Retirement of a Grinder
Posted by Freenachos
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Freenachos
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Poker Journals
Retirement of a Grinder
Over the last few years, I've been intensely focused on maximizing the opportunities poker has provided me. I knew that working as much as I did wasn't sustainable, I knew I was sacrificing a bit of short-term happiness, but I also knew it was temporary: at some point, I'd reach my financial goals and I'd allow myself to go back to being balanced again.
Temporarily over-stretching to achieve something extraordinary, whether for personal gain, family, or the greater good, isn't inherently wrong. However, it's crucial not to fall into the trap of constantly moving the goalposts. Especially in poker where the most common way to keep score is by looking at your graph at the end of the month, the hedonic treadmill is real.
Reflecting on the past few years, I believe I could have afforded myself more leeway. Yet, given the fact that I became a father of two wonderful daughters, there wasn’t too much room for anything else beyond work and taking care of the family.
Now I find myself in a new chapter: I recently moved into the house where I’m planning to grow old, and my oldest is starting to walk, talk, and play. The other day I went downstairs to take a break and be with my kids a bit, and the first thing she said to me was: “Daddy need work?” This moment made me realize how much I’m missing out on by working so extensively, and equally, how much she’s missing out on our time together.
I’ve reached a point where I don’t need to make this the most profitable year in poker I’ve ever had. I don’t need another spreadsheet to tell me what I’ll win if I play x hours per week. What I want is to spend more time with my kids, travel the world, and become the best player I can be along the way. If that means there’s less time left to grind it out, then I’m ready to make that change.
View from the street of our new house, close to the city center of my hometown
Recalibration: Play Less, Study More
When it comes to poker, my main goal for the next few years is to try and become the best player I can be. I imagine some of you might be thinking: 'Didn't he just say he was going to relax more and seek balance?'. Don't worry: I am going to take it more chill, be more balanced, and all that other fun stuff. In fact: I don't think I can become the best player I can be if I don't become more balanced. This balance is necessary for deeper study, a healthier state of mind and to help me deal with the larger swings.
So, instead of playing every day, I’m going to cut it back to 3 or 4 days per week. The other days I’ll be studying and creating content for Nachos CFP. This will have a pretty big impact on not only my own game but also on the quantity and quality of the content we’ll be providing over the next few months. I aim to transition from being very good to being one of the best. I want to get to a point where I’m dominating any table I play on. I know it's an ambitious goal, but I plan to study hard and share my progress with you, showing what it takes to get there.
Documenting the Progress
As I step into this new phase of my poker career, prioritizing improvement in play quality over sheer volume, it seems like the perfect moment to start a fresh blog. The old one has fulfilled its role well, but I haven't updated it much lately because it felt "complete" after reaching certain milestones. Beginning as a 10nl player with ambitions of one day beating 100nl, I've now become a regular at 5/10 and 10/20 and run a successful coaching business. It's time to aim even higher towards nosebleeds, a journey that requires putting my ego aside and dedicating myself fully to the challenge. This new blog will serve as a diary of this journey, focusing less on sharing graphs and outcomes and more on the journey itself and the lessons learned along the way to becoming an even better player.
In our public Discord server, I’ll do the occasional streams as well as share the occasional hands/thoughts/upgrades. Feel free to join me there as well.
Loading 12 Comments...
Look forward to continuing following your journey! Best of luck finding balance
In.
Though i will misse reading your opening post from your last blog. Always made me chuckle.
Cant wait to get stuck into the new content too.
Excited for this chapter in your life.
GL, will be following
I think this is nice oportunity to give you thanks for putting Nachos CFP together. I have been one of the Nachos student for over year and I can really recommend it to anyone. Went from breakeven nl25 player to nl500 in 12 months with over 25k$ profit. The information we are getting from Patrick (and others coaches) is way beyond what is expected.
So really thank you Patrick and good luck on your new journey!
Happy to read that Patrick, looking forward to the times ahead in Nachos.
I am still very grateful and happy to be a little part of that journey.
I wish you all the best for reaching your new set goals.
And i am sure you will reach them like you reached all the other things over the last years!
Awesome!
Adjusting to a New Home
It's been a hectic time as we moved into a house that needed a lot of work. We spent weeks without heat and running water downstairs, managing all this with a baby and a toddler wasn't easy. But now, things are finally looking up and the house is livable. Last week we finally got to a point where it's livable now and have finally gotten back to grinding and coaching full-time. Played a few cool hands, this one being my favorite!
Playing My First EPT
My wife quit her teaching job so we can see more of the world together. This summer, we're planning a three-month road trip through France and Spain, ending in Barcelona. I'll be playing in the EPT Main over there, something I've dreamed of for years when I was still playing microstakes, so I'm really excited that I'll finally be able to play one. I'm also looking forward to meeting up with some friends from Nachos and enjoying the local beer and tapas. If anyone out there reading this is planning to go, feel free to hit me up for a beer or two over there.
Weekly Live Study Sessions
Last week I started streaming some 1k-5k on GG in our public Discord server and I enjoyed doing it so much that I'm toying with the idea of occasionally streaming some action on Twitch/YT. For the time being, I'll just keep it with a semi-regular stream in our Discord server to see if it's something I might want to do more often.
In May we'll start hosting weekly live study sessions in the server by the way, led by some of our NachosPoker coaches, including myself, so feel free to hop in!
Hey guys! I wrote two articles for PokerOrg. I thought I'd share them here as well:
How to become a poker pro in 2024
The struggle for control
Enjoy! :)
Such a cool story from one of my students!
New Release: Masterclass Exploitative Thinking
Hey guys, I decided to share part of a Masterclass I did recently for the guys in the CFP. It’s in the Almanac for everyone to check out.
Enjoy!
Exciting Announcement: Mentorship Program Program Re-Launch!
I'm thrilled to announce the re-launch of our Mentorship Program starting on July 1st! This program offers a mix of private and group coaching with my personal guidance as your coach and mentor. It's set up like a small study group, supporting personalized mentorship and using the basics of the game to exploit your opponents. This program is perfect for those who want a tailored approach to improving their poker skills, with support to meet your individual needs and goals.
Special Offer: Apply before June 15th and get 20% off!
Private Coaching
Over the next few months I'll be traveling a bit more, so I'll be focusing more on coaching rather than playing for the time being. This frees up some space for one or two private coaching students as well.
If you want to know more about either offers, check out the Almanac for more details or our new website for more info on our CFP!
For more details and to apply, please reach out to me directly.
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