Don't get greedy.

Unfortunately, here comes the first post with a loss. 4 Sng's last night, 3 busts and 1 win. Even with that 1 win, it showed me a profit which was good but wanted to have that little bit more so decided to have a quick session on cash tables.

Went back to 4 tables but all the 10 people were full, and very rushed I tried something I've not played before, probably why I lost. Started on 4, 6 player tables. Haven't really played many short-handed sessions, and after last night, think I'll stick to my full tables. Played far too loose which proved my detriment. Started with $12 ended with $2.61, DAMN.

Well am only human, have to show a loss every now and then. Actually, NO. Last night was completely my fault. I didn't get sucked out on, I didn't take any bad beats, I played like a complete donkey.

Time to regain composure and look at the bigger picture. I am still up overall for my monthly goal. I think it's time to get some rest, relax, and try again tomorrow.

A few days later.

It's been a up & down weekend to say the least.

Friday night - dropped $4.82 on ring games.
Saturday - made $10.80 only on SnG's.
Sunday - this may take a while.......

Sunday bloody Sunday. Figured I might have a quick game after midnight as the family had fallen asleep. Jumped on .01/.02, just to try and make a few bucks to go bed knowing I'm getting that little bit closer. Since the start of the month have been playing 4 tables at a time, nothing uncommon with online poker. I always had the intention on test more than this and thought this morning would be a good time to start.

Loaded up 6 tables around 12:30, same approach, $3 per table. Below are the ending results for each table.
Table 1 - $0
Table 2 - $0.85
Table 3 - $3.39
Table 4 - $0.93
Table 5 - $5.00
Table 6 - $5.60

Started with $18 @ 12:38am - Ended with $15.77 @ 3:03am. Wasn't really thinking straight at 3am and am glad I finished the way I did. Don't get me wrong, I'm by no means happy I spent almost 3 hours to show a loss, I'm happy with the fact that 6 months ago, I would have just started shoving hands blind to make it back to my original start bank.

Thinking back, wasn't super impressed with more than 4 tables. 4 tables fit perfectly on the monitor. I think I'll be sticking to that for a while.

After a nice rest (being woken up by kids) I resumed my play after midday. Once again I found solace in my SnG's.
8 games - 5 cashes including 2 wins.

Overall it's been a up & down weekend but the main thing is as i'm writing this, once again, I'm up.

Bankroll at last post = $163.83
Bankroll at this post = $178.68

May goal hit (bankroll part anyway)

WOW! May 15th and Bankroll is currently at $163.83. Round of applause please peoples. OK thanks. As you can probably tell I'm quite happy. Once again my SnG's have proved profitable. I know my previous post contradicts what I'm about to do, but just 1 more cant hurt



Played 3 games tonight, all the 12 man $2.40. First game, 5 minutes in, player on my right min raised me & I Called with AJ. Flop came J 7 2 rainbow, pot size was around 120 for memory, he bet 300, I raise all in, he calls and shows KK. Didn't expect someone to min-raise pre-flop with Kings but that the game we play, anything can happen. Anyway his Kings held and knocked me out 12th.

Little upset but then thought, hang on, I've lost 1 hand. If 1 hand is going to get to me I shouldn't be playing. Re-gathered me composure, opened another table and stuck to my guns.
2nd game came 2nd
3rd game (see above)

$10.80 profit tonight and hit 25% of my May goal half way through the month. Very happy with progress so far. Haven't abused anyone this month & haven't lost emotional control at the table. Only part of my goal not being attended to is the multi-table cash games. That's fine for now I feel, as I'm enjoying and succeeding so strongly at SnG's.

Think the change was a good idea.

So a couple days ago I tried a change of scenery by going to Noble Poker. After last night results have done a little better again. Once again 2 x 12 people SnG's. First game came 3rd and then


Need I say more. Starting to like these $2.40 buyin games. If I can keep this up I may have to adjust the financial aspect of the May goal, which definitely isn't a bad thing. I do think I'll stop the 1st place picture postings after this one. But seeing "YOU'VE WON THE TOURNAMENT!" does look pretty damn good!

Happy with tonight

If only all results could be like this! Didn't play much tonight. 2 x 12 players SnG - pays 4 up (but 4th is money back). Bit upset because aside from this win, i bubbled the other one (AK vs. TT) Tens held. Oh well, can't win all coin flips.

Was site swapping the right thing to do?

Well tonight, after around 4 straight months on stars, I ventured back to a site I enjoyed playing in the past, Noble Poker. Had forgotten a few things to look out for though. Approached the game the same as i would on stars, 4 tables at .01/.02 blinds with $3 start bank.

The first thing I forget to look out for was "turbo tables". On stars I have this option filtered so it's all I ever play. I forgot to look out for it tonight and, Oh My God, some non-turbo tables are so slow.

The second thing I'd forgotten is it's not uncommon on this site for it to be 7 people playing after the flop. Now I know that it is only micro stakes, but 7 to the flop - really changes your post flop play.

So how did i do?
Running Time = 2 hours
Hands = 356
Start Bank = $12
End Bank = $19.32

For the first session at a site I'm not playing all the time, not the worst effort I've ever had. Lets see what happens tomorrow.

Current Bankroll = $135.05
Month end goal = $159.20
Need for goal = $24.15
Need per day = $1.20

Goals for May 2008

The Sunday million on poker stars is on 4 times this month so I figure, why not win them all!
So there's my goal for this month, 4 wins @ approx $250,000 per win. Yes I will be a millionaire by June.

NOT!

My goals for May 2008 are as follows:

1. Don't abuse any player under any circumstances.

I've previously had a tendency to hurl abuse at people for making the most shocking plays and still winning. Then I asked myself the question, 'What am I achieving from this'? Think about it, you can lose your hard earned winnings from a solid session on top of your original buy-in with 1 bad hand. After losing that money and typing in the chat box "HOW CAN YOU CALL THAT YOU F***ING DONK", where did that get me. I'm still broke and they will possibly come back with some witty retort forcing me to either buy back in with the wrong frame of mind or change tables without thinking and continue my down streak.

Overall I no longer see the value in abusing someone due to being unlucky.


2. Play with discipline - walk away when going down NOT going broke

Relatively straight forward here, yet quite hard to do. So many past instances have had sessions that go the wrong way and playing with the mentality, "Ill play until I double up or go broke". Why do this? If a session is going bad - stop playing.

Lets look at an example:
If playing a full ring NLHE, blinds 01/02, buying in for $3, and after 45 minutes I've dwindled down to $1.20 why do I feel the urge to make that back to $3? It becomes my only focus which dramatically changes my style of play. When trying to make money back, people tend to play with a scent of desperation, this at the poker table is what professionals prey on.

Overall - if things aren't working out, get over it. Will be better to walk with a -66% profit from original buy-in opposed to -100% buy-in.


3. Start to Multi-Table cash games - starting with 4 tables - aim for $5/hour on .01-.02

As I write this it is Saturday the 10thof May. I drafted this goals on April 30. After several sessions I've become extremely comfortable with multi-tabling cash games, but feel $5/hour may be unachievable. Even though that is disappointing, it is also fantastic, and I'll explain why....

I believe anyone can write & set goals for the future, being short-term & long-term. By acknowledging early in this month that i am profitable in my game play but not reaching my expected hourly rate, I can focus on re-adjusting my strategy and ask the question, "How do I achieve my earnings expectation"? - This question will not get answered until the end of the month. For the time being, I will continue to play how I play, then analyze it all at the end of the month.


4. Bankroll at month end to equal - $159.20

May 1 2008, Bankroll was $106.13. My goal is to increase my current bankroll by 50%. Whilst a $53 monthly profit won't allow me to jet off to Vegas next month, its a positive and its an achievement of a goal set 31 days back. Lets see what happens.