... and Keep Moving Forward. 2014

"Old" words, but the NEW blog ! Let's start this 2014 year FRESH&RIGHT and KEEP MOVING FORWARD !

INTRODUCTION

The ultimate PURPOSE here is to implement better daily routine/schedule, covering very important approach/attitude towards mental and physical strength - EAT better, REST better, EXERCISE more -, and IMPROVING at POKER in general.

To achieve this purpose, I'm gonna concentrate on these 4 major GOALS:
1. LIFE. Improve at daily tasks and habits.
2. POKER. More analysis.
3. POKER. Continue to study.
4. POKER. More volume.
X. And as a "side goal" let's put something very ambitious just for the sake of fun and thrill - reach NL200 by the end of the year, and start living just from poker! ♦

And if you'd like to know more personal details about me [hidden in the spoiler] and my previous struggles, you can click here and visit my old blog.

MONITORING MY PROGRESS - TASK TABLE

To monitor my progress towards achieving these goals, I'm gonna use this "Task Table":

* The basic form and "points" idea are borrowed from the fellow pokerstrategist

So the idea here is to simply do a task any given day, and get a "green cell" - 1 point. A "red cell" will mean failed task, therefore zero points. There is an example on Monday. And it is very important to note, that the "PR" column is NOT the GOAL here - it is put just to "have a feel" on what the "Perfect Run" amount of points would be now for me. And by the way, I think it is very important that these "perfect run" amounts would be set to be a very reasonable numbers, cause I'm quite done with overly optimistic, and not really achievable goals So yeah, if I get, let's say, 3 points out of "PR" 4, it won't mean that it is bad. I will still be happy with myself, BUT also will be keeping in mind, that it should not become a habit, and that there's definitely room for improvement. Therefore, what IS THE [short-term] GOAL HERE - to beat the previous week's TOTAL score ! So if I get 10 points for the first week, then naturally I'll be aiming for at least 11 points for the next week. BUT ! if I do happen to collect less [or equal] points for the present "aiming" week than the week before [ex. first week I collect 10 points, and this - second - week I unfortunately collect 9 or the same 10 points] - I definitely won't consider this as a fail [IF! by all means, I was not purposely abusing it]. But it will bring me to THE [long-term] GOAL HERE - NEED for IMPROVEMENT. So now it will simply mean that I HAVE TO, MUST TO, OUGHT TO or whatever the strongest word might be here - I WILL HAVE TO BEAT MY LATEST HIGH-SCORE! So if the first week I get 10 points, second - 9 or 10, then the following (third) week I will absolutely will have to collect no less than 11 points.

SOME RULES

"Volume: x.xxx hands" - satellites and MTT's are NOT included here. Hitting the stop/loss too soon automatically equals to zero points, unfortunately.

"Post at least X hands" - hands that I played posted in our hand evaluation forums, WITH as much info as I can provide, and the link given here in the blog as a proof that I did the task.

"Wake up as planned" - meaning that usually I HAVE to wake up at 10.00, but sometimes can do an exception till MAX 11.30 for those mornings when I go to sleep later at night. Anything later than 10.00 for "regular" and 11.30 for "late-night" mornings won't be valid for a point.

"Better food and fluids management" - it basically means trying to occasionally add in my day some healthier/energy food, more vitamins, but the most important part here (the one that will reflect in points) for now will be concentrating on consistency: 3 or more normal meals a day, first being at ~12.00, and the last ~22.30, with the STRICT RULE of "No more food and fluids past 23.00!".

"Regular water drinking" - very simple: drink around 2 liters of water through the day, and that will be valid for a point.

"Regular stand-up and eye rest" - meaning an OBLIGATORY 5 minute break EVERY HOUR from sitting down too much and looking at the PC screen. If I'm not at the PC for any particular day, meaning my eyes are not overloaded in the first place, this automatically equals for a point.

"Go to sleep as planned" - meaning that usually I HAVE to start preparing for going to bed at 01.00, leaving myself a little under then 1hour to actually fall asleep and then have a proper 8hour rest from 02am till 10am. But I'm going to be very strict here considering points - anything later, EVEN if it is a "party" night, automatically gets zero points.

SOME GUIDELINES FOR MY DAILY ROUTINE

This is just a basic GUIDELINES of what I think would be kinda optimal for me right now regarding daily routine schedule. I will try to follow it as often as I can, but this is definitely NOT obligatory. The "Task Table" is much MUCH more important.

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10.00-11.30. Analysis part I: last day's sessions review. Hand post for evaluation.

11.30-12.30. Shower, breakfast, internet (forums, inbox, fb, etc.)

12.30-14.00. Short poker session and Analysis part II*.

14.00-15.00. Break from poker with occasional 45 min walk outdoors.

15.00-17.00. Learning part**.

17.00-18.00. Dinner, preparing for the grind.

18.00-23.55. Playing part, including supper and occasional public coaching. If I hit stop/loss too soon, then, unfortunately, the "no more poker" break for the whole evening starts (except for public coachings) and recharging for tomorrow begins

00.00-01.00. NO MORE POKER*. Rest from anything related to it, maybe a tv-show, or a book, or smth.

01.00-02.00. Preparing to bed, successfully falling asleep.

8 hours of GOOD rest, and then everything happily all over again
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* Analysis part. My own game review/analysis/leak finder, working with the tracking software and Equilab; MORE MATH !; opponents' analysis.

** Learning part. 95% of my focus will go to PLENO'S COURSE! for a first 3-4 weeks I suppose. Afterwards - hand reading exercise; browsing hand evaluation forum and reading hands posted by other members, maybe sometimes giving a comment (WHEN I'll feel confident enough to do so); public coachings; and definitely of course - watching new videos, and posting a summary or at least "my rating" here in the blog, in the same manner as before.

Playing part. So my main game will be NLHE 6-max ZOOM ♠_cool:, stakes between NL25 and NL50, while I reach a comfortable BRM just for the sole NL50. Stop/loss is gonna be set to 3BI/day. Also, occasionally gonna throw-in a satellite here and there, especially on Saturday evenings, and almost full day on Sundays whenever possible, but it is NOT compulsory. The MAIN GAME and FOCUS is - ZOOM.

* STRICT closing of ANYTHING related to poker at 23.55, giving me an hour before going to bed to "refresh" and clean my mind and properly prepare for a good night's sleep.

UPDATING

The most important updates will be on Mondays, when I review/post my weekly "Task table" and weekly graph/results.

But also I'm still gonna be updating here almost daily, i.e. whenever I play a satellite (still gonna play those as before); whenever I watch a new video; whenever I do the task that needs proof to be posted; whenever I have a hand worth mentioning, whining-about , bragging-about , ashamed-of , or simply just interesting one; or whenever I just feel sad after a session and am looking for some comfort ; orrrrr I'm crazy happy about something ♦ So yeah ... These are the things to look forward here in this blog, if you happen to follow it