I will be making all future posts over there……

- Mark

I really didn’t think that I was going pro – I was just hoping I could make enough money from poker plus some of these other lines of work that I would be able to maintain the lifestyle I wanted for myself and my children. Well, those other things I was thinking of doing never happened and poker quickly took center stage. Only once over the last year did I really worry that I couldn’t make it and that I might have to start pumping out resumes looking for a traditional job. But luckily that never happened and I am happy to say that I am still in love, still learning, still passionate, and still moving forward with poker.

For those that don’t take the game seriously, poker is something to do. It is a night out with friends. It is drinking a few beers. It is enjoying a good cigar. For a poker player, it is a lifestyle. It’s a way of thinking. It’s looking at all the options before making a decision and choosing the path that is best for you. It is very much more than a game – it is a way of living and looking at the world. Poker and life have so many similarities that becoming good at one can certainly help you become better at the other.

I would say that it has been a good year. It has not been easy. There were good times and bad times but through it all I grew stronger, I learned, I persevered, and I moved forward. I am better today than I was yesterday but not as good as I hope to be tomorrow.

- Mark

PS I wouldn’t change a thing!

I hate when I second guess myself into making a bad play. I have been playing this game long enough that I really need to trust my instincts every single time I play. I mean I trust my instincts most of the time I play but I swear that 10-20% that I doubt my first reaction has probably cost me over $20k in prize money! And the strange part is I’ll usually say something to myself like “well if he raises me here, I’m done with this hand.” But then I start to think too long and too hard and decide to go with the losing play of calling or re-rasing when my gut tells me not to do it. If you have been in this same situation then you can relate to what I’m saying. Correcting it is the harder part.

(By the way, if you don’t believe me about this gut reaction thing, then I suggest you pick up Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. In this book, they look at situations where people are able to predict many things with only minimal observation becasue they have such strong experience in an area that they are almost able to make correct decisions in the blink of an eye. It is an interesting book and one that every poker playe should read.)

So how do we correct the problem?

Step 1 – I now have a post-it on my computer that reads “TRUST YOURSELF.” Hopefully the visual cue will at least keep the thought top of mind.

Step 2 – trying to figure out where the doubt comes from in those moments and eliminating it.

Step 3 – re-reading parts of Your Worst Poker Enemy by Alan Schoonmaker (another book I recommend) especially the chapter on destructive emotions.

We will see what happens next………the journey continues!!

So what does this mean for my current students, blog readers, and Pokerfox friends? I would say the future looks very good. I will continue to provide 1-1 instruction for students as my schedule allows. Existing Pokerfox customers are getting subsciptions at Pokerxfactor which means I will still be able to chat with all of you when you are online. And my blog will be alive and well but I’m not 100% sure where yet.

My first video series for PXF will be the Full Tilt $50 Rebuy series that I started at Pokerfox. I will be re doing the first 3 parts with the PXF HH replayer and then I will continue with the remainder of the tournament. So stay on the lookout for it! Also, I will be finishing up my first year as a professional poker player this month (April 13th to be exact) and I will put my thoughts about all of that into a future blog post.

Good luck at the tables!

- Mark

BTN: 7,475
SB: 3,670
BB: 2,300
UTG: 4,950
UTG+1: 5,700
MP1: 9,105
MP2: 6,720
Hero (CO): 4,750

Pre-Flop: (150) 4 6 dealt to Hero (CO)
4 folds, Hero raises to 300, BTN folds, SB raises to 500, BB folds, Hero calls 200

Flop: (1,100) T 9 5 (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: (1,100) Q (2 Players)
SB bets 100, Hero raises to 670, SB calls 570

River: (2,440) A (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero bets 1,380, SB calls 1,380

Results: 5,200 Pot
SB mucked J J (a pair of Jacks) and LOST (-2,550 NET)
Hero showed 4 6 (a flush, Queen high) and WON 5,200 (+2,650 NET)

The villain plays his overpair very poorly here allowing us to call his re raise preflop with great odds and allowing us to see a free turn card and hit the flush. Turn and river bets get us solid value without scaring off our opponent.
—————-
Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold’em Tournament, 80/160 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

SB: 6,235
BB: 2,340
UTG: 3,380
UTG+1: 5,490
UTG+2: 6,100
MP1: 9,325
MP2: 5,060
CO: 4,562
Hero (BTN): 6,740

Pre-Flop: (240) A Q dealt to Hero (BTN)
2 folds, UTG+2 raises to 480, 3 folds, Hero calls 480, 2 folds

Flop: (1,200) 3 T 6 (2 Players)
UTG+2 bets 675, Hero calls 675

Turn: (2,550) 2 (2 Players)
UTG+2 checks, Hero bets 1,166, UTG+2 raises to 4,945 and is All-In, Hero folds

Results: 4,882 Pot
UTG+2 mucked and WON 4,882 (+2,561 NET)

I played this hand pretty badly overall. I like my call preflop with postion and I think floating him on the flop is fine. My turn bet represents nothing and I’m better off checking behind since my hand has showdown calue and I’d like to see a free river card.
———————–
Poker Stars, $10 + $1 NL Hold’em Tournament, 200/400 Blinds, 8 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

CO: 63,419
BTN: 8,235
Hero (SB): 12,300
BB: 14,015
UTG: 3,315
UTG+1: 34,184
MP1: 22,120
MP2: 13,630

Pre-Flop: (800) A 4 dealt to Hero (SB)
5 folds, BTN raises to 800, Hero raises to 1,875, BB folds, BTN calls 1,075

Flop: (4,350) J 3 7 (2 Players)
Hero bets 1,400, BTN raises to 6,335 and is All-In, Hero folds

Results: 7,150 Pot
BTN mucked and WON 7,150 (+3,850 NET)

I re-raised my loose opponent here hoping for a fold preflop but again I think I played this hand very badly. My re-raise preflop is too small and my flop bet is also way too small.
———————
Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold’em Tournament, 20/40 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

UTG: 2,730
UTG+1: 5,635
UTG+2: 1,730
MP1: 2,970
MP2: 2,705
CO: 3,810
BTN: 5,450
SB: 4,420
Hero (BB): 3,240

Pre-Flop: (60) A T dealt to Hero (BB)
3 folds, MP1 raises to 125, 2 folds, BTN calls 125, SB folds, Hero calls 85

Flop: (395) Q 6 K (3 Players)
Hero checks, MP1 bets 240, BTN folds, Hero calls 240

Turn: (875) 7 (2 Players)
Hero checks, MP1 checks

River: (875) 2 (2 Players)
Hero checks, MP1 checks

Results: 875 Pot
MP1 showed A 9 (Ace King high) and LOST (-365 NET)
Hero showed A T (Ace King high) and WON 875 (+510 NET)

I’m getting decent odds preflop so I make the call. On the flop, I’m going to peel off a card because my opponent may not have very much and I may be able to take away the pot on the turn or river or I could get lucky and hit my gutshot. When he checks behind on the turn, I felt he didn’t have much of a hand and I was prepared to check-raise him on most rivers but he never bet and our hand was best.
—————
Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold’em Tournament, 10/20 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

Hero (CO): 2,990
BTN: 2,970
SB: 2,980
BB: 3,000
UTG: 3,000
UTG+1: 2,880
UTG+2: 3,150
MP1: 3,000
MP2: 3,030

Pre-Flop: (30) A A dealt to Hero (CO)
UTG folds, UTG+2 raises to 100, MP1 raises to 3,000 and is All-In, Hero calls 2,990 and is All-In

Flop: (6,110) 6 3 5 (2 Players – 1 is All-In)

Turn: (6,110) A (2 Players – 1 is All-In)

River: (6,110) 4 (2 Players – 1 is All-In)

Results: 6,110 Pot
Hero showed A A (three of a kind, Aces) and WON 6,110 (+3,120 NET)
MP1 showed J J (a pair of Jacks) and LOST (-2,990 NET)

Nothing real interesting here but it’s always nice to have a guy push all in when your holding the nuts!!
———————-
Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold’em Tournament, 50/100 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

BB: 11,470
UTG: 5,610
UTG+1: 7,675
UTG+2: 11,275
MP1: 1,390
MP2: 3,450
CO: 3,170
BTN: 2,585
Hero (SB): 4,320

Pre-Flop: (150) J J dealt to Hero (SB)
UTG folds, UTG+1 raises to 350, 5 folds, Hero calls 300, BB calls 250

Flop: (1,050) 4 2 3 (3 Players)
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG+1 bets 100, Hero raises to 370, BB folds, UTG+1 calls 270

Turn: (1,790) T (2 Players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 bets 600, Hero calls 600

River: (2,990) 9 (2 Players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 bets 1,100, Hero calls 1,100

Results: 5,190 Pot
UTG+1 showed A K (a flush, Ace high) and WON 5,190 (+2,770 NET)
Hero mucked J J (a pair of Jacks) and LOST (-2,420 NET)

I hate that I gave this guy so much value when he flops the flush against me. I didn’t raise preflop because I wanted to play a smaller pot OOP vs my deep stacked opponent then I managed to create a fairly large pot anyway when I didn’t have a single diamond in my hand.
———————-
Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold’em Tournament, 25/50 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

UTG: 3,074
UTG+1: 2,730
UTG+2: 7,130
MP1: 1,944
MP2: 2,930
CO: 3,619
BTN: 3,105
SB: 2,863
Hero (BB): 5,630

Pre-Flop: (75) 9 K dealt to Hero (BB)
7 folds, SB calls 25, Hero checks

Flop: (100) J 5 7 (2 Players)
SB bets 71, Hero raises to 200, SB calls 129

Turn: (500) 3 (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero checks

River: (500) T (2 Players)
SB bets 252, Hero folds

Results: 500 Pot
SB mucked and WON 500 (+250 NET)

The villain in this hand is a good, solid thinking player who is going to bet most flops. I decide to challenge him on the flop but I fail to follow through on the turn which is a mistake.
——————
Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold’em Tournament, 120/240 Blinds, 25 Ante, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

SB: 4,324
BB: 9,560
UTG: 9,416
UTG+1: 3,800
UTG+2: 14,048
MP1: 15,765
MP2: 5,357
Hero (CO): 4,845
BTN: 8,423

Pre-Flop: (585) K K dealt to Hero (CO)
4 folds, MP2 raises to 720, Hero raises to 1,820, 3 folds, MP2 calls 1,100

Flop: (4,225) 7 5 A (2 Players)
MP2 checks, Hero checks

Turn: (4,225) J (2 Players)
MP2 bets 1,440, Hero raises to 3,000 and is All-In, MP2 folds

Results: 7,105 Pot
Hero mucked K K and WON 7,105 (+3,820 NET)

After I re-raised preflop, I decided that I wasn’t going to fold and that if my opponent had an A he would be getting all my chips. That being the case, there was no point to shove on the flop because I’m only getting called by an A. By checking we may get our opponent to bet and then we can come over the top.

MTTs Played 498
Cashes 68 (13.63%)
Final Tables 21 (04.21%)
Top 3 Finishes 6 (01.20%)
Wins 2 (00.40%)

I think my volume is right around what I expected it to be assuming I’ll generally play between 150-200 tournaments/month. My cash and final table rates are within the target areas as well. (Based on my past research, winning players usually have cash rates of 15-20% and FT rates of 3-7%.) I think my top 3 finish and win rates are too low. I will have to review my HHs from these final tables to see if I made mistakes to cost myself some chances for the bigger prizes.

As for profit, I am currently hitting the low end of my monthly target range. I set my target ranges based on what I was making at my old job before poker and what I think is realistic given my skill level and the buyins I play. Minimally, I want to make equal to what I was making in the corporate world. Ideally, I would like to make double what I was making before. At this point we are on track…..but there is room for improvement.

So what is the game plan for the next 3 months?

1. Stay focused on the games I have the most success in and that are within my BR.
2. Don’t take as many shots at the big games. I’ll either have to win a seat into the biggest events or skip them until my BR is bigger.
3. Play focused and alert. Don’t play when tired or bored because it leads to bad play.
4. Take more full days off to avoid burnout. (This means doing something completely unrelated to poker for an entire day.)

Hopefully, you will do a similar analysis of your own game and make the adjustments that will result in you having more success at the tables.

- Mark

- I had a very nice Easter with my family. Holidays are not always the best and they have been tougher these last few years since I got divorced but I was happy that this one worked out pretty good.

- March Madnesss is in full swing and the madness seemed to carry over from basketball to poker during the 1st and 2nd round games last week. I guess I could see people drinking and watching basketball and trying to play some online poker as a reason for the wacky play at the tables last week.

- I love music. It has always played an important role in my life but I will say that ever since I had children I have gone through stretches where it takes a back seat to other things. It isn’t getting better as they get older either becuase now they want control of the radio in the car!! I have an itunes gift card and need some suggestions for new music to buy since I’m behind the times at the moment.

- My juggling act between poker and parenting has been going poorly lately. Mostly because I’ve been having my children with me more days/week than I normally do. This is a good thing because I enjoy spending time with them but it creates some problems for me when I can’t figure out when to get “my work” done.

- The 1st quarter of the year is just about over and I have not played a single hand of live poker this year (other than my friendly home game.) This is somewhat disappointing because I really felt like I had made some good progress in December when I played in the Circuit event at Harrahs. Hopefully, I’ll find the time to play something soon.

- Life is very strange. This is not something I just realized but something I continue to think about each day. We really never know what will happen next.

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son!

–Rudyard Kipling

I have had a few solid chances to make something happen this month but couldn’t get the breaks late when I needed them. I will keep working at it cause I have confidence in my game. Onward and upward to March!!!