Back To The Trap House

Life has been amazing lately. I haven't been this happy in years and with my new attitude on life I feel like great things are coming my way. I can sense everything I've always wanted in life come together around me! Reflecting these past few months has made me realize that getting to where you want to be isn't a linear path. It's a lot like poker where sometimes you have to fall into a pit to get to the top of the highest mountain!

Am I exactly where I want to be in life right now? No, not even close but I've embraced myself and the imperfections that I have and because of that I'm well on my way. Instead of looking at what you don't have keep reminding yourself of your best qualities, the stuff that makes you unique and it will lead to a positive view of life. When people hate on you just smile. I used to get sucked in and get into fist fights but I realized they are just as insecure as you and I but sometimes in a much more severe way. Everyone is at different stages of progress and growth. I don't really think I know anyone who is completely satisfied with where they are. Just because someone has a sick car or a better job doesn't mean they are better or more satisfied with life.

I read an article on Yahoo just the other day that said that people who make 75K a year, no more no less, were much more happy and satisfied than people who made much more than that or significantly less. I guess thats the sweet spot where you don't have too high stress of a job and are comfortable enough to have freedom.

I went to global dance festival this past weekend at Red Rocks and I must say it was amazing! I got into a local Colorado Magazine called Westword as the 50 Most memorable people at the festival!! Heres the link!!

http://www.westword.com/slideshow/50-most-memorable-people-at-global-dance-festival-30406519/18/

This awesome girl I just met also got me backstage and I met DeadMau5! Overall it was the best experience I've ever had at Red Rocks and probably one of the more fun nights of my life!

In my last blog post I wrote about when you should stop playing or shouldn't be playing in the first place. This post is a list of indicators you should be playing. At the end of the day when you break it down its very simple to see what seperates good poker players from bad. In fact I think this is probably one of the biggest flaws in losing players and micro grinders games overall. I think it is way more important than understanding math and probably equally as important as understanding Top end game. So here it is....

Indicators You should keep playing or should be playing:

1. Feelings of happiness, joy or excitement.

2. Doing something uplifting like going to a concert, seeing your family, hanging out with friends, playing with a puppy, going to the beach, Traveling, Getting High (Weed only I think), Sex, Meeting new people, Eating a refreshing dinner, Learning something new, Getting good grades, seeing an uplifting movie, winning a tournament, going to a ball game, getting a compliment or words of encouragement from others, listening to good music, job promotion, gym, losing weight, etc.

3. Doing something that creates positive momentum and positive energy in your life. Feelings of appreciation.

If you read my last list you'll notice this list is very short. The basic formula in these lists is momentum. You need to do positive things to create momentum and feel happiness. This list should be custom made especially for you and you only. Whatever makes you happy and gets you into a good mood is what you should be doing to create momentum and become happy. It has to be forward momentum not backwards.

Everything on the negative list creates negative energy. If I do too much of it it weighs me down and causes a negative feeling. It creates negative momentum in my life and my poker game. It doesn't mean that you shouldn't do it but try to balance it. I like to do some of the stuff on the negative list like drink, party and do drugs. It gets to the point where it just becomes too much for your psyche to handle and eventually it damages you emotionally. Watch out for just rolling out of bed and firing up tables when there is stuff to be done around your house. Something as simple as not taking out the trash or not doing dishes can be the trigger for going on tilt later in the session. I used to take a beat when I had something more productive to do, go on tilt then tilt more because I say "I shouldve cleaned the house. What a waste of time". If you do something negative do as many positive things to get you in a positive mind set again before playing.

So the basic formula is this. Always do something fun and uplifting before you play. It can be as simple as listening to your new favorite song, talking to a gf or watching a comedy. When you do something negative or something that gives you a guilty, anxious feeling then make sure you do something positive before you play. Don't play when you're stuck in neutral. Always create positive momentum before you play, ALWAYS.

Positive before negative, ALWAYS!