Sharing is caring – and several BestPokerCoaching.com players stood out in March, blogging and sharing success, failure, and everything in between in their blogs. Three BPC students earned Bloggers of the Month for March and take home some CFP points and some nice swag for the winner.
The contest is simple – students must have a minimum of eight blog posts each month (at least two per week). The Top 5 blogs with the most updates are voted on by the player community in the BPC Club Facebook group. Players are also rewarded twice by creating blogs on PokerStrategy and TwoPlusTwo. Here are what each winner takes home:
- Winner – €100 in CFP points and T-shirt with winner’s BPC program logo
- Second place – €50 in CFP points
- Third place – €25 in CFP points
The goal for the program is to instill discipline and routine – keys to being successful. Players not only share their successes – but also their own views on the game and a bit of their own personalities. Here’s a look at March’s winners:
WINNER
João Dianda (jcdianda)
Program: NL 6-max ZOOM MASTER
Age: 41
Hometown: São Paulo, Brazil
Stakes: NL10
Sites played on: PokerStars, Bodog
Twitter: @JDianda
After finishing second in February, João moved to the top spot in March. For his efforts, he won 100 CFP points and a Zoom Master T-shirt with logo.
Since beginning with BPC and taking on the role of blogger, João focuses on making a daily report of his play and results, calculations of equities with Uhlvar, his current bankroll and profit, and also some comments on some of his studies and interesting hands played. He works on improving not just his play, but improving his blog.
“This month I started putting a little humor in my posts with gifs and emotions as well as longer and informative texts about my daily grind,” he says.
This month was particularly interesting for João, who booked his best day since joining BPC.
“I was playing on two sites, Betsson and Poker,Stars, and despite going bad on Betsson, I won about 10 buy-ins at the Stars table playing NL10 Zoom,” he says. “With this result and followed by another four days up in a row, I was able to not only recover the damage from the month, but also beat my monthly profit record.”
Certainly not a bad month. At the tables in April, João plans to focus only on the Zoom tables at PokerStars with a few goals:
- Play 90,000 hands or more.
- Play 150 hours or more.
- Play a minimum of six days per week.
- Maintain his daily routine with hours to wake up, exercise, study, eat, rest, play, and sleep.
- Beat NL10 zoom.
Everyone in BPC should have a blog and try to keep it updated as much as they can, João says. He lists the following important factors for blogging:
- Keep coaches and BPC bosses informed.
- Record the progress of each player to those who can see the efficiency of BPC methods.
- Serve as inspiration for beginning players.
- The blog works as a diary, which players can always check for progress – good and bad periods.
- It helps with discipline and by sharing goals, players commit not only to themselves, but with others to serve as extra motivation.
What are some of his goals for his blog in the coming months?
“I basically intend to keep my regularity with the posts, always with some humor and lots of information about the day and my situation in the BPC deal,” he says. “But of course, whenever I think of something new and more interesting I will use it in my blog. Suggestions are also welcome.”
To check out his blog, click here.
SECOND PLACE
Marek (VaCinhoX)
Age: 25
Hometown: Czech Republic
Games & Stakes: NL10, 6max Cash Games
Sites played on: PokerStars
For this online rounder, the creation of this blogging contest served as motivation to take a little action. Marek is now an active blogger, documenting his play for everyone to see.
“I think it is a great way to make people in the community start blogging,” he says. “It certainly made me think about my blog and I decided to blog daily, so thumbs up.”
What sets his blog apart? Maybe just the fact that he blogs daily, Marek says, and there aren’t many post that often. Marek also tries to make his thorough.
“I think my blog is quite personal and honest,” he says. “I blog about my daily results, and struggles I am going through at the moment. I also set goals each month and week and then I review them regularly. The reaction from other members are only positive and supporting.”
It was 2008 when Marek began playing after watching some action on TV. In high school, he played freerolls to earn some pocket money. He was hooked and began developing his skills. He quit the game during college, only playing a few live tournaments.
But he couldn’t stop playing too long.
“I decided to get back to it because it’s what I love,” Marek says. “I wasn’t going to make it alone so I decided to join BPC and the progress has been incredible. It gave me the right mindset and the way to think at the tables. Before BPC I was just randomly clicking buttons. Now I know what I am doing and why am I doing it.”
When not playing poker, Marek works a regular job, but is ready to transition to poker as full time. He tries to work out regularly after sitting behind a computer at work and playing poker. He loves football and is a huge Liverpool fan.
For Marek, the blogging award is affirmation his efforts are paying off. It also serves as motivation after a long day of cards.
“It clears my head before I go to sleep,” he says. “It’s nice routine I would say. Also It is nice to read the older posts and watch the progress I have.”
To check out his blog, click here.
THIRD PLACE
Domenico Mongelli (Trickster)
Program: NL 6-Max CRUSHER
Age: 31
Hometown: Italy
Stakes: NL25
Sites played on: Stanleybet
Twitter: @The8thTrickster
No stranger to blogging success, Dominico took home the top prize in February and was back in the winner’s circle in March. His consistency in his blog and at the tables have produced results.
In March BPC members enjoyed his “Hero of the Day” hands, spotlighting hands where “villains [or sometimes Domenico himself] did something very stupid and yet managed to win the had.” Other players enjoyed his general bankroll updates and daily Uhlvar exercises. He attempts to be thorough.
“I added more quantity,” he says. “I’ll be mainly posting exercises, updates regarding bankroll, hands that were really funny, and some updates regarding my life.”
Looking back, one day stood out, but on the negative side. The hand made it into the blog and he learned from his mistakes.
“I lost almost six buy-ins at the NL25 level,” he says. “It was mainly my fault though. For several days prior to that I did not do any of my warmup routine pregame, and I made so many mistakes. It hurt a lot, but mistakes are there to make me improve and I’m doing it.”
While he’s become one of BPC’s best bloggers, playing poker is top of mind. He’s happy with the content he’s posting and hopes it inspires others. But winning is his ultimate goal.
“My focus has been toward becoming a better player not blogger,” he says. “So I’ll be posting content as long it won’t interfere with the time available I have to study, play, and review. I want to show my serious discipline and hard work.”
To check out his blog, click here.
Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Texas. His work appears in numerous websites and publications such as PokerNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions.
