A picture showcasing what you'd already described what you'd done; my weekend is complete. Posted by hhyftrftdr
Cheers man, glad I could make your day.
Cracking day of football here Everton smashing it with 4 goals for the Kak who I've got in FF couple of goals for Defoe in FF, and the icing on the cake, Pool with another terrible result. Opening the doors again for Spurs and Utd to gain some points/increase their lead.
Vwp Hull. The table looks really exciting at the bottom! 6 teams all within 2 points of each other, gonna be a great end to the season. Obviously at the other end of the table it's pretty much gg short of some horror liverpool style slip up from Chelsea.
Did my longest run of the year so far yesterday, just over 4 miles in about 53 mins. The pace aint great atm but just focussing on trying to up the distance cos I aint got long to get ready for this half marathon and up to now the longest I've ever ran non stop is just shy of 8km.... while a half mara is 21km.
9.63 miles done in Feb now.
Sat in having to wait around for delivery men all day. We ordered a new corner sofa and matching arm chair pre x-mas and it's finally due today. Had to put the 2 and 3 seater outside last night for the council pick up and they're gone now so sat in a vv empty looking living room... I'd provide a photo but who knows when it'd be approved
Also waiting on a washer/dryer coming too.
====================================
Cracking weekend of footy obvvv. Liverpool loss, Utd, Spurs and Everton win, doesn't get much better than that. I can't remember where they were for sure but did Liverpool drop from 2nd to 5th this weekend? Blowssss if so.
Bossed the FF this week too, I had been lagging behind a bit in my league but this week put me back in contention.
@Phantom - wow, that is impressive, no idea how this one got approved so quickly.
@Jac - Umm, I dunno, possibly, I am going very slow like cos I am pretty unfit/never been good at long distance/endurance stuff. Pace was 13mins per mile which is about the slowest I ever 'run', was doing about 10 mins per mile the other day but then that was over half the distance.
Cos I'm trying to train for a half marathon JJ always banged on at me to ignore speed and just focus on distance and not stopping.
Not much to post atm but thought I'd add today's run onto my running total for Feb otherwise I'll forget. Upped the distance today, still going at snail pace but as Gary and JJ keep telling me, it's all about getting lots of distance done at this stage. 4.77 miles done today in 1hr 3 mins.
Total for Feb: 14.4 miles
Just about on target for 50 miles if I carry on as I am, but obviously the goal is for my runs to get longer and longer so it 'should' be easy...
Gonna have a bash next time to see if I can push for 6 miles, maybe even whack on an extra half mile and I'll have completed half of a half marathon. Big jump in distance though.
====================
Not a big moan cos obviously it's a freeroll so it's all free money but imo the 10th birthday freeroll is a bit disappointing. It's a pretty milestone for Sky and they've put on a freeroll that is (iirc) about as good as the freeroll they run 7 nights a week, every week.
I did snap register it when I spotted the password just after midday in case it filled up super quick cos I was expecting something big... then I looked at the prizepool lol, I've de-regged now so someone else can have my space (assuming it makes the 2500 cap)
Congrats on smashing the hour, that's a major landmark. Couch, to 5K, to 1 hour. Bravo, you're making excellent progress.
Don't worry about pace at this stage, that'll naturally come later by itself without you even trying. Just focus on time on your feet. Walk breaks are fine, recommended even. Run/walk is a very popular and proven method of improving your stamina/endurance. Loads of people take walk breaks in half marathons, I'd estimate at least 50% of the field do. Probably 75%+ in full marathons. Managing 70 minutes on your feet by alternating say 5 minutes jog/ 1 minute walk (from the start, even when you don't feel like you need to walk) gives more physiological benefit than 60 minutes of non-stop jogging. Later you can reduce then eliminate the walking bits if you so wish.
You asked about warm-up. I do hardly anything. No stretching, just a brisk walk from my house to where I start running, which is about 0.1 mile. I start with a relaxed jog and keep it easy for at least the first mile.
I had a brutal session in my marathon training plan yesterday. 7 continuous miles at half-marathon race pace. I ran very easy for 3 miles to warm-up, plus 1.5 miles to warm-down after, so 11.5 miles total. I surprised myself and averaged 7-38/mile pace over the 7 mile HM section. My pace was 7-49/mile when I set my HM PB of 1-42-30 in Cardiff in November, so I know I'm going well at the moment.
I have been doing one day on, one day off with my runs so far, to give myself one rest day in between each run (running on Mon, Wed and Fri). I was gonna break that routine and squeeze another run in today but for the first time pretty much since starting to run at all pre x-mas I woke up today and both my thighs and calves just felt absolutely wrecked.
I'm sure they'll be fine for tomorrow.
Do you think it's a good strat to be having a rest day inbetween runs? I mean obviously you gotta 'listen to your body/legs' and if they are proper dead then you need a rest, but assuming you feel fine, would you be happy running as often as you feel fine to?
Cheers for all the advice and support Gary. I have been doing one day on, one day off with my runs so far, to give myself one rest day in between each run (running on Mon, Wed and Fri). I was gonna break that routine and squeeze another run in today but for the first time pretty much since starting to run at all pre x-mas I woke up today and both my thighs and calves just felt absolutely wrecked. I'm sure they'll be fine for tomorrow. Do you think it's a good strat to be having a rest day inbetween runs? I mean obviously you gotta 'listen to your body/legs' and if they are proper dead then you need a rest, but assuming you feel fine, would you be happy running as often as you feel fine to? Posted by Lambert180
You're doing the right thing, that rest is absolutely crucial. You need to keep the balance right between training and recovery to improve. Pushing tired legs to do even more before they're ready is a big mistake. That'll just wear your muscles down until you either break-down with an injury, or quit running because it's a horrible experience (due to unneccesary exhaustion). A day of complete rest, or another kind of exercise (aka cross training), is best between your three runs at this stage. That'll give your body time to adapt to the stimulus generated by the exercise, and your fitness will improve.
Later you'll get fit enough to run more often that 3 times a week if you want. But for now 3 is probably optimal. Even though I've been running for 2y 9mo and I'm in marathon training, I still run no more than 5 days per week, with 2 days of complete rest. At least 2 of my 5 running days are always 'recovery days', so only relaxed easy running is allowed. That leaves a maximum of 3 harder runs each week. For example the day after the tough HM session I mentioned above I went out for a 5 mile jog @ 9m-30s pace. My legs felt surprisingly good and I easily could have run further and/or further had I wanted, but I know how important it is to have either a rest or very easy day after any hard session to get the full benefit.
Not much to post atm but thought I'd add today's run onto my running total for Feb otherwise I'll forget. Upped the distance today, still going at snail pace but as Gary and JJ keep telling me, it's all about getting lots of distance done at this stage. 4.77 miles done today in 1hr 3 mins. Total for Feb: 14.4 miles Just about on target for 50 miles if I carry on as I am, but obviously the goal is for my runs to get longer and longer so it 'should' be easy... Gonna have a bash next time to see if I can push for 6 miles, maybe even whack on an extra half mile and I'll have completed half of a half marathon. Big jump in distance though. ==================== Not a big moan cos obviously it's a freeroll so it's all free money but imo the 10th birthday freeroll is a bit disappointing. It's a pretty milestone for Sky and they've put on a freeroll that is (iirc) about as good as the freeroll they run 7 nights a week, every week. I did snap register it when I spotted the password just after midday in case it filled up super quick cos I was expecting something big... then I looked at the prizepool lol, I've de-reggednow so someone else can have my space (assuming it makes the 2500 cap) Anyway, it's all free money I guess. Posted by Lambert180
Had a mini moan on FB mixed up with a lol @ the liverpool result...
Am I the only one who is masssssssively bored with alll the 6th jokes RE Man Utd, at least we've only had to put up with them for half a season like but the 4th place jokes about Arsenal mannnn is there anyone anywhere that still thinks they're funny? It's all you see on Twitter/FB from these bookie pages and 'comedy' sports pages.
Warning!! - This is going to be a moany post so if you don't fancy reading that, it's best you save yourself the time and stop now. As hard as it may be to believe, I actually don't like moaning but when you commit to doing a diary, then it's best (imo) to be honest, and post about how you genuinely feel. There's no point BS'ing and pretending to be positive 100% of the time when most people aren't in reality or just hiding away and being the 'only post when you're winning' type so sometimes the diary takes a very moany turn cos that's how you feel. It's how I've been feeling for months now. I aint busto'd my roll (yet!) before anyone asks but I've deffo busto'd any shred of confidence I had left in my game. Just been consistently losing and/or breaking even for 6 months straight now. Roll has taken a bit of a knock ofc because while I haven't lost much I am obv withdrawing every month but that's not the main issue. I just have no faith in my ability to beat any format any more. Thankfully, I've had the roll to keep withdrawing month in, month out throughout this period So that's just the poker stuff out the way which actually in the grand scheme of things isn't so bad. For anyone who is mates with me or keeps up to date with my diary, you'll know that one of my daughters (Lily) who has just turned 8 has had a multitude of hurdles since she was born, too many for me to list them all, but she has some physical disabilities along with EDS and has recently been diagnosed with austism too. As of late, the 'symptoms' of which have escalated vvrapidly, she's becoming generally more unhappy, more angry, progressivly more violent/physically aggressive, she's often refusing to eat, refusing to sleep, she is swearing (seemingly involuntarily) at pretty much everyone, me, Emma, the teachers, other kids in her class, her sister Leah (5yr old) who is also becoming really upset by this whole situation. Naturally other parents at school are hearing about this behaviour and 'comments' have been made to the teachers apparently, although they made a point of saying they were comments and not complaints. The teachers are struggling to cope and hints have already been made (imo) at her being excluded/expelled from the school, which would be awful for Lily because she is SO reliant on routine etc that a whole different school would probably make her lose the plot. Suffice to say I (and Emma ofc) are stressed beyond belief. We're chasing up all of their relevant agencies etc RE: her mental health but most who have been in similar positions before will know that they are all vvvv slow to get anything done. I also considered getting a 'proper' job for a bit for some added security etc but having discussed it with Emma, it's just notfeasible given Emma's ongoing condition and the insane level of care Lily needs. So inbetween all of that, and poker I'm just losing the plot lol! Not really sure how to end this, cos I'm not really sure where I'm going atm but I really wanted to vent it all. I know this is pretty much not poker related at all, but it felt like a good place to get it out (for me). Not sure what poker I'll be playing this month, thinking of 'doing a Dohhh' and going back to absolute basics, start at the lowest of the low again (for a bit at least), get some confidence going etc, prove to myself I can actually beat some form of poker, and if I can't beat 4NL then it really is gg! Posted by Lambert180
hi lambert ive read what you was saying about having a tough time at poker and tough time in life i think generally the 2 are linked. i think u just need a break form poker and try and solve some of the problems in your main life then your reluts will get better chin up m8
Hope things have improved for you since the post quoted above!
If things are much the same - I would ask if you are enjoying your poker at the moment? Are you looking forward to every session etc.
It sounds like the confidence has taken a little knock which can result in us 'trying too hard'. I find when I try too hard it can be really tough going. By far the majority of any successes I have had have been when I have been really enjoying the game. Also if you are not enjoying it then it can be easy to just 'go through the motions', miss little bits of information that are available and not get off those spots that it is reasonable not to get away from but that when you are 'zoned in' you would invariably get away from.
If you feel you are not enjoying it the same (and you would rather not have a break) I would suggest mixing up the poker routine. Maybe find a new poker book you want to read, play at different times, find a poker show you haven't seen and start watching it, join a training site and get involved in their forum etc etc. Just basically anything that can spark that interest and enjoyment of playing poker again.
Really hope everything goes well with your daughter and family, sounds like you have been having a very challenging time.
Wow, you really must have been reading back through the diary! I don't know off the top of my head but that quoted post must be the better part of 12 months old now.
Thank you both for the concern/advice.
@Marky - I have pretty much been on a break for 12 months tbh. I've played bits and bobs over that period and have mostly enjoyed it, because I've been playing specifically when I feel like I actually WANT to play rather than when I NEED to to earn a living. I gotta give a big shout out to a lad I know on here (I won't name him incase he wants to remain anonymous), he was the person that introduced me to Matched Betting ~12 months ago and that is what's allowed me to take this break from poker. It's been a pretty unreal source of income and takes a fraction of the amount of time I used to spend playing poker (and 0 of the brain power required).
I am dipping my toe back in the water of poker more recently and the fact I have the sturdy other income means I can be a lot more detached about results although I can't see myself full on grinding again any time soon... mostly just because it's so hard to fit in the time required around everything else atm.
RE: Matched Betting... Can't wait for Cheltenhammmm, gonna be worth a bucket load of £££
I can't remember my last update RE: Lily but the the lady from the local council admits the private school for primary school aged children exists now and so the process begins at looking at getting her in there if the public schools don't have a place (which we still haven't heard back about).
Proper dreadful week of FF so far, must have been what, 25 goals scored yesterday? and my players got the grand total of 1 of them (Mane), I would have had a 2nd from Zlatan but he decided to miss the penalty and get me minus points instead. I was counting on being saved by a captained Aguero who has 2 games... I thought the odd person might do the same as me, but turns out every man and his dog brought in Aguero and captained him this week so it's worthless now... I'm almost anti-railing him now cos some people triple captained him and I haven't!
Ha yeah I just seen the post quoted above and assumed it was relatively recent.
Glad things seem to be less turbulent!
Haven't heard of matched betting but heard one of the WSOP final tablists going on about FF betting last year. Will need to add both to the 'to do' list and check them out.
im glad everything is fine now lambert. but its a good pointer in general too not play poker when your mind is not in the right place and as you have shown you have had tough times and came though it it wilkl make you a better person and a better player for it gl . ps my english aint that great but i hope you can understand what im saying.
Ha yeah I just seen the post quoted above and assumed it was relatively recent. Glad things seem to be less turbulent! Haven't heard of matched betting but heard one of the WSOP final tablists going on about FF betting last year. Will need to add both to the 'to do' list and check them out. Posted by markycash
I don't actually bet on Fantasy Footy, well no more than the fact I'm in a league with a few poker mates and we have a very small amount of £££ on 'manager of the month' each month and overall winner. It's just a bit of fun
Matched betting on the other hand, is an absolute gold mine although I'm not sure how much I can say on here. In short, it's essentially exploiting the offers that bookies do to make guaranteed £££.
im glad everything is fine now lambert. but its a good pointer in general too not play poker when your mind is not in the right place and as you have shown you have had tough times and came though it it wilkl make you a better person and a better player for it gl . ps my english aint that great but i hope you can understand what im saying. Posted by reeler
Yeah don't worry, I totally understand, your English seems pretty perfect to me.
I completely agree, so often bad runs in poker leak over into real life and put you in a bad mood, then likewise bad stuff in real life very often leaks into your poker game, you start to get tilted quicker than normal, which leads to losing more, which leads to tilting more. T
Thanks for the concern and yes things are definitely better than they were 12 months ago.
Alright Lambert - Just wondering how you were getting on with your match betting. Not sure if its just me but the offers have dried up and seem to becoming tighter with more restrictions. However i have joined that site again with the offer of £1 for platinum membership for a week
Was also wondering if you take part in casino promos as i know your never gtd a profit in them but you can get an edge depending on wagering requirements or points in casino tournaments.
Hey MP, things are going really well. It's really weird but yesterday was to the day 1 year from when I signed up to PA and you are the third person who randomly asked me how it was going yesterday. So yeah I've been doing it pretty much dead on 12 months now and have just about broken the £20k profit mark. I absolutely love it tbh, love that it's low variance and so quick/easy. I only spend about 10-15hr on it per week now absolute max, often less than that, and never fail to make 4 figures per month.
I guess it comes with experience being able to spot quickly which offers are worth your time and get them done quick etc. Deffo a smart idea to sign back up for £1, with Cheltenham coming up if you can't make 100x that sign up fee you've done something reallllly wrong imo.
I'd say the offers are definitely changing but imo over the last few months they are better than ever. They aren't such a walk in a park of just simply 'bet £10, get £10' etc but they can be a ton more profitable if you've got the bank to be putting on big stakes. Off the top of my head...
Will Hill select a few footy matches per day and will give a 25% profit boost if the game has 4 or more goals in it. Back/lay and hope. I've had it come in for me on all 4 CL matches this week when I backed Bayern, Dortmund, Barca and Real. If you're sticking on £20then the wins will be rubbish obv, but if you're sticking on £200-300 per game it's pretty tasty EV.
Paddy '2up' - On all La Liga and Premiership games if your team go 2 goals up Paddy pay out instantly, then if your team ended up not winning, you'd win at Paddy cos they've already paid out AND win at the exchange. Few people won £2-3k profit just on the City v Spurs match a few weeks ago when it ended 2-2. It's a pretty rare occurence to go 2up and lose but once your team go 2up you can just lock-in gtd profit at that point by backing your own team. Again, gotta be doing big stakes.
Coral WWGI - Back a team in selected matches, if they win both halves, Coral double your profit on the bet. Again a relatively unlikely outcome but once your team win the first half you can lock in gtd profit by just laying your team to win the 2nd half.
In short, I think it's changed a bit in that there's not loads of little FBs to be had. Now you gotta bet bigger, take bigger QLs on longer shots but it's all massively +EV and the payouts are way bigger. Imo it's better than ever atm.
Yes I do any of the casino offers where 1) the EV is decent and 2) the max loss isn't ridic. Like there are some where it's £80 worth of EV but you gotta wager £5000 on Blackjack or whatever, and I know all too well what variance can be like so I cba getting in spots where I can lose huge for relatively small wins.
Hey MP, things are going really well. It's really weird but yesterday was to the day 1 year from when I signed up to PA and you are the third person who randomly asked me how it was going yesterday. So yeah I've been doing it pretty much dead on 12 months now and have just about broken the £20k profit mark. I absolutely love it tbh, love that it's low variance and so quick/easy. I only spend about 10-15hr on it per week now absolute max, often less than that, and never fail to make 4 figures per month. I guess it comes with experience being able to spot quickly which offers are worth your time and get them done quick etc. Deffo a smart idea to sign back up for £1, with Cheltenham coming up if you can't make 100x that sign up fee you've done something reallllly wrong imo. I'd say the offers are definitely changing but imo over the last few months they are better than ever. They aren't such a walk in a park of just simply 'bet £10, get £10' etc but they can be a ton more profitable if you've got the bank to be putting on big stakes. Off the top of my head... Will Hill select a few footy matches per day and will give a 25% profit boost if the game has 4 or more goals in it. Back/lay and hope. I've had it come in for me on all 4 CL matches this week when I backed Bayern, Dortmund, Barca and Real. If you're sticking on £20 then the wins will be rubbish obv, but if you're sticking on £200-300 per game it's pretty tasty EV. Paddy '2up' - On all La Liga and Premiership games if your team go 2 goals up Paddy pay out instantly, then if your team ended up not winning, you'd win at Paddy cos they've already paid out AND win at the exchange. Few people won £2-3k profit just on the City v Spurs match a few weeks ago when it ended 2-2. It's a pretty rare occurence to go 2up and lose but once your team go 2up you can just lock-in gtd profit at that point by backing your own team. Again, gotta be doing big stakes. Coral WWGI - Back a team in selected matches, if they win both halves , Coral double your profit on the bet. Again a relatively unlikely outcome but once your team win the first half you can lock in gtd profit by just laying your team to win the 2nd half. In short, I think it's changed a bit in that there's not loads of little FBs to be had. Now you gotta bet bigger, take bigger QLs on longer shots but it's all massively +EV and the payouts are way bigger. Imo it's better than ever atm. Yes I do any of the casino offers where 1) the EV is decent and 2) the max loss isn't ridic. Like there are some where it's £80 worth of EV but you gotta wager £5000 on Blackjack or whatever, and I know all too well what variance can be like so I cba getting in spots where I can lose huge for relatively small wins. Posted by Lambert180
Among the many questions this all begs, the one that sticks out is why aren't more people doing it?
In Response to Re: Lambert180 ----- Life After The Grind ------- : Among the many questions this all begs, the one that sticks out is why aren't more people doing it? Posted by hhyftrftdr
There are lot's doing it. Unfortunately the online bookies soon restrict you or close your account, including SKY bet with me and many others. They like giving the offers to mug punters but soon become wise to punters that expolit them.
In Response to Re: Lambert180 ----- Life After The Grind ------- : Among the many questions this all begs, the one that sticks out is why aren't more people doing it? Posted by hhyftrftdr
im supposing it takes abit o time studying the markets finding the price boosts on all sites and most people cba when you just want to put a 2 quid accy on sky..dedication mate
In Response to Re: Lambert180 ----- Life After The Grind ------- : im supposing it takes abit o time studying the markets finding the price boosts on all sites and most people cba when you just want to put a 2 quid accy on sky..dedication mate Posted by stokefc
nope ... all the 'finding' is done for us. For the sign up costs OFC
I'd imagine there are a variety of reasons why there aren't more doing it, probably by an absolute mile the most common one will be that people don't know it exists, I had no idea what matched betting was 12 months, had never heard the term etc. I imagine that applies to most people.
Probably the 2nd largest reason is that of the few people that do hear about it, the vast majority probably think it's some kind of scam, pretty much all 'schemes' where it's easy money or get rich quick are, and it's pretty standard to think 'if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is'. If I'd have stumbled across info about matched betting myself I'd have almost certainly written it off in the same way and not given it a chance, but it was recommended to me by a Sky reg that I trusted and that was the only reason I gave it a shot.
Loads of other reasons, it requires a decent bankroll that most don't have, a lot of people are just lazy, a lot of people don't wanna do 40+ hr a week in their job and then come home and effectively do another few hours of work every night, a lot of people actually enjoy gambling and would rather big wins here and there (even if they lose longterm) over slow and steady 'boring' lots of small wins.
In Response to Re: Lambert180 ----- Life After The Grind ------- : nope ... all the 'finding' is done for us. For the sign up costs OFC Posted by Boxster
Comments
If things are much the same - I would ask if you are enjoying your poker at the moment? Are you looking forward to every session etc.
It sounds like the confidence has taken a little knock which can result in us 'trying too hard'. I find when I try too hard it can be really tough going. By far the majority of any successes I have had have been when I have been really enjoying the game. Also if you are not enjoying it then it can be easy to just 'go through the motions', miss little bits of information that are available and not get off those spots that it is reasonable not to get away from but that when you are 'zoned in' you would invariably get away from.
If you feel you are not enjoying it the same (and you would rather not have a break) I would suggest mixing up the poker routine. Maybe find a new poker book you want to read, play at different times, find a poker show you haven't seen and start watching it, join a training site and get involved in their forum etc etc. Just basically anything that can spark that interest and enjoyment of playing poker again.
Really hope everything goes well with your daughter and family, sounds like you have been having a very challenging time.
Best of luck for 2017 onwards!
Glad things seem to be less turbulent!
Haven't heard of matched betting but heard one of the WSOP final tablists going on about FF betting last year. Will need to add both to the 'to do' list and check them out.
Was also wondering if you take part in casino promos as i know your never gtd a profit in them but you can get an edge depending on wagering requirements or points in casino tournaments.
MP
I guess it comes with experience being able to spot quickly which offers are worth your time and get them done quick etc. Deffo a smart idea to sign back up for £1, with Cheltenham coming up if you can't make 100x that sign up fee you've done something reallllly wrong imo.
I'd say the offers are definitely changing but imo over the last few months they are better than ever. They aren't such a walk in a park of just simply 'bet £10, get £10' etc but they can be a ton more profitable if you've got the bank to be putting on big stakes. Off the top of my head...