"This above all: to thine own self be true" (William Shakespeare)

Shakespeare, among many sages throughout history remind us of the great importance that self-truthfulness has.

I heard this a lot of times: Be truthful with yourself! It's meaning is simple, yet very deep. It implies correctly judging yourself, lack of denial, self-acceptance and integrity.

To be true to thyself demands knowing yourself. Know your values and beliefs and live by them. Have the integrity to act as if under constant spot-light; be your own judge. By making this commitment you put the responsibility on your shoulders only... making room for happiness.

July graph and stats below:

INSPIRON

Woke up at 6'55 AM. Now this is something I like. :)
From now I will try to limit my sessions to 400 hands, as it allows me to quit while still on my A-game most of the time.
Put 400 hands in first session, with a very good result.
Then I put in another session, would have broken even if not for a KK vs AA situation. Went to tennis afterwards.
But in spite of playing good, I ended the day in red, after 1600 hands.

INSPIRON

There is a lot of 'hidden' wisdom in Tupac's songs. That's why I enjoy listening to him, may he rest in peace!

The message I stress: to make it stop study your lessons

Don't settle for less - even the genius ask-es questions

Be grateful for blessings [...]

Always do your best, don't let the pressure make you panic

And when you get stranded

And things don't go the way you planned it [...]

Remember one thing

Through every dark night, there's a bright day after that

So no matter how hard it get, stick your chest out

Keep your head up, and handle it!

The first session this morning was a short 30 minute one, while testing a new (for me) stop-loss AHK script by _dave_ and losing 2 buyins in the test process. :) I stopped, prepared my breakfast, and started another session, with a 3 buyin stop-loss and 400 hands goal.
After another 400 hands, with a good result, I went to gym.
Two more session followed in the afternoon, finishing after 1370 hands down 2 buyins, again :).

INSPIRON

Today, after 4 hours of play I found myself down 3 buyins. And due to the fact that I dropped 5 buyins from my highest peak point this month ($2600), I have to stick to the strict rule of gearing down to NL100. I will play here until I get back to $2600.

So today's table:

Changes into:

Looking forward to it!

INSPIRON

A few days ago, while browsing the web, I came across a 30 minute mp3 audio tape recorded by self-help author Dick Sutphen, titled 25 'Tips to Success'. After listening to it, I created a transcript summary / keypoints to embed it. I'll reproduce it here.

Dick Sutphen's 25 Tips to Success

1. You must develop clarity of intent; a clearly defined goal or a strong general direction.
2. Energy (mental and physical) - physical energy comes from lifestyle and lack of stress.
3. Enthusiasm combined with action will hasten success, which comes from doing what you love.
4. Self-image - perceiving yourself as a winner. You will never allow yourself to have what you don't feel worthy of.
5. Self-discipline - how you direct your time, energy and resources.
6. Time is the greatest resource you have.
7. Your vision limits what you can do. You will never succeed beyond the size of your vision.
8. You need an strong emotional purpose that will drive you forward.
9. Don't wait for the ideal time or conditions to put your success plan into action. Chances are that time will never come.
10. Stop worrying about what other people think about what you want to do. If you want to be successful surround yourself with successful people from which you can learn.
11. Balance work and play. Reward yourself for your efforts. Maintain your equilibrium.
12. You create your own reality with your beliefs. If you believe something, it becomes true.
13. Project confidence. Act confident. You will indeed become confident.
14. 80% is possessed, achieved or created by 20% of the people. Increase your efforts to the area of most interest.
15. Leadership. Delegation. You need your time to do what you do best.
16. The longer the lead time you invest in your success, the greater the pay-off. You get what you put in.
17. A helpful mantra: "I will spend each moment doing the most productive thing I can".
18. Uncover the blocks that stand in the way to your success.
19. It is your resistance to what is that causes your suffering. Chose a detached positive view-point.
20. Role models are critical to your success.
21. You are creating your own reality with every thought you have.
22. Be realistic about your goals.
23. Attempt to project the price (time, effort, money or sacrifice) to make sure you are willing to pay it before you begin.
24. Make sure that your goals and values align.
25. Use every mind programming technique available to support your goals.



A week has passed since I've been staying at my parents' house at the countryside. Ever since they moved here, this has been mostly like a sanctuary of piece and tranquility for me. Away from the city, it's truly a place where you can fully recharge your batteries, getting benefit from the fresh air and home-made foods. I always enjoy my staying here.
Today is the last day here. I have to leave in 6 hours. I will spend this time with non-poker activities, as I turns out (after numerous attempts) that I can't focus and play my A game when I have a time constraint.
I played in the morning for a little over 2 hours and put in almost 800 hands with a good result.

INSPIRON