A hand

Posted by G1lius On 10/11/2010 12:12:00 AM 0 comments


One hand which I found pretty interesting.

UTG & BB are pretty huge fish, high vpip and showdown. BTN is a tag regular. UTG has a donkbet % of 25% and has something on the board if he does that.


  • Pre-Flop ($7, 6 players)Hero is UTG+1
  • c6 c7
UTG calls $5, Hero calls $5, 1 fold, BTN calls $5, 1 fold, BB checks

All three options are fine here I think. But since BB will not likely fold, and I need to hit to see a showdown I don't really like a raise all that much, so I decide to limp along with a suited connector.

  • Flop ($22, 4 players)
  • hJ dK dQ
BB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $5, 1 fold, BB folds, UTG calls $5

UTG doesn't bet. Since he always has something if he donkbets he likely has the thought: 'I bet if I have something, I check if I don't'. BTN limped along and has a range much like myself: small pocketpairs and suited connectors. The only hand that connected is T9s, all the rest will give up on this flop. So the only player I really need to worry about is BB who might try to check/raise, but since he just checked preflop he likely doesn't have a premium hand, so he sits with about the bottom 90% which does terrible on this flop obv.
So I bet out and expect to take it down.
  • Turn ($32, 2 players)
  • d4
UTG checks, Hero bets $10, UTG folds


surprisingly UTG called the flop. Since I really believe he'd bet a pair I put him on Ax or Tx, and since he could have a diamond that picks up more outs I'll have to 3 barrel (he might call with a gutshot anyway)
So I barrel and take it down on the turn.
  • Final Pot: $42
It's one of those hands that you could easily miss out on if you're not 100% focussed. Although the two fishy players are not super predictable, it's still a decent +EV spot. But often times you just see 67 on a KQJ flop 4-way and move on to the next hand.

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10 october

Posted by G1lius On 10/10/2010 06:37:00 PM 0 comments

Yeah, I couldn't find a decent title.

I'm trying my best to feel positive about poker, but it's nothing you can really change in a day.
One of the problems of volume is because I'm doing way to much other stuff on my PC. Therefore I'm going to cut back on the other random stuff I'm doing.
If I'm bored and don't want to play I'll just need to find something else to do. Playing or studying poker should be the main thing I'm doing when I'm sitting behind my computer.
I'll be watching some stuff for entertainment, like my usual youtube channels (freddiew, sxephil and tabs24x7), twitter on occasion, Bryce Paradis' blog and Pokerstars Big game, poker after dark cashgames, High Stakes Poker, and that thing that's recorded in london right before the WSOPE (dunno when that'll be broadcast or what the name is).
And my mails and this blog obviously.
I think if I really try to cut off all the rest I'll be much more productive when it comes to poker, and other real life stuff.
It'll also mean I'll be making blogs more often, cause there's way fewer options which I can do :p

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update every day my ***

Posted by G1lius On 10/08/2010 09:54:00 AM 0 comments

Yeah, I know, I didn't update every day :(

It struck me that the problems I face in poker have mostly nothing to do with the actual play, but always with the mind.
At this moment I have two problems. Motivation and concentration.
I might have found the reason for my lack of motivation.
In the latest blogs of Bryce Paradis he touches on this subject a couple of times. He's going through some serious problems, so it's not really related, but I can find my 'pokerlife' in it.
I think the most relevant video is this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3o5NHFVX_E
The lesson to be learned is that you have to accept the present, and preferably be happy with it.
I was never really happy with my pokerlife. I was going for the major goal. It's a good thing when you reach the things you wanted in order to reach your goal, but when things aren't going as planned, it's a failure and you're not accepting it, because you don't want to be where you are now, you want to be in the future, you want to be at your goal.
2009 was a pretty big step in my pokerlife. I moved up through the limits pretty fast, I got supernova level which I've set for a goal that year. I thought the whole setting goals thing was the reason why I did so good, so I did it again.
Once things go bad, like they are going right now, it's a downwards spiral, because you're not happy with the current 'pokerlife' you have, you don't reach your goal in time and might never reach it, so there's little reason to play at all.

So I need to learn to be happy with the things I got. Living in the present, not the future.
If I think about it, it's all nice. Even while I'm down 6k if profit this year, with my rakeback I'll prolly have about 5k up. Which is obv. way less then I hoped for, but it's still nice, giving the downswing.
If I want to quit at the end of the year and cash everything out I'll have a very nice car to show for it. At the moment I'm buying my gas for my car, and small online purchases with money from poker. I even went to see the u2 360° tour, which was the best concert I've ever seen by far. I'm going to see Avenged Sevenfold in a week or two. All for free. Oh well, not for free, but just for clicking a couple of buttons online.
I need to realize that what I got is pretty good, and future things are things I can not control. I can try and make my current situation better, but I can not force it to happen. I need to be happy with the current situation and the road I'm on.

2nd big problem I got is concentration. I just realized that I have some serious issues with that. I've paused the video of bryce (10 min.) twice to just think about other stuff, I got up from the table and wandered around at least 7 times while I wrote this blog. It's pretty hard to keep focus on one thing. When I do something for a time, it just becomes more of a drag, so I do something else.
The easy solution would be medication. But I'm really not into medication. Medication is to heal, not to make things easy. So for now, I don't have any solution to this yet. I'm not saying I'm never going to take medication, but for now I definitely don't feel anything for that.
I might try some aromatherapy although I'm not really a big believer in that sort of stuff, but my mother is into it, so I just have to ask for it.

As for the volume, it all went good until I got down 600$ in a session again, and I just quited. I know it's all long term and stuff, but for now I'm just going to focus on being happy with the 'pokerlife' I have.

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October track

Posted by G1lius On 10/05/2010 11:58:00 AM 0 comments

So I'm trying to get back on track, playing some volume in October.
Going to update almost daily.
My goal is to have a couple of 1.5k hands days, and doing 1k days almost every day.
Yesterday I've played 1034 hands, at various stakes. Even played a bit 0.25/0.50 rushpoker, just to see what the level of play is like. It's pretty nice for a grind, but playing abc poker is all you can do. It takes a lot of the challenging part away. It doesn't really run at 1/2, and there are no tables above that, so I wasn't considering playing them anyway.
Also played a bit of 3/6 since the tables where pretty bad at 5/10 and 10/20. Pretty amazing how big of a difference it is between 3/6 and 5/10. There might be some merit into playing those regularly, since I can 6 table those pretty comfortable I think, while I'm 4-tabling 5/10 and really doing a lot table-switching. Tables seem to break up a lot after I join anyway. It's a good sign I guess :s
I feel like one of those SNE grinders when I play 3/6 though. The play is not as challenging, playing overrolled and pretty robotic.
But I guess it's a better alternative for not playing because the tables are just too bad.

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Fuuuu :(

Posted by G1lius On 9/13/2010 01:27:00 PM 0 comments

http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_keep_your_goals_to_yourself.html

So it seems this blog is like... the worst idea ever!

But my goal failed, and I don't really know what I'm going to do anyway, so I'll definitely can't tell you guys.
I'll just continue to post my progress here, where ever I may go.
I'm 1.2k down for the month now. I'm really losing confidence.
My w$SD is 52.35 on 5/10, and I'm down 3.15BB/100 over 2.3k hands.
I know variance is sick, but it's really starting to get to me.

Categories:

I'm still alive

Posted by G1lius On 9/08/2010 09:20:00 AM 0 comments

Whooooooohh I'm still alivee!


August graph

Needless to say that kinda sucks.
Right now I'm at -3.6k for the year.
I do need somewhat of a volume right now because there are some bonuses to be cleared, so I'm back to playing fairly regularly, although not many tables and not for long. I really feel pretty disgusted by just the thought of playing. It's my body that warns me that I've been there before and I lost :p
At the moment I'm 5k+ down at 10/20, so that's where the majority of my losses come from. It's still a small sample, but giving my small winrate at 5/10, I might just be a breakeven player there anyway, or worse.
I played some HU, for amusement and learning. I do think it's going to help my game. I already feel much more aware of peoples ranges, mostly when they show aggression. It goes to show there's actually very little aggression at 6max in certain spots, even by regs. However, everybody is still calling down very light.
I start seeing some more opportunities against straightforward regs. I'm also starting to see some big fold opportunities, but I realize that's very dangerous. You don't need to be wrong a lot of the time to make a major error in big folds. But I do feel like I can get away from stuff more often.
I do realize the only way to get really good at this game is to spend time on it. A lot of time playing, while really thinking about my game, some time off the table too. I also realize I'm not the kind of person that can sit there for 5 hours straight playing. It really annoys me in that I know what I have to do, and I can force myself to do it, but I don't. It's easier to do such things physically. It's easier to force your body then to force your mind. At least for me.

Anyhow, enough about the psychology. I need to start playing again, and I will. I hope I got some good run to go with it.

btw, for the dutch speaking people: the site about the Belgian legislation is up. It's not the final site, since it'll be a bit more interactive, and in three languages. The content however should be about the same.

Categories:

money

Posted by G1lius On 8/08/2010 05:43:00 PM 0 comments

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qTRCjTS9VU

I'm still not playing a lot, but when I do it struck's me how much money I play for.
If played 20 hands or so, and was up 250$. That is actually a lot of money. When I was grinding away I never thought about that. It's not good to think about it too much, but realizing it is actually worth something might be for the better.
I was planning on playing right now, but the tables where bad so I just made this small blogpost instead.

I'm also progressing fairly quickly on my attempt to unite the Belgian pokerplayers. The site is registered and upcoming. Next week I'll start translating in English.

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Yes, I'm still here

Posted by G1lius On 8/02/2010 03:52:00 PM 0 comments


That's my July graph.
So my goals for this year have been altered into: getting doublenova, don't play more then 4 tables, don't go busto.

I'm including some other news now, since I can't fill up anything about poker now :p

- Jungleman12 is taking up the durrrr challenge. Got 175$ on durrrr at even money. 200$ is max.
- I'm doing a 'push-up challenge' to get to 100 push-ups. I'm currently at 3. Yes, 3. Correct push-ups that is. It's extremely low, I know :(
- Lately I wonder if I have Asperger syndrome. I score 27/50 on some internet test, which says 32/50 or up is a very high chance on asperger or autism. Likely some light form of it. Not that it really matters though. Maybe a slightly better realization I have to work around some social situations so I can do stuff, instead of trying to change myself into somebody that does it automatically.
That being said, on a lot of sites about Asperger you'll see names of famous people who "they think" where Asperger. What a load of bullcrap. They basically sum up every single guy that had an impact on the world, and is long dead. For some reason I find that sad. Maybe I should mail them to add Peter Eastgate to the list :)

Anyhow, I hope I'll play some more poker this month, which is very likely.

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updatements

Posted by G1lius On 7/17/2010 06:46:00 PM 0 comments

Yes, I know. It's been too long since I updated my blog.
Reason being: I got nothing to blog about. I still haven't played this month, with the exception of a small 2k hands.
I don't want to think about it too much. I might not go for triplenova anymore. Not really sure.

I am making some effort into the future Belgian gamblinglaw. I'm writing to some politicians, getting some information etc.
I could be doing a lot more, but I don't feel like I'm the person to take the lead here. I don't mind doing some things on my own, but I don't want to have the pressure of people counting on me to do it, and to do it right. I believe there are better persons for that job out there.

Anyway...
Since I'm not playing, I don't have a lot to say. I will be updating on the Belgian law, if we make some progress.

Peace out

Categories:

updatements

Posted by G1lius On 7/17/2010 06:42:00 PM 0 comments

Yes, I know. It's been too long since I updated my blog.
Reason being: I got nothing to blog about. I still haven't played this month, with the exception of a small 2k hands.
I don't want to think about it too much. I might not go for triplenova anymore. Not really sure.

I am making some effort into the future Belgian gamblinglaw. I'm writing to some politicians, getting some information etc.
I could be doing a lot more, but I don't feel like I'm the person to take the lead here. I don't mind doing some things on my own, but I don't want to have the pressure of people counting on me to do it, and to do it right. I believe there are better persons for that job out there.

Anyway...
Since I'm not playing, I don't have a lot to say. I will be updating on the Belgian law, if we make some progress.

Peace out

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