Hi there,

Everyone who reads my blog, knows that I have trouble with taking shots, moving down again, and esp discipline when it comes to getting in hands/hours at the table. I am working on all aspects, and I am making progress. That being said, I realized a few days ago that I did need new goals, because lately I was lacking a bit of motivation. My new goals are:

• Win 40BI at 50nl (rb included) before I take my next 100nl shot, mainly to train grinding discipline/mindset
• Try to write down what I am gonna do every day. That last thing works really well IF I do it, but already have trouble writing it down, so it will be my goal again.

Bye

Hello hello,

Today I was having a very good discussion with my pokerbuddy Joey about a certain hand, which took about 30 minutes I guess, but it could easily have been more. After a while he said ''allright, enough discussion about this hand'', so the discussion did end. I agreed with him (but not about the hand obv), and said it was a good discussion because it was soooooo much in detail (like discussing ranges vs different opponenents, what ranges different opponents would have, how they would play those ranges, and how we should adjust our ranges), and I said that all videos should be like this. Joey agreed with me, and I was curious what other people think about this, so I will post my thought process below, and please don't hesitate to give your opinion! I know the title sounds like I am not happy with Leggo, but the only reason I put it that way is to get some responses out of you, because obviously I am very happy with Leggo.

So what do I think is not optimal? I think discussing like 30 hands in a certain video (doesnt matter if it is live or pause and play) is simply not optimal. I mean, it is fun to see a lot of action, but I am not here to have fun. Of course I play poker mainly because it is fun, but I watch videos to learn stuff and to become better. I also think for almost all people it is impossible to really understand in 2 hours (if you pause to take notes it takes always 2 hours for me atleast to watch a video) behind 30 different spots.

And what is optimal? I even think having only 2 hands in a video or maybe even 1, but discussed in every detail like 25 minutes per hand is better. Understanding the difference in the hand vs different opponents, and how it does affect our betsizing/ranges/equity showed in pokerstove/combonator and different plans on later streets is way more valueble I guess. I know it is more boring, but I do believe u will improve faster this way, because u really can get to understand a certain concept. And in the end we all watch vids to improve as fast as possible right? If you want to see action, u can also rail 200/400 at stars, when Nutsinho will return this month. I also think doing this in dual commentary with 2 coaches is definately a good option, especially when the coaches disagree, because you will hear all the pros and cons, so you can see what is most important when making your decision at the table.

*That said, I realize most people want action, so I think only making videos like this would loose customers, but I think having atleast 1 video a week like this would already satisfy a lot of people)


**I also just finished my 24 hours of grinding in 4 days, and I am never going to do it again. Maybe later when I am trained for this, but I def cannot recommend this if you are not used to it like me. U get tired/bored after a while, and start making stupid plays. U take a small break, and start a new session ''because u have to get in volume'', but u are still tired and start to spew again. Atleast, that is what happened to me.

Looking forward to your opinions about my view about videos, just really curious what you guys think!

Also, one guy in the microstakes forum asked me for results, and since it is exactly 50k hands ago now that I started coaching with Flippity, I think it is a nice moment to post. I post the graph in bb because I took a 100nl shot where I did run insane bad, so that will give a wrong view imo.



Bye

In my last blog post I said that I was gonna watch a shitload of vids. However, I forgot I was going on holiday with my dad, lol. Did drive for like 24 hours (or well, my dad), and in the meanwhile mostly I was reading a poker book. Also during holiday I did read more of the book when the weather was bad, so did work on my game for like 20 hours in 5 days I guess. That being said, before I went on holiday, I received some good coaching, so I think the best thing to do now is to get some volume in and use what I learned (or atleast give it a try). Decided on holiday to grind 24 hours next 4 days, and I just finished my first day, 6 hours, so 18 hours left. This is pretty much for me, but I think it might be achievable for me. After that, the normal ''3 hours grinding, 1 coachingvideo'' or something like that will be the goal for every day again. Might not always work out because I will be also a bit busy with other stuff, but we will see.

C ya

Last few days I was a bit busy with other stuff in life. I was sick, chilled with friends, played too many other games than poker, and had to study for an exam(I mean, I am thestudent, so yeah), but now I have time again to grind.

Will try to get some decent volume in, and will get another coaching session this week. Also plan to watch 12 videos in the next 14 days and ask good questions and take notes. Sometimes I feel like the only thing I do is try to find leaks from the coach, but when I try to watch it differently, I feel like I learn less. Still working on it though, since I feel I still could watch videos more optimal. Will try to post a bit more graphs etc from now on. I know it might be a bit boring for you guys to follow, but I think (and mostly pray) it will keep me motivated. I mean, if u don't like it, simply don't read it

C ya

Move up baby

So I took a shot at 100nl today with a few BI, playing 4 tables and felt it wasn't that different from 50nl to be honest. Didn't run too well, (like: total crap), but what can u do? Just gonna rebuild now at 50nl, and try again. Not sure yet when I will try again, we will see

I really don't know what goes wrong in my head sometimes. Working on my mental game, try not too play too long sessions, but sometimes I still tilt pretty hard, and I guess this will never disappear, however I do believe it's possible to reduce the amount of times it happens. It's not like I spew pre flop or anything like that, because I always ''3bet with a plan'' or ''4bet with a plan'', but sometimes I just snapcall/snapjam/snapfold when I don't have a plan (like betting without thinking before you bet what to do vs a raise).. It is sort of adrenaline in my head when I have a good hand esp vs weaker players (I feel like I am better so I ''have'' to win), and I forget to take my time. Here a hand that just happened where "I did it again''

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.50(BB) Replayer
SB ($35.72)
BB ($59)
Hero ($60.58)
UTG+1 ($50)
CO ($67.55)
BTN ($113)

Dealt to Hero Q K

Hero raises to $1.75, fold, CO calls $1.75, BTN raises to $6, fold, fold, Hero calls $4.25, CO calls $4.25

FLOP ($18.75) 3 K 5

Hero checks, CO checks, BTN checks

TURN ($18.75) 3 K 5 9

Hero bets $6.50, CO calls $6.50, BTN folds

RIVER ($31.75) 3 K 5 9 K

Hero bets $18.75, CO raises to $37.50, Hero raises to $48.08 (AI), CO calls $10.58

Hero shows Q K
(Pre 50%, Flop 1.6%, Turn 0.0%)

CO shows 5 5
(Pre 50%, Flop 98.4%, Turn 100.0%)

CO wins $125

I am not sure if the river was a fold or a call (villain 30/14 after 80 hands and seemed a bit passive, I think its a call), but I do know that my snapshove was pretty much insane dumb. Hopefully next time I can post something more positive like ''a 100nl shot'', but we will see how it goes.

Oops! I did it again

Everyone who did read my blog so far, knows that I am an emotional roller coaster, and I know that I have to change that. I remembered I did have a book about Buddism in the western world, and why it would be possible for us to learn something from it. (something around those lines). I did buy that book a few months ago, did read some stuff in it, and did put the book away. Looking back, that was pretty dumb, because I remember after reading some parts and using it at the table, it went better, but after that I started to think I was ''insane good'' again, and forgot about it.

Reason I started to read a bit in it again before I go to sleep, is because I think some parts about meditation can be usefull for poker. I know that it doesn't ''solve'' tilt, but I believe it definately can help with controlling your emotions at the table. Also will start readind the mental game of poker I guess, since I really think solving this mental problem might take me to the next level.

The meditation what is explained in the book, is actually pretty simple. First of all, there is nothing wrong with just sitting in a chair while meditating. The only thing you have to do is this:

1. focus on a constant thing ''like breathing in, breathing out''

2. When you start thinking about something else (for example a fish coolered you or you have a hard spot), you try to inject logic like ''the cards won't help you, the advantage is in your head'' (heard that injecting logic from a friend who did read mental game of poker already)

3. you slowly try to refocus on your breathing, but don't try to push too hard, be gentle with yourself.

So yeah, that is basically it. I realize it might sound a bit lame now, but I think something like this definately can help me. This in combination with the 4 tables without music/skype/internet, should already help a fair bit I guess.

Bye

Who am I kidding? I am no high stakes baller. I am just a break-even donk, stuck in the micros.

A few posts ago I said I was almost ready for 100nl. I said this after a pretty much hot run, so I felt unbeatable. After that though, I lost 3 buy ins because of a 2, 3 and 4 outer on the river (all in on turn), lost some more pre flop all ins, and realized it would be probably a better idea for me to first build some discipline at 50NL. Emotionally I can be a pretty sick rollercoaster, so guess this is best. (like when I loose a few sessions I feel like I should move down to 10NL, and when I run hot I feel ready for 1knl by the end of this year.)

As promised, here is the graph so far, coaching started after 15k hands fwiw. Will post a new graph after 100k hands.



Also started to write down my plans for a day again, so guess this will help with the discipline.

C ya

So lately, I have been running like god, but also playing very good because I feel so confident because of the coaching and because I did run good. It is also because most of the time FINALLY I can bring up the discipline to play 4 tables without skype, music, browser, etc, which is really important for me. Still watch atleast 1 video every day and take some notes, working out villains range and mine with stove/combonator when I analyze a hand, so still working on my game pretty hard. I did rewatch some videos that I watch last time like 6 months ago, and it is pretty sick to see that you notice completely different things, that you would have never noticed when u were a weaker player. Need to win a few (5) BI more, and the first 100NL shot will be taken. Chances are that I will get owned, but even if that happens, I think it's a great way to improve, so I will see it as ''learning money''.

100NL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRfTS8bd05o&feature=fvst

Keep you guys updated