Decent Progress So Far
I'm at 430k VPP right now, and I think I was at 393k as of my last blog post on 8/5, so I'm fairly happy with my progress, but feel I can play a lot more consistently than I have been. I'd like to be playing at least two 3-hour sessions per day, but a lot of times I just end up with only 3 or 4 hours played. So, on the one hand I'm happy that I've been able to keep pace for SNE without really straining myself all that much, but on the other hand I'm a bit disappointed that I've slacked off when I could be getting myself a bit ahead of the pace I need to make SNE.
One thing that's been annoying the hell out of me is my sleep pattern. I don't know what the hell's wrong with me, but I just can't get to sleep before 8 AM, then I'll usually sleep 7-8 hours. The problem with this is that the DoNs really suck from like 10 PM to 7 AM b/c there aren't many casual players and the Chinese/Vietnamese players play a TON during this time and they still seem a bit shady. So I'd love to be able to get to sleep by 2 AM and get up at 9 AM and start grinding when the games get better, but it just hasn't worked out yet. I even tried staying up 30 hours straight so I was tired as hell at midnight, but then I could only sleep 3 hours, woke up at 3 AM, then was super tired again at 9 AM, and slept until 3 PM. A similar pattern happened a couple more days until I just said to myself screw it, I'll just stay up until I'm dead tired and sleep 7 hours, and hopefully the time I get tired at will move up a bit. So if anyone has gone through the same crap and has suggestions for how to sort out my sleep pattern, please let me know b/c I'm at a loss for solutions right now.
As for results at the table, they have been pretty solid since my last post. Last Friday night, I couple of my friends were out of town so I decided to stay in and play poker instead of drinking for the first time in ages, and I had a killer session +$3k. Other than that, it's been a huge roller coaster, but I think the other sessions netted about +$1.2k or so. I'm definitely pleased with being up this much since deciding to go for SNE again on 8/5. I was only hoping to breakeven or be a slight winner, so any profit is just gravy as long as I hit my goal of SNE in the end.
I'm thinking my next blog post will probably be a more serious topic so give me suggestions on what you'd like to hear me talk about. I've read a lot of Zen and psychology type stuff lately and I believe it's really helped out with poker. I also feel like getting the rest of your life in order like staying fit and having a healthy social life definitely has benefits for poker as well.
Here's my graph since last post:
Comments
for ur sleep problems..... picking a consistent time to go to bed is important. that way ur body knows when its "supposed" to be in sleep mode. also ive found that if i go to bed right after a session my mind is still in poker mode and takes a bit to settle down. so i generally stop playing about an hour before i want to go to bed. personally i like to use a certain leafy green substance to help me unwind and shut my brain down. there are sleep aids but i dont really recommend them as they are addictive and have some side effects. for example.... i found my ex girlfriend asleep, naked, sitting outside, with our house phone in her hand. and when i awoke her she had no idea how she got there. funny to me but smthn bad could have happened. they also sell seratonin pills, which is a chemical the body naturally produces and regulates sleep patterns. ive heard good things abt it, but have never really needed a sleep aid other than the green. also pay attention to caffeine intake. that could be another cause. i personally could drink a pot of coffee and go right to sleep, but know ppl that wont drink it past lunch as they feel it keeps them up at night. anyway, i hope ive hepled u a lil bit. good luck on getting sne. and def get some rest!!!
as long as you can keep a semi steady profit it will be easy for you to make SNE. the only thing that can get in the way is running/playing horrible.
its hard to get ahead of pace but trust me it will be worth it if you can start getting 1k vpps or more than your average in a day to get you to the point where you won't have to play one day or two if you don't feel like it
Gl staying on (ahead of) pace.