Finally reached supernova! Worked hard for it, fortunately for a good cause, because I made it =)
Will take off for 2 days (reached it yesterday), to load up the battery a bit for next year to start beasting from January!
I will probably stick to the same games that I'm currently playing, aiming to stick to a higher ABI.
If the first months go well (read: volume wise) I may go for SNE. We shall see though how things go.
I hope everyone reached their own targets!
Happy new year to all of you and a "booming" 2012!
vrijdag 30 december 2011
zaterdag 24 december 2011
Merry Christmas!
Just like the title suggests- merry christmas everyone! I hope you all have a good time, and spend some quality time with your family. At least, that is what I have been, and will be doing during the upcoming days.
I still need to reach supernova, got like 3k left. This should be done in 1 or 2 (short) sessions!
When this is done, I will prepare and rest out for next year!
From next year on, I will start adding 200$ 18s as well.
In short, the 2011 recap has been as following: I decided that I wanted to invest into my game, and study a lot more about my game. I definately achieved this- I think my overall level game has elevated a lot and is so so much better than at the beginning of the year! In terms of volume I have had some rough times, because of motivation and dedication.
The route to my targets (reaching mid/high stakes) has gone way differently than I imagined- I am very glad though that I went through a rough patch to reach what I'm at. I have said it before but it's gotta happen to every pokerplayer that you experience a rough time in your career, where you have to decide what you want to do. Do you either switch plans/career, or pursue your long-term plans where you want to improve.
In short: I had to quit moaning ,and start grinding. Because in fact, that is what I forgot to do- I was worrying too much about my short-term variance, in both positive as negative ways. I have had plenty of sessions where I experienced "positive tilt", as in quitting sessions where I was up. I will definately try to limit these a lot next year. Overall I am very satisfied about the last too months (november in particular) where I have shown that I've got the heart to go all the way in terms of value and mental state.
2012 targets:
-Less wasted time behind my screen! I spend far too much time in the lobby, just railing pointless games and/or wasting time browsing. I am not saying that I want to quit this, but I certainly gotta limit this a lot
-At least 2500 games per month, especially during the period that I will have practically no uni (march-sept)
-Succesfully beat 60-200$ 18s and up my ABI
-Start transitioning to other formats as well, to up my ABI. That includes fifty50s (beat them pre rakeback), 9max (KO) and eventually 6max. I definately gotta work on my 6max (bubble) game.
-Less affection with daily results and learn to really look at the bigger picture. In theory I practice this very well. At the tables though the length of my sessions still depend too much on results other than a planned idea.
-If the first months go well, go for SNE. However, this is NOT an explicit target, but more or less the result of my hard work and dedication. The same goes for money targets: in my head I want at least 100k profit over the year, although that may have its negative consequences. Therefore, I do not mark them as explicit targets.
-Start to coach and make my students successfull
-Being ready for highstakes SNGS at 2013
This will be it for now!
Best regards and cu in 2012!
I still need to reach supernova, got like 3k left. This should be done in 1 or 2 (short) sessions!
When this is done, I will prepare and rest out for next year!
From next year on, I will start adding 200$ 18s as well.
In short, the 2011 recap has been as following: I decided that I wanted to invest into my game, and study a lot more about my game. I definately achieved this- I think my overall level game has elevated a lot and is so so much better than at the beginning of the year! In terms of volume I have had some rough times, because of motivation and dedication.
The route to my targets (reaching mid/high stakes) has gone way differently than I imagined- I am very glad though that I went through a rough patch to reach what I'm at. I have said it before but it's gotta happen to every pokerplayer that you experience a rough time in your career, where you have to decide what you want to do. Do you either switch plans/career, or pursue your long-term plans where you want to improve.
In short: I had to quit moaning ,and start grinding. Because in fact, that is what I forgot to do- I was worrying too much about my short-term variance, in both positive as negative ways. I have had plenty of sessions where I experienced "positive tilt", as in quitting sessions where I was up. I will definately try to limit these a lot next year. Overall I am very satisfied about the last too months (november in particular) where I have shown that I've got the heart to go all the way in terms of value and mental state.
2012 targets:
-Less wasted time behind my screen! I spend far too much time in the lobby, just railing pointless games and/or wasting time browsing. I am not saying that I want to quit this, but I certainly gotta limit this a lot
-At least 2500 games per month, especially during the period that I will have practically no uni (march-sept)
-Succesfully beat 60-200$ 18s and up my ABI
-Start transitioning to other formats as well, to up my ABI. That includes fifty50s (beat them pre rakeback), 9max (KO) and eventually 6max. I definately gotta work on my 6max (bubble) game.
-Less affection with daily results and learn to really look at the bigger picture. In theory I practice this very well. At the tables though the length of my sessions still depend too much on results other than a planned idea.
-If the first months go well, go for SNE. However, this is NOT an explicit target, but more or less the result of my hard work and dedication. The same goes for money targets: in my head I want at least 100k profit over the year, although that may have its negative consequences. Therefore, I do not mark them as explicit targets.
-Start to coach and make my students successfull
-Being ready for highstakes SNGS at 2013
This will be it for now!
Best regards and cu in 2012!
maandag 19 december 2011
VPP Update
Been grinding a lot lately- in comparison of course with what I used to do. Currently I'm having 93.5k VPP, so only 6.5k to go for Supernova. Just a few small bumps left and I have made it!
Lately I have been (slowly) adding new formats, such as 9max/KO sngs. Today I also tried a few fifty50 sngs to see what they were like for next year. They seem beatable and are a lot easier to multitable than other turbo's, because you never play shorthanded. Occasionally it does get tricky though when you are all very short- it basically becomes an ICM war then.
I have played DoNs in the past, which seem to differ quite a bit with these Fifty50s. You need to be far more aggressive and try to pick up a lot more chips. I'll see how it ends up- I expect a lower avg roi, but I expect smaller swings in them. Also they run in higher formats which is good if I want to up my avg buyin. I'll see how it goes.
I'm still awaiting the vip programme update for pokerstars, and base my grindscheme/targets on the update.
GL at the tables!
Lately I have been (slowly) adding new formats, such as 9max/KO sngs. Today I also tried a few fifty50 sngs to see what they were like for next year. They seem beatable and are a lot easier to multitable than other turbo's, because you never play shorthanded. Occasionally it does get tricky though when you are all very short- it basically becomes an ICM war then.
I have played DoNs in the past, which seem to differ quite a bit with these Fifty50s. You need to be far more aggressive and try to pick up a lot more chips. I'll see how it ends up- I expect a lower avg roi, but I expect smaller swings in them. Also they run in higher formats which is good if I want to up my avg buyin. I'll see how it goes.
I'm still awaiting the vip programme update for pokerstars, and base my grindscheme/targets on the update.
GL at the tables!
donderdag 1 december 2011
Update: Reaching Supernova
It has been a while since my last update.. mainly because of pure laziness and other activities.
In the previous months I had to get my mind straight about a few things and how I wanted to pursue in the following months. I pretty much took a pokerbreak and barely played since the summer.
I decided to focus more on my uni and a business that I recently started with a couple of good friends. Currently I am responsible for the retail in the Netherlands for Gunnar Optiks, a company specialised in computer eyewear. I am sure that a couple of you who read this are familiar with these (also available in the pokerstars store). For the ones who aren't: make sure you check out www.gunnars.com or www.gunnaroptiks.nl for the dutch version. It has been a lot of work to get things sorted (a lot more than expected). It still takes a lot of mental energy to fix things in regard to it.
Since the 11th I decided to team up with a new backer, giving me improved oppurtunities. I am very thankful for all the oppurtunities Bigbluffzinc & Push0rdie gave me, they improved my SNG game to the next level. I don't blame them in regard to my previous mentality (being a lazy grinder) that they let me move down a limit or two to get my results/confidence back up again. I found it very hard to move down though, as I had the feeling that I could beat the higher games as well. I just never put in the sample to prove it (long term). In all honesty, I wouldn't have let myself move up before grinding hard for a month or two either.
Hence I decided to put my money where my mouth is, so to say. Last month (since the 11th) I grinded more than ever, with proven results. I had my best month ever, and made over 10k in just 2 weeks, more than I made during the year. I ran better than ever (I am the last to deny it), but it's a lethal combination with playing your A-game. I decided to mix in a few 100s and 60s, and it went prosperous so far.
My targets around may were to move up to the mid-high stakes @ SNGs. Now it actually looks that I have achieved my targets, just in a very different way. The paradox is that I am happy I went through such a poker depression/ "downswing" and decided to take a long break, to see the fun and the freedom of it again. It isn't a pain to play: it is a blessing. It is just hard to remind yourself to this when you are losing time after time.
Since the 11th of november I needed ~45k vpp to make Supernova, as a preparation for next year. It is also as a trial to see whether I am capable of putting in the volume required to play poker seriously next year.
I only need 20k vpp for supernova, so it should be very doable in 2 weeks or so. I just don't want to be a breakeven rakeback grinder- I want to win pre-rakeback in the games up to 100$. Next year I won't have uni for a pretty long time, which I want to fill with grinding. I wanna start great during january- if things go in the right way I want to give SNE a shot. It just doesn't need to be for the sake of it (aka rakeback whore), I want it to be profitable.
Sorry for the long piece- from now on I will give more frequent updates :)
I am also available for coaching- hit me up if you are interested.
In the previous months I had to get my mind straight about a few things and how I wanted to pursue in the following months. I pretty much took a pokerbreak and barely played since the summer.
I decided to focus more on my uni and a business that I recently started with a couple of good friends. Currently I am responsible for the retail in the Netherlands for Gunnar Optiks, a company specialised in computer eyewear. I am sure that a couple of you who read this are familiar with these (also available in the pokerstars store). For the ones who aren't: make sure you check out www.gunnars.com or www.gunnaroptiks.nl for the dutch version. It has been a lot of work to get things sorted (a lot more than expected). It still takes a lot of mental energy to fix things in regard to it.
Since the 11th I decided to team up with a new backer, giving me improved oppurtunities. I am very thankful for all the oppurtunities Bigbluffzinc & Push0rdie gave me, they improved my SNG game to the next level. I don't blame them in regard to my previous mentality (being a lazy grinder) that they let me move down a limit or two to get my results/confidence back up again. I found it very hard to move down though, as I had the feeling that I could beat the higher games as well. I just never put in the sample to prove it (long term). In all honesty, I wouldn't have let myself move up before grinding hard for a month or two either.
Hence I decided to put my money where my mouth is, so to say. Last month (since the 11th) I grinded more than ever, with proven results. I had my best month ever, and made over 10k in just 2 weeks, more than I made during the year. I ran better than ever (I am the last to deny it), but it's a lethal combination with playing your A-game. I decided to mix in a few 100s and 60s, and it went prosperous so far.
My targets around may were to move up to the mid-high stakes @ SNGs. Now it actually looks that I have achieved my targets, just in a very different way. The paradox is that I am happy I went through such a poker depression/ "downswing" and decided to take a long break, to see the fun and the freedom of it again. It isn't a pain to play: it is a blessing. It is just hard to remind yourself to this when you are losing time after time.
Since the 11th of november I needed ~45k vpp to make Supernova, as a preparation for next year. It is also as a trial to see whether I am capable of putting in the volume required to play poker seriously next year.
I only need 20k vpp for supernova, so it should be very doable in 2 weeks or so. I just don't want to be a breakeven rakeback grinder- I want to win pre-rakeback in the games up to 100$. Next year I won't have uni for a pretty long time, which I want to fill with grinding. I wanna start great during january- if things go in the right way I want to give SNE a shot. It just doesn't need to be for the sake of it (aka rakeback whore), I want it to be profitable.
Sorry for the long piece- from now on I will give more frequent updates :)
I am also available for coaching- hit me up if you are interested.
donderdag 4 augustus 2011
Exclusive Deals
Recently I have been lucky to get into touch with the owners of one of the best affiliate sites around in the poker business. Their deals are exclusive and their service seems unrivalled.
I literally spammed them with questions for several days and they have been around 24/7 to answer all my questions. At some point I even felt guilty for asking seemingly stupid stuff but they have always remained polite and to the point to answer me!
Most people tend to go for the biggest sites in the business (pokerstars, full tilt) but they do not seem to realise that it isn't lucrative at all for them. The average player pool is way stronger and the promotions aren't that good at all (unless you put in very high volume). Even for the high volume players the promotions could be way better with exclusive services.
On the smaller networks it is possible to get very high (unmatched) rates in combination with exclusive vip items (from books to laptops) through the affiliate (you will also be eligible for the vip stuff on the site itself, so count your blessings!)
The difference with the bigger rakeback networks around (e.g. raketherake) is that they give out standard deals which are at least 10% lower than what is possible to get. It can make the difference of beating a level or not- it's just a lot of "dead" money that you are not getting.
If you are interested you can react on this post and I'll put you into touch with one of the guys in charge. Personally I am very satisfied and I know these are the best around. I have had various deals on different sites in the past and none of them are even close to these.
If you feel more comfortable with a more personal approach, you can email me: bpplatformblog@gmail.com
vrijdag 15 juli 2011
Coaching
Recently I decided to team up with bestpokercoach.com to work for them as a coach!
I'm really satisfied with the way things are going so far, and I really believe it will be a fruitful project.
I have been asked to primarily coach microstakes players for mtt/sngs. The groups we are working with (up to 15 students per session) are very big, so I need to adjust accordingly with the coachings. It's hard to help everyone out at the same time- so I've been focussing on the main leaks of microstakes players.
Mostly I've been pounding on getting value out of their top hands by betting, betting and betting. Furthermore they too often call out of the blinds, raise too light OOP, call down to often with marginal hands and have a bad mindset regarding bad luck and adjusting to bad plays by others.
I just had my first sessions and had positive responses which I feel pretty content about.
You can read more about the project over here:
bestpokercoaching.com
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/187/tournament-sng-poker-coach-listings/new-guarantee-you-crush-poker-i-go-busto-free-coaching-profits-1063855/
I'm really satisfied with the way things are going so far, and I really believe it will be a fruitful project.
I have been asked to primarily coach microstakes players for mtt/sngs. The groups we are working with (up to 15 students per session) are very big, so I need to adjust accordingly with the coachings. It's hard to help everyone out at the same time- so I've been focussing on the main leaks of microstakes players.
Mostly I've been pounding on getting value out of their top hands by betting, betting and betting. Furthermore they too often call out of the blinds, raise too light OOP, call down to often with marginal hands and have a bad mindset regarding bad luck and adjusting to bad plays by others.
I just had my first sessions and had positive responses which I feel pretty content about.
You can read more about the project over here:
bestpokercoaching.com
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/187/tournament-sng-poker-coach-listings/new-guarantee-you-crush-poker-i-go-busto-free-coaching-profits-1063855/
zondag 3 juli 2011
Bad runs
In poker, there is one main thing that keeps on coming back over and over again: the negative influence of variance on your results: also known as bad luck, or running bad. Countless articles have been written about it, from very different perspectives. I won't bother you with that, as you can find enough about that (from mathematics to mindset theories).
There is one thing though that I want to say about it, as hard as I find it to apply:
"Everyone complains about their own bad runs... but nobody is interested in hearing about it"
Basically, everyone thinks they are unlucky (which has some truth in it, after all). Of course, some are more unlucky than others, shifting from time to time. I'm not saying that luck evens out or anything like that (because that is not true! The standard deviation in the results, combined with all the related variables it is impossible to predict future results up to a certain extent)
All I'm emphasizing on is the fact that it is pointless to complain and complain, as viral as it can be.
It is good to release steam once in a while, but it shouldn't become too much of a habit. It is proven that it only leads to detoriation and to losing focus. Combined with the bitter irony of it that no one cares about your beats it should be simple maths not to waste too much time on it.
Therefore, I won't complain to you about my recent bad luck, but instead I will try to focus on the stuff that needs to be improved :)
There is one thing though that I want to say about it, as hard as I find it to apply:
"Everyone complains about their own bad runs... but nobody is interested in hearing about it"
Basically, everyone thinks they are unlucky (which has some truth in it, after all). Of course, some are more unlucky than others, shifting from time to time. I'm not saying that luck evens out or anything like that (because that is not true! The standard deviation in the results, combined with all the related variables it is impossible to predict future results up to a certain extent)
All I'm emphasizing on is the fact that it is pointless to complain and complain, as viral as it can be.
It is good to release steam once in a while, but it shouldn't become too much of a habit. It is proven that it only leads to detoriation and to losing focus. Combined with the bitter irony of it that no one cares about your beats it should be simple maths not to waste too much time on it.
Therefore, I won't complain to you about my recent bad luck, but instead I will try to focus on the stuff that needs to be improved :)
maandag 20 juni 2011
Small update
Haven't posted in a while.. so figured it was time for a small update.
I'm really busy with my final exams in the upcoming weeks, so I have little time for poker-related stuff (at least, I should). Hopefully I will pass for all my exams, so I can fully focus on grinding and improvement.
Recently I moved up to the 60s as well, which has been going extraordinary well (lots of rungood included).
I am very grateful that I have been getting excellent coaching by mainly bigbluffzinc (push0rdie hasn't been around much) who has been very devoted so far. I feel like I'm in the zone the last few weeks, which has been showing as well through my results.
I've been encountered for some coaching as well, which feels like an honour. Hopefully I'll be able to teach others what I have learned- both by my own experience as from what I have learned from my coaches.
From my academical background I'll be able to teach others a lot regarding psychology and mindsets regarding grinding, as a lot of the theoretical stuff I learn is applicable in workfields such as poker as well.
I'm trying to execute those elements by myself, and I see progression- albeit a (little biased) self-report.
I'm on my way to the 100s- it's only a matter of time at this pace.
Hopefully the rungood lasts a little longer, as it's great for motivation.
At first sight it may create the effect of slacking the improvement of my game, but the contrary is happening.
I know that my current results are an upswing for a certain percentage (it is too abstract to give concrete numbers), but I know that a lot of it is due to my edge vs. the other players/regs.
I want to maintain this, so I need to keep on improving and improving and improving and improving..
This is an key element if you want to be part of the best, if not THE best at whatever you do.
You always strive to be one step ahead of your enemy.
This will be it for now, back to studying.
Good luck at the tables!
I'm really busy with my final exams in the upcoming weeks, so I have little time for poker-related stuff (at least, I should). Hopefully I will pass for all my exams, so I can fully focus on grinding and improvement.
Recently I moved up to the 60s as well, which has been going extraordinary well (lots of rungood included).
I am very grateful that I have been getting excellent coaching by mainly bigbluffzinc (push0rdie hasn't been around much) who has been very devoted so far. I feel like I'm in the zone the last few weeks, which has been showing as well through my results.
I've been encountered for some coaching as well, which feels like an honour. Hopefully I'll be able to teach others what I have learned- both by my own experience as from what I have learned from my coaches.
From my academical background I'll be able to teach others a lot regarding psychology and mindsets regarding grinding, as a lot of the theoretical stuff I learn is applicable in workfields such as poker as well.
I'm trying to execute those elements by myself, and I see progression- albeit a (little biased) self-report.
I'm on my way to the 100s- it's only a matter of time at this pace.
Hopefully the rungood lasts a little longer, as it's great for motivation.
At first sight it may create the effect of slacking the improvement of my game, but the contrary is happening.
I know that my current results are an upswing for a certain percentage (it is too abstract to give concrete numbers), but I know that a lot of it is due to my edge vs. the other players/regs.
I want to maintain this, so I need to keep on improving and improving and improving and improving..
This is an key element if you want to be part of the best, if not THE best at whatever you do.
You always strive to be one step ahead of your enemy.
This will be it for now, back to studying.
Good luck at the tables!
dinsdag 12 april 2011
The start of a journey to success.
Dear readers,
This blog will be primarily focussed on my poker grind- hopefully a fruitful and succesful journey!
I'll probably add some psychology/mindset related stuff in it as well, as I have a passion for psychology and thinking-processes.
I hope this blog will remind me one day of what I decided to go for, and especially where I once was at one day.
I am already very satisfied what I have reached so far poker-wise; yet I will be striving to get better and better. This is mainly because I believe that in a constantly adapting/changing world, you simply cannot stand still as the rest gets better and better. If you wanna compete and actually beat the games, you constantly gotta stay sharp with dedicated focus.
Currently I am mainly grinding the 16$ 18 mans on pokerstars, under the supervision of the staking group guided by bigbluffzinc. So far I have had several coaching sessions with push0rdie, which were very satisfying. It basically showed me that I still have a looooot of stuff that I need to work on, even though I'm on a right track.
I also love to teach others- not only because of being a witness of success of one other due to your help, but also because it forces you to really think about every element of the game. I want to focus on giving more coaching, as I certainly believe that I can help others to reach a higher level of thinking and/or analysis.
I hope that I will reach the high stakes one day, if not at the end of the year with the help of my coaches. I will dedicate this year on developing my game and discipline around the game, to play the 100$+ games next year.
Who knows, I might be even playing them this year if things go well. All in all I hope to reach self-actualisation with it.
Before I finish this first blog entry I want to make a reference to Maslow's hierarchy of needs
Wikipedia describes it as the following:
"The most fundamental and basic four layers of the pyramid contain what Maslow called "deficiency needs" or "d-needs": esteem , friendship and love, security, and physical needs. With the exception of the most fundamental (physiological) needs, if these "deficiency needs" are not met, the body gives no physical indication but the individual feels anxious and tense. Maslow's theory suggests that the most basic level of needs must be met before the individual will strongly desire (or focus motivation upon) the secondary or higher level needs. Maslow also coined the term Metamotivation to describe the motivation of people who go beyond the scope of the basic needs and strive for constant betterment.["
A lot of these elements are part of poker as well. Try apply the stuff for your own game, and see where you (mentally) can improve your game to the next level.
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