The ONE

I got lots of sleep last night and woke up rip roaring and ready to go. I knew that I was going to do everything in my power to have a good day. I had plans to play a few less tables and increase my focus. I have been slowly adjusting my schedule and now have a good idea of what the best value MTTs are in my current price range. Now I just need to get some volume in while making good decisions.

I scrolled through the lobbies and registered for most of the MTTs I was playing as I scarfed down the lunch I just got home with and began my session. Right from the beginning I got off to a bit of a rough start. On top of the rough start the Carbon and Lock lobbies where lagging. On Carbon poker tables since their new update there is no longer an info button. Now you have to go to the MTT lobby to see where you are in the MTT and how many are left. Needless to say when the lobbies are lagging it is impossible to know where you are in the MTT and that can be tricky. Some spots in the MTT require a different approach like bubble play for example, where you might open up your range and try to exploit the tight players trying to make the money.

I checked the chat to see if I was the only one with lagging lobbies but quickly found out I was not alone. Most of the guys if not all were having the same trouble but it seemed to have different effects on different people. Several guys were tilted and about oi (over it). I know a few guys stopped registering and even unregistered everything that hadn't started. There was also a few guys that had gotten off to bad starts and were quickly falling off into the wrong mindset and posting shortened versions of their bust-out hands like, "I just lost AK

Oddly enough when I am around players that start tilting or getting negative I gain confidence and begin to handle everything even better. It's something about seeing it first hand and not wanting to imitate it.  I had one point in the day where I was knocked out of seven MTTs in about one hour and I was ahead on the turn in all but one. Obviously that would be frustrating for anyone but seeing so many guys tilting, whether it be mild or severe, helped me to handle the beats like it was nothing and just keep right on going.  I know that almost every poker player gets tilted and their plays drops dramatically while tilted. I know that if I can be one of the few that can handle the beats without tilting that I should be able to make more money than the guys tilting. In poker confidence is huge and when I am in control if my emotions and playing with emotional detachment it gives me lots of added confidence.

As far as results for the day, I cashed in 1 out of 22 MTTs and made one final table in the $11 2k. I was trying to maximize my only cash for the day and since it was the last MTT I had left I was able to give it my complete focus. I needed to get 2nd to break even and 1st to make money on the day but went out 5th. I feel as if I played pretty well overall, but I did make a few mistakes today. My HUD programs allows me to easily star hands that I want quick access to for review and have been going over a few daily. I know it is very important to work on your game and truly apply yourself, not just put in volume.

After my MTT session I played some HU sit-n-gos on lock and recouped the $55 dollars I had spent on MTT buy-ins. I only played three MTTs on Lock today but I did find the three of the best value MTTs for my BR, I just wish I could have shipped one. I have been playing a lot of different forms of HU NL be it cash or sit-n-go. I have also played different speeds some turbo, some regular, and different size stacks as well. The HU work is helping me a lot and I am already reaping some benefits. The last couple times I got HU in a MTT I felt very comfortable and was able to close.

I still have work to do on my MTT schedule as I feel my day was still a little to expensive. Strict BRM is very important but takes discipline to follow. It is very easy to come up with reasons to play an MTT outside your BR but honestly its just to risky. After a talk with a friend I think I have a game plan for the next few days that has me lowering my abi just a little but I know its smarter and safer. It would be nice if americans as a society weren't so good at learning everything the hard way. I mean seriously how often do you hear about the guy that did everything right? Usually its more of a story of redemption that comes from several lessons learned the hard way. I know that I have more than my share of lessons learned the hard way. This week is going to be great and I am going to make that happen one step at a time. My plan is to use more strict BRM and spend a decent percentage of my time studying and reviewing. I have been good at building a decent routine and putting in volume now I just need to take everything a step further and commit myself even more.

I really love poker, playing it, talking it, and blogging about it. I hope you enjoy this blog and if you have time please leave a comment and tell me what you think. To all the grinders at WSOP, best of luck and play within yourself. To all the grinders playing online with hopes to go to WSOP next year, step it up and work harder. Be honest with yourself and do what it takes to improve.

Good luck all and get that money!

SHOUT OUT!
Congratulations to my buddy Ron M. for winning the $530 on Merge today. Ron is an online beast that has had his shares of ups and downs recently and I am very happy he shipped a big one. Keep up the great work Ron. Check out his blog on the right, The life of T4.