Firstly, once again many, many apologies for failing to blog last week!! Blame my best friend that visited and our 17 hour drink session which finished at 6am last Sunday and wrote off any chance of me writing a coherent blog. As such I will treat you to a double blog this week...lots to cover too so let's not waste any more time.
So last week I had my first lesson with my new poker coach and have to say it was a revelation. I managed to find a number of spots where I wasn't extracting maximum value and also a few (a lot) where I was spewing dollars post flop. It was also interesting just to try and build my game from the ground up. There have also been some major changes to my game on recommendation from my coach. Firstly, and most importantly, the number of tables I play has been cut down to 4-6. For a volume junkie like me this has caused a major slow down in pace but has allowed me to find better value spots and help me to better maintain my 'A' game. I think for too long at 12 tables I was just playing on auto-pilot and, I whether I like to admit it or not, was just button mashing like the players I seek to exploit. This slow down in pace has caused my some minor difficulties in Iron Man due to it taking a lot longer to hit the points I need, however I am confident to hit bronze in March. Silver could have been on the cards at 12 tables but until I get my leaks plugged winning on the tables is far more important than bonuses. This is also true of rakeback and I will expect a major reduction in my weekly pay cheque. However, I am confident that once I have started playing better I can increase the tables one at a time.
So the tale of the tape (13th March - 19th March):
Hands: 6,600
Hours: 10.25
BB/100: -6.02
$/hour: -$8.17
Total winnings: -$83.79
Total Rakeback: $13.91
Total for the week: -$69.88
I know. My worst week at the tables ever. It felt like it too. Towards the end of this week I felt sick of the game. I was playing terribly, I felt tilted and was playing the worst poker of my life. My coaching could not have come at a better time. My mind and game were in desperate need of focusing and that is exactly what I believe it has done...enough said about this week except to say the huge loss was all down to me tilting off money following some cooler hands...no excuse for it and my coach has recommended a stop-loss of 4 buy-ins a session.
So the tale of the tape (20th March - 26th March):
Hands: 5,389
Hours: 14.88
BB/100: 0.87
$/hour: $0.63
Total winnings: $9.36
Total Rakeback: $8.91
Total for the week: $18.27
Better, a positive week and a much better approach to the game. The week was looking a lot better until I had one of 'those' sessions yesterday when I lost the usual set over set type coolers and lost two buyins. On the whole a more considered approach to my game, a lot tighter (in position) and really thinking about the positions I'm in, who my opponents are and when/why I'm betting, calling or checking. I really am starting to feel like a thinking player and although I'm still not a good player and sometimes make plays that even make me wanna weep I'm improving, of that I am sure. I have managed to get myself into quite a rut in March and am likely to be on the end of my first losing month since November 2010, a losing month at the tables at least, which is all that really matters. The bonuses and rakeback should be just that...bonuses. I will be playing everyday between now and the end of March in order to hit my iron man and will try my best to limit the damage for March.
Lifting Weights
I'm now two weeks into P90x and it is killing me...in a good way. There is no denying that it is extreme and it's gonna be no easy challenge to complete but hopefully I will prevail. Not one part of my body doesn't ache as I sit here writing this but all the aches are worth it. The workouts are tough and involve super-setting muscle groups in order to completely exhaust the body and keep it guessing - there is a strong cardio element too and also some workouts I have never tried such as Plyometrics (the mother of all workouts) and Yoga (extremely difficult). The first phase is all about fat stripping and creating a lean base in which to add bulk to later so I'm also on a high protein low carbohydrate diet for the first four weeks. It has been great to be eating some healthy food and knowing that I am complimenting my workout with the right fuel. It hasn't been easy to stick to and at times has been a struggle to create three new main meals a day but as I say I'm really hoping the results will be positive.
See you mid-week for an end of March review.
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