[Closed] I hate real work... time for some superturbos and fish...

very nice! good luck for sept!

nice heater, good skill for september

Thanks guys... didn't play yesterday, but got cracking on the month today and it has started off quite nicely... the hot run continues... although I have experienced a lot of bad suckouts and run into a lot of better hands I have to say that Flows, the things we were working on are absolute gold! I am able to put myself in a position to take 1st more often now and really I feel able to properly exploit the real soft nature of this site... especially all the bad regs

On a psychological note I am still concentrating purely on my play... I am playing my sessions based on how I feel... If I start thinking about when I should have a break, I take it as a sign and generally I prefer sooner rather than letting my play deteriorate... If I am hungry and feel frustration building, time to wind down... although, that's not happeneing at the mo... so But I am still paying no attention to my graph, my volume, how much I won/lost each session... basically I'll know if I am up or down, given a session cos my balance is hard to avoid, but I am not bothered by it... Quite simply, I like the idea of only checking it on Sunday... focus on the skills...... eliminate as many external and internal stressors as possible... so far I like! anyway, I am feeling more hungry for some of the longer grinding sessions... Today I've played 3 of about 1.2-2 hours each... although ATM I am only playing 9 tables and concentrating on my decisions and gameplay... I am liking the balance I have...

Well today was sweet... didn't put super volumes in cos landed up doing a super long session review with flows and atoks which was a lot of fun and I took a lot from it again... some very interesting spots came up which caused much debate...

But when I did play... well, I am running hot hot hot... I am expecting some balancing variance soon, but I am just so super confident at the moment, and I am enjoying my approach of playing by how I feel... I regularly cut my sessions short for so many reasons, and I dunno... it's just making sense... I cut my last session short to where it was just actually a set of 9 cos after all the discussions from earlier my head was a bit too fried for much longer than that... but then I got to go play on a tractor... and that was super cool... a nice break and a chance to play outside Anyway, that wraps up an all round sweet day... not a complaint in the world...

OK, this is by no means a brag...

I just played a session where I dunno, think I played about 20 SNGs... and honestly, I was thinking, "here we are, the balancing variance"... it felt like the deck had turned cold... I was losing to hands I was dominating, I hit the flop and got sucked out... I bubble abused to build a huge stack and finished in 3rd, my marginal pushes got called by both strong and stupid hands which of course beat me... it got to the point where I was like, F%$^ this and I stopped registering... I wasn't actually pissed off, but I didn't feel like playing anymore so I stopped registering, played well, but really felt like the deck had turned cold... then I finished up my last tourney, checked the balance to see just how bad it was... and I was up??? I was really confused but pleasantly surprised... I think that has to really sum up how good I feel about my game... But really, I have experienced many downswings, and this felt like it... but the modifications that the team have been working on, has revolutionised things for me... still I won't look at the graph... but I am really excited to see it

And now for the moment I have been waiting for

All in all a good week... and I think there is much value in only looking at the graph and the results once a week... I think really what I can take out of this week is that I played well and had some cards run my way... I did not put in anywhere close to the volume I usually do, but there are a number of reasons for that, like spending time working on my game, learning to drive a tractor, and cutting sessions short when it felt right to do so...

Now I am extremely happy with how I played this week and of course how the week went... what get's tricky now is this... when things go well it is easy to start dreaming bigger... if I play x games and get x roi and earn so many points therefore getting such and such rakeback then I'll make such a nice amount of money... it's very easy to get into that frame of mind... and instantly it starts the thought of, I need to play up my volume... I need to play more... and these are just some of the internal pressures that I believe detract from my A game... Now I do want to push myself a little harder and get a bit more volume in, I also want to maintain my focus... and that is to play when I feel good, to stop when I want to stop, and also that missing a VIP status at the end of the month is not as important as I make it out to be... I want the VIP statuses to come naturally, forcing it will never work the we want it to work... so, I guess this ramble has helped me clear up some things in my own mind... for the next week, I will continue to do what I did this week, but I would LIKE to play a bit more than I did, if I can....

OK, due to inclement weather I got to play a couple sessions this afternoon which I am happy about I am now mixing up the $11s and $22s as the poker gods have allowed me to do so I am keeping each session short so as to maintain my perspective, but one thing that I have found is that I am getting too emotional about what happens on the $22s... I think this stems from me not wanting a downswing and wanting positive results from this limit as I have had in the past... although in the past they were difficult in coming... needless to say I wasn't running so well in the $22s today... getting called by 33 on the bubble as well as a number of Q-high calls that I was ahead of, and they connected and busted me... This is normal, and I know this, so why get affected now? My biggest clue I see is because I am playing the $22s and deep down I want results from it... so my next step is to break that mindset... little by little I need to stop attaching emotions to the results and instead continue focusing on playing the best game that I can...

So my plan to challenge this is to continue to play shorter session, and to play fewer $22s and step into the limit a bit more cautiously... I think it also stems from the fact that my roll is only just ready for this limit, so I feel that with more of a cushion the psychological pressure will ease as well... there have been times that I have felt like I was playing with scared money, and I have challenged myself to play the game I have so much confidence in... so, if this continues, I will drop the $22s until I have a more comfortable cushion for them...

In trying to analyse and understand why I am so tentative about the $22s I think it's because it was at this limit that my big big swing happened... and it can happen quickly... although now I feel more in control to stem the flow sooner, I will feel better with a bigger cushion... it all comes down to that approach of being honest with yourself... and that for me is the biggest key to self examination and exploration and to unlocking your true potential... I have identified a new weakness... time for some strengthening

Anyway, that's enough babbling for me, so, good luck for the next week everyone...

Good to see ur running well again! Would be interesting to see how much ur game has changed since we started the sweat sessions. Keep that line runing upward Next it's my turn to turn things around ♦

Originally posted by Atoks
Good to see ur running well again! Would be interesting to see how much ur game has changed since we started the sweat sessions. Keep that line runing upward Next it's my turn to turn things around ♦

Totally... I think next review session we do it'll be interesting to look at some of my tourneys and you can laugh at me But if I think about it I think the biggest changes I have noticed is 1. I push a lot more... new motto: you don`t win by folding 2. I now understand what it means to play for the win... I often heard this said, and my previous thinking, was like how do you do that? don`t you just make +EV moves and the rest takes care of itself? now it`s about timing, well-timed, calculated marginal pushes, and the ensemble of scary sounding noises that are emitted when somebody doubles me up to make me the chip leader... no seriously, they should be scared ♠_evil: I get sucked out a lot, but I do some sucking out, which I love TBH, but I think my improved winrate comes down to the fact that I am now placing 1st more frequently than 2nds and 3rds, while my ITM stats are pretty much the same...

Today finished up, but my last session was down... I believe one of the contributing factors was that I was a bit tired, and this took it's toll into the session, so I cut it short... also ran badly, which happens, but I definitely have more fun and make less mistakes when I am focused, alert and sharp... this was not the case... so no more poker for me today... before the session I was wondering if I should play, I wanted too, but I knew I was a bit drained, so I decided to test the water... a more disciplined, zen me might have cut it altogether, but I am not there yet... besides, I am still tempted by the points and the volume... balance takes time...

I am also keeping my mind happy in non-game time by getting involved in the sample hands forum again and doing some evaluating and stuff... but me definitely thinks that some of my downtime should be used to develop my personal fitness as me thinks this would be +++++EV for my game.... just need the discipline to balance that... time to give that some serious thought.................................

For today I definitely wanted to make sure that I was feeling 100% for my session... which obviously didn't happen... I slept in to make sure I wasn't over-tired, but I woke up with a head cold... but still after eating and much fluids I felt good for a grind this afternoon... I am comfortably mixing up the $11s and $22s now and playing with less scared money as I have previously mentioned... in my first session I ran pretty badly but, psycholigcally felt good and maintained the "cards fall at random" mindset and pushed on. Wound down the first session, and pulled it to breakeven, and I thought, OK, well why am I thinking that I am running bad?? cos I bubble a few times and get sucked out and called by better hands... and for my next session I decided to push a little harder... and stretched the session a bit, working on focus, picking good spots, thinking about decisions before making them, less automated shoves and folds and avoiding any negative thoughts/emotions and reacting that I had in some way been done an injustice when somebody makes a blatant mistake and wins... OK, I did yell at the donk that called with AJo on the button on the bubble and all but crippled me... but I didn't mean it... and I won that one anyway

I have to say that my game is feeling pretty solid... I did a long SNG WIZ analysis of my game last night and I was satisfied with how I played... a couple mistakes, but very few in regards, and I learnt something from it as well... anyway tomorrow I have a good opportunity to get some games ticking, so I look forward to it... anyway, that's enough for now...

OK, well 3 sessions in today... had a bit of a reviews with flows which was good, tx Anyway the sessions went - breakeven, breakeven, horrible... I have been waiting for this day, I knew it was coming and dealing with these doom sessions I also believe is one of the toughest things to handle in poker... so in my desire to strengthen my mental game today was a real test...

Results wise I only finished about $130 down, and it was variance, I was happy with how I played, but I had intended to play a much longer session and when the bad run started I began to feel the frustration and annoyance growing... and despite the pep-talk I gave myself I decided to cut short my session because, as I stepped outside and looked in I could see my decision making was becoming impaired by emotion... so I woulnd my set down, losing flips and getting crushed by monsters, and while even now I still feel the angst of that session, I think it has a lot to do with the volume I have put in today plus it's been a while since I have had to deal with this... Now in order to boost my mental state I am going to pull the positives out of today:

1. I feel I put in a volume I can be more than happy with today
2. I do not feel that I played badly or tilted or made less than optimal decisions, the bad run was largely due to variance and mistakes by others.
3. I had the strength of charachter to stop whereas in the past I have tried to "power through it" with a weak mindset and have run into -$300 days as a result
4. I can walk away from the computer now and do something fun/fitness-like and know that it will add to my game
5. I believe I have dealt with this situation in the best way I possibly can at this point in time

So that's it for today, no more game time, but reset and come back tomorrow... I may do a SNG WIZ review later, but only after I have played outside a bit laters

edit: I lied... played some basketball and felt like playing, so fired up a session on $3.40 45 mans SNGs on stars... played 10, 1x 7th 2 x 1st :f_biggrin: I like these...

OK, so today has taken an interesting turn.... I have played 2 sessions so far, and after the second session I am not in the best mindset, I am not super enjoying it, even tho I am slightly up today... So, in the interest of self-honesty I evaluated all my thoughts... and I found myself wanting to play on more on Titan for all the wrong reasons... hitting VIP level, clearing bonus, potential rakeback etc... once again, the wrong thoughts in my mind... so I need to break from this... so this afternoon I am going to go on a 45 man SNG grind on Stars... I really enjoyed my session yesterday and this is what I really feel like doing... and I am going to play the $3.40s, even though I could probably play the $6.50s, because it's abouth the enjoyment and getting to terms with these games and well, if I get the hang of them I'd be able to play the $6.50 at some point anyway... so this afternoon is going to be a fun poker afternoon... the way it is supposed to be... It's not about the profit, it's not about the rewards, it's about enjoying what I am doing.... and that is the most important thing

Originally posted by NickParkes
OK, so today has taken an interesting turn.... I have played 2 sessions so far, and after the second session I am not in the best mindset, I am not super enjoying it, even tho I am slightly up today... So, in the interest of self-honesty I evaluated all my thoughts... and I found myself wanting to play on more on Titan for all the wrong reasons... hitting VIP level, clearing bonus, potential rakeback etc... once again, the wrong thoughts in my mind... so I need to break from this... so this afternoon I am going to go on a 45 man SNG grind on Stars... I really enjoyed my session yesterday and this is what I really feel like doing... and I am going to play the $3.40s, even though I could probably play the $6.50s, because it's abouth the enjoyment and getting to terms with these games and well, if I get the hang of them I'd be able to play the $6.50 at some point anyway... so this afternoon is going to be a fun poker afternoon... the way it is supposed to be... It's not about the profit, it's not about the rewards, it's about enjoying what I am doing.... and that is the most important thing

It should be about the profit though ;).

But not the rakeback/bonus/vip, but about the money you make in the game ♦.

Originally posted by awishformore

Originally posted by NickParkes
OK, so today has taken an interesting turn.... I have played 2 sessions so far, and after the second session I am not in the best mindset, I am not super enjoying it, even tho I am slightly up today... So, in the interest of self-honesty I evaluated all my thoughts... and I found myself wanting to play on more on Titan for all the wrong reasons... hitting VIP level, clearing bonus, potential rakeback etc... once again, the wrong thoughts in my mind... so I need to break from this... so this afternoon I am going to go on a 45 man SNG grind on Stars... I really enjoyed my session yesterday and this is what I really feel like doing... and I am going to play the $3.40s, even though I could probably play the $6.50s, because it's abouth the enjoyment and getting to terms with these games and well, if I get the hang of them I'd be able to play the $6.50 at some point anyway... so this afternoon is going to be a fun poker afternoon... the way it is supposed to be... It's not about the profit, it's not about the rewards, it's about enjoying what I am doing.... and that is the most important thing

It should be about the profit though ;).

But not the rakeback/bonus/vip, but about the money you make in the game ♦.

I disagree... it should be about how you are playing ♦ if short term profit is the main reason we play we will always struggle with the mental aspects of the game IMO... Yes I like making money and winning, but the money that comes from poker is a by-product of all that we put into the game...

This is why monetary goals are so unproductive in poker... Successful poker comes from playing well and skillfully over long periods of time... and the profit is merely a measure of this... Sitting down for a session wanting to grind out a profit will often cause intense amounts of stress

BUT I do appreciate that rakeback, bonuses etc should be just that, added bonuses on top of our actual performance, not the focus... anyway just finished a set of 45 mans with a 1st and a 2nd... gonna grind a bit more of them this afternoon... but I do seem to be running nicely in these ATM

hey you HAVE to go on skype! as soon as possible!

i want to go to bed and grogor needs help ♦ ♠_cool:

he just screamed "I have a gutshot!"... this may be a bad sign.. ♦

That was a good session last night... nice one... anyway... today was well pretty cool...

I finished nicely on titan I think bringing the roll to a new recent high... not 100% sure though, but after a few days of variance it was great to have a solid day... then, while playing my final session on Titan some work knocked on my door... quite literally... random dude who got my name from his wife works with my wife and he desperately needed help as he had a big landscaping job and guys had just quit on him... So I went a long, worked up a sweat had some fun and came back... and I have some extra work lined up now which is cool cos it brings in some extra cash which means less I need to worry about withdrawing bankroll-wise... It'll give me some physical work to do outside some hours a week which I think is a nice balance to the poker... and I'll still get plenty time to play

Oh, which reminds me... viewer, atoks, flows... it may be a few days before I'll be able to get another session in... but I'll be back

Anyway, so I got back and played about 24/25 45 mans... they really are so much fun and soooo super soft... I think I have decided to build my stars roll with these up to the 100 BIs for the $6.50s before I take those on... anyway, I'll be posting that progress graph as well on sunday... anyhoo, had fun today, gonna sleep so I can awake early to watch the Bokke take on the All Blacks............. that is gonna be a cracker

Running horribly today... ugh... also think that getting up super early to watch the rugby is taking it's toll now... GREAT GAME THO ♦ ♦ ♦ but time for a nap maybe, gonna have to recharge if I wanna play some 45 mans tonight.........

Hey Nick.. talk to your people.. make sure they keep that trophy in good condition for when we take it back next year (after SARFU goes into meltdown again - clock is ticking)...

Originally posted by Waiboy
Hey Nick.. talk to your people.. make sure they keep that trophy in good condition for when we take it back next year (after SARFU goes into meltdown again - clock is ticking)...

Haha... it'll be kept in good condition... next to the Webb Ellis trophy... I don't think it wants to go back tho... they make such a cute couple

As for poker... Last night I played some 45 mans, down a bit... decided to play some FL, so I played a session of .25/.5 for about an 1 1/2 hours and finished like up $35 or something... it was sweet... all pretty straightforward really... then I got an idea... I was reading Ravforenzo's blog with his money for nothing challenge... and I started doing some calculating... and I figured that it was a decent enough rakeback deal to play the 70 and 210 FPP satellites and unregister for tourney tokens... If you win 1 in 10 of the 70FPP 10 mans it's like 67 pts per dollar... and seeing as I didn't want to play anything too staggering as I was fading a bit I played a session of these and won 1 and got sucked out in sick fashion in HU about 3 times... but I think they are a decent little occasional extra to help boost the roll a bit when I feel like it... they are soooo soft tho so I feel I have a huge edge which means added value for me and seeing as I am bronze star at stars, there are very few other options for me to use my points... anyway, I like it, more variety...

But today I am thinking of a break from the SNGs... I woke up not sure what I felt like doing... Not uber excited to STT titan, want a bit of a break from the 45 mans... thought about some FL, maybe later, but decided on today being TOURNAMENT SUNDAY!! So MTTs are the order of the day... I will start in a bit, just have to do some stuff in the garden so I'll get that outta the way first, and then I am going to play A LOT of MTTs... I may even fire up Full Tilt and see what they have on offer in the micros... so I'll probably be grinding 3 platforms... sweet... I'm probably just gonna register for everything I can and see how it goes........ yip I like that idea... sounds like fun... anyway have a good sunday everybody!