Moving on

So last week I had a rough week in my life and had to really take some time to reflect on things that were important.  I had a talk with nick and basically discussed how poker was something I am using to help fund whatever else I plan to do for the rest of my life.  I am currently going to college for computer forensics and this is my plan for a career in the future.  Right now I focus a lot of time on poker and improving my game and it is definitely an experience I will never forget.  I hope to spend some time in LA with Nick, Aaron, and Bodeye by the middle of May and see what kind of poker player I am really meant to be.  Right now I am struggling trying to find a balance between super nitty and overly aggressive and I am sure the regs at the 12s are just as confused as I am when I am calling them super light at times.  But, messing around with sngwiz has improved my game but I am not yet there.

Slacking Hard

So I haven't updated this in a very very long time.  This is all my fault so please don't blame yourselves.  I love all of my dedicated blog watchers and this post is to you my friends. 

For the last week or two I have been struggling.  I have been up and down like crazy and I just didn't know what the hell was going on.  The fish were easy the regs were walking on me and I just felt somewhere in the middle.  I felt as though I was only going to win if someone let me win.  Now when I played at the 2s I played like a champion.  I was calling raising shoving like god himself and no one could stop me.  It felt like the regs there were easier to read then books and they feared me like I was a pissed off drunk man and I just thought they stole my last beer. Like I said though, the 12s were a different world.  I was dropped off in what felt like a warzone and I was hiding under bushes and hoping that a I gained some kind of super power to beat this dreamlike game. 

But, there is nothing to fear folks.  I was playing like a those girls you hate playing dodgeball with in gym class.  You know the ones that sit wayyyyyyyy in the back and are skinnier than any human being should be so you literally have to the luck of Irish to hit them.  Ya that was me.  I was dodgeing bullets and wading through this game just staying alive.  But now, I have become a machine.  I have been working my ass off with both my roommates onopro aka ora and cre731 aka chris.  They are learning a ton from me and have just started the nick rainey training program as well.  They have been crushing the 2s lately and really impressed me with how fast the have become giants among the world of fish.  And after long hours of training and studying everyday and the help of aaron, nick, and bodeye I myself have become a giant.  I feel in control again and the regs are noticing it.  I have had a few fold to me bvb because of my fearlessness when it comes to calling them light. 

I am convinced this has to be one of the most stressful jobs of all time.  You have to come into work everyday doing your BEST or you will not make money.  I feel this should be something all businesses should take in effect but, we choose this and I couldn't be happier. 

A wise man once told me that the way to win is not to study the game to the T but, to feel the "flow" and let it come to you. 

Long time no post

So my test went well but, that isn't really going to be the topic for this post.  I have been feeling incredible playing these 180 mans the last few days.  I have been reviewing my own games and started to use sngwiz on a daily basis.  It just feels like I turned some imaginary corner and just all of a sudden see things in a new light.  It's a new day kids let the fun begin.

The Test

Haven't been "running" the best at the 12s so now I am being tested.  I was told to play 8 $2 180 mans and send the HH's to both nick and my coach aaron for complete analysis.  This should be interesting....  Not to worried about it though I am confident in my ability but, I know I still have much to learn.  GL at the tables will let you all know my results when I get them.

March Recap and April goals

So I ended up at 1164 games in March which, isn't all that bad but, that number is going to seem very small compared to what I will be doing from now on.  I am finally in the swing of things and my attitude couldn't be better at this point.  This journey is really starting to have a big effect on me in ways I never thought possible.  When I sit alone and play I do not care what the cards are.  I make plays I know will make me money in the long run and if you looked at my graph today you would be very confused.  I have been going up and down like crazy the last 2 weeks but, I couldn't be happier. 

Although, a few days ago I was struggling with this concept and until last night I hadn't noticed the toll it was taking on me.  The more I lost the less I wanted to play.  I was being worn out by the game and even though I was playing very well.  I read chapter in FOOLED BY RANDOMNESS that really inspired me to start anew and care less about the past.  The chapter stated that a dentist (a very good investor) would spend all of his time watching his stock go up and down.  He loved the thrill of winning but, adversely he also felt a stinging pain when he saw the number turn red.  A chart was listed like I will show you right now of what kind of effect this had on the man.

                                                 Scale                                         Probability

                                                 1 year                                              93%

                                                 1 quarter                                        77%

                                                 1 month                                          67%

                                                 1 day                                                54%

                                                 1 hour                                              51.3%

                                                 1 minute                                          50.17%

                                                 1 second                                         50.02%

So if you really take in what this all means, you will understand that he was suffering from a ton of negative pains as well as a ton of positive thrills.  But, "At the end of every day the dentist will be emotionally drained. A minute-by-minute examination of his performance means that easy day (assuming eight hours per day) he will have 241 pleasurable minutes against 239 unpleasurable ones. These amount to 60,688 and 60,271, respectively, a year. Now realize that if the unpleasurable minute is worse in reverse pleasure than the pleasurable minute is in pleasure terms, then the dentist incurs a large deficit when examining his performance at a high frequency."  (Taleb 66) 

We as poker players have this even WORSE.  If you look at any of the Nick Rainey's students officialpokerrankings.com statistics you will see that we each cash in about 12-13% of all of our games.  This is a much much lower number than that of the dentist but, we seem to always make a profit when its all said and done and that is all that really matters.  We need to stop checking our bankroll and sharkscope.com and pokertracker3 +EV graphs to make ourselves feel better/worse.  Everything is relevant to time.  Volume is the key in poker we see it time and time again and it really is.  Our percentages don't go up as nicely as the dentist himself because our numbers are skewed more towards a very low percentage and when we actually get to a year's time we will have almost a 100% guarantee of money made over that period of time.  We are emotionally draining ourselves by watching our cashier go up and down so why do it?  

April is not only a new month but, a new beginning.  My volume for this month is planned to be upwards of 2300+ games so I can achieve supernova status by the end of the year.  GL at the tables.

Gold Status

Just received Gold Status on Pokerstars.  Also, just finished outside the top 1000 for the month in the Tournament Leader boards (TLB).  MI_Turtle aka Nick Rainey is currently at the top of the leader boards for this month and I would like to congratulate him on this accomplishment.  He has played near 4,000 multi table tournaments or MTT's and this has landed him the top spot.  Check him out at rainmanpoker.net for more information

Elite Team

Just letting everyone know I was asked a few days ago to join the Elite team by johnnyhilldo and was moved up to the $12 stakes.  I mix in a few $7 180 man sit and gos as well but, they fill up much slower.  I haven't really been up to much lately besides the grind and I started to read the book Fooled By Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.  It is a really inspiration book and gives new perspectives on not only poker but, life itself. 

Quote of the day:  "Mild success can be explainable by skills and labor. Wild success is attributable to variance."