / wind-down) and with 10+ hour sessions, I start to get hungry and lose focus. I also hate playing with fewer than 150k ppl online since load times are unbearable.

Thoughts have been running through my head of getting a personal assistant. Someone to clean, do laundry, handle mail, emails, shopping, and errands for like $15 / hr. Would definitely be worth it if they can free up more time for me to get games in. My MO in life has been to suck at most things and do a few things really well. Specialization / division of labor and all that jazz. Also need to start working out again regularly.

April Results

Profit: +$11,249
Rakeback: +$255
Games: 1075
Hours: 103

Hourly: $111.69 / hr
Per Game: $10.70 / game

Has been an interesting month. Set a new personal record for monthly earnings as well as a new daily record (3.6K). Cracked top 200 for the monthly TLB so got a lil bonus for that. Was able to take down 4 $12 180s in a day and took down my first $36 180.

I ran at expectation for $12s (40% ROI) and ridiculously well at $36s (280% ROI). Only played 65 $36s, but managed 3 1sts, 2 2nds, and a 3rd so GG me.

Much of this month, I've played in the "zone". Hard to describe and sortta mystical-sounding, but I'm 100% in the moment, just reacting to situations. I'm paying attention to everything but afterwards, I can't really recall the details or outcomes of any individual hands won or lost. Plus if you consider yourself a poker player, bad beats should be boring to you. It's like I sit down at my station, and stand up 4-8 hours later after I get really hungry or the games are loading too slow. In an NLP sense, I 'd like to think I've reached the level of Unconscious Competence.

1. Unconscious Incompetence (we don't know we don't know how to)
2. Conscious Incompetence (we know we don't know how to)
3. Conscious Competence (we know we know how to)
4. Unconscious Competence (we do it without knowing how we do it)


Also rewarded myself for having a good month by buying myself a used Aeron chair. $340 but long overdue and well worth the price. Super adjustable and feels like you're sitting on nothing.

For May, I have very aggressive goals. 3K games and $15K profit. No excuses.