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I went today to a chess tournament. I ended up losing two matches and winning 1. Tomorrow should be another 4 matches, I don't stand a chance winning so I don't know if I will go. Anyways, there was a 25 year guy, seemed a cool engaging guy, well dressed, good at chess also, won a few tournaments when he was younger and now was there with his old uncle, but also participated, he had 2 wins, no loss when we talked. Was an english teacher for a while, and now was not doing working anything he said. So I wanted to steer the conversation to poker, I told him that with his free time and chess background he could start playing poker. So he started to talk about it, telling me about how he tried but didn't succeed, telling me about how some can win at poker, even thousands per month, telling me about sharkscope, how HU SNG players search for the player to know his tendencies. It's interesting because at no point he asked what I do for a living/in my free time. So he ended up teaching me a bit of poker 
having no idea that I play professionally. I didn't want to tell without being asked.
This made me think, it's interesting because you never know who you meet and if you don't ask and just assume things, you'll probably never know. I ask myself how many people that I might have learned from or get good insight on something did I meet but just assumed things and didn't ask.
We have two ears and just one mouth for a reason 
What room are you playing on now?
888
Why I had that big downswing when I transitioned to 6max from FR
Over the time I thought about why I had that big downswing that took me from NL50 with over 3K BR and an income of ~$1800/month to NL25 and barely surviving.
After a while after returning to my home city I figured it out. I'm writing this so you won't make the same mistakes.
There were a few factors that combined killed it:
New city, living on my own = big expenses, new ground
♠ Transitioning to SH, which I didn't know how to play well = new ground, had to gain experience
:club:Being coached and having to give a % of my winnings = new ground, less $$$
♦ A cousin came to highschool in my city, so he had to live with me = distractions (this was before I move out and after I came back)
Basically, too many changes at the same time.
I thought that that was a good time to make the transition to SH as now I had a coach and people that could help me improve and win. But, I had big expenses, so I had to win or not having money to spend, so I didn't play a way lower stake where I could learn to win and gain some confidence. I also felt a bit pressured as I had the feeling that I'm working for someone else instead of me (which was a mindset issue). Also, not taking a break when I had so many losing days streak - this was a big one, maybe if I would just took a break for a few days to clear my mind the result might have been different. I was not a believer in breaks, but now I think it can help.
♦ ♣ I overestimated the power of a coach and underestimated my ability to improve by myself. A coach should be to help you tweak what you already know, not build your foundations. I expected way to much and just thought that some hours of coaching will turn me into a winning machine. Maybe a few hours of coaching can do that, but not before you have tens or hundreds of hours of study, of the game you play, that you did on your own.
♦ ♥ The constant pressure that I have to win to meet living expenses, made me not take a brake and think things through, or play more relaxed. Having saved 4+ months of expenses in advance would have helped.
♦ ♠ Not taking it slow, with playing just a few hundred hands per day at a way lower limit, as my 2nd game till I learn how to play well, was a big mistake. If i were to do that, I could have still played the game that I knew and besides that put the foundations to my SH game.
♦ ♦ It's incredible how people that are around you can influence you in so many ways. This is why I think living with another pokerplayer can be so much of a plus for your poker career.
After returning to my home city, where I have minimum expenses and no external pressure, I admitted that I was not good enough to play NL25 that I was rolled for, so I made up a study plan and started to play NL5 and going from there, my main goal being to reach 400NL soon. I followed the plan and started to win with over 5bb/hh and went trough NL10 and NL25 and was on my way to NL50. Then BOOM, FTP goes down 
and I lose my roll (maybe I will see it again in the future)
Now, of which you know, I deposited $200 on starts on the 6th July. Almost 3 months have past and till now I have withdrawn $200 already and my BR is standing at over $1K. I continue building on and I'm incredibly happy that I made the transition to SH successfully at last, after so many failed tries.
"It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!"
"Success is measured not by the height one attains but by the obstacles one overcomes in its achievement."
I have a plan (it's more of a expected timeline) for reaching/taking shots at 400NL. I give myself 2 months for limit, till 200NL where I expect to stay 3 months before taking shots at the higher limit. Now I'm at the ending of the first month for 25NL, I'm on schedule. I will go up to NL50 once my BR stands over $2K.
Let's kick some ass!
Very nice post and realizations on your side 
I def think you overcame a bit of your ego, I told you to move down but you woudln't have it. You seem to have grown alot since. I guess sometimes we just have to learn the hard way.
I wish you all the best, and keep up the good work!
Originally posted by Gabinr1
What room are you playing on now?
888
I thought I recognised the name! Seen you (think it's you ♦) on NL30 a handful of times.
Let me tell you a story
It started like this
And then all of a sudden
Not much time passed
Then BOOM, HU
And (sadly?) it ended like this
Last hand of the MTT:
Spoiler
Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $40,000(BB) Replayer
($1507,584)
Hero ($1027,416)
Dealt to Hero Q♠ A♦
Hero raises to $80,000, raises to $1503,584 (AI), Hero calls $943,416 (AI)
FLOP ($2054,832) K♦ 8♥ Q♣
TURN ($2054,832) K♦ 8♥ Q♣ K♠
RIVER ($2054,832) K♦ 8♥ Q♣ K♠ 5♦
Hero shows Q♠ A♦
(Pre 63%, Flop 20.2%, Turn 0.0%)
shows K♣ T♥
(Pre 37%, Flop 79.8%, Turn 100.0%)
wins $2054,832
Awesome! This is nice progress on my win a huge field MTT goal. Even thought it was only a freeroll and I won the 2nd place, I feel great about it.
Another deep run in the same kind of freeroll. I ended up bubble boy for the final table.
I think I played a bit out of focus when there were only 2 tables left.
Another freeroll like this start in less then an hour, man, I can't catch a break
Originally posted by vonki
Very nice post and realizations on your side
I def think you overcame a bit of your ego, I told you to move down but you woudln't have it. You seem to have grown alot since. I guess sometimes we just have to learn the hard way.I wish you all the best, and keep up the good work!
Originally posted by DannyG13
Originally posted by Gabinr1
What room are you playing on now?
888
I thought I recognised the name! Seen you (think it's you ♦) on NL30 a handful of times.
It seems so. When you see me @tables, give a shout.
Originally posted by dreamtime
Hi Gabi,I wonder what's the reason you have switched from FR to SH.
I guess it's the same reason you play SH. Less players, blinds circle faster, so people have to play more hands, so you get to use your skill edge more frequently over the weaker opponents = more action, also you share the fish with less players then at FR. And 6max is a good environment to train/improve for HU, it's a step closer.
After the nice results in this 2 freerolls a few days later I decided to play one or two bigger mtts, so exactly then a popup shows itself of two twin tourneys called "royal" and "flush", 22$ entry 10K guaranteed, 1k players max. I registered to both, only ~650 players registered on both. I didn't manage to cash in any
There are news that I might actually see my FTP BR again, how great is that?!
Anyways, September was an OK month. Even thought I added to my BR, I feel like i slacked off a bit and I am sure that I didn't always play my best and sometimes I just burnt money, that's why I know I can do so much better in October.
hi man ,I just finihed reading your blogs briefly and I noticed you like skiing aswell ... that sport just owns ♠_cool: so as a fellow romanian I have this quick fair question:
Do u find this worthing your time and the effort u are putting in ?
from what I saw u started from those 50$ like 2 years ago ? and barely made over 10k or smth ? and lately u had to drop limits and loose big in that DS .... do u think it really worths ?
Originally posted by Rsiatat
hi man ,I just finihed reading your blogs briefly and I noticed you like skiing aswell ... that sport just owns ♠_cool: so as a fellow romanian I have this quick fair question:Do u find this worthing your time and the effort u are putting in ?
from what I saw u started from those 50$ like 2 years ago ? and barely made over 10k or smth ? and lately u had to drop limits and loose big in that DS .... do u think it really worths ?
Hey. I didn't make 10K, I withdrew and spend >10K. All taken from NL50, which in retrospect was not a good idea, but it was the right thing to do at the right time, i wanted to spend a lot of money, so I did.
Yes. I think is totally worth it. Even thought now I'm only playing 30NL, it's only a matter of time till I go way beyond what I've previously achieved.
I can't picture myself doing anything else now, or for the next years. I'm going for that million and I will take it. Probably when I will have bigger winnings I might start some business or invest it in something, but about those I will think in detail then at the right moment.
Skiing is awesome, but I like snowboarding more 
Gabi take a look at my hands in the hand evaluation forum.Tell me your play there please.Sorry for offtopic.
Originally posted by Gabinr1
Hey. I didn't make 10K, I withdrew and spend >10K. All taken from NL50, which in retrospect was not a good idea, but it was the right thing to do at the right time, i wanted to spend a lot of money, so I did.Yes. I think is totally worth it. Even thought now I'm only playing 30NL, it's only a matter of time till I go way beyond what I've previously achieved.
I can't picture myself doing anything else now, or for the next years. I'm going for that million and I will take it. Probably when I will have bigger winnings I might start some business or invest it in something, but about those I will think in detail then at the right moment.
Skiing is awesome, but I like snowboarding more
I see .. yeah Is good to spend some of the $ u make ... obv whats the point in making them if u don't get to enjoy spending them
GL going through the limits to nosebleeds then
I guess I should post a short update, so you know I'm still alive
I started this month with a downswing, after I had my last losing day I decided to take one, two days off to get drunk and to reorganize myself. So I did. Also, a short chat with vonki before taking the break got me up on my feet again, it revived my soul ♦
After the break, it didn't take long and I turned the graph upside down, getting back everything I lost with 100% interest. I think I just had the click for 6max, that I got for FR a long time ago, the emotional understanding that you can lose and it's ok if you work on your game and try to always play better, that I can throw away bad emotions because ultimately I will get up on top.
Timeline wise, I'm on schedule, I'm very close to starting playing 50NL. I have almost 2 weeks left to get to that point. I'm so exited to start playing this limit. But I'm in no hurry, I just play and when I'll hit the BR I will move up.
Very glad to hear this, was actually wondering the other day what happened to you after our talk... you had me worried there for a while 
"People have two bank accounts - an emotional and a financial. Most people's emotional bank account runs out long before their financial."
This is so true. This is why people do stupid stuff, or get discouraged, even thought their situation doesn't look that bad. I think in life we should always go for the +EV decisions, those decisions that expand our comfort zone, broaden our views and improve our lives in the direction we want.
Even if bad beats will happen, that's just part of the variance of life, like a tree crushes your house, or your apartment catching on fire or anything else (maybe not that bad like the first two examples) that you don't have any control on - just be ok with it, knowing that you enjoy your life and you live +EV and because of that you have a great life, even if things at times don't look so bright. Eventually things always turn for the best if you put some effort into it.
"People that have undergone great stress and learned to deal with that stress the best are able to succeed at a very very high level, because they realize that this things are not life threatening. You will run low of your emotional bank account way before you run out of money." - I think this is from a book called Adversity Quotient
Conclusion?
Go for what you want, take the most +EV lines/decisions, improve and don't worry if things don't always go your way - in life, in poker, anywhere. Because as long as you're +EV longterm, variance will ultimately change for the best.