Sunday, May 27, 2012
Goals, LDO
Forgot to mention rough goals for myself:
Real Analysis:
At least a B+, I'm probably 50/50 for getting that. The grade consists of 30% HW, 30% Midterm, 40% Final. I think I'll crush the hw with help from a tutor/TA's but midterms/final will be interesting...
Backgammon:
ER < 7.5 over 100 game sample within 3 months. This'll be hard to do but if I make good progress in Robertie's book I think it's definitely achievable. Maybe I'm delusional about how hard BG is or how smart/dumb I am, but I really think I could become world class in under a year if I put my mind to it. Would love to get a prop going on this, but we'll see.
Poker:
We'll have to see but I'd like to get in at least 1k games/month...this one's probably the hardest.
Fitness:
Finally set up PT and start working out 3x/week. Gonna get a trainer so I have to go, would be good to drop a few lbs and have more energy during the day. Would also be nice to start waking up earlier...i.e. pre-8am. Sounds ridic but I waste a ton of time just lounging around.
Anyway, all for now.
Thanks for reading,
Yodaddy
Long Overdue
Hey all,
Realized I haven't updated this blog in over a year so thought it would be good to get going again. Lots of interesting stuff, going on...no longer working in finance, taking math classes in the city and trying to figure out what I want to do longer-term.
It' not that easy since I have such narrow interests (only really like mathy games, some sports stuff, don't rly care about biz, etc). I'm doing a post-bac program so I'll finish the equivalent of a BA in Applied Math or Math, depending on what I end up liking. The division is somewhat arbitrary, but Here's what I've taken so far:
Calc II, Calc III, ODE's, Linear Algebra, Decision Theory, Symbolic Logic
Summer Term I: Real Analysis
Summer Term II: Game Theory
If I go the applied route, I'll likely take:
Fall Semester: Probability, Cryptography
Spring Semester: Probability II, Analysis and Optimization, Quantum Mechanics
I think I'll do well in Game Theory, Probability and Optimization. Hard to say about crypto and real analysis has been hard, so we'll have to see. Was bad at physics in HS but QM is a v. dif kind of physics and taught by a great professor. No delusions that it'll be easy though.
If I like it enough and apply for grad school, I'm sure the top 10-15 is out, but would be awesome to get in somewhere that's 15-30. Would need 3.7+ in these classes though, so we'll see how things turn out.
Have also been playing HU superturbo's on Merge. Have played 2.4k games or so at something silly like 2% roi, but have gotten coaching from cog dis and he's helped a lot.
Finally, I've gotten somewhat into backgammon. Definitely a game that seems simple and where it's largely a game of luck but it's similar to poker in a lot of ways. When I play vs. expert (has an ER, error rating, of 0), I lose an average of ~0.5pts per game (doubling cube allows you to raise the game's stakes mid-match). I think I've won ~32% of games vs. expert and I've got an ER of around 9-10. Which is nearing intermediate level.
If I played 11 point games vs. expert, I'd probably lose 90% of the time, because the computer is twice as likely, given my skill level, to win a point. So it's hard to run well enough to get to 11 before him. Pretty huge skill game if an intermediate player loses 90%+ to an expert. Thing is, world-class players (top 25 in the world) only have ER ratings of ~3 or 3.5, so I'm playing better than world-class competition. Anyway, interesting stuff and I've been reading up on it.
I really want to get a prop bet going to motivate me for school/backgammon/poker.
Anyway, talk soon.
Best,
Yodaddy
Monday, November 29, 2010
Updates
Hey guys,
I'm about 3 weeks away from finishing up my semester. London's been a ton of fun but I can't wait to be back at school either. Some updates:
I'm gonna be in NYC full-time next year, figuring out my apt. details as we speak but I'm excited for that. I'm taking a tough math class this semester and looking into the possibility of taking a few more as a non-degree student after I work for a year or two. I want to keep math grad school open as an option so we'll see how this class goes. It's supposed to be tough and the fact that only math majors take it won't make it any easier...
I want to get through 100 pages or so of the 250 the class will cover but that's ambitious to say the least. It takes forever to read a few pages because the topic is so proof-based. Add in the fact that we're using an advanced undergrad/beginning grad text and yeah...you get the point.
Trying to get in shape too. I've been doing biking intervals ~4x/week. I do 5 min warmup, 1 min on level 9 at 100+ rpm's and 45 seconds rest (repeat 20x), 5 min cooldown. It's definitely challenging but I think cardio fitness is the biggest weakness I have atm.
I've played a little bit of cash but it's hard to get in hands and I feel kind of dumb playing when I could be socializing, getting ahead on this math book, playing sports, etc. Part of me thought how nice it would be to go back to school in the spring and take easy classes and just hang out. But I'd feel pretty stupid for not having used all my school's resources and I may not have the chance to take certain classes again. Poker will always be around tho I won't have much time to play once I start work.
I had a coaching session with Keyser last week and it was super helpful. It was $300 for 8 hours of coaching which is a sick deal imo. I'm doing 25nl 6m atm and have ~$2,600 online so we'll see how that goes. I still like poker but part of me thinks it's not worth the effort if I can't really commit to playing a lot. I know a lot of guys do it casually but I can't imagine myself doing that when I'll have little free time after work/on the weekends and will want to spend it with friends.
Anyway, I hope everyone's doing well.
Thanks for reading.
I'm about 3 weeks away from finishing up my semester. London's been a ton of fun but I can't wait to be back at school either. Some updates:
I'm gonna be in NYC full-time next year, figuring out my apt. details as we speak but I'm excited for that. I'm taking a tough math class this semester and looking into the possibility of taking a few more as a non-degree student after I work for a year or two. I want to keep math grad school open as an option so we'll see how this class goes. It's supposed to be tough and the fact that only math majors take it won't make it any easier...
I want to get through 100 pages or so of the 250 the class will cover but that's ambitious to say the least. It takes forever to read a few pages because the topic is so proof-based. Add in the fact that we're using an advanced undergrad/beginning grad text and yeah...you get the point.
Trying to get in shape too. I've been doing biking intervals ~4x/week. I do 5 min warmup, 1 min on level 9 at 100+ rpm's and 45 seconds rest (repeat 20x), 5 min cooldown. It's definitely challenging but I think cardio fitness is the biggest weakness I have atm.
I've played a little bit of cash but it's hard to get in hands and I feel kind of dumb playing when I could be socializing, getting ahead on this math book, playing sports, etc. Part of me thought how nice it would be to go back to school in the spring and take easy classes and just hang out. But I'd feel pretty stupid for not having used all my school's resources and I may not have the chance to take certain classes again. Poker will always be around tho I won't have much time to play once I start work.
I had a coaching session with Keyser last week and it was super helpful. It was $300 for 8 hours of coaching which is a sick deal imo. I'm doing 25nl 6m atm and have ~$2,600 online so we'll see how that goes. I still like poker but part of me thinks it's not worth the effort if I can't really commit to playing a lot. I know a lot of guys do it casually but I can't imagine myself doing that when I'll have little free time after work/on the weekends and will want to spend it with friends.
Anyway, I hope everyone's doing well.
Thanks for reading.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Unexpected
Hey guys,
I'm in London now for study abroad and it's going really well. Lotta cool people on my floor, guys from Duke, one of my good friend's gf
I've been thinking about the past few years and all my time in college and it's just been the most unexpected series of events.
Not get into where I wanted for college, transfer to where I do wanna go, end up not really liking it but making good friends, doing well at squash, running a 4.0 at new school, dating girl for all of junior year, youngest brother passes away...
I didn't think about it that much over the summer because I was so buy interning but it's slowly hitting me that Max is gone. I'll find myself crying and repeating his name to myself. There's nothing to do but feel terrible about it. Even though I know it's not productive, I can't help myself and I think that's natural. I'm talking to a shrink weekly so I'm getting help for it but it's far and away the most devastating thing that's ever happened to me. The worst part is realizing that this isn't some temporary condition that will be resolved or cured after a certain amount of time. Thirty years from now, I'll look back on this and miss him as much as I do now. Even writing this makes me cry.
Then a few weeks ago my mom got a call from the New Haven police saying, "Is Sam your son?"
"Yes."
"Well, we found him lying face down in one of the most dangerous parts of New Haven."
He's alive and fine now but my mom told the story as she heard it and my heart just stopped. My absolute worst fear is that something happens to Sam. He's my best friend and to repeat any trauma like Max's passing would absolutely destroy me.
It's put a lot of stuff into perspective for me. I've always been focused on "making it": doing well in school, sports, work, whatever but all of that kind of pales in comparison to family and friends. So I'm trying to do a better job of staying in touch with friends, and taking care of my family.
I hope everyone's doing well. I wish you guys only the best.
Talk soon,
Ben
I'm in London now for study abroad and it's going really well. Lotta cool people on my floor, guys from Duke, one of my good friend's gf
I've been thinking about the past few years and all my time in college and it's just been the most unexpected series of events.
Not get into where I wanted for college, transfer to where I do wanna go, end up not really liking it but making good friends, doing well at squash, running a 4.0 at new school, dating girl for all of junior year, youngest brother passes away...
I didn't think about it that much over the summer because I was so buy interning but it's slowly hitting me that Max is gone. I'll find myself crying and repeating his name to myself. There's nothing to do but feel terrible about it. Even though I know it's not productive, I can't help myself and I think that's natural. I'm talking to a shrink weekly so I'm getting help for it but it's far and away the most devastating thing that's ever happened to me. The worst part is realizing that this isn't some temporary condition that will be resolved or cured after a certain amount of time. Thirty years from now, I'll look back on this and miss him as much as I do now. Even writing this makes me cry.
Then a few weeks ago my mom got a call from the New Haven police saying, "Is Sam your son?"
"Yes."
"Well, we found him lying face down in one of the most dangerous parts of New Haven."
He's alive and fine now but my mom told the story as she heard it and my heart just stopped. My absolute worst fear is that something happens to Sam. He's my best friend and to repeat any trauma like Max's passing would absolutely destroy me.
It's put a lot of stuff into perspective for me. I've always been focused on "making it": doing well in school, sports, work, whatever but all of that kind of pales in comparison to family and friends. So I'm trying to do a better job of staying in touch with friends, and taking care of my family.
I hope everyone's doing well. I wish you guys only the best.
Talk soon,
Ben
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Internship Over (thank god)
Hey all,
So my internship ended yesterday and I'm so glad it's over with. I ended up taking home ~$7k after taxes/expenses but had to work 80-90 hrs/week to get it. I'm glad I can put it on my resume but there's almost no way I'll go into banking full time. The work's not interesting, the hours are terrible, no social life, blah blah. Great for exit opportunities but I don't think I'd be interested in private equity anyway (even though the pay/hours are better). I hear this coming Friday if I got a full time offer, but I'm pretty sure I didn't.
I was at a pretty big disadvantage coming in because I knew nothing about finance/accounting so I had to play catch-up for the first three weeks. My mid-summer review wasn't great but I "made a dramatic turnaround"...doubt that's enough to net a FT offer but we'll see. I would only want it so that I could leverage it for trading anyway but it'd be easier than applying the normal way.
At any rate, I'm back home for the summer and it's great to be back, see my brother and parents. They completed renovating our house a few weeks after I left for NYC and the place is great. I just have to get a desk/chair and set up my monitor/PC and I'll be good to go. Speaking of which, I have to figure out what I'm doing in August. Here are my tentative goals:
-talk to career services about contacting trading firms before I go to London
-contact 15 alums/week to network
-read Nudge, Misbehavior of Markets, Against the Gods
-play 1.5k games (get chair/desk today)
-pushups every other day, run every other day
We'll see how it goes, I'll keep you guys posted.
Talk soon,
Yodaddy
So my internship ended yesterday and I'm so glad it's over with. I ended up taking home ~$7k after taxes/expenses but had to work 80-90 hrs/week to get it. I'm glad I can put it on my resume but there's almost no way I'll go into banking full time. The work's not interesting, the hours are terrible, no social life, blah blah. Great for exit opportunities but I don't think I'd be interested in private equity anyway (even though the pay/hours are better). I hear this coming Friday if I got a full time offer, but I'm pretty sure I didn't.
I was at a pretty big disadvantage coming in because I knew nothing about finance/accounting so I had to play catch-up for the first three weeks. My mid-summer review wasn't great but I "made a dramatic turnaround"...doubt that's enough to net a FT offer but we'll see. I would only want it so that I could leverage it for trading anyway but it'd be easier than applying the normal way.
At any rate, I'm back home for the summer and it's great to be back, see my brother and parents. They completed renovating our house a few weeks after I left for NYC and the place is great. I just have to get a desk/chair and set up my monitor/PC and I'll be good to go. Speaking of which, I have to figure out what I'm doing in August. Here are my tentative goals:
-talk to career services about contacting trading firms before I go to London
-contact 15 alums/week to network
-read Nudge, Misbehavior of Markets, Against the Gods
-play 1.5k games (get chair/desk today)
-pushups every other day, run every other day
We'll see how it goes, I'll keep you guys posted.
Talk soon,
Yodaddy
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Made in the Shade
Hey guys,
Things have been going really well lately. I'm pretty burnt out on squash but that's to be expected with only a week left in the season. It'll be nice to have a ton of free time although we'll still have lifts 2x/week.
I got into my study abroad school a few weeks ago so I have the option of going to London which I think I'll take. At the very least, I'll commit to it now because I'd rather decide not to do it at the last minute and have that option than want to do it and not have the option.
What else? My hard work paid off and I landed an offer from one of the top 10 banks in the country. I'll work in their investment banking division so it should be interesting to see how I like it, etc. It was a sort a lengthy process although not as bad as a lot of other ibanking ones are. I submitted a cover letter and resume, got selected for a first round interview, go put through to a final round interview, and then got a call saying I got it. It was pretty stressful at the end for a few reasons. I'd rather be in NY than Boston because my best friend from HS might be there, my GF is working there so it would have made the relationship difficult if I were in Boston, and some other friends are in NY as well. I also didn't really have other places to interview at after this one. I was 0/3 up to this point at first round interviews so it would have SUCKED to get to the final round and blow it. It was annoying though because I knew all of this and was worried that worrying about how the final round went would make me perform worse. Sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy so I tried to be as relaxed as possible.
The job's gonna be a ton of hours (80-90/week I think) but it's 10 weeks, 70k pro-rated (meaning I get paid over the course of the internship as if my yearly salary were 70k). So I'll make about 14k + 2k relocation stipend. I'll have to pay more for housing and I'll lose like 30% in taxes so I'll take home like 9k or so. I'm going up there in two weeks to meet alums from my school, people I'm gonna work with, etc. I have to formally accept by March 1st but will do it on Monday. It was pretty surprising and frustrating to get negged by a ton of places but rejection's a big part of the business so I just have to get used to it.
Also, things with the gf have been going really well. Been dating just over 5 months now and it's been really smooth. She's really cool, smart, etc so I really have no complaints on that front. Taking her to Beauty and the Beast and then dinner tonight and got roses that I'm giving her in a few hours.
Really pumped about this summer. I'm gonna chill for two weeks after classes end, then the internship, then I chill for another month before classes start abroad (assuming I go). There's really no downside to this internship however it ends up. I could:
-like it and get a full time offer at the end of the summer (40-50% get this)
-like it, not get a full time offer, but decide against going abroad so I can be on campus for recruiting in the fall. having this on my resume will be a huge plus if I don't get a full time offer
-not like it. At least in this case I'll know that banking isn't for me and I won't be put in the position of trying to decide how valuable it would be to stay on campus for fall finance recruiting. It would just be so hard to gauge and also so hard to be a competitive applicant having not interned ("Oh really? You want to do this? You have no experience, wtf...?")
Classes are also pretty interesting which makes my spring awesome. Squash ending, more free time, good classes, great summer lined up, study abroad in the fall. I've got it made.
Hope everyone's doing well,
Yodaddy
P.S. Shout out to Vers for finally getting what he deserves. Ship the Sunday Brawl and satties, boi.
Things have been going really well lately. I'm pretty burnt out on squash but that's to be expected with only a week left in the season. It'll be nice to have a ton of free time although we'll still have lifts 2x/week.
I got into my study abroad school a few weeks ago so I have the option of going to London which I think I'll take. At the very least, I'll commit to it now because I'd rather decide not to do it at the last minute and have that option than want to do it and not have the option.
What else? My hard work paid off and I landed an offer from one of the top 10 banks in the country. I'll work in their investment banking division so it should be interesting to see how I like it, etc. It was a sort a lengthy process although not as bad as a lot of other ibanking ones are. I submitted a cover letter and resume, got selected for a first round interview, go put through to a final round interview, and then got a call saying I got it. It was pretty stressful at the end for a few reasons. I'd rather be in NY than Boston because my best friend from HS might be there, my GF is working there so it would have made the relationship difficult if I were in Boston, and some other friends are in NY as well. I also didn't really have other places to interview at after this one. I was 0/3 up to this point at first round interviews so it would have SUCKED to get to the final round and blow it. It was annoying though because I knew all of this and was worried that worrying about how the final round went would make me perform worse. Sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy so I tried to be as relaxed as possible.
The job's gonna be a ton of hours (80-90/week I think) but it's 10 weeks, 70k pro-rated (meaning I get paid over the course of the internship as if my yearly salary were 70k). So I'll make about 14k + 2k relocation stipend. I'll have to pay more for housing and I'll lose like 30% in taxes so I'll take home like 9k or so. I'm going up there in two weeks to meet alums from my school, people I'm gonna work with, etc. I have to formally accept by March 1st but will do it on Monday. It was pretty surprising and frustrating to get negged by a ton of places but rejection's a big part of the business so I just have to get used to it.
Also, things with the gf have been going really well. Been dating just over 5 months now and it's been really smooth. She's really cool, smart, etc so I really have no complaints on that front. Taking her to Beauty and the Beast and then dinner tonight and got roses that I'm giving her in a few hours.
Really pumped about this summer. I'm gonna chill for two weeks after classes end, then the internship, then I chill for another month before classes start abroad (assuming I go). There's really no downside to this internship however it ends up. I could:
-like it and get a full time offer at the end of the summer (40-50% get this)
-like it, not get a full time offer, but decide against going abroad so I can be on campus for recruiting in the fall. having this on my resume will be a huge plus if I don't get a full time offer
-not like it. At least in this case I'll know that banking isn't for me and I won't be put in the position of trying to decide how valuable it would be to stay on campus for fall finance recruiting. It would just be so hard to gauge and also so hard to be a competitive applicant having not interned ("Oh really? You want to do this? You have no experience, wtf...?")
Classes are also pretty interesting which makes my spring awesome. Squash ending, more free time, good classes, great summer lined up, study abroad in the fall. I've got it made.
Hope everyone's doing well,
Yodaddy
P.S. Shout out to Vers for finally getting what he deserves. Ship the Sunday Brawl and satties, boi.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Internships Son
Hey guys,
Been applying to internships lately and it's been such a huge pain I can't even begin to tell you. So much busy work like filling out my name, address, major, gpa, submitting a resume and a cover letter, applying through my school's careers website, finding more banks to apply to blah blah blah.
At any rate, I've applied to about 15 places and have contacted another 10 or so. Basically the firms will look over my resume/cover letter and decide whether or not to grant me an interview. Then they'll decide, based on my interview, if I should get to do a super day which is a long ass day full off interviews. I've been applying for a lot of ibanking and sales and trading places and am pretty confident that I'll land a lot of interviews. I don't mean to be arrogant, but it's tough to imagine what more a bank could want on a resume:
Varsity Athlete
3.9
phil major with multivariable calc, ODE's, linear algebra, abstract algebra (currently taking), intermediate micro, management of business and non-profit organizations
ivy league school
did original math research last summer
The only problem is that I really know very little about finance at the moment. I'm getting educated but I'm starting from scratch so it's pretty tough. I think it's pretty stupid how interviewers ask you market specific questions. I suppose it gauges how interested you are in the field, but I'd rather gauge aptitude. Who cares if you know what our firm's stock is trading at...I want to know if you're smart enough to do good work.
Oh well...It'll be interesting to see how it turns out. It's gonna be a really busy next few weeks as I'll have 3 biggest matches of the season and nationals, interviews start in early Feb, transfer counselor stuff starting this Saturday, and two a days until school starts on the 27th. I also really have no idea what I would do if I don't land one of these internships. I suppose I should look into policy think thanks and other things like that but I'm pretty fried from all these apps.
I also worked out a deal with a coach where I teach him 180s and he teaches me 6m nlhe so I have to make time for that too. He's won at like 4.8bb/100 at nl600...not incredible, but still good imo.
Roll's been growing from my one stakee, who after 2k games has made like $1.6k (probably 1k below EV.) He plays well and gets in a ton of volume and keeps his rail updated constantly so he's been great. And after doing a lot of HH reviews at the start, I really haven't had to help him that much. Getting money for doing nothing is pretty nice. So yeah, have like 5.3k atm, gonna have to drop some dough on valentine's day and for a vegas trip. Kinda want a new chair but I need money for 6m cash. Although I guess I can count on more coming in in the future...meh.
Gonna go learn more about how the credit crisis happened. fml
Later boys,
Yodaddy
Been applying to internships lately and it's been such a huge pain I can't even begin to tell you. So much busy work like filling out my name, address, major, gpa, submitting a resume and a cover letter, applying through my school's careers website, finding more banks to apply to blah blah blah.
At any rate, I've applied to about 15 places and have contacted another 10 or so. Basically the firms will look over my resume/cover letter and decide whether or not to grant me an interview. Then they'll decide, based on my interview, if I should get to do a super day which is a long ass day full off interviews. I've been applying for a lot of ibanking and sales and trading places and am pretty confident that I'll land a lot of interviews. I don't mean to be arrogant, but it's tough to imagine what more a bank could want on a resume:
Varsity Athlete
3.9
phil major with multivariable calc, ODE's, linear algebra, abstract algebra (currently taking), intermediate micro, management of business and non-profit organizations
ivy league school
did original math research last summer
The only problem is that I really know very little about finance at the moment. I'm getting educated but I'm starting from scratch so it's pretty tough. I think it's pretty stupid how interviewers ask you market specific questions. I suppose it gauges how interested you are in the field, but I'd rather gauge aptitude. Who cares if you know what our firm's stock is trading at...I want to know if you're smart enough to do good work.
Oh well...It'll be interesting to see how it turns out. It's gonna be a really busy next few weeks as I'll have 3 biggest matches of the season and nationals, interviews start in early Feb, transfer counselor stuff starting this Saturday, and two a days until school starts on the 27th. I also really have no idea what I would do if I don't land one of these internships. I suppose I should look into policy think thanks and other things like that but I'm pretty fried from all these apps.
I also worked out a deal with a coach where I teach him 180s and he teaches me 6m nlhe so I have to make time for that too. He's won at like 4.8bb/100 at nl600...not incredible, but still good imo.
Roll's been growing from my one stakee, who after 2k games has made like $1.6k (probably 1k below EV.) He plays well and gets in a ton of volume and keeps his rail updated constantly so he's been great. And after doing a lot of HH reviews at the start, I really haven't had to help him that much. Getting money for doing nothing is pretty nice. So yeah, have like 5.3k atm, gonna have to drop some dough on valentine's day and for a vegas trip. Kinda want a new chair but I need money for 6m cash. Although I guess I can count on more coming in in the future...meh.
Gonna go learn more about how the credit crisis happened. fml
Later boys,
Yodaddy
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