February

Hello,

I know I’m coming late, but better late then ever. Last time I posted, my graph was going up and down which I was finding kind of frustrating. So I went on reviewing my stats and one point that instantly popped out was the difference between my 1º and 2º place finishes, in the stakes I previously played, I had way more winnings than 2º places, but now the opposite was happening. There is a huge difference in profit between 1º and 2º place, so it is of major importance to maximize our edge in heads up play.

So basically I tried to spend some time studying and applying a decent strategy for my heads up play, something that I haven’t really done before (I must admit sometimes I felt kind of lost coming to this phase). I reduced the amount of tables back to two and finally managed to get my graph going up during the last week of February, ending the month with 291,10$ profit.

Eventually I got back to 6 tabling, with the difference that now I play in sets instead of automatically opening a table once I get out of a game. And so far it seems the best set up. I keep a better control of my game as all the tables are with similar blinds, and I also keep a decent notion of how much I’m winning/losing during session. Overall I feel more focused.

As for the rest, I’m afraid I haven’t played almost nothing so far this month, just a couple sessions. I hope to get back on rhythm next week. I would like to go up in stakes till the end of the month but for now I’ll give it a go playing on stars trying to get an entry to the tournament (u know which).

Good luck to you all!

Slow Progress...

Hallo!

Half of the month is gone and to sum it up, it has been an up&down month. I moved up on stakes once I got more than the 101 Buy-ins, as I had originally planned to do, and so far, this has been kind of a frustrating experience.

Truth is I wasn't expecting a big change in the game since the buy-in difference is so small, but for a start the number of regular players like tripled up, and then, variance has been hitting on me (so fun=D! notK). I’m still positive but to see that ev-line getting higher and higher feels awful. 

Also the regulars are looser than I would have expected, particularly in their calling ranges on the bubble which I’m still trying to adapt. I've been focusing a lot on ICM playing, reading articles and playing with SitNGo Wizard. Actually, I put “Kill Everyone” on pause, I only read part one and highly recommend it if you’re into Mtts, or if you have the interest and time to learn more about it. But right now it is not the reading that will help me the most (I think).

I got a couple days off of work this week and I took the time to play and started six tabling, I felt relatively comfortable but I’m pretty aware that I made mistakes I wouldn't have done if I was grinding less tables. Plus I got my little tilt moments…

I think I’m not really affected by tilt when i get a bad beat or when I do a bad play, maybe a bad word will came out but I’m ok to keep playing. What really gets to me is when the software fails. C’mon! Variance is bad enough as it is, I don’t need the software freezing during sessions!! Especially if I’m multi tabling. Usually it’s HM2 who crashes and by solidarity the poker software freezes. ARGH!!

Anyway here is the graph of my so far experience in the new Sng stake:

Current Bankroll: 643.30$

I’ll also leave you the graph with no filters, since my very first day in this poker room, just so you get to see how much the ev-line loves me. It feels like it took off to the moon and is leaving me down on earth.

That’s all for now, I’ll come back to show how the month went up… GL

Month Overview

Hi there!

The first month (although not a complete month) is over and I will make a point of the situation. So I played a total of 335 games for a 184,08$ profit. I've got a ever growing difference between the EV and the Winnings lines, not sure what to make of it. The sample is too short anyway. Here’s the graphic:

The main goals are as set on the previous post. Current Bankroll: 509.32$

Good luck at the tables!

The Plan

Hello again

So to the game:

Well I decided to make a deposit on the 25tᵗʰ December (Christmas resolutions?) of around 40$.  I started by playing a couple of micro mtt to get a feeling of the field and the game itself, (only a tournament at a time) and that actually led me to a coupe final tables which nicely solidified my bankroll.

Now to the plan:

So though I would say cash nl6max to be my favourite type of the game, I decided to give it a try playing 6max hyper turbo sng instead. There are a couple reasons why I did it, first I think it’s probably better to start a new format of the game since I’m going to start from zero, then I think (not sure if I’m right) it’s easier to study…?

Before I made my decision I gave it a try playing a couple sessions of some variants of the game: cash nl6max, zoom 6max and the 6max hyper turbo sng. One of the things I noticed was that there is a considerable difference in the amount of regulars. And after some research through blogs and forums I came to the conclusion that I have enough information to give it a go in the HT. Katerina289s blog might have been a considerable factor in my decision.

So I made some study, defined my ranges and started playing. After a week of playing this was what my results looked like:

Most of times I get 4 recreational players to 1 regular at a table, most of times recreationals are loose/aggressive, some loose/passive, and the regs are few enough that I can review their game and ranges in the few time I have.

I won’t be putting a lot of volume as I don’t have much time, and I only play 1 or 2 tables at a time depending on how I’m feeling. I must mention that I have a 9 to 5 job and though I’ll try to dedicate around 2 hours a day to game, I won’t be able to do it every day. So my main study goals are:

• To study at least 30 min before sessions (review some hands, figuring out the regs hand ranges and defining and improving my own ranges).
•  During sessions mark the hands where I have doubts.
• In the end of the sessions check those hands in ICMIZER.
•  Keep reading “Kill Everyone” by Lee Nelson whenever I have a chance and feel like it.

Than my monetary goals would be:

• To go up in the stakes (I’m currently playing the 3$ HT, I intend to move up when I get 101BB of the next level, and if I need, to move down if I get bellow 80BB of the current level).
• Reach 1k profit till the end of February.

I know you might say it isn’t right to put a monetary number as a main goal, but truth is I don’t expect to invest much in volume since I don’t have the time for it, which leaves me to putting the best game I can in the few volume I’ll make. I hope variance won’t go too hard on me.

Well that’s all for now... 

My Poker Blog

Hello everyone!

So I decided to start this blog not only to keep track of my progress but also, and mainly, to keep me in the right direction. My biggest issues in poker have been, I believe, the lack of focus and discipline, and probably the absence of a plan or objective.

My experience with poker has been mostly recreational, I've known poker for about six years, I created my first account back when I was in university and i played only freerolls for about two years. At some point I made my first deposit of 10€ and since then I've made several small deposits that never led me anywhere… I finished university, got a job and got no time for poker. Though I've always followed the game, and my fav players around the tables.

So I should probably clarify the title of my blog, well besides the fact that I do love Pink Floyd, I guess I’m truly uncomfortably numb. You know, I've studied, like I was supposed to, I got a job like I was supposed to, then I got another job, both with pay checks that will never give me the life I want to live. And what? Am I supposed to do that till... i get old and retire?

I don’t know if poker will change things, but I surely want to give it a try. 

I’ll post again till the end of the week with the details of my game plan, you can expect posts of my progress, such as graphs, strategies, goals,...=P