Well, it has been a fair while since I've put anything up here so time for an update methinks. First things first, I've had to stop the coaching for the time being, I'd had a few bad weeks and I was worried that I wasn't really getting great value for money, the coaching was good but I just didn't feel any marked improvement in my play (albeit I only had 3 sessions) and my bankroll was in freefall! I'm still comfortably rolled to play 25nl but I'm taking a bit of a break and playing some 10nl to regain confidence and work on my own game. I'm still working on my game alone, using Leggo Poker videos and reading the forums to hone my game.
Outside of poker things are going even better, this years studies are infinitely more interesting and the tutorials/seminars/whatever you want to call them are a great deal better. The workload has increased but it feels a lot easier as it is so much more engrossing, you can get lost in some of these articles for hours!
The ski season is fast approaching and with around 50 days till I leave for leg 1 of the year I'm doing what I can with regards to eating healthily and preparing myself for another long season. Sessions on the dry slopes are going well, our freestyle team had a great session last weekend and the race team meets tonight, always something to keep you busy!
Right now I feel like I am on a massive life upswing, I have never felt this happy while being at university, I really think that cutting back on the drinking has made a huge difference to me, something that I couldn't have seen a few weeks ago. I don't feel I drank any more than your average student but maybe it affects me more beyond the evenings, tiredness, laziness and unproductiveness all increase when I drink, take today as an example, had a great night out but I've accomplished very little since then! Everything else just feels great at the moment, I don't know what it is but my mood is always good, my patience seems endless and I can really focus on my work. I'm slightly concerned I might be growing up but I'll have to get back to you on that....
I've been giving my future a lot of thought, I have two years left of university and I need to plan beyond them. Realistically I think my future lies in on of a few areas. I won't bore you with them here as everything feels up in the air but I'm planning on being more proactive with regards to my future, planning internships, going to meetings etc.
Over the next few weeks I guess I'm going to carry on as I am, working hard, playing hard, drinking less and in general leading a happier more productive life!
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
Onwards and Upwards
What a difference a week or so can make! After a truly appalling finish to September things are looking up, had a good few sessions strung together and the results have been pretty good, I'll save the details for the end of the month. I've just finished my third coaching session and am really pleased with how they are going, even if not a lot is talked about in an individual session the effect it has on my game over the whole week is invaluable. The last session was fun as I have a new favourite fish from Germany, I'll keep his name a secret for now but he provided me with endless entertainment both on the table and in the chat box. One thing I really need to work on is my volume, I'm very unhappy with the amount I've been playing, I need to up it to at least 10k hands a week, preferably a lot more to really put what I'm learning into practice and win more. I don't want to cheat at this by simply increasing the number of tables I'm playing, 12 is perfect, it allows me to closely follow the hands I'm in and gives me time to note, mark hands for review and take time over important decisions, not to mention they fit on my screen ok.
Aside from poker everything is really good, settled into the new house well and am getting on with studying, feels hard after 4 months off but I'm sure it will come back over time. Last night was the introductory pub crawl for the University Snowsports club and it was great to see loads of new faces who have joined this year, looking forward to seeing them over the next 10 months and beyond!
My fitness regime has taken a slight knock as I haven't been feeling so great, probably enjoying myself a little too much and not enough sleep but since stopping all that I've been better and am getting on with it. Played squash for the first time in years the other day and I had forgotten what a fantastic game it is, coupled with the fact it is a excellent workout! I'm aiming to try and play 3-4 times a week, thats about all my legs can handle right now, I am ridiculously stiff this morning thanks to a 5 game stint on the court yesterday.
Lastly, I'm sure many of you do, but I have to recommend listening to the 2p2 PokerCast every Tuesday, for those who don't listen it is a brilliant roundup of the weeks poker news mixed with engaging interviews with stellar guests! The hosts Mike and Adam do a great job presenting as well, ably assisted by their technician Bunner, if you like to listen to stuff while you grind this fits the bill nicely!
Aside from poker everything is really good, settled into the new house well and am getting on with studying, feels hard after 4 months off but I'm sure it will come back over time. Last night was the introductory pub crawl for the University Snowsports club and it was great to see loads of new faces who have joined this year, looking forward to seeing them over the next 10 months and beyond!
My fitness regime has taken a slight knock as I haven't been feeling so great, probably enjoying myself a little too much and not enough sleep but since stopping all that I've been better and am getting on with it. Played squash for the first time in years the other day and I had forgotten what a fantastic game it is, coupled with the fact it is a excellent workout! I'm aiming to try and play 3-4 times a week, thats about all my legs can handle right now, I am ridiculously stiff this morning thanks to a 5 game stint on the court yesterday.
Lastly, I'm sure many of you do, but I have to recommend listening to the 2p2 PokerCast every Tuesday, for those who don't listen it is a brilliant roundup of the weeks poker news mixed with engaging interviews with stellar guests! The hosts Mike and Adam do a great job presenting as well, ably assisted by their technician Bunner, if you like to listen to stuff while you grind this fits the bill nicely!
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
September Review - October Goals
Sorry it has taken me a while to get this post up, I had a very bad end of the month and needed to cool off a while and take some time off poker before coming back. I lost an entire months profit in one day playing very badly.
However, there were a lot of positives last month as well! I agreed to enter a coaching contact with Team Moshman, this entitles me to at least 1 hours coaching every week in exchange for 50% of my earnings at 25nl only, a fair deal from my end seeing as the majority of my profit comes from live play, this allows me to work on my online game with great coaches and great people to discuss hands with! In addition to the coaching there is a great network of support and people to talk to that gets you through bad days and bad beats!
I finally moved into the house and I love it, the internet is all sorted out and am looking forward to mixing grinding with studying over the next year. I've arranged skiing in France in the winter for three weeks so far, I'll look to do more once Easter time gets a bit closer. This is my favourite time of the year, checking the snow reports and webcams and seeing the resorts changing and getting ready for the new season, I am very pumped for the start of the season!
Looking forward to the next month I plan to put in my required volume for coaching, at least 10k hands per week and really get on top of my academic work, the more I work now, the less revision I will have to do while skiing in France in preparation for my exams when I return in January. To get ready for the ski season I am almost completely cutting alcohol out of my life and getting much fitter, this is a general pattern in my life, everything seems geared towards the ski seasons! I've started 2 fitness programs to complete couple bets, one is to complete 1000 situps in an hour, the other is to do a certain amount of pushups but the details are not confirmed yet. I used to be a decent athlete competing at county and regional levels but have let my fitness go in the last 2 years since an illness, time to regain myself! These bets are a way of finding the motivation to get me started again!
I'll finish off this post with my depressing results from last month!
Onwards and upwards, start of this month has been promising!
However, there were a lot of positives last month as well! I agreed to enter a coaching contact with Team Moshman, this entitles me to at least 1 hours coaching every week in exchange for 50% of my earnings at 25nl only, a fair deal from my end seeing as the majority of my profit comes from live play, this allows me to work on my online game with great coaches and great people to discuss hands with! In addition to the coaching there is a great network of support and people to talk to that gets you through bad days and bad beats!
I finally moved into the house and I love it, the internet is all sorted out and am looking forward to mixing grinding with studying over the next year. I've arranged skiing in France in the winter for three weeks so far, I'll look to do more once Easter time gets a bit closer. This is my favourite time of the year, checking the snow reports and webcams and seeing the resorts changing and getting ready for the new season, I am very pumped for the start of the season!
Looking forward to the next month I plan to put in my required volume for coaching, at least 10k hands per week and really get on top of my academic work, the more I work now, the less revision I will have to do while skiing in France in preparation for my exams when I return in January. To get ready for the ski season I am almost completely cutting alcohol out of my life and getting much fitter, this is a general pattern in my life, everything seems geared towards the ski seasons! I've started 2 fitness programs to complete couple bets, one is to complete 1000 situps in an hour, the other is to do a certain amount of pushups but the details are not confirmed yet. I used to be a decent athlete competing at county and regional levels but have let my fitness go in the last 2 years since an illness, time to regain myself! These bets are a way of finding the motivation to get me started again!
I'll finish off this post with my depressing results from last month!
Onwards and upwards, start of this month has been promising!
Sunday, 11 September 2011
Last of the Summer Grind
With university looming I decided to have one last live session before I head back. I have a friend staying with me until university so we headed down to my local casino and hit the tables. I haven't played here for a while and it was nice to see a few familiar faces and catch up with a few people I played with earlier in the summer. I booked £140 profit (around $220) which I'll put into my online account and called it a relatively early night, I busted a few of the weaker players and we were left with a tight table full of regulars, not something I am going to waste my little time left at home at.
September has had a pretty good start for me, I had a successful first weekend at 25nl where I took a shot slightly underrolled that set me up for the month. 10nl hasn't been so kind, I'm kind of breaking even and not getting a lot of traction but with bonuses and live winnings I'm having a good month.
I've started reading a few new poker books, both by Dusty Schimdt to try and kick start my game and get into the online mindset before getting back to university. Treat Poker Like a Business is a great read and I look forward to reading Don't Listen To Phil Hellmuth when I am done with the first, I'll try write something more comprehensive about them when I am done with them.
The Rugby World Cup has started which is keeping me awake at night for the next couple months, lets hope England can repeat 2003!
September has had a pretty good start for me, I had a successful first weekend at 25nl where I took a shot slightly underrolled that set me up for the month. 10nl hasn't been so kind, I'm kind of breaking even and not getting a lot of traction but with bonuses and live winnings I'm having a good month.
I've started reading a few new poker books, both by Dusty Schimdt to try and kick start my game and get into the online mindset before getting back to university. Treat Poker Like a Business is a great read and I look forward to reading Don't Listen To Phil Hellmuth when I am done with the first, I'll try write something more comprehensive about them when I am done with them.
The Rugby World Cup has started which is keeping me awake at night for the next couple months, lets hope England can repeat 2003!
Sunday, 4 September 2011
August Review - September Goals
Hey guys, just finished the end of my first month back playing online and its been a bit of a roller coaster, up and down more times than I can count. I can at least report that profit was made, although not too much, and I'm very happy to be playing again. Thanks to the Pokerstars VIP club promotion during August I was able to attain Platinum status which I will keep throughout September allowing me to get more FPPs and therefore more "rakeback". I'm not too sure what I'm going to do with the FPPs at the moment, likely 210fpp sats to the Sunday Storm, they seem to give me an OK $/fpp. I'm going to be concentrating 100% on cash these days, no mtts and sngs, if I don't feel like playing cash I'll just do something else!
Looking forward I'm hoping to get rolled for 25nl by the end of the month and retain Goldstar, although that will be a push unless I move up sooner rather than later.
Outside of poker house at uni is all sorted and looking awesome, I'll try get some pics up at some point onceI'm happy with having moved in! Going to try and have a slightly less alcoholic year and focus more academically, everything counts now so time to step up and nail the work
Looking forward I'm hoping to get rolled for 25nl by the end of the month and retain Goldstar, although that will be a push unless I move up sooner rather than later.
Outside of poker house at uni is all sorted and looking awesome, I'll try get some pics up at some point onceI'm happy with having moved in! Going to try and have a slightly less alcoholic year and focus more academically, everything counts now so time to step up and nail the work
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
Back on the grind
It has been SO good to be back playing online again, I think the time away has given me the desire to put long hours in again and the results so far have been encouraging. I feel I have had a couple EUREKA! moments and plugged a few big leaks that had been stopping me from winning so much before. Or I could be a fish on a heater! I seem to be spewing a lot at the start of sessions which is strange but something that I would like to eliminate, I think stuff learnt over the last session will definitely help with that!
Also managed to hit Platinum Star this month thanks to Stars promotion, I think once I am up at 25nl maintaining Gold Star will be a realistic goal and at 50nl hopefully Platinum Star. I am also back up to 12 tabling which is really helping my volume and letting me see a lot more interesting spots whilst still having the time to think and act on all tables.
My rough plan for the rest of the year is as follows:
End of September - Be playing rolled for 25nl
End of 2011 - Be playing rolled for 50nl
2011 - Study hard, review and discuss hands, stop spewing retarded spots
2012 - Supernova run
Outside of poker the time to be moving into my house at university is fast approaching, I need to pay the first rent installment before September 1st when I move in. Really looking forward to living with 3 really good friends, although none of them play poker we have every other interest in common so it should be good fun!
Also managed to hit Platinum Star this month thanks to Stars promotion, I think once I am up at 25nl maintaining Gold Star will be a realistic goal and at 50nl hopefully Platinum Star. I am also back up to 12 tabling which is really helping my volume and letting me see a lot more interesting spots whilst still having the time to think and act on all tables.
My rough plan for the rest of the year is as follows:
End of September - Be playing rolled for 25nl
End of 2011 - Be playing rolled for 50nl
2011 - Study hard, review and discuss hands, stop spewing retarded spots
2012 - Supernova run
Outside of poker the time to be moving into my house at university is fast approaching, I need to pay the first rent installment before September 1st when I move in. Really looking forward to living with 3 really good friends, although none of them play poker we have every other interest in common so it should be good fun!
Friday, 19 August 2011
Time to make a start!
Hello guys, time for another update!
I've decided that ahead of starting this 25nl stake (which I'm still hopeful of but don't want to rely on for my action) I've put a little bit of money onto stars to allow me to start grinding 10nl overrolled to give me the time to work on my game in preparation of the stake. I will be 6 tabling or 9 tabling depending on the strength of the tables and applying concepts learnt from studying videos and actively trying to improve my game, rather than grinding with the plays I already use and the basic strategy I employ at the moment.
I will be posting a lot of hands on 2p2 uNL and Leggo Poker forums as well as discussing hands over skype with this new group I recently joined. Currently I am having a good debate over a hand on 2p2 where I am getting a lot of great, but conflicting advice! http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/78/micro-stakes-full-ring/10nl-3-bet-not-3bet-1085926/
I realise my game is a LONG way behind where it needs to be but I'm looking forward to the challenge and have given myself the full range of tools to achieve my goals. I don't like to set specific targets, I've seen a million threads of "$10 to $10k in 1 year" / "2nl to 1knl by next summer" threads but I don't think I can do this. Poker will never be my sole source of income, for me it is the competition, I'll move up when I'm bored of a stake and I no longer find it a challenge. There are times when I forget this goal when on tilt, am losing or frustrated but I hope there will be people either here or around me to keep me focused! Winning at poker, not for the money, for the winning!
I'm roughly a month away from going back to university and moving into a house with 3 close friends, very much looking forward to this and luckily they all have an unhealthy obsession over football, I love playing the game but have little time for talking about or watching it so I will have plenty of time to play, I wouldn't dare talk to them about poker!
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/54/poker-beats-brags-variance/why-i-dont-tell-people-i-play-poker-308/
Anyway, hope all is well guys, if you want to ask anything feel free to leave me a comment or shoot me a pm on 2p2, name is LolDonkamentz, good luck at the tables!
I've decided that ahead of starting this 25nl stake (which I'm still hopeful of but don't want to rely on for my action) I've put a little bit of money onto stars to allow me to start grinding 10nl overrolled to give me the time to work on my game in preparation of the stake. I will be 6 tabling or 9 tabling depending on the strength of the tables and applying concepts learnt from studying videos and actively trying to improve my game, rather than grinding with the plays I already use and the basic strategy I employ at the moment.
I will be posting a lot of hands on 2p2 uNL and Leggo Poker forums as well as discussing hands over skype with this new group I recently joined. Currently I am having a good debate over a hand on 2p2 where I am getting a lot of great, but conflicting advice! http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/78/micro-stakes-full-ring/10nl-3-bet-not-3bet-1085926/
I realise my game is a LONG way behind where it needs to be but I'm looking forward to the challenge and have given myself the full range of tools to achieve my goals. I don't like to set specific targets, I've seen a million threads of "$10 to $10k in 1 year" / "2nl to 1knl by next summer" threads but I don't think I can do this. Poker will never be my sole source of income, for me it is the competition, I'll move up when I'm bored of a stake and I no longer find it a challenge. There are times when I forget this goal when on tilt, am losing or frustrated but I hope there will be people either here or around me to keep me focused! Winning at poker, not for the money, for the winning!
I'm roughly a month away from going back to university and moving into a house with 3 close friends, very much looking forward to this and luckily they all have an unhealthy obsession over football, I love playing the game but have little time for talking about or watching it so I will have plenty of time to play, I wouldn't dare talk to them about poker!
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/54/poker-beats-brags-variance/why-i-dont-tell-people-i-play-poker-308/
Anyway, hope all is well guys, if you want to ask anything feel free to leave me a comment or shoot me a pm on 2p2, name is LolDonkamentz, good luck at the tables!
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