Summer's Here

Just to make things clear; I'm not Pete.
Ever since I joined DeucesCracked my game is improving and my bankroll growing. The more I study about poker the more I feel like I have to study a lot more.

Once you get sucked into a search for knowledge the tendency is to push it as far as possible.

Anyway, there's still time to relax.
Summer (finally) arrived in Brussels.
The sun is shining brightly.
The World Cup is on TV.
The weather is hot.
City parks are filled with sun seeking people.
I heard there's a music festival going on down town.
It's all good. It's all fine.
The best time of the year in this little town.
Let's hope it's a long and hot one....

Six months ago (in sunny Cambodia) I started playing Rush Poker 25NL. Today (in sunny Brussels) I'm well bankrolled for Rush Poker 200NL. Moving up 3 buy-in levels in half a year must count for something... My bankroll is now officially off the bankroll chart I drew up about a year ago.
Good times!

All I need for perfect happiness would be some minor (faked) injury to stay home from work all summer long. So I can neatly divide my time between crushing Rush 200NL, lazy times in the park and studying at DeucesCracked...

Assistance or advice in faking injuries is appreciated.

The Home Game

Meeting people is cool. At least, I thought it was. So I organized a poker night at my place... Filled up the fridge with pizza and beer, spread a green sheet over the table and invited some dudes for a nice, little game of poker...

Here are 5 reasons why I never do it again:

1. People are swine (pissing in the toilet would be nice)
2. You put a zillion beers in the fridge and you can be sure some fucker goes for the single can of Ice Tea (I love my Ice Tea)
3. Spitting out of the window and saying 'don't worry about; it's cool' is not cool.
4. When asking (repeatedly) to not use my computer it would be nice if anyone actually listened and respected the request...
5. We played roughly about 17 hands of poker while the rest of this 'poker night' was spend on bullet points 1 'till 4

I'll stick to Full Tilt Poker from now one...

The Quiet Life

There's less and less to say...
I'm a fish in the life and a fish at the poker table.
Like everyone else I thought I was the greatest (but just running bad).
Like everyone else I am a giant fish (but running hot for a while).
This is the time to turn things around.
Wake up early in the morning, go to bed early at night.
Studying the game and finding peace in the life.
Early morning runs in the park,
studying poker hands and poker videos,
regular work outs at the gym,
stay calm and thoughtful at all times.
Deflating the ego.
No dope, no booze, no silly arguments or pointless stress.
Flushing the fish out of me.
I'm an absolute beginner.
That's all I have to say.

The Way Of The Buddha

Early one morning around Brussels Airport, I’m driving when the typical sound of a police whistle interrupts my morning numbness. Checking the rear-view mirror, I see a frantically gesticulating police officer. Fuck, I got a cellphone pressed against my ear... This might be an expensive morning.
So I back up and open the window. The police officer turns out to be a woman. She immediately starts the usual traffic-police-rant.
I just breathe and listen.
A few weeks back I discovered Zen Buddhism.
I'm still a total fish, of course, but stressed-out police officers are a wonderful exercise in tiltlessness.
When she's looking for my reply, I simply state
‘You are right, I made a mistake’
After that, she goes on for a little bit more.
Then, suddenly, she signals I can drive on.
No traffic fine. No paperwork.
I didn't play my part so she let it slide....
Just breath and stay cool.
It takes two to start an argument.
Make sure you got better things to do...

Spring Online Championship of Poker

The PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) is back for 2010! It's one of the biggest-ever online poker tournament series, with millions of dollars in guaranteed prize pools up for grabs. There's a low, medium and high level buy-in for every tournament.So everyone can play...

It all starts today!

Check out the schedule or, if you don't have a PokerStars-account yet, you can sign up here...

The Life Of A Poker Pro

Some say it's the hardest way to make an easy living.
I say it's just the hardest way to make a living.
But salvation might be ahead.
One of the true legends of the game was willing to share some of his deep insights and provoking thoughts in this series of YouTube-videos...



Watch & learn!
(All episodes here...)

Epic Failure Approximately

Surprise, surprise... 

It ain't going well. 

About a month ago, NL200 cash games seems almost into reach. Now I'm struggling to maintain a healthy bankroll at NL100. It's not because of me, of course. It's just bad luck, rigged poker rooms, government conspiracies or that devilish doom switch permanently turned on. So I whine and I complain and I struggle just to stay break even...

Maybe the fish is me. 

Like some dude on Two Plus Two put it very poetically 

"You either got it or you don't".

Poker is a cheap hobby at worst. 

At best, I'm a marginal winner.

Game Over/ The End?

Well, almost but not just yet...

In a final attempt to become the greatest poker player in the history of the world (or just make some fucking money with it) I did some tweaking here and there. So I started swimming (like a fish, you see) and going to the gym regularly. A healthier and happier lifestyle. Then I cancelled my PokerVT-subscription. I learned a lot there. But clearly not enough. Blame the teacher. Time to move on. 

Yesterday I signed up for six months with DeucesCracked. Their videos are super-advanced and high-level. It's the final frontier. If I fail to improve my game significantly by the time autumn comes around, I'll quiet. Spend my bankroll on my one and only great talent: 

take the money and run.

Dreams about the beaches of Goa or the streets of Tokyo are never that far away.

(pic credits: someone at Two Plus Two,

have a look at Deuces Cracked here)