Project Back on Track
Hey Folks,
I haven't played poker in a few months. There's always a new reason to stop. First I was working on myself; then I didn't have the mental game for it. Now, it's work - it's too hard, too time consuming, too draining, too... easy? Had I considered that? Maybe it's just too easy to look at what you have and want to keep it, excusing yourself the pressure to do something that would impress yourself. Maybe the difficult thing is waking up and not choosing the path of least resistance like you have done for years.
I want to play poker. So let's play..
My Poker Background:
-Started casually in 2020
-Have watched some course material and played around with solvers
-Main game is 25z - currently a loser but I'm confident my game can be 100z level
My Goals:
-My goal is to play when I can. Simple - I don't have as much time as I want to have, but the time I do have, I want to put it here. Little and often. No weekly grind, no hand objective, no profit goal. Little and often.
I want to update this thread fortnightly on Sundays, so let's pretend I made this yesterday. Every second post will have a graph. I'll likely post some hands I found interesting but it's not going to be the centre of this thread - this is mainly for me to put my thoughts down somewhere and to look back on to prove progress.
Poker can feel a lonely pursuit, so I hope to create a space where I can chat freely about the game with people.
Thanks for reading 😀
Mashker-
3 Replies
Hey Folks,
Making this post a day early as I am travelling this week so can't make a post tomorrow.
Really low volume over the last two weeks - not really happy about it but I've been the busiest I have been all year so glad I still managed to get in a couple of sessions.
While there isn't a lot of poker to talk about, I wanted to start logging my BR as well so you can come with me on my journey. Before my first hand post-blog, I had $1421.09 in my BR. Here's how the last two weeks went:
Feel like there isn't much to say in this 1k hands. Felt rusty, but was good to get back on the felt. Will try to notice myself getting tired and not adjusting as much as I need to (felt the last 100 or so hands were played on autopilot).
Current BR: $1475.11
Like I said, very low volume but the real grind will start when I get back from vacation. I do have some a work exam coming up in December but once that's done I will have more time to play.
Thanks for reading 😀
Mashker-
Hey Mashker,
Setting realistic goals like "little and often" is a great way to build consistency without feeling overwhelmed.
Good luck at the tables and we are waiting for updates!
Hey Folks,
Quick update from me today. Had a holiday week and then some really busy working days, so I'm still in low-volume mode. Played more days than the previous two weeks so that's a positive! Feel both more and less rusty at the same time - weirdly as I play more my indecision is building as I get back into the swing of things. Overall, I have a lot of work to do to get back to my peak, but at the same time, I feel I have dropped some bad habits with regards to my mental game (namely calling in GTO call spots vs. weak players with strong ranges).
Wanted to post a couple of things I am happy about and then some things I can work on over the next two weeks..
Happy with:
- Stealing pots with low risk attempts vs. tighter players.
- Recognising mandatory bluff spots vs. passive lines.
- Getting massive value with my best hands.
To work on:
- Concrete understanding of board favourability (used to be good at this but I've noticed I am c-betting less in favourable worlds)
- Recognising isolation possibilities and amending ranges vs. multiple opponents (had some situations where I was calling vs two opponents with mediocre hands and getting into trouble)
- Refreshing BB defence (when to call vs. when to 3bet, etc.).
Confidence goes a long way and I feel uncomfortable on the felt. I assume it's natural to feel this way after not playing for some time, and I hope as the weeks go on I can bring a stable confidence which will enable me to play more. Currently, I am finding it difficult to sit down to play, but once I start I enjoy my time. I want to work towards eliminating that feeling of pressure/anxiety/dread when I think about playing poker.
Thanks for reading! Next post will be discussing results, graphs, balance, etc.
-Mashker
