Post Enduro Challenge

by Phil

20 Comments

Since the Enduro Challenge that I put myself thru I have noticed a great many changes in myself.  All positive.  All amazingly positive.

Before the enduro challenge if I ever gave advice to a friend it would be for them to go to Scandinavia (specifically Denmark and Sweden), South America (specifically Brazil), or to Asia (specifically Viet Nam, and Laos).  But now things are different.  Now I have lived life after the enduro challenge and I see that it is better than I had it before.  So now my new advice would be to stay awake for 100 hours or so.  Just do it.  Trust me.  You will be the better for it.

It crushes whatever you might get out of traveling to exotic and interesting different travel destinations.

Being awake for 4 days and 19 hrs straight was interesting in of itself but it is nothing compared to the experiences that I have had since. 

From the outset I did my best to approach this whole thing as a Man of Science.  Out of the gate I was happy to be my own human guinea pig in my own little experiment.  But I never expected such a remarkable difference in my day to day living post challenge.  What I expected was this.  Become massively tired on my way to beating the record, beat the record, go a little bit more, then go to sleep, and wake up refreshed sometime later and return to my life as usual.

But what happened was so much different.   First of all, I never anticipated feeling so strong at 80 hours, and clicking along for as long as I did, and secondly I never expected to feel so awesome in the weeks to follow.

Since the moment I woke from the challenge and straight thru to this very moment here is how things have been different for me.

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Confidence - Higher than ever, and does not seem to be waning

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General Love for Mankind, the Universe and all things... - Higher than ever before.

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My Poker Game - Improved (and I believe greatly!)  I have won 7 of the last 8 sessions.  I feel as if another door of the matrix has opened... I am seeing way more than I saw before.  It is hummingly trippy on so many levels.  I am fairly sure that this version of me would have huge edge over the version of me that was playing a mere month ago.

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Empathy Levels - Super high.  While on the 'life cycle' at the gym this week I was watching a show about the life and times of "Pink" the singer/song writer.  Pink shared a sad moment and it really hit me.  I started to cry.  I was sad so I cried.  I didn't catch myself and remind myself that I was at the gym nor did I see this as something to be embarrassed about.  I was sad so I cried.  It was simple.  Part way thru my cry I realized that this was for sure a new behavior for me.  I don't recall ever crying in a public place (movie theater's, funeral's and wedding's excluded).  And certainly not at the gym watching a TV show on the life cycle.  In the past if I was crying I was most likely alone or with at most one person. 

10 or so seconds into the cry I found myself happy that I was not finding it at all embarrassing.  The 'old' Phil would have his directionals on and not let this happen at the gym, at home maybe, but not at the gym.  But here I was:  I did not care one iota that I was on a life cycle machine at the gym crying.  I felt like I had taken a step closer to being self-actualized and it felt wonderful. 

On the same thought thread.... I saw Karate Kid this week (the new one).  There were many moments designed to evoke emotion.  And I let myself get swept away in each and every one.  I must have teared up or cried 4 or 5 times in that flick.  From experience I think a movie like that might have got at most one or two moments of 'tears' from me.  But the 'new' Phil was emotional then the old one and found himself crying at the very moments the director would have hoped for.

The newer and more sensitive Phil that I have been living with is, I believe, a better Phil.  I love this guy.  I want to hug him.  So score one up in the sensitivity department as I have more of it. 

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Patience for stuff - Off the charts.  Never mind the poker stuff.  It goes without saying that patience can really help a guy in a tough cash game, but that is not what I am talking about.  Just regular stuff.  My patience now seems to be infinite.  It feels super human, and I love it.

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Athletics - Crazy improvement.  I am hungry for the gym.  When I get there, I can't seem to get enough.  I have been playing Michael Binger in racquet ball for about 2 years now and have never beaten him.  The most points I think I ever got against him was 7 or 8 points.  But this week I felt like that was going to change, and it did.  The last three games went....

15 - 11 him
15 - 13 him
15 - 12 ME!!!  I did it, I finally cracked it.  I went from never having a shot against this machine to finally doing it!  Amazing.

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Happiness - I know it has only been two weeks, but for sure I have been happier overall.  I was always fairly good about this.  After all, it is not that hard.  Happiness is a choice after all.  However, that being said, something extra has found its way into my life.  Hard to put my finger on it, but it is real, and I am living it.  I only hope that it keeps on ticking well beyond just these two weeks. 

A distinctly powerful and solid feeling of happiness and well being has enveloped me since the challenge, and it feels great!

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My over all passion for everything - For sure has increased. 

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I can only hope that whatever changed in me stays with me forever.  I have had some crazy lucky turns in my life, but this really takes the cake.   

Phil Laak
The Happiest Degen to Have Ever Lived!

Random post Enduro Challenge stuff...

by Phil

6 Comments

Some Random Stuff:

A lot of people asked me how much did I sleep when it was all over.  The answer is this.  I got home, laid down to bed, and a few minutes later I was out!  I slept for a bit and woke up thirsty.  Thinking it had been about 2 hrs or so I went to the kitchen for something to drink and planned on getting back to bed as I still felt a bit tired.  Only very thirsty!  I was amazed to learn that my first bit of sleep was a hard 12 hours. 
Knowing that my body probably needed more rest I went back to bed.  4 hours later I woke again.  This time it felt like 4 hours.  I then puttered about the house a bit, taking a 2 hr nap sometime later. 

The next day I went to play some racquetball.  On the way to the courts I began to think that I was going to play amazing, make lots of ace shots and finally beat my opponent (who I have yet to beat).  For some reason I felt unstoppable.  We had a lot of fun.  It was great to get my blood moving around again.  But alas, I still lost every game we played.  Apparently playing that super demon sesh of poker did not increase my skills at the courts.  Ho humm.

Another question I have been getting a lot is this.  How did the session go, did you win? or lose?

I took a lot of notes during that sesh and one thing I paid particularly close attention to was the hourly updates on my stack.  Here are the key highlights!

Hour   0                 0                              (Bought in for 4,000) (In 4,000)
Hour   37         -4000    (Felted for 4000)   (Reload for 800)       (In 4,800)
Hour   38.5      -4,800   (Felted for 800)     (Reload for 800)       (In 5,600)
Hour   39         -5,600   (Felted for 800)     (Reload for 4,400)    (In 10,000)
Hour   40       -10,000   (Felted for 4,400)   (Reload for 90,000)  (In 100,000)
Hour   58      +13,200
Hour   78       -17,500
Hour   79        +5,500
Hour  115       +6,766 

After the first 51 hours of play Phil was ahead in only 6 of those hours.
Between hour 40 and hour 58 Phil won $23,200.
Between hour 58 and hour 78 Phil lost $30,700.
Phil averaged $58.83 per hour of play.  (He won about 3 bb/hr)
Of the $6,766 he won half was donated to CampSunshine.Org.
If you would like to make a $10 donation text 'Sunshine' to #20222.

That is a whole lot of swings for a 10 20 game.. but to be fair we had the straddle on for about 40 of the 115 hours and there were a lot of big stacks playing over that time period.

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Since the record I have been thirsting for poker like never before.  I told my girl for the rest of the series I planned on only a few things.  Sleep, gym, and poker.  I have played two sessions since the Challenge and they both went amazing.  I have been on point, making very good reads (called a guy for 10,000 with just a pair of 10s on the river in a 25 50 game, and made a 3rd pair call for 6k in same game).  And have been winning lots.

The first session was 9 hours all together.  2 hours at 10 20 nlh, and 7 hours at 25 50 (100 ante on the bb).  I won $9,210, and $23,400 respectively.

The second session was 36 hours all together.  2.5 hours at 10 20 nlh, and 33.5 hours at 25 50 (100 ante on the bb).  I lost $740 in the 10/20 and won $26,400 in the 25/25 game.

I felt great the whole time for both sessions.  Since the Challenge my passion for playing my A game has been off the charts.  I never planned for the 2nd session to go for so long, but the game went from avg to amazing and I planned on playing till it dried up a bit.  I got a bit tired from time to time, but it was amazingly nice to be able to doze off between hands and be jostled back to being awake. 

During the 115 hr enduro challenge I was not allowed to doze off and get jostled back to 'awakeness' by anyone.  So it was rather nice to let myself slip from time to time at the table during that recent (longish) cash session.

I have not been to the rio yet this year.  I think I will play the event that starts tomorrow (today) at noon.  It is a 2,500 six max nlh event.  My brain is especially addicted to playing well right now so I am going to give the tournament thing a spin.  Though I just can't seem to stop myself from playing the nlh cash games at the Bellagio.  Considering that I woke about 4 hours ago, I think that I will just go to the Bellagio now, and then from there at 1130 or so go to the Rio.

What else.  Not much.  Guess that's it for now.

Later boys and girls!

Phil Laak
Degen for Life

Boat at Sea... Enduro Challenge

by Phil

3 Comments

Started writing this on the laptop next to my seat at table 15 seat 2 at the bellagio this week during the enduro challenge.... at hour 87!!!!

i liken the whole experience to that of the man in his sinking vessel... as he scurries about w his bilge pumps he works furiously to save his craft... he works quickly and with purpose...

the boat will sink and he knows this...  he has his life raft at the ready... he is always saved... and yet he tries to save his boat though he knows it is forever lost

so he races against time.... does everything right.... and the boat sinks..

so why did the sailor go thru the motions?? because he was honoring the moment that was upon him...

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that was this weekend to me... starting something that i knew had an end... but somewhere in there i saw that the end was not at a number... 80 or 90, but at the point where the boat's
time was over....

as i type these very words we are at hour 87 hrs and 45 mins... 90 for sure from here i will get..... and what the heck....100 seems pure.. but my team is becoming thinner as they must leave.. run this op solo... yes i think i can.. it is all good...
less efficient i will be.. and that is cool...the boat will be sinking--and i will be running the bilge pumps.. in the same way that i will soon meet the bed and this ride will be over.. the boat and his owner are also aware that there is no saving their boat.. it must sink

but the symphony of dance to do what we can do ... that is the ride that is the heart of it all.. and on this weekend i got a LOT of that... wow.. so exiciting..

timing meals with balet precision.. getting counsel on diet and yoga... team work at every corner... putting out fires to save the house seemed to be the order of the day..... arranging my outfits on the spare bed w postit notes for the team to keep me in clean..

soon it was most of the fresh tshirts and undergarments in a bag w me at the table... so little time.. (5 mins a break... go to the room? it was 4 mins for the walk alone!)

a well oiled machine (symphony u could say) with many moving parts.,.. all the while the sleep was catching up with me just as the sea will soon engulf the man's boat...

5 mins on the stop watch... sprinting to the bathroom out thru the poker room making good time (- must do so much upkeep in so little time.....)

hurry hurry play play.. make new numbers while passing time..... make a chart.. log ur wins.. record everything.. why not?.. maybe that is the trick in fact..the trick to beating the sleep thing... treat it like .. well make him a joker.. and then pull him from a hat..take this joker and pull him from a hat... make him ur play mate... in the game..

accept the rules.. and then have fun with it.... his job.. .well, he he tries to get u to stop and rest.. but ur job.. and this is the part u have to be strong and pull a jedi trick sort of on your own brain.... have ur brain think that it is thru activity of the brain and movement of the body that there is rest... (not to relax and easy into a chari.. but constant movement... ) make urself think that is the relax stuff.....u must dodge and weave the joker with great passion... taking the matter of cumfort.... and pushing him to the side.. that is the trick.. anytime cumfort is near... steer away... 
.
such a frenzy of things to compress into the short bill of time....

so many other topics i thought about during my stint with the sleep joker.... nothing do occupy ur mind... create something and make it impt...

so much other stuff... hopefully i will get to it later.. but this is me now... fighting the sleep and working the fun... it is wild ... and fun... next hand.. yes.. typing at the table... need constant brain use now...

it is hour 89 min 33.. and as i type.. i see a break.. i now go shower and yoga... and stretch.. and play the game w this joker some more...

thanks so much for all ur support.. currently in the wildest ride in a LONG LONG TIME>...

This is some of how i am feeling now... during the enduro challenge...

and that is why (in part) i am writing this blog .... always dodging the sleep joker...

legs fading... back hurts.. off to a shower... trick me into thinking i am fresh..

later for now...

sched is tight...

degen for life!

Sports Science Show about Lying (and Poker)

by Phil

0 Comments

About a year or so ago Daniel Negreanu and I did a thing for a show called Sports Science.  It was about about detecting lies via polygraph exams, and they
used us... a couple of poker players to make it fun.  It was mostly Daniel's gig, but if you watch it I start to come in a bit at around the 4 minute mark.  It was goofy,
took the greater part of day to make, but was a lot of fun. 

Most of what they filmed never made the cut which is a shame as I thought that most of it was highly entertaining. 

Anyway, here is a link to it on you tube. --->      http://bit.ly/95c9yW

Later

Phil Laak
Degen for Life