I took Sunday off and enjoyed some football and then the premiere of the new season of The Walking Dead, what a great show. I am still putting a bit of focus towards live play right now but plan on grinding some online too. I went to play live Monday and enjoyed a solid seven hour session clearing two buy-ins. That was my eighth live session in three weeks and I feel as if I am playing well and adapting my play to a style that is effective.
I am kind of amazed at the play live as so many players are likely to limp, then call after a raise and a re-raise. They sure like to see flops. To bad that everyone misses the flop the majority of the time and they end up check folding on the flop way to often. Another thing that happens way to often is poor stack management. I see so many players call off half their stack and fold. I also see players bet 70% to 90% of their stack and for some reason leave a pointless amount behind. I am sure all of y'all have seen these same plays and I bet you scratch your head as well.
Playing live is a lot slower than playing online but there is some things that help make the speed not bother us. The social aspect can be nice as its good to be social and not always in front of a monitor. Also the fact that when you win you get the money right then. Online poker in the US is not at its best moment and right now to cash out money its either a 4-6 week wait or you have to pay a vig and sell to another player. Some other things I enjoy are being able to get reads by being able to see your opponents, and the level of play is a bit softer than online.
Overall I think there are benefits to playing online and live and both have their advantages. I feel lucky as I am able to play both right now as there are two decent casino's with poker where I live and several others in driving distance, and we can still play online on a couple sites. Hopefully online poker will get regulated and we will have better sites to play on soon. When that happens I imagine there will be another poker boom and all the players that have put the time in to improve will be ready to get that money.
Good luck to all the grinders out there, remember you get back out of poker what you put in, so get to work!
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.
10/16/2012
10/14/2012
No really, #Igrind
Friday I relaxed for a while and then watched the Cardinals make an amazing comeback on to advance. After the game I decided to go play some 1/2 nl at Riverspirit. I have been relaxing quite a bit and have not been playing much. I have only played online one day this month but I have played live a few times. But honestly, I haven't even been playing much live.
I started playing online again in May after 13 months away where I played all live. I was doing well at live and was making money but due to some unforeseen expenses that came after a downswing I was left with a short BR. Once short and a little frustrated after a long downswing I chose to check the traffic online and was surprised at how many players were online. Obviously this was before Lock left Merge and the traffic was nice. Since then Lock left and the traffic was split between Merge and Revolution and the guarantees began to drop and just kept dropping.
I was still happy to have a place to play and kept grinding. I was also giving lessons, blogging, and writing a couple articles a month for P5s. Online poker wasn't anything like it was before Black Friday but it was good to be playing, coaching, and improving. The last six months being back playing online was really good for me as I have improved a lot between playing, chatting with good players, doing review, and giving lessons. I am very happy that I checked the traffic that day and came back to online.
Unfortunately though online poker is in a bit of a funk right now as the traffic seems lower than ever and it seems most people are having trouble funding their accounts as it seems the sites are not taking any Visas or debit cards like they were. I will say I do not know anything I am just talking about what I noticed. I am going to be paying attention to what goes on with the deposit options and will continue to play some, but for the immediate future I may continue to play some live. I have always had success playing live and have a real good feel for players and plan on putting some time in and building up my BR a little.
One thing that has amazed me as I was grinding live recently is just how many mistakes the above average players make. It seems that they all just want to see the flop. I have seen so many players limp, and then called after a raise and a re-raise just to miss the flop and fold. Another thing I see a ton of is players calling off 20% to 50% of their stack and then folding on the flop. Also it seems that position is just not very important to any of them.
Around here the level of play is decent but it seems a huge majority of the players live in their own bubble and have never worked on their game. And then the few guys that win fairly often and have a clue are really just a little more aware than the rest but also seem to have never really worked on their game. In my opinion that is the biggest difference between online players and live players. Most online players have done something to try to improve.
For the most part live players just show up and play and slowly improve by trial and error and experience but usually have major leaks. And online players seem to have their mistakes pointed out more either through the table chat, by talking poker with friends, or by posting a hand in a forum. Online players are also often a member of P5s or 2+2 and are trying to improve in some way not just showing up to play. I guess in a way I am saying it is easy for a live player to show up and play often and win or lose and never really examine their play, but most online players think about their play afterwards whether it be a specific hand or a full review. I would think if someone was able to do some research where they compared they play of one hundred random online players verse one hundred random live players I think the online players would have less leaks.
The online poker experience which includes playing, talking poker in a poker chat group, P5s and 2+2, and the ability to do review is by far better for trying to improve. I think both live and online are great and there are benefits to both, but when it comes to improving the fastest way would be by playing online, reviewing your play, and using the forums.
I have some things I want to talk about regarding decision making at live 1/2 nl but I think I will save that for next time. I hope everyone is doing well and I wish all of y'all the best of luck crushing tomorrow whether it be online or live. Good luck and get that money!
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.
I started playing online again in May after 13 months away where I played all live. I was doing well at live and was making money but due to some unforeseen expenses that came after a downswing I was left with a short BR. Once short and a little frustrated after a long downswing I chose to check the traffic online and was surprised at how many players were online. Obviously this was before Lock left Merge and the traffic was nice. Since then Lock left and the traffic was split between Merge and Revolution and the guarantees began to drop and just kept dropping.
I was still happy to have a place to play and kept grinding. I was also giving lessons, blogging, and writing a couple articles a month for P5s. Online poker wasn't anything like it was before Black Friday but it was good to be playing, coaching, and improving. The last six months being back playing online was really good for me as I have improved a lot between playing, chatting with good players, doing review, and giving lessons. I am very happy that I checked the traffic that day and came back to online.
Unfortunately though online poker is in a bit of a funk right now as the traffic seems lower than ever and it seems most people are having trouble funding their accounts as it seems the sites are not taking any Visas or debit cards like they were. I will say I do not know anything I am just talking about what I noticed. I am going to be paying attention to what goes on with the deposit options and will continue to play some, but for the immediate future I may continue to play some live. I have always had success playing live and have a real good feel for players and plan on putting some time in and building up my BR a little.
One thing that has amazed me as I was grinding live recently is just how many mistakes the above average players make. It seems that they all just want to see the flop. I have seen so many players limp, and then called after a raise and a re-raise just to miss the flop and fold. Another thing I see a ton of is players calling off 20% to 50% of their stack and then folding on the flop. Also it seems that position is just not very important to any of them.
Around here the level of play is decent but it seems a huge majority of the players live in their own bubble and have never worked on their game. And then the few guys that win fairly often and have a clue are really just a little more aware than the rest but also seem to have never really worked on their game. In my opinion that is the biggest difference between online players and live players. Most online players have done something to try to improve.
For the most part live players just show up and play and slowly improve by trial and error and experience but usually have major leaks. And online players seem to have their mistakes pointed out more either through the table chat, by talking poker with friends, or by posting a hand in a forum. Online players are also often a member of P5s or 2+2 and are trying to improve in some way not just showing up to play. I guess in a way I am saying it is easy for a live player to show up and play often and win or lose and never really examine their play, but most online players think about their play afterwards whether it be a specific hand or a full review. I would think if someone was able to do some research where they compared they play of one hundred random online players verse one hundred random live players I think the online players would have less leaks.
The online poker experience which includes playing, talking poker in a poker chat group, P5s and 2+2, and the ability to do review is by far better for trying to improve. I think both live and online are great and there are benefits to both, but when it comes to improving the fastest way would be by playing online, reviewing your play, and using the forums.
I have some things I want to talk about regarding decision making at live 1/2 nl but I think I will save that for next time. I hope everyone is doing well and I wish all of y'all the best of luck crushing tomorrow whether it be online or live. Good luck and get that money!
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.
10/09/2012
#Igrind
Today I slept in and watched some Monday Night Football choosing to continue to relax another day. I feel as if I haven't been playing much online but truly my reasoning is fairly simple, I cashed out a chunk of my BR and went on a small downswing with what was left. I have a little left online but am in the process of trying to get a backer and try that route so I have been getting rested and refreshed so I can hit the ground running when the backing deal works out. After Maximus 2 was over it seemed that the online traffic was a bit withered so I took some money off and decided I would start adding a little bit of live play back into my schedule. The live play is going okay as I am up about a buy-in after four sessions, but I am truly ready to get back to online.
When I started playing online again in May I started with a $200 deposit and have been playing on that since. I have sold some funds and traded some but have been grinding all from the $200. I also have been playing solely online and have had all my focus on playing, coaching, improving, and writing. The last five months have been incredibly beneficial and I am so happy I started playing online again. After Black Friday I played all live for 13 months and my game leveled out some. I was still getting better and was improving at getting live reads but I needed more work on my game and coming back to online has helped me realize that.
As soon as I started back playing I found myself talking over a hand in a poker chat and was so drawn in with the back and forth between me and a couple solid grinders. It was exactly what I needed. There are several decent players where I live but I don't think many have the same drive to improve as I do so when I was playing live only, I wasn't talking enough poker or working on my game near enough. Since coming back to online I have been talking a ton of poker between two poker chats, the forum on P5s, and giving lessons. In my opinion one of the most important tools in improving at poker is talking poker with other players. Just don't let it be at the table while you're playing.
I had a chat/interview with one of the guys in charge of the backing deal today and it was interesting answering some of the questions. I was just honest and I think that is all we can do. I didn't try to sell myself I was just real. I have never been staked to play online, all my play has always been on my own but I am eager to give this a try as it will also come with coaching from one of the top online players in the world and I am all about improving.
If for any reason the deal doesn't work I will start rebuilding my BR off of what I have left online and grind on. I am also going to try and add a little bit of balance to my life and spend a little more time with friends and continue to try and go play live ever so often. I have also been slacking some on my writing but as you may be able to see I am ready to pick that up some too.
Today is the first day of the rest of your life!
In poker and in life, you get back out of it what you put in!
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.
When I started playing online again in May I started with a $200 deposit and have been playing on that since. I have sold some funds and traded some but have been grinding all from the $200. I also have been playing solely online and have had all my focus on playing, coaching, improving, and writing. The last five months have been incredibly beneficial and I am so happy I started playing online again. After Black Friday I played all live for 13 months and my game leveled out some. I was still getting better and was improving at getting live reads but I needed more work on my game and coming back to online has helped me realize that.
As soon as I started back playing I found myself talking over a hand in a poker chat and was so drawn in with the back and forth between me and a couple solid grinders. It was exactly what I needed. There are several decent players where I live but I don't think many have the same drive to improve as I do so when I was playing live only, I wasn't talking enough poker or working on my game near enough. Since coming back to online I have been talking a ton of poker between two poker chats, the forum on P5s, and giving lessons. In my opinion one of the most important tools in improving at poker is talking poker with other players. Just don't let it be at the table while you're playing.
I had a chat/interview with one of the guys in charge of the backing deal today and it was interesting answering some of the questions. I was just honest and I think that is all we can do. I didn't try to sell myself I was just real. I have never been staked to play online, all my play has always been on my own but I am eager to give this a try as it will also come with coaching from one of the top online players in the world and I am all about improving.
If for any reason the deal doesn't work I will start rebuilding my BR off of what I have left online and grind on. I am also going to try and add a little bit of balance to my life and spend a little more time with friends and continue to try and go play live ever so often. I have also been slacking some on my writing but as you may be able to see I am ready to pick that up some too.
Today is the first day of the rest of your life!
In poker and in life, you get back out of it what you put in!
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.
10/07/2012
"This is how we do it."
I haven't played online since Wednesday but have played some live. Thursday I went to Riverspirit Casino here in Tulsa, Ok and played about five hours winning one buy-in. Friday I woke up early and drove to Joplin, MO to play in a $250 satellite for a $1100 seat into the Mid-States Poker Tour Main Event at Downstream Casino.
They were awarding a seat for every 5 players and the satellite had fifty entrants so there would be 10 seats. I got off to a slow start but had a nice stack by the time half the players were gone. The structure was pretty fast for 30 min levels as the blinds doubled often. Another odd thing was the fact that the ante didn't kick in until 300/600/100 and then the ante stayed 100 until 1500/3000. Downstream has never been known for running things well. Needless to say I lost AK to TT all-in pre to a rivered T with 15 players left but had the villain covered and held on until shoving A9s from the HJ with 10bbs and the BB woke up with AA leaving me in 13th with no seat. I feel I played well and did what I could.
After busting I went to wish a friend good luck that was playing Day1A of the main that was starting at 5pm right as I busted the satellite. He seemed ready to play and has been having a great year with very few tournaments played and I expected him to do well. As he began the Main I went to eat and then back to the poker room to play some 1/2nl for an hour before entering the 7pm satellite. As I got chips for 1/2 I tried to sign up for the satellite but they said it was going to be held in the ballroom where the Main is on the other side of the casino. So I play 1/2 for about 45min and the cashed out $10 winner and took my long trip across the casino through very thick carpet and got to the ballroom. Once there I try to sign up and I am told they changed their mind and the satellite is in the poker room. A few months prior I was at Downstream for a satellite and they did the same thing, I was not happy. But, it goes to show what I was saying about them not known for running things well. I have a friend that was furious about some of the shady maneuvers envolving the guy running the tournament and how he was doing table assignments for Day 2 in a closed office alone with friends in the tournament. When confronted his excuse was, "This is how we do it."
After busting two satellites I decided to come home and spent most of Saturday watching College football. Today I thought about playing online but got caught up in NFL Redzone and decided to watch NFL and continue to relax.
I have been a little disappointed in the guarantees since Maximus 2 as they seem to keep slowly dropping. I wish Lock and Merge could have worked things out because when Lock left the player pool took a split that it can barely afford. I will say I am happy that there is a place to play even though it does come with some risk. But it is nice to have a couple sites that still offer service to USA players.
Good luck to all the grinders. I hope several of y'all had a great Sunday.
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.
They were awarding a seat for every 5 players and the satellite had fifty entrants so there would be 10 seats. I got off to a slow start but had a nice stack by the time half the players were gone. The structure was pretty fast for 30 min levels as the blinds doubled often. Another odd thing was the fact that the ante didn't kick in until 300/600/100 and then the ante stayed 100 until 1500/3000. Downstream has never been known for running things well. Needless to say I lost AK to TT all-in pre to a rivered T with 15 players left but had the villain covered and held on until shoving A9s from the HJ with 10bbs and the BB woke up with AA leaving me in 13th with no seat. I feel I played well and did what I could.
After busting I went to wish a friend good luck that was playing Day1A of the main that was starting at 5pm right as I busted the satellite. He seemed ready to play and has been having a great year with very few tournaments played and I expected him to do well. As he began the Main I went to eat and then back to the poker room to play some 1/2nl for an hour before entering the 7pm satellite. As I got chips for 1/2 I tried to sign up for the satellite but they said it was going to be held in the ballroom where the Main is on the other side of the casino. So I play 1/2 for about 45min and the cashed out $10 winner and took my long trip across the casino through very thick carpet and got to the ballroom. Once there I try to sign up and I am told they changed their mind and the satellite is in the poker room. A few months prior I was at Downstream for a satellite and they did the same thing, I was not happy. But, it goes to show what I was saying about them not known for running things well. I have a friend that was furious about some of the shady maneuvers envolving the guy running the tournament and how he was doing table assignments for Day 2 in a closed office alone with friends in the tournament. When confronted his excuse was, "This is how we do it."
After busting two satellites I decided to come home and spent most of Saturday watching College football. Today I thought about playing online but got caught up in NFL Redzone and decided to watch NFL and continue to relax.
I have been a little disappointed in the guarantees since Maximus 2 as they seem to keep slowly dropping. I wish Lock and Merge could have worked things out because when Lock left the player pool took a split that it can barely afford. I will say I am happy that there is a place to play even though it does come with some risk. But it is nice to have a couple sites that still offer service to USA players.
Good luck to all the grinders. I hope several of y'all had a great Sunday.
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.
10/04/2012
Forever and always
Wednesday I cashed in 2 out of 10 MTTs and 0 out of 2 satellites. I was able to make one final table but went out early finishing in 7th place. I have been taking some time off and enjoyed my short session. I feel I played pretty well and was happy with my motivation, focus, and emotional control.
I have been adding in a little live play after playing only online since May. The live play has been going pretty well and I feel very comfortable there. After black friday I spent thirteen months away from online poker and truly it wasn't the best time. In 2010 I finally realized I needed to take the steps to improve and did exactly that up until black friday. After black friday I played live and traveled around playing live series but my game stayed about the same. Online I was around several great players talking poker and on training sites always trying to improve but when I played live I didn't have the same resources of good players to talk to and my game suffered. At the time I didn't notice it as I was happy and confident after my recent improvements and was doing rather well.
It wasn't until I got back to playing online and working on my game again when I noticed I had a lot more work to do. Luckily being around several great players in a chat group, training sites, and hours of work I have managed to get back to improving my game and I feel a lot better about where I am and am still trying to improve daily. Poker is forever evolving and the only way to keep up is to constantly work on our game and try to improve.
I am taking today off online and am thinking about going to play a live session. This weekend I think I am going to a live series Main so wish me luck. Good luck to all the grinders, keep working on your game and reach your 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.
I have been adding in a little live play after playing only online since May. The live play has been going pretty well and I feel very comfortable there. After black friday I spent thirteen months away from online poker and truly it wasn't the best time. In 2010 I finally realized I needed to take the steps to improve and did exactly that up until black friday. After black friday I played live and traveled around playing live series but my game stayed about the same. Online I was around several great players talking poker and on training sites always trying to improve but when I played live I didn't have the same resources of good players to talk to and my game suffered. At the time I didn't notice it as I was happy and confident after my recent improvements and was doing rather well.
It wasn't until I got back to playing online and working on my game again when I noticed I had a lot more work to do. Luckily being around several great players in a chat group, training sites, and hours of work I have managed to get back to improving my game and I feel a lot better about where I am and am still trying to improve daily. Poker is forever evolving and the only way to keep up is to constantly work on our game and try to improve.
I am taking today off online and am thinking about going to play a live session. This weekend I think I am going to a live series Main so wish me luck. Good luck to all the grinders, keep working on your game and reach your 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.
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