Setbacks, Poker Highs, and a 10k Holiday Challenge
Sep 26, 2024
Hey everyone,
It’s been a crazy couple of months, and I wanted to catch you all up on what’s been happening—both the good and the not-so-good. There have been some unexpected setbacks, but also some great moments at the tables, and I’m excited to share a new challenge I’m taking on. So, let’s get into it!
August took a turn for the worse when I broke my patella while playing paddle tennis. Honestly, it was a pretty frustrating moment. Just when I was about to go on holiday, boom—injury. We had to cancel our plans, and instead of the relaxing trip we’d planned, my girlfriend and I ended up going to her family’s place in the countryside so I could take some time to recover. It wasn’t what we’d hoped for, but in hindsight, maybe slowing down wasn’t such a bad thing.
That being said, being immobilized really sucked. I’m not the best at sitting still, so having my leg in a cast made me pretty restless. I finally got the plaster removed a week ago, and now I’m slowly getting back into things. It’s actually motivated me to hit the gym harder once I’m fully recovered. I’ve even started swimming, which has been a good way to ease back into fitness without putting too much pressure on my leg.
On top of that, we moved into a new place, which was... let’s just say it was a logistical nightmare. Moving when you can’t even walk is no joke, but somehow, we managed with the help of friends, family, and my amazing girlfriend. It wasn’t a smooth process, and there were definitely some moments of “how the hell are we going to get this done?” But we pulled through, got everything sorted, and now I’m finally able to start settling into the new routine.
Poker-wise, things have been going pretty well, I actually do not have proof of that as I try not to check results until the end of the month. It’s tempting, but focusing too much on results can mess with your head. However, when you’re running good, you can feel it.
But while things have been good at the tables, I’m keeping in mind that poker is a long-term game. I’ve been around long enough to know that what goes up can come down just as quickly, so I’m keeping my focus on playing well.
The 10K Holiday Challenge
Especially now that I’m more involved with coaching at BluffTheSpot, getting to know different player pools on the biggest sites where many of my students play is a must. So I decided that I am going to grind 2-3 sessions a week on smaller stakes and all kinds of sites to get a better feeling. What I realized so far, is that I am struggling a bit with taking the lower games as seriously as I should. So I decided to start a little BR challenge for myself, to take the sessions more seriously.
Here’s the plan: I’m aiming to build a €10,000 bankroll from €1,000 during my lower stakes sessions and streams.
Why 10K? After we didn’t get to take a holiday in August because of my injury, we are planning to go on a nice holiday for a whole month next summer. The plan is to finance our holiday with the winnings from the bankroll challenge. The 10K should be enough to have stress-free time pretty much anywhere we want to go. No matter how the challenge ends, the profit will be our budget for next summer.
Imagine that for whatever reason I am failing and have to tell my girlfriend that we have to get a holiday job in the summer :D
Jokes aside, the challenge isn’t going to be easy as I am not 100% used to streaming and playing yet, but I am very confident to complete the challenge before summer. I’ll be streaming the challenge on the BTS Twitch channel every Tuesday and Thursday from 5 pm to 7 pm CET.
So yeah, to sum everything up. Things haven’t exactly been perfect these past couple of months. The injury, the stressful move, and the constant juggling between poker, coaching, and recovery have all been a bit overwhelming at times. But I’m finding my rhythm again. I’ll keep you all updated on how the bankroll challenge goes and share more hands and insights along the way.
Cheers,
Pablo
