Stability

When I think of true New Year resolution for myself only one word come to mind “stability”. It’s the one thing I lack in life, and it’s the only thing I can think of to improve in 2011. Something’s in life are naturally unstable so, I will need to work on being able to adapt better in the long run. Poker is one of those unstable things in my life at the moment. I have never been able to have a stable incoming cash flow from the game. I have been fortunate to hit some decent scores every now and then, but overall poker has been inconsistent. How do I find balance in poker in my life? Swings happen and bad beats happen; there will always be times when you’re losing more than you’re winning. Thankfully I can look and see that I have made an overall profit in playing poker over the years, but since it comes in spurts it does not seem like it at all. I don’t want to end 2011 like 2010; I want to improve on my results not just in poker but in life in general. I want to be a better father, a better husband and better poker player. I want to be able to bring in a better income and achieve some goals. I am very thankful because it could be allot worst, but thankfully there is allot of room for improvement. Things will never be perfect I just want them to be a little more stable.

2011

Well I fell short of my overall goal of 10,000 dollars by the end of December by $2,400. I did manage to pay off all the people I owe on PTP so that is a big stress of my back. I also manage to build a pretty solid roll to start the New Year with. I am excited to be able to grow my level of my overall poker game in the New Year. It is very stressful to be stuck grinding the micros, but in the same time, it was a very good chance to work on my game. Right now I have to set some pretty reasonable goals and see if I can come out on top in my 2011 grind. I just want to envision were I wanted to be by this time of year and stay discipline and hungry. My time in the Micros starting with a $230 bankroll in august has taught me how to use proper bankroll management. Bankroll management has been my most powerful leak and I am still working on it but have really tightened up. But first I need to set some goals for 2011.



I watch a video on Poker Pwnage by Ghettofab about goals. One of the main points of the power point presentation video was to set healthy goals. These are goals that allow you to have 100% control over accomplishing your goal. An example of a healthy goal is the amount of games you set out to play in a day. This is a goal you have 100% control over, another example would be how many days of the week you play. An example of an unhealthy goal is setting a goal based on a dollar amount. For example my 10K by December goal, was an unhealthy goal since I had no control of the outcome in the cards and a bad run with a few unlucky rivers could heavily affect my goal. This leads to stress and a feeling of failure and even spewing off my bankroll trying to reach this goal which leaves a very good chance of going broke.

I hope achieve success in 2011 by setting healthy and reasonable goals.

Ok time to tackle cash games

Some new things happened to me this month. The first thing is I got a Job : )The second thing is that I am taking a new direction in poker. I am twitching from SNG's and Tournaments to tackle cash games. The main reason is to really learn how to play deep stack poker. The components of a player who is able to crush tournaments is vast. First you have to know the basics, I got that down for sure. Second you have to know how to play a short stack, to many times in Tournaments you end up with a short stack so knowing how to play short stack profitably is very important. Third and most important you have to understand deep stack play. This is the most important because it is a complex skill that few players have, but is 100% needed in order to win tournaments. All the great players we know are very very good deep stack players.



My goals for improving my deep stack play. 1st I will play 50,000 hands of NL 9man cash games. I will use twice the recommended bankroll guide lines in order to prevent going broke during this period and losing my focus do to losing money( I am new to cash thats all I need is a huge down swing to start off with). 2nd I will reevaluate my data using leak buster and see where I still need to fix some leaks. Then I will play another 50,000 hands and reevaluate, if I am still leaking bad I will wash rinse and repeat.

I am switching to cash because working on deep stack play in tournaments or non-turbo sngs will take too long. The reason is that the deep stack portion of the game will not last for long and due to the blind structure. I just want to work on deep stack play and the structure in cash games will help me out with that. I have to get a huge sample of hands in order to clearly see leaks ( no matter where I go on the net anything under a 50K sample is to small, even HM site agreed its data is not accurate without a large sample size). Cash games will allow me to not only stay at a stack size that will allow deep stack play, but also allow for the flexibility I will need with my new job (since I can walk away at any time and don’t have to worry about being stuck deep in a tournament when it’s time to go). I will still put in a SNG grind, but this will likely be on the weekends, and just to keep my roll afloat and my tournament basics up to par.

Once I am done I will seek a coach that will help me put this all together the basics, short stack play and deep stack play and help me crush the tournaments online. Well good luck me

Waiting on some Run GOOD!!!!!!

Sigh….. Still play through this down swing, but it’s really frustrating. The most frustrating thing about these downswings is that you don’t know how long they will last. Guess the only thing to do is keep studying and focus on my game. I try not to get frustrated, but holding it in may not be good also. It’s sick when you hit these bad stretches but I need to plan while I am down here. Along with my bankroll guides, I will also use some game selection to help ease the strain on my small bankroll at this point. Playing some STT and 18 man games to lower the variance and will pick up on the 45 mans when it seems I am running well. Of course if I drop down lower than $300 the I will play the $1.10 45mans. This is the sick times when you hate poker. Everyone loves poker when you’re crushing but doubt and tilt creep into your mind. Stay focus, plug my leaks and practice good bankroll management and of course this is all easier than done.

You can play good enough to succeed, but run bad enough to fail

Its five handed in a $3.40 18 man, and I am 4 of 5. The short stack shoves and I have 5bb and A9s and the blinds are about to go up. I think in my mind that I have been running so bad that there is no way I am ahead, and if I was ahead there’s no way I will win. I know I have to call this, its shorthanded and the blinds will eat me alive so I shove to ISO expect the player yet to act to wake up with a monster which would be pretty much standard the way I have been running. Both players fold and I am up against AKo, yup just what I expect time for his hand to hold and for me to bubble, thanks Poker Stars. I hit a 9 on the flop and the bubble breaks. This is an example of maintaining focus and playing correctly no matter how good or bad you’re running.

I could have easily folded in this spot hoping the blinds would wake up with a calling hand and I would limp into the money, but that would be a leak. When I am running badly I used to tighten up and play bad because of the fear that I am going to get unlucky. I know now that this has a negative effect on my game and my bankroll. Playing in a way that does not maximize my profitability over the long run will only make down swings worse. Sometime I have to understand that I can play good enough to succeed, but run bad enough to fail. Down swings and bad luck is a part of the game. Winning players understand this and don’t let these events change the way they play. All I have to do is use good bankroll management and keep studying to improve my game and the rest will take care of itself.

Looking to finish Oct off strong

Its only Oct 4th and this month is starting off on the wrong foot. I have been on a down swing for a couple of days starting at the end Sept and is continuing into this month. I am down to $559.82 and I am moving down from the Low stakes back to the micro in an effort to continue good bankroll management. I will set some goals this month that will hopefully help with my ultimate goal for the end of the year.

Bankroll rules to meet Oct goals:
$0 - $300 = $1.10, 45m - $1.10, 90m
$300 - $600 = $3.40, 18m - $3.25, 45m – 3.25, 90m
$600 - $900 = $6.50, 18m
$900+ = $6.50, 45m

These bankroll rules will allow me to stay aggressive with building a roll but also put enough Cushions to prevent me from going broke. I will still play 10 to 20 tables at a time and try to put in at least 4 to 6 hour sessions at a minimum. Boku87 said if you put in a lot of volume and continually work on your game then it is possible to build a huge roll. I intend to play too do just that. I hope to end the month with a 1.5K to 2K roll. It will take me running a little better but I will focus on playing better. And let the results take care of themselves.

Still in the damn Micros

Well been a little up and down, but I can say I’ve been putting in work. I have been grinding the $3.40, 18 man games which have terrible rake but very soft and easy fields. I am at a point that I’m really tired of the Micro’s but thankfully I have been maintaining a somewhat reasonable bankroll management. I have from time to time taken shots at the low limit games without having an adequate bankroll, but all that has done is set me back. So I am 100% determined to stay with my bankroll limits and keep up the progress. I am going to start playing some STT at the $6.50 level since I do have a roll for it and I so want to move up. Once my roll is a little healthier I will add in $6.50 18 man games also. It’s hard but I am playing good and running somewhat better, so I still have hopes on reaching my goals by the end of the year.

Time out to study

Well I had plan on playing a hundred games a day until I hit my goal. But after reviewing my hands in SNGwizard I have found that I am leaking. I decided to put more emphases on studying and steadily increasing my volume. I have been reading in various forums about the differences between +cEV and ICM and when to use the two forms of strategies. I have also found on sit and go grinders a few old videos from Rat Sauce 89 and they are gooooold! I have watched them a few time and plan to watch them until I completely understand the concepts he is teaching. I do believe I have the tools to succeed but have to completely put them together.

Still running bad but I want that 10K by Dec

Well today played 15 hours and over 194 games and I am still running bad. Had a 49 game down swing and will have to drop back down to the $1 games which I am still running ok in. It sucks, but I must maintain bankroll discipline in order to make my goal. I plan on grinding 45 man turbo’s until I get a 10K bankroll. That’s right I want to hit 10K before the year is up and I am saying this during a down swing. I will be putting major grinds trying to play at least 100 games a day and five to six days a week, which are about 2400 games a month. Of course I may play more but never less. My bankroll is good enough to play 3.25 45’s but I will still mix in and mainly play the $1.10, 45’s until I get too 200 buy in’s for the $3.25 then I will cut the $1.10 45’s out. Well good luck me tomorrow.

Not starting off good in Sept

Today I woke up in a good mood feeling really good after having a few good sessions. Today was the first day I did not grind any $1.10, 45 man turbo’s moving up to play $3.25 games. I wanted to start of slow so I did not load my usual 20 games I just loaded 10 and kept it at 10 games the whole session. If I bust one load another and so on and so on. I ended up playing a total of 61 games but lost 29 buy in’s. I am a bankroll nit so I still have around 160 buy in’s left but it still sucked today. I ran into so many monsters when shoving in late position in the final two tables of the tournaments and the hands I should of hulk smashed I lost to some random turn or river. I do know there is slightly more reg’s in these but still feel I can do well, if I don’t let sessions like this get to me.
I am trying to be patient since I owe some folks money and want to pay them off as soon as I grind it up. I don’t like owing people in the poker community money and intend to pay back every penny ASAP.