WARNING!!! Going pro... If you don't like hard work then GTFO!!!

[x] Play 1100 hands...

Fortunately I played 10z as I wanted to get used to playing faster again and 2 tables of Zoom (one tabled for few weeks to improve hand reading).

Graph

I really played terribly to start with. The first ~300 hands were at 06.00 before work and I was playing too quickly AND much too loose.

In the evening I started in exactly the same way, even though I had told myself to take my time and just settle down!

At around the 420 hand mark I lost a 60bb pot through bad play and sat out.

I decided that I needed to improve my self awareness as I was not in control and could not seem to do anything about it.

I logged in to Headspace and decided to go back to the very beginning and do the Basics pack Session 1.

After that things improved a lot. I was calmer, more deliberate and much more self aware. I still made quite a few mistakes but at least I was around break even for the rest of the session (and redline improved which is usually good indicator for me).

Cliffs:-
- Daily hand target surpassed.
- Played really badly to start.
- Got better after meditating/improving self awareness
- Still played B game

Target for today is 1100 hands again. I got up at 05.40 this morning to get some play in before work.

Bankroll = $545

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This is super strong at these games imo. What's best?

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Is this ok? 3bet size ok?

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Just want to be 100% this is okay for 70bb v fish (got to be!)?

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Looks okay?

Originally posted by Eatyourpeas
Nice to see you are still subbed and reading Sweetie. xxx

I'm actually paying more attention now considering the time and effort you're devoting to this as of late. The kind of volume you're putting in is extremely difficult. Until you put in a 30k month of cash, I don't think you can understand how hard it is to control your mental game. 30k in 4 weeks is enough where a bad run could absolutely crush your mentality. So, kudos to you for risking something to win something and studying the game deeply.

[x] Play 1100 hands

I did not get started on my evening session until just after 21.00 (daughter was in Christmas Carol service) and I refused to play without meditating so didn't hit the tables until 21.15ish.

I played at 10z again whilst monitoring my self awareness/ability to not play like a mad man and I did play at a much better pace (slower and more deliberate/thoughtful).

It ended up that I did not get to bed until midnight after my session. I am not using an alarm in the mornings (yet) and I woke up at 06.10 today. I have to start getting showered and ready for work at 06.45 so it just wasn't worth getting up and doing a session.

Yesterday was a long day so I rolled over and got another 20 minutes kip instead!

So, without my pre-work poker session it will be tougher to get the hands in today...

Target for today is 1000 hands.

I will play 16z again today as I am more comfortable with my mindset for grinding "volume".

Bankroll $559

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I've got 77bb left. Jam or XR?

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Originally posted by TakingAShot
I'm actually paying more attention now considering the time and effort you're devoting to this as of late. The kind of volume you're putting in is extremely difficult. Until you put in a 30k month of cash, I don't think you can understand how hard it is to control your mental game. 30k in 4 weeks is enough where a bad run could absolutely crush your mentality. So, kudos to you for risking something to win something and studying the game deeply.

Account hacked? Or kudos to YOU?

not playing these games but:
Hand1: i like to sq bit smaller 12bb to get more calls pre. As as played i think you can easyly fold this hand on these positions. Remember you get a ton of folds pre, you get some calls pre and can play play postflop IP to make this sq profitable play. But if you face 4b(like 2% of times or so) on these positions you need a good reason to continue: like very good hand or opponent is some funky dude.
Hand2: I would go again bit smaller 10bb. but as played again fold pre on thes positions in these games. If his 4b is high or you have seen some crazy stuff from him and you think his range is so weak/polarized that before the flop you can think that if flop comes Qxx or Kxx then you are very happy to stackoff. But i thik in these games on these positions that is rarely the case.
Hand3: funplayers are different. Usually it fine but if you have mindset that vs any kind of funplayer AK is always a stack of pre under any circumstances i think it is bit "leaky". and in this hand you can also call pre to play IP. And vs some specal fun players i am not foldin on any runout.
Hand4: i would bet flop bvb. We are not blocking any draws and no pair is folding on flop. As played i would fold river. He is not betting worse, and when board pairs they usually are not bluffing these spots(atleast the freq goes down) and you can easyly have Qx here. Again this is when no info.

Originally posted by Eatyourpeas

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HH 5

I've got 77bb left. Jam or XR?

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Co 3bets us for super small sizing, we check raise and he calls. KTs, T8s, QQ, JJ beat us, but I don't think he is folding AQ, KQ, JT. Turn makes the board super drawy, and there are a lot a pair + FD/OESD hands in his range. Might have better sets here, but it's a ship IMO. I think for the sizing it is easy to assume he sucks and will show up with some werido hands that might beat us like QJs but he will also call with a lot of draws, or pair+draws etc.

HH1 He basically just clicked it back into two people. I am sure in theory you can call when CO fold, but I don't think I have seen this line be anything but AA, KK. In theory I am sure you can call it here, but I am a nit and fold here.

HH2 3x here is 7.5, but you can bet bigger for being OOP, but 9bb or 10bb is more what I would look for. 11.5 is probably fine. I am honestly super tight to four bets and would let this go, but even I in my theoretical ranges I am continuing with are AQ+, QQ+. OTF he 2/3 pots in for a two street plan in a 4bet pot. Generally it is 1/3rd here, so it's a sign he is committed, it might as well be a shove. QQ, JJ, AQ probably doesn't do this here, so I think you're up against AA, AK mostly. I am not saying fold OTF here, but I can't see this being done with worse, and you're basically calling a jam against this sizing. Idk who would merge QQ into a bluff at NL10. As played from flop I don't know what I would do at the table. Probably call flop then realize then fold turn, which is probably bad lol.

Hand 3: If he is a aggro fish, and you think he would get it in with AJ, AQo yep. If he is passive, probably not.

Hand 4: I probably wouldn't bluff catch a near pot size river here. He bets big for three streets. Unless you have a bunch of hands that suggest otherwise. A flush draw misses, and his Gutshots miss, but I don't know for 3/4 sizings and then almost pot size OTR. Idk if this is a bluff 33% of the time. Theorywise it is good because you don't block his bluffs, so idk. Just from population reads I think you can fold this.

[ ] Play 1000 hands...

Total fail.

Reason: Had a couple of people give me advice (and two possible offers) regarding staking and/or CFP. So I spent a lot of the evening talking and researching.

I got up at 05.20 this morning to try and make amends.

95% at 16z

I played well but variance was not on my side. I feel confident at 16z (as long as i play calm). I played calm > 90% of the time.

I will be talking to people again today about staking/CFP. Hopefully will also get some decent volume in tonight.

Target for today is 1300 hands.

Bankroll $527

Birthday weekend coming up!!!!

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HH 6

Flips...

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Not flips...

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Originally posted by veeretas
Hand1: i like to sq bit smaller......

Thx for help, great to see!!!

Originally posted by Chowchow12
Co 3bets us for super small sizing...

Nice! Thanks man!

[x] Play 1300 hands

And not many more than 1300! I was absolutely knackered!!!

I got up early (05.20) to make up for the previous day's weak efforts but by the end of the day I was smashed (still woke up stupid o'clock this morning mind).

I had another chat with two different companies about staking/CFP and pretty sure I will go for the CFP option (if I do go for one). I'll let you know!

Going out for birthday beers tonight (sorry @TakingAShot)! Sure sign I am getting old... Coupla years ago there would be 20+ going out... This year I only mentioned it to about 5 people!!!

Getting a few hands in today (Saturday) while kids are at dance/scouts/etc but that could be it for the weekend.

Hangover incoming!!!!!!!

I managed to fit 600 hands in yesterday while my family was out...

Today is gonna be interesting... I had one too many beers last night... We are taking the kids to see Father Christmas later... I hope I don't puke on him!!!

I have got a couple of contracts to read today and will make a decision about CFP/Staking over the next couple of days.

I should also set a target of hands for tonight. Hmm, the way I feel right now I think around 10! I will target 750 hands today. We are going out for a meal for my birthday after meeting Father Christmas so I won't get started until late.

Bankroll $564 (move up @ $750, move down @ $448)

[ ] Play 750 hands. FAIL!

Hangover + Seeing Father Christmas and Sledging + Birthday meal (inc couple more beers) = NO CHANCE!!!

It was a "struggle" to get the hands in that I did play tbh. Was possibly EV- but at least I tried!

Still not completely made my decision for staking/CFP! I won't "make it" alone though so I need to get on with it. Looks like it would start 1/1/2018 anyway so got a few days.

Bankroll $567 (move up @ $750, move down @ $448)

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Meeting Santa!

If you don't like Christmas, go and get some kids, it's AWESOME!!!!

[x] Forget to set a target amount of hands to play

My wife was out for a Christmas Meal last night so I had the kids. Unfortunately my daughter wasn't feeling very well so I was up and down the stairs to help her.

Still, I managed to get a nice session in.

I got into a few marginal situations that were unnecessary but overall I would rate it as my B game.

I have signed a CFP contract and sent all the required documents in. I am just waiting for the final part of the application process to go through.

Today is my birthday!!! We are going out for (another) meal after work tonight to celebrate.

Not sure I will be up for poker after that! Maybe I will have a couple of celebratory drinks and play some 10z. Or maybe I will have some material from CFP to peruse!?

Have a great day amigos! The birthday beers are on me!!!

Happy bday! Don't drink and tilt at 10z

Originally posted by DaToepFa
Happy bday! Don't drink and tilt at 10z
Hahahaha! Yeah could be a problem!

New meaning for "Drink and spew"!!! :f_drink:

I am now a student of Coaching For Profit at BluffTheSpot!

It has been a very tough decision for me to make this past week or so...

I did A LOT OF RESEARCH into various CFP programmes and staking stables and, although many of them would not accept me (at this moment), nobody really came even close to BluffTheSpot.

I spoke to several current BTS students varying from NL10 to NL200 players and they are all happy with the programme.

In fact I was surprised by some of the negative reviews I received from students/players at other stables/programmes that I actually thought would be very good!

After a mostly negative experience with BPC it took a lot of convincing to make me make this commitment!

Huge thanks to all the guys that gave me feedback (I won't name names but you know who you are!).

Massive thanks to BluffTheSpot for giving me this (final) opportunity!!!

---

My contract commences on 1.1.2018 (I am on vacation 2nd Jan unfortunately!)

I am already gradually getting access to forums etc

Excited, intrigued, slightly nervous...

My contract with BluffTheSpot starts officially today!!!

However.... I am going on vacation tomorrow morning!!!

So I will be starting to play some hands around 8th January and I am really looking forward to hitting the tables again.

I have had a break from playing over the last two weeks but NOT a break from studying.

I studied 9 BluffTheSpot basic strategy videos and made extensive notes.

I have got a few changes to make to my overall strategy. Most of it is preflop.

To be honest I have always been very poor preflop ESPECIALLY since moving to 6max from HU. Also think I had some TERRIBLE preflop coaching in the past... At least it seems so now!

Postflop so far (not done too much) does not seem too different to what I already play BUT hopefully I have a slightly better understanding of WHY I will make some plays.

I am really looking forward to getting back into grinding and studying...

It will be, as it always has been, a test of finding time to fit everything in (around long hours at work and family etc) with a small amount of balance so that my head does not explode. Actually not too worried about my head exploding to start with but will of course keep an eye on it!

Going to enjoy my vacation now and some really good quality time with my wife and kids...

Happy New Year amigos...

Failing is fine, quitting is not...

So, so, so....

Holiday was amazing - perfect family time, could not have been better!

Getting back into things this week has been "interesting"...

I have watched these videos so far...

Most I have studied and made good notes and a couple I have watched on the fly to see if they are applicable to me yet.

So far it has been really good for me to get into some preflop stuff. In fact, although I have watched some flop videos, I am not really putting the concepts into practice yet while I focus on nailing preflop down.

I am currently playing 2 tables of NL16 Zoom. With new preflop ranges AND concepts to think about I feel that is enough for me at the moment. Also I have only just started using Hotkeys and I am also getting used to using a HUD (properly) so there is a lot going on!

This is NOT going to be enough volume though.

I need to be playing 40,000 hands per month but my poker time is somewhat restricted due to being out at work 55.5 hours per week and having a young family at home.

I am working on it, however, and I have done long days before.

I am trying to get to poker at 19.30 each evening (as soon as we have put the kids to bed) and trying to go through until 23.30 for now.

After 3 days it is not proving very easy!

Last night my wife was out and for some reason the kids were having one of those evenings where they shout me up to them every 15 minutes! (This is one of the reasons I prefer Zoom by the way - I can sit out and re-join quickly.)

The night before that our central heating system (which is only a few months old) started making weird noises at 22.50 so I ended up leaving the tables earlier than intended to investigate!

Other than that it is going really well!

I am not "winning" or anything exciting like that but considering the changes I am making I feel that I am playing pretty well.

Focus for the short term is preflop (opening, defending, 3 betting, defending v 3b etc etc) and making my HUD better and easier to use. I have made some good colour codings for abusing customers who like to fold too much!

I don't think I need to watch any more videos just yet as I have got tonnes to work on from the ones I have watched.

Coaching sessions are at awkward times for me at the moment. I am not too concerned just yet as I have got the videos to work on/catch up with.

Once I am up to speed on those basics though I will try to persuade somebody to do some sessions during my evenings (he said praying)...

Some hands for fun...

1. Miss click goes well...

2. Fish gonna fish...

3. Protection or what!?

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I will be back with a review of my first 10k hands with BTS as soon as I get there!

Good luck with your studies amigos!

Very cool that you're a horse now! Keep going! And there is nothing wrong with drinking sometimes and having a social life. I do it too now and then and like you I'm 40 plus. ♠_drink:♠_drink:♠_thumbsup:

Hi Eatyourpeas,

I see you have some struggle in the poker world.

Sorry I didn`t have time to read all of your posts, but what I would like to advice - be careful with coaching videos. I haven`t seen the videos you are talking about, so I don`t know about them, but A LOT of those videos you can find are useless and it`s better to not see them.

Keep up the good work

Glad to hear you are really liking bluff the spot! You're a champion.

Originally posted by figeljfigelj
Hi Eatyourpeas,

I see you have some struggle in the poker world.

Sorry I didn`t have time to read all of your posts, but what I would like to advice - be careful with coaching videos. I haven`t seen the videos you are talking about, so I don`t know about them, but A LOT of those videos you can find are useless and it`s better to not see them.

Keep up the good work

This is an extremely blanket statement and doesn't really address any specific training site. I've been studying these videos online for years and your statement was actually more true 3+ years ago. Today, there are only a few legitimate commercial training sites and they're all rather good. I think what you mean is don't watch free videos off of YouTube. If you pay money, sign up for a site like this one, and watch/study the videos intently - You're going to improve. It's that simple. If you're not improving at that point, the issue is in your mental game and there's plenty here to help you work on that, as well.

You get what you pay for.

I have played 10,975 hands at BTS so time for a mini-review!

Sample is too small to take anything from my results so I just want to look at a few stats to start with...

VPIP: 26
PFR: 20
3B: 7.3

All seems okay. Was surprised 3B is not more like 8-9 so will check my 3b ranges (and how well I know them), BB 3B is 6 and SB 3B is 8.5 so looks like I am missing some 3 bets in those spots...

UTG RFI: 20
MP RFI: 21
CO RFI: 33
BTN RFI: 57
SB RFI: 58

I like them all. Will look for spots to get BTN and SB even higher...

Fold to PF 3B: 67.6

Woah! That is quite a bit higher than recent months. BUT... I do open pretty wide in some spots AND my villains 3B super tight as a population (often seeing like 3% 3B stat) so there is a chance this is fine as an exploit. I will run some filters and make sure though and ask a coach for some analysis...

4B:3

LOL! Well in fairness this is also a reflection of playing against nitty 3 bettors. No point bluffing into a 3% range imo...

Fold BB v SB steal: 31

Nice...

Fold BB v LP steal: 48

Nice...

XF flop as PFR: 54

Too high but not an immediate worry for me - keep it in mind...

Stab flop IP when PFR X: 52.5

Really surprised at this, should abuse them more...

Raise flop CB OOP: 6.3

Too low, working on this right now...

SB winrate: -13.4 evbb/100
BB win rate: -27.6 evbb/100

Happy with these but only ~1800 hands in each...

Volume

I was on vacation for the first week of the year. Since then I have averaged ~1000 hands per day. It is not enough BUT I have been changing a lot of things. That means I have played only 2 tables of Zoom exclusively for now. If things go okay for the next few days I will consider adding a third table.

I am NOT considering playing more hours yet. I am stretching my day as it is now and I don't want to start losing focus. If I did extend my hours it would probably go on study anyway - I have got a lot of videos I want to dissect!!!

Other

I have made considerable improvements at how I analyse hands. This is starting to show me how far off GTO I play in many spots (not that I want to play GTO). More importantly it is showing me where villains are making a lot of mistakes, and that is what I want to know about!!!

So far it is 10/10 for BTS... And I haven't even had a proper coaching session yet!!!

Good luck with your studies amigos! Keep on improving!!!