"Depend on the rabbit's foot if you will, but remember it didn't work for the rabbit." R. E. Shay
A few people have asked me why recenlty I've been including quotes in my blogs. It's simple I feel that why rack your brain trying to say something motivational, meaningful and direct when the chances are somebody has already said something better before you. We should be using their words and quotes are the truly inspirational advise that we should all look to. Think about it, the greatest men in history are remembered for what they said more than what they did - Martin Luther King "dream" is one example of many.
So onto todays blog - concentrating on luck, randomness and how it can effect our life. I seriously recommend that everyone should read Nassim Nicholas Taleb's books fooled by randomness and The black swan to try and understand that we should not overestimate things.
Anyway, a few of my friends - the cannon, ironman, and brucey - are all in Vegas for the World Series of Poker, trust me team dropout are going to hit the main event like never before. Every year each of them is getting better and better. Ironman has cashed in 2 out of 2 main events, he has the game for that tournament and I reckon he will go deep again (provided he sats in for a seat). The Cannon will do awesome, expect to see his name up among the chip leaders early on because that is his style. Finally Brucey has just got better and better year on year and this will be his ultimate turning point. I'm looking forward to being out there in November to see all 3 at the final table :p
Also good luck to John Tabatabai my mentor and friend. This guy taught me how to play properly, had faith in me and took me under his wings. If it wasn't for him I'd be nowhere right now so thanks buddy. I reccomend reading his blog http://betting.betfair.com/poker/tabatabai/ its so good and you will see he has changed himself mentally for this year so with the right attitude along with his amazing game this will be a good year for him.
There we are - a blog not about me :) done and done. So I'll write again soon.
Sunday 20 June 2010
Tuesday 15 June 2010
Sun, Sea and sand?
"It is the set of the sails, not the direction of the wind that determines which way we will go. " Jim Rohn
Wow it is getting hot!
Malta summer is incredible, sure there is the drop of rain now and again but mainly it's just hot, hot and ummm hot! At times it can be so warm the air can be so thick that it is so hard to walk around, sleeping at night can be a pain, power cuts are such a regular occurence that it's as if I'm living in a third world country but does that make me dislike living here.... NOPE! If anything it gives the place a bit of character, it's like a 3 legged dog, sure it can't chase the ball run around or sit properly but you love it none the less and it's missing leg is just a metaphor, kind of proof that nothing is perfect in life but things can be pretty darn good nevertheless!
I had a mate come over and visit me and it kind of hit home that hang on, all I've done since I have been here is go from home to work, work to home, home to nights out and nights out (normally continuing till 8 am) to home again. I'm in this amazing country with so many amazing features and I had seen so little of it, this had to change. So we went to this town called Valletta, really close to my house. It's got some incredible gardens that have statues everywhere and is right on the coast and, well I kind of can't explain how beautiful it is but it just is. We had a great day walking around taking our time and just absorbing the town, I also bought my first pair of flip flops, which are pretty darn hard to master but I'll learn.
In the evening we went to this town called Mdina. It's like this ancient town with windy roads and old castle like buildings. We went for dinner and cake in this very reasonably priced restaurant and had a really nice evening, it was all so relazing and so enjoyable :)
It was nice to finally get to see this amazing country - sure it is good for nights out and great for the weather but there is so much more that I am yet to see. In fact in just over a week I am heading to Gozo which is this small island, for my housemates girlfriends birthday. It should be fun, but on the saturday Dash Berlin and Calvin Harris are playing this trance night here! I've really gotten back into my trance music now which is good.
In fact talking about music I've got into these two artists, Valkill and Viro the Virus, there kind of hard rap but are lyrical genius' they continue to amaze me and have great lines.
So onto the poker bankroll management, guess what I failed on my strict plan, but for reasons I know, and I was planning to break it on this occasion. Bevertheless I am now up to 50$and am confident that I can re-discipline myself (I didn't shoot up too high too soon, just played some games I shouldn't of, but I didn't get bitten so a lucky escape.)
Ok so those who don't want to know any bets leave now :)
So the World Cup has officially kicked off and I have decided to do a number of full length of the tournament bets. Lets get those out there now as quick as possible :)
Before the tournament I backed:
Holland to win
Van Persie Top scorer
France to go out in the group stages
Klose top scorer
Holland Spain final
Nigeria furthest African team.
Some of these look in good shape, others don't but it has only been one group game and Nigeria did have Argentina :)
For the next two days I am looking at like 1 or 2 bets a game so here they are:
New Zealnd v Slovakia
1 point New Zealand Draw no bet @6.4
8 points Under 3.5 goals@1.3
IVory Coast v Portugal
4 points portugal @ 2.24
2 points Ronaldo Anytime @2.92
Brazil v North Korea
8 points over 2.5 goals @1.68
4 points Fabiano anytime @1.95
1 point Scorecast Fabiano and Any other score @32
Good luck and chill :)
Wow it is getting hot!
Malta summer is incredible, sure there is the drop of rain now and again but mainly it's just hot, hot and ummm hot! At times it can be so warm the air can be so thick that it is so hard to walk around, sleeping at night can be a pain, power cuts are such a regular occurence that it's as if I'm living in a third world country but does that make me dislike living here.... NOPE! If anything it gives the place a bit of character, it's like a 3 legged dog, sure it can't chase the ball run around or sit properly but you love it none the less and it's missing leg is just a metaphor, kind of proof that nothing is perfect in life but things can be pretty darn good nevertheless!
I had a mate come over and visit me and it kind of hit home that hang on, all I've done since I have been here is go from home to work, work to home, home to nights out and nights out (normally continuing till 8 am) to home again. I'm in this amazing country with so many amazing features and I had seen so little of it, this had to change. So we went to this town called Valletta, really close to my house. It's got some incredible gardens that have statues everywhere and is right on the coast and, well I kind of can't explain how beautiful it is but it just is. We had a great day walking around taking our time and just absorbing the town, I also bought my first pair of flip flops, which are pretty darn hard to master but I'll learn.
In the evening we went to this town called Mdina. It's like this ancient town with windy roads and old castle like buildings. We went for dinner and cake in this very reasonably priced restaurant and had a really nice evening, it was all so relazing and so enjoyable :)
It was nice to finally get to see this amazing country - sure it is good for nights out and great for the weather but there is so much more that I am yet to see. In fact in just over a week I am heading to Gozo which is this small island, for my housemates girlfriends birthday. It should be fun, but on the saturday Dash Berlin and Calvin Harris are playing this trance night here! I've really gotten back into my trance music now which is good.
In fact talking about music I've got into these two artists, Valkill and Viro the Virus, there kind of hard rap but are lyrical genius' they continue to amaze me and have great lines.
So onto the poker bankroll management, guess what I failed on my strict plan, but for reasons I know, and I was planning to break it on this occasion. Bevertheless I am now up to 50$and am confident that I can re-discipline myself (I didn't shoot up too high too soon, just played some games I shouldn't of, but I didn't get bitten so a lucky escape.)
Ok so those who don't want to know any bets leave now :)
So the World Cup has officially kicked off and I have decided to do a number of full length of the tournament bets. Lets get those out there now as quick as possible :)
Before the tournament I backed:
Holland to win
Van Persie Top scorer
France to go out in the group stages
Klose top scorer
Holland Spain final
Nigeria furthest African team.
Some of these look in good shape, others don't but it has only been one group game and Nigeria did have Argentina :)
For the next two days I am looking at like 1 or 2 bets a game so here they are:
New Zealnd v Slovakia
1 point New Zealand Draw no bet @6.4
8 points Under 3.5 goals@1.3
IVory Coast v Portugal
4 points portugal @ 2.24
2 points Ronaldo Anytime @2.92
Brazil v North Korea
8 points over 2.5 goals @1.68
4 points Fabiano anytime @1.95
1 point Scorecast Fabiano and Any other score @32
Good luck and chill :)
Wednesday 2 June 2010
Either Find a Way or Make a Way
What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog. (Dwight D. Eisenhower)
Essentially all that matters now is ambition, dreams, realisation and determination. As Jesse Owens said "We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort."
This really got me thinking about myself and my ambitions. I love playing poker with mates and really enjoy it online too, I'm out on my own backing myself in poker now, no support just me and my passion. The thing is the only way you can improve at something you love doing is if you still love doing it. When something becomes obligatory all of a sudden it becomes a chore, and when it is a chore it no longer becomes fun. Who in this world enjoyed those chores they had to do for pocket money... nobody, but you did it to reach the end reward and that was your motivation. The thing is money motivates us, but so does passion and enjoyment. Sure it would be immense to make a million off of poker in the next year, but at the moment that is not realistic at all.
Going back to Jesse Owens quote, I think I need to just type and asses where I stand on each of the points.
Determination - I am determined to become a great player, determined to show everyone that I have the skills, I know I do and really determination is not a problem here.
Dedication - Again I am dedicated to putting all my effort into anything I do. On my current job I'm giving a range of tasks and I am dedicated and determined to exceed expectations, sure I come up short on occasions but this just motivates me to do better and increases my determination to do so. Shooting back to poker I can no way dedicate my life to it, it's not an option, but I can dedicate some free time to improve my ability, learn, read articles watch videos assess hands and what not.
Effort - Poker takes a lot of effort, and has a lot of emotional strain. When you are losing it is crushing, it hurts so bad and can really change your mood chronically, and influence your attitude towards others, essentially bringing them down. When your winning, a lot of the time the feeling is more of relief, kind of a "thank you lord finally!" When you win big its incredible. If you put in the effort and dedication, and are determined you can succeed. These 3 points really work in conjunction with each other, without 1 you will fail.
Self Discipline - This is the problem area, I lack this majorly. When I get money I spend money like it is meaningless. When I play poker I get ahead of myself way to early, when I lose I occasionally chase by moving up levels, and naturally play worse. This has got me to realise that if I want to enjoy and succeed in poker I need to become self disciplined so time for drawing up a plan.
Deposit $25 into a poker site.
This is a miniscule amount but it is essential to my improvement of self discipline. Once this money goes in it is no longer money, it is points and I need to move up the point scale. I can't drop down at all initially.
2 options here, play 2c/5c 6 max cash - issue I will only have 5 buy ins which is never ideal as variance can royally destroy me.
Play 1c/2c with 12.5 buy ins, a much safer option, I think I will go with this.
Rules are simple, I cannot move up stakes until I have 20 buy ins.
So:
Start with $25
Play 1c/2c till I reach $70. Realistically this is not waiting untill I have 25 buy ins, but I feel comfortable at 2c/5c and can beat it so 14 buy ins is sufficient, this could happen in one day, it could happen in one month. I am aiming to reach this by 10.06.2010.
Play 2c/5c till I reach $200 This should not take too long, 26 buy ins at this level should take me like 3 weeks tops, so I will aim for 30.06.2010
Play 5c/10c till I reach $500. This is where it can get tricky but if I drop to 150$ I will step back down. This should take 6 weeks so lets say 14/08/2010/
Play 10c/20c Till I reach 1k. At this point I will have a lot of hand histories and will be confident in my game, I reckon a month is sufficient so 14.09.2010.
Play 25c/50c till I reach 2.5k. The reason for this is I want more security before I hit 50c/$1 as it can be tough. Main focus point is that this is no longer money!!! I think this will take until 30.10.2010
Play $1/$2 till I reacj 6k. This should take me til Feb 2011. At which point I will be playing ok I hope and ready to hit $2/$4($5) I will not go any higher then this until July 2011 regardless of my roll as I am not sure I will be ready for $3/$6 or $5/$10 until 2012. Once I am playing $5/$10 it could be plain sailing on my way to a mill, who knows but small steps. The minimum I will want in my roll before I play this level is $30k.
I will play occasional tournaments but for no more then 1.5% of my roll. I will be really strict with this. STTs can be played for 2% of my roll.
Who knows what will happen but I could well make 1m within 4 years. Here is hoping, once I have this self discipline there is no stopping me :p
x
Essentially all that matters now is ambition, dreams, realisation and determination. As Jesse Owens said "We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort."
This really got me thinking about myself and my ambitions. I love playing poker with mates and really enjoy it online too, I'm out on my own backing myself in poker now, no support just me and my passion. The thing is the only way you can improve at something you love doing is if you still love doing it. When something becomes obligatory all of a sudden it becomes a chore, and when it is a chore it no longer becomes fun. Who in this world enjoyed those chores they had to do for pocket money... nobody, but you did it to reach the end reward and that was your motivation. The thing is money motivates us, but so does passion and enjoyment. Sure it would be immense to make a million off of poker in the next year, but at the moment that is not realistic at all.
Going back to Jesse Owens quote, I think I need to just type and asses where I stand on each of the points.
Determination - I am determined to become a great player, determined to show everyone that I have the skills, I know I do and really determination is not a problem here.
Dedication - Again I am dedicated to putting all my effort into anything I do. On my current job I'm giving a range of tasks and I am dedicated and determined to exceed expectations, sure I come up short on occasions but this just motivates me to do better and increases my determination to do so. Shooting back to poker I can no way dedicate my life to it, it's not an option, but I can dedicate some free time to improve my ability, learn, read articles watch videos assess hands and what not.
Effort - Poker takes a lot of effort, and has a lot of emotional strain. When you are losing it is crushing, it hurts so bad and can really change your mood chronically, and influence your attitude towards others, essentially bringing them down. When your winning, a lot of the time the feeling is more of relief, kind of a "thank you lord finally!" When you win big its incredible. If you put in the effort and dedication, and are determined you can succeed. These 3 points really work in conjunction with each other, without 1 you will fail.
Self Discipline - This is the problem area, I lack this majorly. When I get money I spend money like it is meaningless. When I play poker I get ahead of myself way to early, when I lose I occasionally chase by moving up levels, and naturally play worse. This has got me to realise that if I want to enjoy and succeed in poker I need to become self disciplined so time for drawing up a plan.
Deposit $25 into a poker site.
This is a miniscule amount but it is essential to my improvement of self discipline. Once this money goes in it is no longer money, it is points and I need to move up the point scale. I can't drop down at all initially.
2 options here, play 2c/5c 6 max cash - issue I will only have 5 buy ins which is never ideal as variance can royally destroy me.
Play 1c/2c with 12.5 buy ins, a much safer option, I think I will go with this.
Rules are simple, I cannot move up stakes until I have 20 buy ins.
So:
Start with $25
Play 1c/2c till I reach $70. Realistically this is not waiting untill I have 25 buy ins, but I feel comfortable at 2c/5c and can beat it so 14 buy ins is sufficient, this could happen in one day, it could happen in one month. I am aiming to reach this by 10.06.2010.
Play 2c/5c till I reach $200 This should not take too long, 26 buy ins at this level should take me like 3 weeks tops, so I will aim for 30.06.2010
Play 5c/10c till I reach $500. This is where it can get tricky but if I drop to 150$ I will step back down. This should take 6 weeks so lets say 14/08/2010/
Play 10c/20c Till I reach 1k. At this point I will have a lot of hand histories and will be confident in my game, I reckon a month is sufficient so 14.09.2010.
Play 25c/50c till I reach 2.5k. The reason for this is I want more security before I hit 50c/$1 as it can be tough. Main focus point is that this is no longer money!!! I think this will take until 30.10.2010
Play $1/$2 till I reacj 6k. This should take me til Feb 2011. At which point I will be playing ok I hope and ready to hit $2/$4($5) I will not go any higher then this until July 2011 regardless of my roll as I am not sure I will be ready for $3/$6 or $5/$10 until 2012. Once I am playing $5/$10 it could be plain sailing on my way to a mill, who knows but small steps. The minimum I will want in my roll before I play this level is $30k.
I will play occasional tournaments but for no more then 1.5% of my roll. I will be really strict with this. STTs can be played for 2% of my roll.
Who knows what will happen but I could well make 1m within 4 years. Here is hoping, once I have this self discipline there is no stopping me :p
x
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)