What is ALL IN?
Its when you put everything on the line... all the money is in the middle and there's no turning back.
As 2011 comes to an end, I can pretty much describe my pokering as pretty disastrous. Compared to the previous year, I had come nowhere near what I had expected to make, let alone even matching it! Many things have probably contributed to this... most notably Black Friday - The banning of online poker to Americans, meaning that games are now tougher and has less players.
Strangely enough I achieved a lot of my goals I set so quickly, I kinda didn't know what to do after 6 months. I had visited my friend in Thailand, made enough money to survive, and moved out of my home to Manchester. I'd improved in my breakdancing a lot, and kept social. On top of that, I've had a huge interest in Starcraft lolz. So with all that being said, maybe my scheduling hasn't been great. Actually... its been pretty shit tbh...
In Starcraft, they also use the term "all in" to describe a strategy that has no backup. I kinda feel like that was my poker strategy this year. Well, actually no strategy whatsoever. In fact, its come to my realisation that my work ethic has been nothing but atrocious. Not only have I been playing less, at random times, and worst of all; "When I Feel Like It" (zomg what a fish), I've been expecting to crush the mid levels without any work at all. Mentally, I've been pretty bad too... as the breakeven/losing sessions keep coming, the more my expectation to get a rush continues... yikes.
Well, its all to change. I'm gonna put in the hours like I did in 2011. Freaking waking up in the morning! wow. On a full day I will do 2 sessions, one 18 man or 9 man session, then in the evening a MTT/180 man session. My strategy for the new year is going to be to achieve 7500 VPPs per month, but I will have to see if that's possible... so its probably gold star status for now. I do wanna get Supernova back actually... but I think I'll have to see how the first few months go. What's for sure, is that I'm gonna be playing more then ever... and I should be doing that in the first place!
Macbook Air 4 meeeeeeeee!
Merry Xmas Puyan! I decided to finally get my mac and I'm loving it! Its a Macbook Air, one of the lightest around... and its great I hardly notice the weight of it in my bag. I'm also loving the OSX Lion Operating System, using three fingers to swipe the touch page to scroll across various desktops.
Some people has asked me why I bought the Macbook Air over the Macbook Pro even though they're similar priced. Well, mainly coz I'm planning to use my laptop for more casual things like blogging, surfing the net, maybe some music editing. Also, I plan to travel quite a bit, so I love the fact that its so light. If you ever have to decide between the Macbook Air and Macbook Pro, just ask yourself what you're planning to use it for... if its more intensive stuff, or if its gonna be a substitute for a desktop, then I'd say get the Macbook Pro.
I'm literally gonna be playing all days, maybe take New Years Eve off? Haha... lolz course I will! Hope you all have a good one!
Friday, 30 December 2011
Tuesday, 20 December 2011
Fluido Jam 6 - Rome, Italy
Last night I just came back from a weekend in Rome at a breakdance jam called "Fluido Jam 6". We entered as Floor Riderz and got through the qualifications and 1 round, eventually losing out in the quarters to Knucklehead Cali (the eventual winners).
My good friend Anton Phung made this amazing trailer of our trip! I'm the dude in the grey T-shirt! If your up north and need a dancer or maybe some workshops feel free to contact him.
It was a really good jam with a great vibe. Italians are hungry to break! We were looked after by a Free Steps Crew which was great, giving us a place to stay and helping us out with our Italian! (LOLz). The scene in Italy is pretty much divided into the power (spinning moves) hungry kids influenced by Cico and the up and coming actual dancers influenced by the current scene in Europe. Free Steps is representing the latter, and slowly but surely is influencing the scene to go in this direction!
We had a little time to check out the Colosseum at night and it was pretty sexy I have to say! The buildings and architecture in Rome (and Italy for that matter) is amazing, kinda renaissance - romantic style; really traditional.
I really appreciate the chance I was given to go there and definitely will travel more around Europe. Living in UK we forget that Europe is so close and cheap to travel to. Peace and Love!!
My good friend Anton Phung made this amazing trailer of our trip! I'm the dude in the grey T-shirt! If your up north and need a dancer or maybe some workshops feel free to contact him.
It was a really good jam with a great vibe. Italians are hungry to break! We were looked after by a Free Steps Crew which was great, giving us a place to stay and helping us out with our Italian! (LOLz). The scene in Italy is pretty much divided into the power (spinning moves) hungry kids influenced by Cico and the up and coming actual dancers influenced by the current scene in Europe. Free Steps is representing the latter, and slowly but surely is influencing the scene to go in this direction!
We had a little time to check out the Colosseum at night and it was pretty sexy I have to say! The buildings and architecture in Rome (and Italy for that matter) is amazing, kinda renaissance - romantic style; really traditional.
I really appreciate the chance I was given to go there and definitely will travel more around Europe. Living in UK we forget that Europe is so close and cheap to travel to. Peace and Love!!
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Do You Consider Yourself Lucky or Unlucky?
I am a huge fan of Derren Brown. He is essentially a magician but combines a whole bunch of techniques in suggestion, hypnosis, misdirection and showmanship to achieve his results.
One of the biggest reasons why I like him is because he is an atheist and openly shows that he can manipulate the same techniques as those achieved by so called psychics, fortune tellers, religious fundamentalists, and others. Therefore solidifying that they do not exist.
I watched a recent episode (sorry non UK guys if you cant watch it) of his about luck. Its a kinda interesting question especially that we play poker, but he asks you;
"Do you consider yourself a lucky person?"
In the show, Derren creates a rumour of a lucky dog statue, of which self professed into actually making the village seem lucky. The show documents a few people around the village, some who consider themselves to be lucky and others who consider themselves to be unlucky.
The unlucky guy essentially is a person who doesn't take opportunities, choosing to say no. This was in comparison to the "lucky" landlady who helped a person fix his tires on his car, who happened to be a comedian who ended up offering to do a gig at her pub. Consequently meaning that she had a great night in which more people turned up to see the comedian, and ended up making a lot of money from the big turnout of people buying drinks.
There were some situations in which the unlucky guy was set up, in which if he took the opportunities then good things would happen to him. One of them was that a 50 pound note was literally right there on the road on his walking path and he didn't see it.
Just comes to show that if you consider yourself as an unlucky person, it basically means that you are a "safe" person who chooses to say no more often then not. Not getting involved and not looking for opportunities means that you don't get those "lucky" chances that lead to other things.
For sure I have believed that I was unlucky, especially in comparison to my brother. But in reflection, I really do remember saying no a lot more in comparison to yes. Being closed and safe and given me less opportunities and made me feel like I am unlucky.
In poker we always judge our plays based on the long term plays, but one could argue that our reluctance to spew in some spots means that we lose the experience of understanding those spots better. I certainly think that I have had a bias towards folding in certain close spots in which I've had because of the fear of spewing.
The reasoning for saying NO, because of the fear of things going wrong when saying yes... ultimately is a losing "unlucky person" play in the overall scheme of life!
One of the biggest reasons why I like him is because he is an atheist and openly shows that he can manipulate the same techniques as those achieved by so called psychics, fortune tellers, religious fundamentalists, and others. Therefore solidifying that they do not exist.
I watched a recent episode (sorry non UK guys if you cant watch it) of his about luck. Its a kinda interesting question especially that we play poker, but he asks you;
"Do you consider yourself a lucky person?"
In the show, Derren creates a rumour of a lucky dog statue, of which self professed into actually making the village seem lucky. The show documents a few people around the village, some who consider themselves to be lucky and others who consider themselves to be unlucky.
The unlucky guy essentially is a person who doesn't take opportunities, choosing to say no. This was in comparison to the "lucky" landlady who helped a person fix his tires on his car, who happened to be a comedian who ended up offering to do a gig at her pub. Consequently meaning that she had a great night in which more people turned up to see the comedian, and ended up making a lot of money from the big turnout of people buying drinks.
There were some situations in which the unlucky guy was set up, in which if he took the opportunities then good things would happen to him. One of them was that a 50 pound note was literally right there on the road on his walking path and he didn't see it.
Just comes to show that if you consider yourself as an unlucky person, it basically means that you are a "safe" person who chooses to say no more often then not. Not getting involved and not looking for opportunities means that you don't get those "lucky" chances that lead to other things.
For sure I have believed that I was unlucky, especially in comparison to my brother. But in reflection, I really do remember saying no a lot more in comparison to yes. Being closed and safe and given me less opportunities and made me feel like I am unlucky.
In poker we always judge our plays based on the long term plays, but one could argue that our reluctance to spew in some spots means that we lose the experience of understanding those spots better. I certainly think that I have had a bias towards folding in certain close spots in which I've had because of the fear of spewing.
The reasoning for saying NO, because of the fear of things going wrong when saying yes... ultimately is a losing "unlucky person" play in the overall scheme of life!
Sunday, 6 November 2011
My Most Minus EV Cash Game Ever
A while back when I first moved to Manchester, I met up with a fellow poker player that I played with back in the early STT days who went by the name of NJD77. We had a drink and a chat after he finished work.
He said that later on in October he was gonna organise a "twoplustwo" meet with some other guys and invited me to come. Of course even though there is a big chance of losing money and more embarrassingly the chance to show how much I suck in comparison haha. Since I never use that forum I actually have no idea who most of the people are.
The players in question were;
Derby (or Dreuby?) - A Dutch cash game player who has an unorthodox play should we say lol
NJD77 - A former fellow STTer now turned cash game grinder
Buffyslayer - An MTT grinder, and newly added SNGProtege Coach, who strangely enough for me lives in Milton Keynes... My hometown
Entim - Former SNGProtege coach, 18 mans specialist and now complete baller killing live tournaments and staking.
The game moved to my house and we had some dominoes to start the night off. We watched Entim run retardedly bad vs a fish in a few HU SNGs, which unfortunately proceeded to spill over into the cash game.
Derby who we now decided to call Deurdy due to IPhone's auto correcting, took it upon himself to have a 100% pre flop VPIP folding only a few times to some 3 bet shoves.
Was a great night and it was awesome meeting some real life legends! haha. I'm sure that they're all gonna be humbly saying they're not. But none the less it was an experience, and I hope that I can meet more people in the future.
A 180 Man Fail
With my continuous involvement with SNGProtege as well as breakdancing, starcrafting, and going out and staying social, it has been increasingly difficult to be able to commit myself to a 5/6hrs of grinding the 180ms.
So I've decided that I'm going to have to play more shorter sessions, involving my old favourites the Single Table Tournament 9 mans, and maybe some Heads Up stuff. When I can find the time I'll throw in the odd 180m tournament, but for now my priority will be getting those VPPs/FPPs again and my status up again (I'm Bronze Star again woohoo!)
I really do think that even though they are not as profitable as before, I should still be table to make a decent amount in them, especially with the fact that a lot of players are still stuck in shove/fold mode. I'm a big believer now in relearning the game straight up, and harnessing your skills by getting lots of post flop experience.
Additions/Changes to SNGProtege
I'm aware that some blogs end up being very "advertisy" and I'll try not to be like that. This blog is always gonna be about what I wanna write about and no one can tell me otherwise!
SNGProtege has expanded now. We've got a new MTT Coach, Buffyslayer1, and has 2 new students turned coaches Bigniux and Whyme270483! Congratulations to all!!
We've also added all videos to be accessible from the forums, as well as the webinars that happen every week. The videos and webinars have evolved from simple push/fold ranges strategy, to now understanding the game from a fundamental hand reading level. Here's the titles of our webinars to date;
1. Invention Value
2. Raise/Folding <10bb Stacks
3. <6 True bb Shoving
4. Isolating!
5. Calling Shoves; Thinking Beyond EV
6. Flat Calling
7. Bluffing Lines
8. Fancy Play Syndrome
9. End Game Short Term Memory...
If you are interested in being staked in low stakes SNGs and MTTs, please feel free to apply here.
A 180 Man Fail
With my continuous involvement with SNGProtege as well as breakdancing, starcrafting, and going out and staying social, it has been increasingly difficult to be able to commit myself to a 5/6hrs of grinding the 180ms.
So I've decided that I'm going to have to play more shorter sessions, involving my old favourites the Single Table Tournament 9 mans, and maybe some Heads Up stuff. When I can find the time I'll throw in the odd 180m tournament, but for now my priority will be getting those VPPs/FPPs again and my status up again (I'm Bronze Star again woohoo!)
I really do think that even though they are not as profitable as before, I should still be table to make a decent amount in them, especially with the fact that a lot of players are still stuck in shove/fold mode. I'm a big believer now in relearning the game straight up, and harnessing your skills by getting lots of post flop experience.
Additions/Changes to SNGProtege
I'm aware that some blogs end up being very "advertisy" and I'll try not to be like that. This blog is always gonna be about what I wanna write about and no one can tell me otherwise!
SNGProtege has expanded now. We've got a new MTT Coach, Buffyslayer1, and has 2 new students turned coaches Bigniux and Whyme270483! Congratulations to all!!
We've also added all videos to be accessible from the forums, as well as the webinars that happen every week. The videos and webinars have evolved from simple push/fold ranges strategy, to now understanding the game from a fundamental hand reading level. Here's the titles of our webinars to date;
1. Invention Value
2. Raise/Folding <10bb Stacks
3. <6 True bb Shoving
4. Isolating!
5. Calling Shoves; Thinking Beyond EV
6. Flat Calling
7. Bluffing Lines
8. Fancy Play Syndrome
9. End Game Short Term Memory...
If you are interested in being staked in low stakes SNGs and MTTs, please feel free to apply here.
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
Time For A Break
I really haven't been playing all that much and have been dabbling around here and there kinda with some half arsed sessions. Feeling guilty for not "working", its become apparent to me that my hunger for the game is slowly dissipating. I've been in this situation before, and what I did was take a break and hit it hardcore when I got back... So I'm gonna not play poker at all until next Tuesday...
The P-log Changes
Well its apprent to me that this blog is pretty empty. In some ways I guess it reflects on my mood as such. My mood is effected on whereby I am making money. So therefore there has been less blog posts...
As chirped on in my previous posts, full of optimism and tips for positive thinking, and not being results orientated, I accept that I am totally not following my own advice on those as my lack of success is certainly getting to me no doubt. Hey, I'm only human (or am i??!)
But life has gotten more complicated, in that I have one! lol. Back home living with my parents it was easy to concentrate on poker, just coz I didn't have much of a social life, and in a way I kinda wanted it to be that way. Concentrate on learning this game, and make sure I play since I have nothing else to do.
Upon moving up to Manchester (my fave city... in UK ha), I'm juggling various things I wanna do, such as breakdancing, playing Starcraft (zomg), and staying social with my friends. I'm also helping with Glitlr's amazing site SNG Protege, in which my coach has certainly turned amany zeros to cash machine making heros.
Because of this, I have removed the description of this blog from being "A Puyan P[oker] Blog" to simply "A Puyan Plog". I just don't want, or need this to be a blog about poker only. I mean, it basically isn't really, I've talked about various things that aren't poker related anyways. It all comes down to the fact that I just simply don't think that poker is a huge percentage (lets statistically say) of my life anymore. There are other things going on, and I want my blog to reflect that. Plus, I'm hoping to blog more about other stuff anyways, I've forgotten how therapeutic writing this stuff down is...
Please have a look at www.sngprotege.com and see if your interested in backing and coaching in low stakes SNGs. We're now accepting applicants that are interested in playing Scheduled MTTs, with our new coach Buffyslayer! I'm pretty psyched as this weekend I'm gonna be meeting a bunch of amazing poker players including Buffyslayer, for a poker filled weekend of which I am blatently the fish lol.
Rules DONT Rule!
Rules rule!! Err... nah. Rules suck lol. But it is true that we need rules to a certain extent, but to live by them is another thing. Rules aren't necessarily there to be broken (as the saying goes), but in the other extreme case it doesn't mean that we don't need any rules at all.
Case in point;
Killing is wrong. If you kill you go to prison.
Woman kills a man, she should go to prison, coz that is the rule.
However, what if it was in self defense? What if she got attacked and her only way of surviving led to her killing him?
Do we stick to the rule that is written in stone or make an exception for the individual case?
Well I hope you choose the latter, coz the truth is that Rules are GUIDES.
Some people stick to the rules regardless, whether it defies logic or common sense. Why? Because its easy. Because you don't have to think. If the woman killed, and the rule was that you cant kill then she should go to jail straight up... because that's the rule. Maybe there'll be a few individual cases where there should be exceptions, but statistically, overall, the rule will be beneficial and justified percentage wise.
In poker, there are a lot of "rules" to help you. There are things like "be the pre flop aggressor", or "shove 10 big blind stacks blind vs blind" or "never open limp". These are good rules, they help a lot, but at the end of the day, they are guides.
I think I have been playing by the rulebook way too long. Having rules makes everything easier. You literally don't have to think. You don't have to think about the "exceptional" case. But playing by the numbers is not maximising value. You are not adjusting to the game, the game is controlling you.
Goodbye Steve Jobs
Well its apprent to me that this blog is pretty empty. In some ways I guess it reflects on my mood as such. My mood is effected on whereby I am making money. So therefore there has been less blog posts...
As chirped on in my previous posts, full of optimism and tips for positive thinking, and not being results orientated, I accept that I am totally not following my own advice on those as my lack of success is certainly getting to me no doubt. Hey, I'm only human (or am i??!)
But life has gotten more complicated, in that I have one! lol. Back home living with my parents it was easy to concentrate on poker, just coz I didn't have much of a social life, and in a way I kinda wanted it to be that way. Concentrate on learning this game, and make sure I play since I have nothing else to do.
Upon moving up to Manchester (my fave city... in UK ha), I'm juggling various things I wanna do, such as breakdancing, playing Starcraft (zomg), and staying social with my friends. I'm also helping with Glitlr's amazing site SNG Protege, in which my coach has certainly turned amany zeros to cash machine making heros.
Because of this, I have removed the description of this blog from being "A Puyan P[oker] Blog" to simply "A Puyan Plog". I just don't want, or need this to be a blog about poker only. I mean, it basically isn't really, I've talked about various things that aren't poker related anyways. It all comes down to the fact that I just simply don't think that poker is a huge percentage (lets statistically say) of my life anymore. There are other things going on, and I want my blog to reflect that. Plus, I'm hoping to blog more about other stuff anyways, I've forgotten how therapeutic writing this stuff down is...
Please have a look at www.sngprotege.com and see if your interested in backing and coaching in low stakes SNGs. We're now accepting applicants that are interested in playing Scheduled MTTs, with our new coach Buffyslayer! I'm pretty psyched as this weekend I'm gonna be meeting a bunch of amazing poker players including Buffyslayer, for a poker filled weekend of which I am blatently the fish lol.
Rules DONT Rule!
Rules rule!! Err... nah. Rules suck lol. But it is true that we need rules to a certain extent, but to live by them is another thing. Rules aren't necessarily there to be broken (as the saying goes), but in the other extreme case it doesn't mean that we don't need any rules at all.
Case in point;
Killing is wrong. If you kill you go to prison.
Woman kills a man, she should go to prison, coz that is the rule.
However, what if it was in self defense? What if she got attacked and her only way of surviving led to her killing him?
Do we stick to the rule that is written in stone or make an exception for the individual case?
Well I hope you choose the latter, coz the truth is that Rules are GUIDES.
Some people stick to the rules regardless, whether it defies logic or common sense. Why? Because its easy. Because you don't have to think. If the woman killed, and the rule was that you cant kill then she should go to jail straight up... because that's the rule. Maybe there'll be a few individual cases where there should be exceptions, but statistically, overall, the rule will be beneficial and justified percentage wise.
In poker, there are a lot of "rules" to help you. There are things like "be the pre flop aggressor", or "shove 10 big blind stacks blind vs blind" or "never open limp". These are good rules, they help a lot, but at the end of the day, they are guides.
I think I have been playing by the rulebook way too long. Having rules makes everything easier. You literally don't have to think. You don't have to think about the "exceptional" case. But playing by the numbers is not maximising value. You are not adjusting to the game, the game is controlling you.
 |
| Don't just blindly follow rules no matter what - Think for yourselves! (Image roughly relevant lol) |
Goodbye Steve Jobs
Well when talking about breaking the rules, there's no better example then Steve Jobs. He was the mastermind of not just innovating products, but actually the idea behind making us want things that we didn't think we did. There's no doubt that he is one of the most influential people of our time, and how he turned around Apple is an inspiration to us all.
Apple has released their long awaited new phone, the iPhone 4s. Many people were speculating that this was gonna be number 5 coming out, but I had my doubts, since they brought out the 3G before the 4. Why change a successful pattern?
Just like the 3G, there wasn't an amazing amount of changes. Basically they buffed up the 4 with more faster processor and a better camera. They introduced something called Siro which is a voice activation task manager, but honestly are we all gonna be going round the city talking to our phones? Would be pretty weird. I mean, how much little time do you have where your gonna need to be talking into your phone your text messages? I dunno...
What has happened with this update is that people aren't impressed with it. But in all fairness it just hasn't lived up to the previous new changes that Apple normally brings in. People will (and have) still buy it, and I still think that the iPhone is a damn good phone/ipod/movie player/camera/GPS/app utility...
The iOS5 has also been released this month, which is the software for the iPhone. I am very impressed with this update, it has some cool stuff like quick notifications, and my favourite one being a quick way of taking photos (using the volume button as a clicker too). There are a lot of other features such as photo editing (taking out red eye and light levelling), reminders app, automatic updates without needing iTunes, Twitter integration, and automatic backing up using iCloud which is free. There are actually loads of features that they've tweaked and you can check it out here.
Just like the 3G, there wasn't an amazing amount of changes. Basically they buffed up the 4 with more faster processor and a better camera. They introduced something called Siro which is a voice activation task manager, but honestly are we all gonna be going round the city talking to our phones? Would be pretty weird. I mean, how much little time do you have where your gonna need to be talking into your phone your text messages? I dunno...
What has happened with this update is that people aren't impressed with it. But in all fairness it just hasn't lived up to the previous new changes that Apple normally brings in. People will (and have) still buy it, and I still think that the iPhone is a damn good phone/ipod/movie player/camera/GPS/app utility...
The iOS5 has also been released this month, which is the software for the iPhone. I am very impressed with this update, it has some cool stuff like quick notifications, and my favourite one being a quick way of taking photos (using the volume button as a clicker too). There are a lot of other features such as photo editing (taking out red eye and light levelling), reminders app, automatic updates without needing iTunes, Twitter integration, and automatic backing up using iCloud which is free. There are actually loads of features that they've tweaked and you can check it out here.
Monday, 26 September 2011
Test of Will
I'm getting to that point of where my will could be broken. That being said, I feel that I have quite a big resistance, but recently things have not been going as well.
I have a certain amount of expectations of which I'm not reaching. That in turn, is effecting my confidence in my plays, and I'm still finding out a lot of leaks even at this stage of the game. I'm a perfectionist. So maybe I'm emphasizing the leaks as being something that is bigger then it actually is.
That being said, last year I pretty much did shit until the last quarter of the year. So hopefully this year can be the same. I have basically tripled what I've earned every year of being a poker player, and if that happens these last 4 months are gonna be epic.
Maybe Jarad Tendler will say all these negative thoughts are not helpful. I love the idea of learning in a process orientated way, rather then through results, but there comes a point where [as a human] we cant help but think of what could have been.
I'm not one to be secretive about my results. In fact I'm a big advocate for free open source mentality over protective secret money patent shhhhh mentality (Wikipedia wins over Encarta all day). But I'm pretty damn embarrassed tbh;
I have a certain amount of expectations of which I'm not reaching. That in turn, is effecting my confidence in my plays, and I'm still finding out a lot of leaks even at this stage of the game. I'm a perfectionist. So maybe I'm emphasizing the leaks as being something that is bigger then it actually is.
That being said, last year I pretty much did shit until the last quarter of the year. So hopefully this year can be the same. I have basically tripled what I've earned every year of being a poker player, and if that happens these last 4 months are gonna be epic.
Maybe Jarad Tendler will say all these negative thoughts are not helpful. I love the idea of learning in a process orientated way, rather then through results, but there comes a point where [as a human] we cant help but think of what could have been.
I'm not one to be secretive about my results. In fact I'm a big advocate for free open source mentality over protective secret money patent shhhhh mentality (Wikipedia wins over Encarta all day). But I'm pretty damn embarrassed tbh;
 |
| Yes, you've played me and said "Oh, thats Puyan the B.E player. How the fuck did he get a star??lol" |
I guess its going upwards... kinda?? lol. My excuse is that I'm learning, I suppose. But how long am I gonna be learning for geez? Note that the first 5k games are STTs. I'm actually shocked at how bad my hand reading skills are, even to this day. That's what I get for simply finding a mathematical shoving "theory" and applying it mindlessly.
If I didn't have other sources of income I would be in big trouble right now. But I cant keep doing this for long, the pressure is on! I did actually move for this reason, but didn't expect such a bad turn of events. Hopefully things will pick up. I've realised that I haven't actually played over 1500 180m in a month, so I'm gonna try and reach 2k by the end of the month, which means 600 games in 4 days.
I know I'm better then this. In fact I have a few coaches who said that to me. But lets see if the results flow... only time will tell. I'm hoping that I will get my love for the game back, because in all honesty I'm struggling badly to get up and want to play.
Saturday, 17 September 2011
GG
GG = Good Game.
In Starcraft 2, it is what is written when you surrender, so whoever GG's first is the loser. I lost the prop bet, but ended up, so strangely enough I'm actually happier then when I did the last prop bet, because I felt like I put in higher volume, and won money lolz. But I could have done better, however my friend from Thailand doesn't like forsight so she randomly told me she was visiting and I couldn't play for a few days...
Here are the Results;
Total Games = 1000 games on the dot!
Days Played = 8 out of 14
Running Profit = $617 (Average buy in $7)
Final Score = 1085pts
Whyme's Results;
Total Games = 849
Days Played = 13 out of 14
Running Profit = $3543 (Average buy in $10)
Final Score = 1651pts
GG indeed.
Tbh I'm quite happy with my volume considering I only played 8/14 days. I was really hoping to play something within the region of 10-12 days, but when I found out that I had to take some days off I adjusted and played longer sessions of around 120+ games when I did play.
What was frustrating was that the first 4 days I was like totally breakeven. Like literally 450 games worth = $30 haha. But that's why they call it a grind! These games can be really annoying, so many close calls, and the bad beats that cost you so much potential $$$.
But I guess you have to run pretty good at these to win, and Whyme totally did that. I got skooled, and congrats to him he deserved it. I probably didn't put in my A game, with the longer sessions I do find it harder to concentrate. But at least it wasn't an epic fail like the last bet I had where we didn't make any money.
Whyme has "designed" an avatar for me that he thought was funny;
However, he probably forgot that avatars are tiny so no one can actually read the text;
So apparently I've decided to change my avatar to Bart Simpson singing something that no one can read. It could be waaaay worse lol, so I'm pretty happy with that. I can totally think of way more embarrassing stuff then that. Whatever tickles Whyme's fancy... I don't get German humour lol.
EPIC SHOWDOWN OF THE DAY
Gave me a heart attack!!
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 3.5 Tournament, 6000/12000 Blinds 1200 Ante (3 handed) - PokerStars
Hero (SB) (t176305)
BB (t179109)
Button (t444586)
Preflop: Hero is SB with 10
, 10
1 fold, Hero bets t72000, BB raises to t177909 (All-In), Hero calls t103105 (All-In)
Noooo I'm LOSING!!!
Flop: (t353810) Q, Q, 10
(2 players, 2 all-in)
YESSSS I'm Winning!!! Full House Baby!
Turn: (t353810) Q
(2 players, 2 all-in)
NOOO Freaking Way?? Zomg Q Vito'd my T! House over house zomg!!
River: (t353810) 10!!!!!!!!!!!!! (2 players, 2 all-in)
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH CASE TEN!!! QUADZZZ!! MWAHHAHAHAHAHA!!
Total pot: t353810
Annnnd I lose HU. Aw well, cant win em all...
In Starcraft 2, it is what is written when you surrender, so whoever GG's first is the loser. I lost the prop bet, but ended up, so strangely enough I'm actually happier then when I did the last prop bet, because I felt like I put in higher volume, and won money lolz. But I could have done better, however my friend from Thailand doesn't like forsight so she randomly told me she was visiting and I couldn't play for a few days...
Here are the Results;
Total Games = 1000 games on the dot!
Days Played = 8 out of 14
Running Profit = $617 (Average buy in $7)
Final Score = 1085pts
Whyme's Results;
Total Games = 849
Days Played = 13 out of 14
Running Profit = $3543 (Average buy in $10)
Final Score = 1651pts
GG indeed.
Tbh I'm quite happy with my volume considering I only played 8/14 days. I was really hoping to play something within the region of 10-12 days, but when I found out that I had to take some days off I adjusted and played longer sessions of around 120+ games when I did play.
What was frustrating was that the first 4 days I was like totally breakeven. Like literally 450 games worth = $30 haha. But that's why they call it a grind! These games can be really annoying, so many close calls, and the bad beats that cost you so much potential $$$.
But I guess you have to run pretty good at these to win, and Whyme totally did that. I got skooled, and congrats to him he deserved it. I probably didn't put in my A game, with the longer sessions I do find it harder to concentrate. But at least it wasn't an epic fail like the last bet I had where we didn't make any money.
Whyme has "designed" an avatar for me that he thought was funny;
However, he probably forgot that avatars are tiny so no one can actually read the text;
So apparently I've decided to change my avatar to Bart Simpson singing something that no one can read. It could be waaaay worse lol, so I'm pretty happy with that. I can totally think of way more embarrassing stuff then that. Whatever tickles Whyme's fancy... I don't get German humour lol.
EPIC SHOWDOWN OF THE DAY
Gave me a heart attack!!
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 3.5 Tournament, 6000/12000 Blinds 1200 Ante (3 handed) - PokerStars
Hero (SB) (t176305)
BB (t179109)
Button (t444586)
Preflop: Hero is SB with 10
, 101 fold, Hero bets t72000, BB raises to t177909 (All-In), Hero calls t103105 (All-In)
Noooo I'm LOSING!!!
Flop: (t353810) Q
, Q, 10 (2 players, 2 all-in)YESSSS I'm Winning!!! Full House Baby!
Turn: (t353810) Q
(2 players, 2 all-in)NOOO Freaking Way?? Zomg Q Vito'd my T! House over house zomg!!
River: (t353810) 10
!!!!!!!!!!!!! (2 players, 2 all-in)
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH CASE TEN!!! QUADZZZ!! MWAHHAHAHAHAHA!!
Total pot: t353810
Annnnd I lose HU. Aw well, cant win em all...
Monday, 5 September 2011
Let Battle Commence!
Round 2... Fight!
Anyways, new bet, new guy... I'm against the amazing German player Whyme270483 who has been absolutely crushing the 18 mans working hard with SNG Protege. It will be a good motivational challenge, for both of us... and tbh all I really care about is getting decent volume in really... not the mockery of the last bet. I'm hyped tho! Should be good...
So using the PortlyPig idea we will be using a points system and the winner is the guy with the most points at the end of the 2 weeks starting from Thursday 1st September to end of Wednesday 14th September.
1 pt per game
1 pts per profit/average buy in = buy in up (we're playing different stakes)
200 pts if 3 ships in a day (100 pts per shipz after that)
100 pts going from 9/9 to ship
25 pts for going into FT 1/9
-100 for coming 9/9 after going to FT as CL
50 pts per KO'ing each other (-50 for being KO'd)
-50 pts for "Bubble of Shame", for coming 19th.
As sharkscope is dodgy and HEM doesn't record 3r properly we'll use the cashier before/after our session to track our profits. Winner gets money of course, but more importantly pride in the fact that the loser has to change his avatar to whatever the winner chooses for the rest of the month!
August Report
Yeah August was my first fully broadbanded month as a Poker pro, but I totally got kicked in the nuts straight away. Ouch. Its weird because normally I'm so good at bankroll management, but for some reason I'd been waiting so long for the internet that I basically felt like attacking the tables aggressively and was too overconfident, so my money buffer wasn't enough.
So in a crazy 3 sessions of losing $2k and nearly going broke, I had to swallow my pride and go back to the $2s. As well as this, I've been learning a lot more with Glitlr and trying out different things and working on my heads up. So yes, I did fuck up my potential first month of being a pro, living off my winnings, but on the other hand I've learned new things and will probably never ever do that again ha.
Looking forward to September, putting in some good volume and hopefully continue to get some results. Always remembering to learn and never say that "I have this game DOWN"!
As far as my overall goal is concerned, yeah I totally have gone a bit off course by a few months lol. But hey, it happens... learn from it. It is really annoying actually that it took so long for internet to come, and a bad start, but as with the nature of these games, I know that any heater can bring me right up. Hopefully with the help of this bet I can hit that Godmode and crush!
 |
| Ok, since I'm Asian I guess I'm Ryu and Whyme is Ken =D |
I'm doing another prop bet! Its basically the same as the one in May vs Bigniux. I did win that, but it was a hollow loss as our volume sucked basically, and we both lost... with me being the victor by being the one who loss less lol.
Anyways, new bet, new guy... I'm against the amazing German player Whyme270483 who has been absolutely crushing the 18 mans working hard with SNG Protege. It will be a good motivational challenge, for both of us... and tbh all I really care about is getting decent volume in really... not the mockery of the last bet. I'm hyped tho! Should be good...
So using the PortlyPig idea we will be using a points system and the winner is the guy with the most points at the end of the 2 weeks starting from Thursday 1st September to end of Wednesday 14th September.
1 pt per game
1 pts per profit/average buy in = buy in up (we're playing different stakes)
200 pts if 3 ships in a day (100 pts per shipz after that)
100 pts going from 9/9 to ship
25 pts for going into FT 1/9
-100 for coming 9/9 after going to FT as CL
50 pts per KO'ing each other (-50 for being KO'd)
-50 pts for "Bubble of Shame", for coming 19th.
As sharkscope is dodgy and HEM doesn't record 3r properly we'll use the cashier before/after our session to track our profits. Winner gets money of course, but more importantly pride in the fact that the loser has to change his avatar to whatever the winner chooses for the rest of the month!
August Report
Yeah August was my first fully broadbanded month as a Poker pro, but I totally got kicked in the nuts straight away. Ouch. Its weird because normally I'm so good at bankroll management, but for some reason I'd been waiting so long for the internet that I basically felt like attacking the tables aggressively and was too overconfident, so my money buffer wasn't enough.
So in a crazy 3 sessions of losing $2k and nearly going broke, I had to swallow my pride and go back to the $2s. As well as this, I've been learning a lot more with Glitlr and trying out different things and working on my heads up. So yes, I did fuck up my potential first month of being a pro, living off my winnings, but on the other hand I've learned new things and will probably never ever do that again ha.
Looking forward to September, putting in some good volume and hopefully continue to get some results. Always remembering to learn and never say that "I have this game DOWN"!
As far as my overall goal is concerned, yeah I totally have gone a bit off course by a few months lol. But hey, it happens... learn from it. It is really annoying actually that it took so long for internet to come, and a bad start, but as with the nature of these games, I know that any heater can bring me right up. Hopefully with the help of this bet I can hit that Godmode and crush!
Sunday, 28 August 2011
The Fantastic Five (Almost Sexy Six)
 |
| Wait... Isn't it mean to be Fantastic Four?? Hmmm |
I've been working hard at my game these days. Adopting a strategy of less straight out shoving, but a lot more min raises and playing pots. As strange as that sounds, being a STT grinder before had gotten me into a mathematical shoving mentality. The fear of losing hands where I *could* have won by shoving pre flop.
As previously blogged, I had been losing a lot of money, so this month had been about dropping stakes and regrinding that money back up. I also saw this as an opportunity to relearn my game and also work on my heads up play.
So even though at one point I had been grinding the $15s, I had to swallow my pride and go back to the $2s. Last night I played around 90 games, and won 5, came 2nd in one (1 river card away from making it a perfect 6!). I can move up from $2s now!! ^.^
 |
| $2 180m only! Who would have thought you could make this much from such small stakes! |
SNG Protege Webinar
The first SNG Protege Webinar was a great success. Please have a look at SNG Protege and apply if your interested in being coached and staked to play low stake SNGs. Here is a preview of the webinar;
Hope all is well with everyone, esp the East Coast guys! GL@TT & Peeeeace!! :P
Thursday, 11 August 2011
Anarchy in the UK
Broadband Arrives! Getting Crushed D=
My blog has always been pretty light hearted, but in recent light of the rioting in UK I really wanna talk about this subject in a serious matter.
Lets first be clear about what is actually happening. Last week a man was shot in London by the police which sparked a peaceful protest in North London at the police station to demand answers for the man's death. As no answers had been given or even acknowledged for that matter, things started turning ugly. Soon that area started full out riots and looting. But we must note that it was not the protesters who were rioting, but the youngsters. This was merely an opportunistic crowd jumping on the situation.
What has followed (we are on day 5) is continuous looting by the youth gangs all over London, systematically targeting shopping districts and burning some of them down. Over the last day or two, "copycat" rioters have started trouble all over UK. Looting has become an opportunity that these youths has jumped on, fulling knowing that the police are fully stretched and unable to deal with the situation. In many instances, even though the police had riot gear, they were clearly outnumbered by the gangs, and therefore unable to do anything until suitable backup had arrived. This meant that sometimes they had to stand afar and watch the looting happen to the shops.
This is the week where the hopeless, unemployed youth of UK has their power. Through BBM (Blackberry's anonymous messaging service) they are able to easily organize and gather together and raid parts of the the towns around the UK. Last night, a building next to ours was set on fire, but it was empty luckily. Cars are set on fire, and a lot of shops have been smashed up. But strangely enough, it is not as dangerous as it seems. The looters are not targeting the public, they are basically fighting against the police or anyone who tries to stop them.
So why is this happening? Well no one really knows. It was a spark waiting to happen. But in the age of cuts to public services and higher taxes, the youth knows that their future is tough, if not non existent. With the mindset of nothing to lose, this is an opportunity for them to rule over the streets and get what they want. Something that isn't normally gonna happen.
What happened in the recession a few years ago has been sparked by the mindset of an endless supply of capitalist greed. Companies thinking that every year can out profit the next. Bankers being allowed to have their strict rules relaxed and they dipping their inexperienced hands into other fields to make a quick buck. Bending and creating new systems that are confusing or just basically don't make any sense at all, so that people who shouldn't have gotten loans did.
What kinda western society are we nowadays when privatised capitalism companies rule over public sector jobs ... the ones that we need? Our best minds of the country, graduates of the best universities prefer to be bankers/lawyers/stock traders rather then teachers/doctors/police. What are we saying about society when those jobs that we really need are badly paid, long hours, and have bad long term prospects.
Obama's struggles in America of creating reform are a great example of a country ruled by capitalism gone mad. Despite the over growing deficit of the country, the CEO's of past companies in the Senate refuse to accept to tax the richer. Money > Government.
So how does this link back to the UK's rioting? True, we cant excuse them for their behavior, but with a society with no hope, it seems that the risk they take isn't as bad in comparison to what the future holds for them anyway. Cuts in UK include many public services, including many youth centres which help the youths have something to do, and have good role models... and give them hope and belief!
Now I'm not suggesting that capitalism should be like ousted and we should switch to communism. (As if China isn't embracing capitalism anyways, which is a contradiction to what they represent?) But there needs to be some kinda cap or boundaries that they cant cross. When companies have so much money that they can influence the government in some way then that is a big problem (More so in America then here).
Also on the flip side, public sector jobs needs protection and respect. After all... we NEED these jobs to exist. Imagine if we had a society with amazing schools/hospitals/police/transport? It would effect the people, and therefore the future economy and prosperity of the country. When capitalism is involved with those jobs, its not just about helping people anymore... making money becomes the priority and that itself puts it into contempt. Examples of that are like schools that have contracts with companies to sell school dinners to their students (despite being unhealthy), or medicine that people need being made expensive for profit, or private companies to handle security. What are we saying about those public sector jobs when there are no limits to what companies can do to them.
Those jobs that really matter just don't really matter to today's society. Relying on the goodnees of your citizens to choose them because they *want* to do them isn't enough. There needs to be incentives. There needs to be long term economic investments into these sectors. There's no doubt that these jobs make a big difference for everyone in society... can we say the same for powerful branded capitalist companies?
The events of UK are certainly inexcusable... but history says that riots like this happen when people are pushed to the edge. It does seem we are at that stage now...
There's something funny about losing money. It feels so much worse then winning money. Why? Because its the feeling of losing something that you had, where as winning doesn't have that comparison.
Ironically I waited so long for broadband, and the first few sessions I got smashed. The worst I've ever been smashed tbh. I had the biggest losing day of losing $1000. 4 figures, from only $15 max games. Not just once, but twice within 3 days. $2k gone.
But its not simply variance. Probably played bad in certain situations, and I had also ignored basic bankroll management rules which I'm normally really good about. And now the pressure's on. I am dangerously low on money and pretty much shitting myself. However, this is what I moved out for, and I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do under pressure.
I am going to move down stakes, and do some reviewing. The $10k month looks like it'll have to wait for now...
When Capitalism Rules Over Public Services
Ironically I waited so long for broadband, and the first few sessions I got smashed. The worst I've ever been smashed tbh. I had the biggest losing day of losing $1000. 4 figures, from only $15 max games. Not just once, but twice within 3 days. $2k gone.
But its not simply variance. Probably played bad in certain situations, and I had also ignored basic bankroll management rules which I'm normally really good about. And now the pressure's on. I am dangerously low on money and pretty much shitting myself. However, this is what I moved out for, and I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do under pressure.
I am going to move down stakes, and do some reviewing. The $10k month looks like it'll have to wait for now...
 |
| I'm a FISH!! |
When Capitalism Rules Over Public Services
My blog has always been pretty light hearted, but in recent light of the rioting in UK I really wanna talk about this subject in a serious matter.
Lets first be clear about what is actually happening. Last week a man was shot in London by the police which sparked a peaceful protest in North London at the police station to demand answers for the man's death. As no answers had been given or even acknowledged for that matter, things started turning ugly. Soon that area started full out riots and looting. But we must note that it was not the protesters who were rioting, but the youngsters. This was merely an opportunistic crowd jumping on the situation.
What has followed (we are on day 5) is continuous looting by the youth gangs all over London, systematically targeting shopping districts and burning some of them down. Over the last day or two, "copycat" rioters have started trouble all over UK. Looting has become an opportunity that these youths has jumped on, fulling knowing that the police are fully stretched and unable to deal with the situation. In many instances, even though the police had riot gear, they were clearly outnumbered by the gangs, and therefore unable to do anything until suitable backup had arrived. This meant that sometimes they had to stand afar and watch the looting happen to the shops.
This is the week where the hopeless, unemployed youth of UK has their power. Through BBM (Blackberry's anonymous messaging service) they are able to easily organize and gather together and raid parts of the the towns around the UK. Last night, a building next to ours was set on fire, but it was empty luckily. Cars are set on fire, and a lot of shops have been smashed up. But strangely enough, it is not as dangerous as it seems. The looters are not targeting the public, they are basically fighting against the police or anyone who tries to stop them.
So why is this happening? Well no one really knows. It was a spark waiting to happen. But in the age of cuts to public services and higher taxes, the youth knows that their future is tough, if not non existent. With the mindset of nothing to lose, this is an opportunity for them to rule over the streets and get what they want. Something that isn't normally gonna happen.
What happened in the recession a few years ago has been sparked by the mindset of an endless supply of capitalist greed. Companies thinking that every year can out profit the next. Bankers being allowed to have their strict rules relaxed and they dipping their inexperienced hands into other fields to make a quick buck. Bending and creating new systems that are confusing or just basically don't make any sense at all, so that people who shouldn't have gotten loans did.
What kinda western society are we nowadays when privatised capitalism companies rule over public sector jobs ... the ones that we need? Our best minds of the country, graduates of the best universities prefer to be bankers/lawyers/stock traders rather then teachers/doctors/police. What are we saying about society when those jobs that we really need are badly paid, long hours, and have bad long term prospects.
Obama's struggles in America of creating reform are a great example of a country ruled by capitalism gone mad. Despite the over growing deficit of the country, the CEO's of past companies in the Senate refuse to accept to tax the richer. Money > Government.
So how does this link back to the UK's rioting? True, we cant excuse them for their behavior, but with a society with no hope, it seems that the risk they take isn't as bad in comparison to what the future holds for them anyway. Cuts in UK include many public services, including many youth centres which help the youths have something to do, and have good role models... and give them hope and belief!
Now I'm not suggesting that capitalism should be like ousted and we should switch to communism. (As if China isn't embracing capitalism anyways, which is a contradiction to what they represent?) But there needs to be some kinda cap or boundaries that they cant cross. When companies have so much money that they can influence the government in some way then that is a big problem (More so in America then here).
Also on the flip side, public sector jobs needs protection and respect. After all... we NEED these jobs to exist. Imagine if we had a society with amazing schools/hospitals/police/transport? It would effect the people, and therefore the future economy and prosperity of the country. When capitalism is involved with those jobs, its not just about helping people anymore... making money becomes the priority and that itself puts it into contempt. Examples of that are like schools that have contracts with companies to sell school dinners to their students (despite being unhealthy), or medicine that people need being made expensive for profit, or private companies to handle security. What are we saying about those public sector jobs when there are no limits to what companies can do to them.
Those jobs that really matter just don't really matter to today's society. Relying on the goodnees of your citizens to choose them because they *want* to do them isn't enough. There needs to be incentives. There needs to be long term economic investments into these sectors. There's no doubt that these jobs make a big difference for everyone in society... can we say the same for powerful branded capitalist companies?
The events of UK are certainly inexcusable... but history says that riots like this happen when people are pushed to the edge. It does seem we are at that stage now...
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
L8 Half Yearly Report! O_o''
So its nearly August now and by god its gone fast! It has been an eventful half year so far... (sorry for the l8ness lol).
Of course, we're mainly talking about the shocking way poker was cut off from the US players with no warning from Black Friday. A blatant "attack" from conservative groups to fight against not just online poker, but online gambling in general. From that, followed the fall of Victory, UB, Cake... and eventually Full Tilt, who's lack of organisation has damaged their reputation to no end, and it seems I for one am probably never gonna play on that site if it survives. Americans are still not paid back to this day... and its almost 3 months since Black Friday...
But its not all doom and gloom (still pretty bad tho). Pokerstars is the one main hope that things can be done right. They managed to let American players cash out within 2 weeks, and had everyone's money in credit. Something which all the online poker sites should have done, but didn't. Their expanding of the site to players around the world, has allowed it to survive without the Americans, and although traffic is still lower, it still reaches around 200k players during peak times which is still good.
Whatever America decides to do within its slow regulation of online gambling, it seems that despite all other sites falling, Pokerstars is gonna be here to stay. And it looks like its gonna survive and wait to see what happens. I really do hope that USA does not follow Italy and France in making their players only play against each other within their own country. I don't buy the argument that the U.S player's economies are losing out to the foreigners and therefore leaving the country. Yes, that can be true to a certain extent, but on the flipside they are also forgetting that money is coming into U.S from the outside as well... there are tons of great U.S players. Anyways... we trade stocks worldwide, couldn't one use the same argument for that as well??
Half Year Life Report!
Personally it has been an eventful half year for myself as well.
- I spent a great month in Hong Kong in January, hanging out with one of my best friends from Australia and had a blast in my favourite country!
- I then proceeded to spend 3 weeks in Bangkok, which I promised my friend I'd check out and that was sick. A great contrast to Hong Kong.
- Moved from 9 man Single Table Tournament SNGs to 180 man Multi Table Tournaments. A big thing for me, after specialising in 25k of those games! (Still sucked lol)
- Got addicted to Starcraft 2. Thanks Day 9 geez U_U''
- Moooooved out!! After moving home with 2k debts, finally I'm able to sustain my own income and be independent again! Manchester has been great so far, but I like the feeling of needing to push myself to work otherwise I cant pay my rent. Not the typical path I had imagined for myself, but for now, its good to save for whatever I could choose to do in the future!
And wow, still 6 months to go! I'm still deciding if I'm gonna do a megatrip again really... I probably will but not for such an epic length of time this time... mainly coz I've run out of friends' free places to stay LOL!! :D (<--- cheeeeep). Methinkings New York/Vancouver sounding cool. But I will try and save some dosh...erm... apart from that Macbook Air I have my eye on ;)
1/2 Yearly Pokerz Results
So despite my random ranting on here, I do actually write this blog mainly for myself to look back on. So here's my results so far...
And FYI, I also took out $3k in 2 bonuses on April 15th so add that to the total as well.
Profit - $5472
Rakeback - $3000
Games - 8359
Hours - 483.6
Total - $8472
June/July has really slowed me down as internet is taking foreveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer (that many e's). In fact, as we speak, I STILL DONT HAVE PROPER INTERNET fml lol. Its coming on Thursday *apparently* but I'm not holding my breath. Its been slower then a snail trying to outrun a treadmill... literally going backwards at some points.
Honestly I cant complain about my results so far. As far as I'm concerned, I literally made most of my money in May and June... June I was really lucky coz my volume is terrible... great timing as that's when I moved. But considering that I had switched games in April, left myself $400 roll to play $2 180 mans, my progress from that original roll is pretty awesome. If we count that this month I've hardly played, and 2 months of STT stupidness, you can pretty much null out 3 months.
But I plan to crush the next few months with a lot of dedication, hard work, and focus. I always try to have a process orientated mindset in everything I do now, and ever since then I've been more emotionally cool about things as everything is always a learning experience.
*Note - Sharkscope has been pretty inaccurate ever since BF, so HEM is better, although it has some inaccuratecies over some rebuy tournaments.
WSOP November 9
The one thing one everyone's minds this year was, unfortunately, how Black Friday was gonna effect the most prestigious live poker event. As for sure, it was probably had the least number of online qualifiers (at least from USA), and therefore patched advertisings, for a long time. However, as if nothing had changed, 6800 still entered, so it seems that Black Friday hadn't effect it at all in terms of numbers.
I didn't really follow it as closely this year, but the major notable thing about the final 9 is how internationally mixed it is. A few years ago, the final table would be mainly Americans, but now it has a great mix, which is good imo for poker.
Martin Staszko (Czech Republic) 40,175,000
Eoghan O'Dea (Ireland) 33,925,000
Matt Giannetti (USA) 24,750,000
Phil Collins (USA) 23,875,000
Ben Lamb (USA)20,875,000
Badih Bounahra (Belize) 19,700,000
Pius Heinz (Germany) 16,425,000
Anton Makiievskyi (Ukraine) 13,825,000
Samuel Holden (UK) 12,375,000
Another thing to note is that the stack sizes are not as heavily skewed top/bottom heavy compared to the previous years. With 3 players in the 20 mils, and 4 in the teens, its just not as clear cut as who is favourite to win.
Of course all eyes will be on Ben Lamb, who is the current WSOP Player of the Year with an amazing 6 final tables out of 8 cashes including a bracelet. Over shadowing Phil Hellmuth's amazing WSOP run where he was top of the list if Lamb didn't make a deep run in the main event. Wow.
Who is gonna take that $8.7 1st place prize?
MADE ME LOL USERNAME OF THE WEEK
Peace!!
Of course, we're mainly talking about the shocking way poker was cut off from the US players with no warning from Black Friday. A blatant "attack" from conservative groups to fight against not just online poker, but online gambling in general. From that, followed the fall of Victory, UB, Cake... and eventually Full Tilt, who's lack of organisation has damaged their reputation to no end, and it seems I for one am probably never gonna play on that site if it survives. Americans are still not paid back to this day... and its almost 3 months since Black Friday...
But its not all doom and gloom (still pretty bad tho). Pokerstars is the one main hope that things can be done right. They managed to let American players cash out within 2 weeks, and had everyone's money in credit. Something which all the online poker sites should have done, but didn't. Their expanding of the site to players around the world, has allowed it to survive without the Americans, and although traffic is still lower, it still reaches around 200k players during peak times which is still good.
Whatever America decides to do within its slow regulation of online gambling, it seems that despite all other sites falling, Pokerstars is gonna be here to stay. And it looks like its gonna survive and wait to see what happens. I really do hope that USA does not follow Italy and France in making their players only play against each other within their own country. I don't buy the argument that the U.S player's economies are losing out to the foreigners and therefore leaving the country. Yes, that can be true to a certain extent, but on the flipside they are also forgetting that money is coming into U.S from the outside as well... there are tons of great U.S players. Anyways... we trade stocks worldwide, couldn't one use the same argument for that as well??
 |
| "Gimmie 1000 shares of that guy's nose!!" |
Half Year Life Report!
Personally it has been an eventful half year for myself as well.
- I spent a great month in Hong Kong in January, hanging out with one of my best friends from Australia and had a blast in my favourite country!
- I then proceeded to spend 3 weeks in Bangkok, which I promised my friend I'd check out and that was sick. A great contrast to Hong Kong.
- Moved from 9 man Single Table Tournament SNGs to 180 man Multi Table Tournaments. A big thing for me, after specialising in 25k of those games! (Still sucked lol)
- Got addicted to Starcraft 2. Thanks Day 9 geez U_U''
- Moooooved out!! After moving home with 2k debts, finally I'm able to sustain my own income and be independent again! Manchester has been great so far, but I like the feeling of needing to push myself to work otherwise I cant pay my rent. Not the typical path I had imagined for myself, but for now, its good to save for whatever I could choose to do in the future!
And wow, still 6 months to go! I'm still deciding if I'm gonna do a megatrip again really... I probably will but not for such an epic length of time this time... mainly coz I've run out of friends' free places to stay LOL!! :D (<--- cheeeeep). Methinkings New York/Vancouver sounding cool. But I will try and save some dosh...erm... apart from that Macbook Air I have my eye on ;)
1/2 Yearly Pokerz Results
So despite my random ranting on here, I do actually write this blog mainly for myself to look back on. So here's my results so far...
 |
| My *Awesome* 9 Man Single Table Tournament Run. Goodbye red line! |
 |
| Multi Table Tournament Results - Mainly 180 man tournaments with a dash of 45 mans. Note I started by playing $2 MTTs in the beginning and moved up. |
 |
| Total Results including STTs and MTTs. |
And FYI, I also took out $3k in 2 bonuses on April 15th so add that to the total as well.
Profit - $5472
Rakeback - $3000
Games - 8359
Hours - 483.6
Total - $8472
June/July has really slowed me down as internet is taking foreveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer (that many e's). In fact, as we speak, I STILL DONT HAVE PROPER INTERNET fml lol. Its coming on Thursday *apparently* but I'm not holding my breath. Its been slower then a snail trying to outrun a treadmill... literally going backwards at some points.
Honestly I cant complain about my results so far. As far as I'm concerned, I literally made most of my money in May and June... June I was really lucky coz my volume is terrible... great timing as that's when I moved. But considering that I had switched games in April, left myself $400 roll to play $2 180 mans, my progress from that original roll is pretty awesome. If we count that this month I've hardly played, and 2 months of STT stupidness, you can pretty much null out 3 months.
But I plan to crush the next few months with a lot of dedication, hard work, and focus. I always try to have a process orientated mindset in everything I do now, and ever since then I've been more emotionally cool about things as everything is always a learning experience.
*Note - Sharkscope has been pretty inaccurate ever since BF, so HEM is better, although it has some inaccuratecies over some rebuy tournaments.
WSOP November 9
The one thing one everyone's minds this year was, unfortunately, how Black Friday was gonna effect the most prestigious live poker event. As for sure, it was probably had the least number of online qualifiers (at least from USA), and therefore patched advertisings, for a long time. However, as if nothing had changed, 6800 still entered, so it seems that Black Friday hadn't effect it at all in terms of numbers.
I didn't really follow it as closely this year, but the major notable thing about the final 9 is how internationally mixed it is. A few years ago, the final table would be mainly Americans, but now it has a great mix, which is good imo for poker.
Martin Staszko (Czech Republic) 40,175,000
Eoghan O'Dea (Ireland) 33,925,000
Matt Giannetti (USA) 24,750,000
Phil Collins (USA) 23,875,000
Ben Lamb (USA)20,875,000
Badih Bounahra (Belize) 19,700,000
Pius Heinz (Germany) 16,425,000
Anton Makiievskyi (Ukraine) 13,825,000
Samuel Holden (UK) 12,375,000
Another thing to note is that the stack sizes are not as heavily skewed top/bottom heavy compared to the previous years. With 3 players in the 20 mils, and 4 in the teens, its just not as clear cut as who is favourite to win.
Of course all eyes will be on Ben Lamb, who is the current WSOP Player of the Year with an amazing 6 final tables out of 8 cashes including a bracelet. Over shadowing Phil Hellmuth's amazing WSOP run where he was top of the list if Lamb didn't make a deep run in the main event. Wow.
 |
| All best of chums but come November will they still be friends with all that money on the line? lol |
MADE ME LOL USERNAME OF THE WEEK
 |
| I wonder if its number 4 coz there's 3 other ones?? |
Btw Rotterdam breakdancing event was pretty dope man, gotta love the Dutch! So chilled out! Enjoy one of my fave battles of the event!!
Sorry for the lack of posts but honestly I just haven't been playing all that much at all so that's the main reason. But its all about quality, not quantity surely... although that being said I do write posts that are like the length of the bible lolz...Peace!!
Tuesday, 12 July 2011
Living Life for the Long Run!
Hollaaaa!! Wassuppo all you poker heads... or just random ppl that like reading my blog! Indeed I seem to be starting my blog with a very "its been such a long time since I last blogged" style, but in my defence I have been living my life lolzzzz. Also, pokerwise I haven't really been playing much due to my lack of [undisconnectable] internet... but that's my excuse anyways. I have actually been playing a very **fun** (** is my signal for sarcasm in written form) game I like to call...;
THE AMAZING FUN INFINATE LOOP CHASE OF GETTING INTERNET
So far, I'm close to completing this game, an appointment has been booked but I'm preparing my brain to handle the emotional tossing around that I pessimistically expect to happen. How British!! Here's how the game has gone so far;
1. We decide to get Sky coz they offer shorter 1 year contract, and we can get tv too as part of the deal.
2. Address is not registered with Post Office, as its a new build. (Are they even allowed to move people in without registering a property??? wtfff)
3. Register address with Post Office ourselves.
4. Wait for confirmation.
5. Call Sky. They offer us HD channels for 10 quid extra and free installation.
6. Sky emails HD channels for 25 quid, and installation fee of 30 quid.
7. We cancel order with Sky. We are forwarded about 15 times to different "sections" to handle the cancellation
8. we go fuckit and go for BT instead.
9. BT arranges engineer to come and activate.
10. We find out that the estate agent has given us the wrong post code. We also find out that the sockets are fine and doesn't need any engineer at all.
[1-10 = 1 month!!!]
However, in saying that, its not all bad. I mean I am on the net right now using my flatmate's other phone tethering which he has convinced me that its unlimited. If he comes up with a 500 quid bill don't look at me mate! lolz
But I can play, although I'm pretty nervous about doing it coz it will randomly disconnect. But my patience for this thing they call "wi-fi" is gone and I'm literally in a fuckit mood so I'm just gonna play. Probably like 1/2 amount I want to when my proper one rolls in. I guess some ppl could say I'm making excuses... it sure is worrying to me how little I've played since I've moved here...
NEwayyyyys
What can I say about moving to Manchester?
Honestly, I couldn't be more content. Things have really turned out well and I'm really appreciative of it. My flatmate is cool, we're both clean and relaxed. The place is nice and central, and I'm socialising a lot and meeting many new people.
[Central] Manchester is like a mini London all walking distance. That's what I love. I'm walking everywhere, whether it be my friend's house, bars and restaurants, shopping mall, casino, snooker, breakdancing practice... its great!
Next week I'm going to a big breakdance event in Rotterdam, Holland and its gonna be great. I've been wanting to check it out for a few years and now I can go. This is one of the reasons why I do what I do, and moved up here.
I dunno how exactly I'm gonna plan my work when I finally get the wifi. I really do wanna push myself really hard though, planning on trying a big volumed month. If I make $10k in a month I am going straight to the Apple Store and buying myself a Macbook. It will be a challenge seeing as I've only had $3.5k as my highest... but I'm pretty sure I can do it.
Live vs Online Poker
As the World Series of Poker Main Event rolls on... I am totally not really following much of it probably until like the last 100 or something.
My ozzy friend loves watching live shows of the WSOP, The Big Game, Poker After Dark, and High Stakes Poker. I really find those shows really "meh"... I mean honestly the commentators talk shit and are as annoying as hell. What is the point of them as well if they are literally saying out the board, when you can clearly see it lol.
Since moving here, I've been to the casino once. Its not even a bad one, there's a lot of emphasis on poker actually, which is kinda cool. There are regular live tournaments and cash games... I think one of the events of the GUPKT was held there... but I'm just so not bothered about going.
There are just a load of things that I hate about live poker really. I mean, not hate, but honestly I love poker, but I'm seriously not going outta my way to play these games. I probably will tho, I mean for edge's sake I really should lol.
My other mate reckons live poker and online poker are different things, and that live poker is easier. But I really do think that its an illusion. Online poker is like 6 times faster then live poker, so since everything happens so quickly it seems that you get bad beat more or lose your money quicker. Live poker fishes are so terrible too, and they make it seem that live is better, but like on the flipside coz its so slow and they're so terrible, and the sessions are longer they seem easier. But in reality your playing hardly any hands for your longer hours of realizing that this fish is a walking ATM machine.
Main reasons live poker is very meh for me;
- Its so god damn slow it makes my brain hurt.
- People who think their good, that are terrible, who are not businessmen/casual players, are the most annoying and most common players in these live tournaments. They make my brain hurt.
- One tabling is really boring. It makes my brain hurt.
- People are confused by the rules as well. Sometimes the dealer too. I once went to one where the dealer was making players post the blinds for joining the table like in a cash game... but for a tournament wtfff. That made my brain hurt.
- Variance of a one table match is in slow motion. Brain hurtin'
- Over emphasis on live tells, which are almost non existent instead of betting patterns.
- My brain hurts...
RANDOM POKERSTARS USERNAME OF THE DAY
Congrats to "jijijijijj*" who must have wanted to play poker so friggin fast that he literally spend half a millisecond on his username. Notice that J, I and * are all directly align with each other on the keyboard... no time wasted eh?
Riiiiiiight, that's enough bloggin' for now... my brain is hurtin from talking about live poker haha. I'm off to watch Day9 since it coincides so well with my vampire sleeping schedule these days! FUNDAY MONDAY!! :D
GL@TT!
THE AMAZING FUN INFINATE LOOP CHASE OF GETTING INTERNET
So far, I'm close to completing this game, an appointment has been booked but I'm preparing my brain to handle the emotional tossing around that I pessimistically expect to happen. How British!! Here's how the game has gone so far;
1. We decide to get Sky coz they offer shorter 1 year contract, and we can get tv too as part of the deal.
2. Address is not registered with Post Office, as its a new build. (Are they even allowed to move people in without registering a property??? wtfff)
3. Register address with Post Office ourselves.
4. Wait for confirmation.
5. Call Sky. They offer us HD channels for 10 quid extra and free installation.
6. Sky emails HD channels for 25 quid, and installation fee of 30 quid.
7. We cancel order with Sky. We are forwarded about 15 times to different "sections" to handle the cancellation
8. we go fuckit and go for BT instead.
9. BT arranges engineer to come and activate.
10. We find out that the estate agent has given us the wrong post code. We also find out that the sockets are fine and doesn't need any engineer at all.
[1-10 = 1 month!!!]
However, in saying that, its not all bad. I mean I am on the net right now using my flatmate's other phone tethering which he has convinced me that its unlimited. If he comes up with a 500 quid bill don't look at me mate! lolz
But I can play, although I'm pretty nervous about doing it coz it will randomly disconnect. But my patience for this thing they call "wi-fi" is gone and I'm literally in a fuckit mood so I'm just gonna play. Probably like 1/2 amount I want to when my proper one rolls in. I guess some ppl could say I'm making excuses... it sure is worrying to me how little I've played since I've moved here...
NEwayyyyys
What can I say about moving to Manchester?
Honestly, I couldn't be more content. Things have really turned out well and I'm really appreciative of it. My flatmate is cool, we're both clean and relaxed. The place is nice and central, and I'm socialising a lot and meeting many new people.
[Central] Manchester is like a mini London all walking distance. That's what I love. I'm walking everywhere, whether it be my friend's house, bars and restaurants, shopping mall, casino, snooker, breakdancing practice... its great!
Next week I'm going to a big breakdance event in Rotterdam, Holland and its gonna be great. I've been wanting to check it out for a few years and now I can go. This is one of the reasons why I do what I do, and moved up here.
I dunno how exactly I'm gonna plan my work when I finally get the wifi. I really do wanna push myself really hard though, planning on trying a big volumed month. If I make $10k in a month I am going straight to the Apple Store and buying myself a Macbook. It will be a challenge seeing as I've only had $3.5k as my highest... but I'm pretty sure I can do it.
 |
| It will be MINE!! Mwahahaha... erm Yeah!! |
Live vs Online Poker
As the World Series of Poker Main Event rolls on... I am totally not really following much of it probably until like the last 100 or something.
My ozzy friend loves watching live shows of the WSOP, The Big Game, Poker After Dark, and High Stakes Poker. I really find those shows really "meh"... I mean honestly the commentators talk shit and are as annoying as hell. What is the point of them as well if they are literally saying out the board, when you can clearly see it lol.
Since moving here, I've been to the casino once. Its not even a bad one, there's a lot of emphasis on poker actually, which is kinda cool. There are regular live tournaments and cash games... I think one of the events of the GUPKT was held there... but I'm just so not bothered about going.
There are just a load of things that I hate about live poker really. I mean, not hate, but honestly I love poker, but I'm seriously not going outta my way to play these games. I probably will tho, I mean for edge's sake I really should lol.
My other mate reckons live poker and online poker are different things, and that live poker is easier. But I really do think that its an illusion. Online poker is like 6 times faster then live poker, so since everything happens so quickly it seems that you get bad beat more or lose your money quicker. Live poker fishes are so terrible too, and they make it seem that live is better, but like on the flipside coz its so slow and they're so terrible, and the sessions are longer they seem easier. But in reality your playing hardly any hands for your longer hours of realizing that this fish is a walking ATM machine.
Main reasons live poker is very meh for me;
- Its so god damn slow it makes my brain hurt.
- People who think their good, that are terrible, who are not businessmen/casual players, are the most annoying and most common players in these live tournaments. They make my brain hurt.
- One tabling is really boring. It makes my brain hurt.
- People are confused by the rules as well. Sometimes the dealer too. I once went to one where the dealer was making players post the blinds for joining the table like in a cash game... but for a tournament wtfff. That made my brain hurt.
- Variance of a one table match is in slow motion. Brain hurtin'
- Over emphasis on live tells, which are almost non existent instead of betting patterns.
- My brain hurts...
RANDOM POKERSTARS USERNAME OF THE DAY
Congrats to "jijijijijj*" who must have wanted to play poker so friggin fast that he literally spend half a millisecond on his username. Notice that J, I and * are all directly align with each other on the keyboard... no time wasted eh?
Riiiiiiight, that's enough bloggin' for now... my brain is hurtin from talking about live poker haha. I'm off to watch Day9 since it coincides so well with my vampire sleeping schedule these days! FUNDAY MONDAY!! :D
GL@TT!
Monday, 20 June 2011
In Limbo... Kinda lol
Sup sup sup!! Long time no blog - LTNB!! Well by my standards anyway lolz.
I usually write a long ass essay but today its gonna be a nice back alley "quickie"! Cool.
I've moved into my nice new pad in Manchester and things are actually pretty good... better then I expected actually. I mean, I guess with poker I just don't get girlie screamy excited about things these days, which means on the flipside when things go bad they're not **as** bad emotionally too. Guess that's just the way I am now, and suits the poker player mindset.
But yea, its cool here... nice and cheap to live in, 2 bed 2 bath place, with big lounge/kitchen area which I've overtaken the corner as being my lil office now. What's cool is that this is the cheapest place we saw, and it was the nicest coz of the fact that its a new build... hardly anyone else has moved in yet!
We're pretty close to central, about 10 minute walk to Ardale, and therefore anywhere else from there is close. I had a lunch with some friends the other day and went to the Chinatown there... the best in UK so far! London Chinese food is ok, but this is great... and randomly 1/2 price lunch for no reason on Tuesdays!
We got brand spanking new furnishings, cooker, and our mad supplies from our shopping frenzy at Ikea to snazz the place up. The only [main] annoying thing is that we have NO INTERNET... kinda. Why? Coz our building is so friggin new its not even registered yet. Yep, GPS's think that we don't exist lol. So we're just waitin' for that until it goes through.
Now I say "kinda" coz there is internet, but only through dongles and phone tethering (which I might add, my iPhone 4 w/ Vodafone is amazing). But this means that its limited to 1 GB so no downloading/streaming etc... and its a bit dodgy so I'm nervy about playing whatsoever. However, I have the option of not playing coz I had saved up a bit so that I could account for this happening. Still annoying tho...
For now, I guess I'm just gonna be chillin', checking out Manchester, and lol playing Starcraft 2 with my snail paced APM (Actions per Minute) whilst getting killed a hundred times.
Livin' the life... now building on it!
I usually write a long ass essay but today its gonna be a nice back alley "quickie"! Cool.
I've moved into my nice new pad in Manchester and things are actually pretty good... better then I expected actually. I mean, I guess with poker I just don't get girlie screamy excited about things these days, which means on the flipside when things go bad they're not **as** bad emotionally too. Guess that's just the way I am now, and suits the poker player mindset.
But yea, its cool here... nice and cheap to live in, 2 bed 2 bath place, with big lounge/kitchen area which I've overtaken the corner as being my lil office now. What's cool is that this is the cheapest place we saw, and it was the nicest coz of the fact that its a new build... hardly anyone else has moved in yet!
We're pretty close to central, about 10 minute walk to Ardale, and therefore anywhere else from there is close. I had a lunch with some friends the other day and went to the Chinatown there... the best in UK so far! London Chinese food is ok, but this is great... and randomly 1/2 price lunch for no reason on Tuesdays!
We got brand spanking new furnishings, cooker, and our mad supplies from our shopping frenzy at Ikea to snazz the place up. The only [main] annoying thing is that we have NO INTERNET... kinda. Why? Coz our building is so friggin new its not even registered yet. Yep, GPS's think that we don't exist lol. So we're just waitin' for that until it goes through.
Now I say "kinda" coz there is internet, but only through dongles and phone tethering (which I might add, my iPhone 4 w/ Vodafone is amazing). But this means that its limited to 1 GB so no downloading/streaming etc... and its a bit dodgy so I'm nervy about playing whatsoever. However, I have the option of not playing coz I had saved up a bit so that I could account for this happening. Still annoying tho...
For now, I guess I'm just gonna be chillin', checking out Manchester, and lol playing Starcraft 2 with my snail paced APM (Actions per Minute) whilst getting killed a hundred times.
Livin' the life... now building on it!
 |
| Manchester City Centre... London Eye Copycat haha! |
Saturday, 11 June 2011
I Am Movin' Out!!
Holy Crap I've wanted to make this post for so long!! In a few weeks, I am moving out.
Back in April 2009, I decided to move back home. I had spent a year in London after graduating, trying to find some internships related to my degree, as well as working in a restaurant/bar. What pissed me off was the fact that despite having a job, my money was never moving upwards and outwards of the negative amount that I had gotten myself into from Uni. With my bank account swiftly turning from a graduate account to being a normal one, which would instantly make me liable to huge overdrawl fees, I decided that enough was enough.
And how true this is;
There's no way that moving in with your parents is a sign that your life is on track.- Jerry Seinfeld
It was a way to stop my debts, and get back in the black. On top of that, it gave me a chance to figure out what I wanted to do. Who knew that I would get into poker lol!
But now I'm ready. With money saved up in the bank, and earning my own ways I am moving to Manchester where I have some friends. It has taken me a while to get to where I am, but I'm a stubborn person and I was adamant that I wasn't gonna do a 9-5 job. I'm my own man, and am doing things my way.
I've gotten to travel to Perth, Seoul, Hong Kong, and Bangkok all because of poker. I've worked hard at what I do, and keep working hard to keep myself from working for the man. I still have plans to travel more, and probably relocate to other places, possibly other countries. No doubt if I had got a proper job it would have committed me to one place.
However, this means I'll be taking a break from poker til my internet gets sorted out. Knowing UK, this means it might be for god knows how long... freaking useless. I have a dongle for emergencies, but probably don't feel comfortable 20 tabling with it.
Phil Ivey Leaves Full Tilt Poker
On June 1st, Phil Ivey issued a statement;
For many years, I have been proud to call myself a poker player. This great sport has taken me to places I only imagined going and I have been blessed with much success. It is therefore with deep regret that I believe I am compelled to release the following statement.
I am deeply disappointed and embarrassed that Full Tilt players have not been paid money they are owed. I am equally embarrassed that as a result many players cannot compete in tournaments and have suffered economic harm.
I am not playing in the World Series of Poker as I do not believe it is fair that I compete when others cannot. I am doing everything I can to seek a solution to the problem as quickly as possible.
My name and reputation have been dragged through the mud, through the inactivity and indecision of others and on behalf of all poker players I refuse to remain silent any longer. I have electronically filed a lawsuit against TiltWare related to the unsettled player accounts. As I am sure the public can imagine, this was not an easy decision for me.
I sincerely hope this statement will ignite those capable of resolving the problems into immediate action and would like to clarify that until a solution is reached that cements the security of all players, both US and International, I will, as I have for the last six weeks, dedicate the entirety of my time and efforts to finding a solution for those who have been wronged by the painfully slow process of repayment.
Wow.
Its almost been one and a half months since Black Friday, and it seems that more people are still not getting their money back (even internationals). Even the pros?
Wow 2x lol.
I am so glad to be with Pokerstars, and they've handled the situation really well, having a backup plan.
Full Tilt's support and organization has always been sub par, and its only a matter of time before their customers would start to get annoyed and do something.
Nick Rainey exposed so much stuff happening on Full Tilt at Quadjacks. Selling secret red pro 100% rakeback accounts, how they had no office but just people working off laptops, and no credit control, spending money for advertising from the site's sources.
No doubt, it seems that they're in trouble, and I'm so happy to have moved to Pokerstars, who had paid everyone so quickly, and clearly had the money in credit.
MTT Progress
My progress since transitioning to MTT 180 mans have been pretty good. I've still got loads to learn, but happy with my progress so far. Its nice not having that pressure of needing to make 7500 VPPs every month now, most of the money I earn is from my actual winnings not rakeback.
Yesterday Bigniux moved to my table a few times. I wonder how confusing the randoms must have felt when seeing his avatar. Its the equivalent of a guy sitting at your live cash table wearing a t-shirt saying "I love [your name]" lol :D
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
I < 3 Game Theory!!
The Longevity of Games
After getting into Starcraft 2, I suddenly realized something. I am super super into games... hardcore lol. I am mega into Poker, Starcraft, Snooker, Breakdance (amazingly it is kinda like a game), Music Games (ex DDR player, but love Beatmania, Drummania, and the Japanese Benami Series'... Rock Band is noooooowhere near in the realm of being anywhere as good as those), Street Fighter Zero 3, Psyvariar, Tony Hawks 4, Words With Friends (essentially scrabble), and learning Chess!
These are not random games that I have chosen. They have mega longevity. Why? Because despite playing them hundreds if not thousands of times, I will continue to keep playing them again and again. Why I hear you ask again like an annoying kid? Because the enthesis is on enjoying the process of playing it, not the end result of clocking (completing) the game.
This is a winning formula for getting me hooked. And for you game designers out there, getting hooked is what you want customers to do, so that they will spend shitloads of money on the game. Why else did Wii totally crush PS2 and Xbox when they all came out? The longevity of simple puzzle games like wii sports would easily crush the mega ton graphics movie like hitman adventures because seriously how many hardcore gamers are still playing the orginal "number 1" like Medal of Honour? No way, they're playing the most current one.
When I go to my brother's place I'm still playing Wii Sports.
Enjoy the last boss of Psyvariar. No I cant do what he did. But I'm trying to learn...
The genius of the game - Your bio ship spins, and when it spins it collects power from incoming fire. This power, called "buzz" allows you to level up and evolve to a different and better ship after a few level ups. In that instance when you level up, you are invincible for like 1/2 a second, which is great chance to collect more buzz. This is why the guy isn't dying lol. Only if a bullet hits the very center of the ship will it explode. But that makes it more about getting the best timing to collect the most buzz. The aim isn't just to not die, but to be able to get the highest levels per stage, meaning that its not about going to the areas with the least bullets, but the most efficient path for collecting buzz. That is what keeps me coming back to that game.
Prop Bet Results
2 weeks ago, I said I was going to do a prop bet with Bigniux and now its over. The results are in!
Some Overall Stats of the 2 Weeks;
Days played: 6 out of 14
Games played: 596
Profit Tally: -$932 (yikes)
Times Gone to FT as CL: 7
No. of Ships: 1
No. of Times KO'd by Bigniux: 2
No. of Times KO'ing Bigniux: 0
No. of Shared FT w/ Bigniux: 1
Bubbles: 4
$ per game: -$1.56
Final Score: -470 pts
Hmmm its not looking great is it lol. Fortunately, I had a mad tear before this bad downswing so I'm not feeling that bad, coz its expected.
But wow, Bigniux had a worse 2 weeks, his final score is -1337 pts!
We both EPICfailed in using the bet to get mad volume in. He actually played less then me, only playing 350 games, and 5 days lol.
However, despite this bad showing from the both of us... I won. A hollow victory mind you. Bigniux's new avatar for the rest of June is now this;
When you see this, you'll know why now haha.
I'll prob do another one, but with less distractions and more hardcore volume. It was pretty fun!
Best Username of the Month Award
wannuuuh...? lol would love for him to ship a tournament just so that I can see that funny sentence.
After getting into Starcraft 2, I suddenly realized something. I am super super into games... hardcore lol. I am mega into Poker, Starcraft, Snooker, Breakdance (amazingly it is kinda like a game), Music Games (ex DDR player, but love Beatmania, Drummania, and the Japanese Benami Series'... Rock Band is noooooowhere near in the realm of being anywhere as good as those), Street Fighter Zero 3, Psyvariar, Tony Hawks 4, Words With Friends (essentially scrabble), and learning Chess!
These are not random games that I have chosen. They have mega longevity. Why? Because despite playing them hundreds if not thousands of times, I will continue to keep playing them again and again. Why I hear you ask again like an annoying kid? Because the enthesis is on enjoying the process of playing it, not the end result of clocking (completing) the game.
This is a winning formula for getting me hooked. And for you game designers out there, getting hooked is what you want customers to do, so that they will spend shitloads of money on the game. Why else did Wii totally crush PS2 and Xbox when they all came out? The longevity of simple puzzle games like wii sports would easily crush the mega ton graphics movie like hitman adventures because seriously how many hardcore gamers are still playing the orginal "number 1" like Medal of Honour? No way, they're playing the most current one.
When I go to my brother's place I'm still playing Wii Sports.
Enjoy the last boss of Psyvariar. No I cant do what he did. But I'm trying to learn...
The genius of the game - Your bio ship spins, and when it spins it collects power from incoming fire. This power, called "buzz" allows you to level up and evolve to a different and better ship after a few level ups. In that instance when you level up, you are invincible for like 1/2 a second, which is great chance to collect more buzz. This is why the guy isn't dying lol. Only if a bullet hits the very center of the ship will it explode. But that makes it more about getting the best timing to collect the most buzz. The aim isn't just to not die, but to be able to get the highest levels per stage, meaning that its not about going to the areas with the least bullets, but the most efficient path for collecting buzz. That is what keeps me coming back to that game.
Prop Bet Results
2 weeks ago, I said I was going to do a prop bet with Bigniux and now its over. The results are in!
Some Overall Stats of the 2 Weeks;
Days played: 6 out of 14
Games played: 596
Profit Tally: -$932 (yikes)
Times Gone to FT as CL: 7
No. of Ships: 1
No. of Times KO'd by Bigniux: 2
No. of Times KO'ing Bigniux: 0
No. of Shared FT w/ Bigniux: 1
Bubbles: 4
$ per game: -$1.56
Final Score: -470 pts
Hmmm its not looking great is it lol. Fortunately, I had a mad tear before this bad downswing so I'm not feeling that bad, coz its expected.
But wow, Bigniux had a worse 2 weeks, his final score is -1337 pts!
We both EPICfailed in using the bet to get mad volume in. He actually played less then me, only playing 350 games, and 5 days lol.
However, despite this bad showing from the both of us... I won. A hollow victory mind you. Bigniux's new avatar for the rest of June is now this;
When you see this, you'll know why now haha.
I'll prob do another one, but with less distractions and more hardcore volume. It was pretty fun!
Best Username of the Month Award
wannuuuh...? lol would love for him to ship a tournament just so that I can see that funny sentence.
Sunday, 29 May 2011
Goals Setting & Fixing Broken Windows
When you become a pro poker player, you end up spending countless hours, playing hundreds if not thousands of hands repetitively sitting in front of a computer. After a while, motivation can become an issue with most players, especially when they know they have commit the time to get the volume in.
Lazyness sets in, and you start making excuses. I've been reading up on Jarad Tendler's great book, and listening in on some sessions he's had with James Atkin (thanks for sharing), and its been really helpful.
The main problem for most guys is that they have such a free schedule, that its hard to get any kinda structure in at all. For poker players, we play when we want, and have awesome freedom. But too much of this can lead to periods of lazyness, demotivation, and mega procrastination. Its no coincidence that poker players are known to show these characteristics.
Poker for me is work. I should treat it that way. Its how I make money, and the overall plan of playing hundreds of thousands of hands seem quite daunting. Which is why goals setting is so important... it helps you take small steps towards reaching your eventual goal.
Old Mentality;
- I play when I feel like it.
- I'll quit when I feel I'm not playing 100% or don't want to play anymore.
- I'll quit a little earlier now and play more tomorrow (I didn't, and procrastinated more).
- I didn't reach my monthly set goals, but its ok. (Its not.)
In one of my favourite books, "Freakonomics", they talk about how New York took steps to making their subways safer and better. It talked about something called "Broken Window Theory". The idea behind this is, that if a random building has a broken window, and it doesn't get fixed... after a while (whether it is true or not) it gives out the impression that nobody cares about this building. Soon, graffiti appears on the walls, and once that's not cleaned, squatters take over and the whole area becomes run down. This small thing, of not fixing that one window turned into a huge thing.
So with the subway, they started out by making sure no one jumped the barriers and paid. People did that coz they could, and no one stopped them... it seemed that no one cared. Then, by being stricter with that, all other areas improved in an amazingly short space of time.
Relating this back to our goals setting; not for filling what we said we would do becomes a broken window. Its true that it probably doesn't matter this "one time", but really we know its not one time, and over time we make it acceptable to not achieve our set goals and procrastinate and be lazy. Jarad talks about the importance of being a "man of your word"; if you say you'll do something, you will damn well do it because when you say you will do it, what you say has value and meaning.
Another thing about goals setting, is that its good to do it in advance for yourself, to help you prepare. Planning things whilst your in a logical state! For example, in poker it is a good idea to plan for what to do in future streets so that you can prepare for it, and not make the wrong decision which could be influenced by emotion.
If you have JJ and the flop is A38, I will say, I want to check/call this flop and get to the turn... before I actually do anything. The pre planning of what you will do helps you get experienced in these situations. So with goals setting, playing until you get tired might be a good way to "caveman" it, but if you have a monthly goal of reaching a number of games it might not be a good idea because you might wear yourself out instead of pacing yourself towards your goal.
New Mentality;
- I will set small goals to build up to achieve the bigger goals.
- I will predetermine when I play, and be true to my word.
- When I play it will be a predetermined volume amount, at least 50 games, in order to achieve my set goals.
- It is unacceptable to not do something if I had said that I would do it.
I hope that this will help you guys in trying to play a little bit more disciplined in terms of the sessions that you do. After all, its so easy to forget that this is work none the less, although not as bad as sitting in an office imo (sorry if u do lol).
Make overall goals, then break it down with smaller ones that lead towards that goal, and then SMASH EM OUT DA PARK!!! BOOM!
Lazyness sets in, and you start making excuses. I've been reading up on Jarad Tendler's great book, and listening in on some sessions he's had with James Atkin (thanks for sharing), and its been really helpful.
The main problem for most guys is that they have such a free schedule, that its hard to get any kinda structure in at all. For poker players, we play when we want, and have awesome freedom. But too much of this can lead to periods of lazyness, demotivation, and mega procrastination. Its no coincidence that poker players are known to show these characteristics.
Poker for me is work. I should treat it that way. Its how I make money, and the overall plan of playing hundreds of thousands of hands seem quite daunting. Which is why goals setting is so important... it helps you take small steps towards reaching your eventual goal.
Old Mentality;
- I play when I feel like it.
- I'll quit when I feel I'm not playing 100% or don't want to play anymore.
- I'll quit a little earlier now and play more tomorrow (I didn't, and procrastinated more).
- I didn't reach my monthly set goals, but its ok. (Its not.)
In one of my favourite books, "Freakonomics", they talk about how New York took steps to making their subways safer and better. It talked about something called "Broken Window Theory". The idea behind this is, that if a random building has a broken window, and it doesn't get fixed... after a while (whether it is true or not) it gives out the impression that nobody cares about this building. Soon, graffiti appears on the walls, and once that's not cleaned, squatters take over and the whole area becomes run down. This small thing, of not fixing that one window turned into a huge thing.
So with the subway, they started out by making sure no one jumped the barriers and paid. People did that coz they could, and no one stopped them... it seemed that no one cared. Then, by being stricter with that, all other areas improved in an amazingly short space of time.
 |
| Does this building look like its being cared for? |
Relating this back to our goals setting; not for filling what we said we would do becomes a broken window. Its true that it probably doesn't matter this "one time", but really we know its not one time, and over time we make it acceptable to not achieve our set goals and procrastinate and be lazy. Jarad talks about the importance of being a "man of your word"; if you say you'll do something, you will damn well do it because when you say you will do it, what you say has value and meaning.
Another thing about goals setting, is that its good to do it in advance for yourself, to help you prepare. Planning things whilst your in a logical state! For example, in poker it is a good idea to plan for what to do in future streets so that you can prepare for it, and not make the wrong decision which could be influenced by emotion.
If you have JJ and the flop is A38, I will say, I want to check/call this flop and get to the turn... before I actually do anything. The pre planning of what you will do helps you get experienced in these situations. So with goals setting, playing until you get tired might be a good way to "caveman" it, but if you have a monthly goal of reaching a number of games it might not be a good idea because you might wear yourself out instead of pacing yourself towards your goal.
New Mentality;
- I will set small goals to build up to achieve the bigger goals.
- I will predetermine when I play, and be true to my word.
- When I play it will be a predetermined volume amount, at least 50 games, in order to achieve my set goals.
- It is unacceptable to not do something if I had said that I would do it.
I hope that this will help you guys in trying to play a little bit more disciplined in terms of the sessions that you do. After all, its so easy to forget that this is work none the less, although not as bad as sitting in an office imo (sorry if u do lol).
Make overall goals, then break it down with smaller ones that lead towards that goal, and then SMASH EM OUT DA PARK!!! BOOM!
Saturday, 21 May 2011
Reaching The Next Level!
The Next Level
I think I might have reached... yes!!... OVER NINE THOUSAND!!?!
I completely crushed yesterday, getting a lot of high finishes and topping the day off with 2 simultaneous back to back wins at $3 rebuy 180 mans, for a cool $1768. My biggest winning day ever, totally smashing my previous $750 record.
I had been experimenting with doing 2 x 50 games sessions vs 1 x 100 game one, and so far the 100 game one has had the best results. I mean, I think both are reasonable anyway, but the big downside of the 2 session day is that I tend to get lazy and actually not do the 2nd one lol. However, it has to be said that it takes me around 5-6 hours to complete 100 games multi tabling on average 18 tables at a time.
No doubt I feel like I'm reaching a good level and I'm a lot more confident in a lot of spots now. True bb shoving is my obsession generally. But when you play these many games, which has so many players per tournament you have to accept losing a lot... sometimes in the sickest, most brutally timed bubble ways. But that's how playing a lot of tables can help, coz you shrug your shoulders and just open up another one.
One thing I've done a lot better is not expecting to win, but rather hoping that the cards fall my way. This way, I take away the knowledge of knowing that I played my best and that there was nothing I could do if I lost. Hopefully this will be the start of some more $1k+ days; I've never had one before and was always wondering how they'd feel... pretty great, but I'm quietly complacent as I know it could all turn around in a second.
I've also surpassed the $15k mark on my overall winnings on sharkscope. Finally the graph is moving upwards! What seems like a never ending almost 10k game even stretch is over. I am never ever ever going back to STTs again...
Bigniux vs Puyan!
I think I might have reached... yes!!... OVER NINE THOUSAND!!?!
I completely crushed yesterday, getting a lot of high finishes and topping the day off with 2 simultaneous back to back wins at $3 rebuy 180 mans, for a cool $1768. My biggest winning day ever, totally smashing my previous $750 record.
I had been experimenting with doing 2 x 50 games sessions vs 1 x 100 game one, and so far the 100 game one has had the best results. I mean, I think both are reasonable anyway, but the big downside of the 2 session day is that I tend to get lazy and actually not do the 2nd one lol. However, it has to be said that it takes me around 5-6 hours to complete 100 games multi tabling on average 18 tables at a time.
No doubt I feel like I'm reaching a good level and I'm a lot more confident in a lot of spots now. True bb shoving is my obsession generally. But when you play these many games, which has so many players per tournament you have to accept losing a lot... sometimes in the sickest, most brutally timed bubble ways. But that's how playing a lot of tables can help, coz you shrug your shoulders and just open up another one.
One thing I've done a lot better is not expecting to win, but rather hoping that the cards fall my way. This way, I take away the knowledge of knowing that I played my best and that there was nothing I could do if I lost. Hopefully this will be the start of some more $1k+ days; I've never had one before and was always wondering how they'd feel... pretty great, but I'm quietly complacent as I know it could all turn around in a second.
I've also surpassed the $15k mark on my overall winnings on sharkscope. Finally the graph is moving upwards! What seems like a never ending almost 10k game even stretch is over. I am never ever ever going back to STTs again...
Bigniux vs Puyan!
From Monday 23rd May to Sunday 5th June, I will be doing a prop bet with Bigniux, an amazing MTT grinder who is one of the first applicants to finish his contract at SNG Protege.
Of course, despite my baller day, he is gonna be a strong favourite imo, coz he's got more experience in these games and I'm still a newbie. Numbers tell the story, and considering my last epic fails in prop bets this is gonna be a tough one to pull off.
We will be only counting 180 mans on Pokerstars.
In true PortlyPig (hope u don't mind that I copied u) style, we will be using a points system and the winner is the guy with the most points at the end of the 2 weeks.
- 1 pt per game
- 1 pts per $ profit
- 10 pts per $ per game
- 200 pts if 3 ships in a day
- (100 pts per shipz after that)
- 150 pts if $1500+ profit in a day
- 100 pts going from 9/9 to ship
- 100 pts for best biggest HU comeback*
- 25 pts for going into FT 1/9
- 100 pts "I Read Your Soul Award" for best lowest hand hero call whilst being ahead pre flop (pre showdown)*
- 50 pts per KO'ing each other
- -50 pts for being the Bubble Boy coming in 19th
*These will only be awarded once.
Winner gets money of course, but more importantly pride in the fact that the loser has to change his avatar to "I <3 Bigniux/Puyan" for the rest of June!
GL@TT everyone... l8erzz!
Sunday, 15 May 2011
Have a Good Mentality!
The Mental Game by Jared Tendler
I just bought this book and it arrived yesterday. So far I'm really impressed. Not just with the topic of the book, but mainly the easy to read layout with diagrams and other mini sections of testimonials from existing well known winning poker players. I have every confidence that this will help my game immensely.
In case you haven't heard, Jared Tendler is a mental coach for poker players. He started his career coaching golfers actually, and then after meeting Dusty Schmidts transitioned to poker.
The line between what we associate as sports is hard to tell (if not poker, why not chess, or pool? Is a game involving the mind a sport?), but one commonality of them all is about handling the pressure.
When it comes to poker, there is nothing more important then handling your emotions well, keeping perspective and almost embracing the variance. One of the quotes I like is
There are topics ranging from Tilt, Revenge, Focus, Confidence, Motivation, Laziness, Risk Aversion, Injustice, and Running Bad. Look forward to reading it!
Check out his site for more info, or details about the book. He does private sessions too.
PokerStars Handling of Black Friday
According to this article, its clear that Pokerstars was the only Online Poker Company to prepare for the possibility of Black Friday. The fact that they kept credit of everyone's money, shows how they had prepared for this, compared to Full Tilt who have yet to pay out USA customers, and Absolute/UB who now look likely not to get their money back.
I am really happy that I switched to Pokerstars last year. Seems like great timing now. They never have seemed to "settle", and have clearly kept trying to improve. They also seemed to have a plan for if this type of thing was to happen, unlike the other sites. Their handling of Black Friday has been awesome imo, prioritizing their customer's money refunds and making sure that they assured them that they would be getting them back.
I really hope that when the online poker legislation is passed that it wont become like France and Italy, where they're only allowed to play other players within the same country.
But for sure, Pokerstars has done a great job in keeping their customers assured that their money is safe, and in the long run it will pay off. I'm happy to be playing there for sure.
Post Post Post Changes at Pokerstars
I mean honestly, I appreciate that Pokerstars are open to listening to their players and changing things, but now its getting silly. This is the 3rd time they've changed the stakes, and again, without warning mid peak time... on a Sunday! I mean, at least give us some kinda heads up or something so that we can prepare?!
As Epitomizedsuggested, the buy ins are now nice round numbers which include the rake.
For 180 manz its;
$2.50 (22 cents rake)
$8 (66 cents rake)
$15 ($1.23 rake)
$35 ($2.87 rake)
And the 180 man stakes end at $35, which is a bit weird. But who knows they might add more later. Now overall this is a slight reduction in rake to the original $2.20/$7.70/$12 games, but not much... but tbh it shouldn't effect out winning lines that much anyways.
One thing to note tho, is that reverting back to the old jumps means that its harder to climb stakes. For example, with the suggested 200 buy ins, to play those stakes you'd be at $500, $1600, $3000, and $7000, which are huge jumps obv. Why does this matter? Well for me anyways, I was grinding $2.50/$5/$10/$3r games all at once with a roll of around $1500 to get the most games in since there is lower traffic, but now probably cant add in $15s as aggressively now.
Anyways, with all this commotion its funny that after all that, the games (180m) are pretty much the same now, back to 5 min blinds and same structure as before. I guess it fits the phrase "If it aint broke, don't fix it!".
Really hope that they stick to it this time tho, or at least tell us if they are going to change it.
Karl Pilkington
Was grinding away when I noticed this avatar.
Its Karl Pilkington! I love that guy. In case you don't know who that is, he's from The Ricky Gervais Show (Most downloaded Podcast ever, and now TV show cartoon). In the show, they talk about random shit, and Karl basically has the most uneducated, bizarre theories ever lol. Seems really innocent like a kid. Makes me laugh so much, and Ricky Gervais and Stephan Merchant are great "straight guys".
Hope everyone is good, Good Skill at the Tables guys! L8erzz
I just bought this book and it arrived yesterday. So far I'm really impressed. Not just with the topic of the book, but mainly the easy to read layout with diagrams and other mini sections of testimonials from existing well known winning poker players. I have every confidence that this will help my game immensely.
In case you haven't heard, Jared Tendler is a mental coach for poker players. He started his career coaching golfers actually, and then after meeting Dusty Schmidts transitioned to poker.
The line between what we associate as sports is hard to tell (if not poker, why not chess, or pool? Is a game involving the mind a sport?), but one commonality of them all is about handling the pressure.
When it comes to poker, there is nothing more important then handling your emotions well, keeping perspective and almost embracing the variance. One of the quotes I like is
"If the weather fortcast for tomorrow says its gonna rain, do you get pissed off when it does? Because like variance we all know that its coming, so why are we surprised and angry when it does?"The best athletes train themselves in mind and body now. Standards are so high now that just handling the physical aspect just isn't enough. Handling pressure is totally mental and that also needs training too. Look at guys like Tiger Woods, Roger Federer... Phil Ivey. Cool as a cucumber, handling their mental game as well, if not better then their physical game, to dominate their sport.
There are topics ranging from Tilt, Revenge, Focus, Confidence, Motivation, Laziness, Risk Aversion, Injustice, and Running Bad. Look forward to reading it!
Check out his site for more info, or details about the book. He does private sessions too.
PokerStars Handling of Black Friday
According to this article, its clear that Pokerstars was the only Online Poker Company to prepare for the possibility of Black Friday. The fact that they kept credit of everyone's money, shows how they had prepared for this, compared to Full Tilt who have yet to pay out USA customers, and Absolute/UB who now look likely not to get their money back.
I am really happy that I switched to Pokerstars last year. Seems like great timing now. They never have seemed to "settle", and have clearly kept trying to improve. They also seemed to have a plan for if this type of thing was to happen, unlike the other sites. Their handling of Black Friday has been awesome imo, prioritizing their customer's money refunds and making sure that they assured them that they would be getting them back.
I really hope that when the online poker legislation is passed that it wont become like France and Italy, where they're only allowed to play other players within the same country.
But for sure, Pokerstars has done a great job in keeping their customers assured that their money is safe, and in the long run it will pay off. I'm happy to be playing there for sure.
Post Post Post Changes at Pokerstars
I mean honestly, I appreciate that Pokerstars are open to listening to their players and changing things, but now its getting silly. This is the 3rd time they've changed the stakes, and again, without warning mid peak time... on a Sunday! I mean, at least give us some kinda heads up or something so that we can prepare?!
As Epitomizedsuggested, the buy ins are now nice round numbers which include the rake.
For 180 manz its;
$2.50 (22 cents rake)
$8 (66 cents rake)
$15 ($1.23 rake)
$35 ($2.87 rake)
And the 180 man stakes end at $35, which is a bit weird. But who knows they might add more later. Now overall this is a slight reduction in rake to the original $2.20/$7.70/$12 games, but not much... but tbh it shouldn't effect out winning lines that much anyways.
One thing to note tho, is that reverting back to the old jumps means that its harder to climb stakes. For example, with the suggested 200 buy ins, to play those stakes you'd be at $500, $1600, $3000, and $7000, which are huge jumps obv. Why does this matter? Well for me anyways, I was grinding $2.50/$5/$10/$3r games all at once with a roll of around $1500 to get the most games in since there is lower traffic, but now probably cant add in $15s as aggressively now.
Anyways, with all this commotion its funny that after all that, the games (180m) are pretty much the same now, back to 5 min blinds and same structure as before. I guess it fits the phrase "If it aint broke, don't fix it!".
Really hope that they stick to it this time tho, or at least tell us if they are going to change it.
Karl Pilkington
Was grinding away when I noticed this avatar.
Its Karl Pilkington! I love that guy. In case you don't know who that is, he's from The Ricky Gervais Show (Most downloaded Podcast ever, and now TV show cartoon). In the show, they talk about random shit, and Karl basically has the most uneducated, bizarre theories ever lol. Seems really innocent like a kid. Makes me laugh so much, and Ricky Gervais and Stephan Merchant are great "straight guys".
Hope everyone is good, Good Skill at the Tables guys! L8erzz
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