Its been a while since I last posted and even though I have no followers I should have kept this up as it could've helped me save some vital monies.
As I said in the last post, I was grinding mainly $2 6 max sngs. I've become proficient enough at them to multitable 2-3 at a time however I do notice a dip in cash rate. I make the money about 70% of the time if I play a single table at a time. However to put out a huge volumn single tabling would be too difficult.
I managed to multitable up to 4 at one stage but I have no doubt that my ROI did drop a little. I managed to grind the bankroll all the way up to $380 dollars at one stage by including a few $5 and $10 games. I played 273 $2 games and made $180 profit from that. I cashed in 7 out of 9 of my $10 games and i'm down 2-3 buy ins at $5 level.
This was all well and good until I watched the pr1nnyraiding series by Krantz from deuces cracked. I decided to give heads up nl cash a try and I wasn't playing too badly but with only 7 buy ins in what is possibly the highest variation game I ended up losing 2 buy ins to one guy after I lost AQs to 55. I had whittled down his stack to $17 then he re-raised me and i shoved with that. It was a race but heads up a pair is always ahead initially but in this case not a huge amount. After that I lost top pair to his pocket queens and that was that.
I tried to rebuild my bankroll faster but that just ended up in more tears as I went all the way down to 180. I really should have stuck with grinding but it gets incredibly repetitive after a while and games take on average 40 minutes. After a few hours you could be up by about $10 if you did well and that just wasn't enough for me. I managed to play HU cash again at 50nl level with 180 and worked it up to 290. Then another bad session saw another 2 buy in downswing. This is horrible bankroll management I know but with the time I have left to play before I may have to stop I decided I might as well try higher limits.
After that I started grinding 10NL and I've been doing pretty well at that. I've built my bankroll back to $245 at this stage. My biggest leak has been cash games. particularly HU. I've lost $500 in cash games but I'm still positive due to my sng play and also now starting to get the hang of cash games. You don't realise how big a difference the game types are until you change. I am tempted to grind again at 6 max and work on multitabling but for the moment I have a huge amount of assignments due. Thats all for now.
$2 6 max sit n gos
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
So recently I've taken quite a liking to $2 6-max sit and gos. The reason being is that you can never lose more than your buyin and $2 dollars from what is now $260 won't do much damage. I used to love sit n gos but the problem was my internet connection, sometimes it would just go and I would be blinded out and lose my entire buy in. That's why I played cash games for so long.
Recently though, my broadband has been quite reliable and I've had much more free time to play. There are so many reasons why I chose this format, firstly players at this level play too loose or too tight, they're generally weak players or bluff too much. They make all the mistakes so you don't have to do much but play solid game. I chose 6-max because many beginning players don't realise that the less players you have, the stronger your hands become. Some players play so tight you'd think they were playing full ring!
6 max suits my play alot more as I like to play position, steal blinds and assume a loose aggressive image regardless of whether I am playing that way or not. Players are even weaker heads up, Its here that I really have my advantage. Not all players in sngs understand or even know of the ICM(Independant Chip Model) concept.
I have been tracking my games online and I make the money at least 50% of the time and many times even more. However this is only out of 50-60 sngs. I will put more games in when I have the time. I'm keeping a journal of sessions just to see how much I am really making from these games. I'll have an excel sheet up by the end of the week.
I'm hoping to get to the level where I can multitable 4 of these games successfully, at the moment I can play 2 games at a time.
Recently though, my broadband has been quite reliable and I've had much more free time to play. There are so many reasons why I chose this format, firstly players at this level play too loose or too tight, they're generally weak players or bluff too much. They make all the mistakes so you don't have to do much but play solid game. I chose 6-max because many beginning players don't realise that the less players you have, the stronger your hands become. Some players play so tight you'd think they were playing full ring!
6 max suits my play alot more as I like to play position, steal blinds and assume a loose aggressive image regardless of whether I am playing that way or not. Players are even weaker heads up, Its here that I really have my advantage. Not all players in sngs understand or even know of the ICM(Independant Chip Model) concept.
I have been tracking my games online and I make the money at least 50% of the time and many times even more. However this is only out of 50-60 sngs. I will put more games in when I have the time. I'm keeping a journal of sessions just to see how much I am really making from these games. I'll have an excel sheet up by the end of the week.
I'm hoping to get to the level where I can multitable 4 of these games successfully, at the moment I can play 2 games at a time.
Good run with good play
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Hey guys, as you all know i'm participating in the take 2 promotion on fulltilt. So I have to play at least 2 tables at a time and earn one fulltilt point in the process. I have chosen to stick with 5c/10c 9-handed cash games as I find them to be more suitable for my bankroll and I am much more familiar with the lines that people take.
Today I was fortunate to actually get some premium hands such as JJ, KK, AKs and AA at some stage during play.
On one particular table I was lucky enough to be sitting beside a girl who used pre-actions. I would raise from the button and I guess she knew people made raises with all sorts of hands in position. What she didn't know was how to fight back, so she would call and then click check/fold if she didn't hit the flop. Sometimes she would call two bets and fold on the river. I extracted at least 2 dollars off her.
As everyone saw me raise in position, sometimes with decent hands and others with rags. I have a very loose image. People thought I was a loose maniac. I constantly raised in position, bullied the girl out of pots on dry flops, raised up to 4 blinds when there were limpers and no one showed much strength.
I was lucky to beat AK with my AKs. I know how rare this is but it has to happen at some stage. I also raised to 50c in early position with JJ, I got a single caller from late position. I hit a J on the flop for a set and I decide that I would underbet, I bet out only 40c into about $1.20 pot. The guy decides to re-raise me and makes it $1.50 to play. I pushed the rest of my stack in and he turned over QQ! Luck was on my side and I finished with quads against his pair.
So today I made $10 in less than half an hour. Good times. I've been buying in minimum purely because I'm just trying to get points. Also I get more action on these tables. When the average pot is about $2, it is a lot easier getting people to call your all in bets. Also by playing min, I create a totally different set of rules. Everyone has me covered, meaning there is always the possibility of doubling up. They don't have the correct odds to play connectors or other speculative hands against me. This way I can ignore possible straight draws more and refine my reads based on the strenght of their betting. I often raise 3-5 big blinds depending on how many players in the pot and my position on the table. As I only have about 9 big blinds, people know that if they want to play me, it'll most likely end up be playing for over 10 BB each time.
Today I was fortunate to actually get some premium hands such as JJ, KK, AKs and AA at some stage during play.
On one particular table I was lucky enough to be sitting beside a girl who used pre-actions. I would raise from the button and I guess she knew people made raises with all sorts of hands in position. What she didn't know was how to fight back, so she would call and then click check/fold if she didn't hit the flop. Sometimes she would call two bets and fold on the river. I extracted at least 2 dollars off her.
As everyone saw me raise in position, sometimes with decent hands and others with rags. I have a very loose image. People thought I was a loose maniac. I constantly raised in position, bullied the girl out of pots on dry flops, raised up to 4 blinds when there were limpers and no one showed much strength.
I was lucky to beat AK with my AKs. I know how rare this is but it has to happen at some stage. I also raised to 50c in early position with JJ, I got a single caller from late position. I hit a J on the flop for a set and I decide that I would underbet, I bet out only 40c into about $1.20 pot. The guy decides to re-raise me and makes it $1.50 to play. I pushed the rest of my stack in and he turned over QQ! Luck was on my side and I finished with quads against his pair.
So today I made $10 in less than half an hour. Good times. I've been buying in minimum purely because I'm just trying to get points. Also I get more action on these tables. When the average pot is about $2, it is a lot easier getting people to call your all in bets. Also by playing min, I create a totally different set of rules. Everyone has me covered, meaning there is always the possibility of doubling up. They don't have the correct odds to play connectors or other speculative hands against me. This way I can ignore possible straight draws more and refine my reads based on the strenght of their betting. I often raise 3-5 big blinds depending on how many players in the pot and my position on the table. As I only have about 9 big blinds, people know that if they want to play me, it'll most likely end up be playing for over 10 BB each time.
I'm Back
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Ok so last time I decided to give poker a break and I did. I didn't evaluate my hand histories but what I did do is return to basics. I began playing a lot more solidly. I've played a good few times since then and I've decided to give poker another chance.
The bankroll is not where it used to be. Going on tilt and playing games at higher stakes will do that. Another mistake I made was not sticking to the same games. I moved up to 10c/25c too soon. With my current bankroll at about $145 I can only really play 5/10c cash games. I've decided to concentrate on cashgames rather than play tournaments or sitngos. Constantly switching games affects my reads and knowledge of betting patterns at specific limits.
I also didn't want to stay on the computer for extended periods of time. With sitngos and tourneys you can't just leave. With the crappy internet that I have, cash games are my safest bet. Also the value of my chips never change, they are always the same. I don't have to take increasing blinds into account.
I have also made it a personal mission to earn enough fulltilt points to get something worthwhile from the fulltilt store. I've decided to enter satellites for 20 and 50 full tilt points where the winner gets 3500FTP and 2500 FTP respectively. I entered one of each today and unfortunately in got knocked out of the 50ftp one in 12th place of 54. The 20ftp satellites was worth more because it was out of 180 players. The winner got 3500points while 2nd 3rd and 4th got less than 50points. It was a long shot but I figured with 2600 points in my account already, I would have more than enough entries to be about to win it at least once.
As luck and skill would have it, I did. I managed to win the damn thing and get 3500Ftp. I now have 6000Ftp and could spend it on a teeshirt and card protector but I'm saving up for something big. I'll keep playing these satellites. I learnt alot about final table play, even if it was only for points.
Fulltilt poker are doing a take 2 promotion again. I will be using this promo to build up my bankroll. The deal is if i play 2 cash game tables at a time and earn 1 ftp for 25days of this month, i'll get $50 for free. I'm playing patiently and reading quite well so far. I'm up $15 from playing and I have to earn for just 17 more days. I actually have 2 accounts on the offer so I will be getting $100 bonus when the time comes. :)
The bankroll is not where it used to be. Going on tilt and playing games at higher stakes will do that. Another mistake I made was not sticking to the same games. I moved up to 10c/25c too soon. With my current bankroll at about $145 I can only really play 5/10c cash games. I've decided to concentrate on cashgames rather than play tournaments or sitngos. Constantly switching games affects my reads and knowledge of betting patterns at specific limits.
I also didn't want to stay on the computer for extended periods of time. With sitngos and tourneys you can't just leave. With the crappy internet that I have, cash games are my safest bet. Also the value of my chips never change, they are always the same. I don't have to take increasing blinds into account.
I have also made it a personal mission to earn enough fulltilt points to get something worthwhile from the fulltilt store. I've decided to enter satellites for 20 and 50 full tilt points where the winner gets 3500FTP and 2500 FTP respectively. I entered one of each today and unfortunately in got knocked out of the 50ftp one in 12th place of 54. The 20ftp satellites was worth more because it was out of 180 players. The winner got 3500points while 2nd 3rd and 4th got less than 50points. It was a long shot but I figured with 2600 points in my account already, I would have more than enough entries to be about to win it at least once.
As luck and skill would have it, I did. I managed to win the damn thing and get 3500Ftp. I now have 6000Ftp and could spend it on a teeshirt and card protector but I'm saving up for something big. I'll keep playing these satellites. I learnt alot about final table play, even if it was only for points.
Fulltilt poker are doing a take 2 promotion again. I will be using this promo to build up my bankroll. The deal is if i play 2 cash game tables at a time and earn 1 ftp for 25days of this month, i'll get $50 for free. I'm playing patiently and reading quite well so far. I'm up $15 from playing and I have to earn for just 17 more days. I actually have 2 accounts on the offer so I will be getting $100 bonus when the time comes. :)
A short break
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Hey guys, after that day of bad luck and mostly poor play, I had decided to review hand histories and I will post my biggest mistakes up here when I have finished. I am also taking a short break from poker as I will be undergoing end of year exams in college this month and the results will determine whether or not I get my placement next year. I'm sure that I don't have many readers as this blog has really only just started so it will not affect many of you.
When I return in early June. I will continue with the bankroll project. I realise that many readers will not take advice from a player who can't control his own play but they can certainly learn from his mistakes. As such I will not be posting much theory or strategy until I have built up the bankroll to a significant amount.
When I return in early June. I will continue with the bankroll project. I realise that many readers will not take advice from a player who can't control his own play but they can certainly learn from his mistakes. As such I will not be posting much theory or strategy until I have built up the bankroll to a significant amount.
2nd May-Mistakes are made
Friday, May 1, 2009
Ok, so this is a blog about my progression in the field of poker and honesty is an incredibly important factor. There is no point in telling you how much I made and then not tell you about the losses before it. Today was not my day but I didn't call it a day. I had a few bad swings and lost $20 on a few hands. This was fine, it is expected that I will not have winning sessions everytime I sit at a table. The problem was, I took a break and decided to play at a slightly higher stake, and not only play at a higher stake, I decided to try multitable 4 tables at a time at 10/25c NL holdem. This was not good at all, I ended up losing about 60 after being outplayed and playing poorly. It was too difficult to manage these tables, I decided to play tight and play position. However, I never hit my hands and since this was 9 handed, you can't really bluff but I did and what a mistake that was. I was bluffing dry boards with no any draws and the one high card but there was always someone with that card or a medium pocket pair.
I also lost Aces to Q10 after I raised big preflop. The flop was 10 6 Q, and I raised and he min raised me. I decided to shove all in, thinking he had Queens and he kills me with two pair. Overall I am down about $90 today. A really bad result. I will be spending the next few days reading over my hand histories and seeing what I did wrong etc. I guess I'm set back quite a bit and will move down limits somewhat. I found it difficult to leave tables and played too quickly. I can play two tables at the same time normally so I will stick with that till I rebuild my bankroll.
I also lost Aces to Q10 after I raised big preflop. The flop was 10 6 Q, and I raised and he min raised me. I decided to shove all in, thinking he had Queens and he kills me with two pair. Overall I am down about $90 today. A really bad result. I will be spending the next few days reading over my hand histories and seeing what I did wrong etc. I guess I'm set back quite a bit and will move down limits somewhat. I found it difficult to leave tables and played too quickly. I can play two tables at the same time normally so I will stick with that till I rebuild my bankroll.
30th May
Thursday, April 30, 2009
I've been playing a few games with little variance today. However, one particular hand disturbed me a little. I was playing 6 handed no limit 10/25c. I got dealt pocket kings in small blind. UTG limps in. The button raises to $1.25. I re-raise to 3.75 to isolate and build the pot. UTG calls and the button decides to shove. Unless one of them has Aces, I have the best hand preflop. This picture should explain to you what happened. 
To my utmost sorrow, he had aces. I was expecting a high pocket pair like QQ or something like AKs. This one move cost me my entire stack at the table. The 77 only had a few dollars behind him.
The question is, was this a bad call given the amount of action at the table? Were my kings strong enough for an all in against the buttons range in a 6 handed cash game? I have to say I suspected aces when he pushed all in but I guessed that it would be improbable.
To my utmost sorrow, he had aces. I was expecting a high pocket pair like QQ or something like AKs. This one move cost me my entire stack at the table. The 77 only had a few dollars behind him.The question is, was this a bad call given the amount of action at the table? Were my kings strong enough for an all in against the buttons range in a 6 handed cash game? I have to say I suspected aces when he pushed all in but I guessed that it would be improbable.
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