In Response to Re: "Sit & DOHHHHHHH Diary" : 1 game doesnt make a legend. I think his judgement may be slightly clouded. He may be getting him confused with Mark Walters, the ex LFC player . Yes, 'super Jonny Walters' is a very good reliable squad player but other stars will shine for us too, soon. Get your 56p on Stoke to finish top ten this season....banker! Obv, ZZ has never ventured into some of the back street pubs in the city. Plus he must have never heard of Stanley Matthews or Phil Taylor! Or Oatcakes. (still reading mate....glad you seem to be on the road to recovery now) Posted by MAXALLY
Hope you put that bet on mate. We out played Man City all over the park.
Will update if anything really good or really bad happens Posted by DOHHHHHHH
Or indifferent ^.
"1 month" assessment at the quacks today.
I got my hopes up bigtime towards the end of last week, I had a pretty good upswing that lasted 3/4 days.
It came out of nowhere, because I'd not been out for a few weeks prior to it, i'd been feeling really cr@ppy as well as tired, presumably because of the meds and my effort levels really dropped off.
With the health upswing though came a mood upswing, I 'did' alot more stuff, made sure I was busy, active, played abit of poker etc, enjoyed most of the weekend.
Then Sunday/Monday/Tuesday/Today have been back to the normal feeling shattered all the time zzz.
So I do nothing, and feel better.
Do something whilst feeling better, and feel rubbish.
I've said it before but it's the lack of any sort of consistancy with sleep/diet/exercise/routine etc that makes this 'condition' so incredibly frustrating for me.
I never know what I should and shouldn't do! aghhhh.
-----
Anyway back at the quacks today, he said the good period I had last week is enough encouragement to persist with the crazy pills for another month before re-assessing.
I kind of agreed with him, because with the upswing last week I really didn't want to quit them too soon.
But then any enthusiasm I had has been drained by how brutal this week has started.
Also need more bloods to see how my vitamin deficiency is coming on. I'm hoping that remains a problem, because taking the tabs for 4 months has made exactly 0% difference.
Interesting link between that vitamin issue and poker fwiw.
I listened to a part of the podcast yesterday which said poker players (not that I am 1) often suffer from it, and it can have big negative effects on attention, concentration and focus.
That might explain why I struggle to play well for longer than 45 minutes at a time.
-----
I also read a poker article on 'confidence'.
People always tell me that I should be more confident in my poker game, so I thought it was interesting when the author described where poker 'confidence' should come from.
There are certain steps you must take to become a successful player over the long term.
This includes
studying the game
playing with focus
maintaining a healthy mind and body
The better you get in each of these areas the more confident you should be in your ability to win.
If I was to mark my own performance in each of those catagories, I would go 2/10, 1/10 and 0/10, for a total of 3/30.
Note it really doesn't matter how good you are, or think you are, or how good others believe you are at hand reading, bet sizing, reads, tells, etc, if you have no faith in your body and mind before and during a game, it's going to be really difficult to be confident.
-----
Now a rant....
The Mosconi Cup
It's 1 of my favourite sporting events.
But some of the stuff that goes on p!sses me right off.
I've made a list.
1) Players checking how balls are racked up every frame. LET THE REFEREE DO HIS JOB.
2) Crowd 'whooping' when a player misses. GROW UP
3) Opposition players both in the crowd and IN THE GAME celebrating when the opposing team miss. SET AN EXAMPLE.
4) Players celebrating like they've won the match everytime they win a frame. CALM THE F* DOWN
5) Everything about Nick Van Den Berg. U SUCK BRO.
6) The refs silly orange ties. ME BEING PICKY.
The presenter is ok tho
-----
I've been improving my poker productivity since the last update. Whilst procrastinating on the internet for >3/4 hours a day I've been 1 tabling the bwin noob 10nl tables at the same time.
They only allow players to play 1 of these at a time (and no other cash games) so they are like pub standard poker.
If there are any casual cash players out there who like to play 1 table at a time, it's the site for you.
Love the Mosconi cup too, all the competitive edge, passion and drama of the ryder cup packed into a tiny arena.
I can relate to it better as I was much better at Pool than I was golf.
I miss Earl though - no pantomime is complete without a villain.
The rack check is to take advantage of any gaps left in the rack, they dont get the rack the reset, if there are any tiny gaps they break from the opposite side as the balls spread more.
Thanks for the update. Quite a painful read, so for you, it must be a living nightmare.
I've never met you, & you have, from time to time, trodden on my toes (unintentionally, I'm sure), but it'd be a hard heartless man who did not wish you could be cured of whatever currently ails you.
Hang in there, & keep the faith.
You seem to have a very low opinion of your poker abilities, but you don't fool anyone - you are a successful, winning, player, & only a minority can say that.
On which note, & on the basis of "let's try another thing", have you considered giving poker a break for a few weeks? I love poker as much as anyone, but I'm not wholly convinced that chaining ourselves to a computer x hours per day is necessarily wholesome or beneficial when we are not well. Bit like "rotation" in football, it certainly freshens us up when we take a little break from playing.
Whatever you decide - & the chances of a young man listening to the advice of a wrinklie is about a 66/1 shot - I sincerely wish you well.
Think I've trodden on alot of toes over the last few years TK, made an a rse of myself pretty much from moment 1 in the online poker community as I get reminded every once in a while when the Hartigan threads get bumped
He's doing ok for himself now, another read I got spot on
If I was given the oppertunity to re-write the last 6 years, both in and away from poker there isn't a single thing I wouldn't like to change.
So best not to dwell on it, "it is what it is", "c'est la vie" "hakuna matata" and other similar foreign cliche'd phrases.
----
The poker break idea is a solid suggestion, but I don't think it will make any difference.
In the last week I've only played 4 hours 15 minutes, that's 36 mins a day.
In the last 3 months I've played 95 hours which is almost exactly 1 hour per day.
You can see I barely play any poker at all, my volume will be less than alot of recreational players.
I have lots of days off when the body doesn't allow me to play poker at all, so on days when I can play I enjoy flicking in an hour here and there same as most 'fun players'.
-----
That is however going to change over the next 2 days ^. (I did have this goal in mind when I posted last night TK, so don't see it as sticking 2 fingers up at your break suggestion!
Gonna go for 8 hours volume over Thurs/Fri.
I've woke up with a bit of a cold (againnn) and feeling very lethargic (againnn) but will that stop me? will it f...well maybe.
10nl bwin with 4nl sky and some soft 8nl/10nl sky tables if they appear.
Roll going in is £1165.43.
gl me.
-----
Phantom I didn't know that re the break, I'll take it off the list.
But then I'll have to add the balls being set up different sometimes? If it's important they are set up perfectly then they should be!
Take off "LET THE REFS DO THEIR JOB" and replace it with "REFS, DO YOUR JOB PROPERLY" !!!
Great reply Dohhhhh, don't disagree with much of that.
Good luck with the poker sessions. (Oh my, how I LOATHE the term "grind", but that's another story altogether).
Lol @ the Hartigan story, & yeah, he's done pretty well for himself. Deservedly, too.
And anyone who has no regrets, & never done anything they regret in life, has not pushed the boundaries enough. The poker analogy is the guy who tries never to get it in bad (me, for example) is actually leaving a lot of money on the table.
I love this Diary, in a peculiar way, I really do.
Here's an oddity for you, but hey, let's see if it floats.
A poker friend of mine - really good guy, works hard for other poker players too, is having a bad run at the mo.
I like the guy, a lot.
Last night, he tilted off dreadfully. I mean really tilted, really dreadfully. Done some ridic things, which ended badly. Just pure tilt. He "excused" it by saying other people bust him with poo, so he may as well play poo. One instance was the nut worst thing I've ever seen at a poker table in terms of "count the mistakes". He's better than that, MUCH better, but Red Mist Rules, OK?
I would like to help him. Really.
What would you do in my spot? Stick it on the Forum, send him a PM, or just look the other way?
The most important thing is for him not to take it personally, I want to help him. But he's burning money he can't afford to burn right now.
It genuinely upset me last night, even though I profited from it. I want to win, course I do, but not like that.
What would you do in my spot? Stick it on the Forum, send him a PM, or just look the other way? Posted by Tikay10
Well options 1 and 3 don't sound very good to me, so I would talk to him about it.
Try and find out what's going on, what (and how) he's thinking, what level of poker he thinks on, and then go from there.
The article I referred to in my post last night, about confidence, identified a problem I believe the vast majority of poker players, both serious, recreational and even professionals have.
Blind Confidence: The Quickest Path to Going Broke
Critics who say confidence has no relevance in poker are quick to point out that someone who confidently plays in a game above their ability will quickly lose their bankroll.
This is absolutely true.
That’s because the level of confidence they have in their game has no anchor in reality.
Blind confidence has two main sources:
Ignorance and Results.
I don't think I've ever known a poker player who doesn't suffer from blind confidence. Some (alot) more so than others.
Poker is a truly brutal game. The mental challenges are plentiful. It is by far the most important part of the game in my opinion at low and mid stakes.
As a coach or a backer, I'd prefer my student to start with an A* mental game and not know the rules of poker, than to have oodles of poker ability and be a mental game train wreck.
Get your head right off table and then you stand a chance of being successful on it
Anyway, your pal. I don't know anything about his ability (not results), his mental game, his understanding of variance, his bankroll etc,
So I'd just try and talk to him about where he's at, explain why what he's doing is silly, try to find out why he plays (for fun? to relax? because he has to pay bills?) and remind him that what he's doing achieves none of the above.
----
You'll know of my ongoing 'relationship' with Don, who is a SP legend.
I calculated the other day that if we combine the online poker earnings of people who have tried to help him with his poker game (technically and mentally) with some 'official' and thousands of hours of 'unofficial' coaching and general advice over the last 4 years, it reaches almost $750,000.
Despite being 10x the player he was 4 years ago on table, he's still playing the same stakes, with the same bankroll as he was back then. He has, if anything, an inferior mental game now to when he started back then.
It just shows how difficult that aspect of the game is to conquer when we have glaring leaks.
And probably why TMOG has been so successful, as it can and has helped every single player who's read it. (apart from Don)
----
I think there's only so much you can do to help someone.
The fact you're asking for advice about wether or not you should talk to your friend suggests there's every chance that you will be able to help him (as you haven't had 4 years of trying and failing like I have with Donald!).
Hopefully he respects your opinions enough (im sure he will) and crucially is prepared to work hard enough to overcome his poker deamons, as we see in poker time and time again that it isn't easy.
----
Set him a challenge.
Bet him £xxx that he can't beat 10nl online over 100,000 hands.
Drill some discipline into him whilst making it fun.
Reading all these posts it is obvious that this is many many levels above where I play my question is do any of you still get a buzz out of playing (butterfly's and the like ) or is it just business going through the motions
Reading all these posts it is obvious that this is many many levels above where I play my question is do any of you still get a buzz out of playing (butterfly's and the like ) or is it just business going through the motions Posted by weecheez1
This might sound a bit sad, but I love my job, but I also adore playing poker.
In the morning, I have to get up early as I can't wait to get started, & see what challenges lay ahead.
In the afternoon, I can barely wait for my poker session to start, I'm so revved up.
I'll start today at just after 5pm, & I've already got my little results notebook all lined up, made a pot of tea, & a jug of iced sparkling water. 4 or 5 hours of total fun, an escape from life's problems, begins shortly. No butterflies (I don't get nervous online), but definitely mounting excitement. That's why I just don't get those who chunter all the time.
"Is it just business?" You mean "making money"? Lol, I wish. On an average night I probably make about £10, maybe a bit less.
In Response to Re: "Sit & DOHHHHHHH Diary" : This might sound a bit sad, but I love my job, but I also adore playing poker. In the morning, I have to get up early as I can't wait to get started, & see what challenges lay ahead. In the afternoon, I can barely wait for my poker session to start, I'm so revved up. I'll start today at just after 5pm, & I've already got my little results notebook all lined up, made a pot of tea, & a jug of iced sparkling water. 4 or 5 hours of total fun, an escape from life's problems, begins shortly. No butterflies (I don't get nervous online), but definitely mounting excitement. That's why I just don't get those who chunter all the time. "Is it just business?" You mean "making money"? Lol, I wish. On an average night I probably make about £10, maybe a bit less. Posted by Tikay10
Funnily enough that's exactly how I feel but without the profit (yet) I love the stories and anecdotes and even the trolls sometime it would be even better if sky could just give them a little electric shock when they swear no need
Great reply Dohhhhhhh. The main problem with understanding & ACCEPTING variance is in MTT's. It is far less brutal in cash, & even less so in DYM's. So those who play MTT's need a really strong constitution. Posted by Tikay10
I agree in part to this, but as someone who mainly plays MTTs the reason i dont play cash is because i feel like i dont have the right mentality for it, playing the same games day in day out at the same levels without the goal and the buzz of ever "winning" is something i couldnt/wouldnt want to ever do. I agree with Dohhh that confidence is key in all areas of poker, but my biggest advice would be to concentrate on being happy with your life outside of poker, as soon as you can say you are happy with your life then your poker results seem to matter far less, and when it matters far less you will tilt less, enjoy it more and you will be free-er within your mind to unlock the higher levels of thinking needed to play your A-game.
all of that is far easier said than done though but its what i try and aim towards.
calling stations seem to be a thing of the past, these days it's a fit folding game for fish, if want to to get the bottom pairs calling a bet i'd say a 1/3 of the pot is the maximum plus this will pose a smaller risk from those who consistantly trap monster hands.
H 1. The decision to go all in might be a more tell tale sight that he's got a full house but action in raising you on the turn was a tell tale sign a large river bet would be coming and by taking this into account you should know already weather to continue or just fold. If it's trips your putting him on you've got the best hand but if you've got concern of a full house a risk of calling could be too much because even an ace isn't assured to put you ahead.
H2. These spots can point highly towards the expection that he's got a better set but I've been told on a number of occassions myself even then a fold will be losing value in the long run. If you were going to raise with intent of folding this too should have just got called, micro tables won't get much aggression with top pairs and draws but some of this gets made up from people playing premium pairs more aggressive and the greater varity of two pair they can get from raggy suited cards.
I'm in an online poker 'group', where we often discuss hands as well as many other things.
Since starting to play 'sober' I've been getting alot of stick for becoming overly tight, often posting big folds or suggesting people make folds when everyone suggests an alternative line.
In the 333 hand, I saw it as a relatively cheap way to make an 'incorrect' fold, knowing I was probably, going to see the other guys hand and potentially be able to post it as a brag in the group if he showed the likely 555 (or an unlikely JJJ).
It backfired, I was up against KJ and KK and cost myself 8 quid.
Shows how focussed I was yesterday. zzzz
---
The A4 fold was 30 seconds later, and the chap was kind enough to show me TTT for the nut fullhouse.
Good discipline !
---
I crashed last night, I was sooooo tired after not having an afternoon nap, and slept from 9pm till 7am.
I'm about to start a session now as I have some catching up to do.
I can barely keep my eyes open.
Life sucks.
But TGIF.
The Grind Includes Friday.
On we go . . . . . .
----
@ Phantom, yea that's "the real" Don in the mankini.
This is not aimed specifically at you, but we often feel a bit aggrieved with this & that. I went down the garage this morning, picked up a coffee, a pack of Rennies, & the Times newspaper.
This was on the front page, as part of their Xmas appeal. (And yes, I know you were a very very generous donor to StayOrGo's charity thing).
Makes us think, eh? What you reckon that wheelchair cost? £75? Can we BEGIN to imagine carrying that kid 60 miles to a refugee camp? Life truly sucks for some.
PS - NOT aimed at you, I just needed to get that out of my system.
Comments
There are certain steps you must take to become a successful player over the long term.
This includes
The better you get in each of these areas the more confident you should be in your ability to win.
If I was to mark my own performance in each of those catagories, I would go 2/10, 1/10 and 0/10, for a total of 3/30.
Note it really doesn't matter how good you are, or think you are, or how good others believe you are at hand reading, bet sizing, reads, tells, etc, if you have no faith in your body and mind before and during a game, it's going to be really difficult to be confident.
Morning Dohhhhh bloke.
Thanks for the update. Quite a painful read, so for you, it must be a living nightmare.
I've never met you, & you have, from time to time, trodden on my toes (unintentionally, I'm sure), but it'd be a hard heartless man who did not wish you could be cured of whatever currently ails you.
Hang in there, & keep the faith.
You seem to have a very low opinion of your poker abilities, but you don't fool anyone - you are a successful, winning, player, & only a minority can say that.
On which note, & on the basis of "let's try another thing", have you considered giving poker a break for a few weeks? I love poker as much as anyone, but I'm not wholly convinced that chaining ourselves to a computer x hours per day is necessarily wholesome or beneficial when we are not well. Bit like "rotation" in football, it certainly freshens us up when we take a little break from playing.
Whatever you decide - & the chances of a young man listening to the advice of a wrinklie is about a 66/1 shot - I sincerely wish you well.
Great reply Dohhhhh, don't disagree with much of that.
Good luck with the poker sessions. (Oh my, how I LOATHE the term "grind", but that's another story altogether).
Lol @ the Hartigan story, & yeah, he's done pretty well for himself. Deservedly, too.
And anyone who has no regrets, & never done anything they regret in life, has not pushed the boundaries enough. The poker analogy is the guy who tries never to get it in bad (me, for example) is actually leaving a lot of money on the table.
I love this Diary, in a peculiar way, I really do.
Good luck fella.
Here's an oddity for you, but hey, let's see if it floats.
A poker friend of mine - really good guy, works hard for other poker players too, is having a bad run at the mo.
I like the guy, a lot.
Last night, he tilted off dreadfully. I mean really tilted, really dreadfully. Done some ridic things, which ended badly. Just pure tilt. He "excused" it by saying other people bust him with poo, so he may as well play poo. One instance was the nut worst thing I've ever seen at a poker table in terms of "count the mistakes". He's better than that, MUCH better, but Red Mist Rules, OK?
I would like to help him. Really.
What would you do in my spot? Stick it on the Forum, send him a PM, or just look the other way?
The most important thing is for him not to take it personally, I want to help him. But he's burning money he can't afford to burn right now.
It genuinely upset me last night, even though I profited from it. I want to win, course I do, but not like that.
So what would you do in my spot?
Blind Confidence: The Quickest Path to Going Broke
Critics who say confidence has no relevance in poker are quick to point out that someone who confidently plays in a game above their ability will quickly lose their bankroll.
This is absolutely true.
That’s because the level of confidence they have in their game has no anchor in reality.
Blind confidence has two main sources:
Ignorance and Results.
I don't think I've ever known a poker player who doesn't suffer from blind confidence. Some (alot) more so than others.
Poker is a truly brutal game. The mental challenges are plentiful. It is by far the most important part of the game in my opinion at low and mid stakes.
As a coach or a backer, I'd prefer my student to start with an A* mental game and not know the rules of poker, than to have oodles of poker ability and be a mental game train wreck.
Get your head right off table and then you stand a chance of being successful on it
Anyway, your pal. I don't know anything about his ability (not results), his mental game, his understanding of variance, his bankroll etc,
So I'd just try and talk to him about where he's at, explain why what he's doing is silly, try to find out why he plays (for fun? to relax? because he has to pay bills?) and remind him that what he's doing achieves none of the above.
----
You'll know of my ongoing 'relationship' with Don, who is a SP legend.
I calculated the other day that if we combine the online poker earnings of people who have tried to help him with his poker game (technically and mentally) with some 'official' and thousands of hours of 'unofficial' coaching and general advice over the last 4 years, it reaches almost $750,000.
Despite being 10x the player he was 4 years ago on table, he's still playing the same stakes, with the same bankroll as he was back then. He has, if anything, an inferior mental game now to when he started back then.
It just shows how difficult that aspect of the game is to conquer when we have glaring leaks.
And probably why TMOG has been so successful, as it can and has helped every single player who's read it. (apart from Don)
----
I think there's only so much you can do to help someone.
The fact you're asking for advice about wether or not you should talk to your friend suggests there's every chance that you will be able to help him (as you haven't had 4 years of trying and failing like I have with Donald!).
Hopefully he respects your opinions enough (im sure he will) and crucially is prepared to work hard enough to overcome his poker deamons, as we see in poker time and time again that it isn't easy.
----
Set him a challenge.
Bet him £xxx that he can't beat 10nl online over 100,000 hands.
Drill some discipline into him whilst making it fun.
------
Session 1 of the 8 hour challenge.
1 hour of nl4.
+ £3
Funzies.
---
http://www.pokermindcoach.com/how-to-be-a-confident-poker-player/
Great reply Dohhhhhhh.
The main problem with understanding & ACCEPTING variance is in MTT's. It is far less brutal in cash, & even less so in DYM's.
So those who play MTT's need a really strong constitution.
In the morning, I have to get up early as I can't wait to get started, & see what challenges lay ahead.
In the afternoon, I can barely wait for my poker session to start, I'm so revved up.
I'll start today at just after 5pm, & I've already got my little results notebook all lined up, made a pot of tea, & a jug of iced sparkling water. 4 or 5 hours of total fun, an escape from life's problems, begins shortly. No butterflies (I don't get nervous online), but definitely mounting excitement. That's why I just don't get those who chunter all the time.
"Is it just business?" You mean "making money"? Lol, I wish. On an average night I probably make about £10, maybe a bit less.
Session 2, 1 hour of 10nl on bwin = -$1.30
Session 3, 1 hour of nl4 on sky = - £4
Who said nl4 players don't fold
Tables were friendly, had a chat with a couple of the nl4ers
Helped keep me awake.
----
@weecheez, I get butterflies when I play above 10nl, yes
It's scary up there !!!!
H 1. The decision to go all in might be a more tell tale sight that he's got a full house but action in raising you on the turn was a tell tale sign a large river bet would be coming and by taking this into account you should know already weather to continue or just fold. If it's trips your putting him on you've got the best hand but if you've got concern of a full house a risk of calling could be too much because even an ace isn't assured to put you ahead.
H2. These spots can point highly towards the expection that he's got a better set but I've been told on a number of occassions myself even then a fold will be losing value in the long run. If you were going to raise with intent of folding this too should have just got called, micro tables won't get much aggression with top pairs and draws but some of this gets made up from people playing premium pairs more aggressive and the greater varity of two pair they can get from raggy suited cards.
Morning JJ.
Sorry you had yet another bad day.
"life sucks"
This is not aimed specifically at you, but we often feel a bit aggrieved with this & that. I went down the garage this morning, picked up a coffee, a pack of Rennies, & the Times newspaper.
This was on the front page, as part of their Xmas appeal. (And yes, I know you were a very very generous donor to StayOrGo's charity thing).
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/timesappeal/article4637838.ece
Makes us think, eh? What you reckon that wheelchair cost? £75? Can we BEGIN to imagine carrying that kid 60 miles to a refugee camp? Life truly sucks for some.
PS - NOT aimed at you, I just needed to get that out of my system.