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Old 12-16-2005, 03:08 AM
ggbman ggbman is offline
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Default 18 Months of poker and what i have learned

Ok, so technically this is 10 days early, but I don’t want to write it up during the holidays. Some of you read this post where I chronicled my first year as an underage poker player. A lot has changed in the last 6 month, both good and bad, but in the poker realm it was mostly good. Over the summer, I moved up to 10-20 and 20-40 with some good success. I made around 40k over the summer, which was as much as I made during my first 12 months playing. The summer was very fun, I had a good time enjoying the last few months with my good friends, and making a lot of money didn’t hurt! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Coming into school in September, a lot was changing. I missed my good friends, and my relationship with my long-term girlfriend self destructed. I was in an emotional rut for quite a while. Fortunately, during September, I was also running very well and end up having my best month of poker ever (42k) which helped alleviate some of the emotional turbulence I was handling. However, I hit a wall in October. I was feeling good about my game, but unfortunately I was running obscenely bad at 100-200. I lost 43k in 6600 hands there, and ended the month down 20k. My grandmother also passed away, and combined with the worst month of poker career and adapting to college, it was not a fun month. I drank way too much, and I don’t’ mean normal go away to college drinking. Fortunately, I am a self-aware person, and I knew I needed to get myself back on a better track.

At the beginning of November, I flew out to Vegas out met up with some 2+2 buddies, including NLsoldier, BK, Schneider, etc… I have kinda idolized these guys for a while, so it was very cool to meet them in person, although I had already met some in September when I flew out to Minnesota to go to a Badgers game with them. Anyway, Vegas was an absolute blast, one of the best weekends of my life. This propelled me to a good start poker-wise in November. Around the 10th of November, I was bored one night and started playing 2K No-limit. I pulled a James and started running stupidly hot. Even though I was probably a marginal player, I started crushing the games. I made a stupid amount of $$$ in November, and I started to put some of my emotional baggage behind me. Not completely, but I was/am making good progress.

At the beginning of this month I took some shots at 25-50 and 50-100 NL. I don’t mind sharing figures since it wont come across as bragging. I had my biggest day ever on the first of the month, making 42k. By the 4th I was up 75k, and feeling great about my game. I then managed to pull a -63k downswing in 24 hours playing 25-50 NL, which made me reconsider if I wanted to deal with the emotional turbulence which comes with playing these stakes. Currently I have decided to stick to the 2K NL games, and the month has continued to be incredibly turbulent, but all things considered, I am doing well. I never thought I would have independent downswings of 63k, 38k, and 30k in 15 days and still be up 35 thousand dollars in that time span. I have invested a lot of time into improving my game, and I am pleased with the results. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

So, I have some words of wisdom that I would like to share. There are no absolutes in poker, so you will never hear me talk about them. But what I am absolutely sure of is that your biggest or worst day of poker will not be the best or worst day of your. Work hard, learn, and keep everything in perspective. Poker is a game to some, a job to others, but it should only be a small part of who you are regardless. I would like to say that from limited conversations with guys like BK, Schneider, James and company, I have learned a lot not only about poker, but how to balance it with the rest of your life. I hope to continue to improve at poker and at life, and especially at balancing the two of them together.

As far as moving up and taking shots, do so at your own comfort level. Don’t try to be like or keep pace with anyone. Some people get lucky at the right times and others don’t. But hard work and discipline will get you where you need to be. Also, what is even more important that learning the game is learning to be content. I still have a lot to learn in this regard. I can honestly say that I don’t want to be that guy that doesn’t know when to stop pushing himself; who always needs to be the best to be happy. Focus on getting yourself to a point where you can make the most money with the least emotional turbulence. If you can lose enough money to ruin your day, you’re playing to high. No matter what, be grateful for what you have. In poker and in life, [censored] hits the fan sometimes. This is kind of corny, but I’ll say it anyway. I’m 18 so naturally I ignore a good portion of the advice my parents give me, but one thing my father told always seems to ring true. He said, “Son, everyone gets opportunities, some people just make more out of them.” If you want to be a good poker player, there will be ups, there will be downs, but you will only set yourself back by feeling sorry for yourself and letting it affect your outside life. Deal with it, move on, and don’t let poker affect the way you are when your not playing/

I have a lot of goals for the next few years, and many of them don’t pertain to poker. My new years resolution will be to get back in good physical shape and be more outgoing and meet people in college. I want to continue to improve my game as well, but this will take a back seat to other parts of my life. I hope some people find this helpful, that is the main reason I am writing it. I am very grateful for being blessed, and remorseful for when I don’t appreciate it enough. I would like to thank my family, friends, and 2+2 for the support that has allowed me to get where I am today.

Peace,

Gabe
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Old 12-16-2005, 04:00 AM
Entity Entity is offline
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Default Re: 18 Months of poker and what i have learned

Good post Gabe. Not much else I can say but I gotta give you props.
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Old 12-16-2005, 04:12 AM
The Truth The Truth is offline
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Default Re: 18 Months of poker and what i have learned

Awesome post man, good to have you around.

blake
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  #4  
Old 12-16-2005, 04:31 AM
Klepton Klepton is offline
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Default Re: 18 Months of poker and what i have learned

[ QUOTE ]
I then managed to pull a -63k downswing in 24 hours playing 25-50 NL

[/ QUOTE ]

i don't understand this. don't you have a stop loss?
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  #5  
Old 12-16-2005, 04:34 AM
ggbman ggbman is offline
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Default Re: 18 Months of poker and what i have learned

No, i felt i was +EV in the games i was playing, i was playing a lot against a guy who is known for running up his role at 10-20 and losing it at 25-50. He had major leaks in his game, icluding opening hands like K6s and calling re-raises. It might have been possible to "only" lose 50k over this stretch, but most of it was brutal luck. I have seen plenty of good and bad variance latley.

Also, just to clarify, i lost 38k one night and 25 the next morning, it was not all in one session, but it was within 24 hours.
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  #6  
Old 12-16-2005, 04:59 AM
Sponger15SB Sponger15SB is offline
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Default Re: 18 Months of poker and what i have learned

So you've been playing $2k NL or higher for one month. lol, you're such a seasoned pro.
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  #7  
Old 12-16-2005, 05:03 AM
Sponger15SB Sponger15SB is offline
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Default Re: 18 Months of poker and what i have learned

[ QUOTE ]
No, i felt i was +EV in the games i was playing, i was playing a lot against a guy who is known for running up his role at 10-20 and losing it at 25-50. He had major leaks in his game, icluding opening hands like K6s and calling re-raises.

[/ QUOTE ]

ruh roh? You talking about fish daddy here?
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Old 12-16-2005, 05:04 AM
ggbman ggbman is offline
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Default Re: 18 Months of poker and what i have learned

Haha not at all, just running well in general, particularly in the 2K NL. I think i may have have run a bit poorly in my higher shots, but in general i was detered by the variance i had. (And note that my both my upswings and my downswings were ubscene given the time frame BB wise, not $$$-wise)
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  #9  
Old 12-16-2005, 07:02 AM
Weatherhead03 Weatherhead03 is offline
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Default Re: 18 Months of poker and what i have learned

That was a good read. You speak of many very true points. GL in the future.
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  #10  
Old 12-16-2005, 07:21 AM
POKhER POKhER is offline
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Default Re: 18 Months of poker and what i have learned

Dam man, i got a bad habit of comparing my self to others. You 18 and so am i... Only difference is. You play 20/40 and i play 1/2 and take shots at 2/4 6max [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] LOL.

These kind of posts, as with BK's also - Really make me want to move up faster. I guess its because the money sounds so amazing and i've always considered money to be a part of happyness in the sense it removes a worry of "When will we next eat?".

Nice post, added to favourites to motivate me.
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