Like i said, The 'Talent Code' is built on revolutionary scientific discoveries invlolving a neural insulator called myelin, which some neurologists now consider to be the holy grail of acquiring skill, and here's why: Every human skill, weather its learning to hit bunker shots or learning to play Bach, is created by chains of nerve fibres carrying tiny electrical impulses - basically its a signal travelling through a circuit. Myelin's vital role is to wrap these nerve fibres the same way that rubber insulation wraps a copper wire - making the signal faster and stronger by preventing the electrical impulses from leaking out. When we fire our circuits in the correct way (when we practice swinging the golf club or playing that note), our myelin responds by wrapping layers of insulation around that neural circuit, each new layer adding more skill and speed. The thicker the myelin gets, the more it insulates, and the faster and more accurate our movements and thoughts become.
So, thats the nutshell, and it applies to EVERYTHING we do, including thought processes when playing poker, putting opponents on ranges etc etc. The book actually explains why Brazil are, and always have been, the best football team, and why Tiger Woods is as good as he is (or was, until he decided that the normal rules of marriage, and life in general didnt apply to him), amongst many other, until now, unexplained phenomenons. Its only a fiver to download via kindle, and its written in a very accessible and readable way, so I'd strongly recommend it :-) Anyway, enough of all that, but i just felt the need to share it with you all, because it totally blew my mind when i read it, and it really has helped me with my golf, and 'learning how to learn', so I'd like to think that it can help some of you too, if you are at all interested... I'm currently in the process of applying the myelin phenomenon to learning new poker skills...speaking of which...
So June was an ok month for me:
Had a bit of a family issue which knocked me a bit, and meant that my volume of hands was pretty low, but with rake on top of this (bout $750) and a nice tournament win in the Wednesday PKR Prime Time on the 15th:
meant that i cleared $7k for a third successive month :-)
This month has been pretty stale so far - I'm doing ok profit wise, but i dont think i've ever played for so many periods where i've been so effing card dead, which has meant that i've often tried to force it at times (generally not a good idea imo), leading to ill-timed bluffs and owning/value towning myself :-( So this month:
I've also been experimenting with 9 tabling, which is definitely a skill in itself, and just finding the best way to play because i found myself nitting up a little bit. MyVPIP went down to like 20% (as opposed to usually around 25-28%), and my PFR also decreased to about 15% (usually bout 18-22%), so i wasnt happy about that. I found myself just sorta grinding it out more, and was missing so many opportunities and spots where i'd usually be trying to outplay my opponent (although rarely needing to cos as everyone knows, i always have it :-), quickly checking stats, and hand reading much more effectively. When 9 tabling this does become more difficult so i've got to address this issue and find the right balance. The last 2k or so hands, i went back to 6 tables and enjoyed it a lot more - i felt like i was 'playing poker' more and getting involved in more marginal spots, trying to make them profitable, instead of just giving up (or spazzing out) too easily because im in 3 other marginal/potentially very lucrative spots on tables elsewhere - work in progress...
On the fine dining front, i took my pops out for lunch for fathers day the other week, opting for a fantastic place called 'The Pigs' in Edgefield. Gorgeous proper pub with an outstanding menu, excellent service and superb food. We had a starter of 'pig pieces' consisting of pigs ear, sausage, pork belly (oh my God, the best belly ive EVER had), black pudding, pig liver pate, crackling, smokey bacon, scoth egg and dreamy apple sauce:
Then after the best rare rib of roast beef I've had in ages, we entered into 'pudding club' which was included in the price for the main meal (£19:95 for main and pudding club - really great value, just ask my dad...).
Dunno why he's pulling that silly face, he looks slightly demented, or perhaps he has a fart stuck sideways, but let me assure you he is happy, with home-made jaffa cake, chocolate filled doughnut, flapjack, trifle, almond slice and chocolate chip bread and butter pudding for desert - The guy can eat! You were allowed to eat as many puddings as you like, the only rule being that you returned with an empty plate if you wanted more! Pops obviously wanted to go back for more but we refused to let him! They were all individually delicious, and i was blown away by the quality of the cooking and baking, leaving the biggest tip i think i've ever left. They even brewed their own beer, a few pints of which went down really well afterwards. Anyone on an east coast holiday MUST check this place out - i rarely get excited about pub food but this was top notch, and cant wait to go back.
Finally, congrats to all the PKR players who have cashed in Vegas - Scott Shelly, Brother M, and all the others, with a special mention to ex PKR pro Andrew Teng, who had a very nice 5th place finish in the 1k NL Holdem event #42 for $105k - MBN! /wp /gg /cheer /dance.
