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The peaceful shark

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A new country a new chance!

After reading this article about motivation I realized what my problem is. I feel that I should learn more, and that I'm not ready to play.

But that is not true!

I know that the only way I will learn poker is to practice what I learn. I need to play, learn, play, learn...

Today I have studied poker for six hour, reading every basic article in Psychology & Didactics and making intensive note-taking. Will probably finish all the bronze articles this week.

And I found the problem!

My only motivation is to study and not play. I have no habit to play, but I have a extremely strong habit to learn, which make it very easy to study but really hard for me to play poker. I force myself to read books when I was 14. And I established a habit to read for one hour every day. Now this habit have evolved to study for three hour every day. I rather study than watch tv. I really feel joy when I study and I have tooled myself that I need to learn more before I sit down at the tables. But the problem is that I have to much information after reading three books and read many articles on PS and only played <1000 hands. All the information is contradicting itself in my head and I can't make any sens of it.

So I will start from the beginning and do as I should have done from the start, instead for playing the smart guy and thinking that if I only learn, I could play on tables with total knowledge and not needing any "start hand chart".

It's time to make a plan!

So why do I want to play poker?
I want to play because I want to continue to travel the world and not needing to take a normal job. Next year this time I will go back to Sweden to start a company that have the sole goal to "Build the First Floating Metropolis".But to continue to travel, I need to earn around $50 per day or $1500 per mouth. I see that the easiest way to do that is to grind low-limit.

Okey now we know that - how will I achieve it?

I know that the best way to learn something new is to learn little and repeat the information over, and over again. So I will begin all over again and do it the right way this time.

1. I will chose a topic to learn.
2. Play 3000 hands will focusing on the topic. It's around teen hour of practice. (80hands/hour - 80hands * 4tables = 320)
3. Do a session review and focus on the topic.
4. If the session review shows good play, go on to the next topic. If not, repeat the topic.

But I also need to protect myself against tilt so I have made a checklist to get myself into the right state of mind before playing. This is the checklist. please comment if you have a idea how to improve it!

My checklist
tired?
hungry?
on drogs?

DON'T PLAY, FIX IT FIRST

Non of the above, continue:
1. Stretch for five minutes to get the blood flowing.
2. Go on the WC.
3. Get a bottle of water.
4. Close down all programs.
5. Start Pokertracker
6. Start Keypoker
7. Start Spotify and play music
8. Start poker client
9. Open four tables
10. Play for 90 min and sit-out from all tables.
11. Do breathing exercise in 10 min and reset your stop-limit if needed.
12. Continue to play for 90 min.
13. Write in the dairy how this session felt like.
14. Do something fun...

No I have a plan and a checklist.

Stop-limit
So I will set the stop limit to 5 buy-ins and 2 buy-ins per table. To make it easy for me I will take 10 coins and for every half buy-in I lose I will move the coin to a other place. When the run out I need to stop playing.

Reset limit
I will reset the limit every 90 min after my breathing exercise. I will reset the limit to 5 buy-ins from the winning point after 90 min. If I have a losing 90 min I will not reset. I do not reset the table buy-in limit.

0 - 3000 hands (Start-hand-chart newbie)
Here I will follow the chart to the point. Postflop I will just play as predictable as possible. I raise If I think I have the best hand, call if I have a draw and fold I don't hit anything. This part have more to do with following the chart than anything else. My session review will be really simple there I will analyze if I followed to chart and postflop I will just see if I didn't do to big mistakes.

3000 Goal
[ ] Play 3000 hands.
[ ] Follow my checklist before every session.
[ ] Do a session review after every session.
[ ] Follow the start-hand-chart to the point.

3000 - 6000 hands (blind Stealer)
Here I will introduce Blind stealing into my game. because stealing is easy and I can't make many mistakes in position, so I feel it a good next step. I will go though all blind steal attempts in the session review to make sure that I don't have any big leaks. I will also start to use HUD into the game so I can see if the player i tight or loose.

6000 Goal
[ ] Do intensive studying how to make good blind steals.
[ ] introduce blind steal into my game.
[ ] Check list before every session.
[ ] To a session review after every session.
[ ] Follow the start-hand-chart.
[ ] Start using HUD

6000 - 9000 hands (Postflop with lead master)
It's time to study Postflop. This is the part where I will practice to identify if the board is draw heavy etc. When to do Cbets and when do check. adjust my play if I have the lead or not.

9000 Goal
[ ] Do intensive studying how to make good blind steals.
[ ] introduce blind steal into my game.
[ ] Check list before every session.
[ ] To a session review after every session.
[ ] Follow the start-hand-chart

9000 - 12000 hands (Isolation Clown)
Time to learn Isolation and get this weak player to fold and make me happy. _biggrin:

1200 Goal
[ ] Do intensive studying how to Isolate player.
[ ] introduce Isolation into my game.
[ ] Check list before every session.
[ ] To a session review after every session.
[ ] Follow the start-hand-chart.

What topics do you feel is important? And place tell me if I have missed something?

Other topics I need to cover
No specific order
Start-hand-chart
Isolation
Domination
Postflop with lead
Postflop opponent have lead
Postflop no one have lead
Habit to make up goals for every hand
adjust preflop play to rocks and calling station
adjust postflop play to rocks and calling station
adjust preflop play to Maniacs and fish
adjust postflop play to Maniacs and fish
adjust preflop play to shortstack
adjust postflop play to shortstack
adjust preflop play to TAG's
adjust postflop play to TAG's
Protection
Maximizing Value
Slowplay
Player notes
Table selection
Strong draws
Blockbets
play from the big blinds
play from the small blinds
Small pocket pair and sets
Set-mining
blind Steal
Re-stealing

So that is the plan for now. Do you have any idea I can add or mistakes you see?


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I feel good. have faneily get some 3G in India and can play all day! Played two and half hour yesterday night and now I have some nice data to analyze. I don't know with you but I feel it more fun to analyze my game than to play the game.

Hehehe I feel like a detective that try to find that bad leaky-monster's that makes my play bad poker.

Today I will play more hands than yesterday and hope to have fixed some leaks by than.

I also read "the mental game of poker" I am only on chapter two but I already have gut some idea how to improve my goal plan. It's not that good as most people have pointed out and I start to understand what they mean.

A funny hand :P

PokerStars - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 7 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

UTG+1: $1.66
MP: $2.40
CO: $4.18
Hero (BTN): $1.87
SB: $4.88
BB: $3.73
UTG: $6.15

SB posts SB $0.01, BB posts BB $0.02

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.03) Hero has 7♠ 7♣

UTG calls $0.02, UTG+1 calls $0.02, fold, fold, Hero raises to $0.12, fold, BB calls $0.10, UTG calls $0.10, UTG+1 calls $0.10

Flop: ($0.49, 4 players) 7♦ 8♣ A♣
BB checks, UTG checks, UTG+1 bets $0.04, Hero raises to $0.28, BB raises to $0.52, fold, fold, Hero raises to $1.75 and is all-in, BB calls $1.23

Turn: ($4.03, 2 players) 9♦

River: ($4.03, 2 players) A♥

Spoiler

BB shows 8♦ 8♥ (Full House, Eights full of Aces) (Pre 81%, Flop 91%, Turn 98%)
Hero shows 7♠ 7♣ (Full House, Sevens full of Aces) (Pre 19%, Flop 9%, Turn 2%)
BB wins $3.89

The funny thing is that I start to smaily because I thouth it was funny to get sucked out like that on my first real session. I also lose my hole stack to a Reraise-caller that had K-J with my QQ :P.

Lets read lite more if "the mental game of poker" (really good, read it) and anlyze my game lite more and get some breakfast :P

Have fun buy and girls
MR


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I have really started now. Played 5:30 hour yesterday and have the whole day planed out today.

From 8:00 - 12:00 I will study, write blogpost and analyze my hands from yesterday.

from 12:00 to 22:00 I will play poker!

I have fund this leak I that I look at the reslutat from the session all the time. I can count how much I'm up or down in the middle of the session, I think is really bad habit and if I don't break it I will have problems when I move up in stacks. Because losing $2 is not so much as losing $50 later, so I really need to get it fixed.

So that will be my study plan for today, to find a good strategy to this problem.

I played over 1000 hand yesterday so I have many good and bad played hand I need to study.

I really love this hand!

PokerStars - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 8 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: $5.10
Hero (SB): $2.37
BB: $3.83
UTG: $2.63
UTG+1: $1.71
MP: $2.59
MP+1: $0.45
CO: $4.14

Hero posts SB $0.01, BB posts BB $0.02

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.03) Hero has 7♠ 7♥

fold, fold, fold, MP+1 raises to $0.04, fold, BTN raises to $0.10, Hero calls $0.09, fold, MP+1 calls $0.06

Flop: ($0.32, 3 players) A♦ T♥ 7♦
Hero checks, MP+1 bets $0.04, BTN raises to $0.18, Hero calls $0.18, fold

Turn: ($0.72, 2 players) 8♥
Hero checks, BTN bets $0.48, Hero calls $0.48

River: ($1.68, 2 players) 2♦
Hero bets $1.61 and is all-in, BTN calls $1.61

Spoiler

Hero shows 7♠ 7♥ (Three of a Kind, Sevens) (Pre 19%, Flop 4%, Turn 2%)
BTN shows A♠ A♥ (Three of a Kind, Aces) (Pre 81%, Flop 96%, Turn 98%)
BTN wins $4.73

Even if it was a really bad hand for my, I do love my reaction! I just start to laugh and couple minutes later I just had forgotten it and just played on. I seem to not have a problem with bad-beats soo I'm really happy.

Ye also I have started to keep a poker log where I write down everything I do that have something to do with poker.

Spoiler

9:11 PM
Finnsh for today
Today I have played five and a half hour. I feel good, this was really good session. I need to fix the problem I have on looking on the reslutat the whole time. I even count how much I'm up or down in middle of the game! WTF I know I can loose 10 buy-ins and still be profitable player in the long-term. I need to fix till leak because it will have big problems for my when I move up in stacks.

Bad-bets what is that? hehe Loose my three sevens to three aces lol and I really love that I just lauhts about it and moved on without thinking more. It was also my biggest lost so I feeeeeeel really good about my reaction to this big problem that many player seems to have. I really don't give a shit about what happends.

I fixed my leak also: the leak about bluffing when I have pairs and bluffing with mulit opponents. Also I identify a other leak that I don't follow the chart with pairs at early position which I also fixed. I will anluze my game tommorow and see if I find any other leaks.

I should have a qestion thing at the end of a day log. I need to read the mental book and see if I can find any. But I can start now.

How did I feel playing today: 8/10
Do I feel that I tilted?: Yes, before "(3) long break" when I had monster hand at every table, but I solved it by quiting after. (I also had only 10min left before break so) I was really full of addrenalin and I was really supprised after I had stress true playing four tables at the same time. I proby did mistakes but I hope not to many.

7:14 PM
Let's play again after a large break. I feel good now. Posted on PS.com also the qesution I had about four preflop tables. (look down for info)

5:05PM
long break three

Hahaha what a late game haha Had like T1: AK T2: AK T3: monster T4: JJ haha Love it. Feel that is good to take a break after that(10min before real break). I'm really hyped soo it better to take a break.

I played real good this last game, have some thinks to look up at 4:30, :40, :54, and the monster hands. I could not handle playing four tables postflop.... Should ask in PS.com for solutions.

3:57 PM
Break two

Did play really well I feel I have some problem I feel happnend at 3:16, 3:22, 3:45 that I need to look close in the review. Other than that I feel good. Have water and next break I will go and eat some good food. I also have some great hand that I did not have any good Idea how to play so I will post in PS.com.

So 10-15min break or longer depends on my girlfriend..... Hmmm should I? noo it my first struterued game so let not spill it... or.... NO.

2:27 PM
First pause

Have played one hour and I made a mistake in a hand where I dide't have anything and call a all-in raise because I thoth that he was bluffing.

I have this problem that I oppses over the resultat. I think that whole time over how much I have won. I know it about desition and not about the short-term reslutat but creates stress and I need to learn how to control it. In my bigger break I will read about it so I can make a strategy to make eleminete this leak.

I also Bluffed two opponent being skezzed, bad play.

Next time I should buy water because I need to go now and by a water.

1:13 PM
Time to play some poker.

My two leak I idatifie today was
I bluff with pairs when I don't hit triss and I bluff against multi opponents. Also I don't follow the chart when it comes to pair in early position.

Before game
I feel good, only need water but I can do without.

6:50 Am
I should analyze my game every session and make goals for the next session.

So how do I analyze my session?

I will study all the logs for the week at sunday to see if I have missed something and if I fund som patterns in my behaivur.

Ye that is for now, have a great poker day everyone!
MR


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