so its the last week of august....my last post was about a 6k downswing i took from 8/1-8/4

its been a crazy month...Olympics goin on has messed up the schedule (if there ever really was one) up...but have managed about 24k hands so far...

its amazing being in Beijing while the olympics are going on...i was abit bleh about it at first...but when i went into the Birds Nest Stadium i was in awe of the grandiose of the event...we watched US baseball...the Decathlon and diving...

its just really cool to know you are at a once in a lifetime event with the best athletes in the world...pretty sweet

ummmmm...trying to upload hands to give u guys something more interesting to read....i hate my comp.....

crrap.....how do i convert HH?....help a brotha out....

screw it....

on another note....just read the book "When Genius Failed" by Roger Lowenstein...talks about Long Term Capital...its a hedge fund full of harvard geniuses n junk back in the late 90s. i dont know about finance or anything but it was interesting....these guys made trades with small edges but put sooooo much money on the trades that a small edge became huge monetarily speaking......

Got me thinking about volume in poker...read a post where a dude played 90k hands in a month...beating the game by 3.9 or something and made a good amount....everybody knows that online poker allows us to get in an insane amount of hands...but for me it really didnt sink in until i read that book....up to this point ive been pretty lazy only putting in about 15k hands a month...

so ive decided to double the number of tables i play to 6-8 (instead of 3-4),ill lose a bit of edge but hopefully the sheer volume will more then make up for it

ive drawn up a spreadsheet for the rest of the year specifying goals schedules...logistical stuff...ill try to get at least 50k hands in a month...

we'll see how it works

.

so last post i was preparing to take the jump to 2-4...

the past 3 days has been pretty bad for me...bad beats combines with tiltage have cut my bankroll by 6k...i am now down to 19k (cashed out 2k for living expenses)

the single biggest mistake ive made is not following my usual stop loss rule...for 6 months ive kept it at 3 buyins at 1/2...3 buyins and im done for the day...

these past 3 days ive failed to follow it resulting in a snowball effect..losing 3k one day...1.4 another and 1.6 just today...

am i running bad? id say i am...but im playing bad as well...imma take a couple of days off to get my head right and jump back in...

the reason for not following the stop loss? psychological bankroll...i lose 600 at 1/2 and am desensitized enough to the amount of loss that it doesnt bother me to just stop...

1.2k in one day? a different story...my blood boils and i start chasing losses...and before you know it....disastrous day.....

another factor is the % of my total net worth thats in poker....at this point a good % of my net worth is in poker..id say 30% or so...i think thats a factor too when you are playing for a living...so i am going to start cashing out more regularly so i am able to save some of my winnings outside of my bankroll...

wish me luck guys!

so the last post i made( like half a year ago) i basically went busto...because well...i can be quite horrible sometimes...alotta the time..

since the new year started i met a couple of influential people as far as poker has been concerned...oh...im in china...in case you didnt know...and if you care to....

been playin 1/2 since January starting with about a 3k roll (definetely underrolled, but hey)

watching videos, discussing hands with some guys that all play here in beijing. realizing that i suck ass and have soooo much to learn.....

7 months later....ive found that through an honest assessment of myself and my game...and lots and LOTS of hands i can actually do well....

the roll is currently at 27k and i just moved up to 2/4 on ABS today......i was even able to cash out some for living expenses...

the goal is to get to 100k and start playing 5 -10 by the end of the year (im a bankroll nit by necessity because my head tends to explode with more frequency than yer average poker player....)

ahhh poker...is there another game that causes more self loathing and euphoria at the same time?

i'll give weekly updates...i think that the goal of this blog is to give encouragement to other players out there...i am pretty much average in every way....not a chess/magic/starcraft/ whatever game all the great players were world class at before... but im doin alright (knock on wood)....

i think that the majority of people think there is this mystique about poker playing ability, some unnamed innate talent that makes someone a good or great player...but ive come to realize that most of it is just training yer mind to think about the game in a certain way...and constantly refine that thought process through both trial and error and bouncing ideas off of one another...

i didnt start this blog randomly...i wanna get into the cardrunners community because i think that i can benefit alot from it....

what a boring post!....hope next week is more interesting

see ya ..and thanks fer takin the time to read

HANK

So on October 10th i wrote a blog that i busted out and had to redop 500....well....im not totally back yet....but i crushed the 25$ buy in level for 15 bb and am back to 50$....and been beating the 50$ buy in game by a bit too...im back up to about 1300$

it feels good...been running pretty good and playing good as well...

the play that i think has stood out the most during this time is three betting the flop in position..i find that taking the lead right then and there has saved me lots of money....whether it be getting an idea of where i stand in the hand...or when opponents check the turn expecting a big bet from me (sometimes i check behind and fold to a pot bet on the river if i think i may still be in trouble depending...)

i can get alot of information about a person's hand when i hold a marginal hand like top pair J kicker or something...even a min three-bet will usually put someone on their heels at that level unless they hold a monster....if the board isnt draw heavy and they shove i can safely fold...and if they just call then i know a good percentage of the time that my hand is still good....(unless they tricky...then im still wary...but at least i took the lead in the hand)

i find that taking the lead right then and there has saved me lots of money....whether it be getting an idea of where i stand in the hand...or opponents checking the turn expecting a big bet from me (sometimes i check behind and fold to a pot bet on the river if i think i may still be in trouble depending...)

if i dont three bet flops with hands i feel like im playing a guessing game....three bets tend to deter big bluffs....

So anyway....i feel good about this week....im sure it cant be this easy the whole way....but its just cool to be in a good frame of mind....

GroovyT...thanks for the pat on the back...and ice for my nards......

I'll post again fer sure when im back completely.....poker eh?...crazy...*sigh*

I was playing on Betsson..I comfortably built a 130 dollar Roll into 9000 in about 4 months and was rolling along. Then the deal with the affiliate group i was part of went sour because of Chinese legislation (im currently living in China)

I had to take all of it out and put it back into another site. I pocketed about 6000 of it and left the rest to play on NExtpoker....when doing this though. Something switched in my mind. Not only did i have to move down to 100$ NL, but the money felt real to me. Before the switch i was playing carefree and going with my first instinct. I'd take losses relatively hard, but would hardly ever tilt or chase losses at a higher limit. After switching a 100$ started feeling like a double donkey kick in the nards. Its stupid i know, not a substantial amount of money...but when you are trying to get up to 2-4 or 3-6 NL again...it can be frustrating

Its funny how money you build from a small amount doesnt seem that real until you actually have to cash it out and put some back in.

To sum it up..i busted my Nextpoker roll yesterday playing waay to high....10/20 limit....3/6 NL HU....no WAY i shoulda been at those levels with my roll...but i got impatient with 100$ NL and 2/4...

It sucks ass cuz now i gotta redop 500 and start from scratch...it makes me sick to my stomach thinkin of the hours imma have to grind to get it back up....

these stories are a dime a dozen for sure...but when it actually happens you feel like you are the only one going through it...help a brotha out....pats on the back will do and ice for my nards....