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Its been one year since I started this diary and I think its probably a good idea to do a year update! To say its been a rollercoaster wouldnt be doing it justice. I started with a bankroll of £300 and had planned to grind this into £2.5k by the end of 2013.
After going bust after the first £300 I reloaded and started again. It was a stuggle to begin with (as the image will show once approved) and I really bumbled along for the first 800 MTTs. Since then I must have made an adjustment to my game because the last 1500 or so have been pretty decent. A year to date and im up over £8k on Sky MTTs. Cash is a bit more difficult as I never really monitored it however I think im around break even after my horrible downswing recently.
Despite me going off the boil the last couple of weeks after I decided to take a break from poker after a severe downswing on cash, I can say with confidence that this past year has been well worth it.
I played my first live poker this year, travelling to Nottingham SPT and managed to cash, meeting some of the Sky regs on the way. I have won main events and mini events amongst other tournaments like the £55 9pm etc. No doubt I have made mistakes galore and have tilted too. Noone is perfect. i know im too hard on myself sometimes, however I do also think thats the reason ive improved vastly from what I was a year ago. Of course it is also down to those i've talked to on Sky like Tommyd, Mattbates, Larson7 and everyone who has been kind enough to post on my diary like Jac, Harry, Slip etc... so a big thanks to those guys.
I've now reached a crossroads in my life. Both in poker and in work. I move to Stoke on Monday officially having accepted a job offer from Bet365 leaving all I know behind and taking a plunge to live by myself in a new location. From all the problems I had with my previous company I mentioned a while ago, im hoping working in a new, hugely successful company like Bet365 will give me the career satisfaction I crave. I've got a lot of things to sort out in the coming weeks to get myself settled, including furnishing my whole flat. I'm sure i'll get there, even if im in America the next 2.5 weeks. Yep... im off to Vegas for a while. whilst also travelling to San Fran etc whilst im over there. And thats why im currently at a crossroads in poker too. I've been on hiatus recently after a cash downswing and fell out of love with poker. I have no doubt I will play poker in Vegas and I hope I can rekindle my love for poker whilst im over there. After all Stoke has a casino in walking distance... it would be nice if the fire was rekindled by the time I get back.
I guess the point of this post is to say that all in all its been a good year, both in life and poker (allbeit a bit hectic) and hopefully there will be a next year on Sky after I get back from Vegas....
Crushing poker, new job and a trip to vegas.......yeah not a bad year at all!
Good luck in Vegas as well, when are you off?
I'd imagine they'd want a 2:1 in a similar degree. Im sure it'd help. I got a 2:1 in Environmental Geosciences which had a little bit of statistics or mathematics... but nothing harder than A level stuff. Why do you ask? You looking to pursue something similar?
It's been a fantastic year, some amazing results in MTT's.
Definatly should keep this diary up when you start playing online again, one of the best diaries.
All this talk of vegas, i'm jealous now lol Will be a fantastic trip mate have a great time, you'll crush the tournies you play over there.
All the best with the new job too, exciting times. Sounds like a great opportunity.
So I started off with a few days in Vegas, then travelled to Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, drove through Death Valley and Yosemite before staying a week in San Francisco... and then ended the trip with a few more days in Vegas.
Grand Canyon really is quite impressive, as was the drive through Death Valley and Yosemite. That coupled with the fact that San Francisco is probably the nicest city ive ever been to has made the trip well worthwhile and id definitely recommend it.
Vegas however... bleurgh.
The place is great, but the poker has been just terrible.
The first couple of days I was down a fair bit after running bad (sets over sets) and the like. I cant really remember many hands from then as its now almost 3 weeks later but it wasnt great.
I came back to Vegas thinking positive but the first night I lost another $500 after pilling in chips with an open ended straight flush draw (and royal flush draw) only to be called by an underpair and I missed the lot. Queue going out and getting drunk instead.
Last night I ran OK. I wouldnt say great as my Aces were cracked twice, but I did a 12 hour stint and gradually worked my way up to +$700 for the night. Queue getting drunk to celebrate a winning session.
Tonight started well as I found myself $500 up after about 4 hours. Then all hell breaks loose. In the space of two hands I lost my $700 stack.
First hand was this:
I have QJo in big blind. We get a raise to $8 and 4 callers. Sometimes id repop it up here but the table didnt like to fold much and even say a 15bb raise would have got called by someone. I call. The flop is JJ4 no flush draw. I check and it gets checked around. Turn is a K. I check again. Loose aggro guy bets $25. Another guy calls. Now its time to pile the pressure on. I raise to $125. Loose aggro guy calls and the other guy folds. River is a 9. Q10 got there but the flush missed. Ive seen this guy pay off with rubbish so I have to bet/fold if raised. I lead for around $160 and he snaps.
He shows J9. Ouch. Nice little three outer there. Meh... onto the next hand.
I get dealt AA. Great. If theres ever a time to get AA its right after a bad beat when everyone thinks youre on tilt. A guy raises to $15 after a straddle. He gets 2 calls before me. I repop to $65 which looks like a nice squeeze from where im sat. He then reraises to to $140, I move all in and he dwells before calling. "I hope im flipping" he says. He's got JJ. First card out is a Jack and ive lost the lot.
Meh... i'll reload for another $200. Its not every day you get to play in Vegas. I pick up QQ. Long story short, he has AA. GG me.
Yuk Yuk Yuk Yuk.
Would have been nice to have a winning trip to Vegas but alas what can I do when the cards come like that? Suppose i'll save my run good for when I come back... whenever that is.
So I get my plane in a couple of hours... then have two days to move to Stoke before starting my new job.
Fun times.
Yes it is.
On a completely unrelated note and complete subject change... how dissapointing was the Dexter finale? I mean what the hell was that load of cr*p?
Season 6 was terrible.
Im thinking of playing a lot more live when I finalise my move to Stoke this week. Stoke has a Grosvenor casino and depending when im working I should be able to take advantage of having this casino in walking distance on a regular basis.
Although Vegas wasnt successful in terms of making money, it did boost my confidence a great deal in how to play live. I just need the cards to be a bit kinder and feel like it could be very profitable for me.
Plus, I can say without doubt that live poker is much more enjoyable than online poker. Although its very slow, depending on who you have on your table it can be a good laugh.
We shall see in the coming days. I move up tomorrow (to a pretty bare flat) and start my job on Wednesday. I have a lot to do but its a pretty exciting and challenging time but one I feel ready for.