Okay, so this is going to be ugly.
I am not happy with the results obviously. This is the first losing month I have had since I can’t even remember. That is not saying much, since I played the super nit style, which leaves variance super low … but that goes wiht your profits as well. In any event, I feel like I made some really good strides this month, thanks especially to Jason and Martin. They both helped me out tremendously, both with my play and my mentality.
I hate to lose. But in poker it happens. And it is going to happen frequently, it is just the law of probabilities and is inevitable. I am still not where I want to be, but I made great strides, especially in the last week or so. I feel I worked harder on my game this month than any month ever before. This really does take the sting of this month away a bit (as does a 3+ BI winning session from earlier, lol).
Recapping, I learned a ton about 3-betting and am trying to learn how to defend against light 3-bettors myself. This is not a simple concept, I can only use the 3-betting defense against players that actually have half a clue of what they are doing. Level 1 thinkers don’t think enough about their hands and their opponents’ hands to make these plays effective. Most of them are the wrong type of players to target for light 3-betting anyways.
I also learned about trying to control my mindframe. I have not had 3 straight days off of poker in a really long time. I really needed that to snap out of my downswing. it was some bad luck, but that bad luck inevitably led to some pretty atrocious play. But hey, noticing it and fixing it is what matters. Mistakes happen, no one is perfect, but you have to learn from your mistakes and try not to repeat them. Speaking of time off, I decided this week and I am going to stick to this idea, I am taking 1 day off of poker per week. I love poker, but there is more to life than poker. I think it will help me to appreciate some other good qualities of my life. I also think it will help me out by keeping me focused on the game when I play. Only good can come of taking 1 day off per week, I think.
It is difficult to do, but I must look at how I played the hand and not the end result. I get it all in preflop with AA versus KK. At that point, I should be happy. It is obvious I played it correctly and an easy hand to play, but the key to this extreme example is not the hand, it is the decision. Once I make the decision, the rest of the hand is irrelevant. Was that decision a good decision? If so, then be happy. If not, well, then fix the problem. I need to keep this focus and mentality throughout my playing days. I am not where I want to be yet, but I am making progress. I remember when I had the downswing in November and I was so frustrated that I sometimes wanted to scream. No. I needed to take time off back then and objectively look at how I was playing. Most likely, it was the same thing. I was playing well, getting unlucky, it pissed me off, and then I changed how I played and made poor decisions.
I am very much looking forward to February. I have ome good goals I want to put in print here, so I can stick to them and make even more progress. Here they are:
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Log 20,000 hands.
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Post or respond to 3 hands per day on CR (except on my off days)
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Take 1 full day off poker per week to stay fresh
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Watch two videos per week
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Do 1 sweat per week
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Lift 3 days a week
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Do cardio 4 days a week
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Maintain my blog
I think these are very achievable goals. Note that I left the PTBB/100 goal out for this month – it is irrelevant. Trying to get away fro mbeing results oriented, I am not having this goal anymore. Dice’s blog had it on point when he said that your goal is not driving to the store, it is little goals, such as turn left here, turn right here, etc. The big picture is going to the store, not making the turns. But those turns are what lead to getting to the store. So I ned to focus on improving my play and taking the correct turns, and eventually I will get that good winrate, or get to that store.
I fully expect good things from this month. Stay tuned to see it all unfold!
