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OK, I said I would give a rundown of how 2009 went for me but I'll try to do it without getting overly detailed or turning this into a brag/look-at-me post. Those of you that have known me for a while probaly know I'm fairly modest in reality and in fact I'm still not convinced I'm all that good at poker. Still, I think it;ll be good for me to review where I started from and up to where I am now. Perhaps this should have been done sooner but but better late than never.
Like most, I started by dumping a few bucks onto a poker site and playing here and there. I started with limit cash games and did fine. As with most things I start to do I wanted to "do it right" and learn how to play properly. I found a few sites on the internet and even joined a teaching site called Cardrunners for a couple months. There I learned the basics of 6-max No-Limit cash games and did well playing those also, though I still only played a low volume.
I had seen a couple videos on playing SNGs on Cardrunners and I realized I might like that game more than cash. Eventually I decided to start playing them on Absolute Poker and started at the very bottom with the .60 games. I did very well in them, more likely because the competition sucked more than it was my own skill... I probably was the only guy that a least had a clue.
Naturally I wanted to improve and be able to play the bigger games... like the $5 ones. This is where I contacted Jennifear and had my first lesson with her. Four hours later I realized there was a lot more to this poker than I had ever realized. From this point on is where I began to really take the game more seriously. Lucklily for me I found a great friend in Jen, a friendship that has gone beyond just the poker aspect of things. I'm happy it ended up that way too.
I took another formal lesson with Jen in July of 2008 and this became the "Aha!" moment of my poker career. We covered a lot of the "games beyond the cards" stuff at this point and it just made a lot of things that we had talked about fall into place. There is still a ton of stuff that I can see I still don't fully understand but it was at this point my eyes were really open up wide about how the game works.
In September of 2008 Jen showed me the cashout plan that I've been using and which I've outlined in my plan. The structure of it was a bit looser than it is now but it still gave me an idea of where I was, where I could go, and better yet gave me an idea of how much I could cash out based strictly on how much I played. I never played above my head before, in fact the plan actually helped me understand more where my top-end game actually was (I tend to play too low sometimes... which is better than too high, but whatever).
My bankroll had climbed to around $750 from the $100 I started with at this point. As I played more and used the plan I had I managed to not only cash out some of my winnings but grew the roll to just short of $1300 by the end of 2008. A good bit of this was the fact I really played more games than I ever had previously, but I had learned a lot about the game as well.
That brings us to now. Early 2009 was a struggle to be honest, I had doubts as to what I was doing and really had to wonder if I was good at all. Despite that I kept at it and still showed small profits for both January and February and even had won my first MTT during this time. March thru July proved to me that I had some idea of what I was doing and even managed a few larger scores, moving my bankroll to around $3000 with help from a $600 cash in one of the Daily Doubles on FTP at the end of May. Because of the bigger bankroll I was now playing bigger buy-in games than ever before.
In early August I won the Bodog $16.50 turbo for the first time which pushed the BR over $4000. At this time things went south for a while and showed me for the first time that the bigger games truly can produce bigger swings. When you are playing $1 SNGs, a loss of $5 in a day deoesn't seem bad. However, when you sit down and play $500 worth of tournaments overa weekend and end up down most of that it can get downright sickening the first time you suffer throught it.
Come November I saw my roll drop to under $2800 again. Fortuneately I was still learning what I could from the game and keeping to my "MDFR" mantra. I was constantly checking my play with Jen, Stu, and others to be sure I wasn't the cause of my own demise. Things started to turn around for me at this point and during Thanksgiving weekend I had a huge swing in my favor, winning three different MTTs and ended up profiting close to $2000 in those couple days. Calling this a "confidence builder" might be an understatement but it sure did help knowing that by playing your best all the time, everytime, eventually your luck will catch up with your skill... at least that's what I hope it is.
December started rough but I stuck to it as always and found another big MTT win (as mentioned in my blog already). Which brings us to now, where I stand at a bankroll for a little over $5800. To be honest, I thought getting to about $3000 would have been terrific. Nearly doubling that was far above what I could wrap my mind around at this time last year. In 2008 I had a profit of around $1500, it was $6100 this year, a good chunk of that came in one weekend! Playing tournaments is like that, at least now that I've been through both the ups and downs of it I'll be able to handle them when they come again... and they will.
So here I am, looking to up the ante again by increasing my volume even more than I have in the past. The swings will be bigger but I understand that now. I'll be able to handle whatever comes my way because I have a plan in place. I'm excited about the new year and the challenges it will bring. Let's just hope I can meet those challenges.
Wish me luck! The fun starts in about seven hours. Weeeeeee!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
By the way...
I went into my options and I think I have it set up where anyone can leave a comment, it might have been set to where you had to have an account to do so previously. If you have something to say (good, bad, indifferent, silly, whatever) feel free to do so.
I always listen to advice and I'm always open to answering questions of all types. If you would like to know something, just ask me.
I always listen to advice and I'm always open to answering questions of all types. If you would like to know something, just ask me.
Change in The Plan
I've updated my Plan, you can see what I've changed in the first post on this blog. I've decided to make the multi-table SNGs my main grind as opposed to the SNGs. As a few suggested to me, when it comes down to what matters the most is dollars per hour of profit, not so much how much I can cashout in a period of time.
With that in mind I'll be concentrating much more on the 45-man, 180-man, and "larger field" games. This also means I'll probably be trying to play more MTTs on Sundays since I do have more time than on a weekday night. This change will let me play a few smaller scheduled MTTs during the week like the Bodog 16.50T at 7:30. That's usually no larger than a 180-man SNG so I can play that easily.
You will notice I removed the cashout expectation section in the plan. I figured that section was really pointless, especially with the new structure. Some things just can't be plotted out from point to point. The main goal is to play to my planned volume and play it as best I can. From there we're gonna let the chips fall where they may. This strategy has worked for me up until now... why change it?
In the end, I guess I'm really only changing two things. First, I've decided to commit more of my time to poker and I've merely managed my available time to try and maximize my effort. This blog is the second. I'm putting myself out there for everyone to see with the idea of adding more accountability. This is for my own benefit of course. I hope you enjoy what I write but as most humans people tend to try a little harder to do what they say they are going to do when you tell the world what you are going to do... I'm guessing I'm no different.
Those two changes have me pretty excited. I think it'll be a lot of fun playing those games and I've also enjoyed writing this blog... maybe I'm a bit more outgoing than I thought. Well, behind a keyboard maybe. All I know is I can sure ramble on in this thing.
OK, good enough for now. Tonight I'll let everyone know how 2009 went, mostly so I have a place to put the info as my own data backup in the event my stuff goes kapooie or something. Just a warning, I sometimes go overboard with the stats and info so it might be a boring/tedious read. I'll try to keep it simple.
With that in mind I'll be concentrating much more on the 45-man, 180-man, and "larger field" games. This also means I'll probably be trying to play more MTTs on Sundays since I do have more time than on a weekday night. This change will let me play a few smaller scheduled MTTs during the week like the Bodog 16.50T at 7:30. That's usually no larger than a 180-man SNG so I can play that easily.
You will notice I removed the cashout expectation section in the plan. I figured that section was really pointless, especially with the new structure. Some things just can't be plotted out from point to point. The main goal is to play to my planned volume and play it as best I can. From there we're gonna let the chips fall where they may. This strategy has worked for me up until now... why change it?
In the end, I guess I'm really only changing two things. First, I've decided to commit more of my time to poker and I've merely managed my available time to try and maximize my effort. This blog is the second. I'm putting myself out there for everyone to see with the idea of adding more accountability. This is for my own benefit of course. I hope you enjoy what I write but as most humans people tend to try a little harder to do what they say they are going to do when you tell the world what you are going to do... I'm guessing I'm no different.
Those two changes have me pretty excited. I think it'll be a lot of fun playing those games and I've also enjoyed writing this blog... maybe I'm a bit more outgoing than I thought. Well, behind a keyboard maybe. All I know is I can sure ramble on in this thing.
OK, good enough for now. Tonight I'll let everyone know how 2009 went, mostly so I have a place to put the info as my own data backup in the event my stuff goes kapooie or something. Just a warning, I sometimes go overboard with the stats and info so it might be a boring/tedious read. I'll try to keep it simple.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Winding Down
Today might be the last day I'll play for 2009 as I've come to a good stopping point in regards to any bonuses I've cleared and such. I wrapped up my status on UB today and cleared a bonus along the way. The games didn't go quite as well, I was doing fine for most of the day but took two serious beats in my last SNG and ended up down $20 for the set. Played 14 games, four seconds and two thirds and went zero for my last four, which hurt. Played really well, dominated all the bubbles with my aggressive play... but I don't win showdowns I guess.
Decided to throw in a few HUSTs on FTP since I was really close to clearing another $10 of a bonus there and it went well. Was up $18.25 (7-4) in the $7.25 games and even won a $14.50 that I accidently entered for $13.50 more profit, go me! For the day that brought me to $11.75 to the good, not including the bonuses. I'll take it.
If I play at all it might be some stuff on Stars, maybe some of the multi-table SNGs that I've talked about making my main grind in 2010. In fact, I've pretty much decided that is the way I'm gonna go. I may take a little time to redo my 2010 Poker Plan with that change, but it really doesn't matter. The only thing that does matter is that I get in the volume and do the best I can. If I can do that everything else falls into place. I'm really looking forward to it!
All I need to do is tie up the loose ends for 2009. I was able to finish transfering all my 2009 data from Poker Tracker 2 into PT3 so the entire year is in one place now. I'm glad I did, I found a couple data entry boo-boos along the way. I'll go ahead and request a payout with my rakeback site, claim any points-for-cash that I can on UB and Bodog, and then go ahead and run all the numbers and see how 2009 fared for me. I'll make my final cashout for the year and start nice and fresh on Friday the 1st of January. I'll give a nice rundown of all that for my final entry for the year.
Until then, its off to do something else. Probably the XBox. Who knows. :)
Decided to throw in a few HUSTs on FTP since I was really close to clearing another $10 of a bonus there and it went well. Was up $18.25 (7-4) in the $7.25 games and even won a $14.50 that I accidently entered for $13.50 more profit, go me! For the day that brought me to $11.75 to the good, not including the bonuses. I'll take it.
If I play at all it might be some stuff on Stars, maybe some of the multi-table SNGs that I've talked about making my main grind in 2010. In fact, I've pretty much decided that is the way I'm gonna go. I may take a little time to redo my 2010 Poker Plan with that change, but it really doesn't matter. The only thing that does matter is that I get in the volume and do the best I can. If I can do that everything else falls into place. I'm really looking forward to it!
All I need to do is tie up the loose ends for 2009. I was able to finish transfering all my 2009 data from Poker Tracker 2 into PT3 so the entire year is in one place now. I'm glad I did, I found a couple data entry boo-boos along the way. I'll go ahead and request a payout with my rakeback site, claim any points-for-cash that I can on UB and Bodog, and then go ahead and run all the numbers and see how 2009 fared for me. I'll make my final cashout for the year and start nice and fresh on Friday the 1st of January. I'll give a nice rundown of all that for my final entry for the year.
Until then, its off to do something else. Probably the XBox. Who knows. :)
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Tuesday afternooon SNGs
Took advantage of the "Power Hour" on UB for the double points and played another 10-game set of $22T SNGs. At first a saw a couple regulars but toward the end they seemed to go away... either that or I was lucky enough to miss their games. I'd rather play people who don't have an idea of what they are doing.
Was a solid session, picked up three wins, a second, and a third for $140 to the good. Need another set of ten to keep my status, I'll likely do that tomorrow afternoon. Looks like I might just have a shot at the monthly TLB top 100 and qualifying for the freeroll again... we'll see. I had a bad stretch of games a couple weeks ago that might have put a hole in my chances. If things look close I'll throw another set of games on Thursday also.
I hear NHL 10 calling me again... seeya. :)
Was a solid session, picked up three wins, a second, and a third for $140 to the good. Need another set of ten to keep my status, I'll likely do that tomorrow afternoon. Looks like I might just have a shot at the monthly TLB top 100 and qualifying for the freeroll again... we'll see. I had a bad stretch of games a couple weeks ago that might have put a hole in my chances. If things look close I'll throw another set of games on Thursday also.
I hear NHL 10 calling me again... seeya. :)
Tuesday AM Report
Yay! Finally a winning session in the HUSTs! Was up $20.50 (17-13) to finally break the losing streak. This also secures Bronze level of Iron Man so I don't have to play them for a couple days if I choose.
I should go to bed but I'm watching my son play Modern Warfare 2 and having a blast... I played a little with him earlier and I just might join him. I really should go to bed however...
I should go to bed but I'm watching my son play Modern Warfare 2 and having a blast... I played a little with him earlier and I just might join him. I really should go to bed however...
Monday, December 28, 2009
Monday HUSTs and SNGs
Took advantage of FTP's 3x Happy Hour to play my HUSTs, lost $6.50 (13-13). I'll beat that rake eventually. I'd complain about all the times I lost with the best hand going in but after yesterday's results I'm not gonna push it.
Fired up UB to play some SNGs and got in 10 of them this evening. One win, two seconds and two thirds made for a $50 profit for the set. Not earth-shattering but a profit is always nice to see. Throw in the Midnight Madness MTT from last night (that was officially on Monday) and we're up $32.50 for the day. Yippee!
Back to the XBox for a bit, then I might see if I can catch up with Jen and watch her play a little, and maybe find a few random games to play myself.
Good luck to everyone else that might be playing... poker or otherwise. :)
Fired up UB to play some SNGs and got in 10 of them this evening. One win, two seconds and two thirds made for a $50 profit for the set. Not earth-shattering but a profit is always nice to see. Throw in the Midnight Madness MTT from last night (that was officially on Monday) and we're up $32.50 for the day. Yippee!
Back to the XBox for a bit, then I might see if I can catch up with Jen and watch her play a little, and maybe find a few random games to play myself.
Good luck to everyone else that might be playing... poker or otherwise. :)
A Major Sunday
Getting to play the "Majors" isn't something I get to do often so when I see a chance to do so I really look forward to it. Today was one of those days. By "major" I'm not talking the Sunday Million, rather the Quarter Million on Stars, the Double Deuce on FTP, The Dime on Cereus, and the $5000 GTD on Bodog. Those smaller buy-in games that still attract large fields on a Sunday afternoon... well, large relative to their respective host site.
As has been chronicled previously I haven't exactly set the world on fire with results lately. Today I'm happy to report that things can change pretty quickly when it comes to the pokahs. Again, I set out to get in a lot of volume and I succeeded (despite FTP's 2-hour server crash) and played 36 games on Sunday for about $485 worth of buy-ins. Over the weekend that made nearly $1000 in buyins....that's not a bad two-day total!
Oh, results you ask? I'm getting there. I only cashed one major, my first career cash in one of those monsters, a min-cash of around $13 in the Quarter Million. I had 8 other cashes, most of which in the $20-$50 range (one being a 3rd in a small Bodog jaunt). As is the case with MTTs its the big scores that propel you.
The first was a win in the $16.50 turbo on Bodog, good for $648. I was left for dead a few times in this thing. I was down to 1200 at 200/400 and 2200 at 300/600 but they forgot to kill me. At least twice the BB elected to fold getting big odds to take me out... thanks friends! The final table looked to be a repeat of the same. I came into it in decent shape but a cold deck started to make it look like I was merely trying to creep up the cash ladder. As it was, I someone got heads-up, but at about an 8:1 chip disadvantage. My opponent was horrible however and with a few decent cards and a break on the last hand I stormed back to take the tournament. This is the third time I've won the 7:30pm version of this game and to be honest I'm not sure how I got away with it.
The second big score was in the $11 bounty on UB that runs at 8pm each night, I think it carries a $5000 guarantee. I tripled up fairly early in the first hour and hung around 5500 chips through the second break. I took a hit that brough me down to about 2000 and it looked as if I'd crash and burn before the bubble but I somehow won two hands in a row and got back to 10K in chips with a couple bounties thrown in. I honestly can't tell you how since the Bodog win was going on at the same time and had more of my post-flop attention.
A huge hand in front of the bubble got me to near 30K in chips as I shoved a flop with 15 outs and fold equity (well, he called so did I really have it?) and hit to win. From there I was selectively aggressive, caught a couple decent breaks, and got paid off on my big hands to get 3-handed. At that point I lost a race (AQd<66) and ended up in 3rd for $626 and change, plus 7 bounties worth a total of $14 more. Not bad for a 6-hour tournament!
All in all, I ended up with a profit for a touch over $1000 for Sunday, more than making up for the previous week of losses. This is why I'm so glad that I've learned that making decisions is all you can really control. I played no better and no worse on Saturday than I did on Sunday and yet the results were completely different. This is one reason why poker is such a unique game.
Anyhow, looks like I'll wait until later this afternoon to get my HUSTs in. I'm bound to start killing people in those things soon. I realize by a previous post it looked like I was considering dumping those, but I'm not. The statement was more of an inside joke to myself... I gotta remember that a sarcastic tone doesn't come across in the written word very well. :)
This evening I might fire up a session of SNGs on UB since I still need a bunch of points to keep my status. I have 4 days to do it so I'll need to play at least two of them to accomplish that goal, depending on how much free time (read: bored) I end up with this week. As for now.... I'm gonna go play some hockey on my XBox. Weeee!
As has been chronicled previously I haven't exactly set the world on fire with results lately. Today I'm happy to report that things can change pretty quickly when it comes to the pokahs. Again, I set out to get in a lot of volume and I succeeded (despite FTP's 2-hour server crash) and played 36 games on Sunday for about $485 worth of buy-ins. Over the weekend that made nearly $1000 in buyins....that's not a bad two-day total!
Oh, results you ask? I'm getting there. I only cashed one major, my first career cash in one of those monsters, a min-cash of around $13 in the Quarter Million. I had 8 other cashes, most of which in the $20-$50 range (one being a 3rd in a small Bodog jaunt). As is the case with MTTs its the big scores that propel you.
The first was a win in the $16.50 turbo on Bodog, good for $648. I was left for dead a few times in this thing. I was down to 1200 at 200/400 and 2200 at 300/600 but they forgot to kill me. At least twice the BB elected to fold getting big odds to take me out... thanks friends! The final table looked to be a repeat of the same. I came into it in decent shape but a cold deck started to make it look like I was merely trying to creep up the cash ladder. As it was, I someone got heads-up, but at about an 8:1 chip disadvantage. My opponent was horrible however and with a few decent cards and a break on the last hand I stormed back to take the tournament. This is the third time I've won the 7:30pm version of this game and to be honest I'm not sure how I got away with it.
The second big score was in the $11 bounty on UB that runs at 8pm each night, I think it carries a $5000 guarantee. I tripled up fairly early in the first hour and hung around 5500 chips through the second break. I took a hit that brough me down to about 2000 and it looked as if I'd crash and burn before the bubble but I somehow won two hands in a row and got back to 10K in chips with a couple bounties thrown in. I honestly can't tell you how since the Bodog win was going on at the same time and had more of my post-flop attention.
A huge hand in front of the bubble got me to near 30K in chips as I shoved a flop with 15 outs and fold equity (well, he called so did I really have it?) and hit to win. From there I was selectively aggressive, caught a couple decent breaks, and got paid off on my big hands to get 3-handed. At that point I lost a race (AQd<66) and ended up in 3rd for $626 and change, plus 7 bounties worth a total of $14 more. Not bad for a 6-hour tournament!
All in all, I ended up with a profit for a touch over $1000 for Sunday, more than making up for the previous week of losses. This is why I'm so glad that I've learned that making decisions is all you can really control. I played no better and no worse on Saturday than I did on Sunday and yet the results were completely different. This is one reason why poker is such a unique game.
Anyhow, looks like I'll wait until later this afternoon to get my HUSTs in. I'm bound to start killing people in those things soon. I realize by a previous post it looked like I was considering dumping those, but I'm not. The statement was more of an inside joke to myself... I gotta remember that a sarcastic tone doesn't come across in the written word very well. :)
This evening I might fire up a session of SNGs on UB since I still need a bunch of points to keep my status. I have 4 days to do it so I'll need to play at least two of them to accomplish that goal, depending on how much free time (read: bored) I end up with this week. As for now.... I'm gonna go play some hockey on my XBox. Weeee!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Saturday MTTs
Played 32 games for a total of just over $500 worth of BIs but didn't run very well and took a $389 loss for the session. Had quite a number of heartbreaks, including a few aces getting cracked when all-in pre flop. Ah, so it goes for the MTT grinder, LOL. I got deep in a 7.50 turbo on Stars and took 3rd out of 51 in a Bodog 13 turbo for about $60... that was where AA lost to Q9 preflop 3-handed and may have cost me a win. Maybe next time!
Had fun with Jen, Stu and others railing each other throughtout the night, that kept me sane as usual. As long as I play well it really doesn't bother me but its nice to have support just in case.
Well, I'm firing up some more today, in fact I took 5th in a $11 super-tubo on Bodog for about $43 earlier. I'm gonna play stuff like the Double Deuce, Stars Quarter Million, etc and see what happens. Wish me luck!
Had fun with Jen, Stu and others railing each other throughtout the night, that kept me sane as usual. As long as I play well it really doesn't bother me but its nice to have support just in case.
Well, I'm firing up some more today, in fact I took 5th in a $11 super-tubo on Bodog for about $43 earlier. I'm gonna play stuff like the Double Deuce, Stars Quarter Million, etc and see what happens. Wish me luck!
12/26 HUSTs Report
Almost posted a win, went 16-15 for a loss of 0.75 this time.
Played a bunch of MTTs today/tonight (still in a couple actually) and while I don't have the numbers I know that I've been killed. Played very well however so I'm happy. Hopefully something good happens out of the two I'm still in, we'll fight until the end.
Played a bunch of MTTs today/tonight (still in a couple actually) and while I don't have the numbers I know that I've been killed. Played very well however so I'm happy. Hopefully something good happens out of the two I'm still in, we'll fight until the end.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Christmas is here
I hope everyone has a great Christmas Day.
So far I have not, poker-wise. Got in my HUSTs early and lost another $63.50 (11-19). This better turn around fast since I'll need to play 14.50s soon. Getting tired of shoving AX and finding AX with a better kicker. Not that it matters since when I do have the better kicker, they hit. :)
I know not to worry as its only been a few days... it just feels longer. Not sure if I'll be playing any poker today anyhow. I know we'll be going to see "Sherlock Holmes" this morning and then I'll be wasting time playing my new XBox game (NHL 10). Saturday and Sunday is going to be the poker days... I can't wait.
So far I have not, poker-wise. Got in my HUSTs early and lost another $63.50 (11-19). This better turn around fast since I'll need to play 14.50s soon. Getting tired of shoving AX and finding AX with a better kicker. Not that it matters since when I do have the better kicker, they hit. :)
I know not to worry as its only been a few days... it just feels longer. Not sure if I'll be playing any poker today anyhow. I know we'll be going to see "Sherlock Holmes" this morning and then I'll be wasting time playing my new XBox game (NHL 10). Saturday and Sunday is going to be the poker days... I can't wait.
12/24 AM Report
I'm starting to rethink my plan here. I don't run well enough to play HU games.
Went 13-18 for a loss of $42.75 this morning, extending the losing streak. I realize I can't ask for much as this is a push/fold game, but I've logged well over 1000 of these things now and I'd have thought I'd be doing better than I am. Then again, 1000 probably isn't a very big sample when it comes to these kind of games so I'll just ride it out and wait for the run-good I'm seemingly always due.
Going into this I knew that this is more of a rakeback generating game... I'm not planning on getting rich on them. However, considering the ability that most of my opponents have shown, I would think I should be turning a profit at least. Still, its nothing a few good sessions can't turn around... we'll be patient.
Went 13-18 for a loss of $42.75 this morning, extending the losing streak. I realize I can't ask for much as this is a push/fold game, but I've logged well over 1000 of these things now and I'd have thought I'd be doing better than I am. Then again, 1000 probably isn't a very big sample when it comes to these kind of games so I'll just ride it out and wait for the run-good I'm seemingly always due.
Going into this I knew that this is more of a rakeback generating game... I'm not planning on getting rich on them. However, considering the ability that most of my opponents have shown, I would think I should be turning a profit at least. Still, its nothing a few good sessions can't turn around... we'll be patient.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
12/23 AM Report
Took a hit of $21.50 (14-16) this morning with my HUSTs, just the usual bout of losing all the flips. I won a few times when I was behind but obviously not as much as the other guys have been lately.
Ends up that on the two hands I asked Jen about last night, one turned out to be a boo-boo. While I knew I had to tighten my range a little bit, I went too far. If I can find the hand history I'll post it, but lets just say that A5s is stronger than it looks when you get to open push with an 11BB effective stack, even through 4 loose-callers. I actually should have known better, I had a feeling I over-analyzed that one.
Still, 6-tabling and getting in 15 games in 150 minutes while making just one mistake? Not a bad showing decision-wise, I'll take it... maybe next time the cards will go more my way.
Ends up that on the two hands I asked Jen about last night, one turned out to be a boo-boo. While I knew I had to tighten my range a little bit, I went too far. If I can find the hand history I'll post it, but lets just say that A5s is stronger than it looks when you get to open push with an 11BB effective stack, even through 4 loose-callers. I actually should have known better, I had a feeling I over-analyzed that one.
Still, 6-tabling and getting in 15 games in 150 minutes while making just one mistake? Not a bad showing decision-wise, I'll take it... maybe next time the cards will go more my way.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
12/22 PM Report
I sat down for my "trial run" of 15 SNGs tonight so I can get a feel for it. All in all I thought it went very well logistic-wise. I got in all 15 games in about 2.5 hours, quite a bit under the 3-3.5 hours I guessed it would. Of course, I ran like shit in the original 6 games I started so that might have had a little to do with the shorter time. Despite that, games filled quicker than I thought, especially since I started almost 2 hours earlier than I usually would (5:30pm).
For the record, I ended up down $150 as all I could muster was a single win, a single 2nd, and a single 3rd. Had three bubbles (4th) and lost a ton of flips. I can look up how bad I ran with my PokerTracker, but that is pointless. What mattered is I did what I had to, when I had to. I checked about 10 hands that I even had the slightest doubts on and only had two that I felt I needed help with, so I sent an email to Jen on those. I may put one or both on here for some discussion in case anyone cares.
Still, now that I've got that under my belt I feel a lot better about how this is going to work out... getting those games in shouldn't be any problem, even with an early start. I just might be able to get to sleep at a "normal" time after all.
For the record, I ended up down $150 as all I could muster was a single win, a single 2nd, and a single 3rd. Had three bubbles (4th) and lost a ton of flips. I can look up how bad I ran with my PokerTracker, but that is pointless. What mattered is I did what I had to, when I had to. I checked about 10 hands that I even had the slightest doubts on and only had two that I felt I needed help with, so I sent an email to Jen on those. I may put one or both on here for some discussion in case anyone cares.
Still, now that I've got that under my belt I feel a lot better about how this is going to work out... getting those games in shouldn't be any problem, even with an early start. I just might be able to get to sleep at a "normal" time after all.
My December "Plan"
Is that I really don't have one.
Since I have no real schedule due to the holiday season and the fact that I'll be on vacation for a week means I'm pretty free to do what I'd like, poker or not. I haven't really hit the online felt all that much lately and I'm kinda itching to do so. With that in mind this is what I'd like to do.
First, I need to get some SNGs in on UB. I need about 50 of them to hit Contender status. I figure 3 or 4 sessions oughta do it.
Second, I want to play some of the "Micro Majors" on Sunday. Things like the Stars Quarter Million, The Dime (UB), The Double Deuce (FTP) and Bodog and Cake has something similar in that $11-$22 range. Normally I don't try to play these since with having to work on Mondays can make it hard on my time. This week I won't have that problem so I can make it a big MTT day instead... I'll simply sleep in this Monday.
Third, I would like to find some time to try some 45-man games on Stars again. I've yet to hit a 3-digit score on Stars and I really would like to get that out of the way before 2010. If it doesn't happen, so be it, but I still want to try my hand at the 45-man SNGs again. I feel I'm much better prepared for them now.
Lastly, I just want to feel "ready" for the real Plan. I don't care how I do it. If I feel I want to play a lot leading up to 1/1/10 then I will. If I think that wasting time playing Modern Warfare 2 on the XBox with my son is better for me then I'll do that instead. Most likely it'll be a combination of the two mixed in with a few other things. As long as I continue to play poker to the best of my ability its all I can ask for... I don't care how I do it.
Since I have no real schedule due to the holiday season and the fact that I'll be on vacation for a week means I'm pretty free to do what I'd like, poker or not. I haven't really hit the online felt all that much lately and I'm kinda itching to do so. With that in mind this is what I'd like to do.
First, I need to get some SNGs in on UB. I need about 50 of them to hit Contender status. I figure 3 or 4 sessions oughta do it.
Second, I want to play some of the "Micro Majors" on Sunday. Things like the Stars Quarter Million, The Dime (UB), The Double Deuce (FTP) and Bodog and Cake has something similar in that $11-$22 range. Normally I don't try to play these since with having to work on Mondays can make it hard on my time. This week I won't have that problem so I can make it a big MTT day instead... I'll simply sleep in this Monday.
Third, I would like to find some time to try some 45-man games on Stars again. I've yet to hit a 3-digit score on Stars and I really would like to get that out of the way before 2010. If it doesn't happen, so be it, but I still want to try my hand at the 45-man SNGs again. I feel I'm much better prepared for them now.
Lastly, I just want to feel "ready" for the real Plan. I don't care how I do it. If I feel I want to play a lot leading up to 1/1/10 then I will. If I think that wasting time playing Modern Warfare 2 on the XBox with my son is better for me then I'll do that instead. Most likely it'll be a combination of the two mixed in with a few other things. As long as I continue to play poker to the best of my ability its all I can ask for... I don't care how I do it.
12/22 AM Report
Better this morning, 15-15 but that it still only good for a loss of $7.50 (damn rake). The very first game I played I had a huge suckout vs an overpair and thought that this might be my day... not quite. At least the loss was minimal.
Only a few more days of work and I'll be off for the holiday until January 4th. Should be able to get all my ducks in a row for the big Plan come the 1st of the year. I still need to be sure I earn the points I need on UB to at least hold Contender status like I have been, a few solid SNG sessions will fix that. In fact, I think tonight and tomorrow night will be Plan-like runs, sans the $33 games.
We'll see how it goes. For now, its off to work (hmmm, after I shave and brush my teeth).
Only a few more days of work and I'll be off for the holiday until January 4th. Should be able to get all my ducks in a row for the big Plan come the 1st of the year. I still need to be sure I earn the points I need on UB to at least hold Contender status like I have been, a few solid SNG sessions will fix that. In fact, I think tonight and tomorrow night will be Plan-like runs, sans the $33 games.
We'll see how it goes. For now, its off to work (hmmm, after I shave and brush my teeth).
Monday, December 21, 2009
12/21 AM HUSTs
Sat down this morning before work to play my usual 30-game set of 7.25 HUSTs and wish I hadn't. :)
I got killed. 10 wins, 20 losses. Played very well as far as I can tell. I know I didn't have any misclick mistakes and I never called too light. I got in good, just forgot to win.
I was up a decent ROI (for these) in my previous 300 or so games, but just one session like this erased all that. This is a messy game sometimes.
I got killed. 10 wins, 20 losses. Played very well as far as I can tell. I know I didn't have any misclick mistakes and I never called too light. I got in good, just forgot to win.
I was up a decent ROI (for these) in my previous 300 or so games, but just one session like this erased all that. This is a messy game sometimes.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Rycky's Poker Plan for 2010
Edit: 12/31/09
Beginning January 1st, I will attempt to increase my playing time and volume in a concerted effort to supplement my income through poker in a fashion much like a professional player would accomplish. The following are the rules by which I intend to impliment in order to achieve this objective.
Bankroll Management: Cashout and Buyin Guidelines
HUSTs: 1% of buy-ins, 40 Buyins
3-10 players : 3%, 65
11-20 players: 4%, 90
21-50 players: 5%, 120
51-99 players: 6%, 150
100+ players : 8%, 200 (150 without ceiling)
Ceiling Cashouts: Establish a Bankroll Cap of $11000 with a soft ceiling. When the bankroll cap is exceeded, pay out 80% of the excess with the cashout and use the remaining 20% for continued bankroll growth by adding this amount to the former cap and establishing a new cap. All normal volume cashouts are paid before any ceiling cashouts can be earned and a new cap established.
Monthly Volume Goals
A. Iron Man status on Full Tilt: Need $30 of rake played for a minimum of 25 days each month. Goal will be reached by mainly playing heads-up super turbo SNGs (HUSTs).
B. Contender status on Ultimate Bet: Need $150 of rake played each month. Goal will be reached by mainly playing turbo 9-man SNGs.
C. Silver Star on Stars: Need at least $137 of rake played each month. Goal will be reached by playing multi-table SNGs and MTTs. These games will be where the majority of our monthly volume comes from.
Weekly Schedule Plan
A. Play HUSTs on Full Tilt each morning during the Early Morning Happy Hour (6am-8am) until required daily volume is reached. Generally will be done before going to work on weekdays in order to take advantage of the double FTP credit. Estimated monthly volume: 750 games of $29 (or 1500 games of $14.50) HUSTs.
B. Play SNGs on Ultimate Bet about one night per week or when most convenient. Use Monday as the default day since the rakeback freeroll is usually on this day. Play for approximately 3 hours each session. Estimated monthly volume: 60 games of $22T SNGs.
C. Play MTTs and multi-table SNGs on any site (with heavy volume on Stars) as a default session, normally Tuesdays and Thursday thru Sunday, with Saturday used as the default MTT day. Estimated monthly volume: 360 games of various buy-ins.
D. Allowances in the schedule will need to be made for certain events like the monthly Races and Rolls freerolls on Ultimate Bet and Cake, the Iron Man freeroll on Full Tilt, any TLB freerolls we may qualify for, and also for any special series events like mFTOPS, WCOOP and UBOC.
Estimated time played is approximately 30 hours per week. Considering that the average time for 2009 was close to 20-25 hours per week, this should not be very difficult. In fact, this plan should result in a better use of my time.
Methods and Tactics needed to obtain goals
HUSTs: Play in sets of two to four tables until volume goal is reached. Depending on buy-in level this should take from 20-30 minutes.
SNGs: Play six-tables at the $22 level in each set played. Keep the majority of games at the $22 level in an effort to qualify for weekly and monthly Diamond TLBs. A rake-played goal of $30 per session is encouraged.
MTTs: Play as many of the games targeted below as possible.
15:00 Bodog 6.60T
15:00 Stars 5.50T
15:45 FTP 22T
16:30 Carbon 16.50B
16:50 FTP 5.50T
17:00 Stars 7.50T
17:00 UB 16.50T
17:15 FTP 33T
17:40 Stars 16.50T
17:45 Bodog 35T
18:15 Bodog 11UT
18:20 UB 11T
18:50 UB 11T
19:00 Cake 39T
19:30 Bodog 16.50T
19:35 FTP 2.20RT
20:00 UB 11B
20:40 Stars 8.80T
21:00 FTP 12DDA
21:02 FTP 12DDB
21:10 Bodog 13T
21:20 UB 27.50
22:15 Bodog 16.50T
22:30 Cake 22TB
22:30 Bodog 22
23:00 Cake 33T
23:30 Bodog 11T
23:40 Stars 27.50T
00:00 FTP 11MM
00:00 Bodog 33
00:30 Cake 26T
Use games like the 12x180s and 27x45s on Stars and the 26x90KOs on Full Tilt along with any other games that may fit within the schedule and our bankroll as needed. A volume goal of at least 30 games and $500 of buy-ins is encouraged.
The long term bankroll goal for 2010 is to reach the $11000 ceiling in order to maximize cashouts long-term. Falling short of this goal would not mean failure. Assuming the rate of return previously stated for each game our bankroll would increase by $7500 during the year 2010, meaning our goal is certainly in reach within the calendar year.
Yearly Volume Expectations
Based on the minimum volume expectations above:
HUSTs : 9000 (or 18000) games played
$22 SNGs: 720
M/T SNGs: 3600
MTTs : 1440
Total : 14760 (23760) games played, not including freerolls, special events, and any play over planned volume.
Other Goals
1. As always, MDFR (Make Decisions, Fuck Results) at all times. Be positive yet level-headed. In general, crush other players' dreams and pwn their souls.
2. Secure my first $1000+ score, be it with a win or final table appearance, and then continue to obtain more of them.
3. Strive to increase the number of tables played at one time both for SNGs and MTTs. A goal of 12-tabling SNGs is strongly encouraged, eight-tabling should be mandatory.
4. Look to move up in stakes in all games, potentially playing at the $55 level in UB SNGs if feasible for Heart TLB.
5. Continue to learn and take time to study the game.
6. Use peer review to further evalulate and improve my game.
7. Have fun!
Beginning January 1st, I will attempt to increase my playing time and volume in a concerted effort to supplement my income through poker in a fashion much like a professional player would accomplish. The following are the rules by which I intend to impliment in order to achieve this objective.
Bankroll Management: Cashout and Buyin Guidelines
HUSTs: 1% of buy-ins, 40 Buyins
3-10 players : 3%, 65
11-20 players: 4%, 90
21-50 players: 5%, 120
51-99 players: 6%, 150
100+ players : 8%, 200 (150 without ceiling)
Ceiling Cashouts: Establish a Bankroll Cap of $11000 with a soft ceiling. When the bankroll cap is exceeded, pay out 80% of the excess with the cashout and use the remaining 20% for continued bankroll growth by adding this amount to the former cap and establishing a new cap. All normal volume cashouts are paid before any ceiling cashouts can be earned and a new cap established.
Monthly Volume Goals
A. Iron Man status on Full Tilt: Need $30 of rake played for a minimum of 25 days each month. Goal will be reached by mainly playing heads-up super turbo SNGs (HUSTs).
B. Contender status on Ultimate Bet: Need $150 of rake played each month. Goal will be reached by mainly playing turbo 9-man SNGs.
C. Silver Star on Stars: Need at least $137 of rake played each month. Goal will be reached by playing multi-table SNGs and MTTs. These games will be where the majority of our monthly volume comes from.
Weekly Schedule Plan
A. Play HUSTs on Full Tilt each morning during the Early Morning Happy Hour (6am-8am) until required daily volume is reached. Generally will be done before going to work on weekdays in order to take advantage of the double FTP credit. Estimated monthly volume: 750 games of $29 (or 1500 games of $14.50) HUSTs.
B. Play SNGs on Ultimate Bet about one night per week or when most convenient. Use Monday as the default day since the rakeback freeroll is usually on this day. Play for approximately 3 hours each session. Estimated monthly volume: 60 games of $22T SNGs.
C. Play MTTs and multi-table SNGs on any site (with heavy volume on Stars) as a default session, normally Tuesdays and Thursday thru Sunday, with Saturday used as the default MTT day. Estimated monthly volume: 360 games of various buy-ins.
D. Allowances in the schedule will need to be made for certain events like the monthly Races and Rolls freerolls on Ultimate Bet and Cake, the Iron Man freeroll on Full Tilt, any TLB freerolls we may qualify for, and also for any special series events like mFTOPS, WCOOP and UBOC.
Estimated time played is approximately 30 hours per week. Considering that the average time for 2009 was close to 20-25 hours per week, this should not be very difficult. In fact, this plan should result in a better use of my time.
Methods and Tactics needed to obtain goals
HUSTs: Play in sets of two to four tables until volume goal is reached. Depending on buy-in level this should take from 20-30 minutes.
SNGs: Play six-tables at the $22 level in each set played. Keep the majority of games at the $22 level in an effort to qualify for weekly and monthly Diamond TLBs. A rake-played goal of $30 per session is encouraged.
MTTs: Play as many of the games targeted below as possible.
15:00 Bodog 6.60T
15:00 Stars 5.50T
15:45 FTP 22T
16:30 Carbon 16.50B
16:50 FTP 5.50T
17:00 Stars 7.50T
17:00 UB 16.50T
17:15 FTP 33T
17:40 Stars 16.50T
17:45 Bodog 35T
18:15 Bodog 11UT
18:20 UB 11T
18:50 UB 11T
19:00 Cake 39T
19:30 Bodog 16.50T
19:35 FTP 2.20RT
20:00 UB 11B
20:40 Stars 8.80T
21:00 FTP 12DDA
21:02 FTP 12DDB
21:10 Bodog 13T
21:20 UB 27.50
22:15 Bodog 16.50T
22:30 Cake 22TB
22:30 Bodog 22
23:00 Cake 33T
23:30 Bodog 11T
23:40 Stars 27.50T
00:00 FTP 11MM
00:00 Bodog 33
00:30 Cake 26T
Use games like the 12x180s and 27x45s on Stars and the 26x90KOs on Full Tilt along with any other games that may fit within the schedule and our bankroll as needed. A volume goal of at least 30 games and $500 of buy-ins is encouraged.
The long term bankroll goal for 2010 is to reach the $11000 ceiling in order to maximize cashouts long-term. Falling short of this goal would not mean failure. Assuming the rate of return previously stated for each game our bankroll would increase by $7500 during the year 2010, meaning our goal is certainly in reach within the calendar year.
Yearly Volume Expectations
Based on the minimum volume expectations above:
HUSTs : 9000 (or 18000) games played
$22 SNGs: 720
M/T SNGs: 3600
MTTs : 1440
Total : 14760 (23760) games played, not including freerolls, special events, and any play over planned volume.
Other Goals
1. As always, MDFR (Make Decisions, Fuck Results) at all times. Be positive yet level-headed. In general, crush other players' dreams and pwn their souls.
2. Secure my first $1000+ score, be it with a win or final table appearance, and then continue to obtain more of them.
3. Strive to increase the number of tables played at one time both for SNGs and MTTs. A goal of 12-tabling SNGs is strongly encouraged, eight-tabling should be mandatory.
4. Look to move up in stakes in all games, potentially playing at the $55 level in UB SNGs if feasible for Heart TLB.
5. Continue to learn and take time to study the game.
6. Use peer review to further evalulate and improve my game.
7. Have fun!
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