November 7 - I went to a club?

So this week has been fun thus far. I got a phone call from my uncle on Tuesday who had apparently just landed in Vegas the day before. His new company was hosting a party with Dub Magazine over at Blush (nightclub at the Wynn)....and he invited me to come down. Very cool experience for me as I have never been to a club before. However, I was quickly reminded why I don't go to clubs...because I'm claustrophobic. I didn't stay that long because of that, but meeting the people he works with was cool (also, DJ Scribble was spinning there, which was cool because I'm a huge fan of Scribs). Interesting night overall, then headed over to Venetian to put in a small session before returning home.

Live poker is angering me quite a bit lately. Cannot seem to strap a winning session together lately. I know I haven't been running very well (missed 7/7 of my last 12+ draws), and haven't been hitting flops often...but it's very frustrating playing with people who might as well be drooling on their cards and having them winning the money you are not. It's also very frustrating knowing that you have to have a +5BI session to be back on track as far as hourly rate is concerned. But, I'm still very confident, and have decided to not look at the bottom line for a bit...and just focus on pounding in hours and grinding through the hell patch.

Also did a few coaching sessions this week. Had an intro session with one student that went very well. Was a constant back-and-forth of information and questions...most certainly my favorite type of coaching session. Besides coaching, I've been putting in hours myself this week! Not many, but some...which feels good after this hellish start to the month. I think I'm -$1Kish so far, between live and on-line, so I'm hoping that flips and then I'll start grinding hard. I also watched another Jared video on Stox (the psychology guy I mentioned a few posts back), and am loving his message. I realized 2 very important things today:

1.)..Poker is built to reward bad players. If bad players were not rewarded, then they would not play, and there would be no fish (the main reason why I, and others, play this game).

2.)..I tilt because I feel as though everything should be even. My frame of reference on “even” (or more correctly, “normal”) is based on too small of a sample size. If I extend my sample size then I realize normal will never be actualized...and thus can never be mad

I think once I can fully tweak my brain to understand these things, I won't tilt any longer. Realizing these things is the first step, now I have to implement and work with them. At least now I know what I need to be working on, rather than bumbling around trying to figure it out.

And of course, a hand!

PokerStars Game #21742060123: Hold'em No Limit ($0.25/$0.50) - 2008/11/03 21:55:59 ET
Table 'Thuban IV' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: FACUMDP ($96 in chips)
Seat 2: ScaveX ($94.95 in chips)
Seat 3: hongzhong ($10 in chips)
Seat 4: Make_my_D ($65.95 in chips)
Seat 5: As5s ($10 in chips)
Seat 6: DeSignor ($47.15 in chips)
Seat 7: dwq2300 ($9.25 in chips)
Seat 8: RockHolly ($50 in chips)
Seat 9: 7curse ($50.75 in chips)
RockHolly: posts small blind $0.25
7curse: posts big blind $0.50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to 7curse [Qh Qs]
FACUMDP: folds
ScaveX: folds
hongzhong: folds
Make_my_D: folds
As5s: folds
DeSignor: raises $1.50 to $2
dwq2300: folds
RockHolly: folds
7curse: raises $4.50 to $6.50
DeSignor: calls $4.50
*** FLOP *** [3d 6h 7d]
7curse: bets $8
DeSignor: raises $14 to $22
7curse: raises $22.25 to $44.25 and is all-in
DeSignor: calls $18.65 and is all-in
*** TURN *** [3d 6h 7d] [Js]
*** RIVER *** [3d 6h 7d Js] [5s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
7curse: shows [Qh Qs] (a pair of Queens)
DeSignor: mucks hand [5d 2d] (a pair of Fives)
7curse collected $91.55 from pot

*SS*

November 4 - Digging...

So this month got off to a bad start to say the least, lol. Fired off 10.5BI within 24hours, which believe it or not, isn't really that much fun. So now I feel like I'm digging myself out of a $1K hole before I even got started. *sigh* O well...I decided to look at my PT over the last 2 months rather than 3 days so it's more psychologically pleasing. Even after this swing I'm still doing 4PT/100 over the last little while...so I'm still very confident.

I decided I would take this time to also move a lot of my play over to PS. I just need a change of scenery and I also want to prep myself for SuperNova next year. I originally had it goaled to get SN this year, but after a severe drop-off in expected volume, I decided SN would just be pushing myself too hard. Like I said last post, Quality>Quantity. So my first session went well. However, word to the wise, always get your software checked before you start a session. I had quite a few issues with my mouse scroll scripts and also application attention. I'm finally all set up now, and very motivated to grind, so expect to see a bit of me on PS in the near future =)

Also...I plan on adding a section to my site. I want to have an articles section for people to post articles they think can help a player. I plan on writing at least 1 article per month, and hope to get some 2p2r's to also pitch in. If you are interested in writing an article, please email me at splitsuit@gmail.com . Topics are whatever you feel is relevant. For instance, my first article will probably have to do more with the psychology side, while other articles will definitely focus more on the strategic side of things. So like I said, if interested, just email me (it's always good to have articles posted on a legit site...fills up the resume =) ).

Other than that, life has been pretty bland. Whenever I run bad I tend to focus a lot of time and energy on grinding and getting my mental back on track. So today was a lot of grind, then play Halo to release, then back to grinding. I actually think I'll be putting in some volume at this rate =). Also, since I don't think I've told people this before, I'm sort of superstitious. I know it's not logical, but whenever I run bad I change everything on my computer. I always change my wallpapers (until I have a winning session with one), then change the music I listen to during sessions, then change my avatar, etc. I think the wallpapers have changed 3 different times today, lol. Anyone else do anything odd?

Alright, thats enough for tonight. Here is a video I've been watching nonstop tonight. The choreography is amazing, as is the song...so enjoy...



and of course, a hand:

PokerStars Game #21742060123: Hold'em No Limit ($0.25/$0.50) - 2008/11/03 21:55:59 ET
Table 'Thuban IV' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: FACUMDP ($96 in chips)
Seat 2: ScaveX ($94.95 in chips)
Seat 3: hongzhong ($10 in chips)
Seat 4: Make_my_D ($65.95 in chips)
Seat 5: As5s ($10 in chips)
Seat 6: DeSignor ($47.15 in chips)
Seat 7: dwq2300 ($9.25 in chips)
Seat 8: RockHolly ($50 in chips)
Seat 9: 7curse ($50.75 in chips)
RockHolly: posts small blind $0.25
7curse: posts big blind $0.50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to 7curse [Qh Qs]
FACUMDP: folds
ScaveX: folds
hongzhong: folds
Make_my_D: folds
As5s: folds
DeSignor: raises $1.50 to $2
dwq2300: folds
RockHolly: folds
7curse: raises $4.50 to $6.50
DeSignor: calls $4.50
*** FLOP *** [3d 6h 7d]
7curse: bets $8
DeSignor: raises $14 to $22
7curse: raises $22.25 to $44.25 and is all-in
DeSignor: calls $18.65 and is all-in
*** TURN *** [3d 6h 7d] [Js]
*** RIVER *** [3d 6h 7d Js] [5s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
7curse: shows [Qh Qs] (a pair of Queens)
DeSignor: mucks hand [2d 5d] (a pair of Fives)
7curse collected $91.55 from pot

*SS*

November 1 - Goals for the month

So October is finally done. Good month when all was said and done...I ran at about 5.7pt/100 this month, and had a decent hourly over my ~75hrs of live play. Can't complain when things are going fairly well. I oddly have felt really good doing minimal working lately. I feel I'm hyper focusing on quality over quantity which is a really good thing, plus limits the chance of burn-out (which I was close to a few months ago). Live poker has been feeling really good as well...my hourly isn't as high as I would like it to be...but I estimate I've only put in about 3K hands thus far...so I can't complain all that much.

November Goals:

1.) 40 hours of on-line play
2.) 40 hours of live play
3.) Pick up at least 3 new students
4.) Get website addition done (new add-on for coaching)
5.) 1 video
6.) Write 1 poker-based article

All very do-able. I have lower hourly goals this month because I will be “on vacation” for a decent bit of the month. I'm going back home to see my GF and the family...and obviously for Thanksgiving. I have begun to hate this time of year very much (always associate it with going home and my parent's divorce and my brother's death)...so I'm just going to try to be very relaxed if possible. I hope the real life stuff won't bleed into poker, and if it does, my hours will get cut even further...no reason to put in hours if the quality isn't up to par.

Just wanted to put a quick post up for the first of the month. I'm on my way down to the strip to grind out a session (maybe MGM tonight?). Cheers for a good month for all =)

And of course...a hand:

Full Tilt Poker Game #8737254525: Table Wood Plank - $0.25/$0.50 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:01:47 ET - 2008/10/30
Seat 1: Its RIGGIGGITY ($50)
Seat 2: Tayfun72 ($22.45)
Seat 3: mushtart ($66.60)
Seat 4: pingpong101 ($18.45)
Seat 5: ermoin ($61.95)
Seat 6: dotdamage ($31.95)
Seat 7: blasehaseXXL ($75.50)
Seat 8: lew17325 ($0), is sitting out
Seat 9: bacy67 ($30.65)
ermoin posts the small blind of $0.25
dotdamage posts the big blind of $0.50
Tayfun72 posts a dead small blind of $0.25
Tayfun72 posts $0.50
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [Ad Qh]
blasehaseXXL folds
bacy67 calls $0.50
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $3
Tayfun72 folds
mushtart folds
pingpong101 folds
ermoin calls $2.75
dotdamage folds
bacy67 folds
*** FLOP *** [4h 8h Jh]
ermoin bets $7.75
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $35
ermoin raises to $58.95, and is all in
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $12, and is all in
ermoin shows [Ah 9s]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [Ad Qh]
*** TURN *** [4h 8h Jh] [7s]
*** RIVER *** [4h 8h Jh 7s] [6c]
ermoin shows Ace Jack high
Its RIGGIGGITY shows Ace Queen high
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the pot ($98.75) with Ace Queen high

*SS*

October 30 - Video!!!

I just finished a video for my site!!! Feels good as I've been meaning to get this done for about 2 months now. I did a 100vpip video at 2NL, which is a really fun video where I play every single hand to at least the flop. So there is a lot of talk about ranging, flop play, CB-ing, and how to exploit given our image. Hopefully the video will be out later today (the 30th), and also hopefully people enjoy it.

So I started doing coaching again, which I feel good about. I took the last week off because the house thing stressed me out and I wasn't feeling very good (read last blog post if you are confused). But I did a few sessions today, and have a couple more lined up this week. I think I'm going to start promoting coaching again next month and also increasing prices (turns out the average student needs few hours with me to get what they need). So if people want the lower pricing, get the applications in soon to lock in the lower price (current students will not get a price increase obviously).

Mentally I am feeling much better. I talked it out with quite a few people, and I really feel the big gap in understanding is my base of reason. Religion gives you a nice base of reason because it doesn't have to make sense for you to believe in it...so you can easily believe that a higher being has you on Earth for a reason. (no, I have no interest in debating religion in this post =) ). Logic forces me to look at all the angles and then analyze everything...which is good in most situations but intangible things. I think my main issue is that I don't just live...I don't just “be”...I constantly analyze. I was having a conversation with my friend and I confused him a lot because everything I do in life I do a utility v. cost analysis in my head (utility is the economic term for “happiness” essentially). I think I need to work on just relaxing, being, and enjoying everything.

Poker has been going pretty well lately. I still haven't had a losing on-line session for the latter part of the month (and only 1 losing live session). So I feel very strong right now. And usually when I go on a big winning binge I fear playing because I don't want to lose and mess it up. However, I still want to grind right now...which feels awesome. I didn't meet my goals for the month (wanted to do around 125hrs of poker and only did about 110hrs)...but I'm just happy I was working, winning, and felt like the time spend was more quality than before. I'm looking forward to moving back to 100nl next month...I think my new style should do quite well, and running 18/15 will boggle the minds of people who had me at 11/7 at that level in the past.

Well that's it for now. Hope all is well with everyone else...and enjoy Halloween. I'm thinking the strip on Halloween will be nutty...and of course...a hand (put in ¼ of your stack, and fold against the 100/58'r...niiiiiiiiiiiiiice idea sir!):

PokerStars Game #21611833531: Hold'em No Limit ($0.01/$0.02) - 2008/10/30 3:40:39 ET
Table 'Dubiago' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: pokerlimper ($0.85 in chips)
Seat 2: JoekDAwei'KU ($5.62 in chips)
Seat 3: bakalatron ($4.69 in chips)
Seat 4: 7curse ($4.25 in chips)
Seat 6: ShanePotckin ($2.01 in chips)
Seat 7: sunhong365 ($3.32 in chips)
Seat 8: xxxMFBxxx ($7.46 in chips)
Seat 9: Porfidio ($10.27 in chips)
pokerlimper: posts small blind $0.01
JoekDAwei'KU: posts big blind $0.02
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to 7curse [8h 5s]
bakalatron: calls $0.02
7curse: calls $0.02
ShanePotckin: calls $0.02
sunhong365: calls $0.02
xxxMFBxxx: folds
Porfidio: folds
pokerlimper: raises $0.18 to $0.20
JoekDAwei'KU: folds
bakalatron: folds
7curse: raises $4.05 to $4.25 and is all-in
ShanePotckin: folds
sunhong365: folds
pokerlimper: folds
Uncalled bet ($4.05) returned to 7curse
7curse collected $0.48 from pot

*SS*

October 27 - Odd mental state...

Well the house thing is starting to figure itself out. Apparently the company that gave us the 3day-quit notice is tied with the bank...and we have some more time than we thought if we follow the legal system correctly. The time frame is 30-60 days from what we can tell...so hopefully it stays at the longer side of that =)

Poker has been going decently. Actually hadn't had a losing session since the 11th...but then had a loser at the V on Saturday. I think I realized what tilts me more than anything. I absolutely hate when I will miss all of my draws, and people will hit theirs. For instance, I got in 4 pots with the same player on Saturday. I missed 1 FD, 1 SD, both with 2 cards to come against them. They hit 2 FDs against me when I had TP/2pr each time. It infuriates me when normalization will never happen. I try not to do this, but I actually kept track over the last 3 days, and I have actually only hit 1 of 27 draws (SD+)...stupid game.

I've been in an odd state the last few days. I know that when a person reaches a certain point of “enlightenment” they begin to question a human's purpose in life. Which of course leads to them asking themsevles why they are alive, and then what would happen if they died. I reached this awhile ago, and even after talking it out with a few different counselors, I've only reached “life has no direct purpose...just have fun and create a your own purpose” This severely depresses me as I constantly strive for a bigger end-goal than “omg, lets have fun!”

A huge issue with this for is this...I love helping people. I like helping people progress and make their lives better. However, when I look at it from the outside point of view...I am helping people progress towards what? Either I help them reach a thought process which will lead to this realization...or I help them towards an end-goal of nothing. I think a big problem with this, for me, is that I don't have a religious base. When your entire base of reason is logic there will be huge problems when the solution isn't tangible. I think this is where I struggle a lot...making sense of non-tangibles like these.

I don't know...the whole subject is very odd to talk about, and always leads to a religion v logic argument anyway. I just wanted to give you a little bit of how I'm feeling at the moment. The stress of the house stuff, holidays coming up, my brother, and the finality of this house are making my brain work in overload. Which probably explains why I am getting a little tilty at times (I mean hell...I even started getting heated while playing Halo because I felt I was running bad there). I just need normalcy...or to construct a state of normalcy for myself.

Also...nicest thing someone has said to me in like forever: “well how about this...if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have paid bill the last 2 months...I've only paid bills because of poker as the casino has been way slow...so my daughter and my wife and I all thank you very much.” (from a student who can name himself in the comments if he chooses to do so). It means a lot to me when people thank those that have helped them, and I'm glad I have helped him in such a positive way.

Sorry about the emo-esque post...a hand before bed (like...you must feel salty when you see how nitty/bad you are, right?):

Full Tilt Poker Game #8678133615: Table Franklin - $0.25/$0.50 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:41:05 ET - 2008/10/26
Seat 1: scbobbyb ($23.45)
Seat 2: mininoto ($54.50)
Seat 3: Man of Gold5 ($13.60)
Seat 4: BcuzItsSo ($50)
Seat 5: wayner777 ($34.15)
Seat 6: DOM D ($40.15)
Seat 7: shark2006 ($27.65)
Seat 8: Its RIGGIGGITY ($57.10)
Seat 9: Boston2000 ($10)
shark2006 posts the small blind of $0.25
Its RIGGIGGITY posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [Qs Jh]
scbobbyb folds
mininoto calls $0.50
Man of Gold5 folds
BcuzItsSo folds
wayner777 folds
DOM D folds
shark2006 folds
Its RIGGIGGITY checks
*** FLOP *** [Jc 3h Qd]
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $1
mininoto calls $1
*** TURN *** [Jc 3h Qd] [5s]
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $2
mininoto calls $2
*** RIVER *** [Jc 3h Qd 5s] [6s]
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $4
mininoto raises to $10
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $6
*** SHOW DOWN ***
mininoto shows [3s 3c] three of a kind, Threes
Its RIGGIGGITY mucks
mininoto wins the pot ($25.90) with three of a kind, Threes

*SS*

October 23 - Not an awesome day

So today sucked just a little bit. My house got foreclosed on. Gotta love when you've been paying your rent religiously...and your landlord just decides he doesn't want to pay the mortgage anymore. So we get the 3-day quit notice on the door today, and of course the notice is dated yesterday. Gotta love it!!!

So ensue panic mode as I try to figure out wtf to do. I got a place lined up that is far from optimal, and the lease hasn't been signed yet in case I decide to find a new place. So I have 1 day to figure everything out. Hurray life! I just keep reminding myself that things could be worse, and keep trying to figure out what to do from here. It would seem that all my roommates are leaving town now so I'm kind of on my own for the moment. I guess every situation is an opportunity though...so plenty to do at this point.

I'm kind of sick at the moment...more from stress than anything else. When I feel the floor has been taken from me I tend to go into panic mode and get sick (throwing up and nauseous at all times). I'm trying to stay calm...but easier said than done. So I'm packing everything up while typing this, and hoping the sun is shining brightly tomorrow. I think I somehow condensed a bit from the trip last month. Which is good...except I picked up some bigger ticket items (TV, desk, chair, etc.). I'm really hoping I find something close so I can just move it all within 2 hours.

Other than all this crap...my horse is moving up again (he moved down after paying back principal and having a bit of a downer). So back up to 50nl with him, and then hopefully up to 100nl. Also...I haven't had a losing session in almost a week (though very minimal work being done, at least it feels good to see a streak of green across my PT data).

I have to be up in a few hours to start house hunting, and I'm hoping I'll be all packed and loaded by then. Wish me luck if you find a moment. And as usual, here is a hand to enjoy:

Full Tilt Poker Game #8598396311: Table Justice Creek - $0.25/$0.50 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:04:41 ET - 2008/10/21
Seat 1: zebra30 ($19.05)
Seat 2: FAST DAVID ($35.85)
Seat 3: bigmikesw ($24.45)
Seat 4: m1key likes ($43)
Seat 5: littlegreeno ($28.10)
Seat 6: kaldexpoker ($10)
Seat 7: DART1962 ($69.50)
Seat 8: Its RIGGIGGITY ($52.75)
Seat 9: foodperfectaa ($37.65)
littlegreeno posts the small blind of $0.25
kaldexpoker posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [Qd Qh]
DART1962 raises to $1.75
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $5
foodperfectaa folds
zebra30 folds
FAST DAVID folds
bigmikesw folds
m1key likes folds
littlegreeno folds
kaldexpoker folds
DART1962 raises to $24.50
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $52.75, and is all in
DART1962 calls $28.25
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [Qd Qh]
DART1962 shows [Jd Ad]
*** FLOP *** [Ts 2h 5c]
*** TURN *** [Ts 2h 5c] [Kc]
*** RIVER *** [Ts 2h 5c Kc] [Jh]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows a pair of Queens
DART1962 shows a pair of Jacks
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the pot ($103.25) with a pair of Queens

*SS*

October 20 - 8hr Grind

So just posted my Poohbah post. Took way too long to get it done, but decided to hunker down for an hour tonight and just finish it. The link. Any feedback on that is more than welcome, and of course, if there are questions, I'd be happy to answer those as well.

So got some hours of live in this weekend. Did an 8 hour session on Saturday night. I got stuck like $600-$700 quick, and told myself that so long as the table didn't completely dry up, I would grind back until even. Well the table didn't dry up, and it took me about 6hrs to grind it all back. Was a really fun session despite running like crap. I was blessed with the privilege of sitting next to the biggest life luck-box ever. The night before he lost about $1K at poker, had $31 left, went over to Let-it-Ride, and hit a royal the first hand for $50K. Lol, some people are just that lucky.

So he spiced the table up by shoving blind a few times, blind betting whatever chips were in his hand, and yelling as loudly as possible. He had some friends at the table, so obviously that kept him going for some time. Finally the floor came over and told him “sir, the entire room can hear you. If you don't quiet yourself to a reasonable level, I will have to have security escort you out. Would you like that?”. To which, without missing a beat, he responds “No...but I would like if you would get me some more alcohol”. I only ended up taking a small bit of nothing from him, but he made a table at 3am fun.

Other than that, I've been doing some coaching and grinding as well. Finished my final video for this month's series at Stox. Really good video in my opinion of sLAG play on a weekend. And winning 3.5BI at the same time is always nice. Been getting some new students as well, which is always good. So this week and the next I will be doing a few intro-sessions, which I always look forward to.

Also, in an effort to get motivated again, Datakid and I are utilizing the buddy-system to ensure we put in a certain amount of hours per week. My goal is 10-15hrs/week of on-line, so 5 days of 2-3hrs/day. I swear the buddy-system is a great way to motivate yourself, keep it fun, and ensure the end-goal is reached. So hopefully that goes well. It also makes me feel more focused doing 10-15hrs of online, 10-15hrs of live, and 5-15hrs of coaching per week. It's like a real job!

“Celebrity” siting this weekend: Teddy “The Iceman” Monroe. Decked out with “diamond”-studded headphones. LOL

And a hand before bed:

Full Tilt Poker Game #8551098656: Table Horizon Ridge - $0.25/$0.50 - No Limit Hold'em - 18:33:14 ET - 2008/10/18
Seat 1: staceshuttle ($36.75)
Seat 2: Tha Riparian ($71.05)
Seat 3: Its RIGGIGGITY ($50)
Seat 4: DevilPrince ($48.35)
Seat 5: Tilt_Me19 ($52.25)
Seat 6: Unluckytwo ($48.15)
Seat 7: Johnnyj580 ($61.25)
Seat 8: Winston3346 ($20.35)
Seat 9: 808CSNJ ($79.30)
Its RIGGIGGITY posts the small blind of $0.25
DevilPrince posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [Ks Ah]
Tilt_Me19 folds
Unluckytwo folds
Johnnyj580 raises to $1.75
Winston3346 calls $1.75
808CSNJ folds
staceshuttle folds
Tha Riparian folds
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $7
DevilPrince folds
Johnnyj580 raises to $21
Winston3346 folds
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $50, and is all in
Johnnyj580 calls $29
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [Ks Ah]
Johnnyj580 shows [Ad Th]
*** FLOP *** [Kh 4h 5h]
*** TURN *** [Kh 4h 5h] [2d]
*** RIVER *** [Kh 4h 5h 2d] [Qs]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows a pair of Kings
Johnnyj580 shows Ace King high
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the pot ($99.25) with a pair of Kings

*SS*