Hello...... I was in Vegas for 3 weeks, but had I blinked I would've missed it; it was all a complete blur and I'm only now feeling fully recovered in terms of eating/ sleep cycle etc.

The trip didn't end up being very poker-centric at all, I played a $1500nl and the knot of despair in my stomach at being so bored after 5 hours led to me making a sick hero call with Q5 over 3 streets on AQ8 2 9 he had JT oh well great where's my drink coming from..... I plan to play some more live tournys in the future, GUKPTs etc (hello salfi, franky, etc), but if I do I have to start applying the rigorous standards I do to online cash games, and start seeing the patience/ handling the boredom side of it as a skill in itself rather than an excuse to bust out and go have another beer.

Live cash games didn't go well either, and I basically wasn't good enough again. Passive old guy raises me all in deep on Q42 Q K and I hold 22 and can't fold, etc. No excuses, just not good enough and I've definitely been guilty of being one of those online dicks who think I'm entited to an edge just because they're all so fundamentally bad. There's adjustments to be made that I didn't make and it's all my fault.

Anyway, I met loads of decent Leggo members while I was there so hello to you all (MattUK, Papgiorgio, etc).

I did spend an enourmous amount of money though, and it's become an unwanted tradition that I basically take my net worth to Vegas each year and come back almost penniless.

Soooo, I came home and started to remember how to win online at 200nl and 400nl (I have do this whenever I don't play for say, a week, and while I am re-learning I tend to lose at a rate close to $2 a hand at 400nl). Since then though, consistency kicked in, and at one point I went 18 consecutive winning sessions, a stat which now reads as one losing session in 25........



I'm just uploading a video, which is a HH review video of hands sent to me by Leggo members, I talk about a ton of concepts within that video so worth a watch IMO (it's aimed at 200nl and below probably).

Is all, Dan

I arrived today at my Vegas house, and the cataylst for this blog post is that I'm awkwardly fidgetting with my laptop while the Mexican cleaners finish up whatever it is they've still got to do (I arrived 2 hours ago, it was spotless, it's still spotless, they're still cleaning). I hate sitting around while older people clean around me, it just feels wrong and I feel like I should be jumping around helping then, but I Just. Don't. Want. To.

That's why I got rid of my cleaner at home in fact.

A few things good and bad about the house. First the good- it actually exists! I don't know why, I just felt like sending $3k to a random guy 6000 miles away with no references and no clue about anything was a bad idea. Added to that hIs name, 'Byron Burns' and the street 'Nancy Margrite Lane' just sound soooooo made up. But hey, here I am.

Staying on the good- it's big, and the internet works. And even though I'm in 'Old' Vegas, Baltimore is kept separated from the entire neighbourhood by a giant fence the whole way around.

The bad- erm, leaves in the swimming pool. I know they're not going to kill me or anything, it's just..... less ideallic than the picture.

Oh and it's $40 taxi from the strip. I wanted to hire a car, but I couldn't find my licence, so now an $80 daily taxi toll looms large.

I've won money at poker again this month, around $15k from 400nl on the 15th, so looks like I'm still getting somewhere on that front.

I played some cash last night, 500nl in the MGM. I recorded all my hands in my phone bobbo-style, but they're probably tedious. Ok one hand, ~140bbs deep.

UTG young guy raises to 5x, folded to me OTB with AJo, I call blinds fold.

Flop J73r, he checks, I bet, he check raises small, I call.

Turn is an A. He looks pained, actually super pained. Then bets $130 into the $150 pot. Hmm, call.

River is an 8, albeit bringing in the backdoor flush. Now his exaggerated look of pain goes up a notch, then starts making a speech about how I've obviously hit the backdoor flush draw. He grabs his hair, furrows his brow, looks distinctly unhappy, then puts his remaining $450 into the $400 pot.

I'm trying to get better at live tells and incorporating them this year, and had I had AK or something here I might've found some fold given he was doing EVERYTHING in the textbook manner of having top set or whatever.

Why do I even think this much? I called, he showed KK.

World Cup wise, England are embarrassing themselves again. World beaters for their clubs, they put on an England shirt and play like me. Next match 7am Vegas time, all the (objective) evidence says we're going to lose, and I advise all of you, given the long odds, to make that bet.

dan

http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-ren...url_text_LPROP

I think I'm about to book this. I know nothing about Vegas, can anyone tell me quickly if there are any glaring problems with it (such as the area being super bad or whatever?).

ta!

I haven't blogged here for a while. The last 5 months have been a process for me of 're learning' poker, if there is such a thing. Initial tweaks to my game resulted in me lurching from oct-barreling every board, to playing like Leatherass and 'using my image'. So eventually, I decided to take a fresh broom, sweep out everything I though I knew about poker and start again from absolute scratch. With input from half a dozen or so really good players/ coaches, I'm getting somewhere......



Well, I finally made 5 figures in a month. Success is all relative, and relative to this year so far, this month makes me a world champion. Although I played a ton of hands (translating into ~$4k rakeback and bonuses), and can only hope that my belief that I've 'cracked it' in the second half of the month now translates into super success in June. The above is ~ 70% 200nl, 30% 400nl. The plan now is stop opening shops and buying cars and designer dogs and paying a year's upfront rent and blowing $20k in Vegas (read, all of last year) so I can actually keep my BR at the level needed to play 1000nl full time..........



http://weaktight.com/2361063 - I CR the turn as I think it looks super strong, and rarely expect to be shoved on when he flats the flop this deep 3 way. He doesn't shove over the CR... so hero call? On the downside, he is at least capable of value betting fairly thin (I think this is a snap VS Mr-6Max-Cant-Value-bet or whoever for example).

http://weaktight.com/2361067 - We're HU at this point, this hand comes a day after the above (ok the hand was shown down). You see, when someone takes the exact same line fairly soon after a big hand then I get suspicious and think they're on the opposite of the previous hand, though I'm not sure if he's on that level, or even if it is a level. Whatever I'm sure the balancing posse will be proud.

http://weaktight.com/2361073 - yes PF is iffy, yes I should 4bet bigger and avoid being 'forced' to flat. When I'm playing well, I put a ton of stock in 'what does he expect me to do'. Here, does he expect me to fold PPs 4-J? Does he expect me to have some Qs in my 4bet call range, I think so. So, does he expect me to fold them? Hmmmmmm

http://weaktight.com/2361081 Lastly just a hand to get out of my system. He raged at me for this, but paying close attention to his betsizing on this wet of a board coupled with his PF stats meant I put him on exactly AK with like 90% certainty. So, he was going to lose this hand anyway had the river blanked off, I couldn't bluff before hand though as I wasn't sure he'd bet call at any point.

Hope everyone is well. Vegas 20th June - 20th July hopefully see some of you there.

ps: I want to make videos, but more creative ones than the standard 6max 4 tabling session. So...... I want to do a leakfinder of a 100nl looking to move up to 200nl and is maybe struggling with the aggression. I also want to do a HH review, but with member's HHs. So, if you have any interesting HHs then PM me them with relative information/ reads and hopefully I'll have enough to make a 45 minute video.

dan

Then, look for tables with 'NotACatOK?' (meeee). I'll be recording a 3 parter at approx 18:00 ET.

Is all! Fuller update to follow.

Dan

Animals and Destruction

I've now had, literally, 4 separate headset/ microphones destroyed by the two animals that live in my office. The first two both lost their lives in the same incident, a savage attack featuring teeth and claws by this thing:



I went and got another, no sweat.

Then weeks later, carelessly, I left it lying on top of my poker table. I hadn't reckoned on my Dog's newfound climbing skills, and after apparently jumping from chair to table to poker table another Logitech USB All-In-One-Mike-&-Headset bit the dust.

The other animal that shares my workspace is a rabbit, as you can see, she shares her house with the afformentioned doog, (and yes, I lock him in there most of the time)*



Today, I logged onto skype to do my group coaching with Rob. Strange, can't hear anything. I look down, and neatly laid by my feet in 3 pieces lays the cable that formerly stretched from my standalone mike down to my computer. Not ONLY this, she'd chewed through the cable connecting the computer to the speakers, and through the ethernet connecting my internet. I had a spare ethernet, but I couldn't get anything else at short notice and had to miss the session.

I actually didn't tell Rob this at the time, for the same reason I didn't tell Vitas the last time it happened and he wanted a video. Namely, that the rabbit ate my homework isn't going to wash.

Poker

Meh, January was no fun after having a decent enough December. February was going fine until the other day, when I had my biannual fit of "I want to be like Nano and GuiGui and play 16 tables and still 3bet every hand and still checkraise every flop and still triple barrel every 2 tone board and make $750k every year". $8.5k up in smoke, over just 6 hours of 9-12 tabling 400NL, has made me remember where my strengths lie.

For virtually all of last year, I played 3-4 tables and concentrated intently all the time (inspired by BoyWonder btw). This allowed me to play a super aggro/ super high variance style and profit immensely. To be honest, I just don't know how Nano plays this style over that many tables and crushes, because for me, to play a style like that well you have to be a master of so many variables.........
Literally every tiny thing is important, every scrap of gameflow, every slight timing tell etc. When I play even as few as 6 tables, I just can't keep up with everything I need to keep up with, and thus when it comes down to a close decision between say shipping 200bbs as a bluff, or not, I'm invariably making the wrong one.

I am going to sound like a very broken record, this has been repeated endlessly, but if you're struggling with your game then try dropping to even 2 tables and concentrating on EVERYTHING. If you find yourself bored, then you should be paying more attention! Then, having done this, increase your number of tables slowly.

Anyway, the above has really helped me after that $8.5k day, and I'm still pretty confident of posting a $20k month.

Videos

This leads me onto videos. I've not done a midstakes one for a while, just because I've been struggling for momentum myself. There was a request to do one on Ongame, so I downloaded and stuck $2k on there. Oh, my, god, the software is bad. Like, uber uber uber tilting. So, if anyone else requests an Ongame vid then I'll try to battle through it, but otherwise I'll just do it on Party or somewhere. Any requests for stakes? Maybe a happy medium of 100NL for now?

Vegas House

I need to book a house in Vegas....... like, for a month, something like 4 bedrooms and a pool. Is there any particular reputable company I should go through, any particular area a lot of you people are going to be staying, etc? Any help or links really appreciated.

*obviously I don't ever lock him in there

dan

In my last blog, I decided to play 100k hands of 400NL 6max before I do anything else this year. Kind of like a reaffirment that I win somewhere over 5BB/100....

And.

It's been a slow start.



The EV thing should sort itself over 100k hands... I mean, if it didn't, then that would mean that the whole theory of continuous probability has just been a brutal myth all along. Could you actually imagine if those guys who play roulette and write down each number as it comes so they can decipher patterns had just been wasting their time?

My friend Hirsty actually believes in the above, or has done at some point. On various visits to the casino he's either ferverently believed that 7 reds = next is black, and then 7 reds = next one MUST be red again. At first I laughed along... but no, he believes it.

Oh and I know I said I was going to talk about poker more in this blog, but.... I suddenly realised why people don't. Basically, I think all the regs know my SN now, and rather than say 'Im abusing my image by nitting it up', or 'I decided to fuck nitting it up, and let them worry about me' (it's probably one of the two) it's probably best I say nothing. At least until my 100k hands are over and I disappear to Party or somewhere.

I guess you can see some random spew for your entertainment, villain is Leggo member Bazclef. Nice hand....

Party, $2/$4 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG: $731.60
CO: $1,314.46
BTN: $1,027.10
SB: $467.90
Hero (BB): $1,549.30

Pre-Flop: 6 6 dealt to Hero (BB)
2 folds, BTN raises to $12, SB calls $10, Hero raises to $48, BTN calls $36, SB calls $36

Flop: ($144) 2 J 5 (3 Players)
SB checks, Hero bets $67, BTN calls $67, SB folds

Turn: ($278) K (2 Players)
Hero bets $219, BTN calls $219

River: ($716) 9 (2 Players)
Hero bets $1,215.30 and is All-In, BTN calls $693.10 and is All-In

Results: $2,102.20 Pot
BTN showed J Q and WON $2,099.20 (+$1,072.10 NET)
Hero showed 6 6 and WON $522.20 (-$500.90 NET)

Or.... fingers to keyboard.

On a sidenote, this keyboard has cost me untold hundreds in misclicks and mistypes. I did accidentally raise to $144 with AK at 400nl the other day though and some reg shipped in KQ for 200bbs. Sooooo sweet. *US hardman voice* "How'd you like them apples punk?"

Anyway, this blog is literally just me thinking out loud. I've had a somewhat chore-ridden day with a lot of thinking time. (My rabbit got sick, took her to the vets, she's fine. Also cleaned, and shopped, and shopped again, and drove around Hull doing random errands). Now unless I commit my thoughts somewhere, it's almost like they didn't happen, as tomorrow I'll have new ones that will probably overwrite the previous.

Anyway, stuff-wot-I-was-thinking. Well, I was reading AEJones 'Evolution of a poker player' a short while ago. I felt like I could add two things to the list once you become a semi-successful midstakes guy.

1) You start to feel it 'beneath' you to post in NVG on 2p2. Like, by doing so would take you down to their level of something. (As another aside, maybe Patonius, with absolutely nothing to prove and many $100,000s in poker winnings, could've said it more effectively with a 'lol').

2) You stop writing about poker in your blog. Like, if you look at all the Leggo members, everyone is super excited to be moving up through the stakes, sharing poker thoughts and results and HHs etc. I think most would say they like to read poker-related stuff in other people's blogs as well. So, I'm going to make more of an effort to post hands, thoughts, results etc.... strictly on the basis that even though I find what I cooked for my dog extremely interesting (you should've SEEN the crunchy-nutcornflake scrambled-egg ketchup Quorn sausage soufflé I rustled up yesterday) maybe some other people don't. Who knows.

I'm thinking that I might undertake some sort of results oriented challenge to help with posting results. Nothing too major... just, all the talk in Boywonder's blogs of results and winrates and sample sizes etc got me thinking.... like, how would I suddenly know if my theoretical winrate at 2-4 6max had dropped at any time in the recent period. Given the way 6max has changed so much even in the last 6 months, I kind of want to prove it again to myself that I win at > 5BB/100. So, overall goal of ~$500k for the year aside, that's my strict goal for the next 100k hands.

In between writing the above, and writing this, I've started a new HEM database with a view to recording these 100k hands. I'll be doing it on UB where I feel comfortable, probably no more than 4 tables at a time, and inspired by Boywonder I'll keep a tab on playing only when I'm relaxed, awake, confident and concentrated. All-In EV notwithstanding, (let's not get into a bogged down argument over this, but it's the only true, objective, rational adjustment you can make to your actual winnings total, anything else is practically impossible to calculate), I should make a lot of money at a very good winrate. If not, and I've been playing 4 tables with all the mental boxes ticked for each session, then I'm going to admit utter abject failure. Nothing more, no more goal to it than that, but admitting failure IS pretty big. After that, I'm done proving myself at midstakes for the year and plan to retreat to a quiet corner of the internet kingdom (Party?) to take repeated and maybe unsuccessful 10-20 and 25-50shots.

I'll post results every...... 7500k hands or so?

On a final note, I've been coaching a few people.... I come cheaper than most: $150 per session. I do insist that the first session be a video review of the student playing his own game with no intereference from me. The reason simply being that with some of my coaches back in the day (not Bobbo, he's a legend), I simply found that we'd load up tables, he'd be like 'oh cbet that, raise that flop' etc. And then, by the end, I'd ask about my own specific leaks and how to address them. Obviously he'd have no clue..... So, anyone who doesn't want to be a total nit (I can't teach you to fold AJo UTG, I just can't), then get in touch.

Dan

Ok, so I'm tearing my hair out a little bit. Let me present 2 graphs, all hands since September....





Wow, player 1 is pretty hot eh? 8.6 BB/100 at midstakes, pretty good.

Player 2- just give up son, poker's not for you.

You can probably guess, they're both me. The first graph is the hands I've played on Cereus, my home since forever and a day. The second graph is on that graveyard of souls, Full Tilt Poker. To put it mildly, I just can't win a fucking bean on there.

I don't know why.

*Wonders Aloud*

I think the player pool's slightly better, but not that much better. It's really weird, I just *feel* totally different on there. I don't like the way it doesn't have unique avatars. I don't like the timebank. I don't like that I don't know every player inside out. I don't like paranoia about my videos being watched (as an aside, what % of FTP regs are leggo members, hmm). I don't like the rampant palpable ego war that seems to exist.

Honestly, I think most of it is down to not knowing the players. The other night I emerged from a standard $4.8k losing session on FT, loaded up UB ('cos my FT account was busto, again), played for 7 hours till 10am and won $6.7k back. While playing, I realised how much my actions are dicated by just knowing how regs are going to react. Nothing I can really explain, or even realise I'm doing until I thought about it, just that my instincts kick in and tell me not to bet vs player x, or quadruple barrel vs person Y.

What to do? Well, I need to study the players more I suppose. I've tried, I started building a database. Looking at individual hands though doesn't give me enough of a *feel* of how they play, and how they react to me. What I really need, is software that will take all the hands I have on a certain player, and replay them over 4 tables or something.

Boywonder says he studies a reg a day or something like that. How, when he grinds 27 hours a day I'm not sure, but I really need to get up to speed. Hmm.

*End Wonders Aloud*

Even though it's costing me a ton, 'professional pride' (if you like) means that I'm not prepared to give up. Frankly, I'm not happy making another midstakes video on there until I have 50k consecutive hands at a 6BB winrate or something like that. Until then, enjoy my micro series......

dan

First of all Merry Xmas everyone.

So, I made ~$50k in the last 1/3 of 2009. Semi coincidentally, I made ~$150k in the whole of 2009.

Is this a brag or a beat? Well, considering I couldn't beat 200NL just 13 months ago it's on the whole a brag. Would I be content with that total at the end of 2010? I would say resoundedly no.... conservatively, I want to triple it. The plan, if you can call it that, is to make ~$500k by becoming a kind of Nanonoko-lite 6 tabling super aggro tilt-less spew-less 6max super machine. Oh and then kill all the FTP regs at HU.

This is gonna turn into a bit of a ramble blog, but just on the subject of Nanonoko.... what an inspiration. I was re-watching that Sauce/ AE vid from last month, and my favourite bit is when AE is considering 4betting Nano... Sauce is like "no, just don't ever play back at Nano". This is the kind of aura that I'm striving for, and that I feel I've had to an extent in the past.

Anyway, pictures:

September


October


November


December


Overall


Breakdown



What else..... me and Nic (well, mainly Nic, its all her designs and clothes and colours etc) opened a high street fashion store/ boutique this month. It's going well, averaging sales of ~£400 per day. Breakeven target on the day is £110, so pretty profitable. Pics:

Outside


Me


We must be running good when the local newspaper randomly does a 'secret shopper' type review like this....




What else.... 2009 highlights was playing with Phil Laak in the Irish Open. He was sat directly to my left, and I elicited this quote "Dan, he's from Hull, but plays like he's from Helsinki". I'm not yet at the stage where I'm too cool to be impressed at playing with TV poker personalities, re maybe the way LuckyChewy is with Ivey etc. I actually should have knocked Laak out on Day 1 which would have been a more epic story, he limp shoved AQ UTG to my BB raise with JJ. I had him covered. Flop QQx bah. I did end up (mini)cashing though, and am going to play again this year.

Oh it's my birthday today, plans are to go watch Hull VS Manchester United which nicely falls today (prediction, we're in trouble)

dan