We live and we learn, we crash and we burn [Blog]

I think the message there is pretty obvious.

Run better and get back on track soon.

Hmm.. maybe I should make a lottery ticket today!

The coolest part is, what happened last time when this milestone thing was on..

Plus I won a movie ticket at school today.

Plus plus I played a pretty good session.

Maybe I should celebrate this with a beer.

Am I a luckbox!???

Naah.. I don't think so!

- Lurjus

Hyellow!

Tomorrow is my last day at the work placement and then that's that! I finally have an occupation. That's cool. Now all I need to do is to get a job, which I'm trying to do atm. It's just tough to praise myself. I know what I can do and what I'm good at, but trying to tell that to a person who you don't know and try not to sound cocky is just.. hard. The job application is now done and sent. I hope I'll get the place in the project, because it sounded very interesting and is located in very beautiful place. More about that, if I get the job. I'm glad I have a backup plan, which is poker.

Poker

This month has been ok so far. I have reached almost all of my goals for the month, but I have kind of mixed feelings. The reason is, that I have been running so much above EV. This is something very new to me. And when I was trying to figure out in which situations I'm running hot, it turned out that it is when I get money in preflop. I have got this feeling that people don't go broke so light preflop on NL50. It feels just ridiculous how tight they are. I'm too lazy to count the times I get it in w AK and am up against AA-QQ. But those are the situations where I have been lucky. And ofcourse I never get it in with AA/KK. Ok, my sample size is still small, but still.

Next update might be the report of the month with graph and all. Weekend will be busy, because we are moving and before that there will be my graduation party. So I've got still couple of days to grind and then I have to move my"'office".

GL all!

- Lurjus

May

Graph and numbers

My goals for the month where to win $1000, get to the NL50 and play 65K hands.

I reached all of my goals and I am really happy about my game atm. I have never been playing better.

About setting goals. Some might wonder why I haven't announced my goals here in my blog. The reason is, I have found that when I keep my goals to my self, I am more likely to achieve them. And when I set my goals, I always try to go a bit over them. When I have a specific goal, lets say a amount of money that I want to win, I get this mental blog right before I am reaching it. You can see this even in my this months graph. (I'm talking about EV now) Almost 1K -> down -> almost 1K -> down -> I made it -> dooown..

There was actually a speech about setting goals in TED some time ago that got me thinking about all this goal setting and announcing them. I recommend.

For last two days I have been playing NL50 Zoom. I think I found my leak in those games. I spew.. alot! So I made a correction and can't brag yet, but I feel like I'm crushing. Or atleast I've got the feeling that the games are very soft and I can make some money in those games.

Tomorrow is my graduation day, and we going to the restaurant to celebrate it. I think there might be some drinks involved and the night might be long, but meh.. what can you do?

Saturday will be packing and cleaning of the apartment. Sunday is the day when we move. I don't know when I will be able to grind again, but probably Tuesday.

Until next time, good luck and have fun!

- Lurjus

Ugh!

It hasn't been the start for the month that I was looking for. I have played poorly, spewed around and therefore losing. I down for 10bins but my ev is even more in the red.

I took a shot to the NL100 and it went ok. Just ended up playing too long session, twice, but in the end it wasn't so bad.

My volume for the month has been good, but it has come with the expense of quality. And I have just played and played and played without even making any hand reviews. So I haven't even tried to improve and when that is the case, I always end up spewing and losing. The reason is that I'm not concentrating in how I play, but the amount and the winning. That is very easily noticed from how much I refresh my HEM graph.

Even that all this might sound like I'm in a deep hole, or that's at least how I feel :megusta:, I still have 60+ buy-in roll for the NL50 and nothing is lost. I just have to do things differently and get somekind of routine for grinding. That been said, I'm of to the river for a couple of days. Good time to clear my head and get back in the tables with a fresh head. I just need to find my gears and check the tent.

Try to behave while I'm gone!

- Lurjus

Originally posted by Lurjus
I just have to do things differently and get somekind of routine for grinding.

Fishes are breeding currently so you can have more and bigger fishes later.

Try to watch your aggression factor and hands per hour instead of winnings.
Af will let you control the balance between bluffcatching and bluffing yourself.
Hands per hour monitoring will not let you start auto clicking.

//for the Fast tables.

Greetings!

Last wednesday I went to fish and just to relax. My original plan was to come back on friday, but I was just enjoying it so much that I decided to come back home on saturday. The weather was superb and fishing was quite nice too. However, mostly I was just taking it easy, reading a book on the grass and listening how the river flows.

Coffee break

Lunch (grayling)

Those couple of days off the tables did really good! I tried to remember the last time I have had such a 'long' time without playing a single hand and came to conclusion that it must be as far back as last summer. I think I should have more breaks like that. In the summer it's not so hard, but I have to come up with some kind of hobby also for the winter.

I have told you how I've been running very well and how I'm alot over EV. Well, all that can change during one two hour session.

I was already waiting for something like this, but the fact that it happened during one session is just awesome. Honestly, I was laughing when ever I got it in with a flip or better. I just knew I can't win! And it was entertaining!

However, my month is now ~BE and I'm quite happy about it. I was planing to take a shot to NL100 soon, but after that previous session, I stick with the NL50 for a bit longer.

Originally posted by ilioas

Try to watch your aggression factor and hands per hour instead of winnings.
Af will let you control the balance between bluffcatching and bluffing yourself.
Hands per hour monitoring will not let you start auto clicking.

//for the Fast tables.

Af: Might be a good idea. I will look into that.

Hands per hour: I don't think that's a problem for me. Once you create a solid game plan for preflop and stick with it, hands per hour should be approximately the same all the time. However, it might be the other way round. When I get too tricky in too many spots, my hands/h might drop a little. I'm not sure. Maybe I should look into that too.

GL at the tables!

- Lurjus

Your pictures remind me of fly fishing in Scotland. Nostalgia time again, thank you!

You're welcome!

the HEM2

During my session it froze several times, freezing the client with it. Apparently frozen client doesn't activate timebank. I have tried some thinks to get it work, but it is just--so--slow. I don't mind it freezing when I'm not playing, but while playing... oh man! That's just so tilting! I made a new database for this year to make it easier for HEM to handle, but I feel it has grown so big now that the old problems are back.

He is heavy! He ain't my brother!

So what did I do?!

I RAGE-BOUGHT ♠_evil: ♠_evil: the PokerTracker 4, because everyone says it runs smoother and doesn't lag so much. Ofcourse you need to give it some to handle big databases, but at least it won't freeze in the middle of a hand and take client with it.. I hope.

It looks like today I'm studying the PT4.

Yesterday was horrendous! I played way too much (6745 hands/7,5h) and way too poorly. Needles to say that I lost alot. Worst day for a long time. I started it with a shot to NL100 ending up loosing three stacks quite quickly. Then I fired up NL50 regular tables.. didn't work. And what is the better way to complete the downer than jump into NL50 Zoom and spew around.

I discovered that I'm not doing so well on my morning hours. There's not so many winning sessions before 2pm our time. From that I made a conclusion that I'm not doing so well against regulars and my head isn't working so well in the morning. I have always known that I'm not a morning person, but it was interesting to see that it can also be seen in my database.

All that leads to my new idea about my morning routine. I never should play right after breakfast. I drink a lot of coffee, especially in the morning, and it gets my head kind of buzzy. Because of that I make alot of too quick decisions, without thinking enough. However, that is good time to spot my major leaks. I have neglected studying so badly lately, that it's time for me to get my sleeves up, head out of my ass and get to work. Especially off the tables!

I have dropped down half of the tables I play, leaving me with six regular tables and much more time to think. Last time when I really got into studying the game again, I played only four tables and that was very helpful. That month of intensive study led me to the point where I'm at right now. Now I'm at the point where I have to learn more to get further.

This month

PT4 is working very well and I'm very pleased with it. There is still alot I have to learn about it, but I'm getting all the basic stuff I need. I noticed it works instantly in Zoom games, where HM2 was lagging. Sometimes I had to wait for the HM2 to get the stats, before making the decision.

Now I'll go out and maybe go to see this little pond nearby. I will test if I can find any good sized pearch in there. Yesterday tried to catch some from our own waterfront (we live by the lake), but I caught only very small ones and one whitefish. That whitefish was so delicious!

GL at the tables!

- Lurjus

I don't do mornings well either, so I also cut the table numbers down even though I don't play as high as you it still makes sense.
Have you tried some sort of warm-up? I find a little study or watching a strategy video just helps to kick two my two slow brain cells into gear and I'm ready for battle.
Before I did that I found I had many, many sessions wehre I was down 2/3/4 buyins before I had time to sit down! It takes a long time to get all that back.

It's what I do anyway; have fun.

Mal.

Originally posted by gadget51
Have you tried some sort of warm-up? I find a little study or watching a strategy video just helps to kick two my two slow brain cells into gear and I'm ready for battle.

I have done it too, but recently haven't done anything like it for some reason. Until past few sessions.

I have dropped down to NL25. Not because I'm not rolled for NL50, but to get my self confidence back. I have also been working on my preflop game and especially on restealing. I really want to beat those Zoom games and that's where I'm aiming atm.

mbml is working on a video series for 6max and it happens to be about preflop play and constructing your own preflop ranger. I'm very interested to get it, because that's what I have been wondering about and working on for past week. Can't wait.

The midsummer festival is right around the corner, and in Finland it pretty big celebration. I made a small withdraw so I can arrange a nice weekend for couple of my friend. Grill, fishing and old wood-heated sauna are in order and waiting for the guests. Can't wait that either.

Take care and happy midsummer, if I don't have time to update before it!

- Lurjus

Hi there!

Online poker is dead?

Midsummer came and went. It was a blast. Good food with great people, funny games and all. One of my friends got his first grayling and I think I got him hooked on fishing.

Originally posted by Lurjus
mbml is working on a video series for 6max and it happens to be about preflop play and constructing your own preflop ranges.

It is on! I'm one of those beta-testers of Galvin's new series 'Preflop Perfection'. I have only scratched the surface and I can see the development already. My ranges has widened a lot. I had to make a new, a lot simpler note system for Zoom, because my definition for a nit is very different now. It has been fun calculating approx what kind of ranges I should use for different kind of players. And I haven't gone further from the small blind yet, so there is still lot to do. The course is worth every penny!

My wife's summer vacation started yesterday, and we where planning a canoeing trip to the north. We did it two years ago and it was so great, we are doing it again. Lake Inari will be the place like it was last time also. Only thing that is holding us back is the weather. It has been unusually cold and in the big lake the wind will make it even more cold. If the weather warms up, we might leave in short notice. Other then that, my next planned going in the calender is next friday. Until then, I will be grinding and studying.

Right now I feel like I'm exhausted after a good grind and study session, but I'm so motivated atm. Having a great material to study and seeing that the effort I put in my self pays of, really motivates and I just can't wait the next time I open the client.

GL on your weekend grind!

- Lurjus

Online poker is definitely not dead. ♦

Gosh it's been so long, but if memory serves me correctly, grayling season is March in Scotland and coincides with brown trout. Damn I'm so old.

Anyway, if you have places like you have to go for a break, I shouldn't worry too much about whether it's a bit cold or not, just go for it!

Good luck with the coaching series to, but I don't think you'll need much of that though from what I can gather about you're enthusiasm and willingness to work at it.

Great stuff Lurjus, I hope Midsummer is fun!

Edit: Maybe the blog title needs a make more positive impact now! ♠_cool:

Mal.

Originally posted by gadget51
Edit: Maybe the blog title needs a make more positive impact now! ♠_cool:

Mal.

I totally agree.

Originally posted by gadget51
Gosh it's been so long, but if memory serves me correctly, grayling season is March in Scotland...

The whole summer is good time to fish grayling in here.

Originally posted by NutzAreOk

Originally posted by gadget51
Edit: Maybe the blog title needs a make more positive impact now! ♠_cool:

Mal.

I totally agree.

Naah.. is't good.

June

Graph and numbers


Edit: That My C Won just doesn't add up.. hmm strange.

This month in one word would be frustrating. I'm glad it's over and now it is time to take it little easier. Tomorrow I will go fishing with my friend. We will be trolling for lake salmon. Now that the water has warmed a little after quite long cold period, I think we have a good chance to catch some nice fish. Next week I will go up north to hang out with my friend who lives there and to fish some atlantic salmon. We decided, with my wife, that we will go kayaking after I come back from there. So because of all this my volume in next month will be little smaller, but I will be playing when ever I can. I will take my laptop with my to the north so I can keep playing and studying while I'm there.

Back to this month that we still have left couple of minutes. I reached my volume goal which was 75K hands. I had a monetary goal in the beginning of the month, but I had to just forget about it very soon. I took a shot to NL100 which was one goal. It was fine, but there is still a lot to do before I can play those games comfortably. First of all, I need a bigger bankroll..

One, and I think it is a big one, goal was to get some kind of coaching. Galvin's new preflop series was, and is exactly what I was looking for. It gives me a direction how to improve my game and for the first time I really feel like I'm diving deep in poker and I might even succeed something great.

That's all for now. Good luck for the next month, if you need it. If you don't, go CRUSH them! ♠_evil:

♠_cool: ♠_cool:

- Lurjus

July

Hi all!

It's been busy month. I have been fishing and kayaking, but luckily I have had also some time to play poker.

The month started with a week of hard grinding and studying. I felt I was crushing NL50 Zoom and everything seemed good. Then I went to up north to fish some salmon in Teno river. It turned out to be the warmest week of the year and the fish wasn't very keen on flies and lures. Also the water got really warm and clear which ment that the fish wasn't stopping and they where in a hurry to get upstream. I fished for two nights getting only two bites and managed to get one of them in the boat. Then I took a couple of days of and played some poker and watched the football. By the weekend the weather was changing and I decided to stay a few day longer. It turned out to be a good decision, because the fish got a bit more active. However I got only two salmon and lost five. The bigger one was ~7kg which I was pretty happy about.

Pretty quickly after I got home, I went back to north. Not that far this time. We went for kayaking to lake Inari with my wife. If you ever have an opportunity to go there, just do it!

Our first night there was the last night of the year when the sun doesn't set.

The midnight sun

Poker

After those trips I tried to get in some volume. I started it by taking a shot to the NL100. This time a proper shot, not just a few buy-in mini shot. It was a disaster! I came down like a tail of a cow (finnish phrase). It crushed me and I felt like couldn't win in NL50 either. When things like this happen, I get in a some kind of hurry. At one point I played eight 6-max Zoom tables, NL50 and NL25. Then I tried mixing in fullring Zoom with 6-max to get eight tables on the same stake. Yes, I got in some volume, but was it worth it? No! There was no time to implement some new thing I have been studying and the overall quality of my game wasn't very good. To push some brakes, I switched to the normal tables and began playing only four tables. It has been working very well, and I intend to continue like that.

Graph and numbers

Tomorrow we are having a small party in our place, and next week I will get two guests who I will be fishing with. The other one is a regular guest who visits every summer. He usually stays about a week which we will spend by the river. The other guest is friend I taught to tie his own flyes last winter. He has never fished with a fly so this time I will give him a little course on casting and how to try to find the fish.

We'll see how much volume I will get in this month. I hope I will have some more hours to play than last month.

GL to all! See you at the tables!

- Lurjus

Nice fish.

And now you have the evidence when you tell about that fish to people.