Life with poker

Bad run continues, but playing better

2009-11-02T00:14:00.000-08:00

Still running pretty bad at 2/4...Losing huge pots which could turn negative days into +2k days...So just waiting to start running good in those spots. Im def. playing better, trying to get the leaks out of my 2/4 game. Still played a little scared in certain spots at 2/4 so need to get rid of that. Its amazing how in order to win at higher stakes, you must disregard all monetary value, despite the pots being double and triple the amount. I want to get to 3/6 soon, I feel alot of fish are sitting too often for me not to get some of the action. Played a couple MTTs today, but no luck, got it in good, but couldnt hold. Anyway here are some hands posted below, as well as the results so far.
Oct.28th= -1031.10
29th= -534.70
30th=+955.35
31st= Day off
Nov.1= still working

Full Tilt Poker Game #15736588689: Table Ragland (heads up) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:59:02 ET - 2009/11/01
Seat 1: AAeveryhand ($598.10)
Seat 2: fluidg ($877.10)
AAeveryhand posts the small blind of $2
fluidg posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to AAeveryhand [9d Ah]
AAeveryhand raises to $12
fluidg raises to $36
AAeveryhand has 15 seconds left to act
AAeveryhand raises to $92
fluidg calls $56
*** FLOP *** [2d 9h 6d]
fluidg checks
AAeveryhand has 15 seconds left to act
AAeveryhand bets $134
fluidg calls $134
*** TURN *** [2d 9h 6d] [Qs]
fluidg bets $651.10, and is all in
AAeveryhand calls $372.10, and is all in
fluidg shows [Kd Qd]
AAeveryhand shows [9d Ah]
Uncalled bet of $279 returned to fluidg
*** RIVER *** [2d 9h 6d Qs] [5c]
fluidg shows a pair of Queens
AAeveryhand shows a pair of Nines
fluidg wins the pot ($1,195.70) with a pair of Queens
AAeveryhand is sitting out
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $1,196.20 | Rake $0.50
Board: [2d 9h 6d Qs 5c]
Seat 1: AAeveryhand (small blind) showed [9d Ah] and lost with a pair of Nines
Seat 2: fluidg (big blind) showed [Kd Qd] and won ($1,195.70) with a pair of Queens

1 month.. $20k

2009-10-28T19:06:00.000-07:00

Kinda like the 2 months 2 million show, but without going out to clubs and being awkard, and somehow compensating that with throwing around money. Anyway this is where Im gonna track my progress and updates with this....Im also going to be posting videos and other stuff... The reason I did this, is Ive been on a bad downswing the last month in cash, so im hoping this will keep me motivated to put in killer volume, as well as making up the downswing into alot of money. I will be playing 1/2 and 2/4 HUNL and 1/2 6 max occasionally, as well as Multis. The goal is simple, make 20k within a month. So here we go gl me!!

Way overdue for an update

2009-03-31T12:50:00.000-07:00

Well I have not been good about updating this like I should have been, so Ill catch it up pretty quick and try to update it a little better. I have been on a crazy downswing, probably the worst downswing ive ever had. In cash I went from up 9K in 2 weeks to losing 3.5K of it, than cashing out the rest, and now I started it up again and Im on a -2200 downswing uhhhhh it sucks. I know it will turn but I have to admit I am a little bit worried, I swing so much in both ways and its just hard to handle. Although I have decided to take cash games more seriously and now look at poker as my job so I am taking it very serious. Regarding multis I am still on that wicked downswing around 6Kish, and sundays just seem to wanna beat up on me every sunday. Like I cannot run good deep in majors. Every sunday I have got wicked bad beated deep in a major, its really frustrating. I did get 2nd in the $109 HU tourny, he wanted a chop and I said no way, and obv get it in AA vs 88 or 77 well whatever pair he had he hit so gg me, pretty irritating because I really wanted to win. Anyway now that I am offically calling poker my job I am taking it 100% more serious and focusing on it more than ever, so Im hoping things will change as a result, I will start to update this more as a result too, cross your fingers for me!!

-Josh

New puppy!!

2009-02-14T07:28:00.000-08:00

Heres my new puppy, Hailey

Staking?

2009-01-29T10:59:00.000-08:00

I want to get staked where do I go?
There are many sites but the one Im on is www.pokerstaking.com

What is staking?
It is where backers(people who pay for the players buy ins) give money to players to play specific tournys or to start with a specific bankroll and play until it reaches the goal.

If the player is that good why would he be staked?
Alot of players like the comfort of not having to be on their own roll when a downswing hits, and they like winning money for other people as well. Another popular reason is that they have trouble keeping their own bankroll, so having strict guidelines helps them stick to a plan and therefore make money.

Wait, if a player cant keep their own roll than why would I give him one, wouldn't he have the same trouble?
No they would not, but that is why its important to lay out terms, and if you dont want the player playing tournys higher than $150 than the player must stick to that. If the player is desiging the stake, than the tourys he says he is going to play is a contract and if the contract is not followed, the player must pay for the tournys that he was not supposed to play. If the player wants to play something different than he/she must approve it with the staker/stakers.

Do alot of people get staked, and are any top players staked?
Yes eveyone would be surprised if they knew how many people were actually backed/staked in online and live tounrys. Yes, there are many top players staked, the best players online often do run on their own dime online, but in live tournys like the WSOP, WPT, etc. they are staked. Also, alot of big players are staked online, I know a few who have the roll to play on their own but choose not to for the comfort of being able to play their A+ game even after being on a downswing. Remember a person can spend well over $5K on sunday playing the major sunday tournys, if the player cannot wipe that off at the end of the day, or even be down $25K at one point that month, if those would affect you being backed is a good resource to help control that.

Okay but it seems like the players take the backing money less serious than their own, is that true?
Absolutely not many players including myself, are just as upset losing the backers money than our own, sometimes more upset. It does help knowing that you are not losing your "own" money but the player should still value their stakers money like it is their own. The serious players that are staked value all their stakers money more than they probably should, Ive talked to alot of people who get very upset about losing the stakers money if they go on a downswing. The thing is, the stakers know that downswings happen, so the player cannot let themselve get upset, as long as they are a profitable player than they will come back into profit.

Is there any risk?
Of course there is risk. The way you eliminate that risk is by staking players that have been around staking for a while, are trusted by people, and have ran other stakes in the past with no problems. Sad enough sometimes the ideal player does run with the stakers money, but that is very rare. The key is staking people who would not benefit from stealing money. For example, If I stole $1k from stakers what would that do for me? It would destroy my reputation which I am trying to build, I would never get staked again, and above all you never know who you might run into lol. Basically stake people that want alot out of poker in the future(have poker goals), value their reputation, and have good morals.

What is this cake thing?
Cake is a very tasty bread object with alot of frosting on top. Next question..kay bad joke lol. Cake often called stakeback and makeup, is what you pay the stakers back if you have lost them money in the past and just made them money. Everything you lose them you must pay back through profits, unless you have an agreement with the staker that there is no cake involved. ATTN: Stakers should not stake a person without cake unless they are getting a 70/30 take, obv 70% in favor of the stakers or better. An example of cake is this. I run a stake for $500 and lose it all. The staker sends me another $500 and I turn that into $1000 in profit. I send him back is $500 profit cut, but wait that means hes even because he lost $500 before, and the player is up $500, thats where cake comes in, you send the stakers another $250 so that the staker has made $250 profit off you total, and the player has made $250 total. Basically everyone must make the same if the deal is 50/50.

Lastly some quick tips for stakers.
1. Only stake profitable players, if his stats say he doesnt make money, why would you stake him..unless he is improving and that is shown in the stats

2. Do not stake via aim or skype or whatever, make sure you discuss terms at a staking website.

3. Beware staking new players or players that are unfamilar with staking, yes they need to start somewhere but be prepared to deal with them not knowing the rules or just taking your money, thinking that they have figured out a way to make free money.

4. If your going to stake someone who is a winning player, stake them in everything they play. Staking a player in something here and something there is not profitable it is gambling. The one tourny you do not stake him in is the one he may hit for a big score. Players love when a staker asked to reserve shares in everything they have, having a great staker is a great feeling to players.

5. Stake with cake, it is too much of a risk to stake a person without cake, unless you are just staking the person for a one time thing, than 70/30 is profitable enough.

#1 advice for Horses/players.
Follow all the guidelines of your stake, ask the staker if you want to make a change, and WIN!!!! :)

-Josh

Sunday sucked, cash game HU rock, and craiglist is pissing me off

2009-01-28T12:46:00.000-08:00

Well to start off no luck lately in MTT's, I have still been struggling and occasionally Im just plain out not playing good, which is really unacceptable. So after 2 days of not being on my A game I took a 2 day break. Although, I did get 6th in the $55 4 max a week ago or so after being in 2nd place out of 6 I get my money in on a flop of 7 2 5 I have 5 5 he has A 7, money goes in on the flop, turn is a 3 river is a 4 and thats that. I would have had a 2-1 Chip lead at the final table so yea that one stung a little bit. Getting your money in as a 97% favorite and losing at the bubble of the Final Table is a little unfair, espically because my Pokerstars heeb is struggling so that would have finally lifted us up but thats the way downswings go. So anyway I took a 2 day break, and came back on Sunday just to play 11 tournys and Cash a goose egg 0 :( It was very upsetting, I could get nothing going in anything, than finally in the Sunday Warmup around 15-20 from the money I get it in with AKCC to JJ pre for a 7th place stack and obv dont get there. So than myself, my girlfriend Carla and my friends Eric and Jason went to lick our wounds at Chilis, Im addicted to Margaritas apparently cause every time I go out to dinner, I order one, and for those that say thats a girly drink than kiss my ass lol It taste awesome and it is not a cosmo or the other one lol. Although sometimes it does come in a girly class so than i put on my best Sex and the City impression. Anyway I forgot to mention Eric wasnt allowed to lick his wounds because he final tabled the Omaha tourny on Stars again for the 2nd straight week, I guess hes good at omaha, if only he didnt suck so much at hold'em..just kidding :)

O whoops let go back to friday real quick, going back in time someone hit the back to the future music!! So I go to a friday Cash game alot, and for some reason I have a hard time ever winning at live cash games for this reason. I end winning in the first couple hours than spew my money away and end up down or breaking even, which is so annoying. For example at the cash game I was down 500, up 350, down 200, up 200, down 100, up 150, down 300, and that is not exaggerating, its sad. I did have some sick spots where I won big and should have won big, espically when Eric, the one I mentioned earlier 5 bet me with A 5, I had KK, we ran it twice and he hit the A on the first run, 2 outer btw because someone folded AJ and I held the 2nd time so chop chop, obv I called him a asshole for the rest of the night, but I ended up donating him $300 throughout the night after I took a $1300 pot off him when I had the nut flush and he shoved me drawing dead, thanks bro!! :) Anyway I know its kind of scattered and not sure if you can understand anything I just said lol but Ill try to organize it better some other time

Next topic.. HU NL CASH 1-1 hell yea Im starting to love this game. My friend Jason "Fisheye" grinds these day in and day out and just plain out kills them, so he is coaching me in these and wow they are soft. I should have known since I used to be the donk who would drop money in these when I was bored, so basically I was the fish, now Im trying to become the shark. There are alot of regulars but the beauty is its 1-1 so you just dont play them! Im up around $1800 in a couple days in these and thats playing no more than 2 1/2 hour sessions, so lets cross our fingers it continues no jynx please lol.

Last thing, Craigslist is pissing me off to the extreme, I listed my apartment up there for rent because I am moving and I have gotten scam after scam after scam, Ill post one at the bottom for your enjoyment, its a bunch of people saying their from africa or UK or something and they want to rent my college apartment, yup makes sense. Than I listed that I want a husy puppy, and Ive been talking for around 30 emails with this one lady who claims shes deaf, and a widow etc. and I almost fell for it, I literally went to Wal Mart and paid the money gram, but than came to my senses and cancelled it, thankfully because it looks like it was a scam. SO WTF Craigs list is basically useless, I dont understand how there are so many pathetic people trying to steal money on there, sigh scum of the earth, so irritating. Anyway here is one of the scam emails, hope you enjoy!!

-Josh

Thanks for your mail and sorry for the late response,i appreciate your wanting to help us in our situation. I will be in the states for the next one year with my wife and nine year old son and during my stay .We have a financier that is based in the states and he will be handling the rent deposit payment on our behalf,we will instruct him to send you the check for this as soon as you give us the go ahead to make payment to you.

Due to the limited time that we have before our arrival,we are making arrangements with a furniture company to supply the home with furniture,so we will need you to provide us with the measurements of the living room and bedroom so that we can send it to the furniture company so that they can supply the unit with furniture that will fit in well.

As regards the lease agreement,i want you to send it to me for my review,i will eventually have it filled and signed on my arrival in your place as i am of the opinion that such documents are best filled and signed physically.We can start the lease by the 23th of Jan and we will be doing a one year lease although we will not be arriving until the 30th of Jan.You can prepare the lease in my Name Gary King and my wife's Name Mrs.Doris King. In case you need to do a credit check,here in my SS# 025 64 2602 and my dob is 10/05/1966. I'll be working for Global Link branch as well.

Let us know how to move ahead as we intend to complete this deal before we move in by the end of the month,we will let you know the exact date as soon as we get a booking on a flight to the states.

i will need you to provide me with your full name in which the check will be issued and your complete physical contact address to which the check payment will be sent to you by my financier, as soon as you provide these, i will forward it to my financier with an instruction to issue and send you the check. Please i need you to also reconfirm the total move in costs, that is the rent and deposit to be paid. here are the info i need from you to proceed with the payment....

I will look forward to your e mail with the required information.
Due regards from me and my family,we are looking forward to meeting you soon.......
+44 703 195 6750

Last night summary 1-21-09

2009-01-21T11:07:00.000-08:00

So last night had some promise which is better than the 20 tounrys before. I started off the night getting in on a flop with A 2 3 in the Big Double A on FTP with AK vs A 7, obv the 7 rivered and than the guy started talking crap. Gotta love when people get their money in with three outs and than talk like their awesome..donks make me laugh... Well I figured I was in for a long night and the night did continue pretty bad, losing the $26 on FT than the $55 6 max on Stars, and some others. Although, I did cash the $26 6 max KO and bubbled the final table of the $75 KO for 11th place. I made a questionable re shove based on the original raiser being a chip leader and bullying the table and the reshover should have been raising light enough to make AJ a good reshove by me there, but after some more research it may have still been a fold. I did flop the J, but he turned the straight so gg to that. At least I went deep, after going deep everyday for a week, cashing 1/21 was very annoying, but hopefully this is a sign that Ill start running good again. Heres the bust out hand below....
http://www.pokerhand.org/default.aspx?3745169

O well hopefully tonight is better, tht Id post my normal weekeday schedule(tourny wise)

Pokerstars:
$55 70K
$55 6 max
$11 rebuy(occasionally)
$55 4 max
$77 6 max 10K

Full Tilt:
$55 50k
$75 Big A
$75 Big B
$26 28k
$11 rebuy(occasionally)
$109 6 max
$26 6 max KO
$75 KO

P.S. Just had a Subway Cold cut combo, probably the worst sub Ive ever had, I feel like puking...I like Subway, but that cold cut combo is just horrible, although Im starting not to like Subway as much, the meat is just like too rubbery, but their Cookies are amazing so thats a + lol

later,
Josh

Sunday the 18th and yesterday

2009-01-20T14:30:00.000-08:00

Well as I said I may post 5 min later so lets update what has happened the last 2 days. I am running bad the last 2 days, yes I run sooo bad. I almost laugh at myself because I have been running pretty damn well the last couple weeks so to complain about 2 days is pretty ridiculous of me but come on..It was a SUNDAY!!! Why run bad on a sunday, why not monday and tuesday lol. Anyway to recap in my last 21 tounrys I have cashed 1, and that was not for alot of money. On sunday I lost everything but the one that hurt the most was the $216 Sunday Brawl on Full Tilt. I was crusing in that tourny and doing well when I lost AA vs QQ vs JJ all in pre for the chip lead...yea that kinda hurt a little bit. The other tounrys were same story losing QQ to A 10's KK to AX's and obv the huge flips but thats going to happen so its okay. Yesterday was just as bad so Im hoping tonight is better pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Anyway I have to go to class now, here is the hand from the Sunday Brawl, and btw I lost JJ to QQ couple hands after this to get knocked out...where is the damn justice lol..

Full Tilt Poker Game #10117267358: The Sunday Brawl (74677925), Table 171
- 200/400 Ante 50 - No Limit Hold'em - 17:01:53 ET - 2009/01/18
Seat 1: basebaldy (21,472)
Seat 2: doctorhowser (5,380)
Seat 3: Ahvall (12,850)
Seat 4: lilfishy897 (13,509)
Seat 5: AAeveryhand (25,514)
Seat 6: Melissa55 (24,121)
Seat 7: CrazyEdi (12,196)
Seat 8: Klausen (19,023)
Seat 9: shady91077 (33,558)
basebaldy antes 50
doctorhowser antes 50
Ahvall antes 50
lilfishy897 antes 50
AAeveryhand antes 50
Melissa55 antes 50
CrazyEdi antes 50
Klausen antes 50
shady91077 antes 50
shady91077 posts the small blind of 200
basebaldy posts the big blind of 400
The button is in seat #8
*** HOLE CARDS ***Dealt to AAeveryhand [Ah Ac]
doctorhowser folds
Ahvall folds
lilfishy897 raises to 1,055
AAeveryhand raises to 3,200
Melissa55 folds
CrazyEdi raises to 12,146, and is all in
Klausen folds
shady91077 folds
basebaldy folds
lilfishy897 raises to 13,459, and is all in
AAeveryhand calls 10,259
lilfishy897 shows [Qd Qs]
AAeveryhand shows [Ah Ac]
CrazyEdi shows [Jh Jd]
*** FLOP *** [7h 9c Jc]***
TURN *** [7h 9c Jc] [9s]***
RIVER *** [7h 9c Jc 9s] [6d]

yup that was not too fun....later guys

-Josh

A year has past, time to recap and make my first post TAKE 2 :)

2009-01-20T13:57:00.000-08:00

Well the last time I posted was one year ago and it amazes me how much my game has changed in just one year. I finally learned that I dont just run horrible in multi's but I was just not good enough lol, it sad but true. I used to think that I dont win multi's because Im cursed, but its because I was misinformed. Well that has changed and I seeked coaching from a friend and he helped patch up some of the mishaps of my game, and it has helped immensly, Around 28K in profit in the last 2 months or so weeeeee... Anyway its time to recap points of my game and my life in general so Im going to to do it by categories.

Who are you?
First off some info about me, Im going to act like this is the first post, because i do feel like it needed a fresh start. My name is Josh Hillock, I am currently a senior at the University of Central Florida and Im graduating next Fall. I am a business major with a marketing minor and want to own my own business eventually. Okay theres my school background lol, now for whats relevant with this blog, the poker background!!! I have been playing poker since I was 14 years old, a freshman in high school, but have been playing seriously for the last 4 years. I worked through high school but have not worked in college thanks to poker and my parents :), which has let me have enough money to have some extra spending money while my parents help with my rent, food, etc.. Its been about 2 1/2 years though that I have been taken poker alot more seriously and studying the game as well. Poker for me is as I put it a "gatekey" when I say gatekey I mean it will unlock doors for me that can help lead me to new things. A dream for me would be to open my own busines with poker winnings and of course there is the standard WSOP goals, travel the world to diff. tounrys and travel the world in general. Okay thats enough background for now.

Who am I as a poker player?
Well I have been getting staked for the last 2 1/2 years by a good friend and people I met through various staking sites and I have developed a good staking relationship with many people who have been with me from the start, and it has been great and has let me grow poker wise. Also I have met many amazing people who have helped bring my game to the next level. Being around better players than you and having those same people be good friends who are willing to teach you is so huge for your game and your life in general. My poker goals are very big, I plan to be the best of the best one day and I am motivated enough to get there I think. I am not normal..plain and simple.. What poker players are lol. So a normal job ughhh not gonna happen lol. Will I be a professional poker player..maybe, but I dont plan on doing it my whole life, I plan on pursuing my own business ventures which as I said is my life goal, getting off task lol okay back to poker... I have been grinding SNG's (6 max turbo and HU/4 ways fwiw) since I started online, and I would play multi's alot but never any success. So than I finally starting taking poker seriously and started winning. I studied bankroll management(not that I follow it at all lol) but I started learning about everything and now were in the present where I feel Im finally on the track to start acheiving my poker goals and get to where I want to be

So enough blabbling about your past and goals what are you doing now?
I am now focusing my attention on Multis. I have had a great last 2-3 months, and I am finally getting my confidence back and I feel that this year is going to be beyond huge for me. I play around 5 days a week, sometimes 6.. During the week I usually play multis from 9pm on and on Sat. all day and Sunday all day, but I usually take Sat. off. Im hoping that I continue to be successful in MTT's.

So what can we expect from this blog?
In the past I have not kept up with this thing, which makes no sense, because I loveeeeeee to write and writing all my emotions down helps me tilt less, so not having a blog for me is just plain dumb. I will be posting as much as I can, and will be infoming you on how my day went, and anything in my life that I may think is interesting, including live games, trips to Vegas, etc.. Also I will post any advice that has got me through tough times, as well as strategy and other stuff. I will even write articles from time to time on certain things. Again I love to write so I hope everyone enjoys.

Well I think thats good for now, for my 2nd first post lol, I will be posting soon to say how tonights action went or I may post in 5 min if I think of soemthing new... I plan to be very very active with this thing, so if anyone wants to know anything about me or see anything in praticular let me know...

So lets kick ass this year, good luck to everyone!!!

-Josh

2008-06-04T01:24:00.001-07:00

I registered to play as a blogger in the PocketFives Open. There are added prizes for the poker blogging community.The PocketFives Poker Forum is the home of the original online poker rankings.In addition, PocketFives has a member list that includes the best players in online poker, including top poker players such as JohnnyBax and ElMastermind.Registered:1186203140

1/15/08 Stud anyone?

2008-01-15T01:37:00.000-08:00

Havent updated this anyway, but im exhausted and its late so Ill keep it short. The 6 mans are going good my roll from those are about $850 in profit after a week, which is great. Also I havent played as many as I wanted so 850 is amazing. Tonight I just got 2nd in a Horse tourny for $480 which is good, but I was a monster chipleader and ended up blowing it... I ran amazing in that tourny, prob best Ive ever run in one tourny, but when it became HU we were even and the game was Stud. I plain and simple suck at Stud, Im horendous. So why play Horse Josh? I dont know lol. But I vow to not play horse again until I read up on Stud, Im okay when its 8 handed, but HU i was a total meltdown in Stud... I got out to an early lead, so just tried to bully my way to the win, but made a huge error, when I started with A23 all clubs, valued it too much, and he had trips.... all downhill from there. But its okay, I jsut play that tourny for fun to mix things up so not bad to win 450 profit.... Anyway thats it for tonight......

1-9-08

2008-01-08T23:34:00.000-08:00

Well I said wait and see if Im smiling, and I am lol.... Tonight went extremely well. I started slow, did 3 6 mans and got 2nd in one and lost the other two. Than I did another 4, I won 2, got 1 2nd, and 1 loss. Than to make that even better, I did 2 more, and won 1 and got 2nd in 1. A terrific night which puts my bankroll at $536.50. Gotta love the upside of variance. That's it for tonight....

-Josh

Variance comes back my way 1-8-08

2008-01-07T23:26:00.001-08:00

Today I started to grind the 6 mans again.... I just started with 3 and won 2 of them and got 2nd in 1 which equals $239 in profit. It's amazing how variance works. It's funny how poker test you, it really is a cruel game. I lose 6 in a row, and get it all back in 3 games, less than one hour... thats why it's true that when you grind at a game you can beat, a win= a loss and a loss= a win..... I make around $6.50-$7 a game in these $39 6 mans win or lose.... It's nice to run good in those 3 though, for a second I was questioning if I really am as good as I think at those....So i got my confidence back which is a good thing.... I was gonna play more tonight but decided to stop while im happy, no need to ruin it, I want to get in at least 120 or so 6 mans a month which shouldn't be hard at all, espically once I start 4 tabling them. Anyway that's it for tonight, and Ill end this post with a smile... :).

-Josh

P.S. stay tuned to see if I'm smiling tommorow, lets hope so lol

Welcome New year, please be good to me :) 1/4/08

2008-01-03T23:48:00.000-08:00

Well, it seems appropriate that I went back to 0 as the New Year has begun, so I can start fresh, and everybody loves fresh air.... I got back from my vacation to North Carolina 2 days ago, so I basically played no poker for week and half or so.... yea I missed it lol..... anyway I decided I am not going to start grinding the 6 mans until I get back to my place in Orlando on Sunday 1/6/08, so just 2 days, and than I will get back to the grind. Where I will start fresh and have the right mindset.... Yesterday I just messed around played an $11 180 man turbo, and a HU, and a 45 man lost the 180 and 45 man and won the HU, just used Girlfriends money so I lost her $11, which isnt too bad.... Since I am not going to grind for 2 days, I decided to run a stake for my stakers, 10 $34.50 4 way Hu turbos..... Basically its makeup/cake for them since I owe them money from past stakes, where the stake went for a loss, but I don't mind, just getting me back in the right mindset, and making sure Im not rusty.... I worked on a 6 man strategy guide and plan to have that finished shortly, and think it will be a great guide for winning at 6 mans, its very precise... Also, I will work with my friend and post a HU strategy guide, from his view and mine in the near future, which will always be a good guide, since I am very successful at HU play, as well as he is... Although I am aggressive, and hes a little more passsive, so I figure both views would be a cool way to look at strategy. Lastly, I am figuring out how to post hand history videos on here to give readers a way to see all my hands, and a easy access to understand my views on hands.... all in the near future.... until than, Happy New year, and let 2008 bring all of us the best of everything....

-Josh

12/23/07 Fuck you variance

2007-12-22T22:28:00.000-08:00

Well tonight went horendous, I started with a session of 3, and made a lil profit. Than lost 6 straight 6 mans. Which left me with $33 profit so I just tilted that away at 2/4 limit and now Im right back where i started, at 0. The way I run, when I run bad, I run bad. I mean 6 in a row is just plain ridculous. After I lost 3 I should have stopped and called it a night, but I didnt. And Im an idiot for tilting away that 33, very stupid of me, because althouhg its not that much money, its money. The frustrating part about grinding is you only make a certian amount win or lose. Lets say I make $6 avg. profit in 6 mans. That means whether I win or lose I make 6 dollars. In the long run it equals out. Well Im going on vacation for a week and half, and than hopefully ill be in a good state of mind when I come back to start grinding again. I wish I had a big bankroll already, and things would be easier, but starting a roll is the hardest thing, because having a good roll, these 6 mans wouldn't bother me win or loss, but trying to start one makes each match matter more to me...

-Josh

12/22/07

2007-12-21T23:20:00.000-08:00

Just ended tonights session, its 2:20am now... I played 6 6 mans tonight, Im being slow and cautious, trying to build my roll slowly, so I dont have to borrow any money from my beautiful girlfriend. I ended today at $243.78, which is not bad, I should have had 2 1st's, but cards didnt fall my way, but hey 2nd's arent bad, still money. $243 is really good right now, espically since I havent played that many, once I get my bankroll to around $400 or so I can start playing them 4 or 5 at a time, but until than Im 3 tabling at the most... I'm going to post some articles soon probably tommorow or the next day. Anyway that's it for now, night all..

-Josh

12/21/2007 The beginning of the Grind

2007-12-21T16:25:00.000-08:00

Well after running completely on stakers money for a while, I have started to grind out for myself. I ran a couple heebs for stakers, trying to turn $815 to $2000 or more, but I did not run good in the multi's so the heeb had to end.... Now I need money for myself though, to start my own roll again, and to have some money for life, at least until I get a job. What I grind is $39 6 man turbos on Pokerstars, I have made a good amount of money doing these, and these 6 mans as well as heads up SNG's are the only games I can 100% beat in the long run... But for now I will strictly run $39 6 mans and nothing else for a while.. It is very boring, but hey, its money.... Ill keep daily results on here of how Im doing, I started yesterday, with just 5 6 mans.. I won 2 of them, got a 2nd in one, and lost 2.... which is a great start. and puts my bankroll at $161, but that is running good, I wish that can continue, but we'll see. My biggest problem is that I expect to win every game, got to learn to accept variance. I understand variance, I know all the variables, yet I can never cope with it lol....stay tuned for more...

-Josh

First post

2007-12-21T16:19:00.000-08:00

Hey guys... after seeing someone else have a blog, I thought to myself, why not create my own. I love to write, and often write articles about poker so thought this would be a perfect thing to do. Therefore, this blog will be dedicated not so much about my life personally, but my life with poker. I will post what I am doing currently at the moment with poker, and also strategy as well as advice concerning gambling that I had to learn the hard way... well hope everyone enjoys :), maybe one day if I hit big in the WSOP this blog will actually go big lol.