Some Updates, and Some Thoughts on Saving Money

So, I've been playing really well lately. I'm not sure what to really say about that, but I really don't want to discuss finances too much. I guess maybe I'll get into it at the end of the month more. I will say, though, that I had a -9k session on Friday. Then, Saturday around 5PM I had a +3.3k session, and from like 11 PM - 3 AM a +7.2k. I was home for the weekend so I just played after hanging out with my family for a little. It was really really refreshing to get that back, and gave me a lot of confidence. I reviewed my downswing, and there were a couple spots where I gave away stacks, but otherwise I played fine. On one hand, I looked it over and was really happy about the way I played this hand. I'm not sure whether it's superduper or normal, but I got excited about it basically I felted TP0K in a 4way pot and was ahead:


Guy 1 is at seat 0 with $3378.25.
Guy 2 is at seat 1 with $1018.50.
Guy 3 is at seat 2 with $1573.
Guy 4 is at seat 3 with $828.55.
Villain/Reg is at seat 4 with $818.90.
HERO is at seat 5 with $1131.
The button is at seat 5.

Guy 1 posts the small blind of $5.
Guy 2 posts the big blind of $10.

Guy 1: -- --
Guy 2: -- --
Guy 3: -- --
Guy 4: -- --
Villain/Reg: -- --
HERO: Qs 6s

Pre-flop:

Guy 3 folds. Guy 4 folds. Villain/Reg
raises to $35. HERO calls. Guy 1 calls.
Guy 2 calls.

Flop (board: 3c 9d Qc):

Guy 1 checks. Guy 2 checks. Villain/Reg
checks. HERO bets $105. Guy 1 folds.
Guy 2 folds. Villain/Reg raises to $350.
HERO goes all-in for $1096. Villain/Reg goes
all-in for $783.90. HERO is returned $312.10
(uncalled).

Turn (board: 3c 9d Qc Ah):

(no action in this round)


River (board: 3c 9d Qc Ah 9c):

(no action in this round)




Showdown:

HERO shows Qs 6s.
HERO has Qs 9d Qc Ah 9c: two pair, queens and nines.
Villain/Reg shows 8c Tc.
Villain/Reg has 8c Tc 3c Qc 9c: flush, queen high.


Hand #39412812-40278 Summary:

$3 is raked from a pot of $1707.80.
Villain/Reg wins $1704.80 with flush, queen high.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Even though he had 12 outs, I just liked the hand a lot for some reason, and I knew I was gonna get out of my downswing.


So, I read a thread about Good2CU getting drunk and losing 40k, which apparently is a lot of his poker bankroll since he has to pay taxes and just bought a new car. I immediately recalled a conversation I had with my friend - he informed me that he would spend at least 60k if he had won an FTOPS event that cashed first for 130k. I was shocked, because my strategy would be so unbelievably different. I am so conversative with spending money, and bankroll management, that I would never go crazy like that. Right now, other than money that I have in sites to play poker with, and other than about 10k that I have locked away for personal expenses, I have everything in investments. I just feel like I want to take advantage of these years by making a lot of money to set me up for after college. I don't really care if BBV thinks it isn't "baller," I don't really care if I'm joked at as a "life nit," and I don't care that I don't go compulsively buying shit that I may or may not even want.

Sure, I spend money. If I feel like I want some new clothing, I'll go and drop $500 and not even think about it. I actually want to go get one of those GPS navigation systems, so I'm gonna get that as well. And, admittedly, I do spend a bunch on my relationship (plane tickets, dinners, gifts, etc). But, that makes my girlfriend happy and feel special, and I love the ability to make her feel loved because she deserves it.

My point is, you can spend money, but it should be used in moderation. I know so many people who are playing SSNL or MSNL and making 4k or so a month. But, they are spending half of it, tilting away somemore, and betting away the rest. Great, you can make a lot of money playing poker, but what the hell does that actually accomplish? If you want to have money and you can win at poker, why not just suck it up for a few months, and build a bankroll? Then, when you get to a level where you can no longer print money with your eyes closed, treat yourself a little, and start trying to get better! I realize I'm starting to ramble, so I'll try to get to a point here. People are generally too spendy, and just categorize themselves as such, without really looking at ways they can maybe cut back a little in the short term, but be able to spend more in the long term.

One last thing. I have done really well this month with not tilting. And the reason is that I have been able to stop playing when I have started to tilt. We all know this is infinitely more difficult than it sounds, but I think I may have devised a way to help. When I feel myself steaming, I can stop because I have trained myself to, upon emotionally feeling hot/angry, to start seeing the money in an absolute manner. For example, $1000 is not one buy in, but it is one thousand dollars. Then I think of all the things I can buy for one thousand dollars, and I close up the tables. Afterwards, I cool off by either playing video games, or browsing things I could buy with the money I just saved. I think it's important to turn this switch off when playing well, but it is critical to know the absolute value of the money in front of you. Hell, maybe it'll stop you from shoving that slider all the way to the right.

Until next time,
Greg

Random, Somewhat Angry Thoughts

I'm not sure what to think right now. I'm kind of pissed because I have a midterm tomorrow that I found out about today, but realistically I hate running badly.

I hopped on PokerStars before 24 tonight, and my God the regulars there are just annoying. They are bad, they spew like motherfuckers, and, best of all, they win no matter what! I know what they have, but it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you aren't getting odds on your call if you hit every time. It doesn't matter if you shove with some ridiculous hand if you get there every time. So, the key is to play against people that can make thin plays, and then suck out against them. It works every time!

Greg

Now I get to go study for a midterm...

It's Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone. Let's get the poker out of the way so I can talk about life stuff again.

As a player who is completely overrolled for any game I would ever consider playing, I came to an interesting conclusion tonight. I was playing on UB, and a really really soft NL2500 game opened up. I decided to join because I was up on the night, despite PS's best attempts to keep me down (cough *66* cough). Yes, there was a lot of history involved, but whatever. Well, I am not one to back down just because the stakes are higher, so I took the liberty of getting into a 8.7k coinflip and obviously losing. http://www.pokerhand.org/?824382. In a few moments, I found myself down 6.5k at nl2500. Somehow, between that and a brutal, brutal, -2400 PS session at nl600 this afternoon with Jay, I managed to make it to +722 on the day. Feeling that I was going to puke from the swings, I graphed the month:

Click it. Anyway, as you can see I'm at 17.5k on the month, but I've highlighted in green circles the shots at NL2500. Oh, the first big drop is from this hand: http://www.pokerhand.org/?824296. In total, I've dropped a little over 13k at NL2500 this month.

This brings me to my conclusion about taking shots. Unless you want to build an insufficient bankroll to a larger amount and are willing to risk a lot of future grinding, it's not a good idea. I cannot handle the swings. I hate it. I realized tonight that, after 3.5 hours of getting punched in the face on PS during the afternoon, I played a session that quickly went up to about 8k, putting me at like +6 on the day. Now I'm sitting there at $722 on the day. I don't want that. Yes, I understand it can go the other way, but to me at least, it hurts a lot more when you take a shot and lose than when you take a shot and win. Furthermore, for a player that isn't overrolled, this literally can be devastating to your roll. God help you if you start tilting as well.

So, I'm not taking any more shots anymore. I get stressed out, and the stakes become too high. Plus, I should be at 30k on the month, and now I'm missing 13 of that :/.

Anyway, let's talk about something fun. Today was Valentine's Day. I sent my girlfriend (of nearly three years!) some nice flowers (ok, very nice flowers), and I am also getting her Custom made M&Ms, but clearly they were backordered up the ass so she will be getting those the 21st. I will be visitng her at Penn State tomorrow, which will be nice.

Side story, and then a little conclusion about poker. I went to CVS today to get some condoms, and they had them locked up. Obviously this will increase safe sex.... Anyway, I went to the front counter and told the woman I needed to purchase condoms, but they were locked away and a sign said to get assistance. She immediately sent Julio over to unlock them. It was funny because she was a 60 year old woman, and I had a look of shock that I went up to her and said this. I somehow skipped out on her lecture about whether I'm ready or not.

Also went to the dry cleaners. I get my laundry done because I despise folding luandry. Luckily, there is this sick rate at the local laundromat. I get it washed + folded (no detergent etc needed) for some $/pound, which happened to be 35lbs for $24.50. I gave the woman a tip and left with two bags, very excited. I then ripped one bag open somehow against some sharp part of my trunk? which left me aggravated.

So, I am playing less, and kind of hopping around on sites. This keeps my interest up, and I enjoy it more. I'm also staying away from playing during the day so I can get other stuff done. I relax, hang around my suite, and play video games. It's a lot more interactive than sitting there with headphones on and looking at a computer screen, which I can do later for 2-4 hours anyway. Besides, it works itself out as everyone else goes to bed around 12:30-1, while I am up until 4 generally. Except for now, since I have a 9:30 tomorrow, and I like to shower/eat breakfast beforehand. I'm off to bed, but before I go, I will say one thing:

If you are playing Mario Kart 64, do not consider yourself an "expert" player unless you know and utilize the power slide. Otherwise, good luck to you...

Greg

I'm backkkkkkkkkkk

Alright, so I'm updating this blog again, and with a kind of new twist. It's going to kind of get away from poker poker poker, and be more like life poker. I'm trying to reevaluate my life, and figure out what I'm doing exactly, and where I'm going. I don't feel lost, nor empty, I just feel like I'm rolling through each day and just getting to the next. I'm not sure what that means, but obviously it's something semi-significant.

I'm working out again, which is a pretty big step for me. After lifting for about 4.5 years without more than a week's break, I, for whatever reason, felt that I should take about a 3 week break during finals last spring. Afterwards, I just never felt like going back. I didn't have the desire, and I'm sure poker had something to do with it.

Somehow I managed a 3.3 last semester while waiting until the last minute on everything, mainly/probably because of poker. This semester I'm not going to screw around as much, and I'm, going to get stuff done on time.

I have some really thoughts from time to time, and it's difficult because I feel like I'm starting to find an answer to an unknown question, but my thoughts stop in the middle of it. Think of figuring out the first 13 letters of the alphabet, then suddently stopping.

I'm getting back into poker again, and feeling better about that. I will be putting in less hours though, and trying not to play during the day so I can accomplish other things I need to do. Then I will reward myself by playing at night. With that said, I'm still pretty sure I can put in hours as good as anyone does, as that has always been my trademark. Right now, I'm playing 3/6 on PS until further review of the play, and 3/6 and 5/10 on UB (and staying away from 10/25 after getting hit and run by a donk HU after a sick suckout, and after losing a 7.5k pot HU with a lesser trips). I'm also going to start lessons back up with Jay, and after my first one I felt like I regained some great stuff. I really like my life plan, and sure, I might not be making AS MUCH money as I could potentially, but I won't feel like I'm going through the motions, I will be happier, and I'll enjoy everything more. And it will be good to actually get my body back to what it once was.

So, I'm not sure what to expect from this blog. Thusly, you shouldn't either. It's going to be pretty strange, but I've been in a pretty strange mood lately as well. I think it'll be interesting though, so stick around. That's all for now,

Greg