My Poker Journal

Goals from yesterday:
Contract Work:
2 work bouts
NOT COMPLETE: I only did one
I got sidetracked after finishing first bout.
Starting another 2 week youtube ban. This is the one that seems the worst of the distractions that I really don't gain much from.
Being unable to go to the library woulda helped, can't do that rn cuz of my knee tho. I guess I could uber

Poker:
Mondays are the busiest days with my contract and I have improv tonight so I prob won't have time.
Listen to poker podcast on the way to improv (about an hour)
NOT COMPLETE

Exercise:
do 20 minutes literally anything
NOT COMPLETE

Nutrition:
I won't set goals for this right today. Too many things on my plate.
NOT COMPLETE

Pretty tough day in terms of goals. I want to think about it, but I feel I have no time to set aside to do so.

Goals for tmo:
Contract work:
two work bouts

Poker:
one work bout (goal rn is just to get volume of studying in)

Exercise:
PT

STRETCH GOALS:
haircut
laundry
soap thing for surgery on friday

Hey man, I'm also new here, I am enjoying reading your journal so far and I find it particularly interesting that you track exercise and bed time. Have you noticed a correlation between it and the quality of your sessions?

Short answer: Absolutely

Long answer: I think I have a strong mental game (I value it much more than the technical aspect of the game, which is probably -EV, but I think it yields much greater returns in other aspects of life) so I feel very attuned to when my mental state is affecting my thought process. So, me saying "Absolutely" does not necessarily mean that the correlation is MASSIVE, rather that I am very confident that I feel there IS a correlation. As to why it improves the quality of my session; I'm not sure. I'd be talking out of my ass about the biology and neuroscience of it all.

I think the more set your strategy is in a given situation, the less your mental state affects your decisions. For example, I used to play ABC poker with ZERO adjustment to how my opponents were playing, and I remember my mental state mattering much less. I've ventured away from this strategy and try to use critical thinking during hands more. However, when making decisions in the moment, there are many more things that can go wrong. I can pay attention to the wrong information, I can weigh it incorrectly in my decision, or I can misinterpret the information. If I'm tired, I think my working memory is worse so the amount of information I can use to make decision is lower. So, I think at this stage in my journey, my mental state is affecting the quality of my decisions more than it has historically. end of rant

Goals from yesterday:
Contract work:
two work bouts
COMPLETE

Poker:
one work bout (goal rn is just to get volume of studying in)
COMPLETE - learned data aggregation in GTO+

Exercise:
PT
COMPLETE

STRETCH GOALS:
haircut
laundry
soap thing for surgery on Friday
ALL COMPLETE
I also hit >2200 calories and >100g of protein 😀

Goals for tmo:
Contract work:
two work bouts

Poker:
one work bout

Exercise:
Sauna blanket

Other goal:
nutritionist meeting
cholesterol test

That's very insightful, thank you. This makes obvious sense to me in terms of sleeping, as it has an immediate negative effect on your mental state, but what about exercise? Do you think it takes a long time for benefits to become apparent, or is it also very immediate?

I do find the effects to be immediate, unless it's very intense exercise. Trying to think right after a high intensity interval training is tougher. I'd guess that there are also long-term effects, but it's hard for me to tell since it'd be a gradual build up.

I have a few of hypotheses as to why I feel immediate effects.
0. Direct neurochemical effects of exercise (i assume these exist)

1. I did something somewhat difficult. Doing something somewhat difficult typically makes me more alert.

2. It's meditative. I just mean this in the sense that it'll bring my awareness to the present. This helps me focus more and feel a bit calmer.

3. I did something I feel I was supposed to. A common source of tilt I feel is that I'm not doing enough or I'm not doing what I should be in the moment. This is greatly alleviated once I've exercised for the day.

Goals from yesterday:
Contract work:
two work bouts
SEMI-COMPLETE, I did one long work bout

Poker:
one work bout
COMPLETE

Exercise:
Sauna blanket
COMPLETE

Other goal:
nutritionist meeting - learned about relationship between total calories, protein, and exercise and what happens when one of them is in a deficit. Has helped me understand what to prioritize.
cholesterol test - lab was closed and I didn't fast :(
SEMI-COMPLETE

Goals for tmo:
Contract Work:
2 work bouts

Poker:
one work bout

Exercise:
Sauna Blanket

Other goals:
figure out surgery logistics for friday

Goals from yesterday:
Contract Work:
2 work bouts
SEMI-COMPLETE - had 3 shorter work bouts

Poker:
one work bout
SEMI-COMPLETE - played in home game

Exercise:
Sauna Blanket
NOT COMPLETE -decided against due to hydration for surgery tmo

Other goals:
figure out surgery logistics for friday
COMPLETE

Goals for tmo:
get shoulder surgery

Goals from yesterday:
recover from shoulder surgery
COMPLETE

Goals for tmo:
1 uninterrupted work bout (1.5 hours)

get a lil bit of table time in

Exercise
Glutes & Ankles

Electronics off at 10:30p

No food after 9:30p

take meds for surgery recovery

Hope you will have good recovery from surgery!

Thanks DeeKay!

Goals from yesterday:
1 uninterrupted work bout (1.5 hours)
NOT COMPLETE - got 1 hour in but was mostly light table time
not too hung up on this tho, i slept almost 13 hours today so had a lot less time than normal

being stuck at home all day tho has helped me learn how much my environment impacts my ability to work. getting out of the house and away from distractions is something i'll try to use more when i can

get a lil bit of table time in
COMPLETE

Exercise
Glutes & Ankles
COMPLETE - did about 1.5 hours of exercise, mostly just ankles

Electronics off at 10:30p
COMPLETE

No food after 9:30p
COMPLETE

Goals for tmo:
Contract Work:
get the work done - shouldnt be too much

Poker:
light studying (defaults?) or table time

Exercise

Electronics off at 10:00p
- this'll give more time to read

No food after 9:30p

It's true for me, too, that feeling like I didn't do everything I could/should have done, can cause tilt.

The impact of the environment as well, it's so real. I hope you find opportunities to leave the house for a bit.

I'll try to implement the "Electronics off at 10:30pm" for myself, too.

Goals for tmo:
Contrack work:
start work right in the morning (try doing setup with sunlight)

Poker:
light studying or table time

Exercise:
Do exercise or exercise research

No food after 9:30p
No electronics after 10p - I'm extending my no electronics time for 2 reasons.
1. Getting ready for bed takes longer with only 1 arm available
2. I enjoy the calmness of my room with no electronics in it and want to give myself some more time to read.

since im leaving electronics out of my room i want to come up with a different reminder to do this journal daily

Goals from yesterday:
Contrack work:
start work right in the morning (try doing setup with sunlight)
COMPLETE (not sunlight setup tho)

Poker:
light studying or table time
COMPLETE

Exercise:
Do exercise or exercise research
SEMI-COMPLETE

No food after 9:30p
No electronics after 10p - I'm extending my no electronics time for 2 reasons.
COMPLETE

Goals for tmo:
exercise and spend time with fam

Goals from this weekend:
spend time with fam
COMPLETE

Goals for tmo:
Contract work:
2 work bouts

Exercise:
unfort cant do much with mcl sprain, foot injury and shoulder surgery so at least abs, left wrist and wim hof method

Poker:
making goal for at least 1 vid of studying a day until friday
no goal for table time but preference for getting some in

Electronics off around 10p
No food after 9:30p

Goals from yesterday:
Contract work:
2 work bouts

Exercise:
at least abs, left wrist and wim hof method
COMPLETE (did arm instead of wim hof)

Poker:
1 vid
COMPLETE (GTO+ vid and AK8fd vid)
i want to focus on process a studying a spot using a solver

Electronics off around 10p
No food after 9:30p
COMPLETE (electronics 30 mins late tho)

Goals for tmo:
Contract work:
2 work bouts

Exercise:
wim hof, work on form for some exercises

Poker:
1 vid

Electronics off around 10p
No food after 9:30p

Goals from yesterday:
Contract work:
2 work bouts
COMPLETE

Exercise:
wim hof, work on form for some exercises
COMPLETE

Poker:
1 vid
COMPLETE

Electronics off around 10p
No food after 9:30p
COMPLETE

Goals for tmo:
Contract work:
2 work bouts

Exercise:
wim hof, work on form for some exercises

Poker:
1 vid

Electronics off around 10p
No food after 9:30p

today was a trainwreck regarding focus, slept terribly and didnt do much

Goals from yesterday:
Contract work:
2 work bouts
NOT COMPLETE

Exercise:
wim hof, work on form for some exercises
NOT COMPLETE

Poker:
1 vid
COMPLETE

Electronics off around 10p
No food after 9:30p
COMPLETE

Goals for tmo:
Contract work:
1 work bouts

Poker:
1 vid

Exercise:
wim hof and or something

Post Op appt for shoulder surgery

Electronics off around 10p
No food after 9:30p

Goals from yesterday:
Contract work:
1 work bout
COMPLETE

Poker:
1 vid
COMPLETE (Vid on equity conservation, suited connecters in 3-bet pots)
also got some table time in

Exercise:
wim hof and or something
COMPLETE

Electronics off around 10p
No food after 9:30p
COMPLETE

Goals for tmo:
Contract work:
1 work bout

Poker:
1 vid
think about plan for this month with studying and playing

Exercise:
Physical Therapy

Electronics off around 10p
No food after 9:30p

Goals from yesterday:
Contract work:
1 work bout
COMPLETE

Poker:
1 vid
think about plan for this month with studying and playing
COMPLETE (about 2.5 hours studying and 30 mins playing)
will continue to think about studying plan

Exercise:
Physical Therapy
COMPLETE

Electronics off around 10p
No food after 9:30p
COMPLETE

Goals for tmo:
Poker:
create structure for a short self made course
(gathering a set of questions I want answered, topics understood, and drilling)

Exercise:
PT Exercises, Cold Bath, Wim Hof (mybe, my nose bled doing it today)

Electronics off around 10p
No food after 9:30p

Goals from yesterday:
Poker:
create structure for a short self made course
(gathering a set of questions I want answered, topics understood, and drilling)
COMPLETE - still in progress tho

Exercise:
PT Exercises, Cold Bath, Wim Hof (mybe, my nose bled doing it today)
COMPLETE

Electronics off around 10p
No food after 9:30p
FAILED

Goals for tmo:
Poker:
continue structuring week
1.5 hours of table time

Exercise:
PT Exercises, Cold Bath, maybe sauna or Wim Hof

Electronics off around 10p
No food after 9:30p

i've got some stuff i want to write about but ill hold off for now cuz it takes a long ass time to type w 1 hand

Goals from yesterday:
Poker:
continue structuring week
1.5 hours of table time
COMPLETE
- 3 hours of online play (1.3 hands)
- 1 hour of watching poker content
- 1.5 hours structuring week

Exercise:
PT Exercises, Cold Bath, maybe sauna or Wim Hof
COMPLETE

Electronics off around 10p
No food after 9:30p
COMPLETE

top tier work done today. less get it

Structure for this week
This week I'll be analyzing flops using Michael Lukich's suggested approach using solvers. I feel I'm all over the place with want I study so I want to stick with a specific approach for a bit.

Minimum Goal: 7 flops
Target: 15 flops
Outrageous: 15 flops, reflect on process, structure new process, start new process, 5k hands

Goals for tmo:
Contract Work:
2 work bouts

Poker:
podcast and maybe get a lil work in.
I have a lot of contract work tmo, improv and therapy. will have very little time

Exercise:
PT Exercises, Cold Bath

Electronics off around 10p
No food after 9:30p

Goals from yesterday:
Contract Work:
2 work bouts
SEMI-COMPLETE did 1 bout and then a lil extra work

Poker:
podcast and maybe get a lil work in.
COMPLETE - got 100 hands in, MoP podcast, and about 30 mins of working on first flop

Exercise:
PT Exercises, Cold Bath
COMPLETE

Electronics off around 10p
No food after 9:30p
COMPLETE

Goals for tmo:
Contract Work:
2 work bouts

Poker:
1 work bout, stretch goal would be 400 - 1000 hands

Exercise:
PT, sauna blanket if time

Grocery store, insurance, and other chores

Electronics off around 10p
No food after 9:30p

Goals for today:
Contract Work:
2 work bouts
FAILED - sporadically worked and not focused

Poker:
1 work bout, stretch goal would be 400 - 1000 hands
COMPLETE - 2 work bouts (analysis for A72fd and AT5r complete) and 230 hands

Exercise:
PT, sauna blanket if time
COMPLETE - no sauna blanket

Grocery store, insurance, and other chores
COMPLETE - did most chores but no insurance

Electronics off around 10p
No food after 9:30p
FAILED - chose to do extra work bout for poker after 10p

Goals for tmo:
Contract Work:
2 work bouts

Poker:
1 work bout, stretch goal would be 2 bouts and/or 400 - 1000 hands

Exercise:
PT exercises and sauna blanket

insurance stuff maybe, book plane tix

Electronics off around 10p
No food after 9:30p

Goals from today:
Contract Work:
2 work bouts
FAILED - 1 work bout

Poker:
1 work bout, stretch goal would be 2 bouts and/or 400 - 1000 hands
STRETCH COMPLETE - basically worked on poker from 5p - 10p today. Did about 500 hands. Studied 4 flops today LJ vs BB SRP (K97r, KJ4fd, F52fd, Q86fd)
At 6/15 flops for the week, and ~800/5000 hands

Exercise:
PT exercises and sauna blanket
COMPLETE

insurance stuff maybe, book plane tix
booked plane tik, still need to look at insurance

Electronics off around 10p
No food after 9:30p
COMPLETE

Goals for tmo:
Contract Work:
2 work bouts

Poker:
1 work bout, stretch goal would be 2 bouts and/or 400 - 1000 hands

Exercise:
PT exercises and cold bath, meditate or wim hof

insurance stuff maybe, christmas stuff maybe

Electronics off around 10p
No food after 9:30p