Gritty before Pretty.

You may well be wondering what the hell the title is all about and its a little saying I mentioned to Hoopie this morning when describing Liverpool's win over local rivals Everton on Sunday. We played piss poor but we got the job done and got the 3 all important points. Hopefully this can kick us on as we have some of our players coming back from injury which will be vital as well.

Again back to the title, I guess the same phrase could be used for what I need to do in December for poker. I need to get back to basics and be more TAG (gritty) and grind out a month of solid even if small wins. Then only after all that stuff is done I can start to open up my game with a lot more postflop plays and more spec preflop hands, this be the "pretty" part obv. Did you see what I did there? ;-)

November is almost done obv and it looks like i am going to end a couple of buyins down which considering I was down a shit load at the beginning of the month I'll take it. With my rakeback I'll actually be into a profit for the month which will do nicely and here's to a better December. I may play a bit more at 50nl in December as I see little point in only playing a game I am struggling in. Also I have started to table select a bit more so hopefully this will show a positive jump in EV for me.

Here's hoping we all run like gods in the run up to christmas. A early xmas pic to insure good karma (did you really think only asain chicks worked Baz? ;-))

GL all.

Down but not out

Well my bad run has just kept going which kinda blows but on a positive note my mindset seems to be in a lot better place. Obviously I hate being on this big of a downswing (around 30 buyins) but I have been quitting better and focusing better of late which gives me the best chance of coming out the other side of this and hopefully a better player for it.

I've been going through the big pots with Hoopie after sessions and it looks like I am playing quite well. I mean for sure there are some pots and streets I could have played differently but in general I haven't been making a load of silly mistakes so I'm pretty confident that this hell will end soon.

Of course when you are running bad in poker you seem to run bad in everything, I was due over $600 in rakeback for October and it would have been a welcome boost as I am getting close to the point where I may have to lay off coaching for a while and also drop down to 50nl, those are two things I'd prefer not to have to do. Rather than getting a boost of over $600 into my bankroll I got next to nothing. When I contacted my rakeback provider they explained how any bonuses come out of that so because I had cleared a $600 sign up bonus I get $600 less than I am due for this month! FML obv.

On the home front Summer was exactly 18 months old yesterday and I can say for sure hand on heart even though I always thought I wanted a son, I really am so happy that we had a girl instead as the bond I have with her already is the best feeling ever. Off to my brother in laws house this afternoon after work were we plan on downing two bottles of vodka between the two of us (He is Polish so the vodka will be neat, hence me updating today in case I don't make it through the night!)

The plan is also to get into exercise and healthy eating from Monday, god knows my liver can do with a rest. I always start off great and then lose motivation (bit like my poker career in that regard) so if anyone out there knows any tips to keep the healthy lifestyle going feel free to leave a message.

That's all for now. GL all.

Mindset change and video idea! ;-)

OK after black October I'm hoping that my new found mindset after watching most of the Tommy Angelo series and having a really good lesson with Baz that focused mainly on my mindset and playing my A game (still not sure I have one tbh!) I am ready to play only when I am feeling good and try and put some +EV sessions this month.

Saying that it would not be a Wonderflop blog post without something negative and because I have decided only to play when I feel focused and able to play my A game, I am now struggling to start sessions. This is were my new video idea comes in for Tommy Angelo, I mean the guy is fantastic and teaches you how to quit but now I need a new video to teach me to start again! ;-)

A mate of mine who I was lucky enough to meet through poker (Hoopie1 blog on right) is being hit by the variance stick now as well as he continues to learn HU cash games. On a plus note, the guy is an animal and he is getting some very nice results in the loladonkaments atm so long may that continue. If anyone can get me playing more volume this month its him as he is a right pushy cunt, but I need that so its all good.

Onto the football, meh! Liverpool are playing shit atm and we have been hit by a really bad injury crisis as well losing a lot of key players all at once. I had a bit of a heated debate with Hoopie yesterday (told you he was a cunt) about this as people seem to be blowing things out of all proportion. Granted we are playing shit now and things clearly need to change but sacking the best manager we have had in years is very knee jerk imo. Spurs who everyone agrees are having a great session and Man City for all their talk and spending are only 1 point ahead of us in 4th. So as shit as we are doing we are not a million miles away, so if we just get some key players back and get our asses in gear we can go on a run and get into the top 4 and then see what happens after that.

OK I'll leave it at that for now.

GL all.

Feeling Down.

As I am sure you can tell from the title poker is not going the best at the minute. I mean I am still a little over break even for the month but I don't seem to be able to string a few good sessions together in a row.

These no doubt about it my confidence has taken a knock and even though I'd love to say hand on heart I am playing my A game, I just can't. Too many times I've seen myself start a session badly and lost belief and played the rest poorly. I played a session this morning where I had a few bad beats but that doesn't excuse the way I played the rest of the session. I ended up losing 4 buyins rather than just 2 or even settling down and playing well and even putting a whole in the 2 buyins I was down.

I need to re-group and re-focus and get back to playing good solid poker and not letting the result affect me. Of course easier said that done but its what needs to happen if I am to make it in this game.

Sorry for the depressing post. Just needed to write things down.

GL all

Very interesting deep hand.

OK its gonna be a very short post this time. Liverpool are doing shit but I have faith in Rafa and the players to turn it around even though we are a bit light in quality.

Also back on ipoker for a while to see how I get on. Played the following hand today and I found it really interesting (even though I lost it! lol)

If any of you guys still read this I'd appreciate the feedback. There are reads and my thought process included.

http://weaktight.com/1573206

Thanks in advance to anyone that takes a look at it for me.

GL all.

Low volume and variance

Well I ran like Usain Bolt last month and I'm running like Gandhi without his slippers this month. About 7.5 buyins under EV this far and only a couple of buyins up for the whole month have made it pretty shitty. The lack of volume has been a worry as well as I don't see any signs of it improving due to being so unmotivated. If anyone that reads this has any ideas of how to motivate myself please leave me a comment as I could do with the advice.

Been watching quite a few vids on CR's this month. Thought watching vids might motivate me and also get me playing a little better. Really enjoy Nutedawg's and [vital] myths vids, they really explain things very well and get you thinking about different scenarios rather than just having a "monkey see, monkey do" type of approach.

Summer is walking everywhere now and seems really happy. Its amazing watching her character grow each and everyday. Things really do change when you have children but I have to say hand on heart only for the better imo.

Liverpool after a slow start are starting to find a bit of rhythm, our best performance was against hull at the weekend, we took them apart and won 6-1 but the main thing for me is we are playing better. Saying all that we will need to be at our best next weekend when we take on Chelsea who have looked great this season apart from a blip at the weekend.

I'll leave it here. GL all and if you have any tips or advice for my motivation problems please leave me some feedback.

30 but not out.

Well it happened. Turned 30 last week and thanks to quite a lot of tequila it went without a hitch. Here is hoping that I can make a future for my family through poker in a game that is dominated by the younger generation.

Summer came back from her two week trip to Poland with her grandmother yesterday and I can honestly say I've never been as happy in my life as when I seen her going crazy with excitment in the airport after seeing Agnieszka and myself. Paris trip went great, sorry to all the frenchie's I slated before, you guys are actually pretty cool (the ones I met at least). You do have a far better pace of life than we do here in the UK for sure, which has made me want to bring Summer up somewhere else even more than before and I was already crazy about that idea.

Poker has been going great when I have been playing. Motivational problems seem to kill me after ever holiday/trip which I find strange as I would have thought after not playing I'd be champing at the bit. Still running above EV which always helps especially now that I have moved back up to 100nl again. I have found myself feeling really positive that I can win each and every time I sit down at the minute which is a great feeling to have. I just hope I can keep that feeling going when I hit a dip in form and that ugly variance shows up again. Best month ever last month followed by a good start to this month has me dreaming of 200nl but I'm probably better off grinding here until the end of the year, thoughts?

Footy has started to be enjoyable again after a piss poor start. Liverpool have strung a few wins together and the champions league kicks off this week as well. Little Yossi did what he does best yesterday and popped up with a few goals (hatrick actually). With a few keys players to come back into the fold I am hopeful we can kick on now and put a run together, especially as Chelsea are off to a flyer and showing championship form.

Well I'll leave it here. Better get my lazy ass motivated and get in some hands.

GL all