Poker, Alan Wake 2, Life - Page 2

I'm so trash at poker. I'm improving fast though. Makes me sick some of the chips I've spewed off. It's ok. There is always tomorrow. I have to somehow purge the bad from 2010 poker. NLHE is not PLO either. I had and have bad PLO habits. Unlike PLO it is hard to make pairs, 2pair, trips, straights, flushes, boats. I was losing money playing too weak then I think I went the other way and started spewing. Every day I get a lot better. I don't know if it is a good project but it has actually made me happy lately. I'm really sperg'ing out over it.

I did not even play any poker today. I think I'm a bit gun shy. I'm up money but it's a bit tenuous because I've only played 6k hands. I don't even 4 table anymore because I think I autopilot too much and miss spots way too often. So, it's hard getting hands in especially on an A game. I can joke I don't have an A game but I really have no business autopiloting and playing like the undead. I think I am doing a good job of uninstalling my 2010 bad nlhe game and good plo game but they both cause bad habits in 2024 nlhe. I suppose in the grand scheme of things I am just playing poker as an experiment but I could use a mental game coach to put in more hands on my A game that I am slowly assembling. So, I need a mental game coach, a poker coach, a life coach, a fitness coach, a nutrition coach... I need a lot of help.

On the bright side practice on the GTO Trainer is going exceptionally well. Are we not supposed to talk about that? Just let me know if I'm not supposed to talk about that. I watched a couple of RunItOnce videos. I just have essential for now. I have had elite. It's tricky. In some ways I don't trust essentials in other ways I do. Some guy crushing 200 Zoom on PokerStars is going to be way better than me at the moment. There is definitely something to be learned there for me but on the other hand if Sauce is playing a video there is a high probability that what he is saying is true spanning all (or most) limits. A winning 200 Zoom player is going to have leaks and I will be watching mistakes. Jungleman probably not as much. $199/month is steep for me at the moment though so I don't really have much choice.

It's funny though that on a Tuesday at 1pm the games are pretty bad even at small small stakes. I swear some of the regs are bots. Why would people have bots at small small stakes? People botted Diablo 2. I shouldn't really start on this though because I don't know how bots work. Pluribus was Facebook AI mixed with a Carnegie Mellon project. Is it possible that Pluribus gets released into the wild? How difficult would it be to build a bot and first try and test it at the lowest stakes? Even if there aren't bots there are some good players that take GTOw lines. It's much much much tougher than when I first started in like 2005. The fish get absolutely chewed up. A part of me really wants to get in there and reg battle to improve but the rake is so god damn high it's kind of insane.

"So, don't get any big ideas. They are not gonna happen." - Thom Yorke (Radiohead - Nude)

I definitely don't have any big ideas of playing poker professionally again. Competition is fucking stiff. I also don't have the time to put in the hands like I did in college with all of the free time that comes with not studying or going out too much. I mean technically I do TODAY but eventually I will be employed and working 40 hours a week + commute. My time, attention, energy, focus will probably all be lacking. I can still play when I can. Games seem to be best on EST after work on weekdays and on weekends. There is just something about poker that other games just don't have. That is including all strategy games and video games.

There are some downsides though. It seems like when I play poker that is just what I am into. I haven't read a word of a book in over a week. I have been meaning to read Nichomacheon Ethics by Aristotle or The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky but would rather practice or study on GTOw. I have only hung out with my parents. It is bad to let social connection decline. Especially, if one hits a bad patch. There is no one left to hang out with when one needs it the most. Poker is a great way to mask things that are not as desirable in a life. I don't mind that I have few friends, no job, poor health, generally lacking eudaimonia, etc. if I am immersed in poker. It's clear to me that teaching philosophy would equate to higher eudaimonia. It's one of the few things I can probably do at this point to promote eudaimonia. There is an aspect of challenging the intellect and competing in one of the best strategy games ever. I don't equate poker to smoking crack for me. Poker may be a little dangerous for me. It's not alcohol though. My therapist said I was playing poker because I was bored. She's not wrong.

The Odyssey that is life. Yet, it ends before we know it.

Friday nights are banging but I have no stamina. Maybe that's because I spend all day training and studying and don't leave anything left for the real thing.

Anyone else get poker dreams if you've been immersing yourself in poker? I am talking about all sorts of different hands and board textures and it's really fast yet kind of disjointed and doesn't make sense? It's difficult to recall anything and kind of annoying because it just keeps coming yet nothing gets resolved? Working in my sleep I guess. Have to upgrade the system.

I decided to chill a bit and read some Dostoevsky and take a nap. Highly reccomend!

Yesterday, it was running into the nuts in absurd situations. Today, it was just brutal grind. Poker will be poker. There are losing days of all kinds. Yesterday, it was about playing disciplined and picking my spots. It's easy to want to get in there and gamble with everybody and play an "invisible ante" game. And, you want to just wait for TT in the CO and get it all-in to show the bugger who's boss but then he shows up with AA. No, I didn't fall for that gambit. I had KK and ran into AA which is probably equally as frustrating if not more. Was how it went. I won't go into more hands because no one gives a fuck. No one gives a fuck anyway but I need an outlet. I was like so proud of my self that I was so disciplined and then I felt sorry for myself that I had to stay so disciplined and my A game fell off. Today, I was proud I kept my A game despite just running into shit the whole session. I think why I don't have stamina is because I don't have stamina but part of that is do I really want to sit and suffer in these games for not even a cent / hand? That's not even $1 / hour lol. I am playing for the love of the game! Trying to install spirit from a spiritless game.

On May 11 2024 20:31 RiKD wrote: I decided to chill a bit and read some Dostoevsky and take a nap. Highly reccomend!

Old school Russians were pretty cool. Too bad the new school Russians aren't as cool.

I'm back n ready to grind as well rikd, getting paid tomorrow n finally have a BR again. Made money from poker but spent it on stuff lol

Don't lose hope rikd, use GTO lucid it's good

On May 14 2024 04:51 PuertoRican wrote: Show nested quote + On May 11 2024 20:31 RiKD wrote: I decided to chill a bit and read some Dostoevsky and take a nap. Highly reccomend! Old school Russians were pretty cool. Too bad the new school Russians aren't as cool.

Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Gogol, Checkov, Turgenov. I know nothing about new school Russians though.

On May 14 2024 08:08 lostaccount wrote: Don't lose hope rikd, use GTO lucid it's good

I'm on GTO Wizard and love it. Feel like I have to keep practicing to increase my edge cuz these streets are difficult these days. Rake is sky high and competence is surprisingly high. I don't want to just be gambling and blundering my way through. 6-Max NLHE is a pretty tight game pf but post-flop no one has anything so it gets interesting. It sucks to be really grinding out the small pots only to lose a cooler or 2 or 3. Have to play the small pots, medium pots, and big pots well. So, NLHE is gambling but in reality there is a lot of discipline there. It takes discipline and powerful play. Powerful play not spewy play. Disciplined play not nitty play. Sorry, man, I am just thinking aloud.

Another night that I don't put in any hands. I've been playing some on the trainer though. The biggest reason is my doctor has got me on Mounjaro (similar to Ozempic) and I just haven't felt very well the last 2 days. Last night was torture: Nauseous, horrible stomach cramps, diarrhea, vomiting. I hope tonight isn't like last night but I was slightly nauseous like all day. I have little desire to eat food. I wake up and force feed a small breakfast just so I can take my morning medications. Eat a small lunch about the time I think I should be eating. I don't get hungry so far. I didn't even finish a small dinner. I think I am going to push it and see how much I can get away with as far as eating. Just try to eat simple and healthy small meals.

So, yeah, that is an excuse for not playing any poker but I probably could use a mental game poker coach as well. Or, it's just not that big of deal if I am choosing Dostoevsky over playing poker. My scores versus the GTO Trainer are getting high. I could always use more work which is a problem. It's like how much work do I put in on studying and practicing versus mixing it up in the real thang?

How is everyone else doing?

Friday nights are the spot. One thing I think that is important is not to get your expectations too high. It's just a night of poker that typically has a bit higher expectation than normal but expectation can lead to resentment and resentment is a bitter, bitter poison permeating it's way through everything we touch.

I would still be playing but I started to have stomach cramps and I could feel the diarrhea gurgling. I would tough it out but I am wearing my favorite grey sweat shorts.

I think the key here is to stabilize and go back in for the kill. No study or trainer on Friday nights even if there were some interesting spots.

On May 14 2024 08:08 lostaccount wrote: Don't lose hope rikd, use GTO lucid it's good

Blog your monthly results.

A recreational player named "MrPoop123" stacked me today it didn't feel too great. He played the hand well though.

On May 18 2024 04:22 PuertoRican wrote: Show nested quote + On May 14 2024 08:08 lostaccount wrote: Don't lose hope rikd, use GTO lucid it's good Blog your monthly results.

nah

On May 18 2024 04:22 PuertoRican wrote: Show nested quote + On May 14 2024 08:08 lostaccount wrote: Don't lose hope rikd, use GTO lucid it's good Blog your monthly results.

na im gonna keep my results to myself, don't want to reveal too much but im studying but shit poker is tough. gonna focus on tournaments only now as the rake in site is too high. 50c for bbj even in 2$ pots but its at 515k atm so I might give it a shot again. got smoke chasing bbj. I usually fold 54s tug but I started l/calling like a fish and a lot of suited cards to be exact to try n hit it. even if u play gto its hard to win given the rake but still beatable cause more fish than world sites.

plus I think my hourly is like 15$ an hour these days less than a minimum wage job but its flexible n I enjoy it.

Saturday night and I'm reading Dostoevsky, playing Tetris, and playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe!? I did put in a short session of poker and stacked some maniac who overbet all-in on the turn with 2 outs. That's when you really have to go in for the kill on these mofos but I didn't have a good feeling and quit a little bit after that.

Well, it's Sunday and certainly a lazy Sunday at that. I was having a hard time waking up so I played some Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Tetris. Now, I am feeling like I am at peak attention for the day and I'm wasting it on this blog post. The problem is dinner will be ready soon. Hopefully, I'll let the dinner settle and play some hands.

I stacked my nemesis last night it felt pretty good. Not that he's really my nemesis I just think he plays well and thought he was a bot but I got him to misplay a hand for stacks and then he left shortly after. I don't think a bot would have played the hand that way and certainly not quit soon after. That's a very human trait.

Now, I am just kind of bored until dinner is ready. I don't mind being bored so much it's mental relaxation and if I find something to do it makes that activity better.

I got stacked by another recreational player last night too. I got too greedy and really played it poorly. The thing about a lot of recreational players is that their ranges can be so wide in spots but that still doesn't mean they are over-bluffing. It depends so much on the player but I think if this player finds a turn raise in a big pot I should have just found the fold because he is vastly under-bluffing that specific spot. I should of checked instead of bet anyways and call and check who knows on the river. Flip a coin basically depending on different factors.

Oh well, time to feed the pets.