1% better every day, an experiment.
Posted by Sigmund-Freud
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Sigmund-Freud
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1% better every day, an experiment.
Starting today I am taking on an experiment: to follow GTO Wizards Study Plan and make a deliberate effort to gain 1% improvement each day. Ambition is to play exploitative on top of very sound understanding of poker theory platform. I am reinventing my self in the image of Uri Peleg. No small feature I know.
Modest BR risk profile.
Game: both cash and MTT. 50NL as level 1, zoom only, and max 22$ bi for MTT.
Level of engagement: this is a hobby, and I pursue the benefit of engaging the brain, the thrill of competition, and the discipline to endure hardship. Leisure time is the scope.
Reports: will include what I have studied, how hard I found it and the time I spent, how it develops my game, results and whatever I find interesting.
Reason for documentation: responsibility to my project.
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Good luck brother!
TY!
As far as free poker lessons concerned, GToW must be right at the forefront. The Study Plan has exceptional content and is eloquently presented at a high standard imo. I am very impressed.
The promise of only 30 day to crush low limits is perhaps not entirely true, but it rings good. And one must take into account that I am only spending 2-3 hrs a day to study and play combined. It is certainly going to take more time to consume, digest and process all the info, of that I am sure.
It is my future aim to own the same savvy as the content providers, if asked by an uninitiated.
A professional poker player makes better decisions, period. And to arrive at good decisions one must have a great understanding of the fundamentals, and the ability to derive in game in an effective manner.
Reading is not learning. But organizing info, questioning, taking notes, reciting, revising and producing an own word chain of thought is. My favourite method is to imagine I must teach the topic I am investigating.
The first notable benefit is a change in my mental state when playing, I am questioning my decisions a lot more, less fast clicking or auto-plays, a notable shift of focus away from results and emotional distress, and onto how I reason my choices and what I can improve/did not understand.
It is my opinion that I am more productive in game as I note my thought process that takes place in key decision points for later hand history work.
Equity, EV and equity realization being the topics now.
Added benefit. I wish to have good habits. I desire it.
My sleep schedule has gotten more attention, I want it to become more consistent.
I am more aware of what I chose to eat, I want a better diet.
I want a positive mindset.
An exercise habit is taking form, I aim for 100 pushups total a day and to get out and do at least 1 hr walks regularly. I want to add some more chores to my exercise regime when I feel these two a routine.
I browse GToW blog at most idle moments where I have some peace.
I am deliberately spending less time at social media. Crazy how often one feels the urge to check the phone. I want a calmer mind.
Gl
This week I have refreshed my understanding of basic fundamentals, which I highly recommend. Since I am following the Study Plan at GToW my goal is to create a strong and clean decision process.
It has been a long time since I did math and currently I am getting my head around solving the [0,1] toy games. Was introduced to it in a daily GTO dose quiz and I found Mathematics of Poker to elaborate on it. Bit nerdy, but valuable insight. Not fully digested yet, but I find it very entertaining and though.
Other then this I have spent time getting ranges more on point, studying thresholds, and bet/raise sizes. I have a long way to go.
As already pointed out, honing in on a consistent thought process has lessened the mental distress I have felt earlier when inevitable swings occur. This is huge to me. And I am taking pleasure in learning and playing.
As far as MTTs goes I am totally a newbie in to days environment. Cash game I am familiar with, but my approach is now very different. I only play zoom, and without HUD. I have no monetary goal, just to improve my understanding. Sessions are not long, max 1 hr as I find it taxing on my mental capacity when I am this involved in the hands. Managed to final table one MTT, but butchered it. Did not consider ICM and pushed a very small edge to far vs chip leader and busted 9th, when I could have chosen much better spots and with less risk. Seems a pattern, have busted a few MTTs where I am positioned 30-40 with 100 to go and I push small edges vs covering stacks.
"It is a mistake if you do it once and did not know better. If you do it twice it is a choice."
Results. Totally insignificant sample size and I read nothing into it. I shy away from a result oriented mindset.
Routines are forming with regards to push ups and regular walks. Even spent some time meditating, and still fighting the urge to check my phone to often.
Gl
The reading and studying I have completed this week has provoked some thoughts around my own character. I wish not to have goals, but to cultivate traits. Then contemplation is best spent concerning the traits I desire and how to nourish growth.
Went to the gym again for the first time in years, the trait I am developing is a caretaker of ones physique, I will own strength, flexibility and agility. And will explore different training methods I find intriguing. 100 push ups in a day is now easy.
Sleep is improving, I do wake up once or twice, now turning in much earlier then before; latest 11 pm, and rising earlier; 7:30 am. Dictates I can not play late mtt`s, but that is ok.
I am eating much healthier.
Study: I took off on a tangent with the toy games, but feel it has brought deeper understanding. Played around with a simple toy game on a board 22334 with ranges 55-AA. Then adjusted SPR, bet sizes, streets to bet, and played around with symmetric, partially symmetric, and asymmetric ranges. To see the impact on strategy, guessing at the result before hand. Was a valuable lesson to me.
Ranges, ranges, ranges and thresholds has been my MTT topic.
Off course it is not 100% waterproof, but the mental game gain has been ridiculously high. Worth repeating, to my self, and who ever bothers to read my posts. Having a thought process based on sound fundamentals and keeping the focus on the quality and improvement of decisions can not be cherished enough imo.
Habit I am working on: writing down a summery of the day and a plan for the coming day, with inspection of what has been and the work laid down, the chores for the following day and what I strive to improve on. Even though GTOW has it all laid out in the Study Plan, I believe this approach creates accountability and discipline towards self.

Results: sample size is still meaningless
This week I have studied less as I spent more time at work, and prioritized going to the gym and for walks in my leisure time.
Developing the trait of being a person that takes care of ones self is starting to yield benefits. My sleep is better, I feel good, and I eat healthy and tasty food.
Playing MTTs feels more like bingo then a strategy game, where stacks more often then not get eaten away until 20bb deep and it is a shove-fest with incredible variance. I interpret that as lack of knowledge.
Studying for MTTs and getting my head around theory concepts is very interesting.
This week the topic has been BvB play: equity realization, board coverage, polarization, limp, raise, vs limp, vs raise and limp-raising, broad strokes type of learning, but very educating. Really good articles to get an idea from at GTOw.
Cash game theory is equally interesting and I believe my understanding deepened, but long way to go.
My mind is much calmer in game.
It is really interesting how working to form good habits transcend into other areas of interest. My last couple weeks has been very little poker in a straight line manner, but lots of tangents, and I have too had a burst of inspiration to further educate myself in my profession. Days are getting up early, coffee and a reading session, work, exercise, family time, and then I have a 2-3 hr window before turning in to spend at whatever I find rewarding in that moment. My 100 push-ups a day is swapped for a goal of 100 navyseal burpees a day, not there yet.
My following of the GTOw`s study plan have had a great impact and I highly recommend it. It has branched out into studies about learning and project planning. Improving sleep and focus, scheduling, and appreciation for all that I am grateful for.
MTTs: if one has the point of view that the higher the variance the greater the skill is required to have an edge, mtts is definitely one of the most degenerate disciplines of poker. One must be insanely skilled, otherwise it is a crap-shoot. I find it really interesting to study, but only play when I have time to waste. It is mostly an exercise in tilt-control and much like playing the lottery, I do it for fun.
Cash game: I have not played many sessions as my priorities has been elsewhere, but I have learned a ton from the studyplan, and next goal is to play a decent sample to break down my most prominent mistakes and improve those first. 200nl is where I believe my skills are still giving me an edge, at least I spot a decent amount of mistakes in the opposition. And I am improving on noticing my own mistakes.
Did play a session of 500nl which was stupid as I am not rolled for it and probably not skilled for it, anyways risk of ruin to high. Surprised to see how small the 500nl zoom pool has grown.
Zoom only and no hud. I really enjoy playing without a hud as I feel sharper, and when I notice I am not paying the appropriate attention, I quit.
Gl

Taking on this project it is leading me away from poker more then onwards. Even at 8BB/100 at 50-200nl it feels as the deal is controlled and not random. But more importantly, I do not think poker as a whole contributes to anything good, on the contrary it is a leeching business, and probably dependent upon ppl losing control of their gambling habits. It leaves a foul taste in my mouth. I will not be surprised when future scandals are revealed. Poker has lost all it`s appeal. Take care and end of poker road for me.
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