Cross posted, original found: http://www.houstontexaspoker.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35841
Throughout my career, I've had dozens of poker friends wisely play within their bankroll, make some decent money, and then go busto a few days, weeks, or months later. What happens? I'm convinced that winning players should never go broke if they stick with good bankroll management. It seems like the problem isn't laying down ground rules for the games they play, nor actually following them. The problem is continuing to follow those rules in the long run.
There is always a defining moment when players go from obeying their rules to breaking them. It could be a small thing, like getting upset after misplaying hand and losing a medium-sized pot . It could be a big thing, such as dropping 8-buyins in a session. In reality, it really could be anything. My point is that there is a definite moment when you decide to break your bankroll management rules. The hard part is realizing what this moment is.
So, the first step to going from a short-run bankroll manager to a long-run manager is to realize when this defining moment happens, what is psychologically happening to you because of it, and what to do about it. I've been a long time advocate of separating yourself from your emotions from the poker table, simply because it clouds your judgment and forces you to make bad decisions. I think if you do find yourself losing it, its best to step away for a few hours (days if necessary) and come back. Really, being honest with yourself is the best thing you can do. If you feel like you're ready to return and do it correctly, you are the best judge of that. But be honest with yourself. If there is ever any doubt, continue to keep yourself from playing, then reevaluate yourself and go from there.
If you are not honest with yourself, and continue to play after this defining moment (or if you fail to realize this moment to begin with), then what will happen is the snowball effect. All of a sudden, your one misplayed hand leads to bigger misplayed hands in bigger pots. Before you know it, you're in the hole multiple buy-ins and trying to get back your losses by perhaps playing in a more aggressive (and higher variance/risker) manner.
Another problem of the short-run bankroll manager is that he overlooks progress and dwells on setbacks. Again, its another mental issue. It [I]is[I] frustrating to play a two-hour session and finish up $2.07. And I think the "defining moment" is right there after your session. You can either walk away with your small profit, or you can continue to play (although now frustrated).
Another example is having a great run for two weeks and not having one single losing session, only to have one small losing session and start to fret about it. Instead of being happy for nearly two weeks of good play and great results, they focus on the one bad day.
Be sure to constantly look over your goals. Reread them and focus on them. Reevaluate them and rewrite them if necessary.
I understand that most players are just casual players. Obviously this article isn't for them. If you are serious about playing poker and building up a roll however, you need to start looking at your goal as a must-keep goal, not a would-be-nice-to-keep goal.
Like with any other goal-setting, managing your bankroll is something you need to make a habit. Keep at it, and before you know it you won't even be thinking about your roll and what tournaments you should or shouldn't be playing. You would just do it, naturally. And once you get there, you never will have to worry about going busto ever again.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Some Mental Adjustments...
Cross Posted [http://www.houstontexaspoker.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35502]
Since I struck for nearly $1400 back on the 3rd of November, I've increased my playing pretty drastically. Things have been going really great. Not superb, but I'm happy. I've played in about 70 tournaments or so and have cashed in nearly 25% of them. It sounds nice, but I'm not crazy about this because I haven't made it back to a final table. Really, that is what its all about to me. I can't tell you how livid I get with consistent min-cashing. And I suppose the silver-lining is that I'm keeping my head above water until that next big score comes. Ultimately, it does become frustrating to make multiple deep runs and flame out. That is the nature of tournaments though and I'm at peace with that.
I've made a lot of adjustments to my game routine and wanted to share a few of my thoughts. I don't feel like its my play that has changed as much as it is my mental approach to the game... although I suppose that mentality does change the way you play.
Anyways, I find myself scribbling notes to myself on this little notepad next to me while I play. Its all just pep-talk stuff. I started it really late one night in an attempt to keep myself awake, and have kept up with it since then, even during normal hours. I just continually talk to myself in it and psyche myself up and remind myself of things that I may forget in the middle of a long session. Its short little sentences in random spurts. If you read back at them though as a paragraph, it flows together. I write in it after losing a big hand and remind myself that I'm one of the better players at the table but only if I am level-headed. I remind myself of whats at stake, money-wise. I make note of which players I feel are becoming tired of me. I tell myself to stop spewing chips if I become a spewzilla over a few hands. Just, lots of small things but I feel like it allows me to take a step back and look at my game without emotion, which really is absolutely huge in my opinion.
That is another subject I wanted to talk about. Emotion. And in particular, bad beats and the insuring tilt. What it boils down to is: there is a bad beat coming your way. That is irrefutable. The absolute only variable is how are you going to react to it? I feel like what makes bad beats so bad is that they happen so unexpectedly. They just hit you out of the blue. And, is it just me, or are we just more sensitive to losing after we've been doing well? So, I feel that if you know they're coming, you will have nothing to be pissed about. Just, always expect it. Know its going to happen, no matter how good you play. And the more you care and the better you play, the more it'll suck. But the way to overcome the ensuing tilt after a bad beat, is to assume the bad beat is inevitable in the first place.
Since I struck for nearly $1400 back on the 3rd of November, I've increased my playing pretty drastically. Things have been going really great. Not superb, but I'm happy. I've played in about 70 tournaments or so and have cashed in nearly 25% of them. It sounds nice, but I'm not crazy about this because I haven't made it back to a final table. Really, that is what its all about to me. I can't tell you how livid I get with consistent min-cashing. And I suppose the silver-lining is that I'm keeping my head above water until that next big score comes. Ultimately, it does become frustrating to make multiple deep runs and flame out. That is the nature of tournaments though and I'm at peace with that.
I've made a lot of adjustments to my game routine and wanted to share a few of my thoughts. I don't feel like its my play that has changed as much as it is my mental approach to the game... although I suppose that mentality does change the way you play.
Anyways, I find myself scribbling notes to myself on this little notepad next to me while I play. Its all just pep-talk stuff. I started it really late one night in an attempt to keep myself awake, and have kept up with it since then, even during normal hours. I just continually talk to myself in it and psyche myself up and remind myself of things that I may forget in the middle of a long session. Its short little sentences in random spurts. If you read back at them though as a paragraph, it flows together. I write in it after losing a big hand and remind myself that I'm one of the better players at the table but only if I am level-headed. I remind myself of whats at stake, money-wise. I make note of which players I feel are becoming tired of me. I tell myself to stop spewing chips if I become a spewzilla over a few hands. Just, lots of small things but I feel like it allows me to take a step back and look at my game without emotion, which really is absolutely huge in my opinion.
That is another subject I wanted to talk about. Emotion. And in particular, bad beats and the insuring tilt. What it boils down to is: there is a bad beat coming your way. That is irrefutable. The absolute only variable is how are you going to react to it? I feel like what makes bad beats so bad is that they happen so unexpectedly. They just hit you out of the blue. And, is it just me, or are we just more sensitive to losing after we've been doing well? So, I feel that if you know they're coming, you will have nothing to be pissed about. Just, always expect it. Know its going to happen, no matter how good you play. And the more you care and the better you play, the more it'll suck. But the way to overcome the ensuing tilt after a bad beat, is to assume the bad beat is inevitable in the first place.
Analyzing the word "life" in your "tournament life"
Cross-posted from [http://www.houstontexaspoker.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35324]
Authors Note: I didn't copy-edit this at all. Just wrote it and pasted into the browser. So, apologies for any incomplete thoughts, grammatical errors, etc that you may find.
I was playing a tournament online the other night and was facing an important decision with my tournament life on the line. After the hand, I kept repeating the phrase "tournament life" over and over to myself. I emphasized the "life" part of it, then started comparing it to actual real life and the decisions that I make for myself in the real world. In the end I feel that I reached a big breakthrough in my tournament game and came to an understanding of what it truly means to have your tournament life in jeopardy and what that is important.
Every day of our lives, we are faced with decisions... from simple to complex. We are given tto he option switch lanes on the highway or stay where we are. We have the choice between eating unhealthy at Taco Bell or cooking in. If someone wanted to, they could very well jump off of a building. Or, they couldn't. We try to make the best decisions always in our lives. In poker, we too are constantly attempting to make the best decision possible. Every street, of every hand, of every orbit, of every tournament... has a choice that we need to make. Ultimately, it is also our goal to make the best decisions possible here as well. Optimal play translates to results.
So, in the real world, good decisions may lead us to things like wealth, good education, and happiness. In poker, optimal decisions in poker lead us to large towering chip stacks, greater control over a table, and an increased chance at making money.
So what happens when you aren't playing at your best?
I guess what I realized is that I needed to start taking the word "life" in the phrase "tournament life" very literally. It sounds so serious (and I'll admit, a bit cheesy) when you give something like your tournament, life. But now, the way I look at things, tournaments *are* alive. You want to keep them alive by making the best decision possible. You want to keep them safe from marginal situations. You do the best you can for them.
And I feel like this thought process has helped me avoid those "fuck it, I don't care" moments that players sometimes get during tournaments. Its especially helped me during the "yellow zone" of tournaments, when you're hovering in the 20BB stack range and everyone else has a larger chip stack than you. Its so easy to feel like you're a lost cause at that point in tournaments. I have a friend who is obsessed with what the average stack is and is just tilted madly if he's ever under it. In my earlier playing days, I couldn't tell you how many times I punted off an entire stack just because I wasn't keeping up with average stack size or because things weren't going my way or something stupid like that. Its important to realize that there is still always play left in the game. There is still always *life* in the tournament. Treat it like you would your own life and do the best you can for it.
I know after rereading this that some parts sound suuuuuper lame and cheese-bucket. At times I guess it sounds kinda like common sense too. In closing, I just hope that maybe this helps someone realize that they shouldn't ever give up on a tournament. Realize how important it is. Especially if you're deep in a tournament. I really think its fair to say that finishing in the money 15% of the time is good in tournament poker. But from an outsider's perspective, 15% is actually pretty small percentage. So, realize that its rare to make the money, even for good players. And its rare to reach that elusive final table. But what separates the min-cashers and bubble boys from the players that consistently take tournaments down, is that the good players realize the importance of the word "life" in their tournament life at that moment.
Authors Note: I didn't copy-edit this at all. Just wrote it and pasted into the browser. So, apologies for any incomplete thoughts, grammatical errors, etc that you may find.
I was playing a tournament online the other night and was facing an important decision with my tournament life on the line. After the hand, I kept repeating the phrase "tournament life" over and over to myself. I emphasized the "life" part of it, then started comparing it to actual real life and the decisions that I make for myself in the real world. In the end I feel that I reached a big breakthrough in my tournament game and came to an understanding of what it truly means to have your tournament life in jeopardy and what that is important.
Every day of our lives, we are faced with decisions... from simple to complex. We are given tto he option switch lanes on the highway or stay where we are. We have the choice between eating unhealthy at Taco Bell or cooking in. If someone wanted to, they could very well jump off of a building. Or, they couldn't. We try to make the best decisions always in our lives. In poker, we too are constantly attempting to make the best decision possible. Every street, of every hand, of every orbit, of every tournament... has a choice that we need to make. Ultimately, it is also our goal to make the best decisions possible here as well. Optimal play translates to results.
So, in the real world, good decisions may lead us to things like wealth, good education, and happiness. In poker, optimal decisions in poker lead us to large towering chip stacks, greater control over a table, and an increased chance at making money.
So what happens when you aren't playing at your best?
I guess what I realized is that I needed to start taking the word "life" in the phrase "tournament life" very literally. It sounds so serious (and I'll admit, a bit cheesy) when you give something like your tournament, life. But now, the way I look at things, tournaments *are* alive. You want to keep them alive by making the best decision possible. You want to keep them safe from marginal situations. You do the best you can for them.
And I feel like this thought process has helped me avoid those "fuck it, I don't care" moments that players sometimes get during tournaments. Its especially helped me during the "yellow zone" of tournaments, when you're hovering in the 20BB stack range and everyone else has a larger chip stack than you. Its so easy to feel like you're a lost cause at that point in tournaments. I have a friend who is obsessed with what the average stack is and is just tilted madly if he's ever under it. In my earlier playing days, I couldn't tell you how many times I punted off an entire stack just because I wasn't keeping up with average stack size or because things weren't going my way or something stupid like that. Its important to realize that there is still always play left in the game. There is still always *life* in the tournament. Treat it like you would your own life and do the best you can for it.
I know after rereading this that some parts sound suuuuuper lame and cheese-bucket. At times I guess it sounds kinda like common sense too. In closing, I just hope that maybe this helps someone realize that they shouldn't ever give up on a tournament. Realize how important it is. Especially if you're deep in a tournament. I really think its fair to say that finishing in the money 15% of the time is good in tournament poker. But from an outsider's perspective, 15% is actually pretty small percentage. So, realize that its rare to make the money, even for good players. And its rare to reach that elusive final table. But what separates the min-cashers and bubble boys from the players that consistently take tournaments down, is that the good players realize the importance of the word "life" in their tournament life at that moment.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Took down FTP $2k Cashout for $1400
Cashed in the $2k Guaranteed Cashout two nights ago, turning my $5 entry into roughly $1400. Since then, haven't really been adhering to bankroll management whatsoever but its getting to the point where I need to start doing that.
I played FTOPS Event #1 yesterday and obviously was seated to the right of 2009 Online Player of the Year, daisyxoxo. Not even a dozen hands into the tourney I got all my chips in with A2 on an 345 flop versus him. Obviously he has 76 though and I'm out before I got the chance to settle into my seat. Frustrating but I don't know what else you could do there... maybe one day I'll be good enough. I keep wondering what he would have done in that situation.
Putting in a session tonight... on the list:
Anyways, dunno how frequently I'll be updating this... just wrote for the hell of it :)
I played FTOPS Event #1 yesterday and obviously was seated to the right of 2009 Online Player of the Year, daisyxoxo. Not even a dozen hands into the tourney I got all my chips in with A2 on an 345 flop versus him. Obviously he has 76 though and I'm out before I got the chance to settle into my seat. Frustrating but I don't know what else you could do there... maybe one day I'll be good enough. I keep wondering what he would have done in that situation.
Putting in a session tonight... on the list:
- $70+5, $23k KO Guarantee
- $10+1, $15k Guarantee
- $20+2, $11k Rebuy Guarantee
- $24+2, $17k Guarantee
Anyways, dunno how frequently I'll be updating this... just wrote for the hell of it :)
Monday, July 20, 2009
First 20k hands @ NL5.
I don't have too much time to play a full schedule of tournaments anymore, so a few months ago I decided to grind cash games instead. I started at NL5 and wanted to grind that up to $200 before stabbing NL10. So thats 40 buy-ins total. I hit +25 buy-ins after about 13,000 hands but went on a sick downswing afterwards to plummet me back downwards. Since then though I've moderately climbed back up and I'm now up to aroud +21 buy-ins (a little over $105).
The money at this level is a joke, but nonetheless I can't explain the feeling of accomplishment I have. It sounds lame but really grinding cash games is a testament to the importance of patience and perseverance.
Analyzing my game in PokerTracker, I've realized that I've lost the most amount of money with KQo and suited connectors. It seems that I really overvalue them and need to just focus on getting value from them when they flop BIG (no more one pair, crappy kicker stuff). So, I'm going to be eliminating these hands from my opening range from UTG and MP (I think I'll open KQs from MP still) and the suited connectors completely from UTG and MP both (unless the table is super nitty, but that doesn't exist at NL5).
Also I've seen some atrocious plays of mine when I look at hands where I've gotten stacked. Some are absolutely awful and I may just post them so I can embarrass myself. Ugh. But, those mistakes just show me that this level is even more profitable than it already is for me and that I should have a much higher winrate if I didn't allow stupid factors like tilt get to me.
The money at this level is a joke, but nonetheless I can't explain the feeling of accomplishment I have. It sounds lame but really grinding cash games is a testament to the importance of patience and perseverance.
Analyzing my game in PokerTracker, I've realized that I've lost the most amount of money with KQo and suited connectors. It seems that I really overvalue them and need to just focus on getting value from them when they flop BIG (no more one pair, crappy kicker stuff). So, I'm going to be eliminating these hands from my opening range from UTG and MP (I think I'll open KQs from MP still) and the suited connectors completely from UTG and MP both (unless the table is super nitty, but that doesn't exist at NL5).
Also I've seen some atrocious plays of mine when I look at hands where I've gotten stacked. Some are absolutely awful and I may just post them so I can embarrass myself. Ugh. But, those mistakes just show me that this level is even more profitable than it already is for me and that I should have a much higher winrate if I didn't allow stupid factors like tilt get to me.
Monday, May 11, 2009
MiniFTOPS So far...
MiniFTOPS is about halfway done for me. I've cashed in 1/5 events thus far. In the red about $100 bucks or so. Believe I'll be playing the Turbo event on Tuesday and then the two NLHE events on Sunday one of which is the Main Event.
I haven't been able to put in too much serious volume recently, mostly because the media company I launched is finally pulling in some clients.
When I did play however, it was often spent questioning my play, and I feel like the MiniFTOPS series so far has been a success, if anything then at least as a confidence booster. I'm debating writing up reports for some of the events I ran deeper in. We'll see.
I haven't been able to put in too much serious volume recently, mostly because the media company I launched is finally pulling in some clients.
When I did play however, it was often spent questioning my play, and I feel like the MiniFTOPS series so far has been a success, if anything then at least as a confidence booster. I'm debating writing up reports for some of the events I ran deeper in. We'll see.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
MiniFTOPS Schedule
Last FTOPS that rolled around, in the summer I believe... I dusted off a few thousand dollars spread over a myriad of events and believe cashed just once in a $535 event for an insignificant sum that didn't put me in the black for the event.
Well, I'll probably suck again this time ago, but at least it won't hurt as much. May 6th-17th is FTOPS XII and they are running a parallel series called MiniFTOPS as well, which are the same tournaments for 1/10th the buy-in.
After sorting out the NLHE events and cross-checking with my schedule, it looks like I should be able to play 8 events in the series.
My MiniFTOPS Schedule:
Event #1
$20+2 6-Max
Wednesday May 6th
Event #3
$50+5 x3 Shootout
Thursday May 7th
Event #8
$24+2 Knockout 6-Max
Sunday May 10th
Event #9
$50+5 Heads Up
Sunday May 10th
Event #10
$30+3 NLHE
Sunday May 10th
Event #15
$20+2 Turbo
Tuesday May 12th
Event #24
$12+1 Knockout
Sunday May 17th
Main Event
$50+5 NLHE
Sunday May 17th
In total I'll be spending $281 on the series. There are a few other events that I could play with my schedule, but I am hesitating because of the money involved. They are the $109 6-Max "Ante from the Start" event, a $33 rebuy, and the $266 2-day event. That would nearly triple by total buy-ins and I just have no idea if I'm comfortable with that. Maybe I'll try sat'ing into a few of them actually. We shall see...
Anyways, anyone interested in swapping %s, a last longer, or buying %s, holla.
Well, I'll probably suck again this time ago, but at least it won't hurt as much. May 6th-17th is FTOPS XII and they are running a parallel series called MiniFTOPS as well, which are the same tournaments for 1/10th the buy-in.
After sorting out the NLHE events and cross-checking with my schedule, it looks like I should be able to play 8 events in the series.
My MiniFTOPS Schedule:
Event #1
$20+2 6-Max
Wednesday May 6th
Event #3
$50+5 x3 Shootout
Thursday May 7th
Event #8
$24+2 Knockout 6-Max
Sunday May 10th
Event #9
$50+5 Heads Up
Sunday May 10th
Event #10
$30+3 NLHE
Sunday May 10th
Event #15
$20+2 Turbo
Tuesday May 12th
Event #24
$12+1 Knockout
Sunday May 17th
Main Event
$50+5 NLHE
Sunday May 17th
In total I'll be spending $281 on the series. There are a few other events that I could play with my schedule, but I am hesitating because of the money involved. They are the $109 6-Max "Ante from the Start" event, a $33 rebuy, and the $266 2-day event. That would nearly triple by total buy-ins and I just have no idea if I'm comfortable with that. Maybe I'll try sat'ing into a few of them actually. We shall see...
Anyways, anyone interested in swapping %s, a last longer, or buying %s, holla.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
April Review
I put in the most amount of volume in April than I had in a long while. I played roughly 18 days of the month, with the majority coming towards the end of the month. A lot of my time was spent on the new NL5 6-max cash games. I also attempted to play the Daily Dollar everyday and had ok success. Its a crapshoot to be honest. Overall though I won money on the month, almost doubling my roll. I also played the Sunday Double Deuce every week and had fun doing that.
Below is are the 10k hands I played in the month. I think I could have played a lot better but am learning cash games or whatever and need to get better about bluffing less and playing more straight forward overall. I can't bluff guys off TPTK at NL5, lol, so need to focus on just playing purely for value. There are plenty of people at this level that are willing to stack off with all sorts of hands, and I think its optimal to just be patient and wait for the opportunity to take their money.
Anyways, May will probably feature more of the same. NL5 grinding as well as the micro-tournaments. Hopefully I'll have a big score. Oh, and I'll be playing about 10 MiniFTOPS events in May... finalizing the schedule but will post that soon. Good luck at the tables.
Below is are the 10k hands I played in the month. I think I could have played a lot better but am learning cash games or whatever and need to get better about bluffing less and playing more straight forward overall. I can't bluff guys off TPTK at NL5, lol, so need to focus on just playing purely for value. There are plenty of people at this level that are willing to stack off with all sorts of hands, and I think its optimal to just be patient and wait for the opportunity to take their money.
Anyways, May will probably feature more of the same. NL5 grinding as well as the micro-tournaments. Hopefully I'll have a big score. Oh, and I'll be playing about 10 MiniFTOPS events in May... finalizing the schedule but will post that soon. Good luck at the tables.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
FTP down, recent upswing
Meh quick post before I go to bed. FTP just went down.
Since my last post I've gone on a nice little upswing, up 7BIs over about 700 cash game hands. I also shallow cashed the Daily Dollar today for an insignificant sum.
I bought a $26 token with my Iron Man points that I guess I'll use this Sunday for some tournament to go along with my standard Double Deuce.
Tomorrow I fly to visit my old college friends who are weeks away from graduating at the University of Alabama. Flight leaves at 9:25AM tomorrow, so I should try getting some shut eye.
Will try to post again soon.
Since my last post I've gone on a nice little upswing, up 7BIs over about 700 cash game hands. I also shallow cashed the Daily Dollar today for an insignificant sum.
I bought a $26 token with my Iron Man points that I guess I'll use this Sunday for some tournament to go along with my standard Double Deuce.
Tomorrow I fly to visit my old college friends who are weeks away from graduating at the University of Alabama. Flight leaves at 9:25AM tomorrow, so I should try getting some shut eye.
Will try to post again soon.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
I'm still alive...
Sorry for the lack of updates. I'll try to get better about it now that I'm playing a little bit more often.
I'm trying my hardest to grind cash games, currently at the microstake NL5 & NL10 levels. Its quite annoying, and I'm running at some mediocre 6BB/100 over 7k+ hands. I suppose this is a decent BB/100, but its microstakes so I feel I should be killing it for a lot more. Oh well all I can do is keep playing optimally and hopefully thing'll get better. 7k hands isn't quite large of a sample size I've come to realize.
As far as tournaments go, I recently have been playing the FT Double Deuce every Sunday with decent success. Its a soft tournament but extremely large. I'm not really too concerened with bankroll management as far as this tournament is concerned. I have a good paying job and my own bussines, and can afford to put in $88/month if I need to in order to play this tournament weekly. Luckily though I've cashed more than my fair share and haven't had to redeposit in awile. But still, its good to know I can if I need to.
I am however playing the FT Daily Dollar... almost daily. Its a 10k guarantee with about 3k in overlay, which is awesome. Its not quite filling up for some reason. First generally pays about $1.6k which isn't too bad for just a buck entry fee. Its a massive donkfest however so it'll take quite some navigaion to get through it, but hopefully that'll happen one of these days.
That is all for now. Hopefully it won't be a million months before I decide to post again.
I'm trying my hardest to grind cash games, currently at the microstake NL5 & NL10 levels. Its quite annoying, and I'm running at some mediocre 6BB/100 over 7k+ hands. I suppose this is a decent BB/100, but its microstakes so I feel I should be killing it for a lot more. Oh well all I can do is keep playing optimally and hopefully thing'll get better. 7k hands isn't quite large of a sample size I've come to realize.
As far as tournaments go, I recently have been playing the FT Double Deuce every Sunday with decent success. Its a soft tournament but extremely large. I'm not really too concerened with bankroll management as far as this tournament is concerned. I have a good paying job and my own bussines, and can afford to put in $88/month if I need to in order to play this tournament weekly. Luckily though I've cashed more than my fair share and haven't had to redeposit in awile. But still, its good to know I can if I need to.
I am however playing the FT Daily Dollar... almost daily. Its a 10k guarantee with about 3k in overlay, which is awesome. Its not quite filling up for some reason. First generally pays about $1.6k which isn't too bad for just a buck entry fee. Its a massive donkfest however so it'll take quite some navigaion to get through it, but hopefully that'll happen one of these days.
That is all for now. Hopefully it won't be a million months before I decide to post again.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
SNGs!
Lately I've been generally too busy to play MTTs. Still wanting to play however, I usually just 4-6 tabled cash games. I've never been particularly good at them however, but kept at them because I had limited time and a desire to play.
A few days ago however, I finally decided to play SNGs. I always thought that I should play them as opposed to cash them because of their similarities to MTTs, but never made the jump.
While I haven't put in a decent volume by any means, the SNGs feel very good. For the most part I'm consistently 8-tabling the $11s. Full Tilt has this awesome feature that auto-registers for the same stake SNG once you bust from one, so thats helped me out a ton as I don't have to open the lobby up while playing 7 tables and register for the next one.
I've never actually grinded SNGs so have no idea what sort of goals I should set for myself in terms of games played per day and ROI%. I'm going to play as much as possible for the rest of January and hopefully have enough information by February to be able to set some sort of goals.
I suppose SNGs are primarily going to be a weekday game when I'm short on time and expect myself to prodominantly play MTTs during the weekend. I have an extended weekend coming up, with no work until Tuesday. It'll be my first opportunity to grind since starting the new year, so hopefully it goes well.
Also, if you're interested in swapping %s or doing a last longer bet for the Double Deuce tomorrow, let me know. Sadly, right now that is the only "major" tournament I play. Hopefully things get better, lol
- SH
A few days ago however, I finally decided to play SNGs. I always thought that I should play them as opposed to cash them because of their similarities to MTTs, but never made the jump.
While I haven't put in a decent volume by any means, the SNGs feel very good. For the most part I'm consistently 8-tabling the $11s. Full Tilt has this awesome feature that auto-registers for the same stake SNG once you bust from one, so thats helped me out a ton as I don't have to open the lobby up while playing 7 tables and register for the next one.
I've never actually grinded SNGs so have no idea what sort of goals I should set for myself in terms of games played per day and ROI%. I'm going to play as much as possible for the rest of January and hopefully have enough information by February to be able to set some sort of goals.
I suppose SNGs are primarily going to be a weekday game when I'm short on time and expect myself to prodominantly play MTTs during the weekend. I have an extended weekend coming up, with no work until Tuesday. It'll be my first opportunity to grind since starting the new year, so hopefully it goes well.
Also, if you're interested in swapping %s or doing a last longer bet for the Double Deuce tomorrow, let me know. Sadly, right now that is the only "major" tournament I play. Hopefully things get better, lol
- SH
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Quickie Update
Sorry for the lack of updates. Shoutout to my old roommate Beachbum1233 for ragging on my neglected blog. I remember back in college we all used to play on this website Royal Vegas (which has since joined with iPoker or some other network, idk) and play their $1000 freerolls. We'd play in our individual rooms and sweat each other tables at the same time. I think that's where my appreciation of poker came from. It was so exciting when one of us would make a final table and it was amazing to see what we'd do with the money won. Anyways, good luck at the tables Beachbum1233.
I haven't had too much time to play poker so far in 2009. As far as my goals go, I've fallen flat on my face. I'm nowhere near playing 1,000 hands/day of cash, and even when I do play I use terrible bankroll management. Luckily, I've been on the better side of variance and have managed to squeeze out a few hundred dollars of profit in these games. I better stop before I regret it though :)
The Championship Game of the Poker League I had been playing in for the past few months finally took place this past Friday. Despite being the most consistent player in terms of ITM and average finishes, I pulled out a 10th place finish out of 19 runners in the match. I was disappointed, but disappointment is a common feeling with tournament poker. The league as a whole was successful for me, and I believe I finished up somewhere in the area of $500. But really the greatest thing I won wasn't money but the fantastic players that I had the honor of playing with every week. I had absolutely an amazing time every Thursday and always looked forward to the next game. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little sad for it to be over. Hopefully it picks back up again in the future. Shoutouts to all the players there!
With the league over I'll be switching my focus over to a $20 rebuy played Tuesday nights.
Anyways, I'm sort of looking for a deep run in a tournament to spark my passion for the game and rekindle my desire to grind. Hopefully today can be the day, particularily in the Double Deuce.
- SH
I haven't had too much time to play poker so far in 2009. As far as my goals go, I've fallen flat on my face. I'm nowhere near playing 1,000 hands/day of cash, and even when I do play I use terrible bankroll management. Luckily, I've been on the better side of variance and have managed to squeeze out a few hundred dollars of profit in these games. I better stop before I regret it though :)
The Championship Game of the Poker League I had been playing in for the past few months finally took place this past Friday. Despite being the most consistent player in terms of ITM and average finishes, I pulled out a 10th place finish out of 19 runners in the match. I was disappointed, but disappointment is a common feeling with tournament poker. The league as a whole was successful for me, and I believe I finished up somewhere in the area of $500. But really the greatest thing I won wasn't money but the fantastic players that I had the honor of playing with every week. I had absolutely an amazing time every Thursday and always looked forward to the next game. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little sad for it to be over. Hopefully it picks back up again in the future. Shoutouts to all the players there!
With the league over I'll be switching my focus over to a $20 rebuy played Tuesday nights.
Anyways, I'm sort of looking for a deep run in a tournament to spark my passion for the game and rekindle my desire to grind. Hopefully today can be the day, particularily in the Double Deuce.
- SH
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