Originally posted by strat9
FFFF U U CCCC K K Pokerstars
F U U C K K
FF U U C KK
F U U C K K
F UU CCCC K K
If you keep bottling your feelings up like that, you're just going to give yourself an ulcer. Tell us what you really think... 
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Lol, I decide to return to my blog and, right on cue, I see a recent greeting from Waiboy. Good to see.
Originally posted by Waiboy
Things not getting any better, huh?
Yes, this is true. I don't know if you saw my bitching post in the Pokerstars forum, or what made you think things were not going well, but they are not.
July was not a losing month, but the winnings were less than what is needed. I have been able to pay bills with poker still, but my WR has dropped considerably. One of the things I noticed is that the time period in which I stopped updating and the times of struggle coincide. I'm not saying there is a cause and effect there, but it probably means something. Maybe if I have a blog to answer to, I play more carefully. Or maybe this thread allows for better self-reflection. Regardless, it seems like a good thing to do, so I hope to make a better effort in keeping it up. If anything, I believe it contributes to achieving better professionalism. While I don't really consider myself a professional by a long-shot, technically it is how I make a living - for better or for worse.
I apologize to anyone who may have read this thread with even a passing interest. If anyone is reading, I have changed my approach recently.
Instead of two tables, I have increased to 3. I also try to play at least 500 hands per day. I was struggling before I changed this approach and while some may find it unwise to increase table and hands per day, I have quickly found that I am able to more easily review, improve, and get used to variance with a consistent amount of hands per day, as opposed to quitting while I am ahead. It is nice to see 3 and a half weeks of all winning days, but it is inconsistent.
500 hands per day is what I need to achieve platinum status at both Stars and here at PS.com. While I am not a fan of grinding for the purpose of bonuses or fpps, each status has enough reward to make the increase worth it, and it is even more worth it to have them together.
And I need to play 3 table sessions in order to have enough time in a day to play 500 hands AND review them.
I will post a complete update at the end of the week, since this post is nearing infinity.
Originally posted by strat9
Lol, I decide to return to my blog and, right on cue, I see a recent greeting from Waiboy. Good to see.Originally posted by Waiboy
Things not getting any better, huh?Yes, this is true. I don't know if you saw my bitching post in the Pokerstars forum...
Yeah, that was the clue... from memory a post using only two words; the second of them being Pokerstars.
Shaky, but Positive 1 and 1/3 Month
Most Losing Hand:
2/4 Fixed-Limit Hold'em (4 handed)
Hand recorder used for this poker hand: PokerStrategy Elephant 0.67 by www.pokerstrategy.com.
Preflop: Hero is CO with 6♥, 6♣
Hero raises, BU 3-bets, SB folds, BB calls, Hero calls.
Flop: (9.50 SB) 6♠, 5♦, J♣ (3 players)
BB bets, Hero raises, BU 3-bets, BB calls, Hero caps, BU calls, BB calls.
Turn: (10.75 BB) K♦ (3 players)
BB bets, Hero raises, BU 3-bets, BB caps, Hero calls, BU calls.
River: (22.75 BB) J♥ (3 players)
BB bets, Hero raises, BU folds, BB 3-bets, Hero caps, BB calls.
Final Pot: 30.75 BB
Results follow (highlight to see):
Hero shows a full-house, sixes full of jacks (6h 6c)
BB shows a full-house, jacks full of kings (Jd Ks)
BB wins with a full-house, jacks full of kings (Jd Ks)
Most Winning Hand:
2/4 Fixed-Limit Hold'em (4 handed)
Hand recorder used for this poker hand: PokerStrategy Elephant 0.67 by www.pokerstrategy.com.
Preflop: Hero is SB with T♦, T♣
CO folds, BU calls, Hero raises, BB calls, BU calls.
Flop: (6.00 SB) 8♦, J♦, T♠ (3 players)
Hero bets, BB raises, BU 3-bets, Hero caps, BB calls, BU calls.
Turn: (9.00 BB) 2♣ (3 players)
Hero bets, BB raises, BU 3-bets, Hero calls, BB caps, BU calls, Hero calls.
River: (21.00 BB) 8♥ (3 players)
Hero bets, BB calls, BU raises, Hero 3-bets, BB calls, BU caps, Hero calls, BB calls.
Final Pot: 33.00 BB
Results follow (highlight to see):
Hero shows a full-house, tens full of eights (Td Tc)
BU shows a straight, queen high (9h Qc)
BB shows two pairs, jacks and tens (Th Jc)
Hero wins with a full-house, tens full of eights (Td Tc)
****************************************************************************************************
Time Period WR: 1.45BB/100 - 15,497 hands
2/4 WR: 2.15BB/100 - 44,873 hands
Cash: 2999.5
Account Activity: -1230
Bonus: 905
Total BR: $2674.5
Bloody hell.. that's a pretty sweet graph. A 1.47BB/100 winrate through 15k hands at $2/$4 is really nice and above expectation I would guess (unless it's a fishmongers there).
I presume the angsting came at around hand 5k? Or was it around hand 14k? If so I guess the emails to P*s got them to flick the doomswitch into boomswitch mode.
Well, I thought I had a post reply, but I guess it got lost. It's too long to remember, but that first part was the tough stuff. I increased a table so it soesn't look as long as it was timewise. But it is still an interesting perspective on recovering from what seems like an endless losing streak.
Well, I missed a weekly update. On Sunday I hardly played and didn't play at all Monday. Today I downloaded the new version of Elephant and that is not smooth going.
I had to figure out some quirks in the DB backup and now it has taken me 12 and 1/2 hours to re-import so far. Not sure if that's normal, but that is what's going on with me right now in my pokerworld.
Well, it looks like I am going to have to start over completely with a new database with the new version of Elephant. I probably screwed something up, but the transition from old to new has been a pretty big hassle so far.
A large portion of my hand histories have disappeared, leaving my stats incomplete and inaccurate. Yes, I do have hand histories for players and many reviewable hands (all of which I now have to re-categorize), but the inaccurate stats of my own play is just not something I want. While it sucks, I so far believe it is best to just start over with a new database.
I know the developers are working hard, but I must say the results are so far disappointing. Like I said, I may not have backed up the old database properly or may just not know yet how to restore it, but the clunky transition, seemingly lost data and categories, and lack of significant improvement have made the Elephant almost not worth updating. I sincerely hope that I can get helpful info from the staff to help me learn more about the software or that they improve it themselves in a hurry. Like I said, I know they are working hard, but I can only remain loyal to and excited about slow, lack-luster results for so long.
So here's to starting from scratch. At least I didn't lose my BR.
I had problems with re-importing hands/database with Elephant too.
Some hands were imported, some were not. When I tried for the second time I had to do manually imports with chunks of 1000 hands or so. This was the only way that Elephant imported all hands. And yeah, it took me more than whole night too (fro that automatic import, not manually)
I am sorry to say that, but.. You MUST(not should) buy Holdem Manager.
That program is sweeet and SUPER DUPER fast comparing with Elephant.
I was Elephant fan and supporter, but after I tried HM... Past now.
Is it better than Pokertracker? I've downloaded the free trial and lost interest quickly, although I have heard great things about PT3 as well. My big thing with Elephant is that I can categorize hands and review accordingly. Is this possible with HEM?
Also, did you JUST try HEM or have you been using it for awhile? Did you upgrade Elephant mainly to keep up?
Most people uses HM nowadays. So it can't be that bad 
Not sure about categorizing hands. Never tried that 
I was "trying" HM for about 2 months (cracked version) and I liked it so much that I just bought it like a month ago. Never opened Elephant since.
Trial version is fully functional for xy days, so just try it yourself.
Hey strat9.
I had the same view re Elephant as you, and never regret moving on. As CS notes (on his or your blog?!) speed is the first awesome thing you'll appreciate.
Both PT3 and HEM have functionality way above anything the Elephant provides.. which is understandable as they cost, Elephant is provided free after a bit of rake production.
The best advice is to install both (consecutively) and run the trials. This way you can get a feel for both, play around with them and ask here any questions you have.
GL!
*Edit: I opted for PT3 in the end because I preferred the "feel" of it, but I'm going to buy a version of HEM if I ever get to $1/$2 again because I suspect the hand filtering is superior - based on a couple of comments I've had from TerrorBlade and a few others.
Yeah, I am noticing the hand filtering options are excellent (downloaded the trial). I don't need to categorize at all with Hold em manager, but I need to figure out a way to view hands in a way where I can make notes, which I haven't figured out yet. I found a way to view the HH files, but this is a terrible and hard to read view of the hands.
One thing about Elephant is that it is great for reviewing hands and applying the strategy articles, hand posting, and other info to the hand histories so that your hands can be used as a reference. If I can figure out how to do this with HEM, then I'm sold.
Right now I am having trouble auto importing hands. I just opened the trial for the 4th time and it somehow imported and found hands from both fulltilt and stars, but trying to import currently played sessions is not working. All the hands are reported as errors in the import tab.
HEM has the most advanced hand filtering options, but if elephant is already working for you in that respect then stick with it.
You might be getting errors cause you haven't got the latest patch.
I would like to run both of them, not necessarily simultaneously, but to have the option of using either one so that when I open one of them, each one has an updated database and can be used. I hope this is possible.
I am wondering if there is a way to use Texas Grab 'em to create a bank of hands in which I can take notes and make comments. If anyone has anyidea how to do this please help.
But right now, I am thinking that there are benefits to using both of them (HEM for functionality and features, Elephant for reviewing and note taking) and would like to use one where the other lacks.
I am already noticing that I need software like HEM. It functions at such a higher level than Elephant, but Elephant is so integrated into my reviewing routine that I need to be able to transition, as opposed to stop one and start the other. Any suggestions or help would be much appreciated.
TBlade: Found the patch and that seems to have worked. Thanks! Also, Elephant is working for me in some ways, but is difficult in other ways. I am definitely feeling the need to explore extra software options.
Well, I really want to buy HEM, but Elephant has a built in hand converter. This is huge. I need it to classify, review, and take notes on hands (and to post on forums, but not as necessary).
If I can't figure out a way to convert hands with HEM like I can with Elephant, then I will have to stick with Elephant. If anyone has suggestions let me know.
I don't know about HEM, but PT3 has a nice hand converter, hand replayer (which can also display stats when replaying, so you know why you did anything), and adding notes to hands is easy in game and after.
Originally posted by strat9
Well, I really want to buy HEM, but Elephant has a built in hand converter. This is huge. I need it to classify, review, and take notes on hands (and to post on forums, but not as necessary).If I can't figure out a way to convert hands with HEM like I can with Elephant, then I will have to stick with Elephant. If anyone has suggestions let me know.
Right click on a hand/replay hand.
Upper left you see white text "hand history" and there is some sort of converter.