Hectic Weeks and Coaching

Hi All,
Man these last few weeks have been hectic. We closed on our new home in Alabama on Tuesday then headed out to Texas to finish packing. Been here a few days and the house is starting to look like we're ready to move. Funny how when it's time to move you always find more and more stuff that you forgot you had. I think I spent 30 minutes today reading Christmas/Birthday/Easter/Valentines cards from my wife and my parents that I had apparently saved from the past 3 years. The movers come Monday morning to pack up the house, and then load up on Monday evening. After that it's back to Alabama to meet them and unload the truck. We also ordered all kinds of stuff online that should arrive mid next week as well. We're super excited and can't wait to finally move in to our new home.

As far as poker goes, I've barely played any lately. When I have it's been a few sessions at the Dog Track in Pensacola, FL and one session at the Amelia Belle in south Louisiana when I went home to visit my parents. Pretty much broke even over the 3 sessions due to an ugly run in Pensacola during my last session. It was just one of those where I lost with AA once, lost with QQ twice, and won the blinds only when I had KK. Sometimes thats the breaks of the game. It is unbelievable how much I am missing the online grind and can't wait to get back to 9 tabling across all the limits at FeltStars. We may have company next weekend if my wifes parents come in from Houston, so my ultimate goal poker wise is to be playing full time again by mid August. Hopefully I can add some more poker content to this blog then and even post some hands for analysis.

I've been sort of "coaching" a friend of mine for a while now. He's a very good guy and I normally stay at his place for weeks at a time when I go to Las Vegas. He's nearing retirement and has a goal of beating 9 handed no limit online for 1BB/100 plus make his rakeback so that he can supplement his retirement. We talked poker a bit through the years, but I haven't really helped him much until recently. After about 250k hands over the past 3 years he is close to break even counting his rakeback. I think we've finally hit a turning point where he is starting to "get it" and I hope to see results from his effort soon. The biggest thing that I wanted to mention, not just for his sake but for anyone who is reading this, deals with being results oriented. I truely believe this is what is holding his and many other peoples games back from really excelling. He thinks just because he runs KK into AA that Kings should be folded 100 big blinds deep. He thinks just because he gets all in preflop with AK vs TT and doesnt win that he should just flat call and play fit or fold. He thinks just because he gets it in with the nut flush draw and middle pair on the flop out of position and runs into a set that he should just check call and see if he turns the flush. And it's not just him! Many of us do this all the tiume and this type of thinking is wrong. I agree that there are times that you don't want to become machine like, making the same plays over and over, but in general playing passive when aggression is obviously the better line is a losing proposition. If you ever feel like you may be falling into that passive rut and want to shake yourself out before you compound your losses with more mistakes, ask yourself this question: Will I even remember losing this hand next week? Next month? Next year? If the answer is no, then play the hand correctly and forget about the short term results. If the answer is Yes, then you are probably playing above and beyond the limitations of your bankroll. In general, one hand should never define your month or year. Back to my friend, I think that if he can learn to let go of individual hand results, that he will see his 1BB/100 winrate become a reality in the very near future. I respect him very much and plan on doing my best to help him achieve his goal.

Guess I'm going to keep this short as I have a ton to do tomorrow before the movers come on Monday. As always, join me at the tables on FeltStars. Click on any banner to create an account, and use bonus code BootnTee when registering for a 300% deposit bonus up to $3k. Awesome promos going now and even better ones are ahead in the near future. Hope to see you on the virtual felt there soon.

Til Next Time....