The final games

I played my first round of freerolls this weekend. Didn't cash any. A series of run-bad in the 100k and 30k VIP freerolls yesterday, and getting 2-outered on the river during the Turbo Takedown today. Sucks. Oh well. One last event (the Turbo Takedown next month) to go. Then I'm done.

aaaaaaaand that's it

I made the decision to cash out last Friday, once I hit goldstar. Yesterday I made my final grind to Goldstar VIP, which would grant me access to this and next month's 250k freerolls. And with it came my worst session yet. Thanks to a slight break where I managed to win 3 all-ins against some loose players in a span of 10 minutes, I managed to salvage the day without as big of a loss as I expected.

As it stands, I'm sure that I am misplaying horrible at 24 tables, but I do not have the time nor the finances to support this. I withdraw from Stars today at a loss of 100 from the 450 I deposited. My last games on Stars will be 2 Turbo Takedowns and 2 250k VIP freerolls. If I win any cash in those, sweet. It's free money I can play with. If not, oh well. For what it's worth I feel I learned a lot through my experiences these past 2 months when I seriously began my grind, and I feel my tournament play has SIGNIFICANTLY improved due to my cash experiences. That being said, I still failed to achieve most of my goals and I'm disappointed.

On the other hand, I think quitting was necessary. It was starting to affect my physical and menthal health, with no financial safety net currently supporting my poker experience. Hopefully, should I ever resume this again, I will be better off, and that will help alleviate most of the poker stress.

I'll continue to update with assorted trading card game updates (such as magic and the wow tcg, I love ramp spells in Magic right now!), but for the most part I will be done with poker. I'll be sure to update this weekend on my VIP tournament results though. :)

...

321 USD in account. Stopping after dropping 40 in an hour, another session of Kings versus Aces (I think pocket kings has quickly become my least favorite hand in the world).

I can't take this today, so I'm stopping. 4 Buy-ins in an hour. Fuck. This. Game. 

...

Grinding to Goldstar VIP. 690 VPP left. 24-tabling 10nl. Today was soul crushing which seems to be the usual fare. Started off well, hit 30 up at my high point, never managed to do better.

Got sucked out an absurd number of times today, three times I faced down the classic kings versus aces dilemma. Lots of 3-bets everywhere, one I called out of tilt (I'm not perfect obv). Then I dropped 20, losing with top pair against a maniac because a third caller hit a straight. Then another maniac was shoving pre-flop, got one caller, and I called with AK suited. He had KJ suited, I hit top pair, the other dude had shit, and he catches a goddamn jack, taking away the remaining profits I had for the day.


I seriously wonder why I am trying to play this game.

flake!

I've been flaky on my play. I ended up taking a long (ie. more than 2 day) break from poker. My account ended up hitting 251 not because of 10nl play, but because I tilted early on having my aces cracked by 8s going all-in pre-flop, and blowing 66 bucks at 50NL. Not a wise move. At all.


Lately I've been saying To Hell with 10NL, as those limits truly do make me miserable, and playing 25NL. I need to get back to the lower limits though, not because I can't afford it, but because of Micromania. I'd normally earn more VPP playing nl25 even at 6-tables, but not this month.

I made my final deposit of 150, bringing my bankroll to 401. It's not good, but I didn't want to commit double that. As it stands, if I clear my entire bonus, plus any cash rewards I'd earn from FPP, and my bankroll is not more than what it started at plus all deposit bonuses, cash rewards, and stellar rewards bonuses, I will cash out. I may return at a later point, or just play with my cash reward or my FPP, but I do not intend to stick around if I feel I can't be profitable right now. I'd rather find things that are less stressful to do, or play in real life (where the players are vastly worse I feel).

-_-

Had a bit of a falling out (er down) last night, to 308. I'm taking the day off. Maybe a break will set me straight, as I'm sure that I am not playing optimally.

On the bright side, I definitely lost some respect with my LAG play from the regs. Maybe they'll be more apt to call me down when I have the nuts now. :)

(back to TAG Mike - I know you're frustrated about how bad you've been running, but one playstyle is profitable at this level and one style isn't. Take a guess at which one isn't. IE: Stop tilting, stop playing bad because you're running bad, and get back on the ball. 10nl is fun and all but you know that you'd prefer 1-tabling some shotgun/mouth if you have to play .05/.1 nl for more than a few months. Get on the ball!)

it's a see-saw

Played a little last night and finished up at 333 with a deposit bonus extra $10. Today, I played see-saw with my bankroll in 5 dollar intervals, but ultimately finished down at 321. This is what happens when you're 2 for 8 on the sets that you hit I guess.

So yeah. The bad first week is bleeding into week 2. Sweet. Just what I needed.

I'm pretty mellow about today. I felt that i minimized all but $2 of my losses to the best of my abilities (made two dumb cheap extraction calls when they obviously hit - one hand where I managed a set of kings with K J I checked like a donk and should have bet. On the river a jack came, giving the possibility of A Q beating me with a straight. I bet, he raised a dollar, I reluctantly called and shipped the extra buck his way). Nothing I could have otherwise done. When the sets you hit are flopped alongside 3 suited cards, and when you call a steal-bet from loose players on the flop only to have the fourth suit appear, you know it's going to be a bad day.

I should be at around 1300+ VPP at this time, which means I am not set to hit platinum star this month if I keep up this rate of play. That's fine, I guess. I'd rather not destroy myself trying to get .5 FPP more per VPP earned. ;/

meh

Can't really handle another soul-crushing miserable day. I'm just going to stop less than 1.5 hours in, at 1100 VPP for the week. My bankroll is at 311, again nothing went right, lost to coolers had my aces crushed by 3s etc I'm not going to delve into all of the details.

I really fucking hate NL10 and the levels below it. Anyone who grinds them over a 1k profit is a fucking champ, because I don't see how they haven't killed themselves doing so.

short of goals - short of temper

I ended up staying away from poker mostly tonight. As I sit here, enjoying a Stone Old Guardian (an excellent poker deterrent - as it kicks in, I've closed all of my tables), I can't help but think that, despite some of the bad beats I've gone through, I'm also learning what this poker life is going to be like if I am going to commit to it. Therefore, I've set aside from goals for myself that don't apply to July.

-I will deposit another $300 into this account to achieve the full $600 bonus.
-I will earn and purchase the platinum star cash reward bonus.
-If by the time I unlock the cash reward bonus that I purchase, if my account only has in it the amount I've deposited, plus my deposit bonus, stellar rewards, and cash reward, I will withdraw all of my money and call it quits.

I'll have to play a metric ton of hands to reach this point. I feel that, if I can't do it in that time online, I do not have a knack for online play and will move on to either a) real life play where the players at $100 buy-ins are actually worse than NL10 or b) get a *gasp* real job.

Needless to say, I'll be grilling myself to improve online through this month and next month, as I don't really want those options to be it. Online poker has already shown to me that it can be soul-crushing, but with a little luck, a lot of discipline, and some intelligent play and progression, I feel I can do well. I will be seeking help from a few friends who do this for a living in a week, in order to improve my play, but between that and some basic reading, I want to primarily do this on my own. If I can't at least turn a small profit from play, then I don't feel I have the chops to do it if I'm taught. I'm not going to be denial over my poker play; I don't want to be one of those ridiculous "pro" players that troll the poker forums but actually just never progress. If I can't learn, improve, and adapt, then I shouldn't make it in online poker.

This month is going to be quite the learning experience, that's for sure. :)

Oh, and I messed around at NL25 a little bit while a friend was over. I really, really want to play this level in August. It's so much more interesting than NL10. I also feel I have a better knack for it, and have a better read on the players at the level.

STATS FOR JULY:
VPP: 1054
BANKROLL: $341 (down 30 in poker profits for the day, unlocked 10 in deposit bonus)

back to normal (crap)

4.5 hours in so far today. Unsure if I'll be playing more. I ran pretty bad in my second session in the afternoon, as I am again unable to have any luck against the fish. Lost around $31 total today so far, including one to a cooler when we both blind-limped (I hit a flush, he hit a fullhouse with J 3), and two more big pots to high VPIP players who hie 2 or 3 outers on the river.

As I'm telling myself, if I wasn't losing so often to these short outers, I'd probably be well over $500 by now. It's just a bad period. If I stick it out, and not let it get me (too) down, I can see some real progress this month.

That being said, it has had a morale effect on me. I'm not sure if I want to play anymore today, but I may consider it later. I would like to turn my attention to other projects tomorrow, however, so I may end up short of teh 1400 VPP I'd need to stay on track to the 200 a day average. I'm sitting at 1057 so far, and while I'm encouraged to get to 1200 before Thursday, I don't know if I have it in me right now to get to 1400+.

about time

Considering that I started the day 15 minutes in and $15 down, I was happy to see that both of my sessions (one 3.5 hours, the other close to 2) finished up positive.

And not a moment too soon either. I wasn't sure how well I was going to handle another shitty day. :P

I'm pretty far behind my daily requirements already. I'll have to really grind out tomorrow and Wednesday just to finish at my 200 a day average for VPPs by Thursday if I want to be up to speed for the first week. It looks like I won't have gold status until later next week unless I really put my nose to the grinder.

Unsure if I'll be doing that. I'd like to get platinum this month, but I'll be playing it by ear and we'll see if I want to actually go for it. While the weekend was overall relaxing and helped get my mind out of poker for a little (back-to-back BBQs. I should be so sick right now), it's time to get back to work!

STATS FOR JULY:
Bankroll: $363
VPPs: 857

stress

Poker stress is starting to really kick in. Since the start of July play, I've been running particularly horribly. I think in the past 24 hours I've lost to 4 really god-awful runner runners, including J 5 suited last night (losing 4 dollars to a 50+% VPIP player due to him catching J and 5 on the turn and river), and then an all-in call with pocket kings on a blank flop to Q 9, who caught both of his cards on the turn and river.

Also lost to a couple of coolers, including three instances of having the not as good full/house set, and a case of having a set, but with it making the opponent's 6 7 offsuit gut-shot straight.

In other words, it's been an awful and awkward couple of days, and has really discouraged me. My bankroll has taken quite a hit, and I only hope that when I return to the tables that this shitstorm passes over me. Last night I was able to keep myself calm enough by saying 'I went from 175 to 350 in a week. I can do this if I just stick thorugh the terrible parts'. Today, that no longer comforts me, and I just want to have a god-damn winning session again. Maybe tomrorow that will happen. :/

JULY TOTALS:
BANKROLL: $308
VPP: 597

DAMNIT!

My first two hours were fine. They were going average; I was $5 up for each hour, and was at $360.

Then hour 3 kicked in and shit hit the fan in a big way.

I laid down pocket aces twice during this hour, and had I not done so I would have lost even more. Another pocket aces which called an all-in bet for $10 pre-flop was cracked by the dude's KQ, where he hit a set of kings. Another all-in bet with a set on the flop was cracked by a flush, A K top pair was cracked on the river by another player for $4 of my stack. EVERYTHING went wrong. Everything.

I am sitting at $329, and I'm pretty fucking furious. What was a winning session quickly turned into shit-creek. Right now I feel like I'm riding a damn see-saw; my bankroll keeps going up and down in small ways. And this past hour has put that nagging thought into the back of my head; why the hell am I subjecting myself to this?

EDIT: At this point I think I am going to take my bad beats into exercising or breathing techniques rather than this blog. It's really tempting to get everything off of my chest when I come here but it doesn't make for very interesting reads.

Nobody likes a bad beat story after all. I wouldn't want to hear them and I sure as hell shouldn't be subjecting friends to it either. 

positive reinforcement

I made 2 large calls I was fairly unhappy with today, and about 2-3 questionable ones, causing me to lose an unnecessary 6-9 dollars overall I felt.

Thankfully my run of luck reversed and I managed some cards against the fish before they logged off for the night. After they were done, I managed some classic Brunson poker and did some semi-bluffing and blind-stealing against the remaining regs and nits.

Overall, an awkward day. I basically made little to no progress until I unlocked another $10 out of my deposit bonus. I am strongly considering re-depositing a final 300 to take advantage of the bonus I have left, as I'll be through with this current $200 bonus in about a week. The new $300 bonus would keep me occupied for about 2-3 weeks, and then I could withdraw my money again (or just piggyback to another level, although I am definitely staying at 10NL for at least July; the VPP gain is insane right now).

Looking forward to what tomorrow brings. As long as I don't deviate from bot-play against the majority of the players, I should keep going up or remain close to even. That's the biggest challenge, but one I can manage as long as I have a little positive reinforcement from the cards.

STATS FOR JULY:


Hands played: About 5000
Bankroll: $361
VPP earned this month: 297

*vomits on July*

Hi July.

Fuck you too.

Not an impressive start to this month. I am only around 180-200 VPP into this month, a good 100 short of what I'm hoping to achieve each day in order to obtain my goal of Platinum star VIP.

The cards have continued running horribly for me today. A number of times where players with high VPIPs happened to have coolers. I don't think I can honestly fault my stacked calls today; when there are only so many hands that beat your set, and you know they aren't on a flush draw, you just have to get your money in there and hope they don't have big slick. Unfortunately, a 40% VPIP player happened to have that when I was first stacked today. Aces were fairly ungenerous today, and I went through a portion of time where 50 hands were folded before I found something I could call a raise with (I folded it post-flop to three over-cards. Nice nines).

Stealing was minimum today. Lots of raising, lots of loose bets and calls. These are great players to win money from, but when your card quality is low, you aren't exactly going to be stealing any money from them. There's no point in bluffing these players, and it seems the micros have become infested with these loose dudes due to Micromania. It's a good sign for the month, but frustrating for my first day.

I also do not excuse myself in any way for some of my losses today. Generally, I get more aggressive against the regs or tighter VPIP players, and lower my range of what I call with against the looser players when I start getting sucked out/runner runner'd/etc. It's a bad habit. One I'll need to work on. I'm sure with some practice I'll be able to keep my resolve and play accordingly.

Also, it would be really nice to have an average day. Not a good day, like Tuesday night. Just an average day would suffice. These losing sessions aren't exactly morale friendly.

other side of the coin

Bad night overall and a bad start to the July grind. 120 VPP, quitting mainly out of annoyance. After my deposit bonus unlocking, I was $1 down from last night at $346. $11 down in terms of poker play, I think $5 of that I could have controlled by not calling hit flushes on the river while on tilt because of sets getting cracked, but sometimes you just tilt.

Overall, it was a horrible run of cards for me tonight against players I can't make that up again (fish that call anything, including steals). Had to alter my strategy to almost no stealing as each table had a number of fish there, the number of available tables were low, and the number of tables I was at where a fish was to my left was high. Tried 18 tabling tonight, and while I don't believe it's a big deal, I'll have to wait until my laptop is set up for poker before I go to that number again. My desktop lags too much and I ended up having some hands auto-folded on the faster tables.

I'm hoping tomorrow (later today?) goes a lot better. 

Well, nevermind!

I managed to get in another session today. Remember when I was complaining earlier about how my pocket pair-to-set ratio was pitiful for 2 hours?

Well, this session did a 180 on that bad luck. I think my pocket pair-to-set-ratio was somewhere around 1/4 to 1/6. Absurd. I felt like every set I hit, I managed to take at least 30-50% of the opposing player's stack, if not stacked them entirely.

This amazing session of running well, combined with some absolutely horrible fish playing tonight, got me to +5 in winnings for the day. Between that, along with the stellar rewards bonus and deposit bonus I also collected, my bankroll now sits at $347. Sweet!

As I mentioned, I will not be playing poker tomorrow, although there is a possibility that I will get on later in the night once EST rolls around to July 1st and I can start to accumulate VPP for the month of July.

gah

Was running well for a while there, but today is stopped. I bought my free $6 from the Micromania promotion, bringing me to 322. I ended the day at 297. I am not sure if I should have stopped playing though, as some of the fish at my tables would play literally anything, and I feel I could probably get paid off if I just wait out the bad 2 hours I've had. However, I value returning when I'm thinking more clearly rather than playing while on tilt.

Overall, today I think was a result of 2 problems:

-Bad cards (hit 2 sets today, with already good hands in pocket aces. I blanked on every other small pocket pair. A K rarely ever hit, while the range I can put these players on means I'm often beaten.)
-Bad ability to adjust my play-style (I typically adopt a hybrid of the Brunson Super System aggression and TAG at this level, as most of the time I am playing against regs with 1 and maybe 2 fish at the table. Today, multiple loose players were at my tables, so it was time to stop stealing so many blinds, stop semi-bluffing, and just play when I hit top pair and up. I think part of my inability to adopt came from running badly on cards, but I need to have better self-control in order to wait out those bad spots).

In terms of earning VPPs today, I only got around 40 or so. Not too good, considering how I wanted 200-300 a day. I may return later, but I doubt it. I'll be busy with other work tomorrow as well, and will most likely resume my more lengthy play on July 1st for the new month.

Pokerstars VPP Changes for Micro-Stakes!

MicroMania is coming in July, which will undoubtedly help me reach the levels I want to play a lot sooner than expected. This was recently posted from the VIP Manager of Pokerstars on the 2+2 forums (www.twoplustwo.com):

"PokerStars would like to announce the following changes to VIP Reward Bonuses effective immediately:

There is a new $25 VIP Reward Bonus available to all players, including BronzeStar VIPs, for 2,500 FPPs

The $50 VIP Reward Bonus has been reduced in price from 5,000 FPPs to 4,500 FPPs.

The $285 VIP Reward Bonus is now a $300 VIP Reward Bonus, for the same price of 25,000 FPPs.

PokerStars does plan to make any major changes to the VIP Program at the start of each year when feasible, but these changes indisputably benefit players so they were able to be made midyear.


The above changes are all permanent. In addition, PokerStars will be running a 'MicroMania' promotion in July to benefit those who play the smallest stakes on the site. This promotion increases VIP Club benefits in two ways:

Each player can purchase one $6 instant cash credit from the VIP Store for 375 FPPs between now and the end of July.

NL and PL Cash games up to including stakes of $0.05/$0.10 will offer 10x VPPs in July. All new tables created starting over 12 hours ago have been awarding 10x (as opposed to the usual 5.5x or 6x) VPPs at NL/PL tables up to and including $0.05/$0.10 stakes. A server restart early this week will ensure that all of these types of tables are awarding 10x VPPs before July 1st. VPP earning at these tables will return to normal after July 31st.

Additional MicroMania promotions not focused on the VIP Club will be announced over the coming week."

The $6 bonus is SICK. It's the best exchange rate you can get for your FPPs. I fully intend to make use of this and increase my VPP gain to at least 250-300 a day now. :D

party time

EDC was awesome, but now it's time to get back into the daily routine. Which means...more poker!

Finished at 317 today, bringing my back over the deposit line. 10 of that was deposit bonus, meaning that my overal gain via poker winnings was the average 7.50 an hour I expect at this level. Not bad. It was an overall average day, with its ups and downs.

The most interesting hand was when I had 2 callers in early position when I 3-bet with K K. The flop came blank, and I lead out again (I believe I was in the blinds) for half of the pot. I get raised by a maniac (40+ percent VPIP), and the other dude calls. I'm getting worried, but I make the call. If they have a set or A A, whatever.

The turn came another blank, and the guy who was calling goes all in. I call, as the pot at this point is at over 20 dollars. I know I have the raising donk beaten (he reveals 9 10 suited for a gut-shot straight draw. Nice cards bud), and the guy who went all in on the turn shows...A Q! He had top pair and was willing to bet it all on that. The river was a blank and I end up scooping a nice pot into my stack, putting me at $31 on that table.

It was a weird hand overall, as it was only 5 more to call the turn raiser, and I'd always whirlwind-call the dude with the high VPIP, as they're maniacs and you can't help it if they finally get good cards, as most time they are betting with horrible hands.

I'm going to be close to 1300 VPP by the end of this month, and I intend to start July 1st fresh. I'll be gunning for 200 VPP a day when I committ to playing, and would like to play at least 80% of the days for July.

another day, another lesson

Finished the day at 286. I would have finished at 300, but I let tilt get the best of me and ended up calling a 3-bet or two after having nearly 10 hands 3-betted in 10 minutes. I don't put players on having software and just reading that my system forces me to fold to most 3-bets, but I told myself otherwise when I had queens and a tight player did so. Obviously I was dominated by aces, so it serves me right. Wasted a couple of bucks of chips in this small duration of time.

I will most likely not be playing again until Monday on account of EDC (my first big rave! Should be fun!). However, when I return, I not only intend to play more online, but I also intend to head out to Pachenga more too for some real life poker experiences.

hot in here

Yesterday was a real heater. A friend convinced me to attend a $2,000 guaranteed NL Hold'em tournament at a casino in Temecula, where I chopped the final table for $210. I then went home, hit some sick hands, and played against some very loose callers and finished the day with my online bankroll at $270. I'm nearly back to my starting point.

As it stands though, I still have quite a grind until I'm back to even without any help from rakeback/stellar rewards. That's a goal I'll be shooting for in the first week of July, as I will be unable to play much for the next few days.

okay then

Finally finished up for a day. Started at 174, and finished at 222. 10 of that was deposit bonus. Around 5 hours played, so about on par with 12-tables .05/.1. I ran particularly well for one hour during my evening session, which helped a ton.

I think this is starting to make more sense. I have been re-reading chapters in Super System 2 and have been more disciplined with some of my hands, going so far as to lay down pocket queens against a tight player who re-raised on the flop (I put him on a pocket pair or aces based on positioning, and his stats definitely had me believe he was playing ABC poker).

I'll be going to Pachenga tomorrow to play in a live-tournament, courtesy of a friend who's making it a freeroll for me. It should be a fun and useful experience, as I need to get more live-games under my belt anyway. I hope to get another 12 hours of poker in before Friday, as I'll be gone for the rest of the weekend. I will definitely be short on my goals this month, but I feel that discipline, patience, and focus will allow me to possibly reach them next month (in particular the goldstar VIP goal; I will have only earned 1000 VPP this month by Friday, so that's a goal I have to work on more. It will keep me focused to maintaining a certain number of hours each day).

ok then

Hold'Em Manager has been a boost to my confidence. So was the self-talk "stop being a whiny bitch and accept that bad beats happen Mike".

Worked up until today. Over Friday and Saturday I managed to drive my bankroll down to 215, originally at 200 but recovered from a session later that night.

Today, it's at 174, and I've destroyed a few of my poker chips by throwing them off of our patio into some rocks (seemed like a fitting way to get the rage out of me). Started out standard, with one fish who was 85% VPIP started going all-in pre-flop. I hit an A-trash hand, and feel it's the best hand. I call, and was correct, as he reveals Jack 6 offsuit.

Obviously he hits a jack and I get stacked. Okay then. No big deal. Another hand comes and he does it again, but I call with jacks. He reveals...K Q offsuit. Oh well. I'm still ahead. Naturally he hit two pair on the flop, and I tell myself, "this guy's horrible Mike. It's fine. You'll get your money back."

Again he does it 30 minutes later, and has...kings. Sick dude.

I finally manage to crack him with Aces, doubling up, but before I can get the rest of my money back, he leaves. How annoying.

I proceeded to get stacked by someone hitting a river full-house that beat my own river-made full-house. Was rather annoyed. Stacked total = 4, in case you lost count.

The tipping point was after hour 2 of the session, where I raised 3x the BB with K K, get one caller, and get one player to go all in for 2. His stats were horrible (60% VPIP, nothing else favors him), so I assume I have the best hand. I call, but so does the other dude. The flop comes Q J blank, and I should have check/folded here. Instead, I just shove for the last 5 I have, and the guy calls, revealing...a set of jacks.

I flipped out at this point, seeing two more A Q hands get 3-bet by players with low VPIPs, and just close all of my tables. I was done for the day. To say I was fuming at this point would have been an understatement.

Overall I was really frustrated with how this day went, how I've been running, etc. I've gotten myself in the habit of folding kings to an Ace if the guy has low enough stats/positioning to justify, and have even gone so far as to lay them down after putting a tight player on having a set based on how he bet pre flop and post flop. I'm willing to grind out an 8-10 hour day tomorrow or Tuesday, but damn, if this keeps up...:/

...

Fuck it.

I'm done with this for now. I need a day or two to back off. It's obvious I'm doing something very wrong. Or I'm unlucky. Or it's a combination of both. I think it's more of the former, and the fact that I am probably throwing away money is pissing me off even more. I can't play in this state.

I am going to take a step back, look at some hands, figure out what the fuck I'm doing wrong. Maybe I should play with someone watching who knows what they're doing. Maybe I need to buy HEM before I do this. Whatever it is, I'm pissed and I need to do something about this to make myself less pissed.

obv

I've been working on controlling my tilt more through tea and breathing exercises. It helps.

A little bit, anyway.

Finished at 271 today. Another losing day. Awesome. Fucking awesome. I know I have to learn, but I am still not quite used to shaking off about half a dozen runner runners, a dozen 3-outers on the river, etc. The number of times my kings had to be laid down or how many times they were cracked because of awkward cards against hands I don't honestly expect people to play if I 3-bet raises, etc, is aggravating.

The worst part about these horrible sessions is that, I'm not sure how much of it is me not capitalizing on pots, and how much of it is bad luck. This is only 5 cent/10 cent. The players can't be that tight to where I see a consistent loss. I may need to seek coaching if this keeps up.

The one thing this 12-table grind is doing to me? It's making me really miss the 10 cent/25 cent players. At least the majority of them are readable via bets and history data.

awkward

When I saw that I was at 290, 15 minutes before the end of my night session, I figured that I was going to finish out at least a couple of bucks ahead.

When I finished at 286, I realized that 10 of that was deposit bonus. Well, shit.

On the bright side, I think I went on tilt so much today that I officially stopped caring, and just kept playing. I don't know if that's the best state of mind to be in, but I stopped bothering to care when I realized people will call me down with nothing/low pair. It made calling down high pairs rather easy.

On another note, this level is the stains. I hate playing it, and hope I don't have to stay here for another few months. At least 10/25 cent was somewhat (ie not very, but still more than this) interesting.

Logged in about 5 hours today only to get nowhere. Sweet. I really hope tomorrow breaks my 2-day shit-streak.

meh part 2

Grinded my way back up to 281 yesterday, despite some sick awful spots. I ended up on tilt at around 2 PM and logged off to see Get Him To The Greek, but I came back refreshed that night and went from 260 to 281.

Today, I'm at 277 after a short 2 hour session. ;/

I made a few mis-clicks with Tableninja that costed me decent hands so I'm unsure how that impacted the session. I also believe I should have shoved on two of my hands but I wasn't paying close enough attention, and it probably costed me close to $10 in total. I ate some rough beats too, where it was my KK versus their AA on a blank flop. I can't do anything about those, and honestly don't feel I can ever fold them at this level, and if that player is 3-betting with AK, then I'm probably crushing him.

PTR has me at over 7000 hands now for 5/10 cent, and I'd imagine that I will be well over 10k by the end of the week. It's going to take some time, but I intend to be committed to staying at these levels, and staying away from the MTT Sit and Gos (those things are like crack; gives me a jolt of refreshed energy to play, is bad for me in the long-run, and they drain my bankroll).

asdf

I'm on full-blown tilt. No justice.

Did not win one lousy showdown in cash today, losing to coolers and suck-outs left and right. Often would not hit on the flop. Down to $268 and that's after $10 deposit bonus, meaning that my profits are in the shitter right now.

SNGs - Still can't money in one. Got crushed by a 5-outer to all but put me on life support in one, and despite a lucky catch with A 7 before the blinds forced me all-in, I ended up getting crushed each time.

Cut the session short today as a result. I can't think straight, and Ifeel like chasing hands, and punching my monitor. Clearly, this is not the time i should be playing. Nothing is calming me down. Nothing. Maybe a drive will help.

Hint taken

I returned to the tables this time for another 2 hours, but at .05/.1 instead of .1/.25. I realistically can't afford the higher level until I am closer to $900, while I can afford 12-tabling the lower level. As it stood, I played with less scared money, and felt that I put in some solid poker that session. I finished at $332, so I can't complain as today was turned from a larger loss to an insignificant one.

12-tabling also felt fairly natural, and I may considering adding additional tables each day to see how I handle it. Tracker software feels unnecessary at the level as well, so it may be a great place to grind up my bankroll. I intend to customize and get used to either PT3 or Hold'em Manager before I move back up to .1/.25, and I'd like to have those freerolled by my roll and running successfully before I make the transition to the higher level.

cool dude

Not a happy camper. Lost two hands into today's 30k VIP event, going all in with two previous bets (a raise and a call) in late-position before me with AK, the QQ called and I did not win my coin flip. That wasn't too bad, but losing 35 dollars to a player notorious for throwing away money because he was running hot was not doing good. It tilted me enough to close everything for 10 minutes.

I logged back in, was still running like the opposite of a champ. I played a little too long on tilt today, calling an obvious "I have a set" bet from one of the baddies at our table to get stacked for 15 dollars, after stacking someone with a set of queens on another table. I think if I didn't do that, I'd be closer to not having a loss today. As it stood, I finished the day at $304, which is pretty freaking horrible given that this includes $10 from the deposit bonus, meaning I'm actually $294 for the day in terms of cash earnings (ie. around 40 down), and now I'm down to $224 when you don't include normal bonuses.

I'm pretty furious at the moment, and really don't want to look at those hands. I need to get away from the PC for a little. ;/

back!

First poker session since I left for Vegas (no poker action took place there for me). I finished today at $334, so I can't complain. I made a few bad calls, and a few sweet bets. I threw money away, and I milked someone worse than me. Nothing to see here. Will analyze some of my plays tomorrow before I play another session.

Not too shabby

Short 1 hour session today as I had (ie. made) time. Finished at $307. $10 of that was deposit bonus, meaning taht I earned $25. I ran pretty well, and think I got a little too cocky/lazy and blew $5 I didn't need to. Lots of aggro at the tables, but thankfully I was running pretty well with my cards, getting paid off by a call-bot who went all in with a mainly blank flop while I had pocket kings. At 4 of my 5 tables was a fairly tight player that I also feel I pushed out of a number of hands.

After looking at bonuses, I'm still at $247 of my original starting amount, meaning I still have a lot of playing to do in order to regain my lost ground.

Really?!

Lecter_414 will be a big payoff if I ever see him again.

Too bad it wasn't today. Definitely on tilt after my final hand of the session today, leaving me $14 down instead of breaking even.

I feel like I minimalized most of my losses, as things were often not going my way especially by the time I reached the river, losing some nice pots to cards where I ended up checking/calling with too much value when I was pretty sure I was beat. Examples of such hands today include K K versus Lecter_the_Loose and another feeder at the table. The flop came 5 5 4, and I lead out with a 40% pot bet. Both call, no real flush shot on board. I don't put either on having the 5 based on the position they called in (I was UTG pre-flop). I also intend to call Lecter down as he often bets with only high card.

The turn comes another 5. I feel safe, but it adds a 2nd heart to the board. I increase to a half-pot bet, and both call. Again. Okay...

The river comes A of clubs. I have a hunch the non-Lecter player just beat me with an A-X hand. I check, feeder 1 bets less than half the pot, Lecter throws it in, and I call to see his A Q of hearts take me down.

I could have bet the pod probably on the turn but I have a feeling I was still going to get called, and it didn't matter. That's the way the cards fall sometimes. Unfortunately it happened a few times this session. I let my emotions get the best of my by the end of hour 1 and probably threw away 5-7 dollars I didn't need to, but I did the Saito slap on my face a few times and thought I knocked myself out of it.

The session ended on a bad note when Lecter pushes pre-flop against my A K UTG +1 3x raise. I call, believing he's got shit. I was correct, as he reveals K 8 offsuit.

Naturally he hits a straight. I snap and close all tables. $272 in account, $14 down this session instead of breaking even. On one hand, I know I made a lot of correct calls tonight and kept my shitty play to a minimum, except for around the end of hour 1. On the other hand, *#YIHSDKHBGJKEGUI#TY*OYR*&!^%&%$RBNCMNVB!!!

Vegas in a few days. I intend to start my real-life bankroll there, and intend to play live games more once I get back. The end of the session turned out pretty shitty, but I still felt like I got some good experience out of these games tonight, and I look forward to having more time to play after Vegas.

Silver VIP - A grind upwards

Just rounded out my session. Which allowed me to realize that my HEM demo has expired, and that PTR did not come close to tracking my table play today. Damn. Pretty sure I played close to 1000 hands, but I'll have to install my PT3 demo to know for sure.

My ending amount was 286, but this also includes my $10 stellar reward bonus. This means that I am up 42 through cash play today. $40 of that 286 is from my deposit bonus, and $10 is from stellar rewards. That means I am still down $74 from cash and tournament play. Not a good number, and I intend to work on that so it goes up.

Overall I felt like my play was a lot cleaner. It was suggested to me by Daniel Betancourt, a friend of mine from WoW TCG with a poker obsession and a cousin who makes quite a nice living through MTT play, to lower my aggression bets to 30%, as most players at my limit will fold to a c-bet of any size anyway. I couldn't quite get myself to do that, as I don't want people chasing and hitting against me, but I made it a habit of only betting at most half the pot. And, as he said, people still folded when they weren't comfortable at calling. I think I stole a number of hands this way, which helped in keeping my stacks secure.

My big swings today was a flopped straight when I called the button at $.25 with 7 9 suited. My first one, which started the day right, was with pocket aces. He called my 3-bet pre-flop which had me worried, especially when he led with a pot-sized bet on the flop. I thought he may have had jacks since one flopped, but I PTR'd him and his stats said he probably wouldn't have called a 3-bet with anything but a big hand. I figured I would just push him in at this point, as no real draw was out there and he could also have queens or kings (if he has the jacks, oh well. the other cards were little, and his stats showed that he wouldn't have called with these as he was overly tight). Turns out he had queens, and was promptly stacked after 2 blanks hit on the turn and river.

My worst played hand today, I felt, was heads-up with my pocket nines. The flop came 3 3 9, giving me the nuts right now (I don't put my opponent on 3s here). There was a flush possibility, and when he checks, I decide to give him a free card. I think that was correct here.

The turn came an Ace. No flush yet. He checks. I misplay here and check, when I should have bet half the pot. If he calls, cool. If he doesn't, I take the pot and claim my small bounty with the best hand. His positioning meant I didn't put him on A-3, and I still don't think he has the 3s.

The river comes another Ace. Well....shit. He bets around half of the pot, and I just call, pretty sure he has A-X. He does, revealing A Q. There is definitely part of this where I was unlucky, as he probably would have called a half-pot bet if he hit his ace on the turn. Then, if the ace came on the river I think I could get away from the hand, losing the same amount. It was absurdly greedy of me to give him another card. If he calls and hits a potential flush, I could cash in with my nut-full house at that point. Oh well, live and learn, and learn to know when to bet with the goods when they're still the best hand. Also, as this is pot-limit, I shorten my profit margin by not half-pot betting the turn, as I'd be getting more money in on the river, especially if he opens with his Aces and threes two pair.

All in all I learned a great detail from these games. I hope to make a final $300 deposit late June/early July to take advantage of my deposit bonus, assuming my rate of play in June lets me claim the bulk of my bonuses (it seems like it will, as I've been close to earning $10 every 2 days, and my rate of play plan for June should have me earning most of my bonus as is). I hit one of my milestones for May, which was to achieve Silver VIP Status. This will let me make the most of my FPP gain in June!

My goals are as follows for June, as I won't have much time to play until after WoW TCG Nationals next week:

-Earn Gold VIP Status
-Work my bankroll (via bonuses or whatever) to a level where I feel I can play 40-100bb .10/.25 NL/PL at 8-12 tables. I will be happy with 8 tables. 12 is a lofty goal if I feel I can manage it, and I don't intend to try it until the end of June.
-Reach $1.2k in my bankroll (not unfeasable through deposit and stellar bonuses), assuming I make my final deposit.
-Consistently have higher than a 2% ratio on BB/100.
-I would like to have a $400 profit via cash play by the end of June, an average of $100 a week. This is not unreasonable if I play 30 hours a week minimum, and I will be fairly disappointed if I can't achieve this one with the number of hours I intend to play.

Looking forward to next month!

ding!

Playing another .10/.25 PL session (5-tables) on Stars. Just hit my first stellar reward bonus of $10. :)

Just a little more and I'll achieve silver VIP for the month of June!

Worst Session Yet Yesterday

PokerStars Pot-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Hand Converter from HandHistoryConverter.com



Hero (MP1) ($30.55)

MP2 ($25.65)

CO ($25)

Button ($30.40)

SB ($10.50)

BB ($26.95)

UTG ($22.40)

UTG+1 ($22.05)



Preflop: Hero is MP1 with J, Q

UTG calls $0.25, UTG+1 calls $0.25, Hero bets $1.25, 5 folds, UTG calls $1, UTG+1 calls $1



Flop: ($4.10) 9, 7, 10 (3 players)

UTG checks, UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $3.90, 1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $7.80, Hero calls $3.90



Turn: ($19.70) A (2 players)

UTG+1 bets $13 (All-In), Hero calls $13



River: ($45.70) 9 (2 players, 1 all-in)



Total pot: $45.70 | Rake: $2.20



I think this was my most dissatisfied hand yesterday. My rationale is that, based on the lack of sufficient data but loose stats on villain, he appears to be a little more loose. I don't put him on Ace 10 as a result, in which I would never call, but rather a pocket pair or some ridiculous combination of low cards (as it shows, he had 10 9).

I think my bet was iffy at best on the flop. I typically bet the flop with the amount equaling the size of the pot if I have a good shot of winning, as I can push people out of hands or at least figure out where they stand. When he raised, I had originally put him on a set, and felt confident of my call.

But when he goes all-in on the turn, I should have given it up. Realistically I have 17-18 outs out of 45 (once he reveals), and am only getting a little more than 2.5 to 1 on my money. It's a gamble to bother, and I'm not playing to gamble: I'm playing to make smart calls/bets and to win with the better pot odds. Instead I call, and lead to this being one of my bigger losses for the day.

I currently stand at 222, starting the day at around 310. I'll try again later today and see where I go from there.