Sp(r)in(ts) & Go(als) - SmartSpinning

Interesting day, spent most of the day watching videos and taking detailed notes of everything for ~6h. Cant say that i know everything now, not even close, but the goal is to visit those notes as often as possible to get familiar with them as fast as possible.
One more big study day tomorrow, still a lot of important stuff to watch before the grind. Will try to set everything up so i can start on Wed with my first games.

Only few days have passed but it feels really great being around and talking with so many skilled and highly motivated guys. I just want to work even harder because of that.

My meditation session felt really good today, i was able to relax my mind and body almost fully, mind wasn't super clear, but the thoughts just came and went away quite easy so i consider it a win.
Its been exactly a year since i started meditating. Below you can see numbers. I have spent 45h this year meditating. Its not too much as i did get burnt out a bit in the beginning after i did 70 days in a row, later i reviewed my goals and expectations why i was doing it, once it stopped feeling like a chore or must do thing i started to feel the real benefits. I have done 6 different packs now. I really liked the ones about stress and self-esteem. They have been most beneficial for me because of the visualization techniques they tech there. Site that i use - www.headspace.com if anyone is interested first 10 days are for free.

Will try to put together to do list for tomorrow and than off to bed.

hey those are good news.i sent them an email about 2 weeks ago and they told me i should sent them a sample of 500 games and then we can talk.had a lot going on in real life but i am planning to finish those games this week and see if they have something for me.i read only good stuff about them but i think the main problem to me will be the numbers of hours i can put it playing and studying.

anyway congrats and i believe that this is a step forward for you.

gl

Thanks Alex, when you have those games go for it and see what comes from it.

Yesterday i was focusing more on postflop stuff just to familiarize myself with the strategy there, had quite a bit of those Aha moments. That means that something def stayed in my mind, but there are a lot of stuff to watch and i have to study my notes daily when i i don't take day off. I did attend 2 group coachings, both were quite interesting. If i do compare all the learning methods than watching videos and taking notes at the moment seems like the most value.

Today is my day off. Yesterday realized that everything i have learnt was in some kind of blur and some rest is needed. Tomorrow is my first grinding day. Plan is to do quite short sessions and review almost all of those HH and see how well i am using new strategies.

Decided to check how long my avg. distances were while running. I was surprised to see that its 5-6km on avg. and lately its ~7.5km. Especially keeping in mind that 1 year ago it was a hard task to do more than 2km run, but now i can run 7km with ease.

First day is behind me, time to look at it. I did play 1 table the whole time almost 5 hours, in that time i managed to play 42 games and had 108cev. For first day its not that bad and 7s are def softer than 15s. Main thing for me is to study and improve my postflop skills as i feel uncertain in a lot of different situations. Goal is to keep playing 1 table and add another one next week. Quite tired now so i will keep it short.

Liked my play today, a lot of hard decisions but i think i def played better than yesterday, just few too many set ups/ opps hitting rivers etc. I like the fact that i did mark 20 hands for upcoming coaching session, will need to go through them tomorrow to make it more productive.

I noticed that without goal list its less motivating to update the blog and being mentally drained at the end of the day is not helping either because of that i have a goal to make a goal list for next week.

Amazing song

Today was a good day. Started my day 1 tabling, as i noticed that my focus started to slip, because it felt a bit too easy, i decided to try adding another table. My previous thoughts were that it will be quite overwhelming at the start with all the stuff i need to keep in mind. I did notice few misplays/ autofolds, missed cbets etc. Slowly got used to it and it went really well, another 100cev day.

Tomorrow will be my day off, but i have coaching session scheduled, probably will try to do 1h hh review before that to mark some extra hands from today. Plan is to go for another run, if whether is okey i will go for at least 7km run.

Saturday

Another good song from Lukas Graham

It sounds to be going well, good luck!

Thanks RedHeater, it definitely feels that way.

So here is the goal list for next week.

Goal list #1

Target volume: 400 games
Target cev :80cev
Meditation 6x
Running 3x
Attend 2 coachings
Do proper warm up before each session
Do at least 3x hh review minimum 1h long.
Review my notes daily

Dont know about volume and cev goals, both of them seems achievable atm, but first few sessions of next week will show how it will go, so i decided to aim for the stars.

One suggestion i found was to do 6 days of grinding and one rest day. It wont be easy but maybe making my days a bit shorter can be a bit more beneficial long term. At least i know that i am physically prepared for that kind of grinding schedule. I will need to keep an eye out and watch for any signs of burnout and if that is possibly hurting my game/ study process than take a day off, because of that i think next week i will still try to take 2 days off as i need to fortify my foundation of the game before i start the real grind.

Goal is to reach 15s till May 1st, April will be rough month grind wise, but i think i def should go for it and see how it goes, i would love to be able to grind 4 tables comfortably by end of it, but 3 tables would be good too.

Good Luck guys!

One of the best days so far, pretty much crushed it. Yesterday i did hh review and 1h coaching session and today i saw the benefits of working on my weaknesses. Most of the day i played really well in my opinion, but last session was a bit of a stretch, it was just fine as i started to play my B/C game a bit, before ending my session.
I will do proper study session tomorrow as Pokerstars will be offline for most of the day so i will need to spend my time productively.

Goal update

Volume: 72/400 games
cev : 142/80cev
Meditation 1/6
Running 0/3
Attend 2 coachings : 1/2
Do proper warm up before each session 1/1
Do at least 3x hh review minimum 1h long. 0/3
Review my notes daily 1/1

Monday

Productive day, did a lot of studying, ~2h hh review session with my ss study group and a group coaching, later went for a run and did short but good session ven if i was quite tired after the run. Same as yesterday, overall the day was good but it wasnt super productive, will need to figure out a way how to improve it.

Goal update

Volume: 97/400 games
cev : 157/80cev
Meditation 2/6
Running 1/3
Attend 2 coachings : 2/2
Do proper warm up before each session 2/2
Do at least 3x hh review minimum 1h long. 1/3
Review my notes daily 2/2

One of the best days so far. Only problem, that pokerstars f**ked up a bit with their update, so i had to grind the night shift, but it was great for the most part, at the end i was not playing my best and because of that i dropped below 200 cev for the day. Not much else happening for last few days, just been studying a lot and grinding.

Enjoy the graph!

Goal update

Volume: 186/400 games
cev : 168/80cev
Meditation 3/6
Running 1/3
Attend 2 coachings : 2/2
Do proper warm up before each session 3/3
Do at least 3x hh review minimum 1h long. 2/3
Review my notes daily 3/3

After yesterdays session i decided to take morning off and cool down a bit as i knew i made mistakes but wasnt able to clearly see them so i can avoid them in future. Later did 1 short session just to get some games in so i have a chance to reach my volume goal for the week. Realized that my HU BB needs a lot of work, so i put in ~60min work on that, but i will have to find some videos about it. Todays workout was really nice as weather outside is really good currently, sunny and ~+5 degrees.

It seems a bit strange to me that others think i am a "beast", but in my mind i have not achieved anything so far. Only difference probably is that i have made way more mistakes than they have or that i have learnt more from them.

Goal update

Volume: 211/400 games
cev : 159/80cev
Meditation 4/6
Running 2/3
Attend 2 coachings : 2/2
Do proper warm up before each session 4/4
Do at least 3x hh review minimum 1h long. 3/3
Review my notes daily 4/4

Super productive day, i think i played the most games so far 104. In the middle of the day my cev was only ~40, than i started to not suck that much and it went as its suppose to over 100 :f_cool:. I did win one and lose one x10.

Did an interesting coaching session with few of ss members. As i was explaining things to them how i do and approach everything, it made me realize and appreciate the progress what i have made since i started this blog a bit more than 1 month ago. I can now see fruits of my work before i joined ss, biggest thing is that i dug deep and found a way how to recognize and work on my mistakes and biggest leaks on daily basis with very limited resources. You just have to know your weaknesses, if you dont know them i can guarantee that your opponents will and fast , thats one of the first steps toward the top. I remember just as i joined ss i said that i know that for long time one of mine has been post flop. I spent first few days to just focus on that area, even if i havent fixed it yet i have made huge progress there. I can clearly see how much those equilab analyses and mistake correction gave me, that eq trainer is golden option you just need to put the time to figure it out.

Goal update

Volume: 315/400 games
cev : 143/80cev
Meditation 5/6
Running 2/3
Attend 2 coachings : 2/2
Do proper warm up before each session 5/5
Do at least 3x hh review minimum 1h long. 4/3
Review my notes daily 4/5

Friday

Yesterday was really packed day, first hard day when i saw a lot of bad plays and bad luck involved. Seemed like my opponents were able to hit almost all of the flops, but my mistakes came in because i didnt think deep enough about each hands and ranges of my opponents, but i guess that happens when you try to go 6 days in a row 8+h a day living and breathing just poker after a while it starts to have some impact on your game, but like my effort over the week.

After the grind i went for a run and than had a good evening with my friends, it seems like that was the really good way to end my week. Today took a day off, spent some time with relatives and just enjoying holidays.

Saturday

Weekly report #1

Volume: 384/400 games
cev : 115/80cev
Meditation 6/6
Running 3/3
Attend 2 coachings : 2/2
Do proper warm up before each session 6/6
Do at least 3x hh review minimum 1h long. 4/3
Review my notes daily 5/6

Graph of week #1

Really great week overall, i played and run really good, almost got the goal, but even if i missed those 15 games it still counts as goal achieved. One note i have here is that i should plan my grind a bit better, as i had to grind 50% of the volume in 2 days, thats never a good idea. I did attend 2 coaching sessions, i was about to attend 2 more but because of my shitty internet i was not able to. i like the fact that i did 4 times hh reviews that lasted more than 1h.
Meditation and running goals i achieved quite easily. Both are quite big part of my life now and they come naturally to me now, but i still think its good idea to keep them on goal lists.

Goal list #2

Target volume: 400 games
Target cev : 90cev
Meditation 6x
Running 4x
Attend 2 coachings
Do proper warm up before each session
Do at least 3x hh review minimum 1h long.

I plan on trying out 3 tables for first time, but that only if i can figure out and fix some of my mistakes from yesterdays sessions. If i can maintain 3 tables than 400 games should not be a problem. I know that i will have to take Wed off, so probably i will play only 5 days this week.

Good Luck guys!

Two productive days behind me, both were a bit over avg. i think, i could have played better. Today for first time i tried 3 tabling and it went quite smooth, i just need to be careful to take regular brakes and slow my mind down. I noticed that i get caught up in my mind with it after a while and cant think clearly so my decisions get worse and my cev starts to suffer. I def think that is the right way and i should continue 3 tabling in future as i am almost 50% done with my volume goal for the week after 2 grind days.

Monday

Tuesday

Target volume: 191/400
Target cev : 77/90cev
Meditation 2/6
Running 1/4
Attend 2 coachings 0/2
Do proper warm up before each session 2/6
Do at least 3x hh review minimum 1h long. 0/3

Yesterday was my day off, got myself proper mouse mat with that wrist support finally and cooling fan that you put under your laptop, my laptop is crazy powerhouse so it heats up quite fast when using it a bit more. While i was in shopping mall, i put together a list of things that i will buy in near future, most of them are sport items. Now i just need to start print those $$$ :f_biggrin:.

Really good day poker wise today. Again played 3 tables all day and it finally starts to feel natural and i dont get so overwhelmed anymore as i know that i have time to think and i dont need to rush my decisions even if the time bank have started to go down on other tables.
My awareness while playing has def increased in last few weeks after i started latest 2 meditation packs that uses the technique of noting your thoughts/ distractions while meditation and i can do the same while i play. When i just notice that i am thinking about other stuff than i should, i just note what kind of thoughts those are and let them go and than i bring my focus back on poker, the key here is not to force those thoughts away but just let them go.

Thursday

Target volume: 268/400
Target cev : 102/90cev
Meditation 3/6
Running 2/4
Attend 2 coachings 0/2
Do proper warm up before each session 3/5
Do at least 3x hh review minimum 1h long. 1/3

Hey man! nice blog, fellow smart spinner here

See you soon in 15s, I am sure you will be promoted soon. I am also close to promotion, hopefully less than 1 week left on 7s

How many tables do u play at once?

Hey Volrath, currently i am playing 3 tables, if i would stay and grind 7s forever i would add that 4th table around this time, but because i dont think i will be able to play 4 tables in 15s for a while, i just want to gain experience and improve my 3 tabling multi table skill.

As usual 2 productive days behind me, playing 100 games a day and not feeling super tired is really nice, that means that i have really improved my skill and i do spend less energy on every decision. I really feel how meditation and that noting technique helps me focus while i play. I have not probably spent that much time watching videos and studying as i should but when you crush your current stakes than the goal switches a bit more on that volume to get to that promotion faster.

Friday

Saturtday

Target volume: 472/400
Target cev : 106/90cev
Meditation 5/6
Running 3/4
Attend 2 coachings 0/2
Do proper warm up before each session 5/5
Do at least 3x hh review minimum 1h long. 1/3

Week #2

Weekly update, this was the first week when i played 3 tables, now looking back i have a feeling that i have played 3 tables for a month or two, it feels so long time ago and at the same time it feels so easy and natural, it forces me to be in the zone all the time while i play. I tried to break it down in little pieces and think how to do it correctly and than test it out and improve the grind.

I have worked quite a lot on my mindset this week, it gets even clearer what i want to achieve and how to do it. I was a bit disappointed about the fact that i have not worked on my game that much a part from explaining things and talking poker stuff every day on skype, that lets me see that i have the necessary understanding to get to the best line most of the time.

I didnt achieve one of my goals - attend 2 coachings but that was not my fault, this week there was only 1 coaching and i did watch it afterwards. Cool coachings scheduled for upcoming weeks, will see if i will attend them live or i will go for a grind and watch it later while taking notes.

Target volume: 472/400
Target cev : 106/90cev
Meditation 5/6
Running 4/4
Attend 2 coachings 0/2
Do proper warm up before each session 5/5
Do at least 3x hh review minimum 1h long. 1/3

Week #2

Goal list for Week #3

Target volume: 0/500
Target cev : 0/100cev
Meditation 0/6
Running 0/3
Do proper warm up before each session 0/6
Do at least 3x hh review minimum 1h long. 0/3
Watch and take notes 0/6

If i can maintain the cev of over 100 and do 500 games i will get my promotion this week to 15s so i am going for it, but its not my focus, because i know that i have to play my best in each and every hand and that will lead to promotion and not the other way around.

GL everyone.

Killing cEV man! I think we played one game together on 7s
Good luck with 15s , graph says you are ready for them. What is your cEV on larger sample like 4-5-10k games?