Gervinho's Galaxy ツ 4NL Back to Basics!

that too bad gerv I had a bad day too playing my SnG lost over $ 120 on party player good poker but nothing seems to go right today :(. Hope thing will go up for you soon. I'm going now hope at least to have some fun for the rest of my saterdaynight and maybe I will have some luck with the girls.

Originally posted by Gerv
but $100+ down in TEN MINUTES, TEN MINUTES?!''

Wow! That is horrible. $1 dollar lost every 10 seconds. I would like to say i can empathise, but even with my downswing experience I'm not sure I've ever had quite such a BB/100 loss.

Rather Unlucky, keep it together though cos you know you'll pull through

Originally posted by DaPhunk

Originally posted by Gerv
but $100+ down in TEN MINUTES, TEN MINUTES?!''

Wow! That is horrible. $1 dollar lost every 6 seconds. I would like to say i can empathise, but even with my downswing experience I'm not sure I've ever had quite such a BB/100 loss.

Such things feel really sick indeed, just don't think about the money Sometimes you will win even more.

[x] Drawing a Line in the Sand...

'..Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up..'
- Thomas A. Edison (1847 - 1931)

'..There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure..'
- Colin Powell (1937 - Present)

A thoroughly analysis of the hands I played on Saturday will come but as I have 5 minutes to write it all down. As you can see in post #187462 I lost like 6 buy-ins withing 1000, thousand seconds. It's insane, it's sick, it's variance, it's normal, it's part of Poker.

But it's very frustrating, annoying, distressing and especially if you feel that you are in a Downswing! As the graph show you a different picture partly because 1 Lost 1 buyin after 00:00 CET and I had a positive session before this late-night session, the blow up of my mind , body and soul has made me go crazy when I shut off my computer.. It seriously affects me somehow, maybe thats me because I looked at the money I lost. I literally went to bed and tried to sleep as I was tired too. And thank God I was tired otherwise I won't know what I have been up to.

Graph:

Life goes on so I will continue playing on NL100, it will be tougher, more intense but that should be equalized that I emerged as a stronger person now. Every step back are 2 steps forward as people say here.

An objective analysis/post will be posted tomorrow as I will NOT be playing Today and Tomorrow on the Higher Limits, I think I will be playing some NL10 SSS on Stars with my $43 bankroll along with the BoD.

Watching the WSOP is also one of my main things to do right now. I upgraded my security on my PC as AVG Pro trial has been expired after 90 days ♦ Maybe I willl write a rough guide on how to protect your PC, as I am a known person in the Dutch community to have a lot of Anti-X programs ♦

For now Cheers
- Gerv

Hi there!
This will be my 2000th post and as a small celebration, I wrote a review of Security programs who might protect you a little bit better! Originally this crazy idea came from a guy who thinks I am addicted to AntiSpyware programs and stuff but in the end, I think you cannot go without them on the .net nowadays.
Unawareness is stupidity!

I hope you like it but it will be a long read for you, well you can skip out the programs you already use ♦, I like to have some feedback on this so if anyone of you is willing to give comments, a big thanks!

Imagine being a Poker player earning at least a stable $x amount per day, per week, per month and per year. Imagine on 1 day where you log in into your poker account only finding your balance is zero, $0, nothing nada! You look at the number, scratch your head and ponder what to do. You try to login through Internet Explorer on Party Poker for instance. One SSL login and your logged in. But still the balance of your account is still zero. Surfing through your Party account, you see that you have cashed out your whole bankroll to your bank account. Only… the bank account number IS NOT yours! You realize that you have been hacked. How could this happen? Or what I like to ask from you, How could you prevent this in the first place?

I would like to write a rough guide into protecting your pc from becoming victim of keyloggers, hackers and other malware. I am notorious in the Dutch community for being a guy who ''overprotects'' his PC with all kinds of programs. Well in my opinion, having only 1 Anti-Virus or Anti-Spyware does not protect you enough from all those malware that is wandering around ready to invade your PC.

[x]Anti Virus; Free, Paid or Cracked?

The question with AntiVirus programs is if they are able to prevent other kinds of spyware, rootkits. Some Anti Virus programs offer complete security to your PC. Personally I do not like this allround security as a specialization in one kind of type of malware (virus, Trojans, keylog etc.) is better. However the CPU usage of all those different programs exceed the solely program.
Definition of Free is that you can use this program permanently and so I do not count 'Trials' as free products. Ofcourse you can use a trial of program X and then a trial of Program Y but that will take a huge amount of time and effort. Also quarantaine is removed when you uninstall program program X for instance.

There are 3 well known free anti virus programs: Avast!, AVG Free and AntiVir.

I have used all three in the past, not at the same time ofcourse .

Avast! Is a CPU intensive program that only protects you from viruses. The interface is rather goofy but once you get to know how it works, it is an easy interface. Removing viruses and Trojans is sometimes hard to do and requires advanced knowledge. Avast! is the 2nd best Free AntiVirus product on the market at this moment.

AVG Free is from the same creators of AVG Pro, grisoft.cz . As I know people who uses only AVG Free because it's free and it's widely known, I do not really like this AntiVirus program due the fact that it doesn't reach as far as the other 2 free AntiVirus programs. AVG Free only covers Viruses which actually can be discovered through other Anti-Spyware programs. If you decide to use AVG, use (1) the AVG Professional 90-day trial through Iobit, Click here. Then if you like it , you can buy it with 10% discount but I recommend reading my other recommendations first

Nowadays, I use AntiVir because it takes less CPU usage of your PC which is great when you were a fanatical gamer. AntiVir detects more than viruses alone but lacks some functions compared to the paid version. However with other programs this can easily be solved/prevented. Updating your virus database can take longer than other programs due the slow server Alvira has. Also the scanning method of Alvira is relatively slower than any other AntiVirus programs. When you go clubbing or something in the weekend, you can go for the 'Scan total system' and shut down your PC when you come home from clubbing. Ofcourse you should have someone with you to spend the night with

If you think about paying a penny for an AntiVirus program which is honestly a solid investment! I think you should go for either Kaspersky or F-Secure. I tried both and I really liked them. Also according to a Dutch consumer magazine like CNET and stuff, they rated both AntiVirus programs as the best pick. Bang for your buck so to speak ♦

If you ever ever ever think about downloading cracked AntiVirus programs and stuff. Do not do it because those coders can crack the program but they also can implement a nasty trojan horse or something that will infect your PC.

Remember: If it’s too good to be true, it ain’t.

-> Conclusion
If you decide to pay a penny or more for an AntiVirus program, go for Kaspersky or F-Secure
Then if you decide to not invest money into an AntiVirus program, I suggest either trying the 90 days free trial of AVG 8 Professional first through Iobit or use

[x]Tweaking your PC or at least repairing it.

I talked a few lines about Iobit.com, well they have 2 great freeware programs which you can use in conjunction with the AVG 8 Pro 90day Trial they offer. They are ‘Advanced WindowsCare Personal’ and ‘Iobit SmartDefrag’.
I simply love these 2 programs because of their simplicity and easy-to-use features.

Advanced WindowsCare Personal is all about speeding up your performance and increasing stability of your PC. When I first scanned my PC with this program, the program itself found a whopping 500+ errors. No wonder my PC was getting slower every day!.
With simple clicks on ‘update’, ‘scan’ and ‘repair’ your PC is tweaked, improved and repaired to get the max out of your PC! Above all, it is Free! so Dutch people are happy anyways
-> Download Advanced WindowsCare Personal here

The other program is Iobit SmartDeFrag. With databases as huge as it can be with PostgreSQL and others. Your PC perfomance become much slower because of this. Regardless whether you use HM,PT or Elephant, Thoroughly defragmenting your database is essential to optimize it’s speed as you datamine your way through your limit.
Smart DeFrag doesnt only Defrag, it also optimizes the disk by streamlining the files based on how frequently you use them! Combine this with the Complete Database clean option at Elephant , the PostgreSQL database will be ran more effectively, faster than ever.
-> Download Iobit Smart DeFrag here

-> Conclusion
Tweaking your PC is a must so why not use these Free programs that do all the work for you? I am definitly a satisfied customer with this

[x]Encryption, isn’t that something from the past?

Keylogging is nowadays hot. Colleagues spying on you while you are working infront of your PC, your wife is spying you when you are playing poker, your roommates wants to know to which sites you are going.
How to counter those applications? I use 3 different softwares in order to protect myself from being keylogged. Those 3 programs are: SnoopFree privacy shield, KeyScrambler and SpySweeper.

While you might have heard of SpySweeper, PestPatrol also does a great job in finding keyloggers!

SnoopFree Privacy Shield is a free program on which you can download at http://www.snoopfree.com . The website does look awful but trust me, it is not a scam! Google ‘SnoopFree Poker’ and you see how many PokerPlayers use this appliciation. SnoopFree prevents other appliciations from taking screenshots from your screen, blocks applications whenever they want to attempt to read your ‘keys’.
It is free and easy to install. When I log in the first time on partyPoker every day, SnoopFree asks me if I want to accept a .tmp file of PartyPoker to hook my keyboard. Ofcourse I reject it but the only thing I cannot do then on PartyPoker is chatting/flaming other people, big deal huh?

KeyScrambler is something different. As you can see on the Main Page, KeyScrambler can be used for Free for Browsers only. You have to pay a one-time fee of $30 in order to let your Pokersoftware be protected by them. I use the personal one at this moment but I am thinking of investing $30 to protect Poker websites as well.
Keyscrambler encrypts keystrokes immediately. When my PC is slow as hell, I sometimes write $@!)!)aa so I know that this software does work! If you are really unsure about keylogging you should invest $30 in it but I personally stick to the Free version for browsers only.

While I might save my bucks from buying KeyScrambler, investing in SpySweeper might be the best win-win situation! SpySweeper is an active Anti-Spyware program which active seeks for malware and keyloggers. It also comes with a total of 15 shields in order to protect you.

While you can use the trial first, the fees of this product is $30 per 1 year subscription and $40 for 2 years and so on. This is significantly more than any other AntiSpyware program but the thing with SpySweeper is that it is a must thing to have because it finds more than any other program.

However the costs of SpySweeper is lower than it’s equilavent program PestPatrol which costs $49 but this one is a one-time fee. If you are in doubts, use the trial of SpySweeper ONLY because SpySweeper scans and removes your infections while PestPatrol only scans your harddrive ;). I have subscription on SpySweeper till Februari 2009 through a promotion so untill then, I do not have to worry.

A free trial of SpySweeper can be downloaded here

-> Conclusion
Using SnoopFree and Keyscrambler Free is a must in my opinion, it increases your security significantly and give me one reason not to use it?
Spy Sweeper is not vital but handy in terms of Search & Eliminate Spyware. Give it a try and let’s see what the outcome is

[x]Prevent, Prevent and Immunize

What is a PC without SpyBot Search&Destroy? SpyBot is a great tool to protect your browser and thus your PC from inbound attacks. It evens protects my PostgreSQL.
Again SpyBot Search&Destroy is an easy to use program. You simply install, update, immunize your browser(s) and activate the scan button (check for problems) to let the program find its way through your PC for any malware. SpyBot is not an active program that starts up when Windows/MAC starts up so you should update once in a while and run a scan after that. Updates are also meant to add new immunize features so it is wise to immunize as well.

-> Spybot Search&Destroy here

SpyWareBlaster is a protective, passive program. In terms of poker this is a fish but this is not the case however
SpywareBlaster is used as follow: Install it, update the database, check the protection, double check if your browser is fully protect and if it does then close the program. Yes Spywareblaster does not have to run actively to have you protected. Just update, immunize and close the program. Easy as it is like Spybot. It is also free after all for even more protection. How great is that?
-> SpywareBlaster is ready to be downloaded here

Another program that I stumbled upon while surfing on the .NET is ProcessGuard. ProcessGuard Guards your processes from being hooked. The name says itself. Poker players recommended this application in combination with SnoopFree for the best anti-keyloggin, anti-hook protection there is available for as low as Zero pennies.
I really like the program as it is the same as a Firewall: It learns itself up to a certain level and automatically blocks a hook what isn't seen as normal.

It is free but upgrading it to Premium is not literally burning your money It's a good purchase
-> http://dw.com.com/redir?edId=3&siteId=4&oId=3000-2239_4-10333974&ontId=2239_4&spi=90acc6c346429076c633bb5e53214770&lop=link&tag=tdw_dltext&ltype=dl_dlnow&pid=10356311&mfgId=69469&merId=69469&pguid=F0CvyAoPjGAAAGm9zdoAAAEj&destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.download.com%2F3001-2239_4-10356311.html%3Fspi%3D90acc6c346429076c633bb5e53214770 ]Download ProcessGuard here

I think the most important programs I use is covered but I want to give you also a short list of applications/website's you might want to use once in a while:

*VirusTotal ~ http://www.virustotal.com , Scans a file [<10mb] for malware
*Jotti ~ http://virusscan.jotti.org , same as VirusTotal
*ZoneAlarm Firewall ~ http://www.zonealarm.com , basic Firewall - a must in my opinion!
*Ad-Aware Free ~ http://www.lavasoft.com , use this Application sometimes to get a second opinion
*MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware ~ http://www.malwarebytes.org/ , Solid & Free AntiMalware program
* Prevx CSI ~ http://www.prevx.com , use this malware scan once in a while, only takes 2 minutes to see if you are infected

Well this was my 2000th post, I hope you enjoy reading it but I think its Too long to read all. However I hope I made you aware of security

- Gerv

Very nice post!

Perhaps make it a bit longer so it could become an article

I was just thinking today that only 1 password to our account is maybe not that difficult to hack only to see you having made an big post on protection. That's really a nice coincidence ;). had only AVG 8.0 free so far but will definatly try some of these programs right away. Thx Gerv

Originally posted by Gerv
...long post

- Gerv

...or don't download porn

Originally posted by timukasr

Originally posted by Gerv
...long post

- Gerv

...or don't download porn

hehe I see live porn when I go clubbing here in Holland
I will make the post a bit longer and optimize the layout

Gerv

Thanks a lot for this amazing post. I currently use Avast Home edition and I must say I have never been keylogged before. A few years ago I let it expire on another comp though, and I got hacked the same week it expired. I now downloaded quite some software you told me to, so I think I'll be safer from now on.

Btw, do you know about how to clear startup items ? I remember doing it to prevent any malware from starting when Explorer loads.

Execute>regedit>HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. From that point on, I dont remember what to do. Anyone able to help me out ?

Originally posted by Ruleza
Btw, do you know about how to clear startup items ? I remember doing it to prevent any malware from starting when Explorer loads.

Execute>regedit>HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. From that point on, I dont remember what to do. Anyone able to help me out ?

Do you mean blocking processes from starting up when Windows start?

I use http://www.glarysoft.com/quick-startup/ , Quick StartUp, very easy, uncheck/check which programs you want to have started up.

if this is not the case then I am looking forward to a reply

Well, thats basicly what it is

I remember knowing a manual approach. You just had to delete all the files in a particular folder, cant remember which one tho.

But thanks, this wil probably work (checking it out right now)

EDIT: Yep, thats it

Thanks a lot for making my comp more secure ♦

Hey Gerv.

Thanks for a brilliant post. I have used a lot of it.

Maybe when you edit it you should put in that snoopFree only works on Winsows XP.

Cheers,
Kimber88

Originally posted by Kimber88
Maybe when you edit it you should put in that snoopFree only works on Winsows XP.

Oh yeah! I forgot! Sorry but there is no alternative yet for SnoopFree besides ProcessGuards Premium but Premium doesnt cover ''blocking screenshots hooks from appliciations''

Hi Gerv, nice post, i think is very important to have secure PC...I vote for F-Secure, i have it now for almost half a year and is great does not slow your PC, making some unexcpected secure actions...is almost invisible, but protection is on very high level

[x] Ready? Set? Go!

There will be Sunshine after rain!

4 Days after I got that swingy session which lasted over 20 minutes, I returned to the tables with a fresh new attitude. I didn't first to plan that I have to wait 4 days in order to refreshen myself but due circumstances I was forced to take a four day break. Doesn't bother me actually, when I feel playing, I play and when I am not, well guess you know the drill.

Only I didnt foresee that on Wednesday, there was Xarry's coaching so my session would be either before this coaching, or immediate after. Players before the coaching were rather TAGgish than Fishy so the choice was made to do it after Xarry's coaching.

Unfortunately, Xarry's headset was kinda broken during the first 30 á 40 minutes so I had to do something else in the mean time to not bore myself.

With a Bullit Energydrink (Softdrink) to increase my concentration, I was ready to rock'n'roll on my limit: No Limit Hold'em $1/$0.5 Full Ring.

The first hand in which a significant amount of BBs exchanged owners happened when I had AceKing and failed to connect to the flop. As my continuation bet would make me have to 2nd barrel it on the Turn, I pushed immediately with <50% of my stack. He calls and seeing no A or K or any funky backdoor, he won the pot with Eights. Geé happens, *noted down*!

While having 27bb on a very very fishy table (Avg. VPIP 23 on the Table) I stayed there. Luckily I picked up AJo on Mp3, I openraise 5bb while Mp1 limped in front of me (Fishy stats like 42/5), he calls and I didnt connect to the flop. A check, A bet and a fold made me have like 33bb, so far so good!

Meanwhile correct pushes were made and I gave someone an ugly bad beat due RunnerRunner Broadway. however I had 6 outs as an addition so I do not know if I can count this as a bad beat, I was cheering that I won 20bbs but a split-second later I realized that I ran him over with Runners.. Now Gerv shouldn't wine of getting outrivered as well, it is all part of the Game.

As Elephant doesnot display the Graphs, I cannot give you a visual overview of my session now. Whenever I start up Elephant, I have to take a 10-minute break since Elephant will leech all the CPU I have on my PC :(...

While I cannot show you pictures of the Graphs, I can tell you that I ended the session with a massive boost to my BR and motivation. I kinda even the swing of Saturday Night with this session and I only can be happy that people call me down with as little as anything

To give you an indication that Fishes play their own cards rather than looking at the board or something I will present the FriedFish moment. Yes there are still people on NL100 who suck at playing Poker. Serious.

The Fried Fish Moment
______________________________________

Known players:
[tg]Position_Stack:hands/vp$ip/RaisePreflop/AF/WTS/ORL/BBvsSteal/W$SD;SB$72,35:18/78 /11 /1,7/6 /-/-/0 ;BB$91,00:2.724/12 /4 /2,7/21 /11 /90 /51 ;Hero$19,23:///////[/tg]
0,5/1 No-Limit Hold'em (9 handed)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with A♥, A♦
Hero raises to $4,00, 6 folds, SB calls $3,50, BB folds.

Flop: ($9,00) T♦, Q♦, 4♥ (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $5,00, SB calls $5,00.

Turn: ($19,00) 8♦ (2 players)
SB checks, Hero raises $10,23 (All-In), SB calls $10,23.

River: ($39,46) 9♣
Final Pot: $39,46

Results follow (highlight to see):
Hero shows a pair of aces (Ah Ad)
SB shows a pair of threes (3h 3c)

Or something nice pulls of:

Known players:
[tg]Position_Stack:hands/vp$ip/RaisePreflop/AF/WTS/ORL/BBvsSteal/W$SD;SB$23,50:22.564/8 /6 /1,8/38 /11 /88 /50 ;BB$18,50:1.893/8 /7 /3,5/35 /26 /91 /34 ;UTG$97,40:527/21 /5 /2,9/30 /13 /67 /45 ;UTG+1$20,00:55/18 /10 /-/20 /0 /100 /100 ;UTG+2$145,59:3.173/27 /6 /1,9/23 /14 /73 /49 ;Hero$18,50:///////;[/tg]
0,5/1 No-Limit Hold'em (10 handed)

Preflop: Hero is BU with 4♥, 4♦
UTG calls $1,00, UTG+1 folds, UTG+2 calls $1,00, 4 folds, Hero calls $1,00, SB calls $0,50, BB checks.

Flop: ($5,00) 6♠, 8♠, 4♣ (5 players)
SB checks, BB bets $3,00, 2 folds, Hero raises to $17,50 (All-In), SB folds, BB raises to $17,50 (All-In).

Turn: ($40,00) 3♣
River: ($40,00) 4♠
Final Pot: $40,00

Results follow (highlight to see):
Hero shows four of a kind, fours (4h 4d)
BB shows two pairs, eights and fours (As 8d)

I am kind off grabbing the ropes again of what I used to do. So tonight I will be playing some more Poker. Let's play the best I can :)!

I owe you presenting you the graph so stay tuned for the next post!

Oh and the guide is undergoing some maintenance of layout and content during the weekend. I add some more programs

- Gerv

9172

Energy drinks are actually bad for concentration, I read it in BLUFF ♦

Originally posted by Yoghi
Energy drinks are actually bad for concentration, I read it in BLUFF ♦

Seriously? in what sense? because it peps/activates/wakes me up a little bit due the cafeine. Also it's healthy due the Vitamin B ♦

I kinda forgot, I'll check it this weekend for you

Originally posted by Gerv

Originally posted by Yoghi
Energy drinks are actually bad for concentration, I read it in BLUFF ♦

Seriously? in what sense? because it peps/activates/wakes me up a little bit due the cafeine. Also it's healthy due the Vitamin B ♦

Maybe you feel over powered with energy drinks (like kids and sugar) and you start to make irrational pushes because you think you are strong :P.