loving his chess videos atm on leggo. i used to be really into chess. its one of those hobbies that i always tell myself i'll get into again at some point. at university i studied chess about 2 hours/day for several months, so probably got pretty good. thats the way i do things when i get interested in something. exactly the same thing happened with poker, i got a little interested, then just went all out studying it, to try and get as good as i could get. have probably played about 5 games of chess in about 3 years, so probably suck pretty hard now

curtains chatting about poker was really useful to me. as you know if you follow my blog, my poker career has been sucking all year really. curtains mentioned that poker is one of the best jobs in the world, and its really true. i should not get down and angry about how poker is going, and take a step back.

i make more money than i thought was possible. even running really bad in 2010, i've earned almost $100k tax free (i'm from the UK) and averaged less than 2.5 hours of poker a day. with rakeback included i've earned $120/hour or so in 2010. its nowhere near where i want to be, or near where i expect to be, or where logically/realistically i should be, but its still fucking amazing.

curtains also mentioned that you should ask yourself how good your life would be if you only earned 1/2 as much as you do. would you still be happy? should you still be happy?

i'd obv be in the pits of despair if i only made $50k in 10 months, but i mean, thats still alot of money, i can lead a comfortable existance, with a lot of freedom, travel mostly where i want, buy most non ridiculous luxury items and its tax free.

i should be happy and grateful that my life has panned out this way. i'm definitely in the top 10% of possible futures if i look back at my life from when i graduated university. this is huge rungood. obviously most of my possible futures i would be a musician, which is closer to where my heart lies, but this future is better than almost all of those, since i can go back to music later in life, but be richer and better travelled.

so from now on i'll try and keep the whining to a minimum.

on a related note, i check my results every monday now, its worked really well so far. after a week of not checking my results, i guessed i'd be up about $9k, and i was exactly right, which is a pretty good self soulread. back playing 3/6 now, and i hope to be playing 5/10 by christmas.

haven't posted any hhs for ages, so may as well put something here. just me coolering the fuck out of a huge donk

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

Hero (BB): $457
BTN: $1,159.80

Pre-Flop: T Q dealt to Hero (BB)
BTN raises to $8, Hero calls $4

Flop: ($16) A K J (2 Players)
Hero bets $16, BTN calls $16

Turn: ($48) 3 (2 Players)
Hero bets $44, BTN calls $44

River: ($136) 3 (2 Players)
Hero bets $125, BTN raises to $250, Hero raises to $389 and is All-In, BTN calls $139

Results: $914 Pot ($1 Rake)
Hero showed T Q and WON $913 (+$460 NET)
BTN showed 3 A and LOST (-$455 NET)

so as you can see, a very disapointing last 6months for me. ran pretty awful both in EV terms and getting coolered. also ran alot worse at higher stakes, so everything came together to give me a cluster fuck of runbad.

also i didn't work as hard as i would have wanted, although its kinda understandable with the world cup, and also not playing because of runbad. i want to average 50k hands/month now that i'm playing less tables (more of that later). the last 3 months i have played about 80 hours/month, which is ok, but i want to play 100 hours/month and maybe 120 hours/month every now and again.

had worst downer ever in $ terms (30k), and 2nd worse in buyin terms (42), and as with every huge downer i have had, i have put in a tonne of work off the felt evaluating my play and trying to get better. i think this approach is really good, everytime i come out of a downer i am a stronger player. this downswing is no exception.

i realised a few months ago that my approach wasn't ideal. i would play a tonne of tables, mixing 6m and HU, at one point i 8 tabled 6max while playing a reg HU on 4 tables! because of the work i put into my game in the past, especially the theoretical side of it, i could do that and do ok. however my game wasn't really exploiting regs that much, i was just profiting from their mistakes really, without doing much pro-active to take advantage of them. i think that lead to quite a small winrate, which would bring alot of variance, which is never nice. i would play a tonne of tables, and nobody would be exploiting me really due to my really solid theoretical game, i would hold my own vs the good regs, and win a little off the worse regs, and alot off fish (who were few and far between, i didn't really gameselect at all, especially HU where i just played anyone).

my most recent work has lead me to a new way of playing. i am playing considerably less tables, and although i still play anyone HU, i won't be playing 3 different regs across 5 tables anymore, wheras i used to do that sort of thing quite often

after having a terrible august, i tilt cashed out all but $40k and decided to drop down to 2/4 across 4 sites, and move up to 3/6 when i got to $60k and 5/10 when i got to $100k. i think the additional bankroll cushion might lower the stress i feel. in addition to that i now sit and wait for action on all 4 sites, and while i am waiting i play 2 tables vs regs, or start up a 6m game or 2. i actually turn down action from regs while i am doing this, instead of juggling everyone. and so i'm always playing 2-4 tables. if alot of fish come along i'll even quit the regs too, wheras before i never quit anyone, confident that i could play millions of tables and still win (which i could, but maybe only just beat the rake )

i still get 500 hands/hour, which from what i gather, is a pretty huge figure for a HU grinder, i still play anyone HU unless i'm busy, i still actively search out regs, but i also make sure pretty strictly that i'm never playing too many tables to actively exploit my opponents.

i have changed my HU game quite alot in the last 6 months, and now i'm really confident in my ability. this month i have felt i have absolutely crushed almost every reg i played, even tho results wise i haven't done too well.

looking at my record for the last 6 months, i have managed to have a 3ptbb winrate (EV adjusted) which is actually pretty good as for most of this period i played way too many tables, and didn't gameselect at all, so its not all bad news. alot of the regs i played at 2/4 are the same regs i was battling at 5/10, so its not really a case that 5/10 were tougher games (although they obviously are tougher to a degree)

i think i got too involved in my runbad and lack of results. objectively looking at my results i feel quite positive i can crush in the upcoming months, and with a little bit of luck i'll be pwning n00bs at 5/10 and higher in a month or two

http://www.footytube.com/video/Barce...s-Athens-56168

jesus panathanikos are no mugs, but they just get bulldozed. barca are just so good. unbelievable they lost 2-0 to newly promoted hercules at the nou camp at the weekend

86% possession, messi scores 2, hits the woodwork 3 times, misses a penalty. 5-1 massively flattered panathanaikos

messi is on another planet to the next best footballer in the world

just thinking about whether he is the best player in my lifetime (since i can remember obv). looking at his widipedia he has scored 133 goals and got 54 assists in 219 games, which is awesome for a winger/support striker

only other contenders i can think of are;

zidane http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g12TI...eature=related

old fat ronaldo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_oUa1yCpgs

messi is in place to overtake them as he is only 23 years old. if he carries on this form for another couple of seasons he can retire as the best player ever at 25 probably

today to clear a bonus i 9tabled some 6m, it was a nice break from the norm (playing 90% HU atm)

6m seems to be about folding. i made several folds that are pretty exploitable, but i think i made the right decision folding them.

despite redline being a pretty pointless obsession, i always enjoy ending up with a positive redline (although i never play hands with that in mind) so it was annoying to have to fold with so much invested all these times, but thats the nature of the sigh fold

i barely have any hands on anyone in these hands, obv because i don't play much 6m, but all the players in these hands were on the nitty side. the only worry in these hands is that villains were vbetting with a worse hand, but i think thats pretty rare (like him having a worse aces up in hand 2). maybe they are all standard, i'm not 100% sure of my 6m game atm

in other news, just got back from luang prabang, a world heritage town in Laos. it really is a beautiful place, def a place i recomend visiting in south east asia especially if you go with a girlfriend or have several days there so you can travel about the area and do all sorts of activites like tubing, visiting waterfalls, buddha caves, trekking etc. unfortunately i was there for only 2 days and on my own (visa run) so it wasn't ideal circumstances (also internet was awful)

finally, really rubbing hands together in anticipation of this new series from gervais/merchant/pilkington

really awesome previews on youtube really whet my appetite, should be a great show. basically the legendary karl pilkington from the ricky gervais podcasts has been sent to visit the 7 wonders of the world, i really recomend watching this preview. peace out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUTH1coLIWE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TChZa...eature=related

------------------
HAND #1
------------------

Party, $2/$4 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

CO: $406
BTN: $738.20
SB: $400
Hero (BB): $400
UTG: $501.50
MP: $578.60

Pre-Flop: A A dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG folds, MP calls $4, CO folds, BTN raises to $14, SB folds, Hero raises to $52, MP folds, BTN calls $38

Flop: ($110) 4 K 9 (2 Players)
Hero bets $60, BTN calls $60

Turn: ($230) K (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN checks

River: ($230) 6 (2 Players)
Hero bets $155, BTN raises to $626.20 and is All-In, Hero folds

Results: $540 Pot
BTN showed and WON $1,007.70 (+$740.70 NET)




------------------
HAND #2
------------------

Party, $2/$4 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

SB: $400
BB: $719.90
UTG: $400
Hero (MP): $499.77
CO: $501.50
BTN: $401.10

Pre-Flop: A J dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG folds, Hero raises to $8, CO folds, BTN calls $8, 2 folds

Flop: ($22) 7 A 5 (2 Players)
Hero bets $16, BTN calls $16

Turn: ($54) J (2 Players)
Hero bets $40, BTN calls $40

River: ($134) 2 (2 Players)
Hero bets $111, BTN raises to $222, Hero folds

Results: $356 Pot
BTN showed and WON $463.50 (+$288.50 NET)




------------------
HAND #3
------------------

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

BB: $428
Hero (BTN): $431

Pre-Flop: K T dealt to Hero (BTN)
Hero raises to $12, BB calls $8

Flop: ($24) 7 2 Q (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $16, BB calls $16

Turn: ($56) 9 (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $45, BB raises to $120, Hero calls $75

River: ($296) K (2 Players)
BB bets $280 and is All-In, Hero folds

Results: $296 Pot
BB showed and WON $575 (+$431 NET)




------------------
HAND #4
------------------

Party, $2/$4 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

BTN: $414
SB: $400
BB: $412
UTG: $1,113.32
Hero (MP): $408
CO: $644.70

Pre-Flop: J J dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG raises to $12, Hero calls $12, CO folds, BTN calls $12, 2 folds

Flop: ($42) 7 6 3 (3 Players)
UTG bets $29.92, Hero calls $29.92, BTN folds

Turn: ($101.84) K (2 Players)
UTG checks, Hero checks

River: ($101.84) 6 (2 Players)
UTG bets $74.13, Hero folds

Results: $101.84 Pot
UTG showed and WON $172.97 (+$131.05 NET)

here are 3 people i just love. not just their work, but them as people. i'll say a little about them, and put some links up.

1. Ricky Gervais.

he needs little introduction, he's gotten pretty well known by now, but he is just great.

if you haven't come across him (living in a cave or something) then here are some of his best works

1)the office - the original uk version. the best comedy series ever in my opinion. subtle, realistic, hilarious, poignant, an incredible array of realistic characters, beautifully crafted etc etc

2)extras - not as structured, but then a different kind of show. still very high quality and hilarious

3)ricky gervais podcast - just unbelievably good entertainment. if you haven't seen/heard it then i suggest you do immediately. they have an animated version now of the 1st series (there are 5 series i think)

4)animals - really good standup, other standups pretty good too

2.David Mitchell

he's half of the comedy duo mitchell and webb, and made his name in the brilliant sitcom 'peepshow'. i have spent hours just watching youtube videos of him on comedy gameshows where he always outshines the other comedians

1)peepshow - excellent concept, executed brilliantly, 6 series of great comedy. you can watch them all for free on youtube. impossible to single out any clips, so i'll just put a random one that came up near the top on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLOCzN5a19o



2)that mitchell and webb look - under rated sketch show, alot more subtle than most although it is hit and miss at times

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN1WN0YMWZU

3)david mitchells soapbox - weekly podcast where he moans about something or other

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yakx7...eature=related

4)random appearences in gameshows. great

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt2u4...eature=related

Charlie Brooker

he's basically an angry satirical critic, who has a unique way of expressing himself. his main oevre is reviewing TV, current affairs and computer affairs. however he has also written and co written some TV shows

1)nathan barley - genius 1 series sitcom about idiotic media types. i think it is very under rated, and people just mostly miss the point when watching it. again you can watch it for free on youtube. the show features various rising stars of comedy. such as both primary members of the mighty boosh, and richard Ayoade of IT crowd fame.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhAr_UeroCk

2)various books compiling his articles written for the guardian newspaper. the newest is dawn of the dumb, hilarious series of articles i am currently reading

3)screenwipe, newswipe, gameswipe - his TV show reviewing TV, news or games.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OYri...eature=related

4)Dead set - a drama about zombies attacking the big brother house.

this month has been insane, even made me put a question out to MSNL, i'll repost it here too anyway
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/56...estion-859228/

the worst thing about poker to me is variance. yes i know its why we can make money at poker but not at chess etc, i understand the theoreticals and i understand it is definitely necessary.

my question is: what % of your hourly would you give up for zero variance

so for example; a pixie gives you a magic hand chart that guarantees half your winrate but absolutely zero variance. you can't exploit it by then playing 56 tables or something, the chart would know, its magic!. you just plod along as usual but have zero variance. if your hourly was $200, its now always $100, instead of +/- $5k/hour.

would you accept.

if not, what % would you accept at.


i'm thinking that both good and bad variance causes me to play alot less hours than i would like. bad leaves me tilted and i usually think it sensible to stop playing. good variance leaves a strong temptation to quit my session and go to the pub or something. i'm sure this rings true for most other regs.

i think there is a theoretical breakeven point just in pure $$EV, but also you might go below that for a more stable stressfree lifestyle.


anyway, heres my lol graph. i'm thankful i'm up for the month, but sad that i didn't just go on holiday after 3 days

this is my month so far. yes thats right, i won 35 buyins or so in 3 days, then proceeded to lose all of it!

only saved in the last hour or so when a reg tilted on me pretty hard, some pretty amusing hands i have to admit

i would have def smashed something if hand 6 had occurred near the start of the session


------------------
HAND #1
------------------

Party, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (BTN): $603
BB: $597

Pre-Flop: A 2 dealt to Hero (BTN)
Hero raises to $18, BB raises to $60, Hero calls $42

Flop: ($120) T 7 A (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($120) 4 (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $90, BB calls $90

River: ($300) 2 (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $233, BB calls $233

Results: $766 Pot ($1 Rake)
Hero showed A 2 and WON $765 (+$385 NET)
BB mucked 7 8 and LOST (-$377 NET)




------------------
HAND #2
------------------

Party, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $1,036.25
BTN: $600

Pre-Flop: Q Q dealt to Hero (BB)
BTN raises to $18, Hero raises to $60, BTN calls $42

Flop: ($120) 7 J 2 (2 Players)
Hero bets $60, BTN raises to $145, Hero raises to $976.25 and is All-In, BTN calls $395 and is All-In

Turn: ($1,200) 4 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: ($1,200) 9 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $1,200 Pot
Hero showed Q Q and WON $1,635.25 (+$1,041.25 NET)
BTN showed 5 7 and LOST (-$597 NET)




------------------
HAND #3
------------------

Party, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

BB: $1,068
Hero (BTN): $1,544

Pre-Flop: 9 Q dealt to Hero (BTN)
Hero raises to $18, BB raises to $60, Hero calls $42

Flop: ($120) Q 7 3 (2 Players)
BB bets $90, Hero calls $90

Turn: ($300) 9 (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $255, BB calls $255

River: ($810) 6 (2 Players)
BB bets $663 and is All-In, Hero calls $663

Results: $2,136 Pot ($1 Rake)
BB showed 8 8 and LOST (-$1,062 NET)
Hero showed 9 Q and WON $2,135 (+$1,070 NET)




------------------
HAND #4
------------------

Party, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $1,185.33
BTN: $1,048.92

Pre-Flop: J J dealt to Hero (BB)
BTN raises to $18, Hero calls $12

Flop: ($36) 6 7 9 (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $26.25, Hero calls $26.25

Turn: ($88.50) A (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $65.62, Hero calls $65.62

River: ($219.74) J (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $164.05, Hero raises to $1,075.46 and is All-In, BTN calls $775 and is All-In

Results: $2,097.84 Pot
Hero showed J J and WON $2,233.25 (+$1,190.33 NET)
BTN showed 6 6 and LOST (-$1,045.92 NET)




------------------
HAND #5
------------------

Party, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $2,259.25
BTN: $600

Pre-Flop: 9 J dealt to Hero (BB)
BTN raises to $18, Hero raises to $60, BTN calls $42

Flop: ($120) 8 2 K (2 Players)
Hero bets $60, BTN calls $60

Turn: ($240) Q (2 Players)
Hero bets $125, BTN calls $125

River: ($490) 5 (2 Players)
Hero bets $2,014.25 and is All-In, BTN calls $355 and is All-In

Results: $1,200 Pot
Hero showed 9 J...

just reading this great article about sleep

http://www.supermemo.com/articles/polyphasic.htm

i am reading this because i wanted to research polyphasic sleep patterns to see if they are viable for poker players. found out some stuff from this article (from a great website)

http://www.highexistence.com/alternate-sleep-cycles/


basically i constantly have nagging worries about my sleep patterns, which are highly erratic, but it turns out that my sleep patterns are fairly natural, and probably decent

i highly recomend any poker player to read this article. because of it i am going to quit caffeine (i'm an obsessive tea drinker) but also not worry about my sleep pattern and just sleep when i'm tired. i realise this will mean i'll be sleeping at extremely weird times, but it doesn't really matter when all i have to do is grind anyway.


poker this month has been insane. after 3 days i was up 35 buyins in about 5k hands, now i'm up 20 buyins in 10k hands, sick swongs. so many crazy hands and funny hands, but can't be bothered to find any since there are so many no 1 sticks in my head.

no, i'm not married, apparantly its the nickname of the poker hand KQ

so now that i've sucked you in with the promise of a tale of domestic bliss , enjoy all the big KQ hands i played today


included at the bottom is a bonus hand played against the player in 3 and 4.

by the way: all 3 of these guys are regs. the guy in hand 3-5 is up about $120k in 40k hands on ptr, guy in hand 1 has played over 1.5million hands on stars! and the guy in hand 2 is up well over $100k in a couple hundred thousand hands of MSNL HU

[ ] games are dead

------------------
HAND #1
------------------

Poker Stars, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

BB: $600
Hero (BTN): $757.50

Pre-Flop: K Q dealt to Hero (BTN)
Hero raises to $18, BB raises to $60, Hero calls $42

Flop: ($120) J 4 J (2 Players)
BB bets $71, Hero calls $71

Turn: ($262) 6 (2 Players)
BB bets $171, Hero raises to $626.50 and is All-In, BB calls $298 and is All-In

River: ($1,200) 5 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $1,200 Pot
BB showed 8 9 and LOST (-$594 NET)
Hero showed K Q and WON $1,357 (+$760 NET)




------------------
HAND #2
------------------

Party, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $777
BTN: $3,143.12

Pre-Flop: Q K dealt to Hero (BB)
BTN raises to $18, Hero raises to $60, BTN calls $42

Flop: ($120) 5 6 Q (2 Players)
Hero bets $60, BTN raises to $150, Hero raises to $717 and is All-In, BTN calls $567

Turn: ($1,554) 5 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: ($1,554) 4 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $1,554 Pot ($1 Rake)
Hero mucked Q K and LOST (-$771 NET)
BTN showed 7 8 and WON $1,553 (+$779 NET)




------------------
HAND #3
------------------

Party, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

BTN: $1,128
Hero (BB): $2,410.50

Pre-Flop: K Q dealt to Hero (BB)
BTN raises to $30, Hero raises to $100, BTN raises to $1,123 and is All-In, Hero calls $1,028

Flop: ($2,256) 4 8 2 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Turn: ($2,256) 7 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: ($2,256) 3 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $2,256 Pot ($1 Rake)
BTN mucked T J and LOST (-$1,123 NET)
Hero showed K Q and WON $2,255 (+$1,137 NET)




------------------
HAND #4
------------------

Party, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $2,176
BTN: $1,077

Pre-Flop: Q K dealt to Hero (BB)
BTN raises to $30, Hero raises to $100, BTN raises to $1,072 and is All-In, Hero calls $977

Flop: ($2,154) 2 K J (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Turn: ($2,154) 3 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: ($2,154) 6 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $2,154 Pot ($1 Rake)
Hero showed Q K and WON $2,153 (+$1,086 NET)
BTN mucked T 7 and LOST (-$1,072 NET)




------------------
HAND #5
------------------

Party, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

BTN: $1,987.25
Hero (BB): $1,265.75

Pre-Flop: A T dealt to Hero (BB)
BTN raises to $30, Hero raises to $100, BTN raises to $205, Hero calls $110

Flop: ($420) Q J 9 (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $133, Hero calls $133

Turn: ($686) 8 (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $200, Hero raises to $922.75 and is All-In, BTN calls $722.75

River: ($2,531.50) 2 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $2,531.50 Pot ($1 Rake)
BTN showed K...

overall was a great world cup. good fun to watch, and i spent some time researching football and feel i know alot more now than i did before

http://www.zonalmarking.net/

this is a great site, and has really got me into the tactical side of football. they have recomended a few books that i will begin reading soon.

betwise, in the end with the WC pool i lost between $400 and breakeven depending on the results of our 'blackest player to score' sidebet. i think i have a good chance of winning that one.

i won both my big bets, uruguay to get out of their group for 240GBP and uruguay to get to the semis for 3600GBP.

i did hedge with ghana for $600 that game though, so only won about 3200GBP overall. i'd say everything included i won about $5k betting this WC.

i won a couple hundred betting $25/game, but then broke even hedging, and lost a little with some nice bets on outsiders winning.

was good fun, and nice to win some money doing some non poker gambling

congratulations to spain, they derserve to be world champions, although i am gutted holland didn't win. my dad is dutch, so they are always my 2nd team, and i would have won another $3.5k if they won the world cup


i'll probably come up with a WC 11 in the next few days and post it here