Friday and Sunday's Results

Today: -$515 (friday and sunday)
Hours: 3.75
To Date: +$8,645
$200 nl win rate (to date): ???.still too lazy to calculate...

Played really well on friday for 2 hours and pretty much made as much money as I could of with the cards I was dealt. I was happy with my play and very happy with the discipline I showed. I didn't play at all on Saturday because I drove 8 hours and didn't have the energy to play my "A" game. Then Sunday I played a 1.75 hour session and things went really bad. First of all I was feeling tired and the only reason I played was because I felt pressured to put some hours in. Not a good move to start out with. Then I was put in a lot of tough decisions and things weren't going well at all. I didn't play horrible or anything, but I just wasn't playing my best or even trying to that much. I think if I was playing my "A" game I would have saved a couple hundred at least, especially becuase at the end I was pissed off at myself and completely tilted off like 85 bucks right before I quit. My pokertracker stats have also been off for the last week. I figured out that I had the old version of PokerAce HUD and there was problems with UB importing hands. So over just 2 days my PT said I was up like $65, when I was really up around $550. That is pretty annoying and I'm trying to figure out some way where I can get those fixed becuase my ptbb/100 should be significantly higher than my stats say since I've been playing UB and that really sucks. Anyways the end of the month is near and hopefully I'm gonna go on a serious heater over the next 6 days. I'm feeling very confident with my play, but I don't know if $10k is gonna be possible this month. I believe in myself and my play though, so I'm gonna try and will it into existence.

18th -22nd

Today: +510 (over last 5 days)
Hours: 11.5
To Date: +$9,160
$200 nl win rate: ???...too lazy right now..

Haven't played that much over the last 5 days or so. I played for a couple hours last saturday and broke even, then I have been down in San Diego since. So I didn't play on Sunday at all and then got back to playing from Monday and on for a couple hours each day on average. I was down around 5 buyins from monday until my second session yesterday on Thursday. I had been playing really good for the most part lately, but had gotten back to making a couple big dumb screw ups a day. The screw ups had been completely making my really good play for the majority meaningless, and along with running kinda bad and getting unlucky in important spots I was starting to become mentally affected by it all. I noticed myself at the beginning of yesterday complaining way too much about bad beats and getting really angry with dumb players. This was all a result of me feeling like I have been playing really good for the most part lately, but stupidly once about every session dumping a bunch of money like an idiot. I feel like I have taken my game to another level lately with maximizing my profits and making much more advanced plays resulting in a lot more money in situations than I used to. But the stupid bluffs and things were offseting these good plays. Then yesterday in my second session of the day it all came together. I played extremely good and dominated a couple people allowing me to recieve MUCH more money off them than I think hardly anyone else would have. Everything went right and I made over $1,200 in an hour and a half getting me out of my downswing. So I'm looking foward to the rest of the month, as I feel if I stay very disciplined and cut out all big and dumb mistakes I will do very well. I think I have really improved parts of my game and strategy and am excited about it.

Today and Yesterday

Today: +$911
Hours: 11
To Date:
$200 nl win rate (to date)

Got lazy and skipped updating for a day. I'll edit this post tomorrow about the last 2 days.

SO SICK

Today: -$162
Hours: 3.25
To Date: $7,739
$200 nl win rate(to date): 41/hr

I really don't feel like writing this right now, but I guess I should to let people know how sick the emotional side of playing this game seriously can be. So I won around $80 my first 2 sessions and my 3rd and final session of the day things were going great. I was up at least a few hundred within the first 1 hour and I was playing really well. I made one or two pretty good folds, I earned a couple w/ timely bluffs, and I really built big pots with winning hands and maximized my profit fabulously. Then shit hit the fan big time, and what came in the last 45 minutes was absolutely disgusting to me. So I was playing and feeling really well and was thinking about what a good session this could turn out to be, and just feeling good about my play and the session. I then lost a few pots that cost me a couple hundred bucks, but nothing out of the ordinary and no big deal at all. Then I got pocket aces and found myself in a nice size pot after the flop with a pretty bad player. The turn was kind of a scare card so I checked, and this complete chump bet the pot of $52. I called thinking in the long run I'm still ahead here more times than not. So the turn brings the third seven on the board giving me a full house, aces full of sevens. Pretty much the only thing that beats me here is if he flopped a full house, and even better if he hit a nut straight on the turn it was no longer good. So I checked here and he overbet the pot and went all in. At this time I was in 2 other hands and was thinking about them and making my moves in them. I then heard the beeps going off on that table and went back to it and made sure I was good for a sec so I could call his huge bet and take it down. I decided I was absolutely positve that I had the best hand and hit the call button, and right as I did this my hand was folded and I was timed out of the hand. I pressed the call button 1/10 of a second too late and got completely fucked over for a $464 pot!!!! I immediately freaked out and typed in what I had and how lucky the guy was, and he agreed and told me he just had top pair and proceeded to thank me for hitting fold too late. It really pisses me off that UB doesn't have a dial or time bank to let you know exactly how much time you have. I had no idea that I had less than 2/10ths of a second left. That is SOOOO SICK!!! I pressed it at the exact same time, and I got completely screwed out of a $464 pot. This feels so much worse than getting 2 outered out of a pot this size, it doesn't even compare knowing that you tried to call and you had the best hand and you couldn't take YOUR money. I seriously didn't know if I would ever recover from this at the time and I'm still not even close to recovering right now. Then to make it worse I thought I hit a flush like 15 minutes later on the river and bet $100, but of course I read my hand wrong like an idiot and just had a pair. So I lost 335 dollars that session when I should have won at least $50, so disgusting the way it happened too. I figured out that UB folding that hand when I tried to call makes it so my win rate at $200 nl alone is $3.50/hr lower......SO ANNOYING AND SICK!! One of the most frustrating if not the most frustrating thing that has ever happened to me in poker.

Let Myself Slack Today

Today: -$126
Hours: 2.25
To Date: +$7,901
$200 nl win rate (to date): $44/hr

Let myself go a little today and didn't play my best. I didn't play that bad, but I just wasn't putting the right energy and focus into it. I would guess if I was playing my best I would have won like $50 instead of losing 3/4 of a buyin. I was pretty tired all day and the only reason I played 2 hours was becuase there was 2 people playing at my tables that were VERY worth playing with. Gonna get back to the right frame of mind for tomorrow and play much better and more hours.

First Losing Day in a While

Today: -$72
Hours: 4
To Date: +$8,027
$200 nl win rate (to date): $46/hr

Lost 2 or 3 buyins my first 3 sessions, but ended up making around $700 of it back in my last session real late at night. I made a few mistakes but still haven't made any big and significant mistakes since I vowed to myself I was gonna cut that out. I think I did a pretty good job of minimizing my losses though, it was very apparent I was running quite bad all day.

Getting Close to $400 NL

Today: +$450
Hours: 4.5
To Date: +$8,361
$200 nl win rate (to date): $51/hr

Before I played today I made a promise to myself that I was gonna do everything in my power to not make any big mistakes for AT LEAST the next 10 sessions. I felt like I had been playing good, but would make like 1 or 2 at least pretty big mistakes a day. So today was a success, as I played really solid poker all day. I'm really motivated and feel like I'm gonna continue to run and play very well. Im not far from moving up to $400 nl.

Even Just 2 Big Mistakes all day Really Matter

Today: +$458
Hours: 2.5
To Date: +$7,911
$200 nl win rate (to date): $48/hr

I played focused for most of today and thought I did a good job of maximizing my profits a few times. But in my last session I got into a few tough spots, and played 2 of them really bad. One of them I just didn't slow down and think rationally and it cost me a little over $100. The second screw up was a really tough spot, where looking back on it I messed up pretty big. It cost me big too, I probably could have saved at least $150 and possibly even $230. I definitely should have saved $150 on the river though, I should have realized I was only getting called if I was beat. That's the second time in the last few days I've lost significantly more than I should have with 2 pair, and I told myself I would recognize the situation next time and not repeat it. The sick thing is I thought about that in the hand, but just didn't execute it right at the end. But I absolutely have learned my lesson now and will not be repeating the 2 big mistakes I made today again ever. So I think I probably should have profited around $700 today, damn that sucks. But at least I wasn't just carelessely playing and calling off a bunch of chips. I focused and thought about everything today, just made 2 large mistakes that cost me. I've learned my lesson and am ready to continue on playing and running really well.

The 7th through the 10th

Today: +$128
Hours: 11.75
To Date: +$7,460
$200 nl win rate (to date): $45/hr

Got lazy and didn't update for a few days. The first 2 days I didn't update I ran really bad and about half the time played pretty bad I think. I lost about $500 each day, putting me on a 5 buyin downswing. But the next 2 days things turned around and I made about $250 one day, and $950 yesterday. Yesterday was a very good day for me. I got a new awesome wireless mouse, it's a Logitech MX Revolution. If anyone is reading this and uses their computer a lot you must get this mouse. It is the best mouse on the market hands down and truly makes a HUGE difference. The $100 it costs seems like a complete bargain for what you get, it's like no other mouse you have ever used. I couldn't be happier with it, and I never thought a mouse could be this important and make such a big difference. So yesterday was my first day playing with it and I was feeling really foucused, positive, and extremely motivated again to play my best poker. I played excellent and made around $85o and am really happy with myself. I think this mouse has turned out to be the catalyst towards me playing and running VERY well, and I am feeling unbelievably good about all things poker.

One LONG Session

Today: +$549
Hours: 4.5
To Date: +$7,339
$200 nl win rate: 50/hr

Played one really long session because one of my tables was SOOO good, too much +EV for me to leave until it broke up. I made 2 really good bluffs, a couple mistakes, but for the most part played solid.

My Form of Tilting

Today: -$366
Hours: 2
To Date: +$6,783
$200 nl win rate (to date): $46/hr

Made a couple pretty thoughtless and loose call downs that cost me a little. But other than that I was really happy with my play today. I just got really unlucky in a couple big pots. I made a couple plays that I don't think most people would have today that were really good. This was all based on things I had observed about a couple players tendencies and how they play.
Also I used to think I was pretty impossible to tilt in 6 max games, but through last month's horrible run and the intensity which I have been observing my play trying to get better, I realized I do have my own form of tilting. The first form of tilting I have is when I have been running bad for an extended period of time, once in a while I will start firing 2nd and 3rd barrels at the pot on the turn and river where I normally wouldn't. This is a result of the feeling you get when running bad where you need to make up for pots you have been losing. So when I don't improve on the turn I will bet again when I shouldn't, hoping my opponet will fold and I will pick up the pot. I looked over my pokertracker stats and found that I am right and my aggression factor on the turn and river went up in Feb. compared to Jan. The second form of tilting I have is when a player will start berating another huge fish in the chat when the fish is getting lucky on him. I can't stand it when idiots do this, and sometimes I can't help but step in and start defending the fish who I want to keep on playing bad and giving me money. These fish that make these horrific and dumb plays are how good poker players make a lot of their money, and the last thing I ever want is other idiot players giving them the incentive to try and play better, and even worse leave the table. This will often result in me getting into a big fight with the idiot player, and as a result I definitely lose focus of my other tables in numerous ways. This makes me not aware of valuable information I would normally be getting, as well as puts me in the wrong state of mind. I never thought about this too much, but this has definitely cost me money. Telling the player to shut up and stop berating other players won't stop them anyways most of the time. I had another form of tilting I realized yesterday but can't think of it right now. But both I mentioned are not HUGE forms of tilting, and I never really realized them as this in the past. However, I'm glad I realized them and I will definitely stop doing both of them. This will hopefully result in a better hourly win rate and better results in the future. So even if players don't have obvious tilt where they start playing terribly after a bad beat, there are always little things that you might not be aware of that are costing you more money than you think in the long run. The only way to realize them is by critically analyzing your play and actions.

Learning To Let The $ Come To Me and To Not Get Frustrated

Today: +$413, +$4 HU
Hours: 4.75
To Date: +$7,149
$200 NL win rate: $51/hr

I am pretty proud of a couple plays I made today, but overall I'm not too happy with myself. I made a very bold and big bluff that didn't work that I was initially very upset with myself for. But now looking back it wasn't that bad of a play, it would work at least half the time in that spot. But it just sucks when you make a play and put over a full buyin in the pot and it doesn't work. Late at night there was some very crazy players playing and the pots were very juicy. I was at a dream table where there was 3 really horrible, crazy, possibly drunk, loose aggressive players with at least 3 buyins each at the table. I was getting pretty screwed on that table and another one, and I definitely got frustrated and made 3 or 4 bad calls as a result that cost me a buyin and a half. I caught myself after like 30 minutes though, changed my energy and focus back to positive, and played very well until I made a bunch of money back. One thing is very frustrating for me is when I'm at a crazy, loose table like that and am not getting good cards and when I do keep getting sucked out on. I catch myself getting impatient becuase I know how much extra money these players will give me if I get some cards, and that I literally could be making 5 times the amount I should be at a table like this. But at least I realized it pretty quickly and made the neccessary adjustments.

2nd Best Day to Date

Today: +$1,414
Hours: 4.25
To Date: +$6,732
$200 nl win rate: $49/hr

Today was a really good day, +7 buyins! This is a great kick start to the month. Overall, I played really good today. I made one $100 mistake at the beginning of the day, and maybe one or two other small mistakes throughout the day. I was pretty on fire and not getting to screwed over, all while playing pretty damn well. My ability to read hands and put people on a relatively small range of hands has gotten pretty ridiculously good I think. I am very confident in my play and how it is progressing. I have gotten SO much better in numerous ways. I would definitely say my feel for what people have has really become exceptional. I also have continued to analyze my play and am still figuring out things I can and need to improve. I keep on getting better and have been doing little things to sharpen my game. I feel I am ready for $400 NL once I get the bankroll, and I think with a litte more improvement over the next week or two I will really be ready to crush those games. I just need to continue to focus on analyzing my play and getting better, as well as watching videos and reading to get better. Also to put really positive and focused energy into every single session I play.

Learning Not to Tilt Heads Up

Today: +$187, -$307 HU $100NL
Hours: 2.5
To Date: +$5,318
$200 NL win rate (so far): $33/hr

Not so great start for the month, but I can really tell that in $200 nl the deck is turning in my favor. I think I'm going to run really well for the rest of my stint at $200 nl until I'm on to $400 nl. I had a really bad hour session of $100 nl where I lost $307. I would say almost $100 of it was completely avoidable and my fault. Which is pretty bad considering that is a full buyin at that limit. I think Heads Up is the only time where I can start to noticably tilt and start to play fairly bad. For some reason when things go really bad like yesterday it really pisses me off. I think its because its just me against one other person and I get ultra competitive. However I need to learn to not do that at all because this can make a HUGE difference heads up, much more than in my normal 6 max games. If I completely erradicate this problem it will give me an even bigger edge against my competition, and is very neccessary for the higher limits heads up games. I'm focused and ready to play and run very well starting tomorrow hopefully.

Feb. 25th-28th

Today: +$137, -$31 HU
Hours: 11.25
To Date: +$5,428
$200 nl win rate (so far): $31/hr

These are the results of the last 4 days. I continued to run extremely bad until yesterday where things have started to turn around a little. I have gotten tons of monster hands over the last 2 days, but have been getting my share of 2, 3, and 5, and 9 outers on the turn and river. I also have been playing some heads up to give me a break from the beating of $200 nl. I played about 4.5 hours of $50 and $100 nl HU since I last blogged and lost a whopping $31. I'll give all of my detailed results for the month of Feburary within a few days. I got lazy over the last week in blogging, I think just becuase things have been going so badly and I have gotten lazy in using my mind the right way for actually the last like 3 weeks. So I'm glad March is here and I'm gonna get my energy and focus right and get back on track for a great month! Detailed results of Feb. and updates for March and the near future coming soon...