I haven't been playing too too much in the last three months (I would call it a "maintenance" level of playing) since I have been very very busy with Leggo, coaching, school, and traveling over the break. However, I am getting back into the grinding mode.

I will play 5/10 mixed in with 10/20 for a few weeks, and then pop up to exclusively 10/20+. I do enjoy sitting at the tables and having people ask if they are in a video though whenever I'm at lower than 10/20 .

To help signify the occasion, I decided to invest in a new monitor. Originally I got a 30" one from Dell, but unfortunately it doesn't hook up to my laptop because my laptop lacks something called a dual DVI driver. So, I sent that back and got this one instead:


It's a Dell 2707WFP

It's really nice and, although it was expensive, I think it will be well worth it. I still haven't forgotten about my (crazy?) 2008 dollar goal, so this monitor will certainly help me get there.

I still have one crazy story to tell from PCA, and my thoughts on the UB situation for future blog posts, so stay tuned!

I'm out of the PCA. I played out of my mind, and just ran really poorly. I had a lot of hands, and they are all generally interesting, so I will post them all:

First, when I got to my table, I had to sign up with my name and email address. I put mynameizgreg@leggo, and the guy to my right asks if I was a 2p2er. I said yes, and he recognized my name when I said I was MYNAMEIZGREG. So, he knew who I was, and respected my game a lot.

Well, he starts playing like 50/45 early, raising every hand. I kind of figure out what he's up to, and make a mental note that he will probably slow down vs me. To protect his name, I will call him John. Although he had a friendly British accent .

So John raises at 50/100 in EP, I call one behind him with KQo. 5 people see the flop of KdJd5h, and it checks to me. I bet 650, everyone folds but John, who c/r me to 1700. I think and think that he should know not to bluff me, but I cannot figure out a single made hand that he would c/r here given his psycho image. I call, turn 4o, ch ch. River offsuit 2, he checks. I think the pot is somewhere around 1800, and bet 1000. Apparently, the pot is about 4700. He folds, after pondering a c/r (which I would have snap called).

So I somehow have like 27,000. Now it's 100/200. Tight UTG player raises to 600, John calls in MP. I have JJ, and feel weird about 3betting (lol full ring). I call, and we see a flop of 248 rainbow. UTG bets out 1k, John says something to make me thing he has a marginal hand, calls, and I overcall. Turn 8. UTG checks, John bets out 3k, I call, UTG folds. River 8. John bets out 14k into the 10-11k pot. I know he knows this is an overbet, and this bet is very interesting since I had briefly mentioned before to him that if he wants to take a pot away on the turn to bet it, and overbet the river. I'm pretty sure that: 1) he remembers this conversation 2) he's competant 3) I didn't think that he would be that ambitious about taking away pots 3handed. I thought for about 4 minutes, told him that he would never expect me to fold, and tossed it. He has quads and I flip out inside.

Another hand, I limp in with JJ UTG (dynamics were right for it), button calls, John checks. Flop comes 267, I bet out 400 into the 600, button folds, John makes it 1400. I decide to call and c/f the turn unimproved, since my hand looks like what it is, and he isn't silly enough to try to bluff me. Turn is a sweet J, and we get it in on the river 9. I have like 35k.

Some small, relatively insignificant hands occur, and I find myself with 45k at 200/400/50. Lost a 25k pot with QQ to AK AIPF. Then, lost a 20k pot 3 hands later AK to 88 AIPF.

I was down to 16k or so, when CO raised to 1100 at 200/400/50. My read was that he was slightly weaker, and pretty tight. I defend with T8o and plan on taking away a bunch of flop. Flop comes out a lovely 743 with 2 hearts. I bet out 1200, he raises to 3000, and I shove. He folds after little thought.

The hand before the break I have 24k or so. Tight tight UTG player raises, I call in CO with 87hh, and new BB calls as well. Flop comes out 57K with 2 clubs. BB checks, UTG thinks and checks, and I check figuring that UTG is slowplaying. Turn is a beautiful 8c. BB checks, UTG bets 2500, and I make it 8500, licking my lips. Out of nowhere, BB slaps down the 10k in chips he had left. ****. I have to call and I stare at Q2cc for the flush. I miss and am down to 13k.

The first hand back from break is 300/600/50. UTG raises to 2100 and I see him do this frigidity thing will his left hand that indicates he does not have a monster. I decide I'm shoving any 2 and am fortunate enough to look down at J9cc. I jam and the guy to my left calls. ****. He has QQ and, despite hitting a 9 on the flop, I miss.

GG tournament. I'm very proud about how I played, and look forward to playing in some more major live tournaments before the WSOP.

I will write up the rest of the trip report later on.

Atlantis is a very nice; everyone told me great things about the resort and experience, and so far it's delivering.

I was very excited to go to bed at 1 AM last night. Everyone was so tired from the 6-8 AM flights that it just sort of happened. I woke up at 11, and Danielle and I are on our way to the gym, then off to the pool.

Last night we (myself, Danielle, Craig, Randy, friend/our roommate from Wake Reid, new friend Zach) met up with Clayton and Aaron (as well as some other friends) at the Pokerstars welcome party. We also met PokerStars pros, especially Daniel Negreanu, who very nice, and slightly intoxicated. We all took a picture with him, and his eyes were shut. I'm sure that picture will find it's way into Craig's, Randy's, or my own blog.

We also met a few Leggo customers, which was really cool as well. As far as the tournament, Aaron plays today (1a), and Craig and I play tomorrow (1b). Running out to the gym and pool now, so I will be back sporadically!

Greg

I want to wish everyone a happy new year. 2007 was a year to be thankful for, and 2008 will be as well.

We are making great strides on the Leggo front. As you can see, we redesigned our home page, and our subscription page. I feel that we have the nicest-looking web site out of all (including the brand new ) poker training web sites. Additionally, the new coaching section will be out in a couple of days, and will absolutely be mind blowing and revolutionary. Lastly, as usual, we will be bringing in some new faces who are unbelievably skilled.

On a more personal note, I am getting ready for the PCA in a couple days. That should be fun, and should kick off the new year in terms of poker nicely. We will have a friend of mine functioning as a Leggo correspondent, and will be providing updates from Atlantis. As far as how my 2007 poker playing went, it was tremendously successful from a dollar standpoint, but not so much towards the end from an EV standpoint . I tried that Poker EV software, and it seems that, over my last 72k hands, I am running 3.5ptbb and a cool 100k under expectation.

Let's set an ambitious goal for 2008: 7 figures from poker income. I will include more poker-related updates in this blog, and really put my game out there. This will help motivate me to reach this goal. It will be difficult, but I think I can achieve it with putting in the necessary effort.

Actually, hopefully I reach my goal from winning the PCA .

Here's to a prosperous 2008!

Greg

As I talked about in my last video, I am really trying to get on a better schedule. Additionally, I feel something that will really help me out is increasing the efficiency by which I do things. I need to almost completely cut out spare time spent laying in front of the TV when I get up, or aimlessly browsing the internet, etc. Everything I should do should have some sort of a purpose.

Henceforth, I have decided to become more organized. I will be making daily lists of things I would like to get done, allowing me to move (seamlessly? ) from one to the next, maintaining a high level of efficiency.

I have also started an excel file that outlines what I am doing during specific hours, and my own efficiency rating. If I am using my time extremely wisely (ie sleeping) that would be a perfect 100% efficiency rating. If I am playing HU and sitting there, waiting for 1 person to play, that is not efficient, because there are things I can be doing (emails, Leggo stuff, etc) while I wait for at least one opponent to play. Tonight when I played, I answered emails and questions on AIM when I was waiting for one person to play. If I had at least one opponent, I didn't worry about the other stuff. I gave myself a "99%" efficiency rating for that session of poker, and was pretty satisfied. Hopefully I can stay on track.

I would urge individuals who find themselves wasting away the day to try a similar exercise, and really figure out how to live productively.

As I sit here studying for finals (guess I'm not now!), I can't wait to be done and move on for the break. I haven't gotten a chance to play too much poker outside of making the videos, but I have been doing a decent amount of coaching, which I am finding increasingly enjoyable. I really love hearing a student say that I changed his/her approach to the game, or rekindled a flame for the game. It's quite satisfying.

On the business note, we had our first official meeting this week. You all can't listen in because we aren't public though . LeggoPoker has been quite successful thus far, and I would like to thank everyone who has played a part (that means everyone who is reading this blog, too! ) in our progress as a company and as a service.

A few more quick, bulleted points before I get back to the books:

-Some of the coaches think I overuse smiley's in the forums and that I cannot actually be happy, but I am . Plus, how else would you find out these smiley's exist?

-I am very excited for PCA. I am bringing the GF and some of her friends for her 21st birthday extravaganza. There will most likely be a LeggoPoker dinner one night, so we will get more details for anyone who is interested in joining us.

-You may see some new faces around here soon .

For those that have finals, best of luck. For everyone else, relax before the holiday season. It's sure to be hectic,

Greg

Thanksgiving was yesterday, and I was thinking of all the things I am thankful for when I figured it would be a good idea to make a blog post.

Everyone in the poker community is very, very lucky. There are a few types of players, but everyone should be very thankful:

1) Bigtime winning players - They take advantage of the opportunity to make a ton of money
2) MSNL/SSNL grinders - These guys also make tons of money, especially compared to the real world averages.
3) Breakeven players/microstakes grinders/losing players - If they are reading this, or know about communities such as 2p2, they know there is an opportunity to significantly improve their ability to play poker and win. Most of this group thinks they aren't lucky, but having the opportunity to make a ton of money, and simply needing to put in a lot of hours constitutes a very lucky situation.


Poker has changed the lives of so many people who have put lots of effort into the game. It provides the opportunity to change lives for the rest of us. Of course, there are obstacles along the way. One of biggest pitfalls I would like to talk about is spewing away money, for people who have it, or don't. One of the dumbest things I always read on 2p2 etc is the posts about people being "ballers" and throwing away money. That's dumb, but it's more dumb when you are doing it at an online poker table, in the form of tilt or not caring about the money.

If you are playing $5/$10, and you do something dumb that you know you shouldn't (tilt, really bad call, etc) you just gave away one thousand dollars. Stop and think about that for a second. You just incinerated one thousand dollars. That is a ton of money, and it really is inexcusable to lose that amount over something that is in your control.

Think about all the people that would kill for $1,000. Now think about how you threw it away over your computer. From this example, it becomes obvious that:

1) Poker players are lucky (they are in this situation in the first place
2) We need to regain a respect for the money we play with.

This weekend, spend some time to reflect on your values, and what is really important to you. My life is very hectic, and one of the most effective exercises I have done was evaluate the aspects of my life, and eliminate the junk and inefficiencies. I suggest you do the same, it the results have been very effective.

Have a fun and safe weekend,

Greg

Hello and welcome to LeggoPoker! I am Greg Brooks, the Co-owner of Leggo. I'm really excited for everything that we present on the site. I really don't put my reputation behind anything that I do not believe will hold a respectful seal, brand name, and great service. I believe LeggoPoker will live up to all of those standards, which is why we have brought 7 other great pros that know the game forwards and backwards, and the highlights of their careers are their accomplishments right now.

Stay tuned for more expansion and interaction with what will surely become a recognizable brand in the poker community.

Until next time,
Greg