How to be a Online MTT Pro - This is the journey I am taking ( come along for the ride )
This blog is to inspire, give hope , ideas. It is for anyone who doesnt know about playing online poker, who wants to play , or already does, This is a very open , vulnerable , " putting myself out there ' type of blog
This will be my story of how & why I decided to use online poker - not only as hobby , but take my passion and transform it into a reality
Chapter 1 ( Intro / Transformation Phase )
Hi , I am a middle aged male , living in Canada. My life has had many trials and tribulations, at times been on the top of the world , great job , GF , freedom , a lot of the finer things in life many of us strive to have at some point in time. On the flip side - I have been at some of the lowest points that anyone could imagine - dealing narcotics, addiction , prison, homelessness. I have stayed in the nicest most expensive hotels, and I also have stayed in homeless shelters.
Fast forward to the pandemic ( by this time my life is in order ) I am with a GF ( who i thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with - havent we all been there ) , we had a child ( who i thought was mine - prolly not as many of us been here lol ) Working steady job getting by " check to check " but was enjoying life - so I thought at the time , little did I know my life would once again get turned upside down ( this time in a whole new direction I never thought possible )
(2021)
Long story short - during the middle of the pandemic , My GF ( at the time ) , decided that she didnt want to be in this relationship anymore ( was dealing with alot of personal / mental issues ) , and also decided to tell me our 2 year old is not mine at all. ( paternity tests later confirmed all this ) , and I went from one day - Job , family, " happy wife / happy life " type of world
to single n alone n questioning life.
At this point in time was my " TSN Turning Point " ( ref for any Canadian ppl ) , I could of used all this for an excuse and get back into the life I lived for so long , addiction , desperation, etc.
( TBH for the 1st few months - 1/2 year I was worried that this would happen ) - It was a scary time , vulnerable time, and most of all - a time to reflect , do some soul searching and find out who I really am.
Kept working - staying strong ( had family supporting me emotionally ) , and during this phase ( I like to call it a " Transformation Phase " ) , I tried many things to " fill the void " ( It's a big change going one day being a dad of a toddler / bf etc - to being single bachelor ,with no obligations at all ) ,
I would try Gaming for a while - all I did was work n game ( playstation 4 pro ) for few months maybe 6 months, work come home smoke weed game, smoke more weed game - rinse & repeat.
At the same time I would be betting sports ( always was big into sports playing when younger hockey mostly - while older betting on all the major sports ) - parlays and any kind of betting that a recreational , degen whale would partake in.
Growing up, My Dad bet a lot of sports and that's how he did it ( parlays ) so I thought that was the only way... during this time I did a lot of research , and looked into " being a pro handicapper " and what that intailed - and for maybe 3 months I was seriously considereing this as a " side hustle "
But - like with a lot of things we bring into our lives - the flame inside me slowly burnt out , and I just didnt appreciate / love it enough to want to do it.
During this time - I was dabbling in some online cash games ( had an old laptop always ), I always liked to play poker recreationally, Live cash 1-2 NL some 2-5 NL, like a lot of us do. But I
never knew what it took to be a " professional " - TBH I always thought the pros played cash games ( didnt know how they got to where they are ) , - played cash for a living , and MTTs on the side for " trying to hit a big score " ( thought it was all luck ) - I think my preception of a pro poker player was - " they somehow managed to get a lot of money , n keep playing CG , and are just lucky more then the rest ( didn't know u can study poker , didn't know u can get coached , didn't know what the word " database " meant ), I was what I know call " OMC " Old man coffee ( I am not that old ) , or more commonly known as " Whale " - pure recreational player ( I wasn't a bad player - TBH was always one of the better players on the table / in the room where ever I played . ( from Ceasar's Windsor - southern Ontario , River Cree outside Edmonton, to Yellowhead , or down in Calgary at Deerfoot. ) Ive played " Coast to Coast with Tea & Toast " ( dont ask lol )
The gaming stopped - ( sure I still like to game n will do it when i can afford to - always wanted to try PC gaming - I was a Playstation guy ) , so once gaming stopped i found myself playing more n more online cash (the casino where I am is **** - 1 or 2 tables of 1-2 NL, and everyone knows one another and the game barely runs) sure I went from time to time it was soft AF , but i started to take a liking to playing online - 2NL 5 NL 10 NL cash games on GG. ( I think a lot of us start with GG - prolly why it has more fish then others )
(2022)
Fast forward - I am starting to look into playing poker more seriously ( starting to watch old Jaime staples , K Mart , vlogs from back in the day - watching All In Pav, and anything I can Bencb old stuff ) - and this is where a light went on for me - " You can play MTTs for a living " I said to myself - ( not saying I told myself I was going to do that ) , just meant " wow I didnt realize this was even a thing,
I basically took a crash course " felt like I did a 1- 1.5 year term in UNI on " How to be a professional poker player " Made it my obsession, my duty , and it transformed into my Passion
(2023)
Fast forward - I am now in the rabbit hole, head first barried - ( playing on GG mostly maybe some Party Poker , 888, ) and during this time I printed out my first set of preflop ranges ( RFI's not RTA lol ), been watching anything I can on YT to learn for free , ( while trying to convince my family - Dad ,Brother ( who both play poker as a rec their entire life ) convincing them that poker is not all luck. that ppl can do it for a living ( Brother thought that pros some how magically ran into a bunch of money - used it to " go on a run " , n now playing all the time high stakes - Dad had no clue how ppl played professionally , just knew they some how did it ) My mother thought it was all a scam - online - and kept asking me " R u sure these ppl are real - u are talking to on Discord n what not " lol, so yeah I am postive a lot of us can relate to this phase.
Met a guy on discord who was just starting out as well ( shout out to my Mexican friend / study partner / fellow up n coming crusher ) #MicrostakesTOPregs lol, we togther were trying to figure out anything we could
( using PT4 , doing whatever form of study that was available to guys starting out - Trying to look at Hand 2 note, using the free trial ( and thinking this was way way to complicated ) , and just starting the study / learning phase.
During this time, I began to look into " what it takes to actually be a pro " , would it even be possible , could someone like me even have a chance ( for a while I thought - u had to be either in UNI or right out of school , early - mid 20's , ) , I thought to myself could an average person like me - mid 30's , who lived a tumultuous , unordinary life even have a chance of being a professional online MTT player ? - Or am I reaching too far - am I " late for the party " , too old, not smart enough , " dont have the right conditions , etc. etc.
These are all questions I want to answer , I have to answer , I Know there is others out there that could be in a similar point in there life - wondering if they missed certain opportunities........
This is when another transormation happened in my life - one that In my wildest dreams didnt even think could be a possibility ........
Can someone like me actually become a full time " up n coming " online MTT player & build myself up from Micros to the Moon ? .......
Lets find out.....
( Next Chapter 2 : " Micro Mania " ) coming soon......
( will try n post every week ) - maybe more / less we will see - encourage any feed back / resposes / advice - or at the very least just follow along my and hold on tight for the ride......
SEEuattheTOP
thanks to global - things are on the up n up , little BR booster last couple days - lets keep it going
If your from Ontario you should definitely not be playing global
finishing off the 1st month - little DS , but overall a good month to start on the stake
profit $700+ ,
volume just under 800 total MTTs ,
played 19 days,
comfortable at 12 tables 1 monitor now, ( tried the 2 monitor spread , tried just 9 tables, tried stack & tile with Intuitive Tables , ive been doing 12 tiled on 1 monitor n it works for me )
winrate just under 10bb/100 , ( running above EV this month ) , ROI 20% ( goal is 40-50% )
diet is good, working out consistently , sleep is good, taking my omega 3's , multi - vitamins , protein powder regularly again - noticing benefits - even started low doses of magnesium before bed to improve sleep
study is hit n miss this month ( lot of group members on vaca still ), we have plans for Aug to ramp things up, trim some fat so to speak, and start the new 2.0 group going forward ( more study , projects , working with HRC , gtow elite etc )
still in the middle of my project with H2N , doing MDA on playing vs limps, we are currently exporting the ranges / weights manually into HRC / PIO , n going to get some heuristics going forward
Goals for Aug .
Volume around 800-900 MTTs played, ( going prolly be playing closer to 700-800 ) dad is coming from Ontario to visit for holidays ) only happens every few years
n ramp up the study , with GTOW, HRC , group work etc
going prolly play some live CG ( not much MTTs close by here that are easily accessible ), , so live 1-2 NL with the whales will be in order with my Dad n brother
( Bought a new mouse - the one ive always wanted Logitech MX Master 3s - pale grey ), its by far the best mouse ive ever used - great for big hands , ergonomic , fast , n very customizable
took few days to get use to ,( old one was small n compact ), keeping it for a back up
new mouse cost me about 160$ CDN - but it is worth every penny
from ontario originally
live in Saskatchewan now
why u say that - cause Ontario is regulated , n cannot play there im assuming , or other reason
but yeah i live in SK - have access to all the sites basically ( the best / softest ones )
( Iggy is not included in the SS graph - obvs ) anonymous
played just under 200 MTTs n pretty much break even ( - $20 ) overall
n by far Ignition is the softest site ive ever played on - then Global ,
havent posted in little bit
actually ended my deal with original backer , just cleared my MU - split the Porfit that was left
only was about 6/7 weeks - ABI $5.50 ish -
900 count - $1050 total profit ( split 50 / 50 )
I am going be starting with someone who i wanted to get backed by for a while ( we were waiting for the right time for diff reasons )
way way better deal , 60/40 but with unlimited coaching ( from a high level guy ) - he is the best guy in my group by far ( there is a gap 1 ....... 2, 3, 4, etc )
n im not the only one who knows this
going do it little different ( which i agree with this way )
instead of sending enough for couple sessions max ( 60-70 BI's )
going to send about 325-350 BI's off the start - going start with same ABI ( 1-11's , with the plan in a month or so get my ABI higher playing $30's< ) thats the plan
also going to plan to get a " beefy PC " (mine is a prebuilt Lenvovo **** ) - H2N is laggy with my 11m hand data base - Cannot use HRC at all right now, n overall just makes it a hard exp doing this poker thing full time - got some quotes n a build list put together for $2200 USD - with 96GB RAM , really good CPU , SSD with 2TB storage , n just overall upgrade
so hopefully next couple months will make this happen ( with a little help )
as for the Buy Ins - ( stake ) i can build it up , do what i see fit - n take profit off when i choose to / makes sense / when he wants some
he doesnt want alot of transfers back n forth ( for everytime i have little profit )
doing this way will build a good pysc. knowing i have a growing " BR " ,
it is not time based - but profit based - not sure what the number will be - but wanna play on my own when i can play ABI 20 or 30
( i dont need to take money off ever from poker for life - so doesnt really matter when i go on my own )
but know this will take me to the next level - getting coached / backed by this new guy
Starting Aug 28th.
( n i can play on ACR again if i so choose - which i kinda miss )
going stick to the softest American sites there are Iggy , Global, while keeping lot of volume on Party Poker , n now ACR ( should be more then enough volume - add 888 later if see fit )
so yeah im excited - new chapter , been wanting this for a while'
just finsihed clearing everything up with old backer ( split mutually didnt have no stipulations i broke or time i needed to fullfill )
building my " poker credit " one step at a time ,
will start grinding again end of this month
going to do alot of study / drilling / group work with HRC , GTOW . etc - n do alot of PKO work with FT reviews of mine n others
My Dad is visiting here until Aug 27th as well - havent seen him in 3 years - ( lives other side of Canada ) , so being able to spend more time with family , n break from poker is a good thing
will post again when i start up Aug 28th
Great stuff man. You are doing really well. Keep it up!
hey - stopped smoking weed - for poker , talked to alot of high stakes crushers and all said same thing -
if u wanna make it far - cut out the weed
and its not about playing worse / better
its more of the off table work - im a apart of a high level / ambitious group of players - and there is alot of study / projects / sims / reviews / group calls /
and alot of drilling , study - and over all alot of information to learn retain, and be able to execute
so since ive quit ive found myself being able to take in information - do long deep study sessions and overall improve everyday
Aug 28th
Just started with new backer
1st session - cut out the > 5$ BI's now only playing 5 - 16.50's
added in some bigger / " tougher fields " - Poker Stars , ACR ( which i miss playing - love ACR structures )
avg fields size still was 110 ish , getting high level coaching from new backer and a really good dynamic deal for staking in place ( profit based not timed )
and the more goals i meet ( study / volume / stats etc ) the deal gets better in my favour
working towards 65% / 35 % Profit chop my way
1st session in the books
'
35 count
got crushed down 25 BI's
study / group today
back at it
( been off for 3 weeks ) Sept. fresh start - group 2.0 , new projects , more work , n crush
first couple sessions in the books under new backer / coach
got crushed results wise,
did DB review - improving in some areas , need alot of work in others esp OTT , and different nodes where more aggression is needed
overall feels good to be playing again after 3 weeks off
only going to be 8 tabling mainly - quality over quantity - focusing on getting better - and thinking thru every spot more
alot of big series coming up in Sept
WCOOP , Millions ( party ) , OSS ( ACR )
so with my avg field size still sitting just over 100 - going to play some of these big series events in my BI range - along with the small fields i play
doing steady drilling GTOW , also working on Pads on Pads MC , have some objectives to meet as part of my staking deal
need to post 25 hands / week in my group discord , for Sept ( which i have a head start and did a bunch already ) - which is a great idea IMO
have alot of high level guys in my group + coach for feedback
also daily drilling , posting results in our private discord - aiming for 95% GTOW Score - ( at 88% atm ) after few days 500ish hands / day
as long as i play 20 days min,. ( Sept ) , about 25-35 / session will meet my volume goal of 600 count MTTs for the month
cold plunge everyday ( what a game changer using actual cold plunge instead of bath / ice cubes ) - need 1 more set of ice cube trays ( have 2 big ones now ) , getting water only to 12C
but weather is getting cooler / colder - pretty soon will not need the ice at all
being consistent, working out , diet , and study + alot of group work , projects , and reviews is the plan these next couple months
also NFL/College is starting up so maybe make the odd single game bets ATS / ML , trying to beat CLV n pick off some good numbers
will keep posting regulalry now that im back in the streets - Vaca is over - time to crush
don't remember the exactments but when you apply kelly criterion to a MTT bankroll, these mega-field tournaments are super super close to lotteries.
best for bankroll is always gonna be these 100-150 field MTTs
def - very familair with prime dope ( variance calculator for MTTs )
and both me n my coach know very well how field size relfects variance
i play alot of super small fields 30 man, 40 man etc - even some 20 man fields
and yeah Sept will be a bit higher avg field size , - but still will be at a decent number
been playing few fields 1K + runners already - and avg is still 110 runners
so im expecting Sept to be around 200 maybe the most -
and going into Oct ( not all the big series running ), back to 100 110 ish
i think ( my coach thinks even more ) , its a good thing to add some bigger fields in - esp if most of the volume is
super small fields on soft sites
but yeah also familair with the kelly criterion ( when i was betting sports alot before - used it for bank roll mang. )
thanks for the post
taking few days off lately , ( on a killer DS ) , so did a bunch of work , study - group stuff
part of my deal is posting 25 HH with in depth break down per week - in my group discord
so did a bunch of that + some extra work with flop agg reports GTOW
doing Pads on Pads MC - working postflop - specifically , diff boards - and how it affects betting volume ( Cbet size & Freq% ) , started a google doc thats going to be massive
on diff boards - with diff pos / stack depths , what are betting volume is for each n why
really enjoy going thru the Pads MC - even thou few years old still think it is very valuable
should be back to the grind today - its Friday and a good day to play overall ( alot of Rec's )
Saturdays are my day off - n Sundays are ,,, well Sundays lol
this Sunday even more special - start of WCOOP , yesterday Millions ( party poker ) started , ACR's OSS starts in a week , Global Bounty Series is on their way ,
Iggy has a " NFL " series starting soon ( hopefully going be playing on there asap ) waiting to move funds around from ACR - Iggy ( P2P takes a while need to spend certain amount of rake )
hopefully can turn things around , n play out of this DS ( volume has been alot lower the usual only playing 6 tables mainly sometimes 7 or 9 )
so variance is more of a factor for sure - even with small avg field size 110 ish 120 ish depending on the day
also lowered my ABI a bit ( which i think is a good idea when on a DS - took out the higher end BI's for a bit, ) just until i get some momemtum going
