March Recap

In my last post I said I wanted to have 350 MTTs in for March.

Ironically I got in exactly 350 MTTs. I hope to be able to put in this kind of volume every month.

The month ended at +$4,847.01

I FTd the 10r, 20r, both late $75s, and the $30c along with several non-guarantee $11 tourneys. Pretty decent month overall and just goes to show that when I put in the volume good things happen.

I've come up with a midstakes Sunday schedule that I'm really excited about.

I'll get more into it later cause I'm really tired right now.

Keep your heads up out there guys, good things happen to ppl who work for them :)

March 25th Update

A few days after my last post I got 2nd in the 30c for $2,100.

It's been pretty rough since then.

Last night I finally made my first FT in over 140 tourneys. I got 7th in the donkfest 10r and also got 3rd in a non-guarantee $10 tourney.

This game is a tough grind with long stretches of tremendous frustration. I feel like I've come a long way since last year in terms of consistently playing and not getting too down when I hit a downswing. My capacity to "play through it" is substantially better and my results reflect that.

I've played 256 MTTs so far in March with a week remaining. I'd like to have in 350 by months-end but if not oh well.

About a week ago I started playing some tourneys on Stars. Currently I'm running the two $33 freezeouts at 11pm and 2am server time. They are a nice compliment to my late night full tilt schedule and sure are better than grinding all the non-guarantee $10s on full tilt.

My goal is to build a roll on Stars and eventually be playing the Nightly Hundred Grand and Nightly Seventy Grand in addition to my current full tilt schedule. This will help me accomplish my goal of 100K profit this year.

Oh The Irony

I put off making the dreaded 'downswing' post until yesterday because I was waiting until I hit something to update my blog.

Obviously I hit something the next day ha...

I chopped the 20r heads up for 2.9k then went on to ICM chop the 20K for 3.4K.

Earlier in the night I also got 2nd in a non-guarantee $10 tourney for $360 and 4th in a non-guarantee $5c for like $260.

I feel like it's important and very interesting to note that I was down to less than HALF AN ANTE in the $5c with 22 players left.

My A10o lost to A8o aipf when the board came xxxx8. I was left with 126 chips with blinds at 600/1200 and antes at 300. Somehow I won my next several all-in hands in a row before picking up AA and doubling to like three blinds lol. I then got my chips in w/56ss in a multi-way pot and snapped off QQ to have something like 12 blinds. The entire experience was unreal and I went on to finish 4th.

It just goes to show that you really truly never know.

So tonight's four FTs for 7kish in cashes obv erases my ridiculous downswing and puts me back on the right track.

So...

I've been playing my ass off for the last couple weeks. I'm on such a ridiculous run. I've never bubbled more FTs or finished 9th or 8th in my life. I can't even remember what a top three score feels like. 

Currently I'm sitting on a fun little 5K downswing. 

I've been putting off blogging until I could hit something decent but this just isn't getting any better. Key coin flips are going all wrong. I can't stop running AQ into AK. And every time I have a hand like 1010 on the FT bubble or at the FT someone wakes up with QQ or better. I feel like I'm losing my mind. 

But I'm obv a huge advocate of BR management so the only thing devastated is my mindset. I've been able to keep getting in there and playing though so it's only a matter of time until something gives. 

Not Feeling Well Lately

My confidence is not where it should be. My motivation is not where it should be. My hunger to dominate is not where it should be. 

Last night I cut my session short because of how I was feeling. 

I hate when this happens to me. Any long time readers of my blog know exactly what I'm talking about. It's definitely related to the depression. 

I doubt it helps that my last FT was over 100 tourneys ago and that I'm on a 3K downswing. 

I'm also questioning whether or not I should be playing these FTOPS tourneys. 

I feel like I come up with great plans for success but then something like FTOPS comes along and tries to mess with my head. 

I feel like I HAVE to play them because the EV is so high yet I also know I'm likely to not do well in them and I'll be blowing like $1,500 on five tourneys. That is not part of my plan. 

So its like a catch 22. Damned if I do and damned if I don't. Either way I'm left feeling like I made a mistake. 

There's also some petty stuff in my personal life bothering me right now. 

It's kind of funny how my head works. It feels like I can deal with a maximum of just one thing at a time. If that thing is not going well I can handle it and nurse it back to normal eventually. 

But when more than one thing in my head is bothering me I seem to freak out. I start to feel like I'm losing control of all situations. It's very overwhelming and frustrating. 

Right now, about the only thing I feel like doing is drinking. 

Anyway, I hope it doesn't take me too long to pull out of this mental rut. 

Also, huge congrats to my long-time friend Justin "Arsonist88" Shelton for recently shipping a Triple Crown. He's put a lot of effort into the game over the last few years and deserves every bit of success he's had. 

Here's the link to an article on P5s about it. 

Feb 6th Update/Current Sched

Well nothing too exciting has been going on since my last post besides bubbling FTs like it's my job. 

Sunday, January 31st was the sickest Sunday I've ever seen in terms of prize pools. I played 16 MTTs that day and managed a deep run in the Brawl but busted like 105th. Besides a mincash in the Double Deuce and the 30r, that was all I could muster up. I knocked out Josh Arieh in the Brawl for an extra $240 and a tshirt so that was pretty cool. 

I ended up not playing the first three days in Feb. For some reason I was incredibly tired and slept for what felt like days. It was as if my explosive January finally allowed me to rest mentally and physically after four months of grinding and putting all of myself into the game. 

I feel like I'm back on track though and playing my updated late night schedule. It looks like this:

9:30 $55

9:45 $11

10:00 $26 

10:30 $10r

10:45 $11 KO

11:00 $109 6max

11:00 $26 6max KO

11:30 $11 6max

12:00 $75 KO

12:00 $11

12:30 $20r

12:35 $5 1r1a

1:00 $26

1:30 $30 1r1a

1:35 $15 super turbo KO

1:59 $75

2:00 $11 6max

So I'm looking at 17 MTTs at a cost of about $723 bucks. This puts my average buyin at $43. I feel really comfortable with this. 

My plan, as of right now, is to grind this late night sched and then grind a separate Sunday sched. Sundays will be just 8 MTTs. Those 8 MTTs start between 6:00pm and 8:00pm. My tentative Sunday sched looks like this:

6:00 $216 / 750K Guarantee

6:00 $26

6:35 $5r 6max

7:00 $75

7:05 $216 / Sunday Mulligan

7:30 $20r 6max

8:00 $163

8:00 $26

So this is 8 MTTs with a total cost of about $849. 

My reasoning behind playing only 8 tourneys on Sundays is based mostly in my comfort level (and partly in the timing). 

Sundays are expensive and bloody. By playing these 8 tourneys, I am spending a comfortable amount on buyins (only about $100 more than a regular session) while still taking my shots at big scores and taking advantage of all the EV on Sundays. 

This way I ensure Sundays don't devastate me financially or emotionally.

Also, because I'm grinding a late night schedule during the rest of the week, starting at 6:00pm on Sundays is very practical. 

Overall I feel like this is the perfect system/schedule/plan for me as it fits in with my comfort level very well. All I have to do now is just execute...

3rd in 30r

for just over 8K.

Fuck ya.

A score like this has been a long time coming imo. I followed excellent BR management for several months and saw my roll swing up and down time and time again. I knew if I stayed patient my breakthrough would come. Obv Double G's week was the best time for it :)