Always Play Your A Game

I am fairly proud of myself for what I did during the past weekend. I finally got my Windows 7 installed in 64 bit mode. I had to buy a new 500 gb hard drive so I could backup all the information I needed. It helped a lot because I had to pretty much format my old 1TB drive so I wouldn't have any settings etc which are a headache to setup sometimes. After I did that I installed a lot of my poker related programs and did the whole licensing thing. Licenses are such a headache when you have to reformat or upgrade your computer.

I played this weekend too but wasn't too thrilled about my results. I thought I played a lot better on Saturday then I did on Sunday even though I made a little money on Sunday. The reason I was so disappointed with how I played on Sunday because I wasn't playing my A game. It's so much easier to lie to someone else but you can't lie to yourself. After the session, I was like I played alright but deep down I knew I played terrible. I had far too many misclicks and did dumb stuff and I don't know wtf was going on. I am doing a better job of staying focused but it was just terrible how bad I played on Sunday. Oh well I managed to actually win a $12/180 the fact remains that I played bad. SNG's are funny because the more consistent you play obv the better results you have. It's tough because you are human and might have off days but if you are professional and do your job then your bad days will be limited.

Today I plan on playing for 5-6 hrs. I am really working on playing more 180's and less 45's but it sucks when you have to load a lot fewer tables. The $7.70's load times are absolutely garbage and I never really could get that many going. Mostly it was $12 180's mixed in with like 4-5 45's at the most. I want to keep it like this because I like playing 180's and I like playing 45's too. But I dunno we will see what happens. I also need to find time to do some studying for grad school sigh. Lastly I need to buy a chair and move my computer to the office area. This way I won't be able to turn on the tv and will be 100% free of distractions.

wbmustang

Making Progress

Well, I actually got two things accomplished with my life yesterday. First of all I went to the dentist. I thought the visit was going to be pretty bad but it was alright. I found out that I need to brush and floss better, well that wasn't a shocker, and I have to go back for a deep clean. The only bad thing is that I have one small cavity but I kinda knew that was there from when eating candy I could feel it.

I also finally upgraded my computer to Windows 7 and I am pretty happy. It was so aggravating having HEM and Table Ninja really slow down my computer. It even is more aggravating when you know it's because your OS can't recognize all of your RAM. XP had a limit on how much it recognized and that problem is solved. I was going to upgrade to Vista but just waited until Windows 7 came out. I probably will just play the same amount of tables at first to see if it runs better.

I also received a little bit of coaching from Jbrown yesterday and feel like I learned a lot. It's always good to have coaching sessions because you see the spots where you are missing. Anyways I was missing some spots and being nitty in others. I would expand more but I don't know who is reading this blog. Either way I know what I am doing wrong and going to try to correct my problems. Also I won't be playing any 45's for at least a week. Jbrown and I talked about this and he said that it would be good so that I can get my 180 man game down. I feel so confident in my 45 man game that think I will be alright. Another thing that he said that really struck home is don't be one of those guys that worry about how you run. I do have a tendency to do this but hey I can't control it. The only thing I can control is if I am playing my A game and not missing spots and the results will come. Hopefully these changes will help and I look forward to pwning soon.

Keep Pluggin

Often times when I start off the month off I get kind of lazy and be like well oh I won some money I can chill. I am trying to work on making myself keep plugging volume. Now that I feel so good about how I am playing I need to put in as much volume as possible. I didn't play any last nigh because I wanted to chill and ended up just staying home playing some Fifa and studying. Hey at least I did something poker related.

Yesterday I also watched the Phil Ivey special on E:60 and it was pretty cool. I mean I think they could of made it better but Phil was as open on that as he has been in any type of interview. It was pretty sick to see the life he lived and how high he gambled. When he signs a check for $1 million to play some craps I just laughed and thought. I was like dang I don't think I have enough courage to put that amount of 0's on a check. I know he worked pretty hard to get where he is at and seeing stuff like that motivates. I probably will never get to the point where I play craps for that much money though lol.

I probably am going to keep plugging volume this weekend too seeing that I don't have class this weekend. I still have to do stuff like upgrading my computer, sigh yes again I said it, and figure out how to get some studying in for actual class. I really need to start getting on that class stuff like ASAP before it starts to snowball out of control. I think I probably need to find a way to look at stuff at least an hour a day.

Anyways I am pretty tired so I am going to bed early. Something that has been pissing me off lately is that fact that I am so sleepy all the time. I don't know wtf is going on but during the day I am so tired. I have gone the route of starting to drink energy drinks and stuff and that is all bad I think. Whenever I take an energy drink for some reason I feel like I am taking years off my life and I hate it. Maybe it has to do with my nutrition which sucks. I really need to evaluate how I treat my body because I do it so bad. Lol I feel so dumb sometimes but I will get it together soon.

wbmustang

Motivation.... and 13th In the Nightly $70k

T.I - Motivation
You can look me in my eyes, see I'm ready for whatever
Anythang don't kill me, make me better
I ain't dead nigga, you can take the fame and the chedda
And the game, and the deal, I'm still a go-getter
Take my freedom for the moment but it ain't fo-ever
I got the spirit of a god, heart of a dope dealer
I'm a king, seen hangin' with some cold killas
I ain't never back down or ran from no nigga
I ain't sat down yet, pimp, standin' gorilla
Even if I'ma all alone or standin' with four niggaz
Tell'em jump, pimpin' it don't get no realer
5'9" with the soul of a 6'4" nigga
I separated the fakes, paralized from the waist down
From the real stand up guys of the A-Town
Can't even look me in my eyes, put yo face down
I'm outta jail nigga, whachu gotta say now?

Motivation
Niggaz fakin' only gonna inspire (Motivation)
All yo hatin' is fuel to my fire (It's motivation)
Niggaz plottin' on the crown soft droppin' (It's motivation)
Hey but I ain't slowin' down and I ain't stoppin' (Motivation)
Now nigga don't stop my show (Motivation)
You ain't know I don't stop, I go (It's motivation)
Sucka niggaz can't make me suffer
Just make me stronger and make me tougher (It's motivation)

I was trying to post this song but I can't find one to post due to copyright reasons. I guess TI needs all the money he can get while locked up and doesn't need music pirates killing his bankroll. This has to be one of the most inspiring songs for me for some reason. When I started playing my session yesterday I played this song and was really vibing to it. Little did I know that this song will be my anthem because of what happened yesterday.

When I started my session, I set up my regular stuff to register for in Table Ninja then went to the MTT tab. I was like hey might as well try to play the nightly $70k. Two problems I didn't know the buyin and I didn't know how long I wanted to play. Well after I registered and started playing I realized it was a $50+5. I wasn't too mad about that thanks to msusyr24 making that score and inflating the bankroll. The next problem I would get over. I knew I was going to load for 4 hrs like I usually do but hey it was icing on the cake to get deep in the nightly $70k. I ended up having a good session with SNG's and got 13th in the Nightly $70k. I guess that's all fine and dandy but I really wanted to final table this one. Hell I really wanted to win it. I have been waiting so long for my score and here it is I could taste it. I am kind of disappointed in my bustout hand because maybe I went broke to easy but my stack was just too shallow to fold imo.

PokerStars Game #34901296067: Tournament #209011082, $50+$5 USD Hold'em No Limit - Level XXII (4000/8000) - 2009/11/04 0:30:15 PT [2009/11/04 3:30:15 ET]
Table '209011082 130' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 2: JerWorld (59454 in chips)
Seat 3: piAnisSimoO (641465 in chips)
Seat 5: payup123 (400184 in chips)
Seat 6: dapperson (340220 in chips)
Seat 7: wbmustang (173738 in chips)
Seat 8: 925rounder (366681 in chips)
Seat 9: punisher03 (515766 in chips)
JerWorld: posts the ante 800
piAnisSimoO: posts the ante 800
payup123: posts the ante 800
dapperson: posts the ante 800
wbmustang: posts the ante 800
925rounder: posts the ante 800
punisher03: posts the ante 800
piAnisSimoO: posts small blind 4000
payup123: posts big blind 8000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to wbmustang [Kd Jd]
dapperson: folds
wbmustang: raises 12000 to 20000
925rounder: folds
punisher03: calls 20000
JerWorld: folds
piAnisSimoO: folds
payup123: calls 12000
*** FLOP *** [7d 5c Kc]
payup123: checks
wbmustang: bets 40000
punisher03: raises 40000 to 80000
payup123: folds
wbmustang: raises 72938 to 152938 and is all-in
punisher03: calls 72938
*** TURN *** [7d 5c Kc] [6c]
*** RIVER *** [7d 5c Kc 6c] [7s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
wbmustang: shows [Kd Jd] (two pair, Kings and Sevens)
punisher03: shows [Ks Ad] (two pair, Kings and Sevens - Ace kicker)
punisher03 collected 375476 from pot
punisher03 said, "gg"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 375476 | Rake 0
Board [7d 5c Kc 6c 7s]
Seat 2: JerWorld (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: piAnisSimoO (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: payup123 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: dapperson folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: wbmustang showed [Kd Jd] and lost with two pair, Kings and Sevens
Seat 8: 925rounder folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: punisher03 showed [Ks Ad] and won (375476) with two pair, Kings and Sevens

Oh well gg me and I will take the $500. It was so much fun getting that deep in a tournament. I was concentrating so hard and my adrenaline was just pumpin. One day I will make a deep run and TID but for now this just like a sample at Costco and I want the whole pie.

Other than that I still need to get stuff done at my apartment. I still have not upgraded to Windows 7. The most productive thing I have done with my life is that I have a dentist appointment set up. I have put this one off for some time and now I am pretty scared. It's gonna be painful but hey I know a certain someone wants to make sure my smile stays intact.

Anyways, I know it seems like I blog only when things go good and that is really not the case. Usually when I take breaks from blogging I have a lot going on and I don't know how to put in on paper as the say. I guess from now on I will just start typing and see what happens.

wbmustang

Light Bulb Turns On + October Results

In poker people talk about the aha moment that happens before they catch on and start crushing. For some reason I think I might be getting to that point. Gone are the days I am just going through the motions playing the game. I feel like I am more actively thinking about all my situations instead of clicking away mindlessly. I feel like I have said this in the past and I hope that it really sticks this time. Now if only I can apply these principles to everything else in life sigh.

I feel like I have so much to do around my house and not enough time in the day to do it. I have clothes that need folding, I need to tidy up my place in general, I need to finally set up my office by getting an office chair, I need to upgrade my computer to Windows 7, I need to play and study poker, and on top of that I need to read for grad school. So much to do but I feel like I don't have enough time. I have a great idea, instead of thinking about doing this things I can start doing them. Sounds real easy but not for me. J/K I am working on not being as lazy but I am taking baby steps I need to start taking grown man steps. This upcoming will be interesting to see how I balance everything out but I am sure I can. Sometimes sacrifices must be made and if that means less partying/drinking/spending money then it might be for the best. Of course I don't do this all the time, but it might happen less frequently. I mean most of the time I don't end up playing is because I go out to happy hour and get too many drinks in me and come home and pass out.

I am pretty proud of my month poker wise. I did well with a 23% ROI over 1,009 games for close to $2k. The reason I am so proud of this month is because you can see the correlation from me realizing things and my results that follow. This is why I truly believe that the light has gone on. The graphs of results will be at the bottom of my post. On top of that msusyr24 shipped the Sunday Second Chance for $45k and I had a piece of him. I really am happy for him because he puts in a lot of volume and time on his game. Just another example about what hard work can get you so congrats msusyr24. I don't know how much my share will be worth until he does the math but I am looking forward to it. This is one of the rare times where I have staked someone and they actually did good. I have staked good player countless times before and not gotten a positive ROI. Maybe this will make me take it seriously and start tracking my staking adventures.

Other than that I really can't complain about anything. Oh yeah I do have a prop bet with vertek set up. It is going to be a $500 to see who gets to $20k profit on sharkscope first. This should be interesting because lately he has been pwning me in volume but we will see what happens. If I want to win I definitely have to focus. This has to be one of my largest bets I have set up and I don't plan on losing. GL vertek I hope we both stay motivated and make money at the same time.


wbmustang

The Calm

I am proud of myself due to the way that I have played recently. It seems like I really took the points of the last blog to heart and I feel like I am playing a lot better. I am not being a "zombie" during my sessions and actively thinking a lot more and I feel like it is paying off. I have also been doing more studying and I feel like I can still do more. However, I am little bit disappointed with my volume this month. I am like 70 games away from 1k games and I must reach that goal. I feel like my month is a joke if I don't hit 1k games played and it's so easy to get there. I have my schedule and everything setup so I really am pursuing 1.5k games very hard during November.

I switched it up and played a live tournament last night. My buddy Al always wants me to play but playing live just tilts me so bad until I start playing. I love being in person and playing. You get the feel of the chips, the nervousness and excitement, and everything that comes with live poker. However, when you take a beat it stings that much more live because you can't just load up another tournament. The tournament is $50+5 and it gets about 130 people when I play. It was pretty uneventful and I busted all in pre flop with AKs. At the 400/800 level one guy ep+1 limps, another person in the cut off raises to 3k I am on the button with 11k total I ship sb calls, ep+ 1 guy calls, and then the guy in the cut off calls. I am against 52s, ATs, and 66. Obv I flop trip Kings but I get two outed on the turn so gg me. I was just so mad because I feel like I win that huge pot there then I am going on a tear. Oh well thats live poker lawl donkaments.

I sit here today at work a little nervous because my grad school classes are starting today. Sigh 4:30 pm - 9 pm on Friday and 8:00 am - 2:00 pm on Saturday every other week FML. Oh well it's for a good purpose. I just want to go ahead and get this masters degree out of the way so I can be done with school forever. Often times I keep telling myself I am going to get this degree and see what happens with poker after that. I mean I will have a masters and hopefully enough money to take some time off and grind. We'll see I could be talking to soon so I dunno. My biggest thing is how my parents will react if I do this. Lol I think about it all the time but too scared to do so. I just got a promotion, they are paying for my schoo, and so easy to just make variance free money so I will just stack it up. I know I shouldn't care about what my parents will think at this point since I pay my own bills but I don't want to disrespect them. Oh well that's all I got for now.

wbmustang

"I'm a professional. I just do my job."

Well, I haven't updated my blog in a while because I had a lot of stuff going on. I had a lot of thinking to do about why I am not where I want to be in terms of poker. When I started to think about that I remembered this quote from Man on Fire, "I am professional. I just do my job." Even though this is a quote from the organization that kidnapped a little girl it still has merit in my life because I don't think I am being very professional in ANY aspect of my life.

I have always been a pretty gifted kid. I always was able to pretty much exceed in a lot of things that I do without putting in the proper work. As I look back on my life, I think this is a big problem and one of the biggest flaws I have. I always had the talent but never wanted to work, basically I am just lazy. For me to succeed in poker the way that I want to do I need to be more professional with it. I need to stop jerking around and really focus during my sessions. I don't know what is up with me. Maybe it is my adult ADD, or something but I need to be more focused. Bottom line, I am playing for money and need to be more professional. Even though it looks like I am playing a video game I need to always be focused at the task at hand.

I also need to make a better habit about studying my games. I don't know how often a lot of people talk about studying their games and reviewing what they are doing and playing to get better. It's like I feel like I can skip a step because I feel like I am not making mistakes. Well you can feel that way, but bottom line I think you can be hard pressed to find a person that makes no mistakes while playing. I believe that the good players have a low number to non mistakes but I can't even qualify myself in this category. Why I have the mentality of thinking is beyond me but I am trying to make a character change.

Watching, the Will Smith video on vertek's fb page really motivated me. The video is a bunch of clips of Will Smith saying some inspirational stuff and it really hit home. He says that he is not the most talented actor but he will outwork anyone. This is the mentality that I must carry in everyday I do. I mean who knows what I am capable of when I work hard. I just don't want to be known as a guy that had all the talent and didn't put in the work. It's scary because that's how I see my life going and not really poker. I have so much potential I just need to untap it. I mean I am not doing bad for myself. I just got a promotion at my engineering job which pays good but I know I can do better. I am just trying to stop living my life going through the motions.

To implement my master plan, I am going to put myself on a very strenious schedule. This is only for the best and it is going to be a good starting point. I can adjust my schedule to incorporate working out but with grad school starting this weekend this is how it is going to have to be.

M-T
5:00 am - 1:30 pm Work
2:15 pm - 7:15 pm Load up and play poker
7:15 pm - 9:00 pm (the latest) - wind down poker sessions
9:00-10:30 pm

I have classes on Friday and Saturday so I will have to figure out how I can play after class on Saturday. I know this is a demanding schedule but I expect greatness from myself.

Results have been pretty meh after I went on a downswing when I wasn't playing the greatest. I am just tired of saying I am going to do this and that and not follow through. I really need to read some of my older post and count how many times I say I am going to do something and don't end up doing it and it would be sickening. Oh well all I can do is just make positive changes and keep on trucking. Well maybe I am too hard on myself but the great people are. Till next time.

wbmustang