Not a whole lot to talk about. I just got back from hawaii and had an amazing time. Super relaxing and laid back trip. We did manage to check out some active volcanoes and rummage through some recently dried up lava fields. The beaches were also pretty amazing in Kona on the big island. However, I don't recommend anyone going to the big island if they are to visit hawaii. It's not really what you would picture hawaii to be like, it's basically just a huge volcano with tons of lava fields everywhere. It's not that green and lush and there aren't a whole lot of restaurants etc.. The beaches and snorkling are amazing though. The surf was flat but I'm in Laguna right now and there are waves so I'm going to get a couple sessions in before driving out to Vegas on Tuesday.

I haven't played a whole lot the last couple weeks mostly due to the vacation but I am down about 20k over the last couple weeks. I might drop down in stakes for a bit if things don't turn around this month. Interestingly enough, a lot of close friends of mine are also downswinging/breaking even over a good chunk of hands. It's tough but I'm going to remain positive bc most of these losses are showing up in the all-in EV which is out of my control..

Anyways I'm looking forward to Vegas, poker, pools, parties, and golf. I'll be at the next CR party so holler if you know me!

Here is a pic of hawaii looking like a corona commercial.

http://img534.imageshack.us/i/fkmylife.jpg/ Well unfortunately this is going to be my worst month in over a year unless I can make 20k or so over the next cpl days..My month is ending early. The last few days have been weird bc I literally have lost maybe 10-12 flips in a row without exaggeration (yes I would bet like 50K on this!!) I did recover from my last downswing but I have had a bit too many bad days to salvage even a mediocre month.. Although Im up a decent amount, 2010 continues to be frustrating. Anyways hopefully I can get the ball rolling in June in Vegas. GL all!

Well I have been putting in crazy hours at the tables this last week and unfortunately things have been terrible to say the least.. Actually, poker has been quite shitty over the course of the last month. People have been running insanely hot vs me, especially in flipping situations which is showing in the EV section of my graph. Throughout 2010, I have been having a much tougher time with poker and I am enjoying it less and less. Maybe I need a break but I am caught in a bind where I am forced to come up with about 200k over the next 6 months so my mom can refinance her house and not lose it. On top of that I cashed a bunch out last year and have to pay hefty quarterlies.

I have been doing this consistently the last 3 years or so and just don't see myself doing this forever. I plan on thinking about getting out of playing poker professionally but it's gonna be tough because of it's upsides. There is no job that will pay me a fraction of what I have been making and the freedom associated with it is also a major plus. The game is much harder to enjoy when you are stressing on it as a professional. Also, I know I have a ton of potential in the business world..I also don't see myself in a 9-5 job situation. I can only see myself working for myself which obviously limits the options. Anyways, I will be on vacation at the end of the month and think long and hard about what I want to do outside of poker..

So maybe this is just a bit of a vent after I had this short session to start my weekend at 10/20

Well, I am feeling better from the mono but still have a swollen liver and swollen spleen. The doctor said I can't drink for minimum one month so I crushed my 1 month of sobriety and have another one ahead of me. I also can't do anything active bc supposedly it is easy to rupture an enlarged organ.

Anyways, I spent the last week in Laguna which was super nice. I drove down there bc I'm trying to get rid of my car. I just don't drive it enough in the city to justify making payments on it. The weather was decent and I got 3 solid beach days in. Here is a pic from my chicks cell phone:

I def miss the beach and decided I'll prob skip the Main Event so I can spend the 4th of July in Laguna.

I'm going to be in vegas all of June. I have no clue which events I'll be playing. I'm most likely going to play the 10k HU even though it's going to be a crapshoot.. I look forward to vegas this summer and plan on grinding a shit ton..

So I have mixed feelings about last month in regards to poker. I had a great first week making something like 30 or 35k but the rest of the month was quiet l and I didn't really get much farther. I took a ton of days off bc of being sick and traveling. Maybe I'll post a graph in the near future but I'm feeling a bit tired and lazy..

I have mono... I have been sick for the last 10 or 11 days and went to the doctor to do blood work and it turns out I wont be getting better anytime soon bc it typically takes 4-6 weeks to recover from this. I'm gonna stay optimistic bc I don't have a fever so maybe I have a light case of the virus.. Anyways I won't be doing any coaching while I have this (mostly bc I have a soar throat and don't want to talk an hour straight). If you are a student, I'll just touch basis with you and we can start as soon as I feel good to go. I doubt I'll be playing much poker as well bc that sure as hell wont make me healthy. I also have a nl400 leakfinder I want to get working on asap but prob wont until I'm better..

Its a bit of a shame because the first week of the month I had my best week results wise ever and a record breaking month was well within reach..Them's the breaks.. Anyways, don't take your health for granted and if u have a shitty day at poker or in life, remind yourself that you still have your health and without it you have nothing. The good news is that I should easily complete my month of sobriety and might consider not drinking until late May when I go to Hawaii with my chick (tbh I'm not crazy about going to Hawaii but her friend has a house there so Hawaii it is). I've taken a couple surf trips to Hawaii and I'm not crazy about the ppl that live there.. There's better places to visit but poor me right?

Hockey playoffs start (Im a big LA Kings fan) and we got a good draw in Vancouver which means we shouldn't get swept. My team has been playing like shit since the olympics and it's pretty unlikely we will beat a weak team like Vancouver.

I just found out CR is going to have 4 different social events/parties this summer which is cool. I decided I'm going to make the 10KHU event my main priority and then figure out if I'll do any other tournies. If I do I doubt I'll do anything under 2500 bc the fields are so large..

Good luck everyone

-Cyrus

Poker

March was pretty weird. I started out slow then went on a tear winning 10 or 11 days in a row. Then that was followed by about 6 straight days of losing. I didn't lose that much (12k-13kish I think) but damn its annoying spending an entire week grinding and slowly bleeding money. I wasn't that thrilled with the end result having my lowest profit since May of last year. I'm on my Mac and cant post graphs or show hands but there is one hand that I remember in a 3/6 match where were were both about 1k deep. The villian opened to 18 and I called with 34ss. The flop came A24 rainbow and I check, villian makes it like 668$ or something like that into a 36$pot. I figure wtf, he misclicked I'm all in.. Well he did misclick as he tanked but eventually called with 10-4 and held lol. I took several days off between the move/no internet and travel so I didn't log much more than 20k hands which is 10k less than what I probably avg..

I've been thinking about what events I want to play in wsop and how much I want to spend in Bi's etc. I've also contemplated selling some action if I play 10K events (HU and Main).. Last year I qualified in steps first shot but I don't know if I want to try that again as it's probably gonna be a bit of a grind. I decided I am going to play NL200HU when I am bored waiting for regular action and take whatever I make there and use it for buy-ins. I played a little already and am up like 5k there in 2500 hands lol.. On the flip side, I'm down 4k in 5k hands at 200PLO. I'm really not sure what is going on there. I really want to learn and crush PLO but I've been struggling so hard not knowing if I should value certain flushes or certain boats.

Well, unlike March, April has started off really well.. I've had some great 5/10 action and am up about 20k in the last 3 days. A good chunk of this was last night when I scored this fish who conceivably could not play worse. He was insanely loose and insanely passive, meaning, i could open up to 100$ with AK or something and he would call, flop would come 679, and he would let me get to showdown for free or just pay off a pot sized bet if the flop was say K59 and he had 67 lol..

Life

Things have been going great recently. I spent time with the fam in Laguna a week ago and got a couple beach days in. My sister is coming out to the city mid month and I also got tix to go see MGMT at the Filmore in a week or so. I'm also trying to go sober for the month which is something I haven't done since I was probably 15. Not that I'm an alcoholic, but I want to see how I feel after working out hard this month and eating healthy/not drinking. Anyways hope all is good with u guys.

-Cyrus

COACHING:

Just a short update on coaching. I am fully moved in to my new spot with internet set up. I am now back in the swing of things with coaching. My rate is going to stay at 300$/hr and there will be a 10% discount for 10hrs paid upfront. I am coaching HU NL up to NL1000. The best times for me to coach are in the mornings on weekdays (early ok) pacific time and Sunday evenings (pacific time). If I am going through a downswing please understand if I need to reschedule.

POKER:

I took 5 or 6 days off since the move bc I had no internet and was tired etc. Since then I've had 4 winning sessions in a row going +15kish. The action overall has been pretty weak. I find myself opening up tables and not even waiting at my computer, just doing other things like reading a book or something and waiting for the "beep" indicating action. I can do this for up to 8 hrs in a day and not even get 1k hands in so once again, I am pondering PLO. I have no interest in tournaments but 6-max could be a new possibility. As far as developments in my own game, I feel like I continue to make strides in the right direction in terms of improvement which is good. I do wish I was more zen or humble during bad stretches. I mean, it would be naive to think it doesn't have effects on my play or my everyday life.

AND:

So other than the above things have been really great. We are all moved in to our new spot and it is so sick. My roommates and I could not be happier with our decision to sign the lease. This lower pac-heights area is a bit yuppie but it's centralized and there are a ton of bars and restaurants within walking distance. I'm going to Vegas on Wed. and my chick is flying out Friday for the weekend. I have some other friends coming out so we'll probably do the whole club/bottle thing one night (which i really don't care for tbh).. Next stop is Laguna and God I hope the weather is good, I could use a couple beach days..

Peace,

Cyrus

Ok well if you read the title of this blog you are probably expecting some sick score or something poker wise but that's not why I'm so stoked. We finally signed a lease for a new place and move in on Friday. Simply put, this place is fucking sick!!! It's a brand new built home where the owners wife put a ton of attention to detail with the design. It's in the heart of lower Pac Heights just off Filmore. Really an awesome neighborhood. What's funny is that the owner left this 50" Sony LCD mounted above the fireplace and I asked him how big it was because I needed to buy one and his reply was "oh, if you don't like the tv here I can move it for you".. SHIP!! I don;t know, I'm just really relieved because it was such a stress trying to lock down a good place in a great neighborhood.

Ok, so also in correlation to my blog title, I have been on a little heater the last 2 weeks (40kish) with the exception of yesterday where this fish was up 5k on me in a 10/20 match and my computer froze. By the time I restarted I got booted out of my seat and obv there was a wait list as big as China for that table. I was so pissed I just quit playing.. Because of the last 2 weeks, what was going to be my worst months in a couple years ended up just mediocre which is great!

I only have like 2 pics of this place but here is the kitchen:



They are painting it still and putting curtains in etc.. Fk, finally a run good :)

I'll get the poker out of the way. Well February has been a dismal month. I was on a long break even streak (that included Jan.) but am climbing out of it with 5 solid, not spectacular, days in a row. Boy does it feel good to win again. I am starting to change my style mixing in tons more limping and min-raising depending on who I play. I've also adopted some sit-and-go tactics for when I play fish bc I realize you almost want to play them like it's a sit and go bc if they double up they likely wont stay.. Anyways, I have some of the sickest hands but I don't want to post them bc they are more suckouts rather than interesting spots.. If you were to ask me today if I would be happy making 100K less than last year, I would tell you I would be thrilled. It's going to be interesting finding out at the end of the year if my prediction is on or off..

Also, I completed the 50$ leakfinder Tall Matt sent me and it's going to be released tonight. I saw the preview and the video quality looked shitty and I hope CR wont release a video that looks all blurry. Next on the list will be a nl400 leakfinder that Timyman (forget his exact username but he frequents the CR forums) made so I'll probably start working on that in March.

So outside of poker things have been great. We are moving into a temporary spot in Noe Valley next Monday. We can stay there month to month or week to week. Once we get out there, we will start looking for better places/areas. I am getting to know the city a lot better and I am loving it more and more. No joke San Francisco is one of the sickest places ever!!

I never really blog about girls or relationships with girls but lately I have been hanging out with this girl that I'm pretty crazy about. One rare thing about her is that she is witty and can make me genuinely laugh. Not many women can crack jokes that make me laugh. She is also really smart and independent: she has a solid job and a solid group of cool friends. Anyways, we are clicking really well and I haven't been into someone like this in a long time.

If Tahoe gets some snow, I'm going to head up there on Wednesday. I've only been on two trips this year which is a lot less than planned; especially how we can make day trips out of Tahoe. I just refuse to go out there unless there is fresh snow. Hopefully we can get a couple more storms before the season ends.

I used to be in the habit of being on my laptop, maybe watching a movie or a poker video, before going to bed every night. I decided to instead start reading as I never fkn read, like ever. I went and bought a handful of books and I am in the middle of the Andre Agassi book "Open". This is a phenomenal book and I feel like I relate to him a good bit when he was a kid. I played tennis very seriously when i was 9 or 10 winning tons of tournaments etc. I had coaches telling my parents I could be a champion some day so my parents pressed tennis on me so naturally I hated it and wanted to quit. I didnt want to be a tennis player, I wanted to be a hockey player but somehow ended up as a poker player. I wonder if I will one day truly "hate" poker. I hope not :)

-Cyrus

Well, at least right now I'm hating poker. This month has been pretty similar to January. Hell would be a good term used to describe how it has been. Anyways, I did manage to have one winning day this last week so it can't be that bad. So ya, in the last 4 weeks I really haven't been able to get anything at all going. I am confident this is just a downswing/breakeven period but I am definitely missing the old days where making 2k in a day didn't even seem that good. Now I would kill to make 2k in a day, (ok maybe an over exaggeration) .. Betting the superbowl was obv a bad idea but I thought there was so much value in Manning at -4.5 so I said what the fuck.. I'll see how the rest of the month pans out; I mean, I'm due for an upswing right??

Outside of poker life has been great other than the house hunting. I've been looking for a place to rent for 2 months in San Francisco and it has been more difficult than when I was looking for a house to buy. We have applied for 3 places and have been denied at all 3. Between 3 of us we can show more than enough income and have even offered 3 months rent in advance but no one seems to want to rent a nice place to 3 guys in their mid twenties who have good credit. I don't know the real reason but I'm going to try and talk to one of the owners and see what is going on.

It was one of my roommates' birthday this last weekend and we partied a bunch. One of the nights we went out to a few bars in the mission with this girl I've been hanging with and her friends. We also stopped by the wharf for dinner and drinks at a restaurant called Houstons. This place is fkn amazing and I highly recommend it. So ya, I guess this was just one of those fuck my life vent posts but all is good and I know I'll bounce back.

Peace..