So...
My attempts to be all zero to hero backfired in fantastic style. I have nothing left at Party, but I had a little at Stars, so I reloaded and built my roll back to where it was before the summer. In other words, my stats now stand at:
Balance: $159.16
.05/.10 NLH LH: +630ptbb/2546
+$63.06 /2546
I'll be keeping the same stats and everything even though I'll be playing at Stars rather than Party. Continuing to two or sometimes three table up to 20K hands. One difference between the two sites is that Party was ten handed whereas Stars is nine handed. Not sure that'll mean much, except possibly more hands per hour, which can only be a good thing, I suppose.
I played a bit earlier (although didn't record anything from it). I won about $10 from 200-300 hands, using a fairly laggy style (seeing a lot of flops and betting everything) as I thought I might be able to outplay the villains. I did get pretty lucky from time to time, although I think I deserved most of what I won. Also played a multitable where I was in great shape near the second break when some clown with a monster stack called my reraise all in with 8cTc (possible to argue he was pot commited, but not really. More likely he just wanted to be a big stack bully). Needless to say my kings got screwed.
I'm looking forward to getting back in the game. It's been a while.
Showing posts with label Intro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Intro. Show all posts
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
It's Been A While
Since my last post, I basically haven't played. I had to withdraw all the money from my Party account and was basically prepared to not play online any more. Then in August I received an email from Party saying they were giving me $75 free (obviously subject to release conditions). I played some $10+1 SNGs with it and now have $62 (after they took the original $75 off me for not meeting the release requirements.
I'm still treating this as a bit of a game right now. I'll keep playing the 10+1s for now, until I get back to around $160 like I had before. If I get back to that point, I'll return to micro-stakes cash and go back to becoming a better player.
I'm still treating this as a bit of a game right now. I'll keep playing the 10+1s for now, until I get back to around $160 like I had before. If I get back to that point, I'll return to micro-stakes cash and go back to becoming a better player.
Monday, May 14, 2007
.10/.25 NLH LH 14/5/07
Opening balance: $139.09 (Down $12 from yesterday after a failed sattelite to the 330K Gtd)
Buy in : $48
No. of hands : 98
Left with : $16.01
Closing balance : $107.10
Running total: -$138.84/369
-557ptbb/271
The first table I was on, I was winning handily after a time. I lost most of my first stack after bluffing back at the maniac the one time he really had a hand. I managed to work back from $24 to almost $48 and back to $41 before it broke up. Switched tables and the new one was not so friendly. Both were limp happy, but the second had way more aggression post-flop. Eventually I lost my stack overplaying top pair and getting hammered by a set.
And that's my problem. I can win a series of small and medium sized pots and then I lose it all on one big hand. I play too many hands. On a table like those I had today, I limp a lot behind other limpers, then can't extract my self or control the pot when I catch a small piece of the flop. I'm a bad player. I have taken a number of bad beats recently, but not so much that it justifies the huge losses I've sustained. Losing $300 dollars in less than a thousand hands of .25/.50 and .10/.25 is dreadful. And it hurts.
I remember when I started playing, about three and a half years ago, I thought I knew it all. I was a big fish in pool of even bigger fishes. After a few months, I learnt some things by myself and some other things from my friend Stef (basic position, hand selection, bet sizing etc.) and thought I was great. As it happened, I was better than the people I was playing with. Then I turned 18 and started playing online. For a while, I couldn't believe how unlucky I was. All these donks kept beating me!
From there, I gradually came to realise that I was losing because I was bad. I stopped playing for a few months, came back, lost some more. Finally, I went looking for help. I found Ptips and realised that I was virtually clueless. I learned, I got better, I started winning. Then the bubble burst. I lost more, and more, and more. Then I stopped for a while.
I picked it up again and started this blog. I decided to stop reloading, to try and play within my roll and to closely monitor my progress. And yet, here we are. I'm throwing money away, I'm spewing everywhere and I feel like shit.
Maybe I can't take the variance. I do have a fairly LAG style, which brings with it big swings. Even when I try to contain myself, I don't become TAG, I become loose-passive pre-flop and a bluffing machine post flop. I can't take the variance, I hate losing and I'm not well-off enough to pour money in.
As of now, I'm down another level. .05/.10 NLH LH. I still have ten buy-ins for that, but I'm thinking I should change my plans. If I am prone to big swings, it's possible I'll hit a big upswing soon. If I simply aim at an amount of money, I might move up before I'm ready. So instead of aiming at an amount of money, I'll aim to be above 7ptbb/100 after 15K hands. It'll take me a long time to grind my way up from here, but if I should manage to establish myself as a fundamental winner at this low level (which will come as a result of solid play) I'll relax the restrictions when moving back up to .25/.50.
And in the meantime, I'll study the fundamentals again. I'll go back to the beginning, refresh myself, try and learn from scratch. I'm smart, I love the game and I used to be a winner. I can do this!
Buy in : $48
No. of hands : 98
Left with : $16.01
Closing balance : $107.10
Running total: -$138.84/369
-557ptbb/271
The first table I was on, I was winning handily after a time. I lost most of my first stack after bluffing back at the maniac the one time he really had a hand. I managed to work back from $24 to almost $48 and back to $41 before it broke up. Switched tables and the new one was not so friendly. Both were limp happy, but the second had way more aggression post-flop. Eventually I lost my stack overplaying top pair and getting hammered by a set.
And that's my problem. I can win a series of small and medium sized pots and then I lose it all on one big hand. I play too many hands. On a table like those I had today, I limp a lot behind other limpers, then can't extract my self or control the pot when I catch a small piece of the flop. I'm a bad player. I have taken a number of bad beats recently, but not so much that it justifies the huge losses I've sustained. Losing $300 dollars in less than a thousand hands of .25/.50 and .10/.25 is dreadful. And it hurts.
I remember when I started playing, about three and a half years ago, I thought I knew it all. I was a big fish in pool of even bigger fishes. After a few months, I learnt some things by myself and some other things from my friend Stef (basic position, hand selection, bet sizing etc.) and thought I was great. As it happened, I was better than the people I was playing with. Then I turned 18 and started playing online. For a while, I couldn't believe how unlucky I was. All these donks kept beating me!
From there, I gradually came to realise that I was losing because I was bad. I stopped playing for a few months, came back, lost some more. Finally, I went looking for help. I found Ptips and realised that I was virtually clueless. I learned, I got better, I started winning. Then the bubble burst. I lost more, and more, and more. Then I stopped for a while.
I picked it up again and started this blog. I decided to stop reloading, to try and play within my roll and to closely monitor my progress. And yet, here we are. I'm throwing money away, I'm spewing everywhere and I feel like shit.
Maybe I can't take the variance. I do have a fairly LAG style, which brings with it big swings. Even when I try to contain myself, I don't become TAG, I become loose-passive pre-flop and a bluffing machine post flop. I can't take the variance, I hate losing and I'm not well-off enough to pour money in.
As of now, I'm down another level. .05/.10 NLH LH. I still have ten buy-ins for that, but I'm thinking I should change my plans. If I am prone to big swings, it's possible I'll hit a big upswing soon. If I simply aim at an amount of money, I might move up before I'm ready. So instead of aiming at an amount of money, I'll aim to be above 7ptbb/100 after 15K hands. It'll take me a long time to grind my way up from here, but if I should manage to establish myself as a fundamental winner at this low level (which will come as a result of solid play) I'll relax the restrictions when moving back up to .25/.50.
And in the meantime, I'll study the fundamentals again. I'll go back to the beginning, refresh myself, try and learn from scratch. I'm smart, I love the game and I used to be a winner. I can do this!
Monday, May 07, 2007
First Post
This is my poker-related blog. I plan to use it so that I can keep a closer record of my poker playing. I also have an account on www.checkyourbets.com (Simon87... add me!*) to track basic money growth. The blog will be used for a closer analysis of each session, specific hands and so on. I'm hoping it'll make me a better player.
I first learned to play about 4 years, although I've only been playing seriously since last December. In that time, I've improved a lot, due largely to the influence of the www.pokertips.org forums and a few books. I've also learned that I'm not as good as I thought I was, and that's a crucial lesson.
My main game is no-limit hold'em, although I have also played some omaha and 7-stud. I think it's best for now if I focus on one version and try to become as skilled as possible in that. Should I become a consistent winner at something like 1/2 NLH, I'd have the money to throw at learning a new game.
Most of my play is online at Party Poker. I play NLH up to .50/1, and MTTs from the $5+1 to $30+3 level. I'm considering moving my play to a different site in the future, one where I can get rakeback, but I won't do that for a while. I'm comfortable where I am, despite the flaws. I also play live once a week with a group of people from my university. The game takes the form of a 1-table tournament with a £10 ($~20) buy in, no rake.
Currently, my bankroll stands at $400 dollars for online play. As my live play is only once a week and only really for fun, I don't have a roll for that. I don't want to reload any more; I've already chucked a considerable sum of money at this hobby, and the time has come for me to stop. The exception might be if I get a reload bonus, when I'll cash out the deposit once the bonus has cleared. Barring that eventuality, a big tournament win, or an emergency, I also don't mean to cash out until I become a long-term winner at .50/1.
$400 dollars isn't really enough to play even .25/.50 NLH SH. I plan to buy-in for $40 until my roll exceeds $550, when I'll start buying in for $50. Once my roll goes over $800, I'll start playing one session per week of .50/1 NLH. When my roll goes over $1200 dollars, I'll move that up to 2 sessions a week. I'll move to .50/1 permanently when I have over $1500 and a proven winning record at .25/.50 (20K hands) and at .50/1 (at least 6K hands). At that point, I'll move over to one session of .25/.50, where I'm a proven winner, until I have 15K hands of winning at .50/1 and a roll of $2000.
With moving down, I'll buy in at $40 if I go under $500. I'll stop playing .50/1 if I go under $700, and play only one session if I go below $1100. Having moved to .50/1 permanently, I'll drop back a stage in my plan if I go below $1300.
Nowhere in this plan have I mentioned MTTs. I plan to play only two of these a week at the $5+1 or $10+1 level. Should I make a cash in those that exceeds $100+buy-in, I'll cash out the surplus so that my roll doesn't get over-inflated.
So that's my plan. I'm bad at sticking to plans and bankrolls, but I'm determined to stick to this one. My biggest flaw as a poker player is not being disciplined enough. This includes bankroll management (I've busted and reloaded frequently due to playing above my roll and skill level) and bluffing into the wrong targets, not laying down where I'm clearly beaten etc. Sticking to this will hopefully help me with that, and will make me better at what I hope can become a profitable hobby instead of a black-hole for surplus cash.
Wish me luck! And if you have any comments or anything, greatly appreciated.
*I used to have an account under the name Jokeslayer, but it's very out of date now. Besides which, I'm drawing a line in the sand. Done is done.
I first learned to play about 4 years, although I've only been playing seriously since last December. In that time, I've improved a lot, due largely to the influence of the www.pokertips.org forums and a few books. I've also learned that I'm not as good as I thought I was, and that's a crucial lesson.
My main game is no-limit hold'em, although I have also played some omaha and 7-stud. I think it's best for now if I focus on one version and try to become as skilled as possible in that. Should I become a consistent winner at something like 1/2 NLH, I'd have the money to throw at learning a new game.
Most of my play is online at Party Poker. I play NLH up to .50/1, and MTTs from the $5+1 to $30+3 level. I'm considering moving my play to a different site in the future, one where I can get rakeback, but I won't do that for a while. I'm comfortable where I am, despite the flaws. I also play live once a week with a group of people from my university. The game takes the form of a 1-table tournament with a £10 ($~20) buy in, no rake.
Currently, my bankroll stands at $400 dollars for online play. As my live play is only once a week and only really for fun, I don't have a roll for that. I don't want to reload any more; I've already chucked a considerable sum of money at this hobby, and the time has come for me to stop. The exception might be if I get a reload bonus, when I'll cash out the deposit once the bonus has cleared. Barring that eventuality, a big tournament win, or an emergency, I also don't mean to cash out until I become a long-term winner at .50/1.
$400 dollars isn't really enough to play even .25/.50 NLH SH. I plan to buy-in for $40 until my roll exceeds $550, when I'll start buying in for $50. Once my roll goes over $800, I'll start playing one session per week of .50/1 NLH. When my roll goes over $1200 dollars, I'll move that up to 2 sessions a week. I'll move to .50/1 permanently when I have over $1500 and a proven winning record at .25/.50 (20K hands) and at .50/1 (at least 6K hands). At that point, I'll move over to one session of .25/.50, where I'm a proven winner, until I have 15K hands of winning at .50/1 and a roll of $2000.
With moving down, I'll buy in at $40 if I go under $500. I'll stop playing .50/1 if I go under $700, and play only one session if I go below $1100. Having moved to .50/1 permanently, I'll drop back a stage in my plan if I go below $1300.
Nowhere in this plan have I mentioned MTTs. I plan to play only two of these a week at the $5+1 or $10+1 level. Should I make a cash in those that exceeds $100+buy-in, I'll cash out the surplus so that my roll doesn't get over-inflated.
So that's my plan. I'm bad at sticking to plans and bankrolls, but I'm determined to stick to this one. My biggest flaw as a poker player is not being disciplined enough. This includes bankroll management (I've busted and reloaded frequently due to playing above my roll and skill level) and bluffing into the wrong targets, not laying down where I'm clearly beaten etc. Sticking to this will hopefully help me with that, and will make me better at what I hope can become a profitable hobby instead of a black-hole for surplus cash.
Wish me luck! And if you have any comments or anything, greatly appreciated.
*I used to have an account under the name Jokeslayer, but it's very out of date now. Besides which, I'm drawing a line in the sand. Done is done.
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