CARDRUNNERS
What's Your Edge
David Benefield : Poker Blog
May 31, 08 15:16:05
gl, please write in your next blog if you told patrick who you were or not
May 31, 08 15:48:51
loved the vid against Patrik, looking forward to your next vid, let it be a good vid with many interseting spots..!
GL in the wsop event mr Benefield
Jun 1, 08 02:00:40
you should introduce yourself to patrik. it's courtesy and it might help you to get into good cash games in the future..
glgl
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May 29, 08 23:46:41
ill be there in July for Main Event, i absolutly love basketball if you need a 6'7 Force underneath let me know
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May 27, 08 04:37:33
Praise from Caesar... that's like having Chuck Norris say "man that dude is tough".
May 27, 08 05:13:40
I just got back from seeing the new Indian Jones movie, and I must say I was quite impressed. I would call it the perfect level of cheesiness, and it was really enjoyable for me. I liked the first 3 movies a lot when I was younger, and was really hoping they would pull this one off. I didn’t really expect it to be a flop, but I didn’t think it would be all that great either, needless to say I was pleasantly surprised
Just dont get how u could like the movie. I just gave up when they had shia labout in the leather jacket as the tuff guy on the mororcycle just started laughing and the laughs dident stop through the movie. If it was a comedy i would prob give it 2 out of 5 but as an action film i give it a 0...Storyline was pretty awesome though where they just popped stuff in i felt like i was watching lost as if they make up shit as they go along. I heard that they threw away many scripts before going with this one just don't know what could of been worse.
May 27, 08 07:48:00
Looking forward to that video! I have a feeling the fact it's only 1 table will make it to be a great video. Analysis on smaller pots would make for an interesting video and make the hands where you have the nuts a lot more exciting.
May 27, 08 13:51:39
Looking forward to the video. Knowing it's 1 table only I sure hope you aren't spas clicking all the time cause you were bored :D
May 27, 08 14:31:38
major brag on the PA comment. i checked his blog, where exactly did he say that?
May 28, 08 11:50:34
So sick that we'll get to see the PA match. I watched it while you played and had several moments where I was like WTF is going on, so it will be sweet as hell to see w/ hole cards.
Jun 1, 08 19:30:49
great vid, more HU please, your my favorite to watch and in 2 vids you've really transformed my game.
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May 24, 08 22:11:36
fwiw cts lost a cc roulette in LA at this club we went to when he didn't get there til the last half hour and had maybe a drink or 2, easily over 1k bill. So he doesn't always run good!
May 25, 08 02:27:52
your good but antonius would own your soul and life in the long run, hotter wife/gf, mroe money, better looking, people fear playing him in alot of games, no disrepsect to you i love your play and videos but compared to antonius is all im saying
May 25, 08 15:22:35
I def agree that Benyamine makes a bunch of mistakes in the small/medium pots. He must make it up with good decisions in larger pots or induce more mistakes due to his play. Or run good.
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So the last couple days have been fairly hectic, but i am FINALLY moved into my house. I am not really sure what the problem was, but basically i wasnt allowed in until 6 days after i was supposed to close. I dont really want to get into it right now, but I think they basically were trying to do everything they could to keep me from buying this place, which is fine and all i can see why 40 year olds would be tizzed a bit about someone half their age buying a nice house and what not, but i am bringing them business in a time where their source of income has all but dried up over the last two years, so they should be falling head over heels to get me into this place. In any case, i am here now, and spend the first night in my new bedroom last night.
There is quite a bit of work i need to do to get everything set up nicely, but i should be able to get most everything done before series starts. Need to get a cpl of the rooms repainted, and need to get all furniture and what not set up, but for the most part this palce requires VERY little work, which was one of the big factors in my decision to buy it. Have both internets set up as well now too, so if one ever bustoes mid hand i can switch it over quick. Networking people are coming next week to set it up so it does it automatically, so that will be nice. The most infuriating thing in the world is dcing in the middle of a big pot.
Something we set up yesterday.. ROCK BAND. it really is super awesome. I had played it once before i got it, and really liked it, but have been pounding away at it for the last 2 days and am really enjoying it. I suck pretty terribly at drums, and am not v good on guitar either, but at least i can sing! It makes me want to go buy a guitar and take lessons and learn how to actually play my own music, but i feel like its something i would pick up, do for a month or 2, then just kinda give up on completely.
As far as workouts and what not, i have been working out super hard in the last 2 weeks, hitting the gym almost every day and trying to eat like a horse. I am up to 196.6, not sure what bf% but i dont really care abot that right now. I am trying to eat relatively good foods so i dont just gain a ton of fat, but its hard to get a lot of calories without eating a hamburger mixed in every now and then. I am really looking forward to cutting once i hit 205, hopefully i can do that within a month, i feel like this first part was some weird fluke or my scale at home was busto or something, but i feel stronger and have more energy working out this way instead of before. I wasnt eating nearly enough calories on my original plan to build muscle, so i think this will work out much better.
Tomorrow i leave for Hawaii. YAY! i have never been before, and everyone seems to think it is absolutely amazing. We are staying in maui at some place Haley stayed at before and really liked, and i will be there for 5 nights. We are meeting up with CTS and his gf and will hopefully plan a bunch of cool activities. I want to really try to not just lay on the beach doing nothing the whole time. I have a habit of bringing a cpl books and just laying on a lounge chair near the water getting enveloped in a fresh fantasy world or learning about how some company self destructed. Dont get me wrong, this is a super awesome way to spend a vacation, and i definitely need some relaxation, but hawaii has tons of awesome activities and i can read on any beach.
I havent played much poker in the last few days. I played 5 hands of plo short stacking and shipped 8400 and did the instaquit right after blowing the same amount at best buy and bed bath and beyond, so i felt fairly productive for the day. I regged for the 25k HU tourney yesterday, and get back from my trip at like 7am on the 24th, so will have to powernap before that starts so i can be on my best game. Anyways, leaving pretty early tomorrow so wont blog probably till i get back. Hope you all have awesome weeks, i am in an astonishingly great mood.
-David Benefield
May 18, 08 12:40:15
happy bday have fun on your trip. crank out a vid for us when you get back your last video was an 11/10 imo prob a top 5 movie on the whole site.
May 18, 08 13:35:47
personally I think b days are meaningless, but congrats on the new house. exciting.
May 19, 08 13:19:46
Happy Bday man, You seriously have one of the best blogs around. Very enjoyable to read something that is meaningful and updated regularly. Keep crushing it and Good Luck in the \$25k. That is gonna be a sick tourney.
May 19, 08 22:13:05
the more I read your blog the more I think your actually a massive douchebag.
at first it was a descent read and thought it was pretty interesting but now I'm starting to realize ur just a geek that has some issues.
May 21, 08 01:48:43
damn what'd you spend \$8400 on at best buy and bed bath and beyond? is this place going to have duel 73" TVs in it too? Also did you ever get that 911 turbo? jk nice blog
May 23, 08 11:20:30
I just read like 90% of your total blog and can't believe how much of my life I just wasted.
Obv I have to hate you now but happy bday anyway!
Also I've been pretty impressed with how you switch up your workouts and really value your health. I feel I'm superduper lazy ass sometimes and reading your blog just confirms it. lol how is that bet with Phil going?
Yugo
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May 14, 08 06:20:50
hawaii: lying on the beach for a couple of days at waikiki gets boring imo. It's basically a bunch of japanese people incapable of tanning trying their damnest. I would go to waikiki for 2 days max for 2 hours of surfing, some tanning, and the shopping at ala moana mall (highest grossing mall in the world per square feet i think).
the beauty of hawaii is in the local spots: 1) pick up a hiking book when you get there, and find some easy and nice trails to do since you got a date. Takes about 3 hours round trip and you get gorgeous views of honolulu + ocean with your heavy breathing the only noise up top.
2) there is this amazing local beach...i can't remember the name right now but i can ask my relative if you want. You canoe out to this tiny circular island and the waves come crashing in on both sides as you're trying to land, making a nice 15 feet bellagio type show. You have to time your landing otherwise the two waves will crash and knock you right off the canoe. Then you have a nice picnic on the island.
May 14, 08 08:07:24
Maybe the gays confuse you with this guy? http://www.myspace.com/davidbenefield
May 14, 08 09:13:46
wouldnt dehydration make you lighter???
congrats on being hit on by the guys... means ur getting in good shape (guys are superificial)
play the 25k hu, too
May 14, 08 11:08:34
I totally recommend you starting kite surfing, i have learnt to do so in a two week holiday in spain.
I am yet to start jumping lol.
May 14, 08 11:09:43
If you do get to Hawaii, bypass Oahu and fly direct to the Big Island or Kauai. Kauai is the most laid back. Check out the Grand Hyatt on the South shore in Poipu. Just down the road from a premier kite surfing spot- Mahalauupu Beach. call when you get here, I need poker tutoring asap...lol
May 14, 08 12:25:54
Kauai is the island you want to go to.
Check out Hanalei Bay(princeville resort is good, but renting a house in the bay is great), the bay is fantastic, you can hike at the end of the road, and pine trees is good beachbreak for surf. Waimea Canyon on the west side is insane (Hawaiian grand canyon)
May 14, 08 12:29:32
if your girlfriend golfs like you do I would recommend Kapalua on Maui, very relaxing with incredible golf. and a nice beach as well.. 3 courses. Plantation is the best one.
May 14, 08 15:13:46
cant wait to see some pictures of this place. The entertainment room sounds sick!
May 14, 08 15:54:23
Not sure if it's a brag, beat, or variance if you have gay dudes flirting with you on numerous occasions lol. Pics or it didn't happen? Can you go into more detail on next blog about why you decided to move out of the house in Texas you had with Durrrr and everything. Thanks.
May 14, 08 19:57:07
"Can you go into more detail on next blog about why you decided to move out of the house in Texas you had with Durrrr and everything."
arguing too much over who was pitching and who was catching that night obv
May 14, 08 21:59:53
Don't try and hit 205 that quick mate 10lbs in a month is too quick and not alot of muscle mass more fat accumilation and water rentention than anything else.
To make the most of your workouts make sure you have a shake after training consiting of WPI (Whey protein isolate) 30-40g and simple sugars such as dextrose/glucose 50-60g which will stimulate your insulin levels and push the protein into your muscles to start the repairing process asap.
Also keep your cardio to a minimum so you don't burn to many cals which are required for putting on the muscle make sure it's after training too, to maximise the fat buring process from glycogen depletion.
if you need any tips shout me a msg as i practice what i preach http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=619617004
Damo
May 14, 08 22:14:09
It's pretty nice over here in Honolulu right now and the forecast looks good. If you've got questions about places to go or things to do in Hawaii, let me know and I'll be happy to help.
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May 12, 08 09:48:38
Yeah, I remember buying new appliances when I bought my first house and got the same 11 hour window............bs.
May 12, 08 13:03:01
" I have done quite a bit of research and it is apparently super duper hard to gain muscle and maintain body fat or lower it"
Hello performance enahancers.
Gaining 15-20 pounds in four weeks naturaly isnt very realistic, not to burst your bubble. Gaining 5 pounds of muscle in four weeks would be good. It sounds, like most people, that you are trying to make this happen to fast. You cant go from the .01 .02 to the 100 200 in a few months. I am struggling through a transfromation right now so reading your "lifting" section of you blog is interesting.
May 12, 08 13:08:47
hey raptor, ive been into bodybuilding/working out for about 6 or 7 years now. If you have any questions shoot me a PM and ill try to help you out.
May 12, 08 14:11:36
My moms in management at UPS and I asked her what the difficulty was and essentially copy pasted her your UPS rant. Maybe this can help shed light on the other side of the situation and bring everyone one step closer to solving the residential package communication crisis.
This is with respect to residential deliveries. And it is true the UPS and FedEx are interested in this business, residential business is expensive. The gas prices are high and it's a small number of packages being delivered to each house. With commercial business, there are usually more pieces (packages) delivered per stop so the cost to deliver those packages (UPS Cost) is lower.
The drivers are on timed routes; and they need to have all business packages delivered before they can start working the residential areas. The drivers are under intense pressure (from UPS) to get packages delivered; their trucks are jammed w packages. They hardly have enough time to run to the door to drop off the packages, much less try to contact people the day of to let them know their packages will be delivered at x hours. People don't realize the kind of things that happen to drivers that throw them off their planned time and routes.
(This may not be practical in your case) Customers can have their package delivered to their company and not to the residence. Also, you can request packages be held at the customer counter for pick-up. But what a lot of customers are doing is shipping their package to the nearest UPS Store - the hours are very convenient and there are a zillion stores worldwide.
I do not know why UPS or FedEx began offering the voice notification service; I did not realize it was an 11-hour window. The communication methods are there but the world is less than predictable. It's a no-win situation because if the driver was able to make that telephone call (not all drivers have cell phones and most would not have time to use it) what would they do if they reached vmail; how many people can't get personal calls at work; on... and on.. If they did promise a time but missed it for any reason listed in the book of Murphy's law -- it would be another issue.
Watertown is a small center.... and we deliver over 12,000 packages every day. I don't know how many of those are residential; but I do know there are a lot of them. It can be very challenging. You can get a lot of info tracking on line; and UPS drivers are required to have all residential packages delivered before they end their day.
Lol at the long comment no ones going to care about…
May 12, 08 16:17:17
I have to agree with the poster who said 15 lbs in 4 weeks is a lofty goal naturally. In an untrained individual with very good genetics, maybe, but I suspect even then it will be a lot of water and a fair amount of fat.
Unless you were going the drug route. In which case after the initial receptor saturation in the first few weeks, a good responder can gain 15-30 lbs in a month or so on thier first cycle. Just be aware that you'll never really want to come off, etc...
May 12, 08 19:56:22
" I have done quite a bit of research and it is apparently super duper hard to gain muscle and maintain body fat or lower it,"
Erroneous...I had been into bodybuilding for 7 years and this is really about genetics and what you choose to do. 99% of the guys you see in Muscle & Fitness magazine are so drugged up on roids and they walk around all fat 95% of the time and get cut for competition. I have a high metabolism and was lucky to put on 5lbs of lean muscle a YEAR. I was 5'6" at 6-7% bodyfat and lucky to get 5 solid pounds of muscle a year due to high metabolism.
May 12, 08 22:30:56
Did you check out the new Allura bed from Tempurpedic? Kind of a hybrid between the celebrity and the grand. pretty damn awesome
May 13, 08 04:07:55
Lol even here in South Africa deliveries run smoother ;P You must upload a shitload of pics of the new place when you're up and running.
May 13, 08 04:16:09
hey , can i come over to your new house
lol, sorry after that first rant i couldn't help myself. I live in Australia anyway so its a little far for me.
gl with the deliveries
May 13, 08 13:48:15
I would be interested in seeing your new meal plan posted in a upcoming blog.
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Well, I haven’t done a blog in a few days, so figure I should make a post. I was supposed to close on my house today, which was pretty much the reason I got out here so early, however the loan agent and my real estate agent somehow managed to not answer their phones today, and not return my calls. I am slightly sketched out by it, though I don’t think it should be a problem, I am still very annoyed that they haven’t bothered to try to get a hold of me and let me know what the deal is.
Last couple days I have been playing a bit online and not doing so hot. Pieces haven’t been going well either, which kinda sucks. I have been playing the 2-4 plo games a bit recently because they have been quite good. There a few new guys that seem to monkey around a lot and are hyper agro which makes it good to run some short stacks thru and try to run them up.
I have done pretty well at it, but since I have been trying to lower variance have been selling small pieces and getting pieces in return, which I kinda like, as its fun to sweat friends and have a piece while ur just kinda watching a movie and don’t feel like playing or something. I also like winning my friends money, and it makes me happy so that is a def plus.
This morning I woke up and went to 24hr fitness and got in a great workout. Did the same thing yesterday and really felt great. The one I went to is about 20 minutes from where I am staying, so when I got there I really wanted to make it worthwhile driving that far, and I felt great. We even got a decent little 3v3 basketball game going after lifting, and that was a lot of fun. I am definitely out of cardio shape and was breathin pretty hard and in some pain after 2 games. I definitely want to start playing more, at least a few times a week, and I think we have a good number of people interested and we could really make this work well.
After lifting I tried nonstop to get a hold of my agent and broker, but somehow neither decided to answer their phones or call me back. I left a pretty nasty message with my agent today, and might end up feeling slightly bad about it tomorrow, but I mean really how can they not even attempt to get a hold of me? I haven’t even received an email. I wouldn’t care that much if closing got pushed back a day or 2, but I have lots of delivery furniture and stuff coming in on Monday and need to get all of this taken care of.
Anyways, regardless of the real estate mishaps, I was feeling great from the workout and got home and loaded up some plo tables. There were some decent games going and I felt like running some stacks up. This plan worked out great for about 5 minutes, then I proceeded to be down 95k. At this point I felt like a huge waste of life because instead of closing on a house, I lost the down payment to it. Not exactly the best use of time.
Not in any particular order, but here are some of the pricier hands I played today..
http://www.pokerhand.org/?2587370 – this one is pretty standard, not a lot I can do other than just jam the flop, usually have decent equity and get folds sometimes, and there is the off chance I am ahead if one of em monkeys some kinda 654 type hand.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?2587312 – I think this one is standard too, its pretty rigged phil had pretty much the worst possible thing for me to be up against, and I didn’t manage to bink it. Having a K and a T dead definitely hurts me since I have an A in hand as well, whatever.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?2587247 – again, super standard with how wide he is potting the flop, gutter and nfd you will be hard pressed to do anything. All of these hands are super standard as far as I’m concerned, so just running bad I guess to start. Sucks also that my 8 is dead cuz steve has the higher gutter.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?2587444 – this one is pretty much the biggest cooler in the world vs his range. Not a lot to say really about these hands.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?2587564 – I managed to build my stack up finally and got into a pretty interesting spot. I think a lot of ppl would reraise here pf, but stinger and ppl were squeezing pretty light, so I was planning on just calling and then potting over a reraise hoping steve would cold call. That MIGHT be a mistake, but if it is it cant be by much, and im pretty sure its good. Anyways, pretty standard to just pot get it in on the flop I think, and I managed to win a pretty big flip vs stinger.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?2587602 – I felt like playing deeper today mainly because I was stuck and was on mini heater and wanted to run it up, and managed to get the nuts on the flop. We are definitely getting stacks in no matter how I play the hand, as this is pretty much the most gigantic cooler in history, but I felt like I played it super cool and if he had a much weaker hand I feel like I would have gotten him to stack off with quite a few hands. Stinger is super good at firing more than 1 barrell on boards like this, and we were discussing this earlier in the day, so its super unlucky I actually had a giant hand here and not something like QJTx or top pair and clubs or something. This is the biggest pot ive played in a couple months, so I was happy it went my way.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?2587643 – this was pretty much the last hand I played on the sesh. My stack got wayyy too deep for me to be comfortable with on that other table, and was really only 1 tabling this and didn’t feel like playing anymore. Having phil and cogaz behind me BOTH covering made me kinda scared, I am not super confident about my deep stack plo game, definitely nowhere near enough to play 200-400 that deep, much less 25-50 really.
I finished the sesh up about 65 or so, and was pretty happy with that especially since I was buried to start. I got back from dinner and checked 2p2 and there were some pretty gigando pots. Steve seemed to tilt a bit and ran bad to lose like 6 huge pots in a row, and stinger added his name to the top 10 pots of online poker list once more. I am not sure who the big winner of the day was, but when I left cogaz was definitely up the most, so it was probably him.
After I got done I went to swish with Mikey and had an amazing dinner. I can’t go into enough detail about how much I love that place. Everyone really should check it out because it is super awesome and pretty reasonably priced. Just got back in from that and am pretty tired, woke up like 3 hours earlier than I would have naturally because I was PLANNING on buying a house today, so im pretty tired and am going to get some sleep. Hopefully I can get in touch with SOMEONE tomorrow and get this house deal figured out.
Oh I just read some responses to my last blog. Ummm, as far as diet stuff, I don’t really feel like getting into it right now, but I am pretty confident I know what kinda plan works and how to go about it, but thanks to everyone for all the ideas and thoughts and stuff. A month ago or so I broke down a day by calorie of what I was eating, and if you go back and search that’s a pretty decent fat burning diet as far as I can tell.
Also, a few mention Taleb and his silly books. I have read both of these, and there is definitely some super great stuff in them, but I find reading Taleb is just a maddening experience. He comes across as the most pompous stuck up man imaginable. His standard line is something like ‘Luckily for me I am the smartest person in the world, as well as ridiculously good looking. I also work out a ton and am in amazing shape. Did I mention how smart I am and how much I know about everything? I don’t think I did so I am going to do that again. I AM THE BEST AT LIFE’. Now, I don’t mind this generally, but it really got tiresome after I finished black swan. Don’t get me wrong, Taleb really is a genius and his books are definitely very good and worth checking out, his writing style just tilts the shit out of me.
-David Benefield
May 10, 08 02:22:23
david, i just read your last couple blogs. thanks for putting yourself out there....your thoughts on the game and life are gold for aspiring poker players.
you've mentioned meditating a couple times. and you've also mentioned your roving mind a couple times :) i've been working out in that arena lately and found great substance in 'the power of now' by eckhart tolle. he talks a lot about the roving mind, and how our thoughts based in the future/past can stop us from being at ease and/or enjoying the day. i highly recommend it. it is not a cure-all, but it will definitely be worth your time to read it. best of luck....
May 10, 08 07:19:22
David,
I'm a big fan of your NL videos. Your vids are actually my favorite. We think along the same lines. I read your blog and saw some of the big pots you played in PLO and was surprised on how many big pots you played out of position. Just curious, if you flopped a naked nut straight in PLO with a flush draw on board, and there was a bet and a call, would you just try to jam as much money on the flop as possible?
May 10, 08 12:34:10
DUDE FUCK THOSE AGENTS. IF I WERE YOU I WOULDNT CLOSE THE DEAL. IF MY AGENT DIDNT CALL ME BACK, I WOULD TELL HIM "FUCK YOU" AND TAKE MY BUSINESS AND MONEY ELSEWARE. DONT LET THEM STOMP ON YOU LIKE THAT.
May 11, 08 22:00:12
Come on you know why that 15k losing session burns you.....your comeptitiveness.....That is half the draw to the game...Outplaying someone is half the rush of a winning show down.....Raking a big pot is the other half.....That is why this game is sooo lethal....I would venture to say if played 3 heads up matches for ZERO money and I won 2/3 you would still have a bitterness in that you lost..I always do.......
As far as a wandering mind goes......it's a part of the addictive personality...THe internet is addictive.....I suffer from it. I used to have Yahoo as my home page and every...F-in time I would see "Kid removes Farve Jersey for fiest time in 4 years" and 30 min later I finally run my search.......CAse in point I do not know how I got to DAvid B.'s Blog in the first place
May 12, 08 03:42:08
Yo,
Honestly before you came to Cardrunners I didn't know who you were, but I gotta say, from what I've learned of you, I'm impressed. You are basically doing what I plan to do in the next few years, so hopefully I can follow in your footsteps soon enough.
GL
Derric
May 13, 08 23:01:23
you're not going to gain much muscle lifting every day
recovery time ftw
May 13, 08 23:01:59
you're not going to gain much muscle lifting every day
recovery time ftw
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May 7, 08 00:41:17
I see a lot of "me" in the struggles you write about. I took a 6 mos hiatus from playing poker mostly to just clear my head but also to figure out if there was something else out there that I would want to at least attempt to do as a "career" of sorts even if only for a few years. This decision was loosely based on the assumption that I would like poker a lot better if I wasn't 100% dependent upon it. Instead of my job, it will be the fun/challenging game that it used to be. I'll probably take more time to learn other games besides hold'em which just adds up to more fun and more challenge.
Maybe this is something for you to consider. Just take some time and think about what you might like to do. For me it was as simple as thinking "I like to work on a computer." That led me to computer aided drafting/design.
May 7, 08 00:51:42
I think about the same things almost everyday. I think the whole traveling thing is very hard. It's hard to just get up and go, and thats exactly how you need to do it. When you sit around and think about everything you want to do, you end up doing nothing. Eventually you just have to DO IT. It's also very hard cause no one wants to travel alone and its hard to find others to go with you. Things would be much easier, if there was a person, who was willing to go/do anywhere/anything with you.
The human mind gets far too comfortable with what its used to. You have to push yourself, to step beyond your comfort zones, and out of familiarity.
I've always wanted to travel/adventure more, but not alone. And I have yet to find someone to do such things with.
May 7, 08 01:01:52
Wow, this is so sick, It's exactly how i feel; except for the shitload of money and me wanting to go to the US because I already live in Argentina :D
I tried working at a regular job for a change, but it didnt work, I came back to poker in 3 months (maybe because money in reg jobs are is nothing compare to poker). But now, 4 months later, Im struggling again and forcing myself to put hands in.
You have the best blog on the web, I really enjoy reading it.
I hope you can find the way. Im sure You will
GL
May 7, 08 01:25:22
David, you write a really exceptional blog. I dread the day you get tired of it because this will hold up as the best blogging done by a pro some day. Thanks for sharing.
May 7, 08 01:44:23
You have some serious mental problems with swings that seem to manifest worse like everyday. Take a break, fly to fucking 10 buck 2 tomorrow. What's so hard? You have money, you don't have any committments, so just fucking go somewhere and clear your head. I think that your problem is unlike most people. A 100nl player just can't go clear his\her head for like a month. You can go whereever the fuck you want, whenever the fuck you want. Just book a ticket and do it, it's not hard.
edit- I hope I didn't sound like a serious hater\douchebag, I just think that you definitely need to take a break, and there's absolutely no excuse not to. You want to be in top form for wsop, and sitting around feeling depressed about life,poker, etc, is just going to make you play worse there to.
May 7, 08 02:05:52
just want to say i really enjoy reading your blog. your videos are great, keep it up.
seems like you hit the mid-life crisis in the 20's because you've accomplished, monetarily speaking, what most people work their whole lives for. it's a funk where all you need to do is stay positive, make sure to pull yourself out of your comfort zone as is mentioned above, and just live life. i mean life itself is a grind just as it is at the tables. happiness takes work, just like building a roll takes work. sometimes reading a good book that explores what your thinking is always nice too. talk to some people find a good read, it's good mental exercise.
May 7, 08 04:46:45
[I]How come I strap myself to this fucking computer and waste so much time? I mean honestly, I don’t even put in that many hands. How come I can’t get myself to really focus when I am on the computer, and really grind out the hands, then spend my time away from the computer really living it up enjoying life?[/I]
I believe that something you can do in this regard, is to schedule your time better. What I mean is that: computer = job, so stop being unproductive infront of your computer! I sure know that I get tired when I sit in front of the computer just messing around with random shit. It basically drains you for energy. So when you finally decide to play, you probably don't have that much energy anymore cause you just been sitting there for hours wasting energy....
Guess what I'm trying to say is that maybe you should try to seperate work and your freetime. So spend as little time as possible in front of your computer when your not playing
GL
May 7, 08 06:16:53
Oh this Won X then lost X*3 is killing me too.
There was some study about human psicology that shown that people are more risk averse when they can WIN money, but they are less risk averse when they can LOSE money they already have (had).
Ex. one would take 1:10 chances to win \$100 rather than 1:3 chances to win \$100 if loss would net them minus \$30.
I guess thats human nature. I recently started considering hiring psycologist to help to change this "natural" attitude, because its ruining me even more than you.
May 7, 08 07:23:50
Totally understand this mentatlity from my idiot days playing blackjack and roulette online (IDIOT IDIOT IDIOT THING TO DO). I'd feel strangely better having comeback from being £2k down and ending up even than being £1k up and ending up only £500 up. I somehow felt that I'd "lost" £500 in the second instance and managed to "win" £2k off the casino in the first instance. Crazy. Same thing applies to poker, if I'm a 3bb/100 winner at \$1/\$2 and lose a buy in my instinct is to foolishly go up a limit or two and play way to LAG to get it back quick when I know that what I should do is suck up the loss and grind it back and maybe hit some good cards along the way.
Such is the life of one whose natural instinct is to gamble.
Hey ho. Just saying you're not alone buddy.
May 7, 08 08:10:47
David I really like your blog, because your willing to let us into the life of a poker player. You share the good the bad and the ugly which is great, and unlike 98% of other blogs. I also feel that 'confusion' your in, so I really hope your able to go on a break to prepare for the WSOP if you still intend on playing in it.
I also play poker, but obviously not professionally. I want to know if its just me or not, but does David Benyamine suck or what? He seems to have a horseshoe the size of his belly up his arse.
Anyhow good luck and keep bloggin!
May 7, 08 08:52:17
As soon as I read about the traveling paragraph I felt compelled to reply. I have thoughts daily about going on some adventure and have been reading the travel forum at 2p2 a lot lately. I've relied on online gambling/poker for the last 3 years and lets just say I live cheap and don't put in nearly enough effort as I have time to do. I'm pretty much just living day to day life the only advantage over a 'normal' person is I don't have to go do a job I don't want to. The problem is the job I chose to do I don't do enough lol so I don't really feel like I have the freedom I thought I once would when I got wrapped up in all of this.....ramblin.
May 7, 08 08:53:15
I love the honesty in ur blog and even though Im on a lower level grinding 5/10 I have the same thoughts as u and since I live in Sweden I also have to worry about the fact that people despise pokerplayers here. It is not in our culture that it is ok for someone to earn money this way, so being alone with your thoughts adds to the misery. Thanks for putting my thoughts into words.
May 7, 08 09:03:38
Just like your workout, travelling starts with that first step. You should start by visiting friends in far off locations. That makes it soooo much easier. But, to be honest, the best trips I have ever taken have been by myself. Its really awesome when you are alone in a completely foreign environment because you really find out who you are and the things that you want to do. For a person who has spent hours grinding and obviously stressing (playing poker for large amounts of loot is stressfull, period), a getaway is exactly what you need. It sounds crazy, but if you went to India or Vietnam (both extremely beautiful) or any place off the radar by yourself for a few weeks, you would really get a great recharge and a completely different perspective on yourself and life in general. Not to mention, great stories. Good luck!
May 7, 08 09:22:37
Sounds like you spend your time stressing about making changes that actually making them. I know what this is like because im super guilty of it. You just HAVE TO DO IT. Sounds hokey and simple but you just have to take the plunge and stop your constant worrying and neurosis about it.
May 7, 08 10:40:44
First of all, what people don't realize is just how difficult it is to REALLY CHANGE. A perfect example in your blog today is when you state "make my morning SANDWICH". You have been talking about losing weight and sound like it's something you feel is somewhat a top priority and yet you continue to eat bread, despite the advice you got about staying away from it (note I'm not talking about something extreme like fasting , etc.). As an aside here. since we've tangentially gone down the diet route, I would seriously recommend you reading about the "paleo" diet. But I digress. To make a change in one's life takes "WILL" and "COMMITMENT", which takes perseverance, endurance, experiencing frustrations and setbacks, etc. Now who really wants to go through all that shit? Answer-someone who really does want to change and not just talk about it. From your background you obviously have the tools (mental toughness, willpower, etc.) to make any change you want to make, but it does take commitment. Since you're interested in philosophical subjects (Tao Te Ching, Zen), I would recommend some books discussing samurai philosophy-this might give you some insight into some of the things that are bothering you. As I go off on a different tangent here, for someone who mocks the "Math" guys (I agree with your sentiment btw), how can you make generalizations about "2 EV", etc.? Just what is the "long run" for you poker savants?? 15,000, 150,000, 1,500,000, or 15,000,000 hands?? Who the fok really knows?? OK-so now I'm really TILTING. Don't even get me talking about you guys talking about their opponent's "Hand Ranges". especially Heads Up. Give me a break. As you have said in one of your vids, "everybody" tilts, and that can happen at any time. So if I'm playing you HU and I'm tilted and call your 4 bet with my 2 7 off, How the fok can you put me on a "hand range" when the flop comes 2 2 7????? By the way, is playing poker when your angry positive EV? I guess I'm in trouble, then. Or maybe the long run for me is 150,000,000,000,000,000 hands (I play everything optimally-I'm just RUNNING BAD!!). Ok, enough of my angry zen rant (is it possible for someone to be "zen" and "angry"?). Anyway, keep up the good blog and vids. Last piece of advice-if you keep eating bread and processed carbs, you'll grow man boobs and need a "BRO" or "MANSIERRE" (they're estrogenic).
May 7, 08 12:02:06
u mention my 'diet' a lot without really knowing at all what you are talking about. this bothers me a lot when people make judgements based on nothing. the bread i use, which i use one slice of, has 13g of carbs, 6 of which are fiber, 4g of protein, 1g fat, and is pretty much the healthiest bread on the planet, and no nutritional scientist could possibly deem it unhealthy. I made a blog post a while ago breaking these things down. Sorry but u mention it more than once so felt like i should reply, i am very aware of what is involved in good nutritional habits, and i also accept them!
May 7, 08 12:38:47
nice blog dave; the feelings are obv shared by many... fwiw, the plo hand vs benyamine is pretty standard tho
May 7, 08 13:24:46
you wanna know what i think? I think you're thinking too much. Book a trip, don't take ur laptop, and just relax for a week. Give ur head a break.
May 7, 08 17:24:27
I was wondering if you had finished that ebook you had been reading on cutting and if it was indeed any good. If so what is the title?
May 7, 08 18:06:04
David,
I apologize if I miscommunicated my "bread" comments. The last comments were jokingly directed at everybody that eats bread. I truly realize that you are thoughtful and diligent about your nutrition and fitness. But, despite the fact that your bread is supposedly healthy, I would like to play the devil's advocate. There are quite a few respected people that feel strongly that any "grains", especially wheat, are not the health food that most people believe them to be. For starters, grains are abundant in an ingredient called "phytates" (or phytic acid), which are actually considered "anti-nutrients". These anti-nutrients interfere significantly with the absorption of important minerals, including iron, calcium, magnesium, and zinc, to name a few. Some of these minerals (esp. zinc and magnesium) are critical to important hormone synthesis in the body, including our good friends testosterone and growth hormone. These hormones are hugely important in maintaining lean muscle mass, as well as a sense of well-being, confidence, etc. Also, some people feel strongly that grains trigger an immune response in most people (the extreme version of this is celiac disease, in which people get severe diarrhea when eating any grains). If an immune response is triggered, however subtle it might be, the body reacts by creating a stress response and secreting more adrenaline, etc. This stress response cause the stress hormone cortisol to be secreted, which in turn causes a cascade of events that affect the cells in our body. What happens then is that the insulin receptor sensitivities of the muscle and fat cells change dramatically, with the final upshot being that more foodstuffs get preferentially deposited in to the adipocytes (fat cells), versus the muscle cells. Not only that, but it becomes harder to mobilize that fat when trying to lose weight. They are blowing holes every day in the bullshit that a calorie is a calorie is a calorie, despite what food source it came from. The way to think about food is the hormonal effects that are triggered when you eat certain foods. That's why I mentioned the "paleo" diet. Go to http://www.earth360.com/diet_paleodiet_balzer.html to get the basic ideas about the diet. If it piques your interest, then you can visit other sources of info. Another good website is thepaleodiet.com, which goes in to more detail. You might also go to Amazon and check out some books like "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes or "The No-Grain Diet", by Joseph Mercola or "Dangerous Grains" to name a few. As an aide, everybody thinks soy is a health food too.... Anyway, I'm sorry if I didn't express myself very well on the earlier post.
May 7, 08 22:14:54
Hey just echoing the sentiment that I totally relate to everything you are talking about. Why is it so effing hard to let go of results oriented thinking when it's clearly so irrational.
Your blog is my favorite CR blog by far as it's the main one which really gets into the self-management required to be do this successfully for a living. Keep writing what you're feeling man don't listen to the jealous beginners.
May 8, 08 10:24:09
Dave,
listen up bro. u need to stop this selfish "i want to build muscle, i want more definition to my body shit" and start making a diff in the world. you have so much money that u're in a position to make that difference. you're going to die in 80 years. no1 cares if u have a 6 pack or a round bicep you moron(harsh i know but u're exactly that at the moment). help out the cyclone victims in burma or something. instead of sitting in front of the computer and being miserable, do something that makes others and yourself feel better.
May 8, 08 16:03:24
neurologically, people (and other animals) feel losses about 2.5x as much as equivalent gains. so if you lose \$10 and gain \$10, you'll feel badly overall.
when i was your age, i spent a year and a half bumming around southeast asia. highly recommended. i suggest buying a one-way ticket to bali. no need to go with someone; people make friends instantly on the road.
May 8, 08 20:04:31
a GREAT book regrarding noise and Ev .
Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in the Markets and in Life, First Nassim Nicholas Taleb .
check it out
May 8, 08 20:09:22
Ditto on the book recommendation. Also, "The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable" by the same author is must read
May 9, 08 00:36:33
David what is your diet like? I would imagine you are trying to lose fat and gain muscle? Ncasso5 posts some great nutritional info in the general discussion which is refreshing because most people tend to spread poor infromation on the topic. PM me if you would like to discuss this. I have gone through several transformations in my life (am 26) and have had excellent results. One thing that should be taken into consderation is that a transormation diet is going to be different then your regular lifestyle diet. LOL @ the people trying to discourage working out. Transforming your body is alot like poker, very few people now how to accomplish their goals as it can be very complex.
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May 5, 08 20:58:49
hey david, i'd like to hear your thoughts on this hand
http://www.cardrunners.com/members/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=321459&page=1#Post321459
May 5, 08 21:18:39
you are my hero - the jack high call is one of coolest hands i've seen in awhile
May 5, 08 22:51:27
Thx for posting those hands and ur analysis behind them. We learn more from losing then winning.
As good as watching a vid imo
peace
May 6, 08 07:21:56
"Overall I feel like I played pretty well,"
YEAH SURE YOU DID.
KARMA FOR NOT RESPONDING TO YOUR EMAILS YOU ARROGANT, COCKY, SOB
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