Time For a Break

Bournemouth Take 2

I've realized that this year I hadn't taken a break. Nearly every day so far I've played poker, so I decided to take a break for a few days while I visit my friend who lives in Bournemouth. Nothing like some sun and beach for a good break. Course, its always a gamble in UK hoping for sun. In fact, when it does come out it seems like a general attitude that everyone literally sprints to the nearest beach/park/roof and get their tan whilst then can... coz in UK sun doesn't mean sun all day. It still means you should bring your umbrellas out just in case lol.

Anyways, the sun did come out and I had a great time. It was really cool to see how my friend was doing, and I got an insight into what her life was like. I'm glad that the weather was good, better then before. The city is pretty cool, although a lotta pensioners for real, but the beaches are pretty cool and there's a lot of nice bikini clad girls around. If I get super balla a beach house seems like something I might be interested in! ... Lets get there first tho lol.

There's always been a debate for whether you should take a break when running through a rough patch, or whether you should grind though it. I have more of a bias to grinding through it, mainly coz last year I took some time off, and when I came back I still ran bad lol. So imo it doesn't really make that much difference. But if anything, you will at least rake up those Pokerstars VPP points, and more stats on your opponents?



Pokerstars Updates

Stars has really impressed me with their continuous efforts on improving their software. I remember back in 2009 when I felt that Full Tilt really had an edge over them with their updates, but now there's no doubt that Stars is the place to be.

3 main updates now;

Lobby Cleanup - Lobby is now filtered to your taste! You can include what you want to see in order to distinguish between the games, or if like me you like it minimal then that's what you can do. When I first moved over to Stars I did feel that their lobby was a lot more confusing and messy, but now it looks much better.

Who's Playin'? - For STTs, you can see who's registered without opening a new window.

Bubble Chat - Chat is shown on screen in real time, so you don't have to look at the chatbox to see who's talking. This is great if you don't have the chatbox open.

For more specific info about the updates check out here.



Shrine to Sippin, God of Sixteens

The most common STTs are the $15+1 Turbos on Stars. This is because its at the right stake to be able to make a living off, and their super quick to load in comparison to the higher stakes. But because of this popularity, its full of regulars, and one could argue therefore its one of the hardest to make amazing money off.

But not for Sippin_Criss. It has to be said that he is quite possibly the best player at the $16s right now. He came 2nd in 2009 and 2010 for most profitable at these stakes and looks like he's adamant in making the top spot this year. Can anyone stop him? Surely it'll be mega bad beat if it happens 3 years running? But he's looking good so far;

For sure I have been guilty of playing pretty retardedly against him in the beginning, but more recently then ever it does feel like he's been getting the run of the mill moreso against me. Maybe its his $16s-God-Aura!
I have a set strategy but so far its not paying off. Really really not paying off... -7% not paying off! Ouch!

Final Transition Away from STTs?

Someone has come to me and decided to give me $4000 to play 3200 x $16s. How can you refuse? My client is... Pokerstars! Ha! I'm nearly fully transitioning to MTT SNGs now and the only thing stopping me is my $4k bonus. It'll be nice to get that, and kinda see the benefits of being Supernova for once.

There's no doubt in my mind that I've learnt shitloads from STTs. Some players say that STTs aren't "real poker", or say that their just a shoving game. But the reality is that the best players are the ones that treat it as poker and that's how they beat everyone else.

I also feel that I've had a pretty rough ride with the STTs lately. For sure I've probably over tweaked my game too much which made my break even stretch even longer, but I do feel that its kinda harsh considering my improvements since last year.

I will make a final push this month to get some decent results, and really try to make that goal of completing the volume I want. In comparison to some of the other regs my volume has been lacking, and with this new computer I've basically got no excuse at all now... GAME ON!

GS@TT guys, I probably need to stop making these megaposts lol. My last posts have included some online documentary style themed vids, so here's another one of my favourites. Check out Busto to Robusto for more. I hope that more come up coz they're really inspirational...