June Update Week 1-

Start as you mean to go on Things can only get better!

So my first week playing full time goes a little something like this....

I have to say I have been running horribly this week, both in card distribution and bad beats. My EV actually isn't all that bad. I hope I can grind back into profit in the next week or so otheriwise I will be grinding purely for my bonus which is a little frustrating. But thats poker!

Managed just under 1.4k games this week and just under 9k vpps which puts me a little behind pace which isn't a worry as there's plenty of time to make up those vpps over the coming 3 weeks and hopefully I might even move up to the 60s before the end of it. Due to my downswing this week I spent a little more time than usual studying and also took an extra half day off due to tilt (something that on the whole I am very good with but this time got the better of me).

Rent money is still number 1 priority but I'm sure I'll have enough cash for somewhere in Liverpool by the end of the month. Shouldn't be a problem.

In other news, I decided my laptop isn't up to scratch any more so I've decided to fork out for a new pc. It should pay for itself within a week or so and it'll give me a huge advantage over my opponents compared to what I have now. Nothing fancy though, just a custom build pc that fits all of my needs until I can afford a serious gaming laptop or a serious gaming pc.

As I'm doing weekly updates now I don't want to go into too much detail about poker as there's very little to say and I don't want to bore. But to summarise;

1379 games

-3207 dollars profit

Around 55 hours playtime+study

On the gym front things are going a hell of a lot better! Really eased into my new busy schedule and training and diet have gone extremely well. Ive dropped a couple of pounds this week with my strength and energy levels actually increasing.

Am a little fluffy in these pictures as I've just eaten and drank a load of water so not great for comparison but I'l find it interesting to look back nevertheless.

Not much else to report this week! Just about to load my first session of the week. May the poker gods be with us all! 

June is goals month! Time to be productive!

So after a relatively low volume month (around 5.5k games) I feel I've re-accustomed myself to long hours and grinding early mornings so this month I plan on playing and studying around 240 hours as I want to hit my first supernova of the year and also grind out my rent money for my new flat. As this month is gonna be extremely busy and hectic for me I feel its important to plan my week and stick to my plan rigidly. Schedule for the next 4 weeks is;

-Up at 4.30 to go to the gym

-Back by half 7 to eat and get ready for first study session of the day

-Study till 9 then grind around 300-400 games till 6 then final study till 7

-Couple hours relaxing and catching up with flatmates then bed between 9 and 10

To recover fully and not burn out I'll be taking Wednesdays and Sundays off from training and only grinding Monday to Saturday.

I now only need 40k vpps to hit my first supernova so at 6.44vpps a game I'll only have to play a little over 6k games but if all goes to plan I'll have moved up to the 60's well before then and hitting this target will be a walk in the park! As I'm moving to a new apartment early next month this is really going to help me as I just need to break even to be able to afford rent for the next few months thanks to the bonus. I'm also saving up for a new laptop just for poker so hopefully will have some funds left over.

 As mentioned in my previous post I'm going to get back into shape now uni is out of the way and I have a little spare time. I also think its extremely important to keep physically active in some way when grinding long hours and sitting at yours desk for over 60 hours a week. The last couple of weeks of uni where I didn't have time to grind, study AND train I found myself living on a diet of Tesco sandwiches and coffee for breakfast lunch and dinner which is definitely -EV for both poker and mental and physical health.

So this month I have a really intense workout schedule and a diet which should slowly start bringing me back to my previous glory. Fitness and dieting has been a major part of my life for the last 4 years but due to extreme yoyoing thanks to both injury and work I'm in pretty poor shape at the moment (See below).   

Like I said, pretty poor shape especially considering how long I've been training for. But I plan on getting lean enough in the next 12 weeks so that I can clean bulk year round and keep abs!

Anyway, just to keep me on my toes and motivated I'm going to update my blog weekly till the end of the month. It'll give me something to work towards and look forward to a little and will also hopefully provide some interesting reading to look back on once I've moved into my new place.

Best get back to the grind now! Update same time next week! Good luck at the tables!

Achievement unlocked- Leave uni a professional poker player

Well! Its been three long years but as of today I am no longer a university student........

I can't lie, there have been very enjoyable elements to uni and I'm extremely happy I moved down to Liverpool to 'study'. I've met some great people, had a hell of a laugh, learnt a lot (not necessarily in the classroom) and ultimately I've ended up achieving my number one goal and my long term dream of leaving university a professional poker player. The idea of being a 'professional' rather than a semi professional is really neither here nor there. The only difference between what I'll be doing now to what I've been doing the past 5 or 6 months is I'll be playing a lot more, hopefully making a lot more money and I won't have any stress relating to extra workload. The real gift is that I don't have to finish uni looking for work and I'm lucky enough to enjoy what I'll be doing for a living for the foreseeable future.    

Leaving my final exam today I felt both a sense of overwhelming relief but also extreme excitement at the thought of what the next few years might bring for me. Although I do have lots of goals and ambitions for the coming years I would really like to be able to slow down a little and both enjoy and appreciate what I've got and the freedom that my job brings. I feel I've spent the last couple of years wishing away my life and having hit my most important target I don't want to simply set another and wish away my life till I hit that. Living with or close by to very good friends of mine this year I am going to enjoy myself as much as possible and not take for granted the situation I'm in.  I don't particularly want to write a long post right now as I'm in lying in bed in preparation to watch face/off for the second time this week as a celebration.

I would like to say though that from now on every 1st of the month is blog update day! Now I have plenty of free time I will be updating my blog at least once a month and considering I am no longer writing results orientated posts I decided to start also writing about another passion of mine in the gym and fitness. I've really been yoyoing with diet and training for the past 3 years thanks to a slightly overwhelming work load (and maybe a little bit of partying) but some time next week I look to start getting back into shape with the intentions of hopefully competing on stage one day (I have a long way to go I know). I wont post half naked selfies right now as I've just had a celebratory meal and I'm a fat bloated bastard but as of the 1st of next month I'll be posting photos and updates on how training has been treating me. I'm sure most people really aren't arsed and would rather not see said photos of me but it's really something to motivate me and keep me from sinking back into old habits or losing my drive.

Also, I really cant finish this blog post without emphasizing how grateful I am of my family, my friends and my employers for both giving me the opportunity to achieve this dream of mine but also keeping the faith in me and supporting me for the last few years chasing it. Both of my parents have been extremely supportive and understanding (eventually... dad :) ) of my 'career' choice and I am forever thankful for that. There's no doubt that without their help and general interest in what I do I would not be where I am today. I also can't ignore the great influence my friends have had on me, not just for getting me into poker in the first place, but again always being extremely interested and genuinely happy for me of which I really do appreciate. Lastly but not least I have to thank my boss' again for giving me the opportunity to prove myself and for seeing potential in me. I hope to do you all proud!

Anyway! Enough for now! Mr Cage is waiting.

Incase you were wondering the 30s are going really well for me at the moment and with a couple of alterations and eureka moments I had this past week I hope to really get my grinding cap on and move up to the 60s asap. Charizard and Supernova Elite await!!!!!!!!

Curacao trip report- Unintentional life brag

Sometimes a picture tells a thousand words.

Safe to say the trip was an overwhelming success! Poker-wise and vacation wise everything was super enjoyable and lucrative and as of Friday I have been moved up the stakes! This means I have the potential to earn a very reasonable living after university if I stick at this buy-in level for the year(but we have bigger plans!) 

The last three weeks have absolutely flown by and I have met some awesome people that I hope to stay in contact with for a very long time to come. I feel very lucky to be a part of such a like-minded yet diverse group of individuals who share my passion and interest for poker and I could't have asked to have joined a better stable. 

Beer+study= Results (bad results are technically still results)

The real masters at work

Birthday set-up

Birthday was a really interesting day!! Spent the whole day on mini Curacao (a little island off the coast) to snorkel, chill on the beach and swim with turtles. Spent the whole day in the sun loving life and enjoying a well earned day off from the daily grind. On the journey back the boat we were travelling back on decided to serve rum punch and although most people had one or two glasses maximum, as it was my birthday I decided to enjoy myself and subsequently drank 7 glasses in the short trip back. Safe to say by the time we moored I was a little drunk and a few beers and a swim in the pool later I was KO'd in my bed soaking wet at around 9pm. Although I missed the opportunity to party on the evening of my birthday we eventually made it out a few days later and had a hell of a good night in the nightclub 'Bermuda'.

  

Now back to business....Thanks to putting university and gym on standstill for the last 3 weeks I'd hazard a guess that I have played, studied and improved the equivalent of around 6-8 weeks back home so this has been an incredible opportunity and keeps my dreams of SNE alive for 2014. Spending three weeks away in the Caribbean has led me to realise how how much my life has changed for the better over the past 5-6 months and for that I'm super grateful. I still have a long way to go to realise my full potential but I have already come such a way since starting and things can only improve. I have worked hard over the past couple of years to realise this dream of mine to become a professional poker player but now it is finally coming to fruition I feel extremely lucky and for lack of a better word ''blessed'' to be where I am today surrounded by good friends, with a supporting family and a bright future 'working' a 'job' that I love.

                       

Anyway, enough soppy shit and no more boring poker talk! I didn't take a crazy amount of photos to be honest as we spent the majority of our time in or around our house grinding and studying anyway! But here are a few of the photos I did take....

                       

Our grinding friend

Secret to success- 3 hours daily meditation (rocks essential)

                      

The watermelon master

I'm a little gutted to be travelling home after such an enjoyable vacation but as I mentioned earlier this has really put things into perspective for me and I figure the next 6 weeks or so completing university will fly by and I have the rest of my life to look forward to. Thanks for reading, will keep you posted on how the 30's treat me!

And more importantly! Charizard next stake jump. Motivation level 1000

Make yourself comfortable (Its a long one). Monthly report + Curacao 2014 + General lols

Ok. First things first, results..... 

It hasn't been the most successful month but it hasn't been an awful month either. Results were bound to suffer moving up the stakes and playing against better players and with this in mind I'm actually reasonably happy  especially as I have just fixed a couple of significant leaks that have potential to really improve my win rate. Before posting my monthly graph I have to explain to any noobs out there that the variant of poker I play on pokerstars is extremely swingy with the possibility for huge upswings and huge downswing's no matter the calibre of the player. Anyway, enough excuses... Graph time :)

Ok so again I have to explain that I am not allowed to post my expected value so this is next best thing. After all this is real money I suppose! Next update I'll factor rakeback into my graph! Redline isn't too bad but still plenty of room for improvement :) I'm quite excited to play some decent volume with my newly fixed leaks but unfortunately due to an upcoming trip (keep on reading) I have to really focus on uni work for the next 2.5 weeks and I don't see me playing ANY poker at all for the next few days unfortunately....

But overall I feel I've had quite a successful month poker-wise. I put in pretty crappy volume thanks to uni (agaaaaain) but results are fine considering I've only just moved up from the 7's and I feel confident for the near future! This month I've earned 11,000 vpps which is 11% of Supernova but only 1.1% of Supernova elite which is an optimistic but possible goal for this year. So first month down I'm officially 1.1% of the way to hitting my goal :) BUT obviously the higher the stakes I play the quicker I earn vpps and also the second I finish university my volume at the tables will increase dramatically so I'm still on track! Supernova elite would be an incredible achievement not only because I have only been playing hyper turbos for a few months but also because it is worth a hell of a lot of money! 

Around 100,000 USD to be more precise 

Heres a chart representing the number of games at each stake I'd need to play in order to hit my goal. 

Anyway, enough dirty money talk! I could get crushed at 15's for ever and lose the will to live! Hopefully very unlikely but still a possibility ;). Had a pretty busy couple of weeks with my 'boss' (he doesn't like this term but he basically is. Either that or a loan shark ;) ;) ;) )

 and good friend visiting me in Liverpool along with another poker play in our stable George (Belthazorrr) who decided to move to Liverpool for the next year to focus on poker and avoid crazy Greek 'gambling' taxes. So been doing lots of studying with George and showing him around Liverpool a little in preparation to move him into his new place within the next few days if all goes to plan!

Now last but by no means least. HOLIDAY!!!!!!! WORK TRIP!!!!!!

From the 17th of February till the 9th of March I will be studying, playing, partying, sunning, gyming and chilling with the rest of my stable (12 of us in total) on the beautiful Caribbean island of Curacao. Obviously main goal of the trip is to seriously develop our poker and to give us a real head start in our goals to hit Supernova elite this year. We'll be putting in some serious volume whilst were over there so this is pretty exciting and if all goes to plan we will be able to fit in months of study and really catapult us into a very profitable year for both ourselves and our backers. I'm actually lucky enough to be celebrating my 22nd birthday over there so I'm extremely excited for this as last year I spent my birthday held up in my bedroom doing sweet f a. I'm hoping for a somewhat hangover-esque birthday this year so if any of the stable are reading this don't let me down ;) I want everyone on top form. 

Anyway, this blog post is already way too long so congratulations if you've even made it this far! I'll finish this post with a few pictures of the grind-house and epicentre of general awesomeness where we'll be staying during our stay in Curacao. In case I hadn't mentioned earlier, I'm excited! Hope the rest of you guys are hitting targets and making 2014 your bitch!

What? CHARMANDER is evolving!

                                                                            MOVING UP!

So after roughly 2 months playing the 7$ games its time to move up! My last 4 weeks of games (3k games) have gone extremely well and my coaches and backers are happy for me to move up as of today!

This graph is 100% 7s and charts my last 4 weeks at the hypers so I'm obviously pretty happy with results! (Unfortunately I'm not allowed to post my expected value on this blog but its quite pretty :) )

So today my charmander avatar on pokerstars is ready to evolve! When starting out the hypers I decided as a little extra motivation (and a lot more nerdyness) to start the 3.50s with charmander and to evolve my pokemon every couple of level jumps. Now playing the 15s I will be playing as charmeleon, with plans to evolve it again at the 60$ levels+. 

This is my current pokerstars avatar....

And my glorious new avatar!

Still very much enjoying the challenge the hyper turbos bring and I have a few short and long term goals for 2014 which I will go into a lot more detail about in my first post of 2014. I'll also go into more detail about my previous year and hopes and dreams for the next 3-5 years with poker and general life. The best news for now though is now obviously is that I'm at the 15 dollar level and am now already making enough money to play full time once the hell that is university has finished!

 Don't want to go into too much detail right now though and bore you all to death.....

                                                                   Notable short term goals-

Keep on top of study

Aim for a solid 700-1k games a week

Get my blog read more! Advertise it and get a few more regular readers

Get back into fitness after an awful month with poker and uni taking up 100% of my time

Save up for the stables Curacao trip! (Blog post coming)

Crush the 15$ games and shoot for the 30$ games in February (fingers crossed)

ANYWAY.......

Hope you've all had an enjoyable/productive year and have a good Christmas! Also wish you all good luck in the new year!  Lastly have to thank my friends again at pokerhaven for giving me this amazing opportunity and for getting me this far already! I'll be back very early 2014! 

Update and staking deal!!

Well its been a while since I've updated this! As of yesterday I am in fact a staked poker player. I am now playing 6max hyper turbos on pokerstars currently at the 7 dollar level (having beaten the 3.50 level for 3k games) and recieve both playing money, regular coaching and regular strategy discussion with my friends and backers at pokerhaven.

(How I felt hearing the news I'd passed my trial month with pokerhaven)

 

With uni, poker and gym I'm now living an incredibly hectic lifestyle and from now till May of 2014 I'm looking at 6am-10pm days 7 days a week. Although this might sound a little excessive I welcome the challenge and hope my new poker ventures will be very profitable for both me and my backers. Im really enjoying the studying side of hypers and I feel I've already come a long way since the start of my trial month (6th sept). Study is extremely maths based and suprisingly to me most of my money is to come from t20 and t30 spots. Contrary to what some people may believe about hypers it is much more than just a push fold game. The 7 dollar games have been a suprising jump in difficulty but I'm plugging leaks and finding new +EV spots every day so both me and my backers hope to have me up to the 15s by next month and maybe even take a shot at supernova before the year is out (8k games from November, wish me luck).

 

Anyway, just a short update and now my life pretty much revolves around work (uni/poker) I might as well keep on top of updating this blog every week or two with graphs, interesting reads, interesting hands and any other general life chat. Cheers and watch this space!!