Like this:

July has kind of been meh in terms of grinding on stars. 100nl so far has been pretty easy, but I started running like shit near the end of the month, and considering I only started July ~22nd, my downswing came rather quickly. I have been getting pretty good at not tilting due to beats lately and just brushing beats off, but I still get tilted from swingy sessions. I can take losing 3 bi’s within the first 10 hands of a session, but spending the next 3 hours recouping my losses only to have all that work getting erased by another 3 beats/coolers moments after I break even for the day is so incredibly tilting. I have been reevaluting my play lately and I feel I’m having a tendency to autopilot and play horribly. My non-showdown losses have been building up day by day when it’s usually breakeven or better when I’m playing well, and it kind of tilts me when I look at my graphs.

On another note, I am happy to say that I’ve made my set up in my room so much less tilting. I’ve bought a new 24″ monitor, a new leather office chair, a mousepad, and a shitload of AA batteries for my mouse (it tilts me so hard when my mouse dies on me in the middle of a session).

My stakes WERE doing very well and making good money for me considering they’re only playing 10nl, but one of them went on megatilt and shipping almost his whole roll. He also moved up to chase losses behind my back and obviously this angered me. I am making him pay for the loss (part of the initial agreement) in addition to the substantial amount he already owes me. I felt like the stake was -EV for me before I gave it to him, but he was in debt and didn’t have much money and pitied him. Sigh. I hope my other stake listens to me more.

July has been a pretty brutal month to me outside of poker. It’s been very lonely without my girlfriend Michelle around and I miss her greatly I spend so much time everyday just thinking about what we’d be doing if she were around. I watch her facebook videos on my wall daily and am just praying for her trip to be over so I can see her again. I take comfort in the fact that she misses me just as much as I miss her. I hope the next 2 weeks go by quickly!
Thankfully, one of my good friends from HS came back to town from Taiwan recently. We’ve been spending some time together catching up and playing a lot of basketball (i’ve been getting so fat sitting on my ass lately). I’m really glad he’s back since I’m out of contact with almost all my HS friends. I hope to find an apartment with him at CP in the fall.

Overall, I’m glad with where my life is right now despite how the rest of my post seems to suggest. Things seem to be heading in the right direction, but I have to keep in mind the road will not be easy and I can’t get discouraged. Below are my August goals:

Poker:
-Make 5k at 100nl and move up to 200nl permanently. This is a pretty lofty goal considering my results so far, but it’s doable if I work hard enough and learn fast enough.
-Put in at least 60k hands
-Review my sessions more/Look for leaks/badly played hands and just try to learn more from my mistakes.
-Don’t wait until the day is almost over and I’m all tired to start a session.

Non-poker:
-Stop wasting my damn time looking at dumb videos online or reading worthless 2p2 threads and spend more time with friends and my toki, especially the latter .
-Stop going to sleep when everyone is waking up and stop waking up when everyone is eating dinner.
-Play more basketball and start using my newly purchased gym membership!!
-Save more money and stop spending money on things I don’t really need.
-Eat healthier.

Alright everyone, here’s to a great August!