I just got home from a fun night out. My cousin had her birthday and we had dinner and drinks which was interesting, with some funny stories told. It has been four years since we last caught up. She has been over in The Philippines and travelled through Europe a bit with her boyfriend Jason. Her name is now ‘Honey’ and that is what all her friends call her. I always knew her as Rachael and couldn’t quite get used to the name change yet. It was done for business purposes and before that it was Mia which apparently isn’t as catchy.
I have a trip to New Zealand coming up for the New Zealand Open in Auckland. I will be travelling with the NSW Institute of Sport and as with last year Carl Healey and Mat Miles will be coming on the men’s side. This will most likely be my last trip as a part of the NSWIS crew. I’m concentrating more on developing career and expanding poker/travel/academic time.
At Club Merrylands we missed out on the finals series. We lost to The Hills and competition leaders Raymond Terrace. I think we performed poorly. Against Raymond Terrace our team was under prepared and hung over? At The Hills we lost overall, I don’t know what to say, but I am pretty sure the team will play better next year. On the surface we made changes but I’m not sure they were the right ones. It is never an easy job and you have to do the best with the players you have in the positions they are picked in.
On Pokerstars I have been playing more PLO and PLO/LHE mixed games. I am trying to develop my game there and been making decent money. I still play tournaments. I am also on Cake Poker now as *shibby* and have made a good start. The games are really soft and the rake back is great. Stars has the consistent tournament volume due to a larger player pool (hundreds of thousands from around the world on together), where as Cake only has 3-10k people on at any one time.
I’m thinking of staking some people in live tournaments rather than playing them myself. They are so slow and the convenience of online play with the lower buy ins makes it a smarter choice to reduce the risk of ruin. I make a steady income online where as live poker tournament players where the buy-ins are between 2k and 40k are a recipe for ‘busto‘.
I have always preferred live cash games to live tournaments. My short handed cash game play has improved dramatically since my trip to Melbourne. I play short handed cash games (6 or fewer players) more frequently now. It is hard to get a game like that live. Live is mostly full ring (9 to 10 players). Generally only the better players are willing to play short handed cash games, so they rarely get off the ground live. The rake in a casino would be prohibitive also.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Magic Mojo Back
After coming back from Melbourne and settling back into some sort of routine I really feel great again. I've found a better balance with training, work, study and poker.
Our Premier League team has copped a bit of flack for constantly changing its roster.
After three tough loses on the road to Taren Point, Engadine and Warilla; we have now managed to win three games in a row. It is good to finally string some wins together in the Premier League. We flew to Wagga Wagga and had a pretty tight tussle with the Riverina Team. Then we had a double header this weekend starting on Friday night against Birrong, which we ran away with in the end.
On Sunday against Toongabbie it was a much closer game; we started well and finished well. Towards the middle of the game the Titans were in control but we managed to regain the momentum we built earlier by scoring on all rinks and over taking them on the master board. I think Toongabbie may wonder how they lost control of that game. It certainly seemed like we scored 20 shots in a row and were suddenly 10 in front with only 10 ends to play.
The last 3 wins puts us back in the top 6. We currently sit 5th and have quite a few home games up our sleeve. With the rule change back to retaining the mat, when scoring, the games overall have been much closer. There is also a strong trend for the home team to have a clear advantage.
I really feel we have a strong chance of figuring in the finals. We were evenly matched in both very tough away games against Engadine and Warilla. I would love to play them at home. Taren Point were dominant however, and I feel it would take something special to beat them in a final series game. We will be tested in the next few weeks and we need to consistently convert our opportunities at home and against teams that may be struggling internally.
I have had the time and opportunity this week to chill out and go to a couple of parties. I spent most of the week around the City and it was a great week where I had some quality time with people I care greatly for. Late night dessert was a highlight at a place where I had eaten breakfast earlier in the week. I did some shopping on Saturday, bought some clothes and booked some trips and paid entry fees for various tournaments.
One tournament I'm really looking forward too is the New Zealand Open in Auckland. This will probably be my last trip with the NSW Institute of Sport. I had a really good one on one with Cam Curtis (before he took on his new role with Roselands) where I decided that my focus on representative bowls would be reduced and move on towards other areas in life.
I learnt so much from my time at the Institute about life in general and I met some of the most amazing people from within the sport and also on the coaching and administration side. Some of these people greatly changed my life and through these exceptional people I was able to positively influence the direction of other young people in sport.
My experience with Hills Shire Sports stands out in my mind as a great experience for talented athletes in the area but also for my own understanding and personal development. I learnt so much from these kids and it really made me reflect on why I participate in sport and where my motivations, goals and achievements were driven from.
I set many goals for myself to achieve by the time I was 25. I have achieved most of them. Some of them were modest, others were outlandish. I did enjoy the journey. From New Years in New York to playing U25’s for Australia. I had academic, sporting, relationship and other goals. I am at a stage where I am reassessing all of these for the future. I feel I am in a better place now to judge what is appropriate for myself than when I was 17. The process is on going and I am sure that things will change as people come into my life. Now more than ever I am my own person and not so easily swayed by other peoples opinions as I once was.
Our Premier League team has copped a bit of flack for constantly changing its roster.
After three tough loses on the road to Taren Point, Engadine and Warilla; we have now managed to win three games in a row. It is good to finally string some wins together in the Premier League. We flew to Wagga Wagga and had a pretty tight tussle with the Riverina Team. Then we had a double header this weekend starting on Friday night against Birrong, which we ran away with in the end.
On Sunday against Toongabbie it was a much closer game; we started well and finished well. Towards the middle of the game the Titans were in control but we managed to regain the momentum we built earlier by scoring on all rinks and over taking them on the master board. I think Toongabbie may wonder how they lost control of that game. It certainly seemed like we scored 20 shots in a row and were suddenly 10 in front with only 10 ends to play.
The last 3 wins puts us back in the top 6. We currently sit 5th and have quite a few home games up our sleeve. With the rule change back to retaining the mat, when scoring, the games overall have been much closer. There is also a strong trend for the home team to have a clear advantage.
I really feel we have a strong chance of figuring in the finals. We were evenly matched in both very tough away games against Engadine and Warilla. I would love to play them at home. Taren Point were dominant however, and I feel it would take something special to beat them in a final series game. We will be tested in the next few weeks and we need to consistently convert our opportunities at home and against teams that may be struggling internally.
I have had the time and opportunity this week to chill out and go to a couple of parties. I spent most of the week around the City and it was a great week where I had some quality time with people I care greatly for. Late night dessert was a highlight at a place where I had eaten breakfast earlier in the week. I did some shopping on Saturday, bought some clothes and booked some trips and paid entry fees for various tournaments.
One tournament I'm really looking forward too is the New Zealand Open in Auckland. This will probably be my last trip with the NSW Institute of Sport. I had a really good one on one with Cam Curtis (before he took on his new role with Roselands) where I decided that my focus on representative bowls would be reduced and move on towards other areas in life.
I learnt so much from my time at the Institute about life in general and I met some of the most amazing people from within the sport and also on the coaching and administration side. Some of these people greatly changed my life and through these exceptional people I was able to positively influence the direction of other young people in sport.
My experience with Hills Shire Sports stands out in my mind as a great experience for talented athletes in the area but also for my own understanding and personal development. I learnt so much from these kids and it really made me reflect on why I participate in sport and where my motivations, goals and achievements were driven from.
I set many goals for myself to achieve by the time I was 25. I have achieved most of them. Some of them were modest, others were outlandish. I did enjoy the journey. From New Years in New York to playing U25’s for Australia. I had academic, sporting, relationship and other goals. I am at a stage where I am reassessing all of these for the future. I feel I am in a better place now to judge what is appropriate for myself than when I was 17. The process is on going and I am sure that things will change as people come into my life. Now more than ever I am my own person and not so easily swayed by other peoples opinions as I once was.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Melbourne, NSW Open & Wollongong
I have had a nice little upswing both live and online. I spent about 4 days in Melbourne playing 2-3 NL and went up 12 buy ins on the 200 table. The games were exceptional and the timing was great with the Rugby League Grand Final on at the same time.
Online I went up 2k. I entered some tournaments where friends bought percentages of me. My gains have mainly been in cash games with most of my tournaments blanking out. Luckily, I have had people buying good percentages of me in tournaments. Overall in tournaments I lost very little due to staking and actually gained in some arrangements.
Crown is by far the best place to play cash games live in a casino in Australia. There are great restaurants and places to go out all around Southbank. Crown makes it easy. If I had the choice I wouldn't spend too much time in a casino but that is just where the poker games are hosted. I learnt at home reading books, playing online and with friends.
I stayed with friends at a place in Kew which wasn't too far from everything. We played a couple of home games. One home game was in Kew and another was with a mix of people in St. Kilda. Later that night I went down to Sandringham to meet a friend from bowls and catch up.
We hired a car and spent any down time watching Entourage, Family Guy and other movies like Watchmen on the big screen. Alex's place in Kew had wireless internet so we played online throughout the house.
I had to fly back to Sydney to play in the NSW Open at Taren Point on Wednesday. After getting ko'd in the fours I stayed at a friends place in Glebe. I met up with a friend at The Rocks and then a few different bowls friends in the city. I went to a chocolate house in The Rocks and then went out to George St and met up with the group at the Three Wise Monkeys.
The next morning I gave my friend a lift to the airport and drove down to Wollongong to meet up and crash at my mates hotel. We went for dinner at the Novotel. He is a state sales manager and he once recommended The Novotel on North Beach to me, to take out a girl for Valentine's Day dinner which went down well. Our dinner was great, we got to catch up and we went back and watched some TV and I accidentally registered a Pot Limit Hold'em cash game table on stars and about 5 hands in stacked someone for 400usd. Good Life.
The last 7 days have been exceptional and I don't expect this to happen all the time but it truly has been sweet. Having the money gave me the freedom to move around and do what I liked. I visited my Nan and Pop on the way back home from Wollongong which was fantastic. Nanna Mac told me a couple of stories from when she baby sat me which made me laugh and her snort:)
As a kid I liked things to be done properly and whenever she was getting tired she would try to skip a page in a book to get to sleep early. Not on my watch! 'Nanna', I would say, 'You missed a page, start again!'
She also recalled how I was certain that it was 'Banana's in Byjama's' because of course that made more sense than Banana's in Pyjama's! Stubborn as I was I went and got out Dad's big dictionary, well the A to K half, and carried it in my arms to Nan to look up 'Byjama'. I remember it being heavy (I think I was 5). Unfortunately, after making my Nan go through all of the 'B' section, she convinced me to go and get the other half and look under 'P' with her. I was astounded, 'It does start with a P!'
Thank you to all those family members and close ones who have been patient with me over the years. It seems I have been stubborn from a young age and have needed very wise and patient people to guide me:)
Tomorrow our club team is flying to Wagga for an important Premier League game. If the weather holds off tonight we have practice. We lost our last 3 games against tough opposition, but we still have some finals chance if we win on the road.
Online I went up 2k. I entered some tournaments where friends bought percentages of me. My gains have mainly been in cash games with most of my tournaments blanking out. Luckily, I have had people buying good percentages of me in tournaments. Overall in tournaments I lost very little due to staking and actually gained in some arrangements.
Crown is by far the best place to play cash games live in a casino in Australia. There are great restaurants and places to go out all around Southbank. Crown makes it easy. If I had the choice I wouldn't spend too much time in a casino but that is just where the poker games are hosted. I learnt at home reading books, playing online and with friends.
I stayed with friends at a place in Kew which wasn't too far from everything. We played a couple of home games. One home game was in Kew and another was with a mix of people in St. Kilda. Later that night I went down to Sandringham to meet a friend from bowls and catch up.
We hired a car and spent any down time watching Entourage, Family Guy and other movies like Watchmen on the big screen. Alex's place in Kew had wireless internet so we played online throughout the house.
I had to fly back to Sydney to play in the NSW Open at Taren Point on Wednesday. After getting ko'd in the fours I stayed at a friends place in Glebe. I met up with a friend at The Rocks and then a few different bowls friends in the city. I went to a chocolate house in The Rocks and then went out to George St and met up with the group at the Three Wise Monkeys.
The next morning I gave my friend a lift to the airport and drove down to Wollongong to meet up and crash at my mates hotel. We went for dinner at the Novotel. He is a state sales manager and he once recommended The Novotel on North Beach to me, to take out a girl for Valentine's Day dinner which went down well. Our dinner was great, we got to catch up and we went back and watched some TV and I accidentally registered a Pot Limit Hold'em cash game table on stars and about 5 hands in stacked someone for 400usd. Good Life.
The last 7 days have been exceptional and I don't expect this to happen all the time but it truly has been sweet. Having the money gave me the freedom to move around and do what I liked. I visited my Nan and Pop on the way back home from Wollongong which was fantastic. Nanna Mac told me a couple of stories from when she baby sat me which made me laugh and her snort:)
As a kid I liked things to be done properly and whenever she was getting tired she would try to skip a page in a book to get to sleep early. Not on my watch! 'Nanna', I would say, 'You missed a page, start again!'
She also recalled how I was certain that it was 'Banana's in Byjama's' because of course that made more sense than Banana's in Pyjama's! Stubborn as I was I went and got out Dad's big dictionary, well the A to K half, and carried it in my arms to Nan to look up 'Byjama'. I remember it being heavy (I think I was 5). Unfortunately, after making my Nan go through all of the 'B' section, she convinced me to go and get the other half and look under 'P' with her. I was astounded, 'It does start with a P!'
Thank you to all those family members and close ones who have been patient with me over the years. It seems I have been stubborn from a young age and have needed very wise and patient people to guide me:)
Tomorrow our club team is flying to Wagga for an important Premier League game. If the weather holds off tonight we have practice. We lost our last 3 games against tough opposition, but we still have some finals chance if we win on the road.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Hot & Cold
After the Inter-Zone carnival over the weekend, which is used by our state to select representative teams, I can’t say our team performed well overall. It seems when some people are very close to being given opportunities for State selection they go ahead and do some harmful things to their own chances and jeopardise other team mates prospects in the process.
Right now the Zone and State activities seem excessive in terms of time commitment. Some of the guys who represent at Australian level, I think, should be exempt from lower level Zone activities and be granted some time off Zone events. Why do players like Aron Sherriff and Wayne Turley really need to be there this weekend? What do they have to prove at State level?
I have a pretty good couple of weeks ahead. The City Master Singles is on and apparently there is betting (what event is there not at the moment) on it with Mat Pieterson installed as favourite. This is fair enough as he just won a car at Park Beach and is a former State Singles winner. I am not going in with any expectations. Sets play always brings out some surprise results. I just want to run good if I get into tie breakers and try to nail my first bowl. If I create some good heads and convert when I need to I will be happy.
On Friday we managed to start up a cash game after a poker tournament and in two hours I went up 12 buy ins in a crazy hot poker game. I was mainly dominating when we were all in but when I was in 50/50 situations I won all but one. Safe to say I was a favourite with my JJ Vs 77 Vs 34 off! The only hand I lost was with JJ Vs AK Vs Q5 suited for 50 big blinds. I also flopped a straight, and mainly played pretty tight in this game, bluffed a couple and showed for some image.
This week I hit some goals online and also made a bit of money in live poker as mentioned above. I am really making steady strides. When the Pokerstars ANZPT comes around I will enter some events, I am also looking at some EPT events where I can combine travel with some tournaments while in Europe. If I can get some reliable prepaid mobile broadband while I am there then that would be sweet also for online tournaments.
I had my mid semester exams last week and didn’t play poker for a week prior. It made me really keen this week to play and probably improved my uni marks and poker results this week. A good friend who is going over to Japan for a 6 month uni exchange has been doing very well in heads up sit and go’s online, every time a check he has made another thousand. His ROI is equivalent to mine over a shorter period but he is making more per unit/game/SNG. I am playing more games at a time (multi tabling) where as I am pretty sure he is mono-tabling. I am playing turbo tournaments exclusively where as I have noted he is mixing in non turbo tournaments which take longer on average. I guess we both just have to go with our strengths and find what is most profitable for our style of play. It really highlights that there are many forms of the game that can be specialised in.
Importantly, we both table select and I think this is very important for our longer term profitability. I much prefer playing many tables as it reduces my volatility and enables me to consistently play well without being jilted by a couple of bad results on some tables. Another friend who 12 tables cash games worked out after his 3-4 hour session of play that he had played as many hands as someone who would sit live at a casino for 2 weeks 8 hours a day.
Right now the Zone and State activities seem excessive in terms of time commitment. Some of the guys who represent at Australian level, I think, should be exempt from lower level Zone activities and be granted some time off Zone events. Why do players like Aron Sherriff and Wayne Turley really need to be there this weekend? What do they have to prove at State level?
I have a pretty good couple of weeks ahead. The City Master Singles is on and apparently there is betting (what event is there not at the moment) on it with Mat Pieterson installed as favourite. This is fair enough as he just won a car at Park Beach and is a former State Singles winner. I am not going in with any expectations. Sets play always brings out some surprise results. I just want to run good if I get into tie breakers and try to nail my first bowl. If I create some good heads and convert when I need to I will be happy.
On Friday we managed to start up a cash game after a poker tournament and in two hours I went up 12 buy ins in a crazy hot poker game. I was mainly dominating when we were all in but when I was in 50/50 situations I won all but one. Safe to say I was a favourite with my JJ Vs 77 Vs 34 off! The only hand I lost was with JJ Vs AK Vs Q5 suited for 50 big blinds. I also flopped a straight, and mainly played pretty tight in this game, bluffed a couple and showed for some image.
This week I hit some goals online and also made a bit of money in live poker as mentioned above. I am really making steady strides. When the Pokerstars ANZPT comes around I will enter some events, I am also looking at some EPT events where I can combine travel with some tournaments while in Europe. If I can get some reliable prepaid mobile broadband while I am there then that would be sweet also for online tournaments.
I had my mid semester exams last week and didn’t play poker for a week prior. It made me really keen this week to play and probably improved my uni marks and poker results this week. A good friend who is going over to Japan for a 6 month uni exchange has been doing very well in heads up sit and go’s online, every time a check he has made another thousand. His ROI is equivalent to mine over a shorter period but he is making more per unit/game/SNG. I am playing more games at a time (multi tabling) where as I am pretty sure he is mono-tabling. I am playing turbo tournaments exclusively where as I have noted he is mixing in non turbo tournaments which take longer on average. I guess we both just have to go with our strengths and find what is most profitable for our style of play. It really highlights that there are many forms of the game that can be specialised in.
Importantly, we both table select and I think this is very important for our longer term profitability. I much prefer playing many tables as it reduces my volatility and enables me to consistently play well without being jilted by a couple of bad results on some tables. Another friend who 12 tables cash games worked out after his 3-4 hour session of play that he had played as many hands as someone who would sit live at a casino for 2 weeks 8 hours a day.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Premier League, Port and Mick Harry
After round one of the Bowls Bet Premier League season we are one win up. Last Friday nights game against the Mt. Lewis Lion’s was a real test and it was good to see that the Magic could keep its unbeaten run against the Lions over the last 6-7 years intact. The Lion’s recruited very well and it was a bit intimidating seeing them turn up with the like of Wilkie, Rice, Trezise, Jeffreys, Willis, Wilks and Co. I really believe that over the last few years it has been the overall strength of our team that has gotten us through. Very rarely did they hold shot before their top end played and our top end matched it against the Lion’s superstar skips and thirds.
Last week I drew one of the worst cards in the history of a pairs tournament. It was always going to be tough at Port Macquarie but with two cards left on the table I said to Shane Garvey ‘you go’, he said, ‘no you’, so I went forward and picked a card versus two World Champions Wayne Turley and Ali Forsyth and two Commonwealth/Asia Pacific champs Mark Casey and Shane Globits. Andrew Waddell was not surprised when Jesus Christ and Muhammad turned up to play the third game. Needless to say it was close and despite being up 8-0 the two staged a miracle comeback to win by a couple.
That was how our day went. First end against Turls and Ali, I trailed a jack into the ditch for 4, but from then on we were outplayed on a couple of key ends. Against Casey/Globits it was very close and probably our best game of the day. Plenty of spectators came to watch a pretty exciting finish. We were always 1-2 ahead or behind and on the last end we held shots but were down one in the game. We covered the re-spots and back wood one side of the rink. Casey trailed it into the ditch on the other side, top corner pocket, for game with his last bowl to win. There was no way I could make two. That game we played shots to knock in touchers 3ft out from the ditch onto the jack in the ditch and precise trails that swung the shot difference. Casey played an unbelievable shot on the 2nd last end going away from the clubhouse with his last bowl. I moved it for 2 in a well protected spot and he just came up with a bomb to clip the jack 3 feet sideways for 2 up, he misses we win simple as that.
Meanwhile always on the rink next to us, Garvey is playing two 80 year old champs and losing his first game and then two 18 year old champs from Dubbo and ended up qualifying for the second tier play-off. Congratulations to Ryan Bester and Andrew Todd from Cabramatta BC via Canada, Australia, New Zealand winning the Platinum for 12k, Alan Wares in the Gold tier, Nathan Rice and Brett Wilkie in the Silver. The structure and prize pool is unmatched in Australia and I hear it will be bigger and better in its second year.
From there on Saturday morning I played the Zone champion of champion final against Mick Harry. I really was on a high after winning literally hours before against the Lions and seemed a little slow to start. There was actually a crowd on the Friday night and Steve Glasson dressed up as ‘Larry the Lion’ entertaining it! So to turn up at Northmead the next day I was a little down compared to the night before. There was still huge motivation for me in many ways but I couldn’t pick myself up and play at the level Mick played.
Usually I pride myself on being able to increase my concentration levels or arousal or calm myself down etc. This game was very frustrating and was the first time in months I felt like I didn’t have control of the game. Mick played his last bowl well and when I won an end he nailed it with his first, very simple. This was even though the conditions were way different to the week before, still windy on top of the hill but half the pace, strange for Northmead. He consistently outdrew me early but towards the middle I definitely out-rated him on the draw but this was the time when he drew the absolute with his last. I tried extreme long and minimum but he stood up to the test. He is a deserved champion in not only the singles in our zone but also the pairs which he won with his brother. He also won all club championships at Toongabbie and is doing a great job as Secretary there. He is leading his team into the Premier League for the first time this year and I wish Mick and the Titans all the best.
Last week I drew one of the worst cards in the history of a pairs tournament. It was always going to be tough at Port Macquarie but with two cards left on the table I said to Shane Garvey ‘you go’, he said, ‘no you’, so I went forward and picked a card versus two World Champions Wayne Turley and Ali Forsyth and two Commonwealth/Asia Pacific champs Mark Casey and Shane Globits. Andrew Waddell was not surprised when Jesus Christ and Muhammad turned up to play the third game. Needless to say it was close and despite being up 8-0 the two staged a miracle comeback to win by a couple.
That was how our day went. First end against Turls and Ali, I trailed a jack into the ditch for 4, but from then on we were outplayed on a couple of key ends. Against Casey/Globits it was very close and probably our best game of the day. Plenty of spectators came to watch a pretty exciting finish. We were always 1-2 ahead or behind and on the last end we held shots but were down one in the game. We covered the re-spots and back wood one side of the rink. Casey trailed it into the ditch on the other side, top corner pocket, for game with his last bowl to win. There was no way I could make two. That game we played shots to knock in touchers 3ft out from the ditch onto the jack in the ditch and precise trails that swung the shot difference. Casey played an unbelievable shot on the 2nd last end going away from the clubhouse with his last bowl. I moved it for 2 in a well protected spot and he just came up with a bomb to clip the jack 3 feet sideways for 2 up, he misses we win simple as that.
Meanwhile always on the rink next to us, Garvey is playing two 80 year old champs and losing his first game and then two 18 year old champs from Dubbo and ended up qualifying for the second tier play-off. Congratulations to Ryan Bester and Andrew Todd from Cabramatta BC via Canada, Australia, New Zealand winning the Platinum for 12k, Alan Wares in the Gold tier, Nathan Rice and Brett Wilkie in the Silver. The structure and prize pool is unmatched in Australia and I hear it will be bigger and better in its second year.
From there on Saturday morning I played the Zone champion of champion final against Mick Harry. I really was on a high after winning literally hours before against the Lions and seemed a little slow to start. There was actually a crowd on the Friday night and Steve Glasson dressed up as ‘Larry the Lion’ entertaining it! So to turn up at Northmead the next day I was a little down compared to the night before. There was still huge motivation for me in many ways but I couldn’t pick myself up and play at the level Mick played.
Usually I pride myself on being able to increase my concentration levels or arousal or calm myself down etc. This game was very frustrating and was the first time in months I felt like I didn’t have control of the game. Mick played his last bowl well and when I won an end he nailed it with his first, very simple. This was even though the conditions were way different to the week before, still windy on top of the hill but half the pace, strange for Northmead. He consistently outdrew me early but towards the middle I definitely out-rated him on the draw but this was the time when he drew the absolute with his last. I tried extreme long and minimum but he stood up to the test. He is a deserved champion in not only the singles in our zone but also the pairs which he won with his brother. He also won all club championships at Toongabbie and is doing a great job as Secretary there. He is leading his team into the Premier League for the first time this year and I wish Mick and the Titans all the best.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
It's Tricky
Trying to get the best out of yourself and your team can be hard work. I personally find motivation to be a tricky subject to approach. I will try though.
With so many events on the calendar how do we remain motivated to perform well throughout the year. Limiting the amount of commitments we have could be one thing we try. Focussing on key events is another.
In life and work people make things happen. To get the best results we all need to share common goals in a team or workplace. When we lose sight of the goal (or not even know what it is) this is when we lose track of the direction we are heading.
Wandering through life can be a very freeing experience. This is not without substance and can be a source of growth and discovery within oneself. However, when things need to be done or you have something special you personally want to achieve, then smart decisions and goals need to be set.
I have learnt that balance is key to enjoying the things we achieve and a catalyst for potential future growth. There are times when stepping back and realising what we have already made gains in can motivate us even more. Keeping good records helps to maintain steady progress and work out our strengths and weaknesses.
Good record keeping helps us to work out which future direction is most viable. Good records are not biased by the outcome. There are times when we can make all the right moves and fail. There are also times when amatuer mistakes or accidental actions can be rewarded. We need to give ourselves the best chance. Don't be sucked in by results-oriented decision making. Be honest and open with yourself and your team.
A good friend once said, “If a million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.” Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn't make it right. Work through what you do with experts in your field. Take bits and pieces from the best in areas outside of your specialty. Don't be afraid to experiment and be different.
With so many events on the calendar how do we remain motivated to perform well throughout the year. Limiting the amount of commitments we have could be one thing we try. Focussing on key events is another.
In life and work people make things happen. To get the best results we all need to share common goals in a team or workplace. When we lose sight of the goal (or not even know what it is) this is when we lose track of the direction we are heading.
Wandering through life can be a very freeing experience. This is not without substance and can be a source of growth and discovery within oneself. However, when things need to be done or you have something special you personally want to achieve, then smart decisions and goals need to be set.
I have learnt that balance is key to enjoying the things we achieve and a catalyst for potential future growth. There are times when stepping back and realising what we have already made gains in can motivate us even more. Keeping good records helps to maintain steady progress and work out our strengths and weaknesses.
Good record keeping helps us to work out which future direction is most viable. Good records are not biased by the outcome. There are times when we can make all the right moves and fail. There are also times when amatuer mistakes or accidental actions can be rewarded. We need to give ourselves the best chance. Don't be sucked in by results-oriented decision making. Be honest and open with yourself and your team.
A good friend once said, “If a million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.” Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn't make it right. Work through what you do with experts in your field. Take bits and pieces from the best in areas outside of your specialty. Don't be afraid to experiment and be different.
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