Hey everyone!! I finally been thinking about the past 6 or 7 weeks since I went through my misfortune of what they call a downswing. First off, what really is a downswing? To most, people think they are running terrible, getting sucked out on, losing flips, etc etc. Not that i'm say that I don't have this downswing like others because I really feel like I do day in and day out. Believe me when I say it....I run bad. But I put in tons of volume, so i'm gonna have tons of swings all over the place. What I have been thinking about over this reflection of what has happened is it isn't any different than what I go through over the past 3-4 months, and those months I had winning results. I think over this period of stretch, my game changed to the point of tilt. All the bad beats, suck outs, flips that I couldn't win, overpairs vs underpairs that lost all in pf and overpairs in 3b pots that couldn't win. and draws that I couldn't get there with really got to me. I started getting it in a bit lighter, calling 3bets a little more, cold calling raises, getting aggressive in all the wrong spots led to my disaster. I didn't really think about all this before my last few days I left to go to California.
Basically my winning month in September turned into even stevens. I think I ended up winning like $350 for the month, which was unfortunate because I was having my best month in September, up almost $3k. Than I carried over my same game into October and still ended up losing for the month. Granted, I only played 2 week worth of hands, but still managed to put in almost 100k hands and lost about $800 for the month.
So what has changed since then? Not much I guess besides working on my game. I basically am starting back at basics. Trying to regroup and do what I did months ago and working on each aspect of the game while acquiring new knowledge of things. So when poker doesn't go how you expect, you have to think about what your doing. Like I said get back to basics, discuss hands, what videos, read a poker book or two. I've been trying in whatever small spare time I have, but I've been watching a few vids and trying to find time to get on the poker forums.
Since my parents left back to Thailand which was November 9th, I started grinding again. Since I started back up, I'm pretty much still trying to get my game going. It seems a little better, but basically I'm close to break even for the month which sucks, but better than losing tons of BI's. I'm only play 50NL at the moment and hopefully start back up at 100nl soon. I just need to get back in the groove and start winning again. If I don't, then I'm gonna have to reevaluate myself and poker.
If has been one rough ride and when you keep losing or breaking even, the best thing to do is just play your A game and don't change anything or play differently because you can go on tilt really fast. You might not even notice until it's too late. It took me 3 weeks to notice and it wasn't pretty. I still deal with the issue on a daily basis, but it is getting better. I feel a lot better and not so upset about my sessions and life. Maybe taking the past 3 weeks off is something I needed. We will have to see how the rest of my year ends because as of now, SNE is not looking like it will be in my cards for next year unless I have some huge heater coming up.
Since I rely on poker to take care of my family, moving up just doesn't seem like the best thing to do and risking my bankroll right now is not what I can do. I'm going to continue on improving and move back on up!!
Hope everyone else is running better than me!!! Good Luck!!
Jeff
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Still on a break
I haven't had a lot of time to think about poker the past few weeks since my parents flew from Thailand to California and now to Florida. I've been taking care of all there errands and needs and spending time with them as much as I can since I don't really see them too much. I guess in a way its been a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing meaning that I probably needed a break from poker since I haven't been playing so well or running well. The bad thing meaning I haven't had any time to work on my game, not get any hands in, and not making any money. My parents will be leaving on November 9th which is next week, so hopefully after that, I will be able to log in a ton of hands and hours.
On a side note, I filled out an application for Team Pokerstars Online Pro a few weeks back when I left to California. I'm not sure what the qualifications were, but they sent me a form to fill out which I thought was really awesome to do. It's something that I really want to do and accomplish and hopefully (i'm crossing my fingers) will get. With a family to take care of, I really hope for this since I love the game of poker, especially online. I have a lot to work on.
I've been thinking about my super downswing over the course of this and have to say that it's been soul crushing. I thought that I was over this, this meaning tilt. I've had a great 3-4 months of poker before this and I was almost tiltless if that is the right word for this. Even when I was running bad, I still tried to play solid and more solid. I still booked winning sessions/break even sessions when I ran felt like I ran bad. With that said, since September 20th, I pretty much went on an epic slide down the mountain. When I ran bad, I just started playing worse. Paying off river bets to light, turn bets, all ins, and getting it in on the flop with the worse of it. I think it had a lot to do with losing a few sessions back to back. When you loss 3-4 buy-ins over consecutive sessions, it can really mess with you mind. I mean, I can't blame myself for running terrible because I did...but who doesn't right? I had quite a bit of coolers, I think more than my average downswing. Overpairs vs Underpairs, smaller sets over bigger sets, bigger sets vs smaller sets only to get quaded,etc etc blah blah we heard it all before. I think though, when you are downswinging pretty hard, you have to keep focus and continue to..like I said play you A+++ game. More easier said that done but you really have to. Sometimes you have to get back to basics and fundamentals. Whatever can help you through catastrophic events like this. For some, that may be the solution, but to others it might be taking a few days off and head to the beach or just do nothing and watch TV and movies. Maybe even work on your game and study more which I haven't done at all.
Well, one more week to go before I get back to poker. My parents having been staying with me since last week and it will be sad to see them head back to Thailand. At least they finally have seen my 2 babies finally, 14 months later...haha I will be continuing to help them with anything the want, mostly shopping because my mother loves to shop, oh and also eat like 7 times a day and go to walmart as well. It's been nice though and they have helped out a ton and since I moved to Florida into my new home, they have added some new life to the house which I am gracious for.
With that said, I still hope SNE is in my cards next year and I hope all the best to everyone out there. Better than me. Until then....
Jeff
On a side note, I filled out an application for Team Pokerstars Online Pro a few weeks back when I left to California. I'm not sure what the qualifications were, but they sent me a form to fill out which I thought was really awesome to do. It's something that I really want to do and accomplish and hopefully (i'm crossing my fingers) will get. With a family to take care of, I really hope for this since I love the game of poker, especially online. I have a lot to work on.
I've been thinking about my super downswing over the course of this and have to say that it's been soul crushing. I thought that I was over this, this meaning tilt. I've had a great 3-4 months of poker before this and I was almost tiltless if that is the right word for this. Even when I was running bad, I still tried to play solid and more solid. I still booked winning sessions/break even sessions when I ran felt like I ran bad. With that said, since September 20th, I pretty much went on an epic slide down the mountain. When I ran bad, I just started playing worse. Paying off river bets to light, turn bets, all ins, and getting it in on the flop with the worse of it. I think it had a lot to do with losing a few sessions back to back. When you loss 3-4 buy-ins over consecutive sessions, it can really mess with you mind. I mean, I can't blame myself for running terrible because I did...but who doesn't right? I had quite a bit of coolers, I think more than my average downswing. Overpairs vs Underpairs, smaller sets over bigger sets, bigger sets vs smaller sets only to get quaded,etc etc blah blah we heard it all before. I think though, when you are downswinging pretty hard, you have to keep focus and continue to..like I said play you A+++ game. More easier said that done but you really have to. Sometimes you have to get back to basics and fundamentals. Whatever can help you through catastrophic events like this. For some, that may be the solution, but to others it might be taking a few days off and head to the beach or just do nothing and watch TV and movies. Maybe even work on your game and study more which I haven't done at all.
Well, one more week to go before I get back to poker. My parents having been staying with me since last week and it will be sad to see them head back to Thailand. At least they finally have seen my 2 babies finally, 14 months later...haha I will be continuing to help them with anything the want, mostly shopping because my mother loves to shop, oh and also eat like 7 times a day and go to walmart as well. It's been nice though and they have helped out a ton and since I moved to Florida into my new home, they have added some new life to the house which I am gracious for.
With that said, I still hope SNE is in my cards next year and I hope all the best to everyone out there. Better than me. Until then....
Jeff
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
October a long month
Hey everyone!! It's been quite some time since I posted my last blog. I've had a busy busy 5 weeks. I recently moved from NY to Florida towards the last week of September, so I've been busy moving and trying to get settled in Florida. I haven't had to much time to really do much of anything besides trying to get back on track playing poker and just getting settled.
I like to apologize upfront about not posting the past few weeks. I've had a rough patch at the tables the past 4 weeks online as well, so that didn't help much. My goals for SNE are still a possibility, but I really have to keep stepping up my game. I had a rough ride at 100NL and basically lost all my winnings in the month of September which was a soulcrushing blow to myself since I've been improving so much the past few months. Since then, I haven't been doing so well at all this month, down some, but not as much. Trying to get back in it while just losing or breaking even every session can be draining, but I hope that I can get myself out of this downswing. Anyways, the past is the past, and hopefully I'll be back sooner than later.
I'm in California at the moment. My parents flew down from Thailand and I'm here helping them out take care of some stuff out here. They will also be heading back with me so they can finally see my babies for the first time. I'm really excited for this. I might be putting in a few sessions throughout the next few weeks, but nearly not as much as I usually do.
I hope everyone is doing well at the tables and wish you the best. More than me that's for sure...haha. So with that, I am off, I will be doing a lot of thinking to post my downswing thoughts and rough patches that happened hopefully soon. Lets just say, I played bad due to getting coolers and running bad as well. Not a recipe for success......hope all is well
Jeff
I like to apologize upfront about not posting the past few weeks. I've had a rough patch at the tables the past 4 weeks online as well, so that didn't help much. My goals for SNE are still a possibility, but I really have to keep stepping up my game. I had a rough ride at 100NL and basically lost all my winnings in the month of September which was a soulcrushing blow to myself since I've been improving so much the past few months. Since then, I haven't been doing so well at all this month, down some, but not as much. Trying to get back in it while just losing or breaking even every session can be draining, but I hope that I can get myself out of this downswing. Anyways, the past is the past, and hopefully I'll be back sooner than later.
I'm in California at the moment. My parents flew down from Thailand and I'm here helping them out take care of some stuff out here. They will also be heading back with me so they can finally see my babies for the first time. I'm really excited for this. I might be putting in a few sessions throughout the next few weeks, but nearly not as much as I usually do.
I hope everyone is doing well at the tables and wish you the best. More than me that's for sure...haha. So with that, I am off, I will be doing a lot of thinking to post my downswing thoughts and rough patches that happened hopefully soon. Lets just say, I played bad due to getting coolers and running bad as well. Not a recipe for success......hope all is well
Jeff
Friday, September 17, 2010
No Results to Zen
I've been thinking about this topic for a while, not looking at your results whether its the day, week, or month. It's no stranger to me that I have talked a little about this in my past blogs, but I really think as a poker player, you shouldn't ever be results oriented. Of course we make mistakes on the way, but at the same time, looking at our results can lead to bigger mistakes.
For example, all you live players out there, have you ever accumulated a big stack and have a pretty healthy amount of chips only to see it dwindled away when you start losing a few pots. Now i'm not sure if this is with a lot of people out there, have you ever accumulated a huge stack only to play different live? Maybe tighten up a bit, not play as many hands, play really weak/tight so you don't give your chips away. I use to be a live player, so I use to have that mentality a lot and be about results which led to me quiting sessions when I was winning and playing longer hours when I was losing.
Same goes for playing online for sure. Looking at your cashier while you are playing or looking at your holdem manager or poker tracker can almost lead you to not playing optimal. Not saying that there are people out there that can't do it, because I know a few who look at there results while they're playing and win. I think though, people who look and still win can make more money and play longer sessions. I use to look at my results while I was playing. Sometimes I would be winning and sometimes I would be losing. All those times I looked, ended up being -EV. You just have to detach yourself from the money because the money is just a number that is part of your poker bank roll. Yeah, it's cool when you are winning, but when you are losing, you feel a different feeling, something where if can really mess with yourself and your game.
That's why I have been working on not looking at my results. What I would really like to do is not look at my results the whole month. When I don't look, it really helps me put in the much needed volume for SNE. Starting to win the past few months has really decreased my volume and I know that is something that needs change. This past month, I have stopped looking at my results for at least the whole day and sometimes after a few days. Which is good because my volume is increasing again. As far as results go, they seem like they are getting a whole lot better not looking. I've been experimenting with this and noticed there are a few days I did really well and some days where they were decent none the less. When I use to put in volume though, I just keep breaking even or losing tons of money when I first started. Looking at my cashier and my hold em manager sometime during the session. It was pretty heart breaking and emotional for me. I'm not saying that I don't go through these things every now and again when I see my results, but not much if any really.
The biggest thing that I have to work with since I'm on my SNE pursuit, is that my poker bank roll has to keep building by December and I still have to put in the much needed volume to make my supernova bonuses to take care of the family. I'm also planning on moving to Florida in the next few weeks, so I'm going to really have to step up putting in more volume and mixing in more 100NL tables. No Results to Zen is what I need to make this happen for next year. If I can do this and continue to keep playing solid poker, I have a good chance for SNE.
I hope everyone is doing well at the tables!!
Jeff
For example, all you live players out there, have you ever accumulated a big stack and have a pretty healthy amount of chips only to see it dwindled away when you start losing a few pots. Now i'm not sure if this is with a lot of people out there, have you ever accumulated a huge stack only to play different live? Maybe tighten up a bit, not play as many hands, play really weak/tight so you don't give your chips away. I use to be a live player, so I use to have that mentality a lot and be about results which led to me quiting sessions when I was winning and playing longer hours when I was losing.
Same goes for playing online for sure. Looking at your cashier while you are playing or looking at your holdem manager or poker tracker can almost lead you to not playing optimal. Not saying that there are people out there that can't do it, because I know a few who look at there results while they're playing and win. I think though, people who look and still win can make more money and play longer sessions. I use to look at my results while I was playing. Sometimes I would be winning and sometimes I would be losing. All those times I looked, ended up being -EV. You just have to detach yourself from the money because the money is just a number that is part of your poker bank roll. Yeah, it's cool when you are winning, but when you are losing, you feel a different feeling, something where if can really mess with yourself and your game.
That's why I have been working on not looking at my results. What I would really like to do is not look at my results the whole month. When I don't look, it really helps me put in the much needed volume for SNE. Starting to win the past few months has really decreased my volume and I know that is something that needs change. This past month, I have stopped looking at my results for at least the whole day and sometimes after a few days. Which is good because my volume is increasing again. As far as results go, they seem like they are getting a whole lot better not looking. I've been experimenting with this and noticed there are a few days I did really well and some days where they were decent none the less. When I use to put in volume though, I just keep breaking even or losing tons of money when I first started. Looking at my cashier and my hold em manager sometime during the session. It was pretty heart breaking and emotional for me. I'm not saying that I don't go through these things every now and again when I see my results, but not much if any really.
The biggest thing that I have to work with since I'm on my SNE pursuit, is that my poker bank roll has to keep building by December and I still have to put in the much needed volume to make my supernova bonuses to take care of the family. I'm also planning on moving to Florida in the next few weeks, so I'm going to really have to step up putting in more volume and mixing in more 100NL tables. No Results to Zen is what I need to make this happen for next year. If I can do this and continue to keep playing solid poker, I have a good chance for SNE.
I hope everyone is doing well at the tables!!
Jeff
Friday, September 10, 2010
A Review of Ronfar3 Coaching
I just finished up my last session with Ronfar3 and had about a good 3-4 hrs picking his brain, talking poker, and anything to help me along for SNE. Not only does he know a lot of concepts and theory behind poker, but he also can really help fine tune your game based on your poker playing style. I didn't really have a game plan going into our coaching session and didn't know what to expect. As soon as we talked, he was on time and ready to get started.
First thing we did was going over my holdem manager statistics so he can get a feel of my playing style and get an overall general guideline of my game over the last 300k hands I put in at Full Ring. Since he didn't know much about my game, he felt like I had overall strong stats. We went over things I need to fine tune a bit more and work on. Such as continuation betting and barreling a little more given my vpip/pfr. It's funny how things work by just doing little adjustments can really increase you earnings.
The second part of my session, we did a live sweat. I basically played my normal setup and played, not so much 24 tables, but a good healthy amount so I can get into some interesting spots. It was nice to have him watching over me but it wasn't anything he told me I should do or have to do, which is good. I mean, if you have someone telling you what to do or what you should do, I feel is not good, because you're not really learning and won't be able to fix your mistakes. I just played my normal game while just talking anything about poker and situations. When I did get into some interesting spots, I told him what my normal line is here and there. He listened and later, talked about different lines we can also be taking based on your image.
The third part was reviewing my session and going over any leaks he may have found and things he felt like I can work on. We also went back to holdem manager and did a hand history review and also a detail analysis of calling 3bets, suited connectors, etc. This is probably the most important part of the session where you can really learn a lot of things, not only about yourself and your play, but really going in depth with using holdem manager. For myself, I never really reviewed my sessions like I did with him. We went over quite a few hands as well and we talked about post flop concepts.
There wasn't a fourth part of the session, but I felt like there was and we just got talking more poker and SNE. We also talked about playing long sessions and putting in volume.
He has helped defined my game, improve my win-rate, and has given me the confidence to conquer the limits at my level. Whether you are a winning, break-even, or losing player, Ronfar3 will improve your game.
If you have any other questions or what not, just message, email me, or write anything else.
Keep up on the journey!!
Jeff
First thing we did was going over my holdem manager statistics so he can get a feel of my playing style and get an overall general guideline of my game over the last 300k hands I put in at Full Ring. Since he didn't know much about my game, he felt like I had overall strong stats. We went over things I need to fine tune a bit more and work on. Such as continuation betting and barreling a little more given my vpip/pfr. It's funny how things work by just doing little adjustments can really increase you earnings.
The second part of my session, we did a live sweat. I basically played my normal setup and played, not so much 24 tables, but a good healthy amount so I can get into some interesting spots. It was nice to have him watching over me but it wasn't anything he told me I should do or have to do, which is good. I mean, if you have someone telling you what to do or what you should do, I feel is not good, because you're not really learning and won't be able to fix your mistakes. I just played my normal game while just talking anything about poker and situations. When I did get into some interesting spots, I told him what my normal line is here and there. He listened and later, talked about different lines we can also be taking based on your image.
The third part was reviewing my session and going over any leaks he may have found and things he felt like I can work on. We also went back to holdem manager and did a hand history review and also a detail analysis of calling 3bets, suited connectors, etc. This is probably the most important part of the session where you can really learn a lot of things, not only about yourself and your play, but really going in depth with using holdem manager. For myself, I never really reviewed my sessions like I did with him. We went over quite a few hands as well and we talked about post flop concepts.
There wasn't a fourth part of the session, but I felt like there was and we just got talking more poker and SNE. We also talked about playing long sessions and putting in volume.
He has helped defined my game, improve my win-rate, and has given me the confidence to conquer the limits at my level. Whether you are a winning, break-even, or losing player, Ronfar3 will improve your game.
If you have any other questions or what not, just message, email me, or write anything else.
Keep up on the journey!!
Jeff
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
September 7th My Day of Redemption
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Yesterday, by far has been the most incredible day poker wise. Not only did I have my best day in poker since December 2009, I also received Come Back King on PTR. As some of you may have not known, I had this train wreck icon on PTR for quite some time and over the past 2 1/2 months, I finally got out it. On top of that, it was kind of a ironic day to be honest because I checked my total winnings for the month and it shows $777+. Some lucky numbers huh?
On a another note yesterday, I also had the opportunity to get a long session with Ronfar3. He is pretty well known in the poker community and plays a ton of full ring 100nl and 200nl and is one of the top winners at his limits. I think he also does a lot of things at 2+2. So given that, I really wanted to work with him and pick his brain. I'm going to post a little review tomorrow on my blog to think about the ideas and concepts we discussed yesterday. All I can say at the moment is he knows his stuff. He's also a card runner coach there as well. I'll be posting a review soon of his coaching.
Ronfar3's page:
http://www.pairtheboard.net/
09/07/2010 cliff notes:
$654 biggest winning day
$777 month winnings
From train wreck to COMEBACK KING on PTR
Ronfar3 Coaching
All in all, I guess its a little run good post. But I had to share my luck with all of you.
Hope all is well with everyone out there!!
Jeff
Saturday, September 4, 2010
September to SNE next year!!!
September is here and I finally have decided that I'm going to be grinding a ton now, particularly 10k+ hands a day with a mix of 50NL and 100NL. I have to start now and get myself mentally and physically prepared for what's ahead of me next year or else I will never become SNE. I have to start now and get over my problem of not putting in enough volume, not looking at my results weather I'm winning or losing, and just grind. I'm never going to make it happen if I don't start now. Minimum 10k a day, 5 days a week, with a 6 day option to grind a few more thousand hands is my goal now till the end of the year.
As far as working on my game, I have my coach that is helping me on a weekly basis, and I have another coach that is pretty well know at the stakes I'm playing at which I start Tuesday with him and I'm really excited. I also been working with my B and he's helping me with a bunch of the math behind the math in poker and 3betting and 4betting which is pretty sweet if I can understand it. Also, I have quite a few people messaging me on skype about helping there game and doing my best to give them all the knowledge that I have gained the past year. As far as success goes, I've been doing a lot better from when I first started, so I'm going to help out as much as I can to everyone out there that wants my help. It's just tough grinding 10K hands, working part time, and spending some quality time with my family. So I'll do my best to anyone that has skyped me over the past 2 weeks.
If I can keep my goals up, I will be able to attain two more milestone bonuses while accumulating the $1500 supernova bonus twice in the month as well or at least be really close if I keep mixing both limits.
So goal recap:
Minimum 10K a day
Grind 5 days with a 6 day option
Continue to work on my game and study all the regs that are giving me trouble
Anyways, feel free to message me anytime hit me up...I always love feedback and support
Best of luck on the journey!!
Jeff
As far as working on my game, I have my coach that is helping me on a weekly basis, and I have another coach that is pretty well know at the stakes I'm playing at which I start Tuesday with him and I'm really excited. I also been working with my B and he's helping me with a bunch of the math behind the math in poker and 3betting and 4betting which is pretty sweet if I can understand it. Also, I have quite a few people messaging me on skype about helping there game and doing my best to give them all the knowledge that I have gained the past year. As far as success goes, I've been doing a lot better from when I first started, so I'm going to help out as much as I can to everyone out there that wants my help. It's just tough grinding 10K hands, working part time, and spending some quality time with my family. So I'll do my best to anyone that has skyped me over the past 2 weeks.
If I can keep my goals up, I will be able to attain two more milestone bonuses while accumulating the $1500 supernova bonus twice in the month as well or at least be really close if I keep mixing both limits.
So goal recap:
Minimum 10K a day
Grind 5 days with a 6 day option
Continue to work on my game and study all the regs that are giving me trouble
Anyways, feel free to message me anytime hit me up...I always love feedback and support
Best of luck on the journey!!
Jeff
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