Bankroll is at 52.96. I hate bad beat stories so I won't post them here. Suffice to say that I was not winning flips today. I feel that my overall play was not bad although I had one spewy call down.
I will focus on the good news. I am maintaining discipline and I played this session on the 30th so I am maintaining the challenge. I will turn this around.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
technical difficulties
Well, the internet at my home is being wonky at the moment. The repair man can't come until tommorrow so the 30 day challenge faced an early obstacle. Fortunately Cafe Felix has internet, and not a lot of customers so I went out for a soup, sandwich and coffee with my grind thank you very much. Unfortunately their connection wasn't the best but I got in some hands and ran well. Current bankroll is at 64.12.
I tried to make the best of a difficult situation. I watched two videos from the "Coaching Kristy" series that Baluga Whale did. It is the holy grail of poker videos for micro/small stakes players IMO. I also read several chapters of Baluga Whale's book EZ Game.
The biggest thing that I am trying to implement into my game is opening up my preflop range so that I can play more hands against the bad players. Doing this means that I have to play much better post flop. What this means is that I am forced to become a better player. In the short term I am spewing some money but in the long run I think it is very +EV.
Baluga doesn't do what a lot of authors do and give you a starting hand chart. Instead he discusses what type of hands play well post flop. Pocket pairs, suited high cards, unsuited high cards suited connectors and unsuited connectors in that order basically. It is up to the student to determine a specific range. How dare he make me think for myself. :)
Of course I got a good idea of his pre flop range by studying the Kristy videos and watching what she was playing. What I found out is that it changes a great deal depending on who else is at your table. The more good players you are playing against, the tighter that you should play, especially when out of position. The more bad players are on the table, the wider range that you can open.
For example, if you have some tight regs to your left and a super fish in the big blind, K7 suited is potentially okay to open under the gun. The tight regs to your right will likely fold to your preceived strength while the fish will want to call and you can play a hand in position against a bad player that is suited and has high card strength. On the other hand if their is a player to your left who is likely to 3 bet your isolation raises than you need to tighten up and then make a plan to deal with him.
Its a cliche to say it perhaps, but Baluga Whale doesn't give you answers to how to play poker as much as he teaches you how to think about poker.
I tried to make the best of a difficult situation. I watched two videos from the "Coaching Kristy" series that Baluga Whale did. It is the holy grail of poker videos for micro/small stakes players IMO. I also read several chapters of Baluga Whale's book EZ Game.
The biggest thing that I am trying to implement into my game is opening up my preflop range so that I can play more hands against the bad players. Doing this means that I have to play much better post flop. What this means is that I am forced to become a better player. In the short term I am spewing some money but in the long run I think it is very +EV.
Baluga doesn't do what a lot of authors do and give you a starting hand chart. Instead he discusses what type of hands play well post flop. Pocket pairs, suited high cards, unsuited high cards suited connectors and unsuited connectors in that order basically. It is up to the student to determine a specific range. How dare he make me think for myself. :)
Of course I got a good idea of his pre flop range by studying the Kristy videos and watching what she was playing. What I found out is that it changes a great deal depending on who else is at your table. The more good players you are playing against, the tighter that you should play, especially when out of position. The more bad players are on the table, the wider range that you can open.
For example, if you have some tight regs to your left and a super fish in the big blind, K7 suited is potentially okay to open under the gun. The tight regs to your right will likely fold to your preceived strength while the fish will want to call and you can play a hand in position against a bad player that is suited and has high card strength. On the other hand if their is a player to your left who is likely to 3 bet your isolation raises than you need to tighten up and then make a plan to deal with him.
Its a cliche to say it perhaps, but Baluga Whale doesn't give you answers to how to play poker as much as he teaches you how to think about poker.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
A rough start
Bankroll is at 59.26. I feel as though I played well but I didn't hit any big hands and took a few losses. The worst hand that I played was when I was 200+ buyins deep in position against a reg. I raised KK got 3 bet and called. I do think this was better than shipping it 200 deep but I might be wrong. An Ace came on the river that also completed a flush draw. I felt that I had to fold.
Over all I maintained discipline and focus. I followed the thought process taught by Baluga whale when playing post flop.
I think one thing that may help is for me to reduce the number of tables that I am playing. Currently I am mostly playing 5 tables. I will try just playing 4 tables tommorrow. I need to make sure that I am making good decisions. Also, I think that I will insta-leave any table where I have doubled up. If I am uncomfortable playing deep than it is -EV to do so.
The plan for day 3 of the 30 day challenge is as follows: Play 4 tables maximum and sit out on any tables where I have doubled up. Maintain focus and discipline.
Over all I maintained discipline and focus. I followed the thought process taught by Baluga whale when playing post flop.
I think one thing that may help is for me to reduce the number of tables that I am playing. Currently I am mostly playing 5 tables. I will try just playing 4 tables tommorrow. I need to make sure that I am making good decisions. Also, I think that I will insta-leave any table where I have doubled up. If I am uncomfortable playing deep than it is -EV to do so.
The plan for day 3 of the 30 day challenge is as follows: Play 4 tables maximum and sit out on any tables where I have doubled up. Maintain focus and discipline.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Quick update and new goal
Long story short: I switched to 6 max NL and built a bankroll up to ~300. When Black Friday hit I cashed out the money and spent it on stupid stuff. I deposited 50 dollars on Merge and have struggled mightily. Currently my bankroll sits at 62.60 after losing 2.80 playing 4NL today.
On a positive note, this is the first day of my 30 day challenge. I have really struggled to put in consistent volume. This combined with my bad/tilty play has led to the horribly slow bankroll growth. Honestly, if it weren't for rakeback (35/% FTW) I would probably be busto right now. I have committed to playing one session of approximately 2 hours every day for 30 days. I believe that when I play my A game I am a +EV player. Therefore, after 30 days my bankroll should show substantial growth.
The overall key to this challenge will be discipline. First the discipline to put in the volume even on the days when I don't feel like it or something unexpected comes up. Second, the discipline to play the game that I have developed that has won for me in the past. No more unleashing the inner lag. No more calling down bad passive players with mediocre hands. No more focusing on short term results.
I will use this blog to track my progress. Tommorrow I will cover what metrics that I will be using to measure my performance.
On a positive note, this is the first day of my 30 day challenge. I have really struggled to put in consistent volume. This combined with my bad/tilty play has led to the horribly slow bankroll growth. Honestly, if it weren't for rakeback (35/% FTW) I would probably be busto right now. I have committed to playing one session of approximately 2 hours every day for 30 days. I believe that when I play my A game I am a +EV player. Therefore, after 30 days my bankroll should show substantial growth.
The overall key to this challenge will be discipline. First the discipline to put in the volume even on the days when I don't feel like it or something unexpected comes up. Second, the discipline to play the game that I have developed that has won for me in the past. No more unleashing the inner lag. No more calling down bad passive players with mediocre hands. No more focusing on short term results.
I will use this blog to track my progress. Tommorrow I will cover what metrics that I will be using to measure my performance.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
I really have to write more. The last few weeks have been good for my poker. My bankroll is now over 50 dollars. In another week or so I will be able to move up to the .10/.20 games. It will still be micro stakes but it is progress.
I have been focusing on three key areas to improve my game:
1. Play in position. I have been stealing blinds like an IRS agent lately. I refuse to play borderline hands in early position.
2. Improved play from the blinds. I realized that I was folding too much from the blinds. I reviewed Ed Millers book on winning small stakes hold'em, applied the knowledge and saw an instant improvement.
3. More value betting. This can't be over estimated. At the micro stakes level people are calling you down with a lot of second and third best hands. If you have a real hand bet it. Your mouse hand should be tired at the end of a session from all of the times that you have clicked the BET button.
So, untill next time...Bet your hand!
I have been focusing on three key areas to improve my game:
1. Play in position. I have been stealing blinds like an IRS agent lately. I refuse to play borderline hands in early position.
2. Improved play from the blinds. I realized that I was folding too much from the blinds. I reviewed Ed Millers book on winning small stakes hold'em, applied the knowledge and saw an instant improvement.
3. More value betting. This can't be over estimated. At the micro stakes level people are calling you down with a lot of second and third best hands. If you have a real hand bet it. Your mouse hand should be tired at the end of a session from all of the times that you have clicked the BET button.
So, untill next time...Bet your hand!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
A step in the right direction
I managed to push my bankroll up over thirty dollars last week. I now have the 300 big bet bankroll needed to move up from 2c/4c to 5c/10c limit hold'em. Its still the micros but every bit of progress helps. It feels great to have accomplished a goal. Now I am focusing on getting to 60 dollars so that I can move up again.
I played my first session at the nickle/dime level this afternoon and I was surprised at how much tighter the players were. I rarely had more than two callers and a lot of pots ended up heads up. Raises got more respect. I was able to steal a lot of blinds. Mind you, my opponents weren't particularly deceptive or anything but they did seem to have the sense to fold a lot preflop and to acknowledge that their opponent might actually be holding good cards. On the one hand its nice to play something resembling serious poker but on the other hand its not nearly as profitable as when four idiots call you down to the river with random junk.Anyways, I booked a solid winner today, nothing spectacular but it beats the alternative.
The latest cool site that I want to tell people about is www.tableratings.com. You can track any online poker player on pokerstars or fulltilt.com if you know their screen name. Its a great way to keep track of your results as well as following the big name pros.
Until next time,
Good luck on the felts
I played my first session at the nickle/dime level this afternoon and I was surprised at how much tighter the players were. I rarely had more than two callers and a lot of pots ended up heads up. Raises got more respect. I was able to steal a lot of blinds. Mind you, my opponents weren't particularly deceptive or anything but they did seem to have the sense to fold a lot preflop and to acknowledge that their opponent might actually be holding good cards. On the one hand its nice to play something resembling serious poker but on the other hand its not nearly as profitable as when four idiots call you down to the river with random junk.Anyways, I booked a solid winner today, nothing spectacular but it beats the alternative.
The latest cool site that I want to tell people about is www.tableratings.com. You can track any online poker player on pokerstars or fulltilt.com if you know their screen name. Its a great way to keep track of your results as well as following the big name pros.
Until next time,
Good luck on the felts
Sunday, March 7, 2010
My Poker Role Model
The last 3 weeks have been busy outside of poker so the blog had to suffer. Okay, to be honest, the poker suffered too. I had too many nights where I either couldn't play or I could only play a short session. This weekend though I got in two fairly long sessions (about a 1200 hands total) and I have the bankroll back in black.
Last post I promised to write about my inspiration for playing poker with ambition. Dusty Schmidt is an onliine poker legend. He is a former high level (nearly PGA) golfer as well as a business man who took up online poker early in the last decade and has made around 3 million dollars in online cash games. He has recently written a book called "Treat your Poker Like a Business" and will soon publish an autobiography. I haven't gotten his book yet but I have read numerous interviews the man has given and his approach to poker seems simple but brilliant.
First, he isn't playing for ego. He has no interest in getting on tv or trying to stare down the likes of Phil Ivey. He searches for situations where he feels he has an edge and tries to exploit them. Also, he credits a lot of his approach to simple hard work and volume. He is reknown for his long sessions and multi-tableing. He tries in every way to run his poker like he used to run his family's business. He uses discipline, hard work and a focus on the bottom line. It sounds like common sense but before you dismiss his ideas with "everyone knows that stuff" ask yourself, are you getting what you want out of poker? If not you might reconsider your approach. Also, its one thing to "know" an idea, Its another thing altogether to have the focus to apply the idea all of the time. I really think that Dusty is a perfect example of the idea of "deliberate practice" that has gotten a lot of exposure thanks to writers like Malcolm Gladwell in his book "Outliers". The basic idea is that talent isn't something that you are born with, it is a skill that you develop through years of very focused hard work on your craft. The main component of "talent" is in most cases the opportunity to pursue your passion and most importantly your willingness to do the necessary work.
I'll leave you with two links. There is a wonderful thread where Dusty takes all questions at "cardschat.com" .
Also here is Dusty's site where you can read excerpts of his book. "dustyschmidt.net".
Until next time,
Good Variance to you.
Last post I promised to write about my inspiration for playing poker with ambition. Dusty Schmidt is an onliine poker legend. He is a former high level (nearly PGA) golfer as well as a business man who took up online poker early in the last decade and has made around 3 million dollars in online cash games. He has recently written a book called "Treat your Poker Like a Business" and will soon publish an autobiography. I haven't gotten his book yet but I have read numerous interviews the man has given and his approach to poker seems simple but brilliant.
First, he isn't playing for ego. He has no interest in getting on tv or trying to stare down the likes of Phil Ivey. He searches for situations where he feels he has an edge and tries to exploit them. Also, he credits a lot of his approach to simple hard work and volume. He is reknown for his long sessions and multi-tableing. He tries in every way to run his poker like he used to run his family's business. He uses discipline, hard work and a focus on the bottom line. It sounds like common sense but before you dismiss his ideas with "everyone knows that stuff" ask yourself, are you getting what you want out of poker? If not you might reconsider your approach. Also, its one thing to "know" an idea, Its another thing altogether to have the focus to apply the idea all of the time. I really think that Dusty is a perfect example of the idea of "deliberate practice" that has gotten a lot of exposure thanks to writers like Malcolm Gladwell in his book "Outliers". The basic idea is that talent isn't something that you are born with, it is a skill that you develop through years of very focused hard work on your craft. The main component of "talent" is in most cases the opportunity to pursue your passion and most importantly your willingness to do the necessary work.
I'll leave you with two links. There is a wonderful thread where Dusty takes all questions at "cardschat.com" .
Also here is Dusty's site where you can read excerpts of his book. "dustyschmidt.net".
Until next time,
Good Variance to you.
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