I am still excited about my Copenhagen Poker Marathon experiment. The more I think about it the more I want to do it, and the more am I convinced that the experience will help me expand my capacity for playing fully focused long hours. Furthermore, I think it is quite possible I could be a better player at the end.
Like all other body parts, I believe that you can train your brain to perform at a higher level for longer periods of time. So, if I am to play poker for a whole week only interrupted by a bit of sleep here and there, I think it will be necessarry for me to practice at playing long sessions.
Yesterday I did my first marathon session experiment. I played for 9 hours and 45 minutes, the last 7 of those hours basically uninterrupted. That came out as 7744 hands of poker in a day. Quite an output considering a normal month for me is at 30k-40k hands. Results wise it was also a good day, with a 3.9PTBB/100 win rate.
I was pleasantly surprised that I suffered no ill effects during the long session. I was able to play well throughout, and I still feel sane today. Of course there is no guarantee that I would know it if I had actually lost my sanity... I alternated between sitting and standing a little bit, but still had a little back ache when it was over, so I foresee more of that when I am going to do it a whole week. I think I need to condition my back a little bit during the next month, or I could really hurt myself with an experiment like the one I am planning. Overall, being in good physical condition is absolutely necessarry if you are going to be sitting down a lot!
While I felt well throughout the entire session, the last hour was really a bore, and I felt very tired. Quite possibly my fatigue was only a result of knowing that I was close to the end, as I had planned ahead when to stop. If I had planned for two hours more, there is a chance I could have easily done that and still only been tired the last hour. But since I don't think I have ever played such a monster session before, I can't complain about being a little bombed in the head.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the whole project is what it will do to my poker game. In my opinion, the worst thing that could happen is nothing. You could point out that this is a likely result, since the main focus is on long hours and many open tables, so there is no time to really concentrate on quality. But I hope that simply burying myself in poker for a long time, and clearing my mind of every day items will have a positive effect, and allow me to get deeper into the game. All of the top cash game players have one thing in common: They have all played insane amounts of poker. Also, I have read several of the top players describe important steps in their carreers as periods of time where they focused solely on poker, without the hazzle of an every day life ruining the concentration. Additionally I hope that when I am in the middle of a +50k hand week, the imidiate results will seem more trivial, and allow me to focus more on decisions, less on results.
I look forward to reporting how things turn out.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Copenhagen Marathon
The annual Copenhagen Marathon is May 18th this year. I have decided that this year, I will give it a go. I haven't really prepared for it or anything, but I figure sheer willpower should be enough...
Are you now thinking something along these lines: "Wow, he must be out of his mind if he thinks he can prepare for a 42km run in little over a month."?
Well, I can only reply: RUN?!?!? Are you kidding me? I can't run 5km without lying prone for 2 weeks afterwards with severely aggrevated achilles tendons. I couldn't run 20 if my life depended on it, much less 42.
No sir, the plan is to do a poker challenge that puts no unreasonable demands on my limited physical abilities, time it roughly around the time all those crazed lunatics run around Copenhagen for hours and hours, and then just steal their name! Brilliant if you ask me, and a good opportunity to test the limits of how much online poker it is possible to play in an extended period of time.
Copenhagen Poker Marathon starts for me Monday May 11th, and lasts the whole week through Sunday. How hard I should challenge myself is still undecided. I am wavering between 50-70,000 hands in a week. 70k sounds cool (10k/day), but I am not sure it is realistic. At least it would demand a fairly big sacrifice, about a hundred hours staring at 8 tables, which may be too much. I am fairly certain I could do 50k without going mad. An essential part of the challenge for me is that I should maintain a high level of play. I should not have to move down in buy-in levels to complete the challenge unless my normal level is unavailable in the number of tables required. That means maintaining a decent hourly rate at 8 tables of 1000NL for at least 10 hours a day, probably more.
In any case, it should be a rich opportunity for prop bets, let me know if you want action. I will keep you updated on this blog as the event comes further along.
Are you now thinking something along these lines: "Wow, he must be out of his mind if he thinks he can prepare for a 42km run in little over a month."?
Well, I can only reply: RUN?!?!? Are you kidding me? I can't run 5km without lying prone for 2 weeks afterwards with severely aggrevated achilles tendons. I couldn't run 20 if my life depended on it, much less 42.
No sir, the plan is to do a poker challenge that puts no unreasonable demands on my limited physical abilities, time it roughly around the time all those crazed lunatics run around Copenhagen for hours and hours, and then just steal their name! Brilliant if you ask me, and a good opportunity to test the limits of how much online poker it is possible to play in an extended period of time.
Copenhagen Poker Marathon starts for me Monday May 11th, and lasts the whole week through Sunday. How hard I should challenge myself is still undecided. I am wavering between 50-70,000 hands in a week. 70k sounds cool (10k/day), but I am not sure it is realistic. At least it would demand a fairly big sacrifice, about a hundred hours staring at 8 tables, which may be too much. I am fairly certain I could do 50k without going mad. An essential part of the challenge for me is that I should maintain a high level of play. I should not have to move down in buy-in levels to complete the challenge unless my normal level is unavailable in the number of tables required. That means maintaining a decent hourly rate at 8 tables of 1000NL for at least 10 hours a day, probably more.
In any case, it should be a rich opportunity for prop bets, let me know if you want action. I will keep you updated on this blog as the event comes further along.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Vegas, Baby!
The plan for this years WSOP is becomming increasingly clear. Last year was a great experience, so this year it will basically be the same thing, except more of it, and better!
Along with 3 other poker players from the office, we are renting a big ass house with pool, pool table, BBQ and a fast internet connection. I am staying in Vegas from the 3rd to the 19th of June, and my wife is joining me for the first week. When she leaves, I will turn down the sight seeing, and get some serious gambling started.
Between the 10th and 17th, there are relevant NL Hold'em, WSOP events almost every day, so I should be able to play at least six events unless I go deep in some of them (hopefully that won't happen). Also, there should be a rich variety of regular poker tournaments in Vegas during the WSOP period, so I will be able to satisfy my cravings for live poker, have no fear.
With the impossibly devalued US$, another craving should be satisfied this year: The rental of very fast cars is not prohibitively expensive, so that will certainly be an item on the agenda. For example, I give you the Lambo Gellardo:
That one is a little expensive though, $1800 for one day, not including insurance, so I may have to make do with just a small Ferrari. Muhahahahaaaa!!!
Along with 3 other poker players from the office, we are renting a big ass house with pool, pool table, BBQ and a fast internet connection. I am staying in Vegas from the 3rd to the 19th of June, and my wife is joining me for the first week. When she leaves, I will turn down the sight seeing, and get some serious gambling started.
Between the 10th and 17th, there are relevant NL Hold'em, WSOP events almost every day, so I should be able to play at least six events unless I go deep in some of them (hopefully that won't happen). Also, there should be a rich variety of regular poker tournaments in Vegas during the WSOP period, so I will be able to satisfy my cravings for live poker, have no fear.
With the impossibly devalued US$, another craving should be satisfied this year: The rental of very fast cars is not prohibitively expensive, so that will certainly be an item on the agenda. For example, I give you the Lambo Gellardo:
That one is a little expensive though, $1800 for one day, not including insurance, so I may have to make do with just a small Ferrari. Muhahahahaaaa!!!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
1st Quarter review.
I've joined my poker databases from my two work places, and for the first time in a while had a chance to look at my cash game results this year all together. The results are great looking as I expected them to be. While I have been extremely lucky in all-in situations this year so far, I have also been solidly beating the games otherwise.
Back in November and December I had a tumble with variance as I tried to move up from NL600 to NL1000, and promptly decided I might as well play NL2000. The end result was a small hit to my bank roll which was unfortunately followed by a long losing streak at NL600.
In January things started rolling again, and I booked a decent winning month. Since then I really have moved up, and I am now a solidly winning NL1000 player, with regular succesful exploits into NL2000. I am not ashamed to admit that statement gives me no little satisfaction. In my opinion, this is not just another step on the ladder, in some ways I feel I have passed the final examn of mid stakes cash games, and the major obstacle that stands between me and any high stakes game now is simply a lot of money. I may be kidding myself, and I may be influenced by my prolonged stay at NL600, but my feeling right now is that the difference between the play at NL200 and NL1000 is much greater than the difference between NL1000 and any high stakes cash game regularly played. I am confident I would get my ass wupped in the long run if I sat down in some of the big games, but I believe with some table selection and a substantially larger bank roll, I could do fine. That was certainly not how I felt about NL1000 back when i started on NL200.
The plan for the next couple of months is to keep up the good work ethics and hopefully also the good run, pad my IRL roll, and take more shots at bigger games if things continue to go well. I had a firm reminder to keep my feet on the ground this Saturday, where I lost $11k. Still, March gave me about $32k, so I could afford it. But not too many of those please, losing 5 figure in a day regularly is not something my roll or my confidence is quite ready for yet. Actually I have not felt like playing much since Saturday, so the experience left it's mark. That must change though, as I will surely have more 5 figure days both ways in the months to come.
I have registered 86k hands this year, for a profit of $89,475, and an hourly rate of $567. That number has been inflated by some really mind boggling all-in luck. I am up $23k in that department, but I still think with this sample size I am not too optimistic to expect $300/hr at this point. A number that I think obligates me to get in a lot of those work hours, and stop sitting around not playing!
My multitabling ratio is at about 5.5, which is a little less than the ideal number of tables for me at this point. I really think I can play 6 tables and still maintain a high level of play. I regularly play 8, and even then I often have a very good feeling that I am in complete control of all tables, and don't really want to leave any of them. It was my plan a few months ago to cut down the number of tables, but that is no longer a set goal as long as the results and the quality of play is to my satisfaction. Only on really tough tables do I feel the need to play fewer than 6 tables, and in that case I would just as soon give up playing if I can't find better.
Back in November and December I had a tumble with variance as I tried to move up from NL600 to NL1000, and promptly decided I might as well play NL2000. The end result was a small hit to my bank roll which was unfortunately followed by a long losing streak at NL600.
In January things started rolling again, and I booked a decent winning month. Since then I really have moved up, and I am now a solidly winning NL1000 player, with regular succesful exploits into NL2000. I am not ashamed to admit that statement gives me no little satisfaction. In my opinion, this is not just another step on the ladder, in some ways I feel I have passed the final examn of mid stakes cash games, and the major obstacle that stands between me and any high stakes game now is simply a lot of money. I may be kidding myself, and I may be influenced by my prolonged stay at NL600, but my feeling right now is that the difference between the play at NL200 and NL1000 is much greater than the difference between NL1000 and any high stakes cash game regularly played. I am confident I would get my ass wupped in the long run if I sat down in some of the big games, but I believe with some table selection and a substantially larger bank roll, I could do fine. That was certainly not how I felt about NL1000 back when i started on NL200.
The plan for the next couple of months is to keep up the good work ethics and hopefully also the good run, pad my IRL roll, and take more shots at bigger games if things continue to go well. I had a firm reminder to keep my feet on the ground this Saturday, where I lost $11k. Still, March gave me about $32k, so I could afford it. But not too many of those please, losing 5 figure in a day regularly is not something my roll or my confidence is quite ready for yet. Actually I have not felt like playing much since Saturday, so the experience left it's mark. That must change though, as I will surely have more 5 figure days both ways in the months to come.
I have registered 86k hands this year, for a profit of $89,475, and an hourly rate of $567. That number has been inflated by some really mind boggling all-in luck. I am up $23k in that department, but I still think with this sample size I am not too optimistic to expect $300/hr at this point. A number that I think obligates me to get in a lot of those work hours, and stop sitting around not playing!
My multitabling ratio is at about 5.5, which is a little less than the ideal number of tables for me at this point. I really think I can play 6 tables and still maintain a high level of play. I regularly play 8, and even then I often have a very good feeling that I am in complete control of all tables, and don't really want to leave any of them. It was my plan a few months ago to cut down the number of tables, but that is no longer a set goal as long as the results and the quality of play is to my satisfaction. Only on really tough tables do I feel the need to play fewer than 6 tables, and in that case I would just as soon give up playing if I can't find better.
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