SkilfulPoker

Great! Gl purps are you playing ?

Hey am I right that first game of series is tonight? Thanks

Hey guys, I'm back in London now. I flew back today from Ireland, and I had a really great time. It was such a nice atmosphere at the IPT. The Irish crowd is an amazing group of people, and the craic, as they say, was good. They were also incredibly welcoming, which was awesome. I had some of the most enjoyable poker that I've ever played, and I actually lost money overall, so hey, that's not so bad, is it? Unfortunately, I was unwell on Friday night and Saturday, which meant I couldn't play the main event, which was a bit disappointing. I spent all of Saturday in my hotel room, with the exception of going to a chemist to get a COVID test. Thankfully, I didn't have COVID. On the upside the trip into town to get a covid test meant I found the duck shop! Of course i couldnt leave without buying one On Sunday, I was able to play again. I mainly played cash and participated in a couple of satellites. I also played a high-roller satellite, which was a €200 buy-in for Omaha that had an overlay. Unfortunately, I didn't cash in any of them, but it was a great time overall. What this experience has done is inject a ton of passion into poker for me again. It's really motivated me and inspired me to get better at the game. I had such an enjoyable time playing live poker in Ireland that I'm definitely going to another IPT in the future and will start attending some Unibet events as well. I've decided that live poker is far more enjoyable than online poker. The atmosphere, the community, and the ability to get to know people at the table make it a richer experience. I was on first-name terms with about eight or nine people by the time I left, which is amazing, considering I'd only been there for a few days. I played an MTT with a 400-euro buy-in and had a bit of a rollercoaster experience. I stacked two people within the first half hour and ended up with around 850 big blinds. Then, I lost it all within the next hour. It was a learning experience, and I went into it knowing I was a novice at tournaments. Thankfully, I broke even at cash games. I've already invested in training materials to help me improve because this trip has really motivated me. I plan to try and satellite into a big event in Dublin at the end of this month. I'll also be more active on Unibet to participate in the live events. As of today, October 2nd, I'm drawing a line and will start properly tracking my results. I'll update on profit and loss once a month from a stats point of view. But I'll also give more general, life-based updates about once a week. If you haven't been to a live event, I highly recommend it. It's opened up a new dimension to poker for me. This is coming from someone who plays regularly in a casino. But going to a poker festival is a different experience altogether, especially when it's in a different country. Thanks for reading, guys. I hope you're having a good time, had a great weekend, and are running good on the tables. Cheers!

Hey guys hope you're well. Tomorrow I jet off to sunny rainy Ireland for the first time for the Killarney Festival! I'm looking forward to it. Just wondered if any of you tournament regulars have any advice for a tournament newbie. I'm going to brush up on shoving at 20bb and below over the next few days. But short of that, I am bringing my cash game strategy over, so if you can share any gems of wisdom, that would be great 🙂 I've never travelled to play at a poker festival before. I'm just putting my main event schedule together, which is quite exciting. 😀 I played in one MTT online the other day on Unibet a 25 euros but busted out of that, I still have about 80 euros on the site so I think I'll play another tonight as a little warm-up and to practice whatever I learn today. By the way on the subject of travel... have any of you bought a suitcase recently? It's virtually impossible to buy them without these TSA locks, which is basically a lock which airport security can open up if they have a TSA master key. I heard these keys were sold on eBay before?! Not sure how true that is, but anyway, I don't like the idea of someone being able to go through my suitcase if they have this master key. So I've decided to glue the TSA lock part. Have you guys encountered this before? What do you think about them?

Upcoming Adventure: Killarney Festival in Ireland Good morning, everyone! I hope you're all doing well. I wanted to share some exciting news with you: I'll be participating in the Killarney Festival over in Ireland next week, towards its conclusion. The anticipation is real! Main Event and More I'm enterimg the main event, boasting a buy-in of 600 euros and an impressive guarantee of 300,000 euros. Beyond that, I've set my sights on some cash games, and I'm keeping an eye out for other tournaments that align with my budget. If any fellow players are heading to the festival, it'd be great to catch up—maybe over lunch? Sobriety and Its Impact on My Poker Game Now, on a personal note, this trip marks only the second time I've ventured abroad. And for that, I owe a massive thank you to my journey into sobriety. Reflecting on it, quitting alcohol has drastically altered my life's trajectory. The positivity and control I now wield are night and day compared to my drinking days. I won't preach, but I feel compelled to share a bit of my experience. Like many in the UK and Europe, I started drinking in my teens. It became a constant until a few years back. And while I've oscillated between periods of drinking and abstaining, one thing stands out: each time I've put down the bottle, the quality of my life has soared. Since adopting this change, my poker game has flourished. My mental acumen at the table is at its peak, allowing me to weather losing sessions with a resilience I didn't know I possessed. I have Stoiciscm to thank for that, but I would never have started practicing Stoicism were it not for the clarity and mental space , sobriety gave me. In all the time since starting this blog, I haven't once tilted to a degree where my bankroll took a spew hit at the poker table. That's a win in my book! Poker: A Mirror to Life A common misconception about poker, especially from an outsider's perspective, is that it’s synonymous with risk and recklessness. But, in my opinion, to be a triumphant poker player, whether semi-pro or pro, your personal life has to mirror that success. Poker is like life in miniature—you encounter a myriad of personalities, ups and downs, strokes of good and bad luck. The real trick lies in mastering discipline and emotional control. Looking Ahead As for my recent live poker escapades, I've been on a winning streak, netting a few hundred pounds in profit. I must admit, my tracking has waned a bit, something I plan to address. But rest assured, I'll be keeping everyone posted during my time in Killarney, especially regarding those cash games I've heard so much about. If you happen to be there, don't hesitate to reach out. Let's connect! After this festival, my aim is to qualify for some Unibet events. Until then, have a great week, and I'll catch up with you all soon. Cheers!

Ok now I really am taking a break from the live games for a bit! I ended up playing again tonight and also profited nicely but I felt a bit tired also I noticed poker is becoming a little bit of a grind now, I guess that happens when you play every day with the odd few days break in between for a few weeks! so I decided to take a few weeks off. Next time I play live will be end of the month if I do play. In meantime I’m going to play online if I play. Managed to win a stack quite early on tonight which was nice so profited about £190 and only played for 1.5 hours 💰😃 enjoying the upswing! But everything in moderation. Time to get back to the day job for a bit!

Nice that's a lovely bankroll you got on the go there, nicely done Nestabear !

Nice one! Love your blog updates, good luck for week ahead!

Great job on your grind session! It's impressive how you've turned things around by eliminating distractions and focusing on quality play. Your dedication and results speak for themselves. Keep up the good work and may your poker journey continue to be profitable and enjoyable! 💪😊

Hey guys , took yesterday off from poker and wow did I benefit. My dad is in the hospital at the moment so I’ve been visiting him every day for the last 9 days and seems it was getting tiring! I got home last night at 7pm layed on my bed and feel asleep until 3am! Got up went back to sleep at 4am and slept until 9am!! 😮 Awesome I’m pleased my body caught up a bit. Then I went to spend the morning and afternoon with my dad. Then went to play some poker. I’m still practicing Stoicism but I have to remind myself to practice it because otherwise old thinking creeps back in. Today I’m pleased to say I had the best live session since I started recording for a much needed boost which puts us back in the green! Tomorrow I have decided I’m not playing I’m going to do a bit of streaming instead at 50nl so will see you there hopefully if you got any time. I’ll post here when I start. Im pleased with today because not only did I win almost four stacks! But I table selected AND I implemented my Stoicism. It would have been tempting to stay as it was Saturday night but after playing for five hours I thought sensible thing is practice some moderation go home chill, and get a decent night sleep again. So that’s what I did! Here are the live results with that last session added 🙂 So currently £653 up after expenses across the nine sessions. Hope you all have an awesome weekend, cheers!

The Great Poker Hustle: The Good, The Bad, and the Zen… Hey poker aficionados! Grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and let's have a heart-to-heart about the rollercoaster that has been my life on the felt. The past few weeks have seen yours truly immersed in the world of live poker. I've been there, breathing in the enticing aroma of strategy and bluffing, every.single.day. And oh boy, what a ride! I faced a jaw-dropping loss of three stacks in one session and endured back-to-back losing sessions. But hey, who said poker was for the faint-hearted? What I'm incredibly chuffed about is my zen-like mindset through all this chaos. Thank you, Stoicism! Who knew ancient philosophy could come to the rescue in a modern-day poker room? This mindset journey began with a personal challenge: To face live poker without my usual mental game demons. I've had my fair share of battles with the mental side of the game. Tilt? Been there, done that (wouldn't recommend!). Although I've never let tilt mess with my wallet, it sure had its way with my win rate. But no more! The tables have turned (literally) and I'm in control. You might’ve caught a glimpse of my recent sessions from the pic I shared. It's been a mix of ups and downs, a poker-yin and yang if you will. Currently, I'm dancing around 70 big blinds down and my pockets are £200 lighter, thanks to our ever-reliable British transportation. Late-night poker equals many a taxi ride! Today, for the first time, I felt the game turning into a grind. My moves weren't as spry and my reads, not as sharp. Perhaps it's the fatigue or maybe the monotony. Either way, tonight, the cards will rest. I'll reflect tomorrow and see if Friday brings the zest back. After all, with an empty house, the lure of the poker room is tempting. Yet, it's crucial to play when I'm fresh and genuinely enjoying every bet and bluff. On the brighter side, I've been networking at the poker table. The live poker community is awesome. Here's a fun tidbit: I might be hopping over to the Irish poker tour soon. I got talking to a guy from Ireland who sold it well to me, so may meet him over there. Also depends on my mate who lives in Austria and if he can make it. A half-million guarantee? Now, that's tempting! And to sweeten the deal, there's talk of a discounted room at the venue. Let's see how the cards unfold by month-end. Online poker? Ah! Deposited a fresh €120 and we're at about €110 now. Not a pro at it, but hey, keep an eye out for my streams, and I'll show you all the "not-to-dos" of online poker. 😄 All in all, the real jackpot here isn't just about the chips and cards. It's the mental game. Stay sharp, stay serene, and may the poker gods be ever in your favour. Catch you all soon guys!

Well if you play badly you often play more hands, and the more hands you play the more marginal spots you will get in, and so I would say yes if you play badly you could experience more run bad simply because you are playing more cards so the opportunity for instances you can be running bad is increased, and also the spots are less polarised, you might think oh it’s so unlucky he just had me beat by one kicker rank for example, but if you played well you likely wouldn’t have even been in that particular hand. great question and interesting replies!

Awesome! Congratulations my friend. I really like your attitude to bankroll management. You felt sad when you registered this shows how dedicated you are to following solid bankroll strategy. And very nice that you managed to capitalise on that, take it down brother!! 😛

Hey guys I’ve played a fair bit past number of days online an hour here an hour there, just one tabling, bankroll is £270 , so in total am up by £30. Live was proving tough lately but I am really pleased, I stayed disciplined. Before yesterday the last two times I played live despite being up £600 and £400 in both sessions I ended up losing both and lost about £600 in total. Thankfully I was still in net profit. Overall since starting this blog. Then yesterday I played, and dropped another two stacks but eventually won them back and finished the session after expenses up by £50. Tonight I played for 8 hours live and was £485 down at the lowest point but again stayed disciplined and managed to win some hands towards end of session for a total profit today of 125bbs. I have started tracking live results now so will keep you updated. Here is status since yesterday, I won’t be playing now until next Friday: I seem to be starting an unhealthy habit of firing up poker tables on way home / when I get home after playing live. So I’ve decided to withdraw my online bankroll for now which means I ended up £30 in profit online. Then what I’m going to do at some point is have a concerted effort at getting into some Unibet open sats and will update you guys when I do, and I’ll deposit when it’s time to do that. In meantime I’m going to focus on live as I enjoy it more. I’ve got some hands to discuss but am too tired to write them 😂 so will add them in a few days! i still plan to do some streaming but now I’ll be streaming my likely losing micro satellite strategy 😀

Hey, poker fans, I hope you're doing well, and your poker journeys are climbing into the stars. Just an update here. We've had a slight change of plan, but for the right reasons, and it's all nice and considered and in control. So what happened Monday? I was looking at the lobby and I was about to fire up my 4NL cash, And then I saw a promotion for the Hexapros, and the promotion was within the next hour. The €2 would release a €200 jackpot within the hour, so of course, I decided to jump in there and churn through a fair bit of the bankroll at the same time. It seemed sensible because they were just €2.00, and I was playing 4NL cash before, but it took me from about €36 to €11, which is a big chunk. I have decided to focus on playing only one table on Unibet instead of multi-tabling, as it gives me a more realistic experience compared to playing live. Playing online allows me to improve my live game, which is my main goal. I realized that the hands are a lot faster with one table, so I deposited an additional £200 and increased my stakes. Currently, I am playing with 50 NL and am up about 4 stacks, but of course the bankroll is a tool and it's important not to anchor to arbitrary ups or downs. I’m going to follow the 10 buy in move up, 7 buy in move down strategy going forward which was my goal when I started the blog. My bankroll has never reached zero during this blog, which is promising (I kid you not! You should have seen some of my earlier blogs 😂). I am also earning points for promos while playing one table, which is relaxing. Unfortunately, the video I made of my first session at 50nl did not work out due to lag, so I am providing this update instead. I will record some future sessions of 50nl once I have resolved the video lag issue. That's all for now in terms of the update for what I've been playing! I haven't been able to play live because of this little girl who has become quite attached to me and I'm looking after her for another 9 days 😀 She's doing a pretty good job of exercising me 😀 So far I've deposited : £240 since I started the blog : And bankroll is currently : £ 357.01 For a current profit of: +£117.01

Annual leave and spending some time to climb up the poker ladder, hats of to your sir, that’s great poker work ethic! Wishing you all the best keep us updated !

Think these sound like healthy changes! regs will not like me for this, but if rake isn’t high enough for a promo, maybe increase the take a tad too? reason for this thinking is the losing / recreational players, probably wont care, but it will give them something back as the increased rake could hopefully pay for some promos to make them more exciting for casual players. maybe Unibet open could subsidise it a bit and the promo could be a satellite to win a Unibet open for players who share a hand that gets the most comments in the community - this could draw more community signups also for people who aren’t aware how cool the community is 😎 just a few ideas, my first thought was this is why Unibet is for players , you don’t just do things you are actually consulting with the player base, very cool!!

Guys if you have any mental game issues I really recommend Stoicism. I firmly believe that the mental game of poker is way more important than the technical knowledge of how to play poker. Maybe that's just my own experience though because I always found the technical side of things easy and the mental game side of things insanely difficult. Not only is the mental game important I think its 100 times more important than the technical aspects of the game. I have been practicing Stoicism for about a week and wow it's helping. I even slept the best I have in ages last night 7 hours! So it's helping in wider life too. Anyway, yesterday I was on way out to casino and had left the little dog that I'm looking after in the house with someone, she was meant to be asleep as she sleeps in the night time, but I heard her give a few barks as I shut the front door, poor little girl has already become attached to me 😄 so cute. That and fact I missed my first train made me decide to come home instead of playing live. So I played a 2 euro Unibet live qualifier, and lost! and a small amount of 4nl. Thought i'd update as I left the last post with the idea that I'd be going to live casino. Will start updating every 5 days or so unless I have any noteworthy hands to get your thoughts on / discuss! Will also start tracking my live poker results from today, so between now and end of year I'll report progress with live poker monthly too. Have a good week people!

Lost a few stacks at 4nl, and ran into quads. Amazing how often this happens online and never with same frequency live. I was six-tabling and only played for 40 minutes 😄 Just funny. Anyway! Mental game held up purrrfect. Small dent to the bankroll. Now I got to go walk the little dog and will update again in a few days once I've had a chance to log some volume. I'm also going to record some sessions and make some highlight hands to get your feedback guys. Meantime It's back to the live casino tonight. Cheers!

What is happening guys. Yesterday was good but a losing session. The last two sessions have been a mental game test, but I've came through with flying colours! Two days ago I lost a 250bb stack when I shoved over the 5-bet with AK (that was the hand above that I was referring to) the AK on the button vs BB reg. Then yesterday night I lose a 300BB stack and a 600bb pot to end my session ! I have to get better at remember details of hands or I'm never going to be able to check the hands properly after the session, so sorry that the details are vague, but I'll do best I can to give you an idea of what went down, as always your thoughts are invaluable to me, so let me know what you think! I have AK I open from EP to 3x at 1/2 live. everyone folds to CO who 3bets me to 22. I call PF, not wanting to polarize myself against a stronger range and wanting to keep worse aces in here for example. --- Flop: Flop was king high, no other broadways, medium cards, no flush draw. I check to PFAgressor and he Cbets like 30 , and I call. Turn: Turn is a medium card and puts a flush draw out there. Still a king high flop with no other broadways on it. If I call this bet there will be about 230 in the pot and I'll have about 450 left. I shove. -- How was that hand played? Thoughts? --- Mental game is going really solid, so I'm starting a challenge up to build a bit of a bankroll up on Unibet. Mainly so I can continue to put my new and improved mental game to the test, and also so I can review some hands with a friend after (seen as I have so much difficulty remembering specifics from the live hands after the sessions!) I'm just about to deposit £40 and will be following a 10 buy in bankroll management strategy starting a stake with ten buys, and dropping if I hit 7 buyins for stake below, unless it's 4nl of course. To start with today I'm going to play some 4nl. Cheers guys. Hope your day is going well!

Hope you enjoying the sun if in uk that should have said , I don’t play golf lol! Perfect thank you mate. I shoved which after I was shown aces felt bad, but I learned from it. I realised after I really had no idea how to play that hand so it was a lesson worth buying at the table 😂 My mate who is a pro when I asked him said he would call he wouldn’t shove. Because really how often are people five bet shoving. Play it post and see a flop. I said what if you hits top pair just one broadway card on flop and he said yeah stack off / call it down. i then said well I think I prefer folding it assuming they are only 5betting with QQ+ and AK, and he said well if their range is that tight which isn’t that unreasonable yeah not good spot. Also if we are folding to a 5bet why are we 3betting vs the reg. so I think this pretty much gels in with what you said with the calc. Thanks SScherbyna !

Haha hey guys! hope your weekend is starting well, for the next couple of weeks I’m looking after a tiny little dog 🐶 so that’s going to up my fitness levels, just got back from morning walk, for such a tiny thing she can walk fast! i think I may have turned a corner with poker, early days but it’s looking hopeful. I’ve aspired to be a semi pro for a long time now but emotional control was never up to it, my best mate is a pro poker player and I know the type of mindset you need to succeed long term In this game, it has to be rock solid! I started reading Stoicism lately and it’s really helping me. I find it’s the most detached from results I’ve been. It’s also helping wider in life but poker is improved for sure 👌 This is the book I just finished. I recommend it if you are looking to improve your mental game (on the felt or wider life!) key 🔑 aspects are: - Everything external to us (such as results playing poker, how someone talks to you or what you think someone might be thinking of you for instance) that we don’t have control over, makes up the world of indifferent and we shouldn’t see any of it as good or bad. - The things we have control over is our thinking and actions they are the only things we should value as good or bad. Anyway that’s a life update on to the poker. Poker has gone really well since I started this blog. I played Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Mon-Wed I had three winning sessions , Thursday was a losing session and I lost 200bb. I just misread the situation. But the session was an outstanding success as I left pretty much completely unaffected which is something I’m not used to experiencing when I’ve just lost £400. But of course the money is just a tool! I have a hand for your thoughts! hand was AK and I had it on the button vs a reg , I opened he 3bet from Bb I 4 bet to £75 he made it £175 and had me covered. I had like £420 behind. And it was £1/£2 blinds. Thoughts here guys ? Do you call, fold or shove ? across the 4 days I finished up about 500bb !! So was pretty awesome. last night I didn’t play as was looking after the little dog 🐶 am hoping to get out tonight though! I’m going to start tracking my results properly in a poker app from today. Any advice on a good app for tracking live results on phone? cheers all hope you’re enjoying the sun golf in UK!!

3:22 just going to sleep , guess I missed the hotel breakfast tomorrow but will see! +£350 tonight so that was handy ✌️

David! best wishes sir, how's it going?

ello guys this is my last blog because i have lost count of the number of blogs i've made over the years, and then lost track of. So for the next however long I blog come hell or high water, I will just continue off in this blog. Starting very simply here. With a couple of aims. I'm currently playing poker in a live casino and am about a buy in up, so thats nice. My ambitions for now are: Learn how to play and beat satelite's so I can sat into some decent sized games. I'm reading Dara's book to help with that. Do some unibet streaming at some point. Get to some Unibet Opens. I never went to one. Meet some of you guys before I forget how to play poker (did I ever know lol?) Stay sober. 3 months without any alcohol now. Cheers all!