going to be in vegas for a few days, looking for food recommendations. mostly looking for places that are like <$30/person but if you feel strongly about some place that's a little over that go ahead and tell me. i like pretty much all kinds of food.
right now all i know is that i'm going to Bouchon just to try the chicken and waffles everyone raves about. i'm sure i'll go to chinatown at some point so any suggestions for there would be great. i've heard lots of great things about lotus of siam but also some mixed reviews and i think it's a bit out of the way?
Keeping a blog can't be a bad idea, though I feel like one of those "DeadJournal" or "LiveJournal" kids from when I was in middle school... lol.
Anyways, this being the first entry and all, I suppose this should have a little background tied to it. Back when I used to play on PokerStars (I say used to because I live in America), I was never a winning player... Binked a tourney for 5k here, 6months later bink for 2.6k there, you know... something "life-changing" (for a broke college kid). But me being the broke college kid I was, naturally I was immature and blew all my winnings.. Yada Yada, you know how the story goes.
Fast-Forward to late November 2011. I start to get "the itch" again. I hadn't played since Black Friday, and was wondering how things were going to shake out with the poker scene in America. After reading some an extensive Q and A on 2+2 by Dwan (big thanks btw, he didn't have to do that), I started to get a better grip on where things were going and began to see how this was all going to pan out.
Fast-Forward a little further to late December 2011. I finally threw down a deposit on Carbon poker... Started playing around, trying to bump up big from $100 on 50PLO-HU. A pretty great idea obviously... Needless to say, I went busto time and time again after like 4-5 redeposits.... STANDARD.
Until one day I made a forum post here and ABSOLUTELY got my asshole handed to me by JohnnyCosMo... He incepted the shit out of me better than Leo ever could (or that little mousey girl either btw). He prattled on about "being honest with yourself" and "how he used to be in my position years ago" wtc... and it didn't really hit me at first, but I remember reading it over and over again.
It finally resonated. I checked my ego at the door and decided I was a fish, plain and simple. I knew a lot about poker, but compared to others I really only knew a little more than the basics.
Where to go from here? I guess since I just burnt through $400, I could definitely see myself doing it again. So I counted that additional $400 as a sunk cost and decided to get lessons.
But for what area of my game? SnGs? Boring... Cash? Meh... MTTs? I did have some success there. They ARE very exciting when you run deep... Ok so MTTs it is!
Finally some direction, some positive energy and a great attitude. A willingness to give my money to someone in exchange for their poker prowess. That itself, as a poker player, is a pretty humbling experience. It is almost like admitting, "I need help." It's a pretty big step.
So I hopped on pocket5's coaching section and did some research, read some reviews, and looked at what I could afford... BOOM! BRANDON SHANE (ShaneTrain22) was the CLEAR standout pick. Soon I'd realize this was LITERALLY the best coach I could have picked (given all determining factors). I'll plug him more at the end, but back to my story, lol.
Coaching went great. Now it was time to hit the tables as a professional. And when I say professional I don't mean someone who is a poker pro (obv), I mean someone who is approaching the game from the standpoint of a professional. Taking the game seriously, respecting broll management, staying disciplined. etc... having a professional attitude. All the key factors that made Pro players what they are today.
INSTANT SUCCESS! How good does that feel?! Oh you like that?! Talk dirty to me poker! lol... seriously though, final table after final table, top 3 after top 3, win after win. It was like the flood gates opened and I finally realized how this thing is supposed to be done. GRINDING the micros, NOT getting out of line with my broll, NOT tilting. Letting my SKILL govern my success.
I hit $1K profit last night after starting with $100 at the beginning of FEB 2012 (And if I'm being honest I had a -$200 degen relapse at PLO, but I think that was a good thing cause it convinced me to never try it again. Helped me see my path clearer if that makes any sense).
Those interested can find him at premierpokercoaching.com ... If you buy a lesson with him and mention me, TampaBayManning, he said he'd give me a free hour so... Please and thank you! Here was the review I wrote for him on P5s...
Brandon really is a great coach. Instead of handing down mandates from the poker heavens on what is right or wrong, he has an intelligent and respectful conversation with you. He helps you realize WHY a certain line of thinking is better than another, and HOW to get the most VALUE for any given situation. He is very invested in his students' successes. VERY DOWN TO EARTH. Cool dude. I can't give him enough credit for straightening me out.
Thanks for reading, all. Hopefully I'll be doing this once a month. Lata!
here is my last 86k hands at 6max 50nl...feel like ive been playing ok but not really improving all that much.
im curious as to why my redline is decreasing at such a rate and want to investigate this further.
how would i go about this in pt3? maybe im playing too many hands OOP or not being aggressive enough on later streets.
I know alot of people say redline is meaningless but im thinking i might not be playing 'tough' enough.
Random thought: The only way for dominant species to exist is to have intelligence. Otherwise they will overmultiply, consume everything and die out. There is no other way. Like a virus that kills its host also dies. So we have a chance. We can come up with ways to be sustainable, farming and shit. GLHF.
So these are obviously dominant asses. They probably dominate many mens' minds. Hopefully they will never die out ^^.
Pokerwise i didnt play very much at all, im still at 1k, really bored with NL, probably played like less than 2k hands in feb. Trying some PLOL without hem or any software. Probably better to improve in the long run anwyay. Been playing heaps League of legends. Jax ftw.
by the way my touchapd went back to work normal just by itself. Aliens imo
PokerStars Hand #76558671620: Tournament #526231126, $58.74+$1.26 USD Holdem No Limit - Match Round I, Level I (10/20) - 2012/03/03 4:30:01 BRT [2012/03/03 2:30:01 ET]
Table 526231126 1 2-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: Hero (500 in chips)
Seat 2: Fociuuu (500 in chips)
Hero: posts small blind 10
Fociuuu: posts big blind 20
Holecards(Odds) Dealt to Hero
Hero: raises 20 to 40
Fociuuu: calls 20
Fociuuu: checks
Hero: bets 25
Fociuuu: raises 235 to 260 and is all-in
Hero: calls 235 and is all-in
Showdown Fociuuu: shows (two pair, Nines and Fives)
Hero: shows (two pair, Nines and Fives - King kicker)
Hero collected 1000 from pot
Fociuuu finished the tournament in 2nd place
Hero wins the tournament and receives $117.48 - congratulations!
Summary Total pot 1000 | Rake 0
Board
Seat 1: Hero (button) (small blind) showed and won (1000) with two pair, Nines and Fives
Seat 2: Fociuuu (big blind) showed and lost with two pair, Nines and Fives
Even thought you guys seems to be ignoring my blog since i've started talking about game programming instead of girls, i'll post anyways.
I just programmed a pong game, but whats interesting about it is, i programmed 2 AIs for the computers.
The first one, called "Basic" just follows the ball around. Super effective while its as fast as the ball, but quickly gets useless.
The second one, called "Perfect", right after hitting the ball instantly calculate where the next ball will be, and goes there and wait.
needless to say the second AI is very difficult to beat.
The game allows you to customize your game. Right now you have the following options:
Ennemy size and AI
Ally size and AI (yes you can have a computer to help you)
Your size
Helping walls size (you can have small walls in the back. they doesnt move but they can be usefull)
Even by giving myself a super big handicap (i get helping walls, a basic ally with 150 size, myself with 100 size, ennemy with just 30 size with 0 help), the AI is still near unbeatable.
Even thought this game isn't the most fun thing ever, i am happy i programmed a perfect AI for a "real time" game. Next i might try to make some sort of 2d shooting game (maybe tanks or something). Any idea is welcome.
Note: Beginning screens offer you the options. The default option is good and shows how good the perfect AI is. If you want to mess around with it do it, but don't do stupid things such as entering letters, or negative values, or stupidly high values (the screen is 350 wide, so no need to put anything bigger than 350) things like that will make the program crash (no big deal, it will just tell you there was an error and it close, i tested it )
However you can put "0" in an option if you want to remove it.
As I'm sure a few of you are aware I recently posted a rather embarrassing whine blog, my apologies to those it annoyed. It was a moment of frustration borne out of losing a significant portion of my roll through short-term EV. Many will simply state you shouldn't play with a short roll in PLO but I've firmly come to believe that escaping the rake trap is far more important than prolonging ones stay at low stakes with rigid BR management.
So here's the simple storyline. I've had 1k trapped on FTP for ages, the vast majority of my online roll. I've also had 150 on Pokerstars just sitting there untouched since Black Friday happened. I've always wanted to return to poker but for whatever reason made excuses not to. I had trouble committing real time to working on my game and had always been just a casual grinder. That much is self-evident in my 175k hands played over the last 4-5 years. I played 20k hands in February in addition to my full-time job. I started by 1-tabling at PLO50 and eventually I was 8-10 tabling with around 1750 in my roll. I was running about even on EV until short-term variance struck. I ran very cold for an extended streak of 3-bet pots and all-in pots. Anyone who plays PLO is bound to know when you start getting badly out-flopped after 3-betting 20% of your stack it's trouble. The variance hit hard and my roll is down to a pithy 350. Some will ask, why didn't you just move down? Well I've always considered my bankroll to the combined amount from my FTP frozen funds and what's left on Pokerstars. Similar to how players on multiple sites think of their bankroll as one unit rather than small chunks.
I mostly believe my mistake was allowing myself to play more than 2-4 tables before escaping the rake trap. All I did was encourage variance to slap me in the face and reduce my edge in the games. This was utter foolishness and for the most part I got what I deserved for my over-aggressive attempt.
What I'm looking to do now is to consolidate my bankroll. I'm looking to gain early access to my 1k stuck on FTP by having someone transfer me 1k on stars. I have a long posting history and no blemishes on my LP record. There are players from this site who know me in real life who can vouch for me if need be. If FTP does not eventually pay me the 1k to forward to whoever helps me out I will simply pay the 1k myself. If anyone is willing to help me out with this please PM me immediately.
So, I've been watching a few LeggoPoker videos on Stroggs account (cause I am a too cheap to pay for it myself) And the Chess videos are amazing.
The coach, Curtains, is an international grandmaster who travels to alot of big live tournies in his quest to "not suck at the game" (even though he is already in top 100 in the world or something, heh).
He is very focused on making the correct play, and thinking things through, and making the best play. Also he is hyperactive, reminds me a little of day[9]. He was the guy who played Durrr for $50k in a chess game
He, somehow, makes exciting chess videos.
And its been helping me with poker, really getting me to re-evaluate my position in the a hand, and to figure out if I can do something like run a three barrel, or raise a river.
It's better than a poker training video. Rather than just doing what a video tells me, I am taking his approach/mindset and applying it to a HU match, and finding alot of creative lines to take.
Just talking in terms of kicking ass has made me more excited to play good poker.
Yep, thats it, having a bunch of new words to apply to compeditive situation has made me more focused at poker.
Phew, ok, I got that pinned down, blog is a sucess. thanks LP
P.S. My Graph for Feb. NL50 to NL400, HU 6max and FR. + Show Spoiler +
I dunno, just stuck in act IV at the battle vs the ancients quest. I'm not anywhere near being able to beat them with my Frenzy Barb. My strength is at like 205 or something, dext at 115, and been pumping the rest of the points into vital. Maxed out frenzy, axe mastery, double swing, and working on maxing out taunt for max dps. My armor and resistances are already solid, about 1400 armor and all resistances above 55 at least. I should have probably done my weapon mastery last since I am not getting any good nightmare axe drops at all, but I heard the axe class has the best one arm weapons.
My frost mage mercenary has been hangin out with me since normal mode and he's lvl 65 also with some good gear as well, increased his casting rate, he got max resists and solid armor.
but man fuuuuu, I'm guessing I got to just keep grinding beginning-mid act IV and hope someone drops a fkn good axe? Are drops completely random or do certain types of enemies tend to drop certain items?
"In the most brutal and often most misunderstood sport in the world, becoming a champion takes more than just blood, sweat, and tears. Like Water follows middleweight Ultimate Fighter Anderson Silva as he prepares to crown his four-year run as the unbeaten king of the sport with a record 12th straight win in the UFC. With intimate access to Silva and his intense training, the surprising and inspiring man behind one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time emerges."
86k hands, almost half of the 150k goal (luckily the guy I bet with didn't make it either)
finished at 100k VPPs for the year so gg SNE pretty much unless some sick move ups occur
Ok this is my newest game: its a game that kinda practice estimating probabilities (your not suposed to actually hard calculate it on paper, just try to play with mental thinking).
In this game, you are given an army of soldiers that always gets to shoot first, against another army (after they shoot, your survivors shoot again, and then their survivors shoot again, until one side is decimated). Each soldier have a % to shoot which is displayed. Soldier always shoots the ennemy soldier which is on top. It is possible for your soldiers to kill multiple ennemies in a round (each of your soldier could sucessfully shoot if your lucky).
Note that order is important. in the example in the picture, if your soldier with good accuracy was swapped with the lower accuracy one, then your side would loose hard.
Your objective is to decide wether to fight or pull. The game simulate the battle 5000 times (which is enough to be really confident the % is right with a max of 1% of error) and if your decision is smart, your "Streak" goes up by 1, if it is wrong it goes back to 0.
The main objective of the game is to get a decent winning streak (like 10) on the highest difficulty level you can (at level 49 the difference between both armies is so small it would be really difficult to do a 10 win streak by just mentally estimating).
The lower the difficulty level, the easier it is to guess which side will win (if you put it at 1, it will generate stupid fights anyone would know which side will win. 49 gives fights which are nearly a coin flip. 45 is good)
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Here was the review I wrote for him on P5s...
(two pair, Nines and Fives)
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