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

20,000 hands done so time for quick review...

I need to be doing a MINIMUM of 25,000 hands per month and it will be close this month. I guess it is okay seeing as I was on vacation for the first week of this month. Hopefully I will be able to do 30k - 40k next month...

Study is going well.
- I am still implementing a lot of preflop strategy that was terrible from before.
- I started learning more about cbetting flop as PFR and how to use different ranges (polarised or merged) depending on board texture and villain.
- I am using the forum a lot (posted 24 hands). Replies are AWESOME!
- Still not attended any live coaching sessions but fortunately they are all recorded. I also have got tonnes to catch up on.

Some Stats (last 10k hands only)
26/21/7.4 - solid, need to learn about squeezing more.
Fv3b: 53.7 - came down a lot and I think this is a really good stat for my player pool (maybe too low as nits)
4b: 5.2 - Kinda low but probably okay at my games, I am actively using HUD to exploit
RFI: I am a couple of points above "standard" which is exactly what I want atm
Fold BB v SB steal: 33
Fold BB v LP steal: 54.9 - It's okay

Summary
Very happy, game has improved a tonne just doing preflop stuff. Fingers crossed I can move up to 25 Zoom soon! Will keep posting hands and learning from great coaches!

Hahahaha great one!

First month at BluffTheSpot is done!

I missed the first few days due to being on holiday but since then I have worked hard (considering full time job and young family at least) and things have overall gone GREAT!

$163 profit!

Almost all of my volume has been at 16NLz on Pokerstars. My win rate there is 3.22bb/100 this month but the sample is small so it is "whatever"!

I played 26,221 hands in the month. I can do more than this because I missed some days (vacation) but I am not sure I can do more hands per hour etc. I don't feel ready to add a third Zoom table at the moment.

I will play some 25NLz now (before the profit sharing demon comes to get me!). As time moves forward I will to be more aggressive with my shots (30bi shot this time) due to the nature of CFP. Maybe 25bi and then even 20bi shots.

I posted 27 hands to the forum and am really pleased with the quality of the replies. A few different coaches chime in but they all have excellent knowledge and explain things really well to me.

Overall I am super satisfied and super optimistic! Of course I don't expect to start crushing just yet but the way everything looks here so far I just cannot see any reason not to get there given time and some hard work!

Good luck with your studies in February amigos! Keep moving forward!

I have just stopped playing for a few minutes to report that yes, after all, Stars is well and truly rigged...

Hi guys!

The 25 Zoom Goddess is putting my mental game to the test!

In this hand the Pokerstars client crashed on me after I made the 3bet! I came back online just in time and to my relief managed to get the money in preflop...

I am not "on it" 100% at the moment (didn't even play Sunday which is really rare). My full time job has gone bad again and I am losing a lot of sleep over it. I just need to get out of there now and move on...

Still, I am just about hanging in at 25z at the moment, I just need to keep my head straight to play my best...

Hi guys! Times are tough at the moment.

Or let's put it a better way. Life is testing me!

BUT... I have a quick look at the rest of the world and realise thet what I am going through is total BS and actually I am so lucky in so many ways that I just need to STFU and get on with improving myself, improving my life and giving value to the world in whatever way I can...

Work is totally * right now... I won't give all the details as I don't know who is actually reading all my blogs but it is a horrible atmosphere to work in. I have to get out of there and I have to do it in the way that is best for my family and for me...

I can't quite afford to just walk away right now. I do have income from my property portfolio that would help me but I need another £1000 per month to carry on living my current lifestyle

So, on the positive side, I believe I can make another £1000 a month selling ice to Eskimos so the money is not really a problem.

The trouble is, I work long hours at the moment so it is a little bit tricky for me to retrain in anything! And I am definitely not qualified to do anything! Also I cannot imagine my current boss giving me a glowing reference as he is absolutely full of hate!!!

So, all this going on is affecting my sleep at the moment, I am waking up after 4 hours sleep thinking about what to do and how to go about it.

This is transferring to my poker... I am simply too exhausted in the evening to play anywhere near my best! And study is totally out of the question... Every time I try to study I start to drift off to thinking about my future.

There is a bright side to this... I am shooting 25zoom at the moment...

Small sample but it is going pretty well! Of course you can guess why I don't show the actual money graph!

Point is, I am running pretty * BUT, considering all the IRL crap going on at the moment I am handling the runbad pretty well. It is not just AIEV runbad I have been card dead a lot of the shot too. So there is definitely positives to take!!!

All in all, I am going through a period in life where it is my mindset that is being tested (even in poker!)... I actually get a kind of masochistic enjoyment out of it (because I believe that when times are tough we make the most progress and grow the most).

I spent a lot of my life in "a dark place", wasting my life away and bringing negativity to the world. Hopefully I am past the turning point now.

Hopefully this is just another chapter in my self improvement journey. I am praying, in fact, that this is the next "growth spurt"!

So in summary...

Not studied much this past week and not putting the volume in (around 800 hands per day) but even if I did it would be wasted time...

I just need to sort my job out and redirect my life. I have got about 6 options all spinning around in my head and I need to take some time to make a good decision.

When I make that decision I will go all guns blazing!

Until then, keep studying and keep making progress amigos!!! Love you all (even the haters)!!!

Holy underpants Batman!!!!

The 25 Zoom Poker Goddess really got her knickers in a twist with me! I think I may have been unfaithful to her or something!

I had around 3 buy-ins to play with this morning and it was going fine until three hands in very quick succession (2 minutes maximum) killed me off!!!

HAND 1 - Versus Fish

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HAND 2 - Tagged as probable reg small sample

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HAND 3 - No reads

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So yeah, that was pretty fast finish!!!

Here is the graph of all hands of 25 Zoom shot...

The mindset is getting stronger in this warrior...

P.S. I hope the 16 Zoom Poker Goddess still loves me, she was crazy for me 10 days ago!!!!!

The 16 Zoom Poker Goddess is definitely being kinder to me than that moose at 25 Zoom was!!!

Couple of $ more (or coins) and will test the old girl at 25z out again

P.S. Volume bit crappy and work is still pretty yuk!!!

I didn't do anything poker related on Wednesday night... I went training for the first time in two months and then as it was Valentine's Day I spent the rest of the evening with my wife. She cooked us a lovely meal and we (I) polished off a nice bottle of the fizzy stuff!

I did get time to play some hands last night. I sat down $6 short of my "target" to take another shot at 25 Zoom.

As the last part of my warm-up I play a few hands of the stake below my current stake so I fired up a 10 Zoom table and had this hand almost straight away...

Hand 1 - Unknown

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So, within a few seconds I was ready for another 25 Zoom shot!!!

Time to find out if the 25 Zoom Poker Goddess has still got her knickers in a twist!

Hand 2 - Fish with super fast flop raise...

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Seemed like people wanted to spew money off last night, something was in the air!!!

Session ended like this...

This is basically just another lesson about variance for me. I had that bad run last week that finished my previous 25 Zoom shot and now I get a good run as soon as I move back up again!

It will be interesting to see how I handle the positive variance!!!

Good luck with your studies amigos! Keep going!!!

Struggling with volume still. Desperately trying to sort work and IRL stuff out so I can move on...

Shame as feels like I am playing well (and running well) so would like to build on it.

Hopefully things will start getting clearer later this week...

Here's February so far...

Just got back into positive numbers!

I hung around in this hand to see what the 13bb open might be...

What the hell???

Hi amigos!

Unfortunately February has been a bit of a non-poker month for me.

Volume was terrible at 15670 hands.

As mentioned before this is due to my situation in my full-time job. I need to leave there due to work conditions that are not suitable to me. Also the company is struggling and, seeing as nobody seems to be doing anything about it, it makes sense to get out before it falls apart in due course.

I was looking at going into teaching in primary school or taking over a prechool but I don't feel I can get the required training and work full time at the same time.

So I am going to go after a dream that I had a couple of years ago... I am going to try to become a Wing Chun Kung Fu instructor!

Anyway, more on that in future...

Let's look at February's small sample...

I made $38 profit in February (including a little rakeback).

Overall I am very happy to be in profit as I took two shots at 25z this month! One failed in dramatic style and the second shot is going along nicely. I am around 7 buy-ins above the threshold of dropping back down.

I have done very little study this month (spent so much time sorting my future) other than watching a couple of videos passively. What I have been able to do is to cement some strategy that I have learnt at BTS so far.

I do feel at home at 25z and  am confident that, variance permitting, I will continue to progress through stakes.

If I am honest I can not see March being too different to February wrt poker. Just while I make things a little more stable for me regarding future income.

I will write about my Wing Chun adventure too... I might start a separate blog for this but will put a link in at least for anyone who is interested to follow!

Good luck with your studies amigos!

Hi guys!

Poker is still taking a back seat I am afraid. I have played a few hands in March but most of my time is taken up on my new adventure into becoming a Wing Chun Kung Fu Instructor...

Here is the link if you would like to read my blog all about my journey from beginner to well, wherever it takes me!

I am actually going to be teaching some classes this week as the Instructor is away skiing for the week. I am feeling a bit nervous about it but mostly excited!

I have not played poker since 20th March.

I am still in my job but long term prospects are not good.

I have started a Wing Chun School and have got 3 students. I am yet to start marketing it properly.

I am hoping to take over another Wing Chun School any time within the next couple of months. It is a small school with 12 - 14 students.

We have just been to Lanzarote for a vacation. It was my kids' first time on a plane and we had an amazing time!

I am learning a hell of a lot about myself just lately. Really interesting ride I am on.

I hope everybody who reads this is having fun and enjoying life.

Best wishes,

Chris.

Still reading it and interesting to see you are on the bridge of choosing a different life path. Hope to see you here every now and then and to see how you've achieved the results you desire!

Cheers,

Hesticus

Originally posted by Hesticus
Still reading it and interesting to see you are on the bridge of choosing a different life path. Hope to see you here every now and then and to see how you've achieved the results you desire!

Cheers,

Hesticus

Hi Hesticus!

Thanks for the comment in here AND especially for the encouragement you bring!

It feels like I am now taking a path that is chosen from INSIDE rather than from OUTSIDE.

I am not sure how to put that into words in the best possible way yet but I am sure it will come in time...

Thanks again.

Chris.

Originally posted by Eatyourpeas

I am not sure how to put that into words in the best possible way yet but I am sure it will come in time...

Its called quitting right?

Wow, you have a lot going on..... I´m curious where your journey will take you....

Originally posted by N3bojsa
Its called quitting right?

Something more fulfilling has come into my life.

There are not enough hours in the day for me to do all of the things I want to do so something has to give.

We can call it quitting for sure.

I am not framing it like that but feel free to do that if you wish.

Life is so so good for me right now!

Things are really changing a lot for me and it just gets more and more exciting day by day.

I feel that all of the hard work I put into self improvement over the past ten years is really starting to pay off in a BIG way.

I don't play poker any more and I don't think I ever will again.

I will post in here again from time to time with things that have been particularly useful to me on my journey of growth and fulfilment, purely in the hope that I can help someone else find the "secrets" to a great life.

Thanks for reading, good luck to everyone. We all have greatness inside of us, it just needs teasing out...

Chris.