last 3 days

Monday I cashed in 2 out of 11 MTTs and 1 out of 3 satellites. It wasn't a great day but I ended up close to even. All the matters is that I keep improving and doing what it takes to reach my goals.

Tuesday I took the day off and watched a couple movies. I saw Premium Rush and The Bourne Legacy. Both were excellent but Premium Rush was a step above. It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

Wednesday I got back on the grind and cashed in 2 out of 13 MTTs and 1 out of 3 satellites. I was able to make two final tables but lots races ahead in both early and had disappointing early exits. I do feel as if I played well today and I am continuing to improve.

The chat group was active today and we discussed a few interesting spots. I also had some interest from a couple new students and they will be added to the chat ASAP. Its cool being part of the chat and getting to see how much everyone is improving. I think several of us thrive off of the positive vibe and business as usual approach we attack the tables with. Basically as a group we keep it positive and refuse to post bad beats and bust-out hands. Its just a bunch of positive support and strategy.

I see several guys preparing for Maximus coming up. I am happy we will have an online series to play in the USA and hope #TeamVariance101 has several deep runs, final tables, and out right ships. Best of luck to all the online grinders, hopefully we will be able to play on all sites again soon. Until then lets make the best of what we have and continue to improve.

If you are interested in taking poker lessons or would like any information, contact me at variance101@gmail.com and/or visit http://variance101.com/# and http://variance101.blogspot.com.

How do they get the good water?

Sunday I cashed in 1 out of 12 MTTs and my one cash was 15th place in a MTT that paid fifteen places. It was a less than stellar day to say the least, but these days are a part of playing poker and we must get through them. On a positive note almost everyone I know had a good day. I am not exactly sure what they are doing different, but I am going to find out. I wonder if they are drinking better water than me, or taking better vitamins. Heck, maybe I just need to keep improving. I suppose I will have to do some research.

If you are interested in taking poker lessons or would like any information, contact me at variance101@gmail.com and/or visit http://variance101.com/# and http://variance101.blogspot.com.

GL

Thursday I cashed in 1 out of 20 MTTs and 2 out of 6 satellites. I was able to make one final table but could not crack the top three. Overall it was a tough day with some unfortunate situations but that is poker and we grind on. I am continuing to improve and I don't expect every day to be roses.

Friday I took the day off and watched The Barclays and some pre-season NFL. I have no set plan for it yet but I am going to try and add a few more day offs into my schedule. I think in order for us to get the most out of ourselves we have to take breaks often enough to stay fresh while we play.

Saturday I had two lessons scheduled and planned on starting my session at 3pm. The session went pretty well as I cashed in 3 out of 15 MTTs and 4 out of 6 satellites. I also cashed in 1 out of 3 freerolls. I made one final table and won four $109 tickets, it was a decent day.

Tomorrow is the biggest day of the week for online grinders and I hope several have a great day tomorrow. Good luck all.

If you are interested in taking poker lessons or would like any information, contact me at variance101@gmail.com and/or visit http://variance101.com/# and http://variance101.blogspot.com.

keep on keeping on

Wednesday I cashed in 2 out of 19 MTTs and 1 out of 3 satellites. I made two final tables but was not able to win a key race in either and went out sooner than expected. My one satellite cash was for a mod-week monster seat but I was not able to get deep. The mwm is one of my favorite MTTs though and I will hope to get that accolade soon.

I was able to follow my plan for trying to improve focus but was surprised at how my mind gets to racing sometimes. I am just happy to be trying to continue to improve and will keep working hard to reach my goals.

For now its time to start grinding. My plan is to keep working on improved focus and good decision making. Good luck to all the grinders out there and my advice to you is to keep working on your game and trying to give more.

If you are interested in taking poker lessons or would like any information, contact me at variance101@gmail.com and/or visit http://variance101.com/# and http://variance101.blogspot.com.

Increased focus

Tuesday I cashed in 3 out of 13 MTTs and 1 out of 1 satellites. I was able to make three final tables finishing 3rd, 6th, and 7th. The spots in the MTTs I got 6th and 7th in were standard and I don't think they should be played in any other way. In the MTT I got 3rd in I could have folded, but ended up getting it in behind. I opened and got 3b but felt that I should shove as the villain had just won two pots in a row going from third to first in chips and I felt they might have been trying to apply pressure as per our history. Overall I feel I played very well today and I will continue to improve.

Today I chose to play a lighter schedule, taking out most of the smaller buy-in MTTs and turbos. I felt as if I needed to work on increasing my focus. I want to avoid playing to many tables and ABC poker. I think as I continue to improve I find myself wanting more information. I thought if I played a few less tables, I would have more time to focus on each table which would provide me with the information to give the villains better ranges. With playing a few less tables I was able to spend more time watching showdowns I wasn't involved in along with giving me more time to OPR the players in the MTTs I am deep in. Once I OPR them I put some of their key stats in the notes box and give each villain an appropriate icon. Having knowledge of the current game flow, along with HUD stats and an icon on the villain certainly helps make the best decisions in game.

Today the activity in the chat room picked up a bit after adding a new student and we had several good hand discussions along with a few deep runs. Talking poker daily is such an important part of improving. I have been trying to increase focus so I have been cutting out distractions, but I feel if a chat is used wisely the benefits out weigh the distraction. Also for anyone that plays as much as I do, having the ability to chat with a few friends really takes away from the fact I am grinding alone and helps me feel like we are grinding together with similar goals.

I think the next few days I am going to play a smaller schedule and continue to work on having increased focused. I know that volume is important but I think its good to take a step back every now and then and work on a few things. For now I am going to go relax, but I think tomorrow will be a good day.

If you are interested in taking poker lessons or would like any information, contact me at variance101@gmail.com and/or visit http://variance101.com/# and http://variance101.blogspot.com.

shorty

Monday I cashed in 4 out of 18 MTTs and 1 out of 2 satellites. I was able to make one final table but went out 7th. Overall it was a decent day and after some review, I am hoping today will be even better. I feel as if I am continuing to improve my play, my understanding for the game, and my focus. I truly just want to keep growing as a player and a coach and reach my goals.

If you are interested in taking poker lessons or would like any information, contact me at variance101@gmail.com and/or visit http://variance101.com/# and http://variance101.blogspot.com.

Sunday 19th

Sunday I cashed in 4 out of 14 MTTs and made two final tables. I wasn't able to crack the top three in either but I did have a positive day. I think the two days off was god for me but I may take a couple more this week and get a few things done but I haven't planned my week out yet.

My latest article went up on P5s Sunday and I was happy to see it get several views and comments. Its funny to me the haters that post comments though. I find it amusing that they can't see I am only trying to help players. Luckily the positive comments out number the negative by far and I am happy to keep writing.

I plan on putting in a good week or work and continuing my improvement. I have a few videos I want to watch and plan on doing some HH reviews. I will be in the V101 poker chat daily and am excited to talk poker and improve. I am blessed to be in a chat with several hard working improving players and I enjoy talking poker with them daily. V101 picked up a new member this weekend and welcoming another good player has been fun. Good luck V101.

Good luck to all the grinders out their, keep up the good work and make sure you are always improving.

If you are interested in taking poker lessons or would like any information, contact me at variance101@gmail.com and/or visit http://variance101.com/# and http://variance101.blogspot.com.

Day off

Thursday I cashed in 0 out of 24 MTTs and 2 out of 5 satellites. Overall it was a disappointing day and afterwards I decided it would be a good time for a day off or two. I know I have been working hard and improving but I think its time to recharge my batteries.

Friday I slept in and got caught up on a few shows, including Mad Men. What a great show, I know a show is great when I am pissed its over. AMC has some of the best shows on television. Mad Men, Walking Dead, and The Killing are all amazing.

Saturday I slept in again and then watched some pre-season football. I did log on for a couple hours to send a few emails and chat with my students and decided to play two turbos and a satellite. I wasn't able to do any good but I enjoyed my short session. For now I am going to go back to relaxing but I do plan on playing tomorrow.

If you are interested in taking poker lessons or would like any information, contact me at variance101@gmail.com and/or visit http://variance101.com/# and http://variance101.blogspot.com.

Bye, Bye, Bye

Monday I went to my sister's funeral and it was an absolutely lovely service. She was loved by many and the turnout was awesome. It was a sad day but we celebrated her life and told stories for a couple hours. Rest in peace Jessica.

Monday after driving back to Tulsa I decided to play a short session. The session was full of lots of cheap turbos and I went 0-9 in MTTs and 1-4 in satellites. It wasn't a very profitable session but it did take my mind off a few things for a while. After the short session I relaxed in front of the television and dozed off.

Tuesday I got started at my normal time and put in a full session. I was able to cash in 3 out of 31 MTTs and 1 out of 5 satellites. I made one final table finishing 2nd and was able to win a $109 ticket. I will say I am not very happy with my play for the day as I let myself get to feeling a little bored and watched a couple you-tube videos and then thought about pulling up netflix. Obviously trying to play high level poker and watch anything is going to be tough. I think it's important that we try to play when we know we can focus and if we start to lose that take a day off or a break.

For me I truly think it was just a weak bored moment as I was able to turn all that off and finish my day on a high note with a 2nd place. Also,  when I woke up today I wasn't sure if I was going to try and take a day off or not and as I began to get around I found that I had all the drive needed to get to work with minimal distractions. I really enjoy poker and more than that right now I am trying to achieve some goals. For me it's hard to put my goals on the back burner, I just simply want to achieve them and will attack everyday until I do.

Today I am going to play a few less tables, play a $109 and take a shot, and make sure I do not get bored. I truly hope all the poker players out there are achieving their goals as well and remember, we get back out of it, what we put in.

Below is an interesting spot I encountered. Everything should seem pretty standard until the turn when the villain raises on a card that shouldn't change much unless they had 56. On the river the villain leads for 3/4 of the pot when the Ts hits. This card completes the flush but if he hit the flush would he bet so big? If you would like to leave any comments about this hand please do.

No Limit Hold'em Tournament T150/T300

Stacks:
UTG - UTG (T15,620)
UTG+1 - Hero (T16,311)
UTG+2 - UTG+2 (T14,998)
MP - MP (T28,071)
MP2 - MP2 (T4,833)
CO - CO (T17,303)
BTN - BTN (T19,830)
SB - SB (T10,867)
BB - BB (T17,745)

Preflop: (T720, 9 players) Hero is UTG+1 with A♠ A♥
1 fold, Hero raises to T600, 6 folds, BB calls T300

Flop: 8♠ 3♠ 7♦ (T1,620, 2 players - BB: T17,115, Hero: T15,681)
BB checks, Hero bets T960, BB calls T960

Turn: 4♣ (T3,540, 2 players - BB: T16,155, Hero: T14,721)
BB checks, Hero bets T1,620, BB raises to T3,240, Hero calls T1,620

River: T♠ (T10,020, 2 players - BB: T12,915, Hero: T11,481)BB bets T7,515, Hero ??????


Good luck to all the grinders tomorrow, get your focus up and your emotion out of the picture.

If you are interested in taking poker lessons or would like any information, contact me at variance101@gmail.com and/or visit http://variance101.com/# and http://variance101.blogspot.com.

Emotional commotion, and a hand

Today I cashed in 2 out of 16 MTTs and 0 out of 1 satellites. I was able to make one final table but went out pretty early when I lost a race. For the day I pretty mush broke even but used up  four tickets. As far as how my day went I will tell you I have had better.

My day got off to a rocky start when someone started an argument with me and wouldn't let it die. I am sure several of y'all have been here before and all we can do is try to gather ourselves and soldier on. Our argument was silly and could have waited. I tried several times to get them to stop arguing but sometimes reason don't come into play. Truly I was a bit distraught for about an hour and a half after, but luckily this was at the very beginning of my session and I was able to play tight and get through it with only a few casualties.

I am sure most of y'all realize the importance of keeping emotion out of the game of poker. To me that means don't let ourselves get emotional about the results of a hand, good or bad. It also means we shouldn't let anyone at any poker table get under our skin and cause an emotional decision. And lastly, it means don't let emotions about life cloud our judgement while playing.

Today for me it was the last part as the argument had my mind racing about ways to fix the problem. I was trying to figure out ways to salvage the relationship that all the recent arguing and apparent lack of mutual respect has ruined. And on top of it all, after getting in the argument and getting so upset with the feeling of losing a friend, I couldn't stop thinking about my sister. It was just a brutal start to the day.  I will say that I tried hard to be strong and get through what had happened. I am still messed up about it all but I was able to put that all to the side and have a decent grind and make a final table. And truly, if I don't lose to a couple two-outers I would have cashed the $215 70k and might have had a good close to a rough day.

Tomorrow I will be getting up earlier than normal to drive to Arkansas for my sister's funeral. So brutal, I can't believe she is gone. May she rest in peace and hopefully tomorrow lots of people that loved her will get to say goodbye.

Even though I only got one comment on the hand I posted yesterday, I was thinking about adding a hand a day to the blog. I will tell y'all that if this is something you think you would enjoy, leaving a comment would help make sure I keep it up.

In the hand below I am in the BB with 37bb and T8cc. UTG with 19bb limps, it folds to the cut-off 110bb who also limps, the BU and SB fold and I check. The flop comes 922 and UTG bets the minimum 2k and the CO folds. IMO the limper should not be hitting a 922 flop often and I saw an opportunity for a 3b/f that would put a lot of pressure on the UTG players 17bb they have left. I also felt they might imagine me having a 2 some being from the BB. I think is just a standard spot where so many players just fold and move on to the next hand. But I felt as if I could 3b/f and my 3b would work a huge percentage of the time and awarding me 8600 from a 4835 bet. Anytime he comes over the top I fold because one of the only hands that could possibly make sense is limping with AA and then min bet leading trying to induce a raise. I just felt this was not very likely and thought my play would work plenty enough to be +EV.
I hope this example might show a few to try and be aware of every situation they are and to not be afraid to follow your instincts.

T1,000/T2,000
Stacks:
UTG - UTG (T37,104)---------------limp 2k
UTG+1 - UTG+1 (T164,020)------fold
MP - MP (T39,235)-------------------fold
MP2 - MP2 (T26,140)---------------fold
CO - CO (T220,286)-----------------limp 2k
BTN - BTN (T20,594)---------------fold
SB - SB (T43,496)-------------------fold
BB - Hero (T74,453)----------------checks

Preflop: (T4,600, 8 players) Hero is BB with T♣ 8♣
UTG calls T2,000, 3 folds, CO calls T2,000, 2 folds, Hero checks

Flop: 9♠ 2♦ 2♣ (T8,600, 3 players - CO: T218,086, Hero: T72,253, UTG: T34,904)
Hero checks, UTG bets T2,000, 1 fold, Hero raises to T4,835, 1 fold

Total Pot: T15,435

Hero wins T12,600
Hero wins T2,835 

Good luck to all the grinders tomorrow, get your focus up and your emotion out of the picture.

If you are interested in taking poker lessons or would like any information, contact me at variance101@gmail.com and/or visit http://variance101.com/# and http://variance101.blogspot.com.

Sunday shots, and a hand to review

Today I started my day by giving two one hour lessons. I think both lessons went very well and I see good things in both players future. I truly enjoy the coaching and feel I have a lot to give. There is a real satisfaction that comes from helping someone and all the hand history reviews and poker talk helps me as well.

Today I cashed in 5 out of 30 MTTs and 3 out of 9 satellites. I was able to make two final tables but did not crack the top three in either. I was able to win another 215 ticket so there will be another shot taken soon. Overall the day went pretty well but if I was to be completely honest I would say I gave a small bit less than 100% today. There is truly no excuse to feel as if you could have given more. Tomorrow I will do what it takes to feel as if I am giving 100% and keep it going there after.

I would like to post a hand that caused a little controversy in the chat. This is a $3 to $5 MTT at the 10/20 level and our Hero has JJ in the BB with 71bb. The Hero is facing a 2x open from the 90bb HJ of 60, and a 2.3x raise of the open from the 212bb CO to 140. He is new to the table and has no reads.
I think this is a 4 bet / call  to 400 and if flatted I would be getting it in on the flop. I think our hand is to strong to fold as we will be ahead of a lot of players range at this stakes and I don't think we can ever flat here for 10% of our stack and play the hand OOP in what could be a 3-way pot. I ran JJ vs a few ranges I thought would 3bet to 140 in this spot with the tightest being, TT+, AJs+, AQo+. Verse this range we are 47.5%. I personally think it could easily be more like, 99+, ATs+, KQs, AJo+ which we have 53.1% equity against. And as you can see these ranges are without adding any random hands for "the spazz" factor so our equity could even be a little better.
The argument came with one guy saying he thinks it's a flat. I think we would only flat if we thought we were behind and we were trying to hit the flop. I don't think we should be calling OOP for 10% of our stack to try and hit a flop very often, if ever. I think we will have a harder time ranging the villains if we flat, and we will be forced to fold on bad flops and be gifting away 10% of our stack. One of his arguments was the fact that we have 70bb. And to be honest, we do have 70bb, but it is the 10/20 level and we won't be here for long. I think it can be a mistake to over think the amount of BB sometimes at the first stage of the MTT. His argument was that we shouldn't be 4b getting it in with 70bb this early. But to that I say we have 1400 in chips and I think it's a plus EV play.

If anyone has comments on this hand I would enjoy hearing them as I know I am still improving and I eagerly accept good advice.

Blinds 10/20

> HJ+1: 2,160.00
> HJ: 1,805.00
> CO: 4,240.00
> BTN: 2,170.00
> SB: 1,980.00
> Hero (BB): 1,430.00
> HJ+2: 4,060.00
> SB posts SB 10.00, Hero posts BB 20.00
> Pre Flop: (30.00) Hero has Js, Jd

> fold, fold, HJ raises to 60.00, CO raises to 140.00, fold, fold, hero?




Good luck to all the grinders tomorrow, get your focus up and your emotion out of the picture.

If you are interested in taking poker lessons or would like any information, contact me at variance101@gmail.com and/or visit http://variance101.com/# and http://variance101.blogspot.com.

Gl this weekend

Today I cashed in 5 out of 35 MTTs and 4 out of 7 satellites. I was able to make two final tables finishing 3rd and 4th and I also won a 215 ticket and another 109 ticket. Looks like I will be taking several shots on Sunday. Overall I believe I am playing better and better and I am enjoying improving. This week I have played longer sessions than normal and still found time to review after. I feel the harder I work, the better the results.

Tomorrow I will be waking up a little earlier than normal as I have two lessons scheduled before my session. Both of these guys have been improving a ton and I am excited to help them continue to get better and better. After just two lessons both guys hit multiple scores and I believe that is just the start of what is to come. Good luck guys, keep working hard.

I finished writing my third article today and I am excited to share my thoughts again. This article is a bit different and I hope everyone enjoys it. I have enjoyed writing articles for P5s and the process has helped my poker game as well.

I think I will keep it short today. Tomorrow I have two lessons and then will be playing a normal session. Sunday I will be taking several shots and using my 215 and 109 tickets. And Monday I will be driving to Arkansas for my sister's funeral. I hope everyone has a great weekend and may all your cards be live, and your pots be monsters.

If you are interested in taking poker lessons or would like any information, contact me at variance101@gmail.com and/or visit http://variance101.com/# and http://variance101.blogspot.com.

and I grinded on

Today I cashed in 4 out of 34 MTTs and 2 out of 7 satellites. I'll be honest the day started out a little rough as I was getting knocked out of MTT after MTT but I kept my head together and I grinded on. Around 10pm which is six hours into my session I was approaching two final tables and I got some surprise company. I had a distracted 45 min but truly kept my focus for the most part and ignored the distractions. When I was down to 6 handed in the $3r and 9 handed in the $2r, my company left, my focus increased, and I was able to win both MTTs. Truly it was needed because even with winning two MTTs I only cleared a small profit on the day.

Today was another good day. I feel as if I am playing well and applying a lot of focus. Grinding online can be a grind but I know for sure we will get back out of it what we put in. So if we are lazy and distracted our results will mirror that effort, but if we are focused and we work hard daily to improve, we can reach our goals and put up good results. I think in general there are lots of poker players that play way more than they study and they often give just enough effort to get by. If this is true at all it should be even more of a reason to step it up, because if you do you will quickly gain an edge over the field of lazies.

I finally got to chat with my buddy that got 3rd in the CardPlayer poker series main Event at Choctaw Casino in Durant, Ok this weekend for 70k. Its crazy how in poker anything but first can still be mildly disappointing. He hit his largest score ever and I can tell he still had a bitter taste in his mouth from the bust-out hand. I think he did great and he is having a good year for live MTTs. He has hit his largest score twice this year and he also was able to cash in a $1500 at WSOP. Keep up the good work, Mike.

The poker chat has been going very well. We have had guys hitting scores left and right. Also its easy to see that everyone is improving and when a hand is posted the comments get better everyday as everyone improves. I will say that I think most of the guys in the chat can still step it up a notch, and I know they aren't asking enough questions, posting enough hands, or trying to get enough advice. Its all a process though and I just try to keep on them to work harder and use the resources they have available.

LONG LIVE ONLINE POKER!

If you are interested in taking lessons or need any information contact me at variance101@gmail.com and/or visit http://variance101.com/# and http://variance101.blogspot.com.

The FIRE inside

Today I cashed in 5 out of 30 MTTs and 2 out of 9 satellites. I was able to make four final tables and win two MTTs, the $3 rebuy and the $5 deep-stack turbo. I was also able to secure another $109 ticket so now I have the 125k and the Evening 109 covered for Sunday. I think these are the two best value 109s and I try to use my first two 109 tickets on them every week. I truly felt good all day and felt very confident at the tables. I have been reviewing more and more hands and full hand histories and I truly believe all the hard work is paying off. I feel as if the reasons behind my actions are getting better everyday.

I wish it wasn't so, but I will admit I woke up with a little extra fire after having such a good day yesterday. I wish I could tell you that I wake up with the same drive everyday, prepared to crush the tables. But, honestly some days I grind because its what I do, and somedays I have an added fire. I suppose I shouldn't be worried about being more excited some days than others as long as any bad days are very rare, and they are.  I will tell you that I am a bit like a good quarterback, I pile all the bad beats and bust-out hands in the short-term memory files that our prone to early deletion. Dwelling on anything negative will never help. I try to forget about any beats the second they happen, and I never give and bad beat or bust-out hand the satisfaction of having me type it up to share with someone.

For me, each new day to grind is a chance to make some money to improve my BR and keep moving forward to reach my goals. No matter what happens the day before, nothing changes the fact that as I start all my MTTs, anything can happen. If we are prepared to play good and give it our all, there is no reason to think a profitable day isn't possible. I will say that I really enjoy the fact that one of my favorite MTTs is right at the start of my session. I am always eager to get started on time and play in it.

Tonight after my session I still had some drive left even though I played for 11 hours. I got with an up and coming student of mine and reviewed one of his HHs. This student, Cody, has quite a bit of live experience and is a capable player but he has never really worked on his game. As most players that fit this mold he has a decent base, but makes a lot of unforced errors. Choosing to flat OOP instead of open wider in pos. Paying bad prices for set-mining and not having a plan. It is all simple to fix things that are just hard to know until your told. Cody and I have been working on his game for a couple weeks and he has most of these things under control now. Today we took it a step further and talked more about planning, we talked about good spots to 3b and re-steal, and we worked with pokerstove ranging players. It was actually a very productive session and I expect many good things to come from him. Keep up the good work Cody.

For the rest of the week and through the weekend I plan on continuing to put in high volume by sticking with this extended session. So far it s showing to be profitable and I am enjoying the grind. I may try and work a day off into my schedule if I continue the long hours, but as I stated above, I really do wake up ready to grind everyday. The last few days has provided a small boost to my BR but my average buy-in will stay the same. July was a little rough and I have been grinding a risky 50-100 buy-in BR some and will be glad to be back to a 100+ buy-in BR. Hopefully I can just continue to get in volume and the rest should work itself out.

LONG LIVE ONLINE POKER!

If you are interested in taking lessons or need any information contact me at variance101@gmail.com and/or visit http://variance101.com/# and http://variance101.blogspot.com.

Today was a good day!

Today I cashed in 6 out of 33 MTTs and 3 out of 7 satellites. I made 5 final tables finishing 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, and 6th. I was also able to win a $109 ticket that I will be using this Sunday in the 125k. Overall it was a great day and I was committed to giving 100%. I had a high level of focus today and was able to put in a long session with minimal distractions. 

I'll admit that I have had days where I would watch a few you-tube videos, listen to stand-up comedy,  or watch a show on netflix while grinding.  None of these things are ideal and they should definitely not be part of a regular routine. It is a rarity for me but I do have moments where I stray from optimal and distract myself out of boredom. In my opinion we should play when we can give 100% and not need distractions. If we get to the point where we think we need distractions maybe we should take a day off and get refreshed. 

I am enjoying improving and would like to give some props to Tyson tford219 Ford. Tyson is a mod on P5s and spends a lot of time commenting on all the strategy posts when players ask for help. His dedication to helping poker players should be admired. One thing to note is that not only does he comment on nearly every strategy thread, but he puts his thoughts into words very well and is generally giving some of the best advice possible. Thank you Tyson.

LONG LIVE ONLINE POKER!

If you are interested in taking lessons or need any information contact me at variance101@gmail.com and/or visit http://variance101.com/# and http://variance101.blogspot.com.

A thanks, an update, and big Congrats to Mike!

I would like to start by congratulating a good friend of mine Mike Newport from Tulsa, OK for getting his biggest score to date in the $1k re-entry Cardplayer Series Main Event at Choctaw Casino in Durant, OK for a whopping $70k! BOOM! Congrats Mike, great job bro you have improved so much over the last year. Your recent tournament success is something anyone could be proud of you are turning out to be a real MTT beast.

Today I cashed in 3 out of 28 MTTs and 0 out of 2 satellites. I made one final table and won the $11 bounty turbo and had about seven bounties. Overall the day was decent but even with that win I wasn't able to get into the positive. I am continuing to work on my game and feel as if I am improving a lot. Everyday is full of more answers that usually leads to more questions, but it all leads to a better understanding of what to do when. Being around all the hungry improving talent that makes up #TeamVariance101 definitely helps to keep me sharp and proves once again that improvement is addictive.

There was a recent post on P5s by a player asking for line options and after I replied several players chimed in and agreed or disagreed. The whole process had me really going over all my reasons behind my thoughts in that spot and all the comments helped me come to a better understanding. Talking poker and actively discussing hands is a great tool for improving.

I want to say thank you to everyone that took the time to send a message, a comment, or a reply to a post giving their support in what has been a tough time for my family. May my wonderful sister rest in peace, I know she will be missed by many. I love you Jessica!

Life is precious and so many of us take way to much for granted. After my motorcycle wreck in 2005 that put me in the hospital for four months during which time my GF of four years passed away from cancer, I finally realized how much I had taken for granted. Its tough not to, as we live in a society where so many get what they want when they want it. I try to appreciate things more now and with my sister's recent passing I think its time to make sure I am trying hard to be thankful for my family, friends, and what I have. Everyday is a blessing and we should look at it as such.

Good luck to all the poker grinders out their, keep working hard and trying to improve. Make sure you are not spending all your time playing and none of it working on your game. Training sites, coaching, forums, and a poker chat group can really help so get to work and become more profitable.

LONG LIVE ONLINE POKER!

If you are interested in taking lessons or need any information contact me at variance101@gmail.com and/or visit http://variance101.com/# and http://variance101.blogspot.com.

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Today I woke up at 1pm so I would be up and around for the 2pm lesson I had scheduled. Around 1:30 I got a phone call from my mom and was informed of some disturbing news. My sister was shot in the head and murdered by her bf early Sunday morning. There was some kind of argument or scuffle and she was running out of the house and was shot in the neighbors yard. I was told that she went quickly and felt no pain. She will be missed and I will be praying for her children and my mom. I am very sorry to share such awful news.

Obviously I was a bit distraught and upset but decided to take a shower and get on with my day. I jumped in the shower and grieved some and then pulled myself together and got ready. The lesson at 2pm went well and we covered lots of hands and situations. It was good for me to just get to work and talk poker as it was a great outlet to keep my mind busy.

After the lesson I had tables popping up and began my session. I cashed in 4 out of 16 MTTs and had a couple deep runs and one final table. I finished in 3rd place in the $11 rebuy deep-stack one of my favorite tournaments. Happily, I was able to have a positive day and give my BR a much needed, small uptick. Hopefully I can keep up the improvements and post some results this week.

Will, the student I had a lesson with today has been working very hard to improve. We have had a couple small hiccups but for the most part it has been nothing but hard work and determination helping him reach his goals. Will has been a committed student and to show my appreciation I offered to finish reviewing his recent deep run in the Evening $109 where he finished 4th tonight after my session. We started reviewing this HH in a lesson today and after we both said that we wanted to finish it. I was still feeling good and really did want to finish it so I asked he accepted, and then we review for about 2 hours. I try to tell all my students to participate in the chat and be around as often as possible because I like to include someone in my reviews. Often we will be reviewing one of my HHs, my tough hands, or a students HH, but sometimes I will just give some free coaching. Variance101 is truly more than just a poker lesson, there is free coaching in the chat between lessons.

I hope everyone had a decent Sunday, but more importantly I hope everyone has a good week.

LONG LIVE ONLINE POKER!

If you are interested in taking lessons or need any information contact me at variance101@gmail.com and/or visit http://variance101.com/# and http://variance101.blogspot.com.