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♠ A Show of Force ♠ Mid-Highstakes Action

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M1rCea
Joined: 06.07.2010

Hey guys, first of all I want to take a moment to thank you for your support, I always thought it would take a while to have at least one person to be interested in whether I post or not. So now, you really inspired me to push on.

Gay feels aside, I'm gonna leave detailed updates for another time and talk about something I think will benefit you too, since it is running through my head right now. Moving on to today's topic:

Negative Emotions save you from ending up suck*ng d*ck for drugs

What I'm trying to make a point of is that sometimes negative emotions are healthy, normal and actually helpful.
I've been in somewhat of a bad mood the last couple of days, but especially today. So when u have such a shit mood, usually u try to distract urself from it, right? Like make it go away. Well, it may actually be a blessing.

I realized I am having this negative emotions because of how I'm living my life right now (hint- this is where the useful part comes in). I realized I am really not living up to my standards in both of my most important areas right now: Finances (Poker) and Socially (girls, quality friends, adventure). I basically don't keep any kind of schedule anymore (not even trying lol) and lately my social life revolves only around my gf.

So.. What does my brain do when it sees me being such a bitch? It gives me negative emotions to push me to action. It basically says 'u will keep feeling like shit until u get ur shit handled (haha)! until start living up to your standards again'. And man, do I feel awful!
This is negative motivation. This is your brain actually being on your side, pushing you from the back to man up and not accept this shit situation.

So you actually want to feel bad when u fail to reach your goals and living the life you want! If during this period my brain would be like 'whatever' and would continue feeding me positive emotions, my life would continue going downhill, until I end up suck*ng d*ck for drugs.
Just understanding WHY I feel like this made me much more accepting of my negative emotions. I am now like 'oh I'm feeling bad because I really let myself down lately, I just have to start getting back on top of things and it will go away, so cool that my brain is wired to help me this way _grin:'

The dark side of negative emotions is when you have them and cannot tell why.

To sum it up, negative emotions are not always bad. When they are based in you not living up to your standards and expectations from yourself, they can be a really strong motivator to get back on top and dominate.

Writing this out definitely helped me out, let me know if you found this useful / resonate with this.

Daniel


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AfonsoMagalhaes
Joined: 03.12.2009

Hi,

first time reeding this blog and I really liked the way you decoded that kind of feelings because I feel the same way sometimes.

Good luck and ty!

Regards


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SneakyhanD
Joined: 29.10.2007

This is a common psychological response in failure to meet expectations. Having some level of awareness lets you be in control, sort of, because as you described, you know why you feel the way you feel.

Being realistic, being in tune with your individuality, is important when setting goals and expectations - because if they don't match our characteristics, energy, traits, needs etc.. they are designed to fail.

“My expectations were reduced to zero when I was 21. Everything since then has been a bonus."

I understand what you're saying and I do agree that when you feel in a certain way, that's not always just Because. Of course there are many factors and stuff that influence our feelings, but in general it totally makes sense that if I do something that I don't feel like it's ME, it'll feel wrong. how wrong feels ? probably negative, hehe.


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chilliyen
Joined: 12.04.2010

Like your blog, but can u write in black, the blue is doin my eyes in!!!!!!!


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M1rCea
Joined: 06.07.2010


@Afonso thanks man and welcome, this is a concept I've learned from someone else, but only when u apply it to your own life you can see its use.

@sneaky yeah I think there is a danger in setting too unrealistic expectations, but at the same time setting them too low can also limit your progress. I guess it's a fine line

@chilli good idea, I will darken the font a little bit. I still think it helps to distinguish my writing from the other posters (thankfully there are some lol)

Ok guys, staying in offtopic land for this one. In my previous post I've talked about the use of negative emotions and what follows is a direct consequence for the good. Basically I was motivated enough to step up in one of my main areas - pick up.

As you might have guessed, I am interested in picking up girls, but I rather incorporate it in the concept of 'Adventure' - making your life like a movie. So in what follows I will take you on a journey through all that happened in last night's adventure, both inside and outside of my head.

WARNING: I go very into detail sometimes, so you can see all my thought processes, how I overcome bad emotions, negativity etc, to bring the PowerHouse out to play and dominate. You can see exactly how I go from anxiety at the start of the night to effortlessly flowing through rivers of glory and girls.

This is just a probe post that I initially wrote for myself, sharing it to give you (and me, since I haven't incorporated this fully)some insight into how this kind of lifestyle looks like. Let me know if you like it / want more of this :f_love:

Legend of Daimon

Started the night off with a braveheart decision, to not wait for the guys (alin+florin) and go out alone ahead to this pool party I had heard of. To me going out alone, especially in a night time environment, was out of my reality. But I know Alin does this quite frequently so I figure this is my opportunity to give it a try. Doing this is very in alignment with one of my key values, being self reliant.
They are on a double date so I figure this is it. Going to talk to strangers + being alone there = some hardcore shit for me, since I haven’t been out regularly in ages and lately I didn’t get very good reactions lol. Oh and as a bonus, most of the day I’ve had a shit mood, so repulsive, but in a way it’s good because it gave me extra leverage – had negative emotions partly because not stepping up in this area of my life lately.
Pumped some RSD Alexander~ in my system before going out and put my focus on relaxing, which I feel is the best thing u can do about your state.

As I leave my house alone and get to the subway (got a free pass lol), some anxiety creeps in, totally natural. I handle this by saying ‘no, it’s ok dude, you should feel awesome right now, you are finally stepping up!’ and looking on some notes from the past where I acknowledge my successes in this area. I read and smile.
I figure I should start getting in a social mood asap and talk to random people (on the subway, on the road there), but I hesitate and not do it. Which was fine, tried not to judge / put pressure on myself too much, which is key from not falling into a negative mindset. Any time anxiety arises, I am like ‘man this is awesome, I am actually going out alone to game, I am stepping up HARD’.

I finally get there, could get my gf to come over (she was nearby) and I would feel a lot less awkward but I decide no, this would kill all the challenge. I have no tic-tacs (breath mints) so I’m like fml I will just get water there asap – of course I also decided not to drink alcohol, trying not to rely on dat shit, because Perfection.
So I figure I’ll issue myself a challenge. I was quite thirsty so I’m like “no, you can’t drink water until you talk to two sets of girls”. This should provide extra leverage to get me going at the beginning, which I think is key.

I go in and it all looks quite cool!

Not a lot of people there yet, but I like the place. So I get my phone out (my best try to not look like a lonely creep) for some comfort, while I look around anxiously. I move around, I am guessing people start noticing me being alone and weird so I figure I should start taking action soon, before going in a bad mood spiral. I really wanted the water so I’m ‘Ok let’s get you the water. Just two sets come on.’
Eventually I go to these two girls who are sitting by the pool, realized I had some standards that it should go well but ‘man, all you have to do is open and see what happens’. I do it, have a little bit of a chat, open like “hey ladies, how is the water?” (they had their feet in water lol), I eject before it gets too awkward. Short and sweet interactions early, more intense as the night progresses, makes a lot of sense!

Got this out of the way, time for the 2nd approach and I can get my water. A little time goes by as I’m not very decisive. Almost break my agreement with myself and go to the bar. “Hey, 1 approach is good too, bro!”. Then I remember RSD Brad saying he would buy the drink, but could not drink from it until he approaches. So I am like yeah, I can buy my water, but won’t drink from it.

So here I am walking around with a glass of water and a bottle in my hand. Usually I am trying to make it not look I am drinking water because I fear I will be judged like /he’s poor, he’s too boring lol/, so getting it in a glass with ice and lemon is a good one. This time however I had to take the rest of the water with me in the bottle, so I borrow a frame I got from RSD Alex – “I am going to the gym tomorrow, I can’t drink tonight” to make it all ok.
I finally do my 2nd approach, where I ask some girls if they will participate in beer pong, I get to me not drinking alcohol and why, and right as I’m talking to them I start to sip from my water. Aaaah so refreshing!

From this on, I am feeling more ok and start getting into the groove. I figure my whole frame will be like “I am just waiting for my friends to get here, so I’m talking to you to not get bored”, which I feel is very solid and honest.
Approach another 2set asking some random shit lol, one of them is ok, the other, a redhead reacts negatively. No problem, just acknowledge her bad mood and keep it going. I get some shit for my tanktop, like they are for girls haha, but I find it funny and take it even further saying it’s too long and looks like a dress, keep my mood light. Eventually they open up and start getting quite engaged. I tell them I am just talking to them until my friends get here to not get bored and they relax like ‘yeah cool, u can hang around’.

The skill of just talking shit gets very important here. If I let a period of silence be too long because I don’t know what to say, it gets awkward for all of us. This is why as rsd alex says, it’s about having a large quantity of what to say, not quality.
The 3 girls want to take a pic with me so they look for the event’s photographer I’m like ‘haha ok I guess I’m cool’. We do it and I start chatting up the photographer, which seems to be a really cool guy.

I decide to go into ‘adventure mode’ and make it fun when he tells me I look familiar to him. I am like ‘yeah, I think I know you too!’ (lol). He tells me he also works as a reporter. I get a click in my mind of a guy I randomly met from some newspaper a few days ago and I am like yeah, maybe he’s a common friend of ours lol. He’s like oh you mean Andrew or Gaby? I randomly choose and say yeah that one. “He’s a little fat and very sociable, right?”. “I am like yeah, him.” We vibe ok, I tell him I play poker, he says oh so you’re a famous poker player around here, eh (guessing at this point I had the angelic aura going on)? I look like I’m trying to be humble about it like, yeah, I do pretty well haha. All this time I see the 3 girls looking over, I feel so cool haha.

>>me trying to photobomb the 'Home Base' girls

I go back to them at this point they clearly like me, they are ok but none of them look very hot so I’m like yeah they’ll be my friends. Somewhere around this point my friends Alin (like all in haha lol such a bad joke) and Florin arrive, which gives me a lot more situational confidence. Get a good feeling that I’ve done quite well alone until they arrived and they didn’t find me by myself, drunk in some corner, crying. I get more motivation to tear it up. I start going around with them, I feel even better to see I am already warmed up and they are still a bit awkward, not like in a mean way, but to step up and motivate them.

So I take initiative, approach some more girls. The 3 girls from earlier keep leering around me haha. I talk to them from time to time, but try not to get too comfortable with them and keep putting myself out there. At this point I am really just amusing myself, I feel ON, expressing myself crisp and clear. I have the aura of the Gods, people around are looking at me, so this is what it feels like.
I go to some girls in white t-shirts and I ask them if I can be in their clan of white t-shirts (lol wtf) since my tanktop is also partly white. They love me, also are a little drunk, the cute one grabs me by the neck and gets close, kind of like ‘haha I got him first’. I feel I can kiss her, but don’t really need to, they start talking about my boobs (lol), I hang around a little more, it’s on with the cute one, but no rush I go around some more.

I talk to my baseline group of 3girls from earlier and Alin comes in, saying ‘what are the chances of us having a 3some?’ (hahah). They react quite badly, giving him a lot of shit about how unfunny that was lol. I already feel part of their group and try to ease them down, telling him about the redhead (which also gave me shit earlier) that it’s ok that’s how she behaves normally. They end up blowing him off (they don’t realize he was one of my friends I was expecting lol), telling me how much they like me, that they normally don’t accept people in their group, but I’m fun and I’m the only reason they are still around, because they find the party boring. I go like ‘sooo.. wanna have a 3some?’. They bust out laughing and I once again confirm that it’s about the vibe and comfort, since what got them pissed earlier from Alin, now got them lolling. In my mind I’m like feel the Power, bitches!

At this point I am on like a motherfucker, I decide fuck it let’s make this epic. I take my tanktop off and show my wonderful aesthetics, since it is a pool and already saw ppl in bathing suits. People are obviously mirin’. Walk around in my skinny jeans, to find my friends, they are engaged with two girls, I parade around they are too into the girls interaction, fuck it. I go back to my girls and then to the cute white shirt girl from earlier who is sitting by the pool.
She still loves me of course, standing right next to my face. I kiss her, she laughs and says she hates me and ‘oh what r u doing to me’, we makeout some more, she says she wants to go into the water with me (I had my bathing suit on underneath my jeans) so I’m like ‘yeah, later’, kiss some more. Her ugly friend sprays water on us, I’m like omg bitch I hope u didn’t ruin my hair, I bounce.

>>ultra hottie in the middle, with random weaklings

Now I’m on fire, see some cute girl in bikini + some top walking by, I decide to stop her when it’s a bit too late (she had already passed me by), but I’m loud, playful and decisive like “you! Come here, now! Haha omg”. She smiles, instantly comes, we chat for a while, my homebase girls leave at this point, waving to me. Looks like Alin is talking to a friend of bikini girl so we head over there, go back and forth, I try to get closer but blah it doesn’t go.

I go talk to some girl I made some remark about at the start of the evening (when beginning socializing mode), I reengage her, she is very cute. After talking to her for a while, looks like she is the gf of the DJ, a celebrity (my rommate is a big fan of his) haha, we vibe for a while, I let her go.

While chatting to the guys, a girl comes to me randomly and asks me to take a picture of her because it’s a challenge. I’m like ‘haha ok, this is the lamest challenge ever’ (lamest excuse to approach me), but I am a forgiving person.
Later on me, Alin and Florin get to the final set of the night, there is a girl I had already talked to at the beginning of the night (saying I don’t drink because of the gym) and she recalls that, I vibe with her, looks like we have a weird amount of stuff in common (eating healthy, gym, writing with a fountain pen lol, plans to be an entrepreneur). She is quite into me, I can tell she is trying to impress me and she is talking a lot, I am ok with that.
At this point my friends want to go, my gf is waiting to see me someplace else, I had been telling her I’m on my way lol. So I grab the girls number and go.

We bounce, going downtown where there usually is action, also my gf is around there, I tell her I won’t be long with the guys so she’ll wait for me some more, she has someone to keep her company so it’s ok.
We’re in a good mood, the place is quite empty, Alin goes to talk to some foreign girls, I jump in, get in an argument about nordic people having accents, and I go “Yeah they do have an accent, they go like Her Lepaaarco” – which is finnish for Mr. Bat lol, an inside joke with Alin, we both start saying to the girl loudly HER LEPARCO! She keeps being wtf hahah nice timez.

We go into a loud club, Alin is on top of things approaching like a machine. I less comfortable in this venue because of the banging music, making talking almost impossible. I also find a set of two girls, the cute one blows me off. I end up talking to her friend which is uglier but meh whatever, she is receptive, I do some retarded sandwich dance with her to get my hands warm, she is a little bit intimidated haha. I tell her I was a dancer for a club for 2 years (lol) and show her some of my retarded moves. I see my gf had been calling me a lot of times, I go out to talk and this is where the night ends – I didn’t even fck my gf, so this is a sad story (more chances to fuck the white shirt girl at the party haha).

The cool thing is this sets a refference point for the future, that I can do all this stuff again. So for a while I won’t put any pressure/expectation on my nights(I accept that not all nights can be like this – night variance), since I had this one. This makes it more likely to have a good night in the future. Anyway I am preparing to go to a nearby city I love to visit a friend and this is pretty much what I will do there, so this is a good warmup.

>> thumbs up from me in the background

Review
So many valuable lessons from this night!

On going out alone – it really isn’t as bad as you think it is. When gaming, you’re not spending too much time with your friends anyway. Very good idea from Alin is to make friends with a group at the beginning of the night (like I made with the 3 girls) and make them your base, go back to them between sets. He goes out 50% of the time alone, and he goes out a LOT.
Having ‘friends’ be with you is just some mental comfort, it doesn’t do that much for you in practical terms. This empowers you to know you don’t need somebody ‘special’ to go out and game like a mothefucker.
When you’re alone it’s up to you if you’ll be the weird guy awkward guy talking to strangers or the cool, sociable guy knowing and meeting anyone

Props
 I can have an awesome adventure by myself
 As long as you stay in set and express yourself freely, people begin to love you
 I can talk and keep a set engaged forever
 I don’t wait on someone else to take initiative, I take it and inspire others
 Also can game in really loud environments (sandwich dance ftw lol)

Lessons
 Focus on relaxing
 Get leverage for those first few approaches (drink etc)– accept that you’ll feel awkward, totally fine
 You don’t need momentum, a good mood; this night is proof you can make it epic anytime
 Very low criteria for first approaches – even ‘hi’ is enough
 It’s about making myself ok with it, and they will be ok (being alone, not drinking etc) – being alone and approaching yeah I’m just shy and I am working on socializing
 Once you’re into a bit more social mood, negative feedback is just fun haha
 It’s about talking a lot especially at the beginning of the interaction, any random shit environment, their clothes etc)
 Make it fun for yourself – more epic, better mood, better story to tell(w/ photographer etc)

So what could I have done better?
 Go for the number on more interactions. Even if you don’t use it, just build the skill.
 Don’t arrange to see gf later in the night, since other opportunities can arise (I think I could have gotten the white shirt home).
 ISOLATE GIRLS! And push sets as far as you can. I really think I could have fingered/fucked the white shirt at the party if I had taken her aside.


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StaticMoth
Joined: 22.05.2009

Real good stuff man, keep it up :f_thumbsup:


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NightShadePMC
Joined: 16.11.2010

Careful with the "multi-tabling", buddy don't lose EV from the main table.


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M1rCea
Joined: 06.07.2010

@static tx bro!
@nightshade all about picking your spots haha

Cool hand of the day
IPoker, $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $149.53 (149.5 bb)
Hero (BB): $183.95 (184 bb)
UTG: $100 (100 bb)
MP: $46.75 (46.8 bb)
CO: $69.91 (69.9 bb)
BTN: $116.50 (116.5 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q J
CO posts BB OOP, 2 folds, CO checks, 2 folds, Hero raises to $5, CO calls $4

Flop: ($11) 4 2 A (2 players)
Hero bets $7.18, CO calls $7.18

Turn: ($25.36) Q (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $12.68, Hero calls $12.68

River: ($50.72) 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $28, Hero calls $28

Results:

Spoiler

$106.72 pot ($3 rake)
Final Board: 4 2 A Q 8
Hero mucked Q J and won $103.72 ($50.86 net)
CO showed K 2 and lost (-$53.36 net)

Another one from today

IPoker, $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 5 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $138.40 (138.4 bb)
BB: $103 (103 bb)
MP: $186 (186 bb)
Hero (CO): $123.40 (123.4 bb)
BTN: $67.15 (67.2 bb)

Preflop: Hero is CO with K K
MP folds, Hero raises to $2.50, 2 folds, BB calls $1.50

Flop: ($5.50) K K 7 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($5.50) 7 (2 players)
BB bets $3.63, Hero calls $3.63

River: ($12.76) 8 (2 players)
BB bets $9, Hero raises to $20

, BB raises to $96.87 and is all-in

, Hero calls $76.87

Results:

Spoiler

$206.50 pot ($3 rake)
Final Board: K K 7 7 8
BB showed 7 7 and lost (-$103 net)
Hero mucked K K and won $203.50 ($100.50 net)

Somebody left the cooler open...


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M1rCea
Joined: 06.07.2010

Alrighty, haven't done one of these in a while, so here I go on a

~July Recap~

The start of the month caught me in the middle of my biggest downswing ever -34BI's, during which I started questioning the existence of good in the world and santa claus.

Seriously though, this had a very high impact on me. Honestly, it brought on a 'Life Downswing' (lol) - The only dude I was going out with and really connected left the country, had a lot of drama with GF (probably the most drama intense period of my life, lasting till this day, so biggest Emotional downswing ever too lol).
So all the areas of my life (besides the Gym, thank you based god) - Girls, Social, Poker went crashing down

As I'm writing this, I am wondering why am I sharing this here but oh well, this is a very holistic blog I guess and it appeals to ppl who are/were also down and want inspiration, to see someone in the same shoes who will not accept staying down, who wants to fucking own this fucking shit, to CONQUER, OVERPOWER and CRUSH.

Extracting Max Value from a Downswing
Let’s go on with learning some stuff from this bullshit.

Reasons for the downswing
 Running bad (we all know the list won’t end here)
 Playing bad – yup, started going into auto mode very often, lack of quality play
 Working on my game for approximately 0hrs – this and playing bad were really the source of pain for me since I knew they were under my control and that I am also very responsible for this swing
 Overall life management grade: Chaos – I renounced any schedule/structure to my life
 Drama in other areas - don’t have life together in other areas: more tilt, less focus

Impact
 Less volume
 Less confidence / sense of purpose in life
 Overall decrease in feeling of Power over my life
 Shitty mood timez
 Deterioration in relationships with loved ones (I take pride in the fact that usually my good mood Overpowers the negative moods of my close ones and eventually they get ‘contaminated’, not this period)

Identifying with Results
This is the main eye opener. I am beginning to see that I currently I am much more affected by results (as in money) in Poker than I like to admit to myself. So at this point, Variance pretty much runs my life. If I run good for a while it ripples into my whole life. If I run nightmarish (like this month), guess what! It ripples into my whole life…
Thing is, I don’t control variance in Poker (at least I don’t think so). This is why it is crucial to come up with my own criterias of measuring how well I’m doing. Placing the control exclusively within.

Evaluating yourself through factors like schedule, volume, quality of play, working on game etc. is what I’m talking about. Ideally, you would want to measure how well you did in a month based exclusively on this kind of factors. Since you can work on them and they will directly impact your results.

I know, this looks like some effort is involved and I’ve been very lazy with this as well, but the importance of this approach greatly increased in my mind after this downswing. Saying “I will just not care about my results” and not look at cashier etc is not enough – I’ve been doing this, looking at results 1x/week – because there are no criterias for how well you’re doing.

So I feel this is becoming my main project right now, shifting focus from $$$ results to factors that are totally under my control. I am commiting to come back with further work on this transition – posting it here will make be accountable, I would really be a total pussy if I don’t mention anything about this again lol. Other reasons
 Much easier to have a balanced life
 Feeling more in control
 Easier to be in a good mood, satisfied with myself
 MAD DIMEZ (quoting plen0)

Anyway, to round up the story of my month, I started crawling out from the pits of poker hell, aaaaaand (to my immense satisfaction and swagness) I ended up the month in Profitz Land.

Still playing a mix of NL50 and NL100, up ~230euros for the month.

Also, I’ve been in another city staying at a friend’s house this week, total adventure times, harassing girls on the street, getting good results, good times.

As always, I am glad to receive feedback

Cya playaz!


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M1rCea
Joined: 06.07.2010

Every day you resolve to do something and you don't do it, you are rewiring your brain.
~Tai Lopez


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M1rCea
Joined: 06.07.2010

Been away on adventures of infinity these past weeks, updates coming soon

power of saying NO
http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=6jlzwG4tmaI&p=n#/1282;1417


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M1rCea
Joined: 06.07.2010

'Sup, I'm back.
To summarize the past few months, I've been partying at the end of summer, then started playing more seriously, as I had promised myself.

A month and a half ago I came to another city to live with a poker friend from my skype group. He plays higher than me (NL200-some NL500), we have many things in common and I have a lot to learn from him. Started working on my game and putting in volume hardcore mode. Buuut... Since the beginning of last month I am in a neverending downswing of ~40BI. Frustrating. Very frustrating.

Dropped down to NL50. Starting fresh, new database, new approach based on factors within my control, work a lot on my game.
Overall I want to focus on improving like a maniac.

Objectives for this week:
[ ] Play at least 2k hands/day
[ ] Play 6 days/week
[ ] Study 10hrs/week
[ ] Log sessions everyday
[ ] Score at least 8/10 for the week on quality
[ ] Go through all the marked hands. Post hands

My overall life will consist in Poker and Gym.

I re-started posting because I think this will help, being a means of self-analysis and getting my thoughts (poker and life) out there.

So let's focus on getting this shit handled

Cya soon


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WillyD
Joined: 14.11.2011

Nothing can go wrong when you follow the post with a Mobb Deep classic. Gl sir


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M1rCea
Joined: 06.07.2010

Originally posted by WillyD
Nothing can go wrong when you follow the post with a Mobb Deep classic. Gl sir

thx brah, yeah old mobb deep tracks are so solid.

Today's update

So today was the first day of this new ERA.
Hard to engage mind at first, b/c minor loss of momentum, motivation (hadn't played for 2 days)

Was challenging to put in the 2k hands. I accepted to go out after the gym, even though I had put in very few hands until then. And when I got back from gym/going out was tired and hard to focus. But I said no, today's goal is getting reached so at 2AM I go and take a powernap for 30mins and get back to the grind.
I allowed myself to get distracted and paid for it.

Lessons
:diamond:should strengthen checking range on paired boards (esp BVB), I usually have Ahigh as my best hand, should also incorporate some weak trips, some middle pairs or else I am vulnerable to getting blown off my hand. This can also serve as an idea for a spot to bluff wider vs villains
Hand ex
Prima, $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 3 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

Hero (SB): $64.67 (129.3 bb)
BB: $74.57 (149.1 bb)
: $50 (100 bb)
BTN: $500 (1,000 bb)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 4 A
folds, Hero raises to $1.50, BB calls $1

Flop: ($3) T T 6 (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $1.50, Hero calls $1.50

Turn: ($6) T (2 players)
Hero checks, BB checks

River: ($6) Q (2 players)
Hero checks, BB checks

Results:

Spoiler

$6 pot ($0.30 rake)
Final Board: T T 6 T Q
Hero showed 4 A and won $5.70 ($2.70 net)
BB mucked J K and lost (-$3 net)

:diamond:table dynamics are very important, u should alter ur ranges accordingly
Hand ex

Spoiler

IPoker, $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 5 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $48.75 (97.5 bb)
BB: $63.15 (126.3 bb)
MP: $57.93 (115.9 bb)
Hero (CO): $50.75 (101.5 bb)
BTN: $55.49 (111 bb)

Preflop: Hero is CO with K J
MP folds, Hero raises to $1.25, 2 folds, BB raises to $4.50, Hero raises to $10, BB raises to $63.15 and is all-in, Hero folds

Here I thought it's a hand I would almost always 4bet, but a hand earlier he barreled me off a hand, so expects me to be aggro. Couldn't help myself tho :f_biggrin:
:diamond:should switch from hand goals to hourly goals (earlier I felt tempted to just load on tables to get the volume in faster) - 5h/day instead of 2k hands a day. Quality timez


^Outline of my new approach to results, I am filling in after every session, giving myself grades.
I am planning to switch to completely basing my play on key factors within my control, and not looking at money results in short term. I surrendered wanting to move up and want to really crush it and work on my game @ NL50.

New goal is to perfect my preflop, really work hard on dem thug ranges. I look forward to it actually, got UTG done (incl standard/vs fish OR, range protection vs 3bets etc)

Beast


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Hello, great read this blog has been so far, really putting some effort into this...I also live in Biatcharest but I'm not having like even half the fun you're getting, so this kinda inspires me to put a little more effort into this. Keep it up ! GL


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4s4s4s
Joined: 12.09.2014

keep up. following.


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M1rCea
Joined: 06.07.2010


hey dany, thanks, really glad I inspire u, crush it brah.
4s4s4s - thanks for taking the time to post

I really appreciate feedback from anyone reading the blog, makes it feel more alive, so thanks to the people that are taking the time to post here.

Fuaaaark listening to some siiick late nite tunez from Ibiza Global Radio, the music they put on (esp at night) inspires me so much, I get visions of myself owning life, partying it up in Ibiza surrounded by heavenly blessed beauties :heart:

On a more sombre note, sometimes it feels like everything around me is collapsing. Poker legislation in Romania is very unclear right now and can make a turn for the worse, presidential elections are happening, a really shady guy has big chances to win and would impact the future (taxes, etc) pretty negatively, my bad run in poker (lol) etc. Can be quite depressing.
But it just fuels my fire. Even though it will be more difficult, my success will prove even more than before, the pride of being one of the few who 'made it' will be even bigger. As long as there is a way, I will do it. Whatever it takes. Poker or no poker. I am willing to sacrifice anything. I only need food, water and sleep.

Getting back on track, got some smooth sailing today. Put in 6,5h / 3,6k hands. Yeah over my daily goal. Schedule wise power naps (30-50min) are the bomb for me. I had woken up, ate breakfast, sat to play but was still tired. Pushed ~1hr to play. Took a power nap. Was fresh as fuark and put in the rest of the hours eaaaasy.

Another related thing I've been thinking is approaching putting in volume more organically. If I still feel fresh and can play (like today), take advantage and put in more volume because I won't always have that good mental state for playing. When my focus is subpar / I am tired, use that for studying

Gamewise, I've been thinking about cBetting in 3b/sqz pots vs fish. I am really frustrated when I miss completely and have to c/f a big pot vs a fish. When I bet, I wanted to have some decent equity/barreling cards. And I would bet at least 55% pot for fear of inducing some fightbacks.
I started thinking about adding to my cBetting range in these spots, using smaller bets (less than 1/2) in some spots to just get fish off pure air.
Hand ex - I flop shit equity but I am desperate

Spoiler

IPoker, $0.25/$0.50, $0.10 ante No Limit Hold'em Cash, 5 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

Hero (SB): $50 (100 bb)
BB: $49.80 (99.6 bb)
MP: $130.53 (261.1 bb)
CO: $68.06 (136.1 bb)
BTN: $76.46 (152.9 bb)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A T
MP raises to $2, CO calls $2, BTN folds, Hero raises to $7.80, 2 folds, CO calls $5.80

Flop: ($18.60) 9 3 5 (2 players)
Hero bets $8.55, CO folds

Additionally, I am thinking about taking a fishy line BVB for ex, where I mincB flop and barrel a big sizing turn vs just a call. Maybe experiment w/ this lol. On dry boards I guess.

Lessons

  • Power naps can really help my focus
  • Play more while still fresh, study more when tired/unfocused
  • Experiment with cB bluffing a small sizing in big pots vs fish to get them off air

So no working on my game today, because it's already very late (6.47 AM lol). I have 25 marked hands I want to go through. I am picking up momentum, playing good, very happy.

Stay Strong.
Daniel


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M1rCea
Joined: 06.07.2010

To me, this is true beauty. A man putting himself to a single, pure purpose.
The struggle, giving himself completely in each small task(jump rope, sparring, running, gym etc), all to come together in the ring and display pure power.


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keoghh
Joined: 01.07.2011

Very interesting read, really liking your posts about poker/gym, perhaps you could discuss your diet as well ?

Following :f_cool:


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M1rCea
Joined: 06.07.2010

Originally posted by keoghh
Very interesting read, really liking your posts about poker/gym, perhaps you could discuss your diet as well ?

Following :f_cool:

Hey thanks, I am open to any questions about gym/diet, I am hitting it hard and I consider myself quite knowledgeable.

Posting a pic of my progress (end of this summer) hopefully giving me some credentials in this area

Spoiler

definitely need a tan

Ok guess it's time to create a 'classic' post, since I think it may benefit some people and I am probably the most healthy eater of all the people I know (even read some books on this)

My take on diet and its benefits

I used to eat really, really badly in highschool (7y ago) - junk food almost daily, processed foods etc. Back then I discovered their impact on my body and I've been constantly improving on this area ever since.

Eating healthy mindset
It's mainly about rewiring your brain with time, to keep eating healthy from being a constant effort. Right now, I would much rather eat something clean but with no (or even bad) taste than tasty junk food. The effect on my body and mind is a much more important criteria than the instant gratification of taste.
I consider making taste the criteria for selecting what you eat quite childish and weak.

Now I don't have to abstain myself from unhealthy food. I know it sounds weird, but my brain actually prefers the 'bad' tasting, healthy alternative. It requires no conscious effort from my side.

My diet
:diamond:I try to eat mostly home cooked - I cook for myself - I only know a few basic recipes (I eat a LOT of brown rice with chicken lol). It's also cheaper this way.
:diamond:If I'm on the go, I'll grab some kebab (grilled meat and vegetables) without sauces and fries to keep it healthy.
:diamond:I have given up sweets almost completely - replacing them with dark chocolate / fruits / honey
:diamond:Drinks - 95% of the time I drink water - no alcohol (not even the club), no soda
:diamond:I always try to have a solid breakfast to start off the day (usually boiled eggs w/ cheese and tomatoes)

In the Gym
Diet is essential for the gym. If you're not eating right, you might as well not train (seriously). I went to the gym for 3-4 years without seeing very noticeable results (hard gainer). Only after I really started focusing on diet I began seeing dem gainz of the gods.

If you want to look like a GOD / have low bodyfat, you have to eat clean. No way around it.
If you want to put on weight, u have to eat like a maniac (forcing urself at first) - at LEAST 4-5 times a day.

Poker / mental activities
I noticed big changes in the quality of focus at the tables based on how I ate before the session. I saw it's best to eat clean, basic food. If you load up your stomach with lots of different foods, your digestion will take a lot of energy, you will feel tired, sleepy, hard to focus.

To end things up, I would like to make a 'Guilty' Confession
Ok, ok... I don't stick to a clean diet 100%. And I don't think people should always say no to their 'cravings'. For me it's enough to stick to a healthy diet 90-95% of the time. I still eat pizza, sweets, drink some alcohol (getting tipsy quite fast lol), but these things happen on very rare occasions.

I think people who are like 'yolo, abuse ur body' are most likely retarded.

Overall, I really respect my body and I think that if I take care of it, it will reward me with a strong immune system (can't remember last time I was seriously sick), ability to think clearly, increased self-esteem and bitches. Lots of bitches.

Stay Strong
Daniel

PS. Thanks to all who gave the thread positive ratings, really happy this blog is helping other people


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