Grizinding

Monday I cashed in 2 out of 13 MTTs and 0 out of 1 satellites. It was actually a really good day and I felt I played really well. The intense HH review I had last night had me playing a few spots with a more aggressive line and the results were good. I also kept my volume down some today but one reason was simply because I ran deep in almost every MTT I played and chose to not register a few I normally might and keep my focus on the deep runs.

Variance101 poker chat had a few good discussions today.  One spot a guy shoved AT over an open 4 handed with 21bbs and we tried to find alternate lines but his choice was best. With the stacks and dynamics we decided it was a clear shove or fold. I also had a spot come up where I 3b from the button over a HJ+4 limp and a HJ+3 open. I have been building a dynamic with the HJ+3 and with his stack felt like I was forcing him into a shove or fold. After I 3b the HJ+4 folded and the HJ+3 CIB, clicked it back, a min raise. His CIB gave me a great price to see the flop with my 9Ts and the flop came 9Tx. On the flop the HJ+3 shoved into me with AA and I called with two pair and won. Let the berating begin. I understand where he was coming from in his attack on my play but in my defense I had over 90bbs and had reasons for attacking his open. Over the last few days I had a few spots come up against this player and I really felt he was playing back at me in odd spots and thought he would be tooling out against me soon. In a vacuum my play makes less sense but I was comfortable with trying to make a play with the size of my stack and our recent dynamic. I know I have been working on my game a lot and I am not afraid to try and find alternate lines or exploit a dynamic with an opponent.

After my session I was finally able to get back to my new webpage and get it up. I think the page is coming along nicely and I plan on continuing to increase the content. If you would like to check my progress there will be a link at the bottom.

My plans for this week have not changed. My BR is still a little low after a rough week and I plan on continuing to keep my average buy-in down and work my way out of the downswing. So many players chase while in downswings and want one huge score to get them ahead. I personally think a hard work, small buy-in, attitude and approach will show greater success and that is my plan.

I would like to wish GOOD LUCK to Ben "ohscissorme" Marsh and Ron "jecht4" Morandini in the WSOP Main Event. I also have several other friends playing and hope they do well but have been keeping close tabs on Ben and Ron. Good luck guys.

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/#.

Sunday, free-rolls, HH discussions

Sunday I got my earliest start on the virtual felt since coming back to online in May. I started playing today at 1pm due to the Tourney King Free-rolls on Merge. I was also in a 5k invitational Free-roll at 2pm and had won a satellite into the 125k that started at 3pm. Not to shabby to have a shot at about 150k in guarantees across four MTTs and only be in for the $11 satellite. 

I had a plan to keep the volume down a little and increase my focus at the tables. Sundays have the most value so it only makes sense to give it all we have. Overall I really felt I played good today and I know that I am improving. As far as results go, I cashed in 2 out of 19 MTTS and 2 out of 2 satellites. Unfortunately all my cashes were for the minimum or close to it. I will say that I followed my plan and had under 6 MTTs up for most of the day and really stayed focused. 

Due to the fact I was keeping the volume down a little and several of the MTTs had deep stacks today I was also able to look up most of the players I encountered in OPR and take notes and give them an appropriate icon which really helps when ranging a player. Knowing how much they play, their average buy-in, their return on investment, and how much profit they have can really help when trying to figure out their range. I usually do this when down to the last couple of tables in a MTT but today I was in several MTTs with deep stacks and long levels which meant I wouldn't be getting bounced table to table as much so I started looking up the players when I had time.

I will tell you today was full of all kinds of interesting hands. The day started with lots of great 3b spots and flop texture dependent spots and I posted several of the hands in the chat to use as examples of good spots  or textures to be aware of. I also had a few spots that had me shaking my head. I posted one hand where I flatted a SB 3b over an EP open with AK from the BB, the original opener folded and the flop came KQTccs and the SB leads for 2/3rds pot and 1/3rd their stack. I decide I can only beat KJ, JJ,    and chop w AK so I fold. Pre-flop the flat was for 12% of my stack and I knew it was marginal but I had him ranged as a tight player and thought taking a flop in position might not be bad. I posted the hand to show that sometimes we can fold AK on K high flops when the villains range leaves you with only beating a couple hands, but then the whole discussion turned into what to do pre. We all agreed the fold on the flop was best but Pre we had a few shoves, a fold, and then my friend Shane and I finally decided we like the 4b/f best. We will win the pot pre with the 4b some, we can fold if he shoves because the extra information on this tight player will let us know we are beat, and in the rare cases he flats we can make a decision on the flop like we did.

I will say the highlight of the day was after my session when my friend Shane and I went over about 35 of the problem hands I had saved over the last couple days. It was one of the best HH discussion I have had. I had several great spots that we run the equity numbers on and ranged the player, then ran it again with different hands, it was a great learning experience. We also found one type of situation that showed up a few times that we discussed and I don't think it will be showing up in my starred hands list anymore. Don't get me wrong I do HH discussion often and all are beneficial, but tonight there just seemed to be some excellent spots to discuss and work through and I felt like we got through them all.

After a rough week my BR is still down from where it was so this week will be full of smaller buy-ins and hard work. I think it's important to fight your way out of a downswing slowly with strict BRM and discipline. It is to easy to chase and want it to fast. All chasing and wanting it to fast will do is speed up the going broke process and we don't want that. I watched a good video on PxF from RdCrsn, it was the first in the series covering his Big 50 FT on Stars. RdCrsn is fairly new to PxF but I thought he did a really good job and I will be excited when the next part in the series is up for viewing.

Variance101 is going well and if you are interested in taking lessons and joining our chat hit me up. If you would like to book lessons or have any questions please email me at variance101@gmail.com.

LONG LIVE ONLINE POKER!

Ship it!

Today I cashed in 2 out of 22 MTTs and 0 out of 6 satellites. I was able to make 2 final tables and get a win in the $11 rebuy 1.75k deepstack. My day actually seemed to be going similar to the last week as I had two bubbles and an early FT that I ended in 9th place in, But, I knew I could believe in myself and if I kept my head straight and kept grinding with optimal play that the results would come. Luckily at least one good result came today and it was really neeeded. My BR was diminishing quickly and even though I was lowering my average buy-in a little each day, the losses were adding up. My recent post about staying the course and continuing to grind what we believe we are profitable has even more merit now. I feel a responsibility to my students and I have been trying to lead by example, I feel that if you work hard and stay committed you will see results.

I would like to say GOOD GAME to Justin Gardenhire the 9th place finisher in the WSOP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. I would also like to wish GOOD LUCK to Huy Nguyen who is in the final 8 playing for the bracelet.

I am hoping for a great Sunday tomorrow. I am in both Tourney King freerolls, a 5k Invitational freeroll, and I satellites in to the 125k. I will also be playing most of my normal Sunday schedule and plan on giving the day my best. Good luck to all the grinders, get the money.

If you are interested in taking lessons or need any information contact me at variance101@gmail.com.

Just a swinging

Friday I cashed in 1 out of 19 MTTs and 3 out of 6 satellites. Overall it was a decent day but my results are still lacking. I plan on continuing to work hard and keep putting volume in and pull out of this downswing. I did do a HH review of one of my MTTs from Thursday before my session Friday and I believe my play is fine, and that I have just been getting unlucky in some key spots late in MTTs. I have been lowering my stakes daily as my BR decreases and with strict BRM and emotional detachment this downswing will be behind me soon.

I have a couple friends playing the WSOP Circuit qualifier 10k entry/freeroll MTT at WSOP and I will be pulling for one of them to get a bracelet. Good luck to Justin Gardenhire and Huy Nguyen, build a huge stack guys.

I was watching the news and heard about the heat breaking record highs in several cities in the US. This is kinda scary and I really hope it cools off soon. I know I personally have been spending most of my time inside and have been waiting to walk my dog at night when its cooled off outside and the pavement is less likely to burn the pads on her feet. I saw an awful picture on Facebook of a dog with burnt pads and it was so sad.

Well, I am going to get this Saturday grind underway and do my best to turn a profit today. Good luck to all the grinders out there, get the money!

LONG LIVE ONLINE POKER!

If you are interested in taking lessons or need any information contact me at variance101@gmail.com.

Variance101

Thursday I cashed in 1 out of 23 MTTs and 0 out of 4 satellites. I followed through with my game plan for the most part but could do a bit better at game selection and amount of tables possibly. Overall I think I am playing well and doing lots of things right and just experiencing the downside of variance.

I just got done giving a lesson to one of my students that won a $65 live MTT yesterday. I would like to say, Great job Ray! Our lesson went very well and I expect many more positive results to come. Today we went over the HH of the $3r 2k I played yesterday. There was several good spot to discuss and put Sheets charts to use on. I was able to pick up on 2 spots that I shoved a little light on as well. I am really enjoying the lessons and I am very pleased when I get to hear good results like Ray's win.

Downswings are crazy wild in how brutal they can affect a players mental state. I recently blogged about a HS MTT reg friend of mine that went on a downswing and was considering switching to cash but before he could switch he wins the Sunday $530 and now is on his way to Las Vegas to play the Main Event at the WSOP. I wonder where he would be if he would had given in to the pressure of the downswing and switched to cash. It could have worked out, but I doubt he would be heading to play the Main Event. I think it is important to know our strengths and if your strengths is in MTTs just use strict BRM and stay the course don't look for alternative solutions like switching to cash if in a downswing. I think we would be better off reducing tables and distractions while increasing focus and just fight through the downswing.

Poker is one game where a player really can get back out of it what they put in. Good luck to all the grinders, work hard and get the money!

LONG LIVE ONLINE POKER!

If you are interested in taking lessons or need any information contact me at variance101@gmail.com.

Shake it off

Wednesday I started my day with giving a lesson to a very promising student that went very well. After giving the lesson I jumped right into my session for the day. The session went well as far as I was able to follow my plan of following strict buy-in parameters and I played with lots of focus. But, when it comes to my results for the day I can tell you they were subpar. I cashed in 0 out of 24 MTTs and 1 out of 5 satellites. I made it to a few bubbles and got a fairly deep run in the mid-week monster which I got in by winning a satellite, but I got my AA cracked by JJ all-in pre.  The satellite win was my only score for the day and hoping to turn it into a deep run with a cash but it wasn't meant to be.

After my session I enjoyed a steak and watched Colombiana for the second time and was very entertained. I know I have been watching a bunch of the WSOP live streams and really enjoy it,  it is going to be brutal when its over. It is easy to get used to having the stream available to watch while grinding and I will miss it when the series is over. The one drop stream has been my favorite so far.

Today, Thursday, I started with giving a lesson to another promising student and I may have had one of my best lessons yet. We went over so many good spots and we were constantly on the same page, it was cool. After my lesson I went for food and began to write this blog before starting my session since I didn't get to it last night. I have been on a small downswing but I know I am working hard and my head is still in a good place. Today I will be playing most of my normal schedule but I will play a few less turbos, and a few smaller buy-ins to help reduce the variance some. Up and down swings are just part of the MTT grind and the better we handle it the more success we will see.

Good luck to all the online grinders and everyone still at WSOP, get the money.

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/#.


The website is being worked on but coming soon.

Wheeeeeelz

I started my day by running a couple errands and boy was it hot outside. I was up earlier than normal because I had to send my new wheelchair back to the company that made it due to a wheel wobble. The company had Fed-ex picking it up and I am glad they finally showed. They were supposed to be here last week but there was a information gap and my address was given wrong. What was funny was that I went from having no fed-ex guy to having two. The first woke me up at 10am and took the wheelchair that I tell you was not easy to get boxed up. Then around noon I got woke up again by another fed-ex guy and I had to tell him it was already picked up. I had to stop and think for a minute was that really a fed-ex guy I gave my chair to, but before I could bring my conspiracy theory to life about the guy that stole my chair, I realized they simply double booked the pick up. Geez, I wanted to put my glock to use and chase down a wheelchair thief.

So, back to my errand, I live in an apartment and use a laundry service and had to go pick up my laundry. The only thing is I have a wardrobe big enough to clothe a small village and it took me a few trips in my wheelchair to get all the big laundry baskets with wheels on them from my van to my bedroom. Imagine a guy in a wheelchair with one good leg trying to push a laundry basket with plastic wheels down a sidewalk while using his arms to propel the chair and controlling the basket with his foot. I'll be honest my foot doesn't control a basket with plastic wheels and no turning radius very well, the basket does what it wants.

After I got my laundry put away I dove in the shower, okay not really I can't dive. I wheeled to the shower and transferred to my shower bench and took a shower, it was lovely. After my shower I gave a lesson to a promising student that went very well. I' know I have said it before but I really like starting my day with giving lessons it puts me in the right mental place to play. In a way its similar to another practice I have used which is watching a training video before starting a session, it helps to get me thinking correctly and get in the zone.

Today I cashed in 2 out of 20 MTTs and 0 out of 2 satellites. My rough spell is trying to continue but I am about to kick its ass out of my way. I made two final tables today but one was in a small field MTT and I did not make the money so no pic and I will not include it in my totals. I was able to accomplish lowering my buy-ins just a little and I also reduced some distractions and attempted to increase my focus. I believe I played decent overall but I did catch myself making a few mistakes and then tightened up my intensity and pulled it together. A big part of being good at poker is controlling yourself and keeping the intensity and drive up. The last thing you want to do is fall into auto-pilot and be playing your B game.

After my session I was hanging in the poker chat and we had a real intense discussion over a hand that I believe helped all that participated. I don't think I could ever stress enough how important it is to talk poker with other good players on a regular basis. Good luck to all the grinders out there, just keep working hard and the results will come.

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/#.