SPrince

Killer instinct.

I check out this thread as well from time to time just too lazy to log in and comment since i don't watch that many training videos lately.

Regarding organization i had the same challenge as you for a long time, would just wake up (whenever) and play or go to the gym and play disregarding everything else.Lately i'v became way more organized and these are some of the things that helped.

• Go to bed earlier and at the same time every day whenever possible and my body then became like an alarm clock all by itself, waking me up at almost the same time everyday.Even when i go to bed later on the weekends, i still wake up earlier and feel rested even with 5-7 hours of sleep.

• Preparation/Finishing all of my daily tasks (like training, stretching, meditation, grocery and food preparation for the whole day etc), before i start playing.I feel much better and confident when i sit down to play like that, compared to knowing i have no clue what i'm gonna eat for lunch and dinner, or having some other unfinished things in the back of my mind.

• Taking small breaks every 1-2 hours.It's just the nuts for the mind and the body to give them a refreshment boost or a restart if you will from time to time to keep them fresh and since you have the luxury to do so playing heads up i would suggest to implement it if you're not already.

Those are just some off the top that i think improved not only my game but the quality of life in general.

Gl

This works, thanks.

Good stuff. :) Mind sharing details?

I had to take it back to the beginning and ask myself why did i start playing this game and why did i like it.
When i first started - I didn't know about the bad beats, i had no clue about any theory, about ranges, pot odds, card removal, expected value, any of that stuff.
I just wanted to play.The game was fun and that was all that mattered.

But once i reached certain stakes where i saw that i could make some serious money if i really dedicate myself to my craft that's where the problems started.Even though i improved upon the fundamental aspect of my game, i lost the true love for the game.

And trough the years of grinding a variety of different stakes, games and formats i completely forgot about what it was all about in the beginning.Trough that time i/my subconscious picked up so much useless, negative and toxic stuff about the game and other players, from friends, coaches, training videos etc and developed a very unhealthy relationship with the game.

Even though my game has improved trough grinding and absorbing new information, i still somehow felt i was a much better overall poker player when i first started playing then with all of this "knowledge".And that was because the game has lost it's true essence and became all about percentages, dollars and cents.

You see we think we make our own decisions but more often then not it's our subconscious that governs most of our daily life decisions, choices and actions.And just like it helps us with performing the simple/automatic tasks it can also hurt us if we don't keep it in check because it is a sponge that absorbs the quality and the trash information alike and stores it into our hard drive.

The most valuable asset of our brains is not being able to automatically perform different tasks while on autopilot but rather staying present, filtering out all of the junk and focusing on the now while trying to consciously make the best decisions.

So having understood all of that i will now just try and take it one hand at a time, filter out all of the unnecessary information, while solely focusing on playing my best and having fun in the process.That's what it's all about.

Yeah it was up to me after all.

After posting in this thread i thought about this and other things more consciously for some time and managed to draw some very important conclusions about not only poker but life related stuff as well.I needed to resolve some inner conflicts after which the whole thing seemed like a big joke.

A huge load has been lifted and this thread served as a catalyst for a much needed cleansing on my part.My firsts post are pretty much just random venting rambles but i'm gonna leave them so they can serve as reminder if i ever go down that road again.

Peace

Just to clarify, it wasn't my intention to make setting goals per se seem like a pointless thing all together.It's one of the great ways for all of us who want to better ourselves to hold ourselves accountable and stay on the right track so i'm all for it.I certainly wasn't trying to look down on anyone else's goals b/c seeing people trying to improve in different ways and have different interests inspires me as well.

I was trying to offer a different perspective and point out that setting a lot of "unnecessary goals" or w/e we call them, might actually shift ones mind away from what's really important and end up hurting them more then helping them in the long run.

A lot of us when we start looking for ways to improve often start by looking outwards instead of inwards and copy/paste the things we see others who are successful and whom we admire are doing trying to emulate them.Therefore i suggested that looking inwards and creating goals and habits in a more conscious way, might be a better way to go.

Like Phil said, we are all different and what might work for someone might not work for the next guy and and vice versa, so the only things we can safely rely on in the end are our own character, nature and sensibility.

While picking up ideas, skills and tricks from others can be extremely valuable as well, instead of blindly following their path, i believe that choosing them so they fit our own aspirations, dreams and desires will ultimately give us much greater joy and sense of achievement.

I didn't say they were "impolite" you missed my point.I couldn't care less what they did as long as i didn't have to watch it.

How would you feel if you were forced to live in a building under construction and had to listen to hammers banging and drilling for 8 hours.They're not impolite, just doing their thing but it would still bother you and you'd probably move out.

I never liked spazzy, fast talking/acting, jumpy people.I'm a pretty chill dude and i don't need someone spazzing next to me all the time and the snap button clicking/spewing players fit the poker equivalent of those kinda people.Maybe not the picture perfect but it's the best comparison i can give you.
I know most of them don't realize that the way they play might bother somebody but it doesn't change the fact that it does.I might'v went on a random ramble here or there, but that was pretty much my point.

Also different people have different sensibility and therefore different perceptions so you can't say that someones is warped unless he tries to twists a constant i.e claims a black wall to be yellow or w/e.If people are raised in different cultures, had different education and faced different challenges trough life, their perceptions, opinions and view points are also gonna be different on many things more often then not.

Anyway like i said, i'm done with nlhe so none of it really matters now.I feel really good while playing PLO and that's the only thing that matters to me.

In my opinion, setting a bunch of random goals is pointless.

Us humans are creative, intuitive beings that function best while living in the moment, so why put restrictions on yourself and turn yourself into a robot.Unless it's something you "have" to do, just don't force yourself to do it b/c it will only make you miserable.

I believe it's wrong to set goals like - read every day - unless you love reading.Reading is amazing, don't get me wrong.It will broaden your horizons, take you different places and improve your vocabulary.But if you don't enjoy it, it's pointless to do it.

It's much better to develop valuable habits as Mike put it, that will improve your well being and your overall quality of life.But it's better to choose to do something then set it as a rule and force it on yourself.

Ex :
I choose to get up earlier every morning because my days last longer.I have more time for work and i get to spend more time with my friends and family.I also feel more energized and happier throughout the day.

This life is so short and we should spend it doing the things we love to do and only do the ones we "have" to SO we can do the ones we love to.

Anyway best of luck to all good people in the new year and may you be happy and successful in whatever you do.

One of the things that first pops up is that - Lets say for example you faced an equivalent of that type of player in real life and he was yelling randomly in the street, throwing fits etc.You would either ignore him and never see him again or stomped him if he tried to attack you.

But at the poker table you can't do either.You're stuck with them until either of you quits or you get a table change (MTT's) which can last for hours and you still might get more of the same at the new table.You can't ignore them and you can't sanction them.

I think my personality and how i was raised is also important.I/most of us were thought to be well mannered, respectful and kind to others.But also to hold our ground and sanction the ones who try to disrespect us and defend others who are either weaker and can't defend themselves or are taught to take the passive route.

So to me the way they play the game seems disrespectful to the game itself and to others.And they do it knowing no one's gonna sanction them.It's also demoralizing that so many people (knowing/being aware that they are weak and their actions and behavior is not gonna bring them anything good in the future), continue to live like that instead of making an effort in trying to better themselves.

Like if they tried to be a spazzy, jumpy piece of shit in the streets they would get beaten up, stabbed or shot.And if they survived they would either learn their lesson and never do it again, or just get killed the next time they try to act like that.
If they did it with their peers, lets say in their class, school, uni - they would get shunned and have no friends.
But on the internet and at the poker table, they can be the biggest piece of shit and not face any repercussions.

Ultimately, i think there is no solution for me when it comes to this issue so i decided to quit nlhe all together and switch to PLO where there climate is much more healthier.There's little to none of those types of players and if they exist they play much slower b/c PLO is much more complicated and they need to think for at least few seconds before making a move.

I honestly never really felt good while playing nlhe past the stage i learned more complex theory and strategies and was able to beat the game for x amount of money.Even though i made decent money (from some standards) from the game, it only had a negative impact on me and made me miserable most of the times i played.The last straw came last month when i was forced to grind low stakes spins where 9/10 players are complete spazzes, just spewing around with no real concepts or strategy looking to hit the magic multiplier not aware they have a bigger shot to get hit by a lightning.

Most importantly i feel really good while playing the great game (as Joey calls it) of PLO and the game is fun again.I know very little past the basic strategies and hand selections but the game feels tailor made for me and everything makes sense.I'm just going to start from the lowest stakes and take my time to improve while hustling and working on the side and not focus on winning/losing at all.

Hey Rafa, i think best reads we can get in this spot are - ABI/games (including last say 500-1k games), and location (i think it matters more then most people think).

Firstly looking at ABI it could be that he mostly plays lower and is likely satted or sold package/action which would make him less likely to fire river with pure air.

Secondly, looking at location and to not give specific reads but you probably know which schools of poker we're talking about.
Group A - delay cb more, more conservative/rarely empy clips, taking sdv.
Group B - cbetting almost all dry, one-two broadway, low rainbow, etc flops, more barrel happy.

Him checking behind on a 522r, it's way more likely he's group A player and would expect him to very rarely fire that river considering the action.Combining that with his ABI and you having low sample on him i think we can somewhat safely fold everything except flushes+ depending how you play turns with those.

Don`t know any poker movies but if you like tv series, check out Gomorrah (Italian ganster tv series).Best tv show i watched since Sopranos.Vikings are really good as well.

Pretty sure Phil meant a player council as in regulars from all stakes that are going to be playing on the site, not most frequent posters on the forum :).

Could be made for example out of 10 players, 3 for each stake and for each game (cash, sng, tournaments), +1 representative.Or just 3 representatives that each have their own council/meetings with regulars in their game and later present the issues/ideas to the managers and staff, just to throw some ideas around.

Gl op.

Beast!

Nah :)

Argentinian supporters > all by far.

Says who?
You should come to Serbia on the derby match between Partizan and C.Zvezda (Red Star), or any Partizan`s euro league match in basketball to see what their fans (Grobari), are doing.Best fans in the world.

Gl with everything bro.

You somewhat answered it by yourself listing the pros and cons, all though villain technically shoved so it does change things a bit.

Most weaker players dont even 3b AK (certainly not AQ), except the reckless ones and especially not in the late stages, so yeah id agree w his range being almost exclusively TT+ along w some AK combos.That + the fact that we are cl in a soft tourney with plenty of weaker players still in should make it a fold.

I`d call something like JJ+, AKs.

I`m assuming random = unknown, b/c if the villain was spewing around for even a couple of hands, but was unknown to you prior it would be a snap call.

Sauce your dog is cute.

Cool that you`re posting here as well.
I tried some spins while chasing rewards last year but the variance was tilting as i remember, even though they were really soft.Gl

Happy New Year !

Better one.

Merry Christmas to everyone celebrating today and on 7th of January.

With your read i would check back.The guy is obviously a fun player, so when he checks i think he continues one way or the other and rarely just x/folds.

True you have a good hand to put pressure on his 99-QQ, Ax on multi streets, but just as unwritten rule fun players like to see all 5 after 3betting so hes gonna call you down with his AQcc or w/e and you have to play a guessing game when you brick.He also might lead/blockebet or try to bluff with better just b/c he bricked as well and doesnt know what to do, so it`s really not a great scenario.

B/gii otf sucks as well b/c you have a much bigger edge then to flip 60bb vs a random fun player, so all considered i like the check back.You can continue vs pretty much any sizing ott, and you`ll often get two streets or win a big pot when you hit a flush or a str8 and he randomly starts betting or calling down with Kx that wanted to x/shove otf.

Flatting > 3b with ICM consideration, especially since it`s top 4 in the main event final table with huge pay jumps and BB is far from likely to squeeze much.

3b/gii JJ with those stack sizes would be an ICM suicide, and he`s playing vs chip leader who can put pressure on him preflop by 4betting wider, playing a merged 3b/f strat from the SB seems vbad.

Haven`t really watched much so not sure how Mckeehen played.

Seems like an easy fold to me/marginal call at best, not sure what made Doug snap, maybe some game flow/dynamics or live reads, but just don`t think Ivey ever shows up with enough bluffs there.

If his value range is something like :

Forgot to exclude 8h combos and add some spade floats that are straights ^ along with Q2,Q4,Q6,Q8 all though not sure if he bets the same sizing with those.

So even if he bluffs all of his ss floats, A2/A4 w/ a heart, 42s,62s 100% (which is very unlikely), its still gonna not gonna be enough.He probably peels all of his AhXx as well, so if he bluffs all of those maybe much closer.But basically he needs to have a bunch of random reverse floats and bluff them at a very high frequency, which i think is far too optimistic for someone whos old school like Ivey.