Right on thanks for the info... quite a bit of that went over my head but I'm gonna give something a go to track my play.... nothing like a good graph! Apart from those damn downswing graphs... grrr
I didn’t meet my target hands for the month and things ended badly with a 9 buy-in downswing in the last week. I think the major factor in why I tilted so much towards the end was setting myself a monetary target. When I found myself with a balance of £925 with 2 weeks to go before I go on holiday, I set myself the target of hitting £1k in that time so that I could move up to 20NL when I get back. That had me being more results oriented than usual, which in turn had me chasing pots, over betting for value, and tilting way harder when I lost. I have to say though that I genuinely feel I’ve run bad also. The number of times I’ve got it in good and lost recently has been infuriating. But that’s a mental game leak right there. Getting mad. It doesn’t matter if you win the all ins, what matters is that you’re ahead more often than behind when you do get it in. I need to get back to the more relaxed, laugh-it-off state of mind that had me not only enjoying poker more in the first half of the month, but had me playing better too.
So to take the positives from this month…
It’s another winning month. I haven’t had a losing month this year so compared with last year where I spent most of the year losing at 4NL, this is very good.
I’m closer to my moving-up target. Closing balance on Sky is £835.41 so we haven’t got far to go.
Despite the downswing, I feel like I’m generally playing good. There are so many areas I want and need to work on but at these limits on Sky I feel I can outplay the vast majority of the player pool.
And the plan for August…
In the first week I won’t play much but I intend to do some reading on cash game theory as well as tournament play in prep for the Online Poker League season 3.
2nd week I won’t play at all as I’ll be on holiday with the family.
The remainder of the month depends on whether or not the OPL starts. If and when it does that will be my main focus. I came 3rd last time and I think I could have done better. Plus it’s such great value and a lot of fun. I’ll still play cash when I can and try to get closer to that target. If the OPL is delayed then I’ll focus on cash, 5k hands per week, and plenty of study.
Yeh never try to play to hit targets as more often than not it won't happen and by that i mean money targets. I have sat with players who have said "when i hit a £500 stack i will sit out" and i just sat there in silence tutting internally knowing what would inevitably happen.
You also are running good with the OPL as it starts in Sept
Jon-PokerVIP: Yeh never try to play to hit targets as more often than not it won't happen and by that i mean money targets. I have sat with players who have said "when i hit a £500 stack i will sit out" and i just sat there in silence tutting internally knowing what would inevitably happen.
You also are running good with the OPL as it starts in Sept :)
Ah cool, gives me a few weeks playing cash before it then. And reading as much of Kill Everyone as I can!
Jon-PokerVIP: Yeh never try to play to hit targets as more often than not it won't happen and by that i mean money targets. I have sat with players who have said "when i hit a £500 stack i will sit out" and i just sat there in silence tutting internally knowing what would inevitably happen.
You also are running good with the OPL as it starts in Sept :)
Ah cool, gives me a few weeks playing cash before it then. And reading as much of Kill Everyone as I can!
I loved the Kill Everyone book. I've not read much tournament books but I'd imagine thats in the top (I'd be surprised if there was better).
Back from my holiday today. Very much relaxed, refreshed and ready to get back on the grind. Planning to take things up a gear, very excited and boy have I missed playing!
MattVIP: That's really sad indeed. I hope everything is ok?
A situation which, I guess I knew in the back of my mind would eventually happen, did. And so, for the second time this year, poker winnings have bailed me out of a situation.
I'm the kind of guy that has to have a plan,no matter what the problem, if I have a plan I can handle it. Events conspired that I had no plan for, so I had to resort to withdrawing my bankroll. But that's ok, because now I have a new plan. I've sold my motorbike, the funds will be available soon. The plan is this:
1. Deposit a 40 buy in bankroll for 10NL on Sky Poker. I know I can beat these stakes so I intend to grind this up to £800 to take a (more aggressive than previously planned) shot at 20NL.
2. Put £500 aside ready for the OPL. I don't know how many tournaments there will be but that should cover the buyins for most of them. The aim is to is to at least double, if not treble, that amount.
The remainder of the sale price will be used to cover some other expensives I have.
In other news, I'm tired of struggling to balance the books each month. I'm looking for a new job, contract work with a commute to London, which will obviously extend my working days but will sort me out financially.
Jon-PokerVIP: Head up buddy and awesome work building that roll and being able to cover the problem.
Just rinse and repeat!
Cheers Jon. Just found out I won't get the payment for my bike until 7th September as per ebay's shitty policies. No poker til then, f**kin sucks! Any dates on the OPL? I don't want to miss the start. The website is looking slick.
Woohoo! Found a site I still have funds on. $102 on 888. Played a little 2NL Snap. Felt so good to play again after 3 weeks off. Gonna have some fun seeing how far I can grind it up before my 10NL bankroll is available.
Been doing some analysis of yesterday's session. I really ran good. Made some dodgy decisions and got lucky a few times. And I was dealt really good hole cards:
It's nice to be able to get an idea of how I'm playing based on more than just results.
Random 888 money to the rescue! I'm glad you're able to play poker after all and from what I've heard about the quality of snap games you might be able to make some solid progress before you receive your NL10 bankroll.
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