Living Life

Long time no blog!

I have been enjoying my summer, hanging out with friends, going out and golfing once a week like I said in my last post, feels great to get out and just swing the club, plus I have to get ready for some golf tournaments in a few weeks.

I have also started up a good daily routine and grind schedule for August and so far I am following it and feeling good, getting in a good 6-8 hours of poker a day.

Nothing else major going on with me, just living life and enjoying every minute of it.

Hope all of you are enjoying the summer!

Till next time...

Back Golfing Again

Finally back in the swing of things here at home.

Was out having a drink with a friend on his patio, and when he heard I hadn't golfed in over 10 months, he was shocked and so we headed over to the local golf course and played a quick 9 holes before the sun went down.

I shot a surprising four over as I was just happy to make contact with the ball, lol.

This got the golf bug back in my system and went out Tuesday morning to play a round and shot a 83, which I was happy with since it was the second time I had been out all year.

I will look to play at least once a week for the rest of the summer to prep for a few golf tournaments at the end of August and into September.

As always, gl at the tables!

Some Sad News

So after a lot of thought and consideration I have decided to part ways with RainmanPoker.net.

It was not an easy decision, however, for me I feel it was one that needed to be made.

I want to thank Nick for giving me the opportunity and I want to thank all the great students and horses I was able to work with over the last eight months. I was able to get to know a lot of you and even meet a few of you in Vegas and it was a great experience.

I especially want to thank Bodeye, who is a great guy and friend, and one I will hopefully know for a very long time.

Wish everyone the best, I will continue to update my blog, so you can always find me here.

See you at the tables

Home Sweet Home

Back to the grind yesterday, Sunday July 4th.

After my session yesterday, I went out to see a local band at a great outdoor venue at around 8pm and had a great time. It is great to be back home, however it is about 50-60 degrees F colder than Vegas.

I finally got everything set back up here and next purchase will be the Bose Noise Canceling HeadPhones to go into super focus mode while grinding. I was able to try them at the Rainman House in Vegas from Ketan and they are fantastic.

Other than that, forgot to mention a little drama that happened at my last day in Vegas. Bodeye and I picked up a '92 Acura off Craigs List for $1300, and this thing got a flat tire on the 95 Highway on the way to the strip and Bodeye and I had to sit in the car on the side of the freeway in 110 degree F weather, not the best experience.

We were lucky enough Channing was able to come out to meet us and get us a Tow Truck and then I was able to enjoy the rest of my evening. Bodeye and I had a nice steak dinner at FIX at the Bellagio and gave away the leftovers to a guy who looked like he was hungry sitting on one of the walkways on the strip.

I will be focusing on grinding hard again this month as I didn't play too much while I was in Vegas.

GL at the tables!

2.5 Months Flew By!

So I'm at the Burbank Airport in California waiting for my flight back to Vancouver. I found a wall outlet so my laptop won't die on me and thought it would be a great time to update the ol' blog.

I have been in the US (LA & Vegas) for the last two and a half months working on growing RainmanPoker.net and I will be continuing to grow the business while I am back home as well. We have a great online membership program which holds live interactive webinars and also continuing to grow our stable of horses.

I was able to meet a lot of great people and students who came from all over the world to train at the RainmanPoker house, and you know you are doing a good job when students fly in from all over the world to train with Nick, Bodeye and myself.

My time spent living with Nick & Bodeye was great, they are some of the best people I know and great business partners.

It was nice to put faces to names when it comes to our students and they are all a bunch of great guys. They are learning what a real grinder is as it is not glamorous or always fun, but you can create a lifestyle that you would normally not get from a job and have more freedom.

I was able to get out of the house every now and then with the boys and hit the Red Rock to watch a few movies and do a little bowling. Nothing like having five different prop bets at one time while bowling. Also was able to hang out with one of Nick's closest friends Luke Kim, who is a great guy, great poker player and writes a great blog.

I will post some pictures of the house when I get home to give you guys a peek inside the RainmanPoker House in Vegas.

Time to board the plane...

Good luck at the tables!

Early Wake Up Call

Early wake up call in the Rainman Poker House this morning, every one got a Bugle alarm through the speakers of the house at 5am.



The reason for this was that a few students decided to go out last night and strolled in at 4am. So Nick decided it was a good time for a webinar to re explain the rules in the house and also do a HH review for the guys.

Luckily I went to bed a little early last night as Nick woke me up at 4:30am to make sure everyone was up by 5:15am and at their computer station by 5:45am.

Our Vegas house is not a vacation house, but it seems like some of the guys are treating it like one. We have created this environment for our Elite Students to grind in the best conditions without distractions, not to go out to the strip and stroll in at any hour like you own the place.

The Rainman House is here to teach our students how to grind and make a real living at poker. It is not glamorous, fun or easy to grind everyday, but that is the only way to succeed in online poker. It's all about volume in our house, not profit, because we know the profit will come with volume. If you don't get in the volume, then you simply cannot stay in our house.

Curious about the game requirement ion the house?
Full Tilt: 500 games/ weekly.
PokerStars: 1000 games/ weekly.

We also have a new member added to the Rainman Poker team. His name is Chase and he showed up in Vegas on Friday night at the corner of Craig & Buffalo to try and become Nick Apprentice. He has been thrown in and doing well so far, will post his blog once it is up.

Good luck at the tables.

New Students & WSOP

So the house in Vegas is starting to fill up nicely, we have NestaRasta & Ketan7581 crushing it right now at the house. Ketan had his best day ever yesterday, so very proud of him for that!

Bodeye & I picked up Onopro from the airport last night and it was a bit of a sweat as we didn't know what he looked like or anything, but ended up finding each other and our first stop was to the Rio to let him experience a little bit of the WSOP.

We were lucky enough to catch a bit of the $10k Stud H/L event where there were around 25 players left. Those included a steamed Phil Hellmuth who looked like he could blow at any time, Jen Harmon, who is even smaller in person which was hard to believe and other notables, Dario Minieri, Brandon Adams, Steve Zolotow, John Juanda and a few others I'm sure I missed.

So in the Rainman Poker House, that is the one and only time you will be down at the Rio as we want to keep our students as far away from the strip as possible to avoid any temptation and focus on why they are here, and that is to make a living playing poker everyday, not following a pipe dream.

Now I must mention about the Profiting Prophet, known simply as the Rainman. Nick just today put in 535 games. The man is a beast and does on a daily basis what most having trouble doing in a month.

Now eBecks18 is flying out tomorrow and Fried Liver will be out on Thursday, so the house is filling up nicely and it is great to see the progress just in this short time, means we are doing something life changing for everyone, and that is to show them what freedom looks like with a lot of hard work.

Make sure to watch Nick on PokerStatic, great show and very entertaining!

Time to wrap it up and I'll make sure not to have such long breaks between blogs.
Cheers!

- JH

$150 for lunch...Standard

Went out to the spa today with Nick at the Venetian, highly recommend you go when you're in Vegas. Canyon Ranch Spa Club.

We then grabbed a bite to eat at this great Mexican place, and the bill came out to $150... Just another day with the Rainman.

Now I know a few of you have tried to apply for Nick's "Apprentice" position. You really have no idea what you are getting yourself into. I want to see the person who lasts until day 2!

Plus I will not let this happen until we have a camera guy to film all of this as it will make for great TV.

Elite Team students are starting fly in from all over the world as of June 1st, and we are getting ready to start the bootcamp of all bootcamps.

Schedule will be tough, up early, in bed late...repeat. You want to learn how to become a real grinder and make a living playing poker, we will show you. It is not easy, glamorous or fun, but it sure beats the hell out of working that shitty job 5-6 days a week for little pay.

We are here to give our students a great quality of life, but not before learning how to get there with blood, sweat and a lot of tears.

There will be little tolerance for laziness, if you are not getting in your games at the house, not getting up when we say, or if you try questioning our methods, then it is time to, as Dale would say "GTFO".

Success is not easy, but can be obtained with a lot of hard work, that's what Rainman Poker is all about and here to teach.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and crushed it at the tables!

Everything's Coming Together...

Everything is starting to fall into place with RainmanPoker.net.

The site is almost done the way we want it. We got a sick house in Vegas for our Elite Members to come out and train live with Nick, Bodeye and myself, pictures coming. So life is good.

Nick, Bodeye and myself went out for sushi at Caesars a couple nights ago and Nick decided he wanted a new pair of shoes, so he decided to pick up a pair of $400 Luis Vutton sneakers as a treat for a good couple week performance at the tables. There will be a day soon when I will be able to justify paying $400 for sneakers, but for now I will stick to my $200 Asics, but that's why he's the Rainman!

My days these last couple weeks have been long grinding days, haven't been playing much, but more so getting everything setup on the business side of things here at RainmanPoker, and I am really excited about what we have created. The summer is going to be crazy busy with all the Elite guys coming out, oh yeah and the WSOP will be running as well, busy times! Think I might need to look for my own assistant soon...

Heads up for those of you coming out to train live (and for those of you who will come out live in the future). I can't stress enough that Nick is an intense guy, and will expect you to work twice as hard as he does, so be prepared to work hard and do what is told and expected of you, no questions asked.

Side note...when Nick is in his office, playing or not, it is a "No Go" Zone. We have already had students interrupt him while he is playing or focused getting other work done, and you really do not want to be around to experience that, trust me...you've been warned. Strict "Do Not Enter" area when he is in his office.

Nick is one of the greatest and most generous guys I know and wants to help every member and student succeed so badly that his emotions can be misinterpreted sometimes, so to stay on our good side, simple rule is to follow directions and do what is asked of you.

Till next time, good luck at the tables!

LA to Vegas to LA, now back to Vegas

Been busy last little while.

I have been really busy working on the business side of things at RainmanPoker.net and haven't played much in the last few days, but really happy how things are starting to come together.

We have decided to move our home base from LA to Vegas. Myself, Bodeye & DaddyO took a road trip to Vegas Monday morning to sign the contract for our new house which will be a great start for those students looking to come out and train live. 5br, 3 1/2 bath, pool, nice place.

We drove back Monday night and will be packing up and moving in the next day or two.

Have to get back to business.

GLGL and see you at the tables...

Record Setting Day

So Friday, Bodeye, Josh and myself set out to play as many games in a day within a 12 hour period. Josh set out to play more than 100, Bodeye 150 and myself 200.

We set the clock for 9am, shower, Bodeye and Josh went to Starbucks to get their morning caffeine fix and I went to go get our lunch sandwiches from this great little cafe on Melrose called Stir Crazy. We started at 10am and played till just before 11pm.

Josh crushed it, not only did he play more than 100 games he also had his best day in profits with $1500+ for the day, not bad! Goes to show you volume = profits. Bodeye finished up with 145, and I wrapped up with 203 games played.

That is the most I have ever put in, in a day (More than a lot of people put in a month). Started off great with a second in a $36 180, and wrapped up my session with a $22 180 win which is a non turbo and a completely different game than the 180 turbos. Much more patient game as there are 15 minutes levels, got heads up with a 6 to 1 chip lead and my opponent decided to go with the Phil Hellmuth SNG strategy and fold everything until he had around 5 BB's and got it in with K8 of diamonds to my A4 of diamonds and I was able to win the nice $1080 first place prize.

Nick, Bodeye and myself just got back from Voda Spa, which is a great place to unwind after a long session and relax. A little hot tub, steam room, pool, and a crazy hot dry Russian Sauna.

Batteries charged for a big Sunday!

Finally!...April Results and a Good Start to May

Hey guys, so after 242 $36 180 mans on Stars I finally took one down!

I have had a bunch of runner ups in these, but at last, booked the win. It's a great feeling, Nick was nice enough to play the Canadian National Anthem for me as well.

The month of April was a decent one, didn't play much at the beginning of the month as I was gearing up to come out to LA, pack up all my stuff and when I did get out here on Monday April 19, but didn't actually get a full session in till Thursday the 22nd as we were playing around with different setups to where everyone was happy.

So finished the month off with just over $3k in profits after 1494 games, most of the games coming in the last week of the month.

I have to tell you though, it has not been an easy transition moving from the 45/90 mans on Full Tilt which were my main games to moving to the 180's on Stars.

It is definitely a different game and really feel like everything has finally moved into place and not worrying about results, but just making the correct decision every time.

Today, I set another all time high with $2,850 in profits for the day, again taking down the $36, two $12's and two seconds in the $12 180s, plus a bunch of other cashes.

I have to attribute my success lately to both Nick & Bodeye who have helped me understand the game tremendously. You think you know the game, but there are subtle differences that separates the good players from the great players, and working with those two has been invaluable!

If you have not signed up for the Rainman Poker membership site yet, what the hell are you waiting for? Try us out for three months as this will be the best value you can get in the poker coaching world today. RainmanPoker.net

We will be hitting the Spa later tonight to get ready for a big Sunday.

GL everyone at the tables!

Doors Are Now Open....For Now

Rainman Poker has opened it's doors to the public....for now.

For all details, go to www.RainmanPoker.net.

Our goal is to be the most relevant, up to date content online and actually care about our members success. You are getting sick value and would be a mistake not to at least try us out.

We also have our first student to hit 10k for the month, Vertek, well done sir!



You too can achieve this, and get rid of that shitty job.
Time to take your game to the next level and join Rainman Poker

See you at the tables...

Good Day

Today was the second full day I have been able to grind here at the home of the Rainman Poker Clinic.

It has been great to talk strategy with Nick and Bodeye and really get a better understanding of the game and the inner dynamics of it all.

The mood here is great, but one thing you learn really quickly is that while we play there is to be silence at all times, only time to talk is during the breaks. This has been strictly enforced and for those of you coming out to get personal coaching, the same rules will apply. No celebrating, no big sighs if you lose a pot, play with little emotion so you can make the best decision every time.

Today was a good day, played 90 games and came out ahead $2500.


Looking forward to the students coming out in May & June and grinding the two months myself. Going to be hard work, but all worth it in the end!

Setup Day & Game 4, Van vs LA

So today, I would like to say morning, but woke up around 1-1:30pm (sleeping through IKEA delivery people at 8am and Bodeye's training at 9am) as I was pretty exhausted from yesterday when I arrived.

Nick, Bodeye & DaddyO picked me up at the airport on Monday and from there we grabbed a bite and headed to IKEA to pick up some things for our office setup and then pretty much watched Nick play till about 3am.

So today we put together our conference table and setup our stations, found out my wireless internet wasn't working and headed to Best Buy with Bodeye as we both needed to pickup the same thing.

So I am finally up and operational and excited to get back to the grind on Wednesday as I haven't played in a week!

The four of us will be heading to the Vancouver Canucks face off against the LA Kings at game four of the Western Quarter finals. LA is up 2 games to 1, but know Vancouver will turn it around and will proudly wear my Luongo jersey for good luck.

See you at the tables...

Johnnyhilldo to be in LA in 5 Hours and Counting...

Alright, I'm currently sitting in the airport in Vancouver waiting to board my plane and thought I would write a quick post while I wait.

So it is 5 hours and counting as I will have a quick stop in San Francisco, then on to LA, five hours and counting.

I'm really looking forward to it and real excited for this new chapter in my life. Had breakfast with my dad and a friend when I arrived and had a good talk as he still isn't too sure about my poker business, but just told him I would keep him updated on everything and eventually pay off their mortgage.

Look forward to crushing the games with Nick & Bodeye and having a great time doing it.

That's it, trying to save enough battery life for a movie or something during my travels...

See you at the tables tomorrow.

California Dreaming

So my hockey team just got eliminated from the playoffs, so I have booked my flight to LA to work with and learn from "the Man the Myth the Legend" that is Nick Rainey (MI_Turtle) and "Boy Genius" Bodeye.

I will be arriving on Monday, April 19 and staying till the end of June. I am really excited and looking forward to learning a ton, plus working hard with all the students to make sure everyone is succeeding. Everyone is doing so well, and Nick, Bodeye and I working hard with the ones that are struggling a bit.

Going to be a little crazy in late May & June when a bunch of students are coming out to train, but they will all become machines, even more so then now!

That's it, now time to get everything together as I leave in 6 days and try to get some games in the meantime.

And if Nick & Bodeye are up to it, the Vancouver Canucks are playing the LA Kings in the first round of the playoffs and they play games 3 & 4 in LA on Monday and Wednesday... Would be great to see that game on Wednesday, just throwing it out there :o)

March Results

Little late in posting this, but here you go.

Tournaments: 1936
Net Won: $1,631 (My numbers differ slightly from SS)
Days Played: 24
ROI: 11%
AVG Stake: $11




Now not the month I was hoping for, but was happy with my second half.
Had a bit of a rough patch for the first half of the month, but rebounded back nicely.

Want to get get in as many games as possible in April, but also working closely with Nick & Bodeye to get our Coaching Program running smoothly.

We have had a few students struggle with the move from the $2 180's to the $12's and are working closely with them to tweak their game so they can be profitable at the higher levels.

New "Test" we have given the students who have lost their original stake or really struggling at the $12's is to play eight $2 180's, and they will get a "Pass" or "Try Again" based on what we find. If there are still leaks, they will have to go back and do it again until each situation is played correctly.

Some want to rush and play 20 tables at a time, but if you're not playing correctly, you just burning money.

So now if they pass, they will be staked again at the $12's, but a max of 8 tables at a time until we approve and allow them to play more.

I want to congratulate MI_Turtle for winning the Monthly TLB on Stars for a cool $5k and for Chip210 shipping a$ 4.7k score by beating 1000 people in a $33 MTT (registering by mistake, lol) and finally to NestaRasta who came 4th in the Sunday 1/4 Million for $10.3k, well done sir!

Positive Thinking in Poker

If you want to succeed in the poker business, you have to have a positive mindset. If you are negative, you are doomed, plain and simple.

Since we have moved a few more players to our Elite Team, which consists of playing the $12 & $36 180 mans on Stars and the $12-$75 45 and 90 mans on Tilt, a few of them have been complaining and whining about "downswings, bad beats, running bad" and other rubbish pertaining to their game. This is simply unacceptable if they want to continue with the program.

The simple fact is that you have to stop focusing on the negative, and with a positive outlook, everything will work out in the end. Some may not want to believe that if you put positive vibes out in the universe, it will come back to you, and if you put out negative vibes, you will get that back in spades as well. But I do, and I live a happier life because of it.

Every poker players knows that there are going to be ups and downs, you are going to get one and two outered every now and then, but the difference from you and me is that I don't care! I know it's going to happen, and when it does, I just say to myself "shit happens" and move on. If you let it linger it is going affect your game and you are going to play bad or scared because of it and you will lose money.

Also, once you are able to stop worrying about the money, your game will vastly improve! Rather than having your last game up at the final table and you are looking at the cashier saying to your self "well if I can make third, it'll be a winning session" rather than playing to win. You should never let the payout structure affect you decisions at the table.

From the wisdom of Will Smith...
"Just decide who your going to be, how your going to do it and from that point on, the universe will get out of your way..."

So just decide and believe you're going to be successful at poker and then just work your ass off to make it happen, it really is that simple.

So message to the the students...Positivity from here on in, it will make you poker and your life better!

Lastly, I want to congratulate my good friend MI_Turtle for taking down the $8+R last night for a cool 10k, and the $3 1r1a for $1158.16

Rainman Poker

Time to crush the tables.

Platinum Star

Well I achieved Platinum Star yesterday during my session. Started the month off with Bronze or maybe Silver Star, but now my sites are set on Supernova by the end of the year which should be no problem.

I find I have really made the complete transition from Full Tilt to Stars now. Since I have gone full time in February, I have played Stars almost exclusively.

Sunday was a pretty good day, took down 3 180's (One $12 & two $3+R) and a bunch of other final table cashes. The month started out rough, but I have climbed my way back and am full steam ahead!

We have added some more students to the mix and everyone is doing great, will update the progress at the end of the month.

Lastly, wanted to congratulate Chip210 for being the first student to hit the 10k mark for the year, there will be Many more to follow. Great job Chip!!

Final Tables Everywhere

We have moved a few more students up to the $12 180's and everyone is just Crushing it! It's fantastic to see everyone doing so well!

While playing my own games, I find myself sweating student final tables all over the place. And the scary thing... They're getting better everyday.

Everyone needs to watch out as we are taking over the Stars 180's and have a few guys who are starting to crush the $12 and $24 45 mans on Tilt.

Here is a quick look at the top students since Jan 1, 2010, also a few shining stars that just started March 1.

Discover the Secret to Crushing Multi Table SitnGo’s

Ok Guys & Gals,
Here is a special treat for you from my good friend Mi_Turtle (Nick Rainey).

He is arguably one of the best MTT SNG players around and is really focused on helping others (YOU) become a profitable successful online poker player.
Sign-up below.

- JH
-------------------------------------------------------------

Learn how to crush MTT/SNG’s from one of best online grinders Saturday March 13th at 1:00 pm Pacific time. Watch and listen as Nick reviews from start to finish a recent 180 man SNG on PokerStars. The 75 minute experience also includes a fifteen minute Q&A session at the end.

For only $29.95 you can participate in this interactive review and take your poker to the next level. Learn the secrets of MTT/SNG’s and improve all parts of your game, from the early stages to final table strategy.

Click on the Buy Now button if you would like to pay with PayPal. If you want to pay with a PokerStars transfer, send $29.95 to MI_turtle (Los Angeles) and email review@rainmanpoker.net. You will receive a confirmation email with information regarding the live review.

My Work Day

Men's Hockey Gold Medal

Was a close game, but Crosby scored the overtime winner to give Canada the Gold over the USA on Sunday.

March & Gold Medal Hockey Game

Well February is in the books for me, I know there is one more day left, however the Gold Medal Hockey game between Canada and the USA is Sunday at noon, so I will be watching that and hopefully celebrating after. Canada has a better team and should win but the US has been the most consistent during these Olympics. My prediction, Canada 5 USA 3.

Canada right now as a nation has tied the record for most Gold Medals in a Winter Olympics at 13, tying Russia & Norway, but can set the record with a Gold Medal in Hockey tomorrow.

The Olympics has been great for the city on Vancouver, but I am definitely ready for them to be over. I'm sure the city will be pretty quiet for the next month trying to recoup from the festivities. A lot of great stories have been told and made at these games and has put Vancouver on the map, that's for sure.

Back to poker. Now this being my first month (half month really) of playing full time has been frustrating, but was a great learning experience. I was a Full Tilt player for a long time, normally splitting 70% Tilt and 30% Stars during a night session, but switched over to PokerStars this month exclusively to focus solely on the 180 mans and get those mastered.

Now the 180's didn't turn out how I would have liked, but I am getting better and better everyday. Here are my February results from start date Feb 7 to Feb 26.

Games Played: 1070
Net Won: $1,300.83
Total ROI: 11%
$/ Tournament: $1.22
Days Played: 14
$/ Day: $92.92
Total Hours Put In: 84
Total Hourly Rate: $15.49

Here is a shot of PT3 Graph (Numbers I record slightly differ from the PT numbers) .



As you can see I was break even for just under 1000 games, so for those of you who are complaining about "running bad" after a day or 200 games, Suck it up! Stop complaining and put in more volume, that's the secret!

Now there is some new blood joining our coaching program for March, I have four new students that I picked in a draft system with the other coaches. And I also might have a possible personal contact that I might add depending if he is able to agree to the requirements I lay out.

The first couple months of the training program have been more trial & error, but with the new students there will be more strict rules and goals that need to be achieved to continue with the program. We expect each new student to play at least 1000 games a month, that is our main concern. We want to see commitment and it should help push the current students as well.

I am Extremely happy to announce that two of my students Vertek & Chip210 are going to be taking on a few students themselves this month. They have crushed the $2 180's, and are doing extremely well at the $12's. Vertek is closing in on $10k for the year already and Chip210 has made over $5k as well. They are going to be working together with their students which I think is a great idea and they are going to become great teachers.

The rest of the students are doing great as well.
All but one are winners this month, quick shout out to Ryan whose has tripled his profit from January so far and putting in over 1,200 games, and to Matt, Mark & Ruddy for getting in good volume. It's all about volume and you will not succeed at online poker without putting in a ton of volume. Make it a great last day of the month boys.

Also glad to see Bill ramping up the aggression and Craig for sticking with it, continually learning. Daniel, doing well, just need to put in more volume.

Now March goals for myself.
I am planning on playing 2500+ games in March and maintain a 25%+ ROI. Now that I am playing full time, I feel this is more than realistic and I am not setting a dollar goal as results don't matter and as long as the volume is put in the money will be made.

I am going to end it here as this post has become very long...
See you at the tables.

February Results & Olympic Craziness

Well, February has been a little frustrating so far, however I know I am playing some of the best poker I have ever played. My results don't show it, but results don't matter and it is just about getting the volume in.

I have found myself start seeing more spots I can take advantage of, abusing the bubble, playing people against each other as the chip leader at the final table, robbing the regulars (as I'm pretty sure they don't know who I am yet) and just playing well. I have found a few regulars calling me pretty light, so I make a note and make that adjustment for next time.

It's been a while since I have sat in the winners circle, been runner up/ third a bunch and a ton of final tables, but haven't taken a first in a while, but it's coming and will come in bunches.

I took Saturday & Sunday off last week to go downtown Vancouver to take in the Olympic experience and the city is just nuts! Craziness everywhere, nothing bad, everyone has a great attitude, no shortage of high fives, people with "free hugs" signs, spontaneous singing of the National Anthem and a lot of drinking, lol. The German house ran out of beer! Apparently Vancouver has consumed more alcohol this Olympics than the last two combined, but hey, it's what we know how to do.

Have put in 932 games so far, and will be grinding the rest of the month hard putting in at least 100 180 man games a day. Like a student of mine "Vertek" said, "I'm going to eat variance and shit $$$".

See you at the tables.

PS: Students are doing awesome, keep pushing guys and just get your volume in, don't focus on results. I was heads up for a $12 180 man last week against Vertek, he took it down, well done sir, and had another student "Fried Liver" join me at the final table of a $12 180 as well a couple days ago. It's great to see the progress everyone is making and looking to take it to the next level.

Canada's First Gold Medal on Home Soil!

Here's another Olympic and non poker post, but history was set here at Cypress Mountain in Vancouver today.

34 years and 500 athletes later, Alexandre Bilodeau has won Canada's first Gold Medal on Canadian soil during his run in the Men's Moguls today!

A nice relief for all Canadians as it has happened within the first 48 hours of the games. Jennifer Heil was the favourite to get Canada's first Gold during the Women's Moguls, but came up just short taking the Silver. USA's Hannah Kearney won the Gold and had a spectacular Mogul run.

This no doubtingly will spark the Canadian Athletes and there will be plenty more Gold Medals awarded to Canadians during this Olympics.

You can read about it here if you like Alexandre Bilodeau.

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

So the 2010 Winter Olympics are in my hometown, and it is a little crazy here. Just finished watching the opening ceremonies which were pretty good, nothing mind blowing but well put together, and the "Great One" Wayne Gretzky, great hockey player to ever live (in my opinion) lit the torch which made sense as I could only think of a couple others who would deserve that honour, my other candidate, I would have liked to see Michael J. Fox.

I will not be attending any live events, would really only like to see the short track speed skating or any hockey game, but the ticket prices for those are ridiculous, so I will be watching them from home in HD.

Here is what I am looking forward to:

- Ski Jumping
- Speed Skating especially Short Track
- Luge (my condolences go out to the family of Norad Kumaritashvili who died during a training run today)
- Snowboarding
- Skeleton
- Bobsleigh
- Hockey (Obviously)

I'm sure I missed something but these are the main events I am looking forward to.

Vancouver is a beautiful city and I'm glad it gets to be seen on the worlds stage, if you have never been, you should plan a visit.

New Experiences and a One Sided Prop Bet

So I have been playing on my new setup now since Sunday and I finally feel I am getting comfortable with the different software that is running while I play.

Table Ninja for anyone who isn't using it on Stars is CRAZY! I don't know how I was playing without it, one click/ button responses is awesome, no more misclicks while I play and the "on screen BB display" is the NUTS. Table Ninja is highly recommended by Johnnyhilldo.

I also have PokerTracker 3 running at the same time and while some players like to play without it, I actually really enjoy having it available, helps me identify the fish from the sharks, plus other valuable information. I have also downloaded a mod from Raven at TiltBuster that has a very simple design and allows you to see the colour coding that you assign players, really awesome for only $20, you can check it out here Raven-TiltBuster.

So today was a pretty good day, took a 2nd in a $36 180, a first and a second in a $12 180 and some other final table cashes. I feel that I am starting to play my A+ game and solely focusing on the 180's on Stars really helps me focus on one game and really master it. Going to focus on putting in at least 8 hours a day, playing 100 games a day and maintain around a 20% ROI. I feel this is achievable and for March I really want to push myself to get as many games in as possible.

Now for my one sided prop bet I made today, I was talking with Nick Rainey and letting him know that I am coming out of my downswing and his comment back was "don't worry about results until end of month, that's your biggest nemesis, how often do you hear me talking about downswings?"

So I made a proposal to him, if I mention a downswing either in my blog or to him personally, I have to pay him $50, so this will get my head out of my ass and focus on the positive and long term results. (The mentioning of a downswing in this post does not count towards the bet, just for clarification, lol)

Now not to focus on short term results, but here is a snap shot of my day, I think one of my biggest on Stars to date:

See you at the tables!

New Poker Setup

Alright, new setup in place, very excited about this!

Just in the process of downloading all appropriate software that I mentioned in the previous post.

So here is a quick look of what I was working with:



And now here is my new setup:



As you can see this is a drastic change from my MackBook Pro Laptop.

The monitors are two Samsung 24" Widescreen LCD Monitors, Logitech wireless keyboard, mouse and speakers, and the tower was custom made just for my poker needs.

Once all software is downloaded I am ready to grind, don't think I'll be playing tonight, going to be testing out the software with play money first and grind all day tomorrow.

It;s going to be a gooooood month, I can already tell.

No More Day Job!

It hasn't really sunk in yet, but I have just worked my last day at my job.

I am now a full time grinder and I cannot tell you how happy this makes me. I spent most of the day getting all the components for my new setup. I will be picking up my custom made computer (just for poker) as I love my MacBook Pro and will continue to use that for everyday use, but a Windows computer was necessary as most software companies do not create "Mac Friendly" programs and I'll pick up my desk from Ikea tomorrow.

So new custom cpu with Windows 7, two 24" Samsung Monitors, wireless keyboard & mouse... ability to crush the tables at will, priceless!

I will be purchasing TableNinja for Stars, FTP Shortcuts for Tilt, PokerTracker 3 and some mods from Tiltbusters for now. I am an "old school" online poker player manually uploading/closing my tables so it will be nice to have a program doing all this for me and allow me to putting 110% focus on the tables.

Going to be getting a massage tomorrow to get totally relaxed in the afternoon and will get grinding Saturday evening. I am going to focus strictly on the Stars $12-$36 180 mans, and the Tilt $75 45's & $52 90 mans, maybe a MTT here and there but 99% of my games in the next couple months with be MTT SNG's. Also, only playing one site at a time, not playing both together to maintain full focus.

I will put a photo up of my new setup once it is finished, I'll show you what I was working with, and then my new setup.

I am going to be one of the best MTT SNG players online so If you don't know who I am, you will soon, look out for Johnnyhilldo!

January Results & Sunday Variance

Well, I didn't finish January the way I would have hoped, but was still a good month overall..

I played 1299 games, with a profit of $6005.35 between Full Tilt & Stars, not including rakeback. Profit per game across the board was $4.62 with an hourly rate of $52.79 after putting in 114 hours.

All profit was from Tilt as I ran almost exactly break even with the $12 & $36 180 mans on Stars after 671 games. It's not unusual to run break even after even 1000 games, so I'm just focusing on putting in the volume and the results will follow.

Sunday was a frustrating day. When I re raise a guy pre flop with AA and he calls the raise with Q8 suited, you know the games are juicy, however the short term variance can hurt you as they will suck out their fair share. I would book these guys everyday if I could, but sometime you are going to run bad against them, and that's just life, move on.

February should be fun as I will be leaving my full time job as of Feb 5 and will become a full time SNG MTT player. This is very exciting for me as I will be able to immure myself into the poker world and can focus on my game as well as spend more time coaching my students to take them to the next level.

Speaking of students, I'll give you guys a quick update.
9 Students
5 Students played over 1000 games.
Average ROI - 28%
Playing $2 - $12 180 mans on Stars.

All but one had a profitable month, great job guys, February will be even better!

I was talking with Nick Rainey about his coaching program. I told him I feel he has the best system out there as it focuses on working with a student long term to ensure their success, not some weekend bootcamp that you pay a lot of money for and hope you soak in as much as you can.

We definitely have something special here and like I have said before, I am honoured to be a part of his coaching program. There is no better feeling that helping someone succeed!

I also have some exciting news that I will share soon, going to be part of something big.

Ok, put in a 12 hour session, very tired, going to bed...

Up Swings, Down Swings & Motivation

Some of my students have asked me how I handle a down swing, and the answer is simple... Play through it. This was tough for me at first, but providing your play doesn't change, meaning you don't tilt or play "scared", your best option is to always play through your rut. Variance is a bitch, but you can control it simply by putting in the volume.

It was a pretty good weekend, only played Friday and Sunday, put in 171 games and made just over $1,900.

Sunday however is where most of the profit came from. I started the day off with a shiatsu massage, which really helped set the tone for the day. I came in to the session nice and relaxed, but more importantly, focused. Only played 13 games on Full Tilt to get my 200+ points to maintain my "Iron Man" status and was able to take down a $48 90 man in the process.

I wanted to put most of my focus on the 180 mans on Stars today, as I normally split half Fullt Tilt & half PokerStars during a session. This as you can imagine can get a little confusing at times as I am playing 45 & 90 mans on Tilt and 180 mans on Stars. There are different strategies for each game and sometimes it can get a little overwhelming trying to implement 3 different strategies at the same time while trying to keep track of player tendencies as well.

So just focusing on the $12 & $36 180 mans today was great, I was able to get in the groove, playing my best game and just feasting on the fields. I was able to take down a 1st, 2nd, a few 3rds and a bunch more final table finishes for a profit of $871 for the day after playing 80 games.

It's been a really good month so far and I look forward to to finishing it strong. I want to finish with over 10k for the month, and I am currently at $7.5k.

Now a quick student update, my boys are crushing it, currently 9 students, 6 are profitable for the month so far, and so the plan is to have everyone in the black by the end of February. Here is a shot of their results for the month of January so far.





Like I said CRUSHING IT, keep up the great work boys!

Now for motivation, I try to listen to this video on every break that I can. It is a compilation of clips of Will Smith talking about his outlook on life and the path to success and happiness, enjoy...



See you at the tables.

PS: For those of you that are asking to become future students, email coaching@rainmanpoker.net and say you were recommended by me, also leave your screen name for Full Tilt or PokerStars and a brief description about yourself and why we should consider you for our coaching program and we will see what we can do. There is currently a wait list so if you do not hear back right away, don't worry, we will get back to you.

Wrapping Up The Weekend

I didn't play as much poker as I would have liked this weekend. Had hockey on Friday night as well as Sunday afternoon, we won both our games again the 1st and 3rd placed team in our division and was able to pocket a couple goals in the two games as well.

I loaded up my only session for the weekend at 6:30pm tonight and all in all it was a good session finishing up at 1:30am. I feel my game is getting better and better everyday and with that comes confidence in making the right decisions each time and not focus on the money.

Stars wasn't my friend today as I'm down around $500 for the day playing the $12 180 mans, but I felt I played really well, just lost some key pots in key spots. But I always say "short term pain, for long term gain!"

I was able to make a decent profit on Full Tilt to make the day a profitable one. Up $1,194 on Tilt, so for the day I'm up $673. Thanks to a win & a few deep runs in the $24 90 mans, and a 2nd & 3rd in the $75 45 mans.




Going to watch the latest episode of 24 and then head to bed.
See you at the tables!

Back Up Internet & a German Slow Roll

So it's just pouring rain here in Vancouver and this is generally the time when my ISP decides to crap out, so I finally invested in the Rogers Internet Stick. This will allow me to keep playing even if the internet goes out or their do their late night upgrades where they just turn off your internet! As I like to playing evenings into the early morning this was an investment that needed to be purchased. $35 a month to potentially save me thousands of dollars left in open tables = good investment.

Quick update, I have been on a bit of a downswing lately, but continue to play my same game knowing that variance is a pert of the game and I'm going to go through ups and downs, so just have to be persistent. Still up around $2.5k for the month between Stars & Tilt so not horrible, glad I ran good in the first few days of the month.

Also, quick student update, everyone is doing awesome! We've even moved a couple students up in stakes and they are crushing it, it is great to see their progress, and there are a few that are still learning the ropes, but will be crushing it very soon, keep it up guys!

Ok lastly, I was told by a student of mine that Canada got slow rolled By Germany at the World Cup of Poker, so I had to take a look, and OH MY GOD, this was just terrible.

Get this, Germany gets AA on the button and min raises to $8000 and Team Canada's Darus Suharto gets dealt KK in the SB and puts Germany all in. This next part is where it will really hurt Germany's sporting reputation in my mind... they called a timeout! Are you SERIOUS, I think they thought this might be funny???

Check it out for yourself, unbelievable!




Alright off to bed, Hockey tomorrow night, then a weekend of hard grinding, see you at the tables.

2010 Goals

It's that time of year again.
I'm not a big "resolutions" guy as they never really pan out, I'll do something for a few months, then it will fizzle out, however defined goals on the other hand for me are much more powerful.

So here are some of my poker goals for 2010.
Make $100k this year ($8333 per month, $278 a day)
While playing the $12 & $36 180 man turbos on Stars, with a few MTT's thrown in the mix.
Also playing the $24, $48 & $75 45's/90's on Full Tilt also with a few MTT's.
Play a minimum of 10 hours a day 6 days a week starting in March once I go full time, 15-20 tabling.

Doing this while still maintaining a social life. I am also planning on moving to a new place in the next couple months where I can have an office to focus.

I have been fortunate enough to be brought on by Nick "The RainMan" Rainey to be one of the coaches for his coaching program. I have learned a lot from Nick over the past year and was honoured when he asked me to join his team. I currently have 9 students and my goal is to help them all become the best 180 man players on Stars. It has been a fun experience so far as I have students starting at all different levels and it has been a great way to improve my own game by reviewing HH's with them as well.

Bring on 2010!

WBCOOP

Ok, so just found out about the WBCOOP today, the World Blogger Championship of Online Poker. Since I have just launched my blog a few days ago, I hope I am eligible to play in this!

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! The WBCOOP is a free online Poker tournament open to all Bloggers, so register on WBCOOP to play.

Registration code: 74433

Resignation Letter

Ok, so I have finally put in my resignation letter into my job!

Wasn't a tough decision, I know I needed to make a change in my life, and a dead end job was not going to get help me achieve my life goals. So as of March 1st, I will become a full time SNG/MTT grinder, and I looking forward to pushing myself to the limit.

2010 is going to be a great year!
Keeping this first post short and sweet.

Till next time...