Moving Through The Levels

Month 9 Week 2 Completion

2008-01-28T07:35:00.000-08:00

100nl Stats

10,628 Hands Played
Profit/Loss +$1151.74
BB/100 +10.84(Poker Tracker)
V$PIP 19%
PFR 14%
Post Flop Aggro 2.3
Showdowns Won 51.5%
Rakeback $313(Estimated)
SignUp Bonus $140($500 deposit for new account) Now Complete

Total Proft/Loss +$1604.74

Previous Bankroll: $2300
Profits added to Bankroll: $800
Profits deducted for liferake: $804.74

New Bankroll: $3100

A good week, slipped slightly at the end but i guess that was to be expected because i ran hot this week, last week was the total opposite and to be honest id settle for somewhere in between. This has accellerated my move to 200nl and i had to withdraw 50% of my profits this week to life rake as im planning on booking a holiday to Vietnam and Cambodia in June so $800 to life rake and $800 to my bankroll bringing my bankroll from $2300 to $3100. I also have a rakerace finishing in 2 or 3 weeks which i should easily get the $500 prize in that so im going to add that to my roll in advance which would bring my roll to $3600 so if i can make $400 or more profit this week ill make the move to 200nl next week. I wont be making the move exclusively ill basically play the best games available between 100nl and 200nl with the preference towards 200nl but rather than play a tight 200nl game when traffic is low ill play a loose 100nl instead. Anyway this is good, i hope to build on this and i think its good i got the finger out and started trying to make things happen although im under no illussion that this is just 1 week and i cant expect to have this every week.

Am i Dillusional?

2008-01-21T01:34:00.000-08:00

Jop said...
I wonder what you are doing to improve your game.
When I read your blog it seems full of posts where you tell that you had another losing week. Playing 9 tables and nitting it up is imho bad if your game is not great yet. You could better take some time 2 tabling or so, or reviewing sessions in depth, than 9 tabling like a bot.

Just my 2 cents

I do alot to improve my game but i dont really discuss details on this blog because i dont think it would be an advantage to giving people who read this play against me on a regular basis.

I started this blog moreso for a discipline point of view but i do discuss whats going on im my game just not in detail, its more of a stats results blog to shame me into keeping disciplined. Yes i have leaks and yes even up to recently i had some reasonable leaks and i probably still have lots of leaks but im constantly improving, constantly thinking and reviewing my game and i think im playing as well as i ever have from an ability point of view and also a discipline point of view, but over the past 8 months on this blog i think ive came a long way and in particular i feel over the last few weeks i think ive made considerable strides in improving my game which i referred to at the time saying i felt things just clicked.

Maybe im being dellusional because my results havent reflected that recently but i think over the last few weeks i have been hitting bad variance even when i was doing well and i feel i can really push on now over the next few weeks. Weve heard it all before but even the top players have went through huge spells of bad variance, i read Jmans well the other morning and he commented that he ran well for the first 2 years and that had he experinced the variance that he experienced since that he may not have stuck it out.

I post my Hands regularly on forums and im involved in a private forum where we discuss theory, hand histories and do video sessions and a few other things. Youll rarely see a day pass when i dont write or reply to a HH or thread on theory.

I think up to the last few weeks i was doing things that were lowering my winrate considerably yet i had alot more leaks when i was easily beating 100nl in October and Early November, the difference i think was i was running hot then wheras im running bad now.

On the 9 tabling thing, there was a rakerace with $7.5k 1st prize for 2 weeks on ipoker, i taught that was worth a shot, after 2 days it seemed obvious i wasnt going to be anywhere near the top few so i just gave up. Its not something i plan on continuing, i wasnt abandoning my game to persue multitabling or neglecting the improvement of my game just capatilising on what i taught was a +EV oppurtunity but the competition was alot harder than i expected.

A new Dawn And A New Challenge

2008-01-20T17:28:00.000-08:00

Ok, this blog is beginning to get boring to be honest. I dont have the same motivation to keep it going, largely because the results havent been impressive. Anyway to recap im doing this fulltime now for the past 2 months and people must be laughing themseleves silly thinking im play 100nl for a living.

I was deluded by what looks like a hot streak i hit in Oct/Nov and taught i would be fine but my expectations were too high, that seems a long time ago now but im still learning the game and it was only just over a year ago that i didnt even know which was the better hand a four of a kind or a straight so ive come a long way.

Although it also seems clear now that over the last 6 months im a losing player not including rake and possibly even a losing player with rake but i think where im at now in my game i think im good enough to be a winning player at 100nl or 200nl and i do think although alot of my losses are down to playing bad/tilting that i certainly havent been having a hot streak since Mid November so i think im sliightly under-represented but only time will tell on that.

So i think a fresh challenge is in order, i had previously said im happy to plug away at 100nl until i clear some loans and bills and then make a break for 200nl. Since its obvious now that playing 100nl and withdrawing life expenses is going to make this a dreadfully slow and painstaking ordeal ive decided im going to commit to working on increasing my bankroll as soon as possible so i can move up.

I dont think i can continue in the medium term to play 100nl as a fulltime job and i really want to continue playing poker full time so i need to move up for the extra financial gain, then i will be in a better position to clear loand and bills quicker.

So heres the plan. Im back playing 6 tables now, i felt 4 was too slow for me and i can still play well 6tabling and using HM to get the most of stats. So i figure i can put in an average of 7k hands a week. Im setting myself a target of approx 4bb/100 and if i cant achieve that then it dosent matter i shouldnt be at 200nl.

My Current Bankroll is about $2.3k which has obviously been dented over the last few weeks. I want to get to about 4k which will be 20 buyins for 200nl and ill take shots, if i lose 6-7 buyins ill drop and rebuild to 4k again and retry.

So where before i was basically paying bills and leaving myself with 20-25 buyins bankroll for 100nl now i will withdraw the minimum i need and leave the rest for my bankroll.

So if i achieve approx 4bb/100 then i should be taking in $300 + $200 rakeback, if i can stick away 1/2 of that every week i should have enough to take shots in about 7 weeks hopefully sooner. So by Month 11 Week 1 i should be reporting on 200nl stats.

Month 9 Week 1 Completion

2008-01-20T17:06:00.000-08:00

So much for increasing my winrate, had another bad week but hell i really ran bad, i done alot of reviewing of my hands and im pretty confident i played very well but sick beat followed after sick beat and it didnt let up, i did manage to claw from about 15 or 16 buyins down to around 9 buyins down later in the week though. Ive read a bit about downswings though and really i should be too concerned by it because what ive seen is nothing compared with some runs out there. I did play alot of hands this week because i made an attempt at the Ipoker big 100k Rakerace but gave up after a few days when i realised ipoker is either full of robots or people who 16 table 10 hours a day.

Anyway my bonus and rakeback, which seems to save me alot lately, stood up once again to turn my horrible week into a medium loss due to the amount of hands i got played. Ive only about $140 left in that bonus so i wont have that comfort next week. The extra hands i played didnt have an impact on my win rate though, basically i tightened up when i was 9 tabling which will be evident in my stats this week.

100nl Stats

13841 Hands Played
Profit/Loss -$884.72
BB/100 -6.39(Poker Tracker)
V$PIP 17%
PFR 14%
Post Flop Aggro 2.8
Showdowns Won 50%
Rakeback $375(Estimated)
SignUp Bonus $260($500 deposit for new account)

Total Proft/Loss -$249.72

Month 8 Week 4 Completion

2008-01-14T21:27:00.000-08:00

Well the end of another month, overall im happy enough as its an improvement but i still have to believe i can improve an awful lot more. I had a small blowup during one of the days when i probably lost 2-3 buyins from making calls i felt i could have got away from but other than that i felt it was probably the best month ive put in, Not the most profitable but probably the most solid.

In saying that i done alot of review work using Holdem Manager and ive found what i consider to be a huge leak, as i dont want to be openly discussing my weaknesses on a public blog i wont say too much but i really expect that i can improve my results by at least 50% now that ive spotted this leak.

Anyway on to results, the cards just didnt run for me this week but i guess thats how it goes sometimes. I also have a new account now, which i setup so my account is in Euro which helps with currency converter charges when withdrawing to my moneybookers account and i got another $500 deposit bonus which is great.

100nl Stats

6472 Hands Played
Profit/Loss -$407.82
BB/100 -6.30(Poker Tracker)
V$PIP 22%
PFR 16%
Post Flop Aggro 2.37
Showdowns Won 51%
Rakeback $209(Estimated)
SignUp Bonus $100($500 deposit for new account)

Total Proft/Loss -$98.82

I dont have the monthly stats as i switched database from PT to Holdem Manager but heres the final profit for the month including all bonuses, if im honest bonuses and rakeback were my main earners this month.

Total Profit for the Month $2,513.76

Month 8 Week 3 Completion

2008-01-06T18:57:00.001-08:00

100nl Stats

6573 Hands Played
Profit/Loss +$371.83
BB/100 +5.66(Poker Tracker)
V$PIP 22%
PFR 16%
Post Flop Aggro 2.8
Showdowns Won 49%
Rakeback $233(Estimated)
Reload Bonus $140(Lodged $1200 to take advantage of 50% reload bonus)
Reload Bonus Now Complete
GJP Points Bonus +$36

Total Proft/Loss +$780.83

Another steady week, not crushing but steady and i was really happy with my game. Ive also decided to play just 4 tables anymore, 5 sometimes if theres juicy tables but 4 mostly. This is so i can give my full concentration to as many decisions as possible. Ive also changed over to using Holdem Manager which i could sing the praises of but i dont want to because i hope most people buy PT3 instead, all the better for me.

So im still waiting on word back about my coaching and hopefully that will help me improve further. I should also add with only 4 tables i can only expect between 5-6k hands a week now but im firmly of the belief that i can make more money playing 4 tables than i could playing 6 even though i lose out on rake and rakeraces if i can just save 1 buyin a week i think it would easily make up for that.

Month 8 Week 2 Completion

2008-01-04T17:55:00.000-08:00

100nl Stats

6,679 Hands Played
Profit/Loss +$478.10
BB/100 +7.15(Poker Tracker)
V$PIP 20%
PFR 15%
Post Flop Aggro 2.47
Showdowns Won 53%
Rakeback $190(Estimated)
Reload Bonus $160(Lodged $1200 to take advantage of 50% reload bonus)

Total Proft/Loss +$828.10

Not a bad week, its nice for a change to at least feel like im heading in the right direction, im feeling good about my game but i still feel i must be doing something wrong that im not beating the levels consistently so ive approached HJ from boards.ie for some coaching and hopefully we can get going on that this next week. Anyway i feel im playing well and ive seem to have gotten a grasp of 3betting and my discipline, not 100% there yet but closing in.

Month 8 Week 1 Completion

2007-12-26T22:19:00.000-08:00

100nl Stats

7,038 Hands Played
Profit/Loss -$72.35
BB/100 -0.51(Poker Tracker)
V$PIP 21%
PFR 16%
Post Flop Aggro 2.99
Showdowns Won 44%
Rakeback $176(Estimated)
Reload Bonus $150(Lodged $1200 to take advantage of 50% reload bonus)
GJP xmas Rakerace took 4th place for $750

Total Proft/Loss +$1003.65

So another poor week saved only by some nice bonuses but i guess a profits a profit. I really think my games improved more over the last few weeks than at any other period since ive started, something's just clicked lately and i feel like im thinking on a whole new level on what situations are profitable and what other people are thinking about which should help me narrow ranges and broaden mine but the facts dont lie and im a losing player so ive decided ill get some coaching to see if im really running bad or playing bad and picking up any bad habits.

What my new way of thinking has made me realise though, is that even going back to the time when i was running good i had alot of leaks, some big and some small but there was quite a few and i feel ive plugged quite a few by now and i realise that sometimes leaks arent so obvious and the only way they become obvious is to post lots of hands and constantly to keep thinking about poker theory. I think there is certain times when something just dosent make sense but at a later stage it just may click and then leaks become obvious, if we switch off and stop posting hands and discussing theory then we miss these leaks.

For example if i have alot of trouble calculating accurate ranges then all my decisions and equity calculations would be inaccurate alot of the time. It wouldnt feel like a leak, i would calculate that i made the correct decision based on my equity vs hes range and would presume i had done the right thing. Only when im capable of understanding ranges accurately can i fully make use of equity calculations and plug that leak, so as i continue to increase my poker knowledge and experience i improve other parts of my game.

Month 7 Week 4 Completion

2007-12-19T09:54:00.000-08:00

Well That concludes another terrible month, i guess over this sample it proves im not a winning 100nl player and im not even close. I guess ill give it a few more weeks and see if things improve and if not ill try some coaching, i feel that i have the theoretical knowledge to beat this level but it seems i just cant put it into practice. Saying that i felt my overall play was solid this week but i just wasnt getting the cards but maybe thats just not facing reality.

I did however improve on discipline and i had to call an end to sessions early twice if not 3 times so i didnt get that many hands played but in reviewing the session they were just coolers, set over set, FH outdrawing my flushes, flush over flush etc but i have noticed that when im around the $300 or so mark down i can sometimes lose a buyin and pass over the threshold i had set to stop playing of $350 so ill reduce my threshold to $300 or 3buyins from now on before i decide to stop for the day. Anyway heres the results:

100nl Stats

7,055 Hands Played
Profit/Loss -$1,282.97
BB/100 -9.09(Poker Tracker)
V$PIP 21%
PFR 15%
Post Flop Aggro 2.82
Showdowns Won 47%
Rakeback $176(Estimated)
Reload Bonus $150(Lodged $1200 to take advantage of 50% reload bonus)
Also played 3 sng 1 of the nights when i passed my loss threshold, i came 1st in one $50 sng, 2nd in another and 3rd in a $30 sng, but because they were 6 seaters i only cashed in the 1st 2 as 3rd place dosent get paid and made a total profit of $170

Total Proft/Loss -$786.97

Month 7 Stats 100nl

43,939 Hands Played
Profit/Loss -$1,326.40
BB/100 -1.51(Poker Tracker)
V$PIP 21%
PFR 16%
Post Flop Aggro 2.3
Showdowns Won 50%
Rakeback $1,262(Estimated)
Green Joker Poker Bonus: $94
Reload Bonus $150
Also played 3 sng 1 of the nights when i passed my loss threshold, i came 1st in one $50 sng, 2nd in another and 3rd in a $30 sng, but because they were 6 seaters i only cashed in the 1st 2 as 3rd place dosent get paid and made a total profit of $170

Total Proft/Loss +$349.60

Month 7 Week 3 Completion

2007-12-09T15:07:00.000-08:00

Ok i decided to have a longer week so i can make my withdrawals on Monday instead of Friday so ill have money in the bank before the weekend rather than having it when the weekend is over because when i lodge on Thursday its usually Monday or Tuesday before the bank transfer is done so there is 10 days of play this week

Well another sob story and im fucking sick of it to be honest, my discipline is just horrible, i was flying along and then i had a terrible day when i could'nt win a hand and so i decided to start playing spewy obviously and just dug a bigger hole for myself, i played way too long aswell and after the 1 day session and 3k hands i was 8 buyins down. That was followed by another bad run but i kept my discipline that day.

Anyway after all is said and done it wasnt too bad of a week and to help in my discipline im committing myself to quiting for the day whenever i lose 3.5bi, no exceptions as this has happened too many times and although sometimes if i continue to play when im suffering bad beats ill go on a good run and recover but more often than not i go on semi tilt, making bad calls and bad decsions so this is the best way i think. If i could control my discipline better i could do as everyone else does and take a walk, do something else for an hour etc but i just cant trust myself and i let it get to my play so ill just call it quits wheter im playing for 10 min or 4 hours once i hit the 3.5bi downswing ill just finish playing poker and do something else for the day. But other than that day i played very well overall.

The day before my infamous downswing i had an interesting night playing poker, a regular NIT called nimsay1 made an uncharacteristic mistake when he 3bet me, then cbet the AK flop, i had AK and i pushed and he called with QJ and only the gutshot to help him. Just took a note and figured he taught i was bluffing but unusual to see him showdown QJ as he usually dosent 3bet light.

So a while later in the day he started 3betting alot, i was at hes table and figured he was tilting and this was followed by reckless 3betting and pushing almost any flop, he got lucky a few times and then i got AA, i misclicked and min 4bet hes 3bet, he pushed another villain called with AQ because he probably knew he was tilting too and i called with my AA, Then Nimsay showed down hes KQo and hit 4 to a flush to take the big pot. Shortly after i called hes now customary 3bet with 55 and flop came down 234 and as usual he pushed and i called and hes 99 held up.

But it was only to get better, he then started open pushing every single hand on the 12 tables he had running and i mean every hand, wheter someone had raised or 3bet or not he just pushed. I had 5 all ins with him AJ and AT both held up without even pairing, then 66 and 77 both also held up as did my AA. Just before he left i got dealt QQ and i limped expecting the get pushed on and he checked it down and left, not to pleased but i made my money as did half of the ipoker customers.

It was after midnight and usually quiet but as word quickly spread of a maniac open pushing every hand the action to get to the table was so fierce there was between 9 and 12 people waiting to get onto all of hes tables. On the 2 table i was on myself and another semi regular Nanka had over $1500 between us on the 2 tables and one table we were both 5bi deep but unfortunately when nimsay left he did too as i have some good notes on him and would have liked to get into a few big pots with him. So as Nimsay left all the tables were discussing how much everyone won as all the TAG's who had been waiting patiently to get a pop at Nimsay came and left in disappointment as it became apparant himself and most of hes bankroll had departed. All that was left was several deep stack tables of TAG's and i called it a night. Little did i know the following day i would have my own nightmare to deal with.

So i will be updating every Sunday or Monday anymore.

100nl Stats

18,093 Hands Played
Profit/Loss +$695.99
BB/100 +1.92(Poker Tracker)
V$PIP 21%
PFR 16%
Post Flop Aggro 2.45
Showdowns Won 52%
Rakeback $524(Estimated)
Green Joker Points Bonus +$34

Total Proft/Loss +$1253.99

Month 7 Week 2 Completion

2007-12-01T10:33:00.000-08:00

100nl Stats

8,588 Hands Played
Profit/Loss -$187.61
BB/100 -1.09(Poker Tracker)
V$PIP 22%
PFR 16%
Post Flop Aggro 2.14
Showdowns Won 50%
Rakeback $262(Estimated)
Green Joker Points Bonus +$60

Total Proft/Loss +$134.39

Another poor week but i will say i played very well and the cards just arent running for me at the moment but it will come in time. One day after a 2.5k sample i counted 13 bad beat pots over $50 and alot of them full stacks, i still managed to finish less than a buyin down over that sample and for peace fo mind i posted these 13 pots for review to see if people taught they were bad beats or poor play and the response that i got was that although one or two could have been played slightly different like betting turn instead of checking turn there were nearly all bad beats or bad situations, there was one alright where i made a $50 river call which i should have got away from but it confirms for me that i am running bad but still playing well. Only a 4.5 buyin upswing on the last day salvaged this though so maybe ive turned the corner. Not much to report other than that other than im still working hard on my game, much harder than ive done before.

Month 7 Week 1 Update

2007-11-22T16:27:00.000-08:00

100nl Stats

10,203 Hands Played (4 day week due to holidays)
Profit/Loss -$551.81
BB/100 -2.70(Poker Tracker)
V$PIP 22%
PFR 15%
Post Flop Aggro 1.92
Showdowns Won 48%
Rakeback $300(Estimated)

Total Proft/Loss -$251.81

Ok lots to get through and i think this will turn into a bit of a novel. Ive been doing alot of soul searching and doubting my game, im still playing 3bet pots badly but ill eventually get a grip on this. Ive as always done alot of hand reviews and have been thinking through my game and ive think ive identified more leaks which i wont go into for obvious reasons.

So due to horrible variance which sends me on tilt and with 9 tables running even though i dont tilt for long i start turning into a calling station and playing exactly like the people im chasing. Its like a scene out of The Fly, where he comes out of the vacuum chamber and slowly but surely he starts growing wings and the eyes of a fly, this was me except i was growing fins and a tail and every 5 seconds i kept forgetting telling myself to stop spewing chips. So it again came to surface after i only managed a short 4 day week due to been away on holidays, i had 2 good days building a profit of about $500 and by the end of day3 i was down over 8 Buy ins. Sick is an understatement especially since i felt i was finally coming through this bad spell. I will admit im having horrible variance but im also spewing too much.

Image Taken From HowToRunShite.com

So anyways the changes ive put in place from this week on, some ive already started practicing and others are new. Firstly since im officially playing professionally, if i can use the word the way im playing, ive decided to treat it a bit more like a business. I need to devise a sink plug to stop me spewing chips down the drain when im running bad so i stop now when i make 2 bad mistakes or when ive played for 2 hours or if i lose 3 buyins. I generally stick to 2-3 x 1-2 hour sessions.

Also i review each and every single session and write a report on how i play, not so my boss can review the report but i find when i write something i pay more attention to it than just thinking it which can fade quickly so i find this makes me recognises where i went wrong more vividly. So i have these sheets printed out with date, time start, time finish, profit/loss, 2 boxes to tick when i make bad mistakes and a section to write a review. Theres not much to reviewing a 1-2hr session anyway rather than trying to review at the end of the day so i dont mind it. Its mostly a discipline exercise because as you can see last month i made -$500 which if it continues ill be out of business in a couple of months.

Now anyone following this from GJP will be delighted with the following, ive giving up on the rakerace, i was in with a great shout of winning it but although i tried to convince myself i was coping with 9 tables i was timing out too much when trying to write notes, making rushed decisions, constantly seeing zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz in the chat box etc etc and i feel i have a great nose for the stats so reducing my tables to 6 and concentrating on them will obviously greatly benefit me. Ill probably only be playing 8-10k hands a week and will quickly fall from the rakerace but i think its well worth it as i also find myself being forcing into playing a rediculous amount of hands to keep up with the rakerace rather than playing when im up for it. For example the few days before i went on Holiday i was playing 4-5k hands per day to beef me up for the days i would miss while i was away.

I really do feel ive improved so much over this last 4 weeks and i strongly believe that when we hit a bad run like this we learn a great deal about our game and put alot more effort into finding leaks which we dont seem to do when running well. So i can honestly say i no longer have any excuses for a bad performance other than bad variance, thats not to say i dont have other leaks but i certainly have plugged alot over the last few weeks and i was running very well before this so as i say no more excuses.

Month 6 Week 4 Completion

2007-11-22T16:04:00.000-08:00

100nl Stats

17,777 Hands Played
Profit/Loss -$440.53
BB/100 -1.24(Poker Tracker)
V$PIP 21%
PFR 14%
Post Flop Aggro 2.25
Showdowns Won 49%
Rakeback $513.00(Estimated)

Total Proft/Loss +$74.47

Ok i fell behind on updating due to being over in Cardiff for the Wales match, great city, lovely people and someone ill definetely a city ill look to go back to. 3 hours drive to Rosslare, 3 hours on the ferry and 3 hours on a bus from Fishgaurd to Cardiff followed by mountains of drink can really take it out of you but hell was it worth it and there was actually a great atmosphere at the game which surprised me giving it was essentially a friendly.

If this is what millenium stadium is like when its half full id dearly love to see it full to capacity, the atmosphere must be mindblowing. So i can only hope we get a few more exotic/interesting countries to visit when the World Cup draw is done on Sunday and ive said my prayers that we dont get Slovakia after visiting there for the Slovakia game earlier in the year i feel thats only a suitable place to send the prisoners from Guantanamo bay, although may be a bit too harsh and i wouldnt be surprised if they asked to go back.

Anyway enough of non poker events, another poor week which ill go into details in the above weekly update and heres the Monthly update below.

35,893 Hands Played
Profit/Loss -$1,523.47
BB/100 -2.12(Poker Tracker)
V$PIP 21%
PFR 15%
Post Flop Aggro 2.3
Showdowns Won 49%
Rakeback $1077.00(Estimated)

Total Proft/Loss -$446.47

Month 6 Week 3 completion

2007-11-09T03:54:00.000-08:00

100nl Stats

12,658 Hands Played
Profit/Loss -$819.43
BB/100 -3.24(Poker Tracker)
V$PIP 21%
PFR 16%
Post Flop Aggro 2.30
Showdowns Won 49%
Rakeback $392.00(Estimated)

Total Proft/Loss -$427.43

The week started great making nearly 8 buyins after the 1st day but quickly went downhill after that. I felt i was playing well bar one blowup which cost me about 4 buyins after i suffered alot of bad beats. Any i also quit the last few hours of the job as i was doing but as its a family business the job and any amount of hours is always open to me so its not exactly a risk and this is what i want to be doing.

This should allow me to play cira 15k hands a week and im also switching to mini view tables so i may be able to add a few more tables but its not a priority and if im not comfortable playing more than 8 then i wont, rake isnt as important to me now as it was a couple of months ago, my performance is.

Anyway i should have put in 15k hands this week but for the last 2 days i spent my time analyzing where i might be going wrong, i came to the conclusion and im getting sick of it at this stage that my 3betting is very weak and spewy and i have to get a handle on it, i dont want to go into what im going to change as it may be giving away too many secrets but i really feel i have a handle on it. It was a tough week and i learned alot and i also want to continue to improve what i touched on the week before where i want to think logically through each hands and i made steps towards that during the week and hopefully ill continue this week.

Once again im really looking forward to this week and putting things right so well see where things will take us.

Month 6 Week 2 Completion - Shot at 200nl but back to 100nl

2007-10-31T18:12:00.000-07:00

Well as the title suggests i took a shot at 200nl, played well was up about $650 after the 1st day but i hit some horrible horrible variance on the 2nd day and lost about $1300 or more and ended up about $700 or so down in total. At this point i decided to move back to 100nl and wait till im properly bankrolled.

I played some horrible stuff at 100nl drifting back into my usual 3betting light without any clue what im at and getting in lots of trouble that was followed by more solid play at 100nl but i again hit some terrible variance.

Anyway i setup a new database when i moved up but i had a 2nd pc datamining and i ended up with double stats between the 2 different databases so i dont have any accurate stats but i know exactly what i lost:

100nl & 200nl
Estimated 6.5k Hand Played in total
Loss -$1096
Rakeback Approx $250
Total Loss -$846.00

So ive been putting it off long enough, 3betting has been putting me into alot of bad spots and as soon as i tighten up i start playing well but whenever i slip into an aggressive 3betting mood i can really hit some high variance as ive seen in many of the shocking swings ive had over the past few weeks. So i played very little and concentrated on going through alot of 200nl cardrunners videos to see how 3betting should go and as usual cardrunners is great for showing how simplistic things should be done and my 3betting style is way too aggressive. Ill watch a few more videos and ill read up a bit more on 3betting until im confident what im at but some of the hands ive been 3betting and calling 3bets with are ridiculous.

The other thing im going to try to develop is thinking through my logical thinking on a hand before i make turn/river calls. I think one of my strong suits is looking at a hand history and logically thinking through what my villains range is based on stats, betting patterns etc, but i find too often at the time i just make a decision without running that same logical process through my head that i would when analyzing a HH and i end up calling the likes of an all in with a flush on a paired board when if i think about it logically i know its not +EV to make the call even if hes bluffing sometimes. If i use this effectively my win rate will definetely improve alot. I need something to force me to do this in the beggining until it becomes 2nd nature like maybe writing down on a piece of paper what hands i think he would do this with before calling or talking the logical process i think when reviewing a HH so im forcing myself to hear my taughts, i know i wont work this into my game instantly but over the next week i hope to improve it drastically.

What i really want now is stability and i plan on making no moves to 200nl this side of Christmas, i want to apply the above to my game and get a good 6-8 weeks at 100nl where i want to really beat the level comfortably and keep my discipline as its becoming increasingly obvious that ive let my discipline drop over the last few weeks and i want to prove to myself im capable of beating this level. Im really confident i can do this and i expect to see some seriously good results in the next few weeks.

Month 6 Week 1 Completion

2007-10-26T05:25:00.000-07:00

100nl Stats

8,578 Hands Played
Profit/Loss +$1,153.40
BB/100 6.72 (Poker Tracker)
V$PIP 20%
PFR 15%
Post Flop Aggro 2.13
Showdowns Won 52%
Rakeback $280.00(Estimated)
Joker Points Bonus $45
Total Proft/Loss +$1,478.40

Good week again and back on track, didnt play as many hands as i would have liked though but played a solid game. As you can see from the graph i had a great start to the week winning $1k in 2 x 2hr sessions and the rest of the week was a bit up and down but i was happy with my play. Im going to take a shot at 200nl next week, im under-rolled to be honest with about 4k but ive around $1k of rakeback due early next month so if i lose 4-5 buyins ill add that 1k to my bankroll and drop back and if i go well ill let the bankroll build to $7k and stay at 100nl.

Month 5 Week 4 Completion

2007-10-19T09:55:00.000-07:00

100nl Stats

11,009 Hands Played
Profit/Loss -$523.93
BB/100 -2.38
V$PIP 21%
PFR 15%
Post Flop Aggro 1.85
Showdowns Won 48%
Rakeback $305.00 (Estimated)
Total Proft/Loss -$218.93

Another Tough Week and i burst out of the traps to a quick 1k profit before hitting a horrible patch of variance and i struggled to get going after that and it quickly turned sour and into a downward spiral. I got all in with the best hand so many times to get outdrawn it was sick but funnily enough i think i learn more during a tough week than i do when im coasting because i analyze my play more and think more about what plays are getting me into bad situations.

Ive noticed over the past few weeks ive had some serious downswings in 1 session upto 9 buyins down for example but ive recovered a few times against the odds but i wonder should i be quitting the session earlier and taking a break, i find it hard to quit in the middle of a session when im down and ill end up playing a longer session than normal to try and recover. Ill see if i can get some advice from people on it but i think its a weakness i have and i tend not to over tilt but i will make loose calls when i play in extended sessions.

The one thing i can take from this is its the 1st time in 2 months that ive finished with a loss which is something i can take from this rough patch but im confident now that over a extended period i am and will continue to be a winning player at 100nl and i have to master 3betting light and the concepts it involves before i can think of moving up to 200nl.

Heres the End of Months Stats for 100nl:

42,121 Played
Profit/Loss +$3,025.61
BB/100 3.59
V$PIP 20%
PFR 15%
Post Flop Aggro 2.07
Showdowns Won 50%
Rakeback $1,206.68
Total Proft/Loss +$4232.29

Approx $44 per Hour incl Rakeback for 96 hours

Month 5 Week 3 Completion

2007-10-11T14:12:00.000-07:00

Tough Week, I twice came back from $600 and $900 down to recover to a small loss and a small profit, i wasnt satisfied but just like a big favourite in a soccer game whos expected to win a game easily to go 2-0 down and come back and draw although theyll be disappointed of course it almost feels like a victory, i then followed that with a small win followed by a $450 dowswing but i came back strong in the last 2 days to a somewhat respectable level giving the week i had.

I decided against moving up quickly, somewhat because the bad variance hit home and reminds me how easy it is to lose a large % of your roll quickly and 2nd because i have a couple of trips planned before christmas so i want to concentrate on paying bills so ill have plenty available and also christmas itself when ill probably be playing very little and drinking alot, God i love the christmas sessions, you get to meet all your mates that have retired to family life and you dont see that often so its great to catch up.

Anyway difficult week but i finshed strong and i think ive got the variance out of the way for now but im sure i can expect alot worse in the future. With good bankroll management and logical thinking variance isnt really a bad thing, its basically odds evening out over a long period so if i have terrible variance this month in the coming months i can expect some good variance as things even themselves out and i think some people forget that AA vs QQ or AA vs S/C will win 1 time in 5, it has to happen so you just need to deal with it and get on.

Ive moved to GJP and so my rakeback will be paid early each month now but i can still calculate it via poker tracker so ill keep it updated weekly. When i moved i got a clean slate so i decided not to be doing silly things as i felt i was over 3betting and so i was getting called down too much by people who probably had notes on me. of coures thats great when you have a premium hand but if im being very aggressive ill have a marginal hand more often that a premium hand. So i think overall considering the downswing ive recovered well, didnt let tilt get too much hold of me when i was down there although there was occassions i did let it possess me but i guess thats to be expected, point being i got stuck in and recovered well instad of moaning about it and it paid off.

100nl Stats

12,772 Hands Played
Profit +$379.12
BB/100 1.48
V$PIP 20%
PFR 15%
Post Flop Aggro 2.14
Showdowns Won 50%
Rakeback $393.68

Never play tourneys but i chanced my arm at the GP $2.5k Freezout on Ipoker and finsihed 8 for $68 profit when i hit 2 pair and villain hit runner runner to hit 4 to a flush and knock me out, if id won i would have gone 4th in chips but not to be.

Tourney Profit: $68

Total Proft/Loss +$840.80

Month 5 Week 2 Completion

2007-10-04T16:44:00.000-07:00

100nl Stats

11,985 Hands Played
Profit +$1,653.86
BB/100 6.90
V$PIP 21%
PFR 16%
Post Flop Aggro 2.14
Showdowns Won 54%
Rakeback $350

Total Proft/Loss +$2,003.86

Funny week, i ran well no doubt about that but i started getting into 3/4betting light alot more and even though i actually done ok i made some horrible calls, i made some good bluffs after 3bets and got called with a few bluffs but i was definetley on the better side of the results and i think my aggression over ran them until i got sloppy and became a calling station for a while (see 2 big yoyo dips in above chart), had i picked better spots to call light and not called all in a few times with the likes of BP etc i would have done so much better, i just think i lose my edge because when theres not alot of light 3betting i can read the opponents better because i can narrow their range much better.

In short ive alot to learn about 3/4 betting and i dont really need to be doing it that much at this level, ill get some coaching on it before a move up and watch alot of cardrunners videos but for now ill just calm it down a bit until i get the hang of it plus all those with notes on me 3betting light now will be calling me down lighter and ill have tightened up so ill have an edge.

Got my New Dell Monitor and have increased to 8tabling from 5tabling. Heres some screenshots, the bit with the fire background is my 2nd smaller monitor so you can see the difference in dimesions between the 2:

Its pretty damn cool and worth every penny, but its looking lonely so maybe sometime in the future ill have to get it a partner. It wont be long paying for itself by the look of it through rakeback and also the extra im winning extra by playing 3 more tables while im showing a profit. On that note im also moving back to GJP, my Rakeback/Loyalty Scheme will now be paid monthly so ill update it whenever it arrives early each month. I hope my new home is good to me.

Im starting to get the bug to move up although id rather just keep going at this rate to get a better idea of where im really at over a larger sample. The last thing i want is to move up and get hammered and lose a few K of the bankroll and have to start again.

My bankroll was 3k when i moved to 100nl 3 or 4 weeks ago, ive been mostly withdrawing the majority of profits to my credit card and bank but ive added a small portion each week and my bankroll is 3.8k now. I could easily not withdraw for 3-4 weeks and if i continue to run as good ill be around the 7k mark which would be sufficent to move up but id much rather have that money cleared off my credit card etc, as im off the drink for a month ill need very little cash for myself so i might put whatever money i would have been withdrawing into my bankroll and the rest in the credit card, ill see how things go.

Month 5 Week 1 Completion

2007-09-27T15:16:00.000-07:00

100nl Stats

6,355 Hands Played
Profit +$1,516.56
BB/100 11.93
V$PIP 20.5%
PFR 16.5%
Post Flop Aggro 2.17
Showdowns Won 50%
Rakeback $160.00

Total Proft/Loss +$1676.56

Another Good week but i have to be honest and say i havent played as bad as i did in the last 2 days in a long time. Really Spewy stuff like calling all in with AQs, calling a 3bet with 34s and getting all in with BP etc etc.

I think alot of the problems are coming from my new style where i like to raise or fold the SB, then i was telling myself when they 3bet me there only doing it because im being aggressive from the blinds when in fact their stats show they fold a high % in the BB. Anyway even though i played horrible both days i managed to recover from 2-3 Buyins down to 2-3.5 buyins up, if i had been consistent throughout i could have easily had at least 5 more buyins this week.

I think i need to be more disciplined, realising that i need to appreciate the importance of making the best decision every time to make sure my edge on my opponents is a big as possible by not making mistakes. Its not that easy to make the right decision every single time for my typical 1k-1.5k day session but if im going to be successful at this its what i need to do because i wont get away with it at higher levels.

So im expecting my new Dell 2407 24" 1900 x 1200 baby tommorrow or Monday and i will start increasing from 5tabling to 8 tabling gradually. It feels so great to be able to buy something from money i made from poker, such a satisfying feeling. Ill also be taking a nice little junk out of my credit card, padding my bankroll and withdrawing a few bob for myself. Im currently playing about 15-20 hours 5 tabling a week so my hourly rate is quite good now. Dvdfan over and Out!

Month 4 Week 4 Completion

2007-09-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

100nl Stats

5,400 Hands Played
Profit +$879.38
BB/100 8.14
V$PIP 22%
PFR 16%
Post Flop Aggro 2.59
Showdowns Won 52%
Rakeback $176.00
Noble Points $34.00

Total Proft/Loss +$1089.38

Another Good week and a consistent month. I feel really comfortably with my game at the moment but i still think im running a bit hot so this recent run may well be the exception and not the norm but im hoping i average out to be a 6bb/100 player at this level.

Funny thing ive had a few internet type businesses and it was always kind of goal of mine to be able to make a living off the internet which would give me the option to travel and live in countries like Thailand or Eastern Europe where $2k a month would be more than enough to live off without the stress and hassle of a 9-5 job. Thing is now that im getting closer to achieving this it feels a bit deflated and im thinking can i make more. I suppose thats a good thing and like anything else we always want what we cannot have more than anything else but when we get it then we focus our attention on something else out of our reach.

My immediate goals are just to keep around 6bb/100+ over a large sample and keep withdrawing money and pay off some credit card bills etc and then concentrate on building a roll for 200nl, ive still alot to learn before i can tackle 200nl but i think i can do it.

So onwards and upwards and heres the end of Month Stats

22,850 Hands Played (18k 100nl and 4.5k 50nl)
Profit +$2,489.62
BB/100 6.58
V$PIP 21%
PFR 14%
Post Flop Aggro 2.63
Showdowns Won 50%
Rakeback $606.00
Noble Points $34.00

Total Proft/Loss +$3,129.62

Month 4 Week 3 Completion

2007-09-05T05:33:00.000-07:00

100nl Stats

5,041 Hands Played
Profit +$688.12
BB/100 6.83
V$PIP 22%
PFR 14%
Post Flop Aggro 2.71
Showdowns Won 48%
Rakeback $134.00

Total Proft/Loss +$822.12

Well i didnt get may hands in this week because im having a short week because im flying out to see the 2 Ireland Games in Slovakia and Czech Republic. Cant wait and great to be leaving on a good note. I actually wasnt happy with some of my hands in the last 2 days, played a couple of them bad and should have been at least 2 BI better off but overall the last 2 weeks ive been playing fairly solid.

I play a good few short sessions rather than 1 or 2 long ones and i think its really helping, im not getting many hands in compared to what i used to but as long as im playing well and making profits thats all that matters. After my Holidays i plan to use my profits to buy a Dell 2407 1900 x 1200 pixel 24" monitor which should allow me to increase my tables from the 5 i currently play at a time to 8 eventually. Ill work an extra 1 in at a time until im comfortable.

So my next goal is to continue to preform at this level for a month or two and then i suppose ill set myself some targets. My bankroll is now $3.1k and thats after withdrawing $800+ for my holiday, i plan to leave an extra $100 or $200 in when i have a good week and withdraw the rest to pay bills/living expenses on a weekly basis. The $100 or $200 extra per week will help when i do hit the enivitable bad patches but because playing 100nl seemed so far away i never really looked further so i just want to add consistency to my game now and my coaching lessons are on hold due to the coaches/my holidays but ive a huge amount to learn before im ready for 200nl. Also as im withdrawing money now as living/bill expenses my bankroll wont be increasing much but ive still over 30 BI's so ill be fine, if i decide im ready to move up ill start pushing money into the bankroll then but i wont consider moving up with less than 30 BI's which will $6000 and to be honest id rather have 40.

Lets hope things continue to go well but i may just be getting to far ahead of myself and will come tumbling down to earth soon. I wont be back playing again until probably the 17th of August and this will be the longest ive went without playing poker since i got into this racket a few months back, i usually never have a break of more than 2 days so it may be a shock to the system, then again im sure Prague and Bratislava will keep me more than occupied and since ive never played live poker i might even chance my arm in Bratislava or Prague

Month 4: Week 2 Completion - Moved to 100NL again

2007-08-31T08:54:00.000-07:00

Back At 100NL

7,218 Hands Played
Profit +$480.05
BB/100 3.33
V$PIP 19%
PFR 13%
Post Flop Aggro 2.12
Showdowns Won 51%
Rakeback $207.00

Total Proft/Loss +$687.05

This was a remarkable turnaround. The first day i started playing back at 100nl i felt really confident but it turned out to the be the worst session ive ever put in, after 1 day and 1300 hands i was down just short of 9 buyins, i was stumped, and never came across so many difficult sessions in one day. I still taught i played well but the cards i got dealt were horrible, i think i had 3 or 4 $20 pots and after that i just picked up loose change, it truly was terible but i didnt tilt much and still managed to make some good laydowns with overcards and one with a straight on a flush board, really was sick.

What happened after that was i decided to play 100nl the next day with my confidence completed dashed and against my better judgement but i decided if i lost 2 buyins id drop. This graph depicts what happened better than i could.

So im not getting carried away but things are starting to look up, My coaching has got delayed and im away on Holidays soon so it may well be after my holidays that they start. Im definetely playing much more confident, some is due to the theory coaching i got, some is due to the watching of videos on cardrunners and alot is probably due to good variance so hopefull this coaching can improve me before my good variance runs out.

Month 4: Week 1 Completion

2007-08-26T04:42:00.000-07:00

5,191 Hands Played 50NL
Profit +$442.07
BB/100 9.23
V$PIP 21%
PFR 15%
Post Flop Aggro 3.56
Showdowns Won 48%
Rakeback $89.14

Total Proft/Loss +$531.21

Solid week, i have some coaching coming up in the following week which im looking forward to and i think im going to take another stab at 100nl as i feel very confident. The coaching ive had up to this was just theory via msn really so i hope this one which will be sweating while i play should be beneficial.

Month 3: Week 4 Completion - Moved Down Levels to 50NL

2007-08-22T15:27:00.000-07:00

6,289 Hands Played
Loss -$275.13
BB/100 -2.06
V$PIP 24%
PFR 16%
Post Flop Aggro 2.48
Showdowns Won 50%
Rakeback $214.00

Total Profit/Loss -$61.13

I played around 4k hands at 100NL and 2k hands at 50NL. I was $400 up at one stage early in the week and i just lost the plot and had a serious look at my game and took a few days off watch loads of cardrunners videos and i got myself a coach, i just really wasnt up to it but im determined to become a better and winning player and im currently not, i also spewed $200 shortstacking at $1/$2 so i knew things were going to get out of control and i stopped. I played about 2k hands at 50nl near the end of the week, im not going to even say i think ive improved yet because i feel like ive said it a million times, ive only had 2 coaching lessons and ill probably fit in about 3-4 more and then take a shot at 100nl again but for the time being im back down at 50nl. Hopefully in a few weeks i can look back and laugh at how i struggled through the past few months as after 3 months im a losing player, but next week is a fresh month so fingers crossed.

Some of the things ive decided to do is only play as many hands as i feel comfortable playing which means my rakeback is less but i hope to make up for it in BB/100. Too many times i was just playing to make up the numbers and id be thinking God 2 more hours of play to get in yet, under these circumstances i just dont concentrate and it cant be good for my game, now i try to keep my sessions shorter to maybe 1-2 hrs and i take a break and come back when i feel fresh. Alot of the time the latter part of a session would be very downhill and id throw away the few buyins i had made, not always but enough to make me want to change. Im also going to take breaks if im running bad something i never done before.

Month 3: Week 3 Completion

2007-08-10T16:22:00.000-07:00

Felt i had a solid week and was happy with my poker, had a few bad variance sessions and just felt i couldnt get paid of on my bigger hands but nonetheless its a steady improvement from last weeks catastrophy. Ive just started to get big into datamining and table selections and so i hope this can pay off next week so heres lasts week:

8,112 Hands Played 100NL
Profit +$110.98
BB/100 0.68
V$PIP 24%
PFR 16%
Post Flop Aggro 3.24
Showdowns Won 49%
Rakeback $250

Total Profit $360.98

Its still not great im basically just playing a breakeven game at best and living off rakeback but i truly think im better than this and im slowly inproving my game. As ive said to move from an above average player to a good player ill need some coaching id imagine but for now i just want to increase my bankroll and continue to play good poker.

Month 3: Week 2 Meltdown - Moved to 100nl

2007-08-03T12:30:00.000-07:00

Catastrophic comes to mind. I let my V$pip widen to around 27% and started double barrelling alot and soon got into alot of trouble so i done the sensible thing MOVE UP LEVELS to recover losses and this quickly turned into a downward spiral so i took a couple of days off reviewed where i was going wrong, watched alot of 100nl game and decided to stay at 100nl. In truth its not the best decision because i dont have the proper bankroll so i committed myself to adding $1k if i need it and its pretty much a case of if i run ok for a week ill be bankrolled and if i run bad for a week ill have to drop down and add 1k. I know this is a bit of a mistake but i just dont have the patients to grind it out at 50nl at the moment due to financial commitments etc so im going to take the risk. The latter part of the week went ok but it couldnt put much of dent in what was a terrible week. The cast majority, about 8k of the hands here are at 100nl.

This really is a kick in the nuts but i guess i just need to pull up my socks and show im good enough to play 100nl, i imagine anyone looking on will be saying "You muppet drop levels and there probably right"

Played 9276 Hands (8K hands at 100nl rest at 50nl)
Profit +$-1,221.76
BB/100 -7.47
V$PIP 23.5%
PFR 16%
Post Flop Aggro 2.32
Showdowns Won 46%
Rakeback $311

Total Loss $910.76

Month 3: Week 1 Completion

2007-07-27T08:24:00.001-07:00

Had some horrible variance this week and i dabled in $100nl for about 500 hands but with the extra bonus and also cashing in my noble crowns for cash i done well on bonuses.

Played 9713 Hands 50NL (500 hands at 100nl)
Profit +$118.50
BB/100 0.45
V$PIP 27.8%
PFR 20%
Post Flop Aggro 3.6
Showdowns Won 47%
Rakeback $240.00
Crowns Cash Bonus $40.00

Total Profit $398.50
30 Hours Play: Approx $13 per hour

Also i said id review my stats after 3 weeks and here we are:

27,876 Hands Played
Total Profit $606.68
BB/100 1.91
V$PIP 25%
PFR 18%
Post Flop Aggro 3.8
Showdowns Won 48%

Month 2: Week 4 Completion

2007-07-20T08:58:00.001-07:00

Ok this is more like it. It again threatened to turn sour on the last day of the week when i slipped to nearly 5 buyins down when i was on the end of what felt like infinite wrong side of the coinflicks with shorties along with some bad beats like worser 2 pair, flush beaten by FH you get the drift. I felt sick but i kept my cool and didnt tilt hoping to make 1 or 2 buyins back and make another respectable but disappointing week only to hit some great variance helped along by a couple of donks and i ressurected the 5 buyin loss to a +0.75 buyin profit for the day. Never got so much satisfaction from such a small overall profit.

Anyway i think my game has came on leaps and bounds thanks to all the posting, questions,reading and watching videos and also lately from a video session i posted on boards.ie and got some great feedback, well worth the effort. I still think this is close enough to my peak because i still have a few leaks, i can see myself being between a 3-5bb/100 player at this level but no higher over a large sample. Im always looking to improve my game and i hope i can myself from more reading/posting but i think to move to the next level in terms of improving my BB/100 i will need some coaching but ill have to put it on the long finger for now as i want to be playing the 100NL before i decide to get coaching.

Im hopeful i can keep up the good work and within 2-3 weeks i will have a bankroll sufficent enough to move up. My Minumum Bankroll will be $2500, its currently $1600 so $800 more to go, thats doable within 2 weeks but ill settle for 3 weeks.

Anyway the thing that matters. Results:

9,194 Hands Played 50NL
Profit +$337.52
BB/100 3.67
V$PIP 25%
PFR 19%
Post Flop Aggro 3.8
Showdowns Won 47%
Rakeback $199

Total Profit $536.52
Approx 30 Hours: Approx $18 per Hour

As you can see my V$PIP is increasing now to a level im happy with thats mostly because im stealing more and im comfortable with it now because im happier with my post flop play. I also increased my PFR as i now raise from the SB a bit whereas i used to just complete. My stealing % is now 43% up from 34% the previous week.

So until next week..........

Month 2: Week 3 Completion

2007-07-13T11:22:00.001-07:00

It was a successful enough week compared with other weeks but i cant help feeling bitterly disappointed with the way it ended losing 5 buyins last night to end my week. It was a combination of bad variance and loose calling that led to that but i cant complain about variance because even though i hadnt a whole lot of monster hands all week i didnt have too much horrible beats either until last night so i think it probably evened itself out.

I made a 50NL video and posted it on boards and i got alot out of it, i hope i can use the information to continue to improve my game. So heres the results:

9735 Hands Played 50NL
Profit $87.97
BB/100 0.9
V$PIP 22%
PFR 15.5%
Aggro Post Flop 4.0
Showdowns Won 49%
Rakeback $196

Total Profit $283.97
Approx 30 hours so about $9.40 per hour, do you want fries with that!

Massive improvement but im still nowhere near happy and i should be well above this level although im more interested in looking at the this week gone and the next 2 weeks as a reasonable size sample to judge where im at.

Month 2: Week2 Completion Update

2007-07-06T08:23:00.000-07:00

Ok so i think this was a week of big transition. After starting well at 50NL it became very obvious the last 2 weeks didnt go well. After some people pointed out that my aggression and stealing werent high enough i changed my game and i think it affected me badly. Not so much the stealing but the agression. When people were saying the higher your aggression the better i felt i needed to change this but my mistake was where i was getting aggressive. I started RR bluffs, small PP that missed flops and hands like that, this led to me being in inflated pots with the worst hand alot and i was getting looked up light too much and it wasnt bringing my aggression up by much because when i started getting looked up i lessened but at that stage id lost a couple of buyins.

Anyway i felt my game needed serious looking at as i was become a losing player and i spent alot on 2+2 reading the forums and asking questions about my game, i watched a few cardrunners video for 50NL TAG session and it was becoming pretty apparant that 3 betting with bluffs wasnt the way to increase my aggression. I found that i was calling way too much with middle and bottom pair on the flop to see what the turn brought, i also found i rarely if ever raised when i had TP id just call to showdown or bet to showdown, so ive added this to my game and i also get aggressive with hands that have lots of outs and ill basically play them like i have a great hand as long as im getting the right odds.

These changes albeit very recent have now turned my aggression from around 1.5-1.8 to around 3.5-4.5 and ive also tightened up alot from the SB where i was losing money and im a small bit more tighter stealing. I still realise the importance of stealing the blinds but i dont do it now with trash hands especially from the CO and ill tighten up if the blinds are loose. All pretty simple things but i think they can bring my game on track and since i made the changes 2-3 days ago i have found my play is returning to profit again and im starting to feel confident although i had a very tough early part of the week so i didnt make that much but im confident i can return to winning ways now.

Results Week 2 50NL:

10,136 Hands Played
Loss -$139 .18
BB/100 -1.91
V$PIP 23%
PFR 15%
Post Flop Aggro 2.0
Showdowns Won 47%
Rakeback $188.00

Total Profit +$48.82

So its onwards and upwards from here

Month 2: Week2 Friday Update

2007-06-30T09:31:00.000-07:00

Played 1676 Hands
Profit $16.72 (No this ISNT a mistake, it does actually say profit)
V$PIP 23%
PFR 14%
Showdowns Won 47%
Post Flop Aggro 1.5

Deposit Bonus +$20
Total Profit +$36.72

Month 2: Week1 Completion Update

2007-06-30T09:18:00.000-07:00

1714 Hands Played 50NL
Loss -$119.35 ($30 Deposit Bonus = Total Loss -$89.35)
V$PIP 26%
PFR 15%
Showdowns Won 50%
Post Flop Aggro 1.2

Overall Results Week 1:
9875 Hands Played
Loss -$303.11
V$PIP 24%
PFR 14%
Showdowns Won 50%
Post Flop Aggro 1.7

Deposit Bonus $160
Rakeabck $142.00
Total Bonus = $302.00
BB/100 -3.07

Overall Profit/Loss including Rakeback & Bonus = -$1.11

This just shows how important Rakeback and bonuses are, it turned a horrible week into a breakeven week. I only hope i can improve this week but i have to say some doubts have creeped into my game over the last few weeks and i wonder wheter i am good enough to beat this level. I feel my knowledge of the fundemetals of the game are good enough but maybe there is small things im missing or maybe its just variance, i am sure that i could have saved a couple of buyins by not making light calls but i think im curtailing this.

It seems that even though im making mistakes and recognising them it takes me a couple of days for me to iridicate these mistakes which is soul drenching when i keep making the same mistakes but i suppose at least i do eventually stop. So it's on and up from here............Or is it?

Month 2: Week 1 Tuesday -Wednesday Update

2007-06-27T16:31:00.000-07:00

3329 Hands Played
Loss - $133.77 (+$50 Bonus = Loss -$83.77)
V$PIP 25%
PFR 16%
Showdowns Won 52%
Post Flop Aggro 1.9

Month 2: Week 1 Monday Update

2007-06-26T04:40:00.001-07:00

I badly need to learn discipline, im sick saying it at this stage but if i don't learn quickly im not going to cut it at this level, simple as. I reviewed my Hand Histories very carefully afterwards and although i lost over 4 buyins i should have only lost 2 or myabe 2.5 buyins. The other 1.5-2 buyins were just bad calls on the river when i made a hand but it was obvious he had a better one.

I've said this a few times now but if i stop and ask myself "what would he bet like this with that i beat" and if i had asked myself that and answered honestly then i would have saved at least 1.5 buyins. I did get a few bad beats but nothing out of the ordinary, another day i will be on the other side of that variance but unless i keep my discipline the rakeback will just be covering my loses.

I dont know if this is a mental block of some sort, or maybe the adreniline rush i get when im under pressure and a pot is building clouds my judgement or possibly im focusing too much at the time on a card that dropped that made my hand and not on what that card could have giving the villain and a example off the top of my head would be a K dropping to make my straight but it was the K of Diamonds which also made the flush and i bet out half the pot only concentrating on me hitting my straight when i should have been thinking hes check/called 2 streets since the Flush Draw on the Flop and now hes come over the top of my bet with an all in on a flush board, and then i should fold.

In an effort to correct this subconscious reaction to ignore that question of what do i beat that would bet this way ill consciously try and let the time run as long as i can before making or calling a river or other important bet and try to listen to the inner voice that's telling me i know im beat. Of course there will be times when they are bluffing but the amount of $ risked to find out will outweigh the few times they are bluffing and when they do bluff and i hit a hand then at least i will have a reason to doubt future river bluffs but untill i see at least 2 i should keep my money on the table.

1692 Hand Played
$212.79 Loss (+$30 Deposit Bonus = -$182.79)
V$PIP 24%
PFR 14%
Showdowns Won 43%
Post Flop Aggro 2.0

Overall Stats 50NL
14,509 Hands Played
Loss -$62.84
BB/100 -0.43
Showdowns Won 47%

Ill add my rakeback in at the end of every week

Month 2: Week 1 Rakeback Friday-Sunday Update

2007-06-24T16:17:00.000-07:00

Ok i havent got a chance to update in a couple of days. Basically i played 20NL for a couple of days while i was suffering alot of bad beats and i was waiting for my money to transfer to Noble where im starting my rakeback deal of 35% and i also have a signup bonus. I dont know how they effect eachother so ill just do an update at the end of the week on Rakeback. My bonus is $190 dollars and ive released $50 of that so ill include that daily until its cleared.

I plan as ive said recently to play 10,000 Hands per week and over a 10 week period hopefully even out around 4BB/100. So 7,000 Hands to got before Thursday or approx

Heres the lowdown since ive moved to Noble:

3140 Hands Played
$162.80 Profit (+$50 Deposit Bonus = Total $212.80)
V$PIP 24%
PFR 13%
Post Flop Aggro 1.7
Showdowns Won 51%

My Post Flop Aggro isnt high enough but its something i addressed in the last session and its back to around 2.2 in the latest session where it should be.

Overall Stats 50NL:
12,817 Hands Played
Profit $149.95 (+$50 bonus Total=$199.95)
BB/100 1.17
Showdown Won 47%

Day 31 Update

2007-06-19T15:54:00.000-07:00

I put in probably the best session i had in a while but i suffered lots of bad beats. I was beginning to question my play and so i decided to move back to 10c/20c to build back my confidence. I have to admit this turbulent time is a good lesson on how important bankroll management is. Unfortunately i was forced to play 10c/25c under bankrolled and luckily got off to a great start which left me slightly on the wrong side of adequately bankrolled but enough to be comfortable but after losing just short of 10 buyins in 2 days my Bankroll is only a small bit bigger than when i took my first shot at 50NL. So im willing to Add money to my Bankroll to allow me to continue playing. I have $223 in FT and now after today i have $336 so approx $560 in total, ill add $440 to leave me 20 buyins in total for 50NL.

As ive said previously im waiting for money to transfer to set up a new Rakeback Account on Noble Poker so ill probably just hang about on GJP playing 20NL until i make the transfer as i dont have enough in my GJP account to comfortably 5 table 50NL and i dont want to make another deposit because i will be withdrawing as soon as i lodge with Noble.

Ive also decided to ease up on the stealing slightly, not as tight as i once was but not as loose as i was recently either and concentrate on some of my flaws i think i have and also try and not make so many loose calls as i think i was. The trouble with a bad streak like this (Well bad play combined with Bad Vraiance) is you begin to question any changes youve made between the time you were running good and the time you ran bad. Its not neccessarily the reason why im running bad and i could have been doing bad things when i was running good but nonetheless i want to cut back a small bit on the stealing as i think it could be getting me into trouble.

Anyway Results for Today

Played 771 Hands at 50NL
Loss -$237.65
V$PIP 21%
PFR 12%
Showdowns Won 43%
Post Flop Aggro 2.1

Played 573 Hands at 25NL
Profit +$57.93
V$PIP 21%
PFR 13%
Showdowns Won 51%
Post Flop Aggro 1.8

Overall Stats
50 NL
9677 Hands Played
BB/100 -0.13

Overall Stats
20 NL
6539 Hands Played
BB/100 5.28

Overall Profit $164.61

Day 29 & 30 Update

2007-06-18T16:18:00.000-07:00

Didnt play Sunday Day 29.

Played 1744 Hands
Loss -$243.02
V$PIP 24%
PFR 15.5%
Showdowns Won 48%
Post Flop Aggro 1.6

Overall Stats
8956 Hands Played
$264.14 Profit ($344.33 Inc 20 NL)
BB/100 2.95
Showdowns Won 46%

Bad few days. Today even though i got some good cards i got no action, i hit sets so many times and i only got paid of twice for small pots and the one set i got action on he hit a runner runner flush. I could have played better too and also i was multitabling with overlapping tables and when i went to click on a table to bring it to the foreground it clicked on All in by mistake. I had Q7o UTG and got called by someone with a $60 stack and i cover with QQ and obviously didnt hit a magic flop.

It helped me get some action shortly after with AA but very little at that. I suppose i cant go round saying im brilliant and played well when im up a few buyins and start making excuses when im down a few, theres going to be alot of variance when im playing so many hands so i just need to improve my game. Some things i need to improve in my game.

Dont Bluff or make Hero moves, its the 50NL and should be treated as such
Stop shooting 2 barrells with missed PP flops and make less with Ax missed flops
Stop calling large 3bet with hands like ATs or 33 for over 5% of my stack
Give more taught to what an opponent has when im calling raises

Im fairly happy with how i play draws now which was one of my worst weaknesses when i started this blog but the above have now creeped in so iif i can cut them out over the next few sessions ill be happy.

Day 28 Update

2007-06-16T14:14:00.000-07:00

1236 Hands Played
Loss -$92.60
V$PIP 24%
PFR 15%
Showdowns Won 39%
Post Flop Agro 2.2

Overall Stats 50NL
7212 Hnads Played
Profit $507.16 (+$587.35 Inc 20 NL)
BB/100 7.03
Showdowns Won 47%

My V$PIP was a little too high again today so in the 2nd half of my session today i tightened up slightly and it went from 26% to 24%, if it stays around 22% ill be happy. Dont feel i had a great session and i called down too light today against a few opponents and i need to iradicate these errors and improve my discipline.

Day 27 Update

2007-06-15T10:23:00.000-07:00

Played 671
Profit $96.80
V$PIP 26.5%
PFR 17%
Post Flop Aggro 2.8
Showdowns Won 65%

Overall stats
Played 5976
Profit $599.76 ($679.95)
BB/100 10.04
Showdowns Won 49%

My V$PIP is higher than usual but nobody was respecting any of my raises and so i was raising more frequently off the button and CO and even MP and i still kept taking down pot after pot either preflop or on the flop. Some players noticed i was doing this and tried to play back but everytime they tried to play back i seemed to have a decent hand so they just stayed out of my way. Dont expect to always get it that easy but it was a very good session and a good bit of my profit came from successully stealing pots on the flop.

I expect my rakeback account to be ready to go on Monday or Tuesday hopefully and i will be hoping to achieve my 10,000 hands a week target starting on Monday.

Day 26 Update

2007-06-15T00:57:00.000-07:00

770 Hands Played
$61.54 Profit
V$PIP 22%
PFR 14%
Showdowns Won 51%
Post Flop Aggro 2.7

Overall Stats
5305 Hands Played
$502.96 Profit ($583.15 Incl 20 NL)
BB/100 9.48
Show won 47%

Im going moving to a new ipoker skin on Probably Monday or Tuesday to get rakeback at 35% just waiting for funds to transfer. After this i will be putting in extra hours and adding a 5th table and i will aim to play 10,000 per week.

This should give me rakeback of approx $150-$170 per week. I also hope to maintain an average of 4BB/100 which should net me around $400 bringing a total of approx $550 per week. Ill need to be cashing out about half of my profits for a few weeks to pay for a holiday and then ill concentrate on building my roll for the next level. I know that variance will mean that like this week im nearly 10BB and i could be 0BB next week but ill be playing around 100,000 hands every 10 weeks so i hope i can average out 4BB/100 over that sample.

My Bankroll is now $1011 if i include the money i have stuck in FT which i didnt withdraw yet but managed to increase that too playing shortstack at higher levels. My Bankroll on FT went from $150 to $450 in an hour playing shortstack at $1/$2 and $3/$6 (I missed the $2/$4 level by mistake lol) and i taught i was on to a winner but the next day i had it down to $100 playing $2/$4 and realised its not so easy after getting it all in with the best hand several times to be outdrawn so i moved back to $1/$2 and grinded it back to around the $250 mark. After that i decided not to play shortstack anymore, its too boring and too much variance is involved so i cut my loses at $250 and that money is sitting idle for the time being

Day 25 Update

2007-06-13T15:02:00.000-07:00

1048 Hands Played
Loss -$40.93
V$PIP 22%
PFR 14%
Show Won 40%
Post Flop Aggro 2.1

Day 24 Update

2007-06-12T16:06:00.000-07:00

477 Hands Played
Profit +$64.40
V$PIP 18%
PFR 12%
Showdowns Won 46%
Post Flop Aggro 2.9

Overall Stats
3487 Played
Profit +$482.35 ($562.64 Inc 20 NL)
BB/100 13.83

Although my V$PIP was low is was mainly due to been card dead and i was still pretty active from the CO and Button but i must of looked like a rock from Early Position. Ok session made 1 call down that was bad when i had a note to value bet this man on a paired board. When i made the note i meant hell play TQ hard on TKK board, this board was T44 and i had 66, i called his flop and turn and checked the river another 4 came and he had T9. I lost about 1/3 of buyin on that one. Other than that i played ok and got a few hands late in the session that brought me out of the red and into the black. Happy with how things are going at the moment

Day 23 Update

2007-06-11T15:15:00.000-07:00

617 Hands Played
Loss -$9.95
V$PIP 22%
PFR 16%
Showdowns Won 49%
Post Flop Aggro 2.5

Overall Stats
3010 Hands Played
Profit $417.95 ($498.14 Inc 20NL)
BB/100 13.89

Ive decided to loosen up a bit from the CO and Button to make my stealing more profitable. Im also trying to increase my Post Flop Aggression

Day 22 Update

2007-06-10T16:18:00.000-07:00

Ran very hot today and tilted one person into becoming my personal ATM along with another person who was taking everybody elses money and donating it to me. Good to run hot but im not getting too carried away:

Played 629 hands
Profit $282.89
V$PIP 18%
PFR 11%
Show Won 58%

Overall 50NL
Hands Played 2393
Profit $427.90 (Total Inc 20NL $+508.09)
BB/100 17.88

Day 20 & Day 21 - Moved Level to 50NL

2007-06-09T16:04:00.000-07:00

I decided to move to the 50nl level. I feel comfortable enough there and to be honest im moving because i need to make a few bob to pay a holiday and i dont have time to grind it out at the 20NL. Im not been completely reckless though, i didnt add to my bankroll but i committed myself to adding a couple of hundred if i did run bad and if things dont go well im willing to move down and bite the bullet. This will lead to me making several withdrawals over the next month or 6 weeks but after that ill concentrate on building my bankroll for the next level.

My current aim is to 4 table for about 3 hours per night 5 days a week so on avaerage i should be playing 4000 hands per week. If i can maintain a 4bb/100 average then i will be making approx $300 per week. So that is my goal for the next month, i hope to make and withdraw over $1000 so lets see how it goes.

So far it went well heres my results, also because i moved levels i will have seperate stats so my last stats for 20NL was on Day 18 update.

Played 1510 Hands
Profit $141.77
V$PIP 18%
PFR 11%
Show Won 46%

Overall Stats 50 NL
Played 1764
Profit $145.01 ($225.20 Including 20NL)
BB/100 8.22
Show Won 46%

Day 19 Results

2007-06-07T16:36:00.000-07:00

254 Hands Played
$3.24 Profit
V$PIP 17%
PFR 8%
Showdowns Won 45%

I made a mistake tonight in trying 50 NL which considering my bankroll is only around the $400 mark was a mistake as its only 8 buyins. But my plan was if i lost 2 buyins to drop back but in heinsight i think its a bad move and luckily i didnt lose any of my bankroll. So ill drop back to my normal 20nl level tommorrow but i didnt feel out of place at all and think that level is just as beatable as the 20NL but to be honest i should be beating the 20NL by more.

Day 18 Update

2007-06-06T15:22:00.001-07:00

745 Hands Played
Loss -$50.87
V$PIP 18
PFR 9%
Showdowns Won 39%

In my earlier session i ran well up about 2 buyins and after that it was a couple of bad beats. I felt forced into calling hands i normally wouldnt against bad players because i felt there range was wide but eveytime i called they seemed to have a hand even though they were capable of doing the same with Bottom Pair or Air i just ran into them at the wrong time. All in all i think i could have played a bit better but i didnt tilt and was reasonably happy with the session regardless of the loss.

Overall Stats:
5961 Hands Played
+$81.09
V$PIP 20%
PFR 12%
Showdowns Won 49%
BB/100 3.4

Day 16-17 Update

2007-06-06T05:20:00.000-07:00

404 Hands Played
$4.97 Profit
V$PIP 20%
PFR 12%
Showdowns Won 50%

Day 15 Update

2007-06-03T16:12:00.000-07:00

467 Hands Played
$46.04 Profit
V$PIP 18%
PFR 10%
Showdowns Won 54%

Played 1 hand bad where i had the implied odds to call for a draw and i RR and he pushed and when i wasnt getting the odds then i still called and lucked on the river. Badly need to start playing draws properly or its going to hit my win rate. Other than that it was a pretty good session.

Week 2 Update

2007-06-03T16:07:00.000-07:00

Didnt play for the last 2 days due to drinking commitments so results after week 2 are as follows:

Overall Stats 25NL:
4345 Hands Played
$80.95 Profit
BB/100 4.66
V$PIP 20%
PFR 12.5%
Showdowns Won 50%

Day 12 Update

2007-05-31T15:01:00.001-07:00

379 Hands Played
$19.83 Profit
V$PIP 23.5%
PFR 15%
Show Won 55%

Overall Stats:
4345 Hands Played
$80.95 Profit
BB/100 4.66

Solid Session Overall

Day 11 Update

2007-05-30T16:13:00.000-07:00

//Edit Due to calculation Error

504 Hands Played
Loss - $1.71
V$PIP 20%
PFR 12%
Showdowns Won 47%

Overall Stats
3966 Hands Played
$61.12 Profit
BB/100 3.85

Taught i played pretty well tonight expcept for 1 hand which i taught i was beat and should have folded to the all in but called and won AK on King high flop for me and KT for him. Other than that i ran pretty bad but youll get days like that

Day 10 Update

2007-05-30T05:32:00.000-07:00

369 Hands Played
Loss -€44.18
V$PIP 19%
PFR 10%
Showdowns Won 30%

I played bad today losing a buying bluffing and played a bit poor i taught, i did run card dead also which didnt help but i need to be more focused.

Day 8 & 9 Update

2007-05-29T13:34:00.000-07:00

Only Played for around 200 hands in the last 2 days

194 Hands Played
Loss -$32.34
V$PIP 19
PFR 10%
Agression 3.0
Show Won 33%

3140 Hands Played
$109.81 Profit
BB/100 8.74

Week 1 Update

2007-05-26T14:53:00.001-07:00

Well another good day but i was running very hot, didnt play alot of hands and to be honest i lost interest so i stopped playing.

255 Hands Played
Profit +$71.76
V$PIP 17%
PFR 10%
Agression 3.4
Show Won 53%

Overall Stats 25 NL:
2946 Hands Played
$142.15 Profit
12 BB/100

Day 6 Update

2007-05-25T14:47:00.000-07:00

673 Hands Played
$82.22 Profit

V$PIP 19%
PFR 12%
Aggression Total 2.2
Show Won 67%
---------------------

Overall Stats
2691 Hands
Profit $70.39
V$PIP 21%
PFR 13%
Show Won 52%
BB/100 6.54

Good day today, my V$PIP seems to have stabilised now around the 18-19% mark after i tightened up my SB and UTG so im happy with that.

Day 4 & 5 Update

2007-05-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

818 Hands Played
Profit +$20.38
V$PIP 18.5%
PFR 12%
Agression Total 1.9
Show WSF 8%
Won Show 51%

I tightened up my SB calling range and UTG range and its shown in my V$PIP which i think is a good thing. Anywhere in the 18-20% should be ideal.

So after 2000 hands im -$11 but its a small sample size and i feel im playing well bar one session, i review my HH and from all the big pots ive won and lost 99% im happy enough with how i played them which is good.

Day 3 Update

2007-05-22T17:42:00.000-07:00

I had a tough day today and learned a couple of important lessons that i need to drill home. One is about playing draws, i badly need to look through resources on 2+2 to start improving how i play, in fact i dont really need to because i know what im doing wrong but id like to look trhough some articles to re-inforce this.

I need to forget about weak draws and start check folding them, they are too transparent when they hit for me to get paid off unless im playing a calling station and even against a calling station i shouldnt be building big pots until i have a made hand.

I also think i need to be alot tighter when i sit at a new table, there is no need to be getting tricky until i have some reads and i shouldnt be getting involved in big pots with unmade hands until i have a half decent read.

So the combination of the above two came together when i sat at a new table, i had noticed this player raising alot after about 10 hands and so i decided to RR him in position with 35s, i didnt expect to get called and i figured id be done with the hand if he called. I RR hes $1.20 raise to $4 and I got 2 callers and the flop came out 469 with $12 in the pot id 16 behind, the original loosey goosey raised to 7 and the other villain flat called, i suspected he knew the raise wasnt strong as he was a donk and he just flat called so i felt he missed the flop and i could get him off his hand and get heads up with loosey goosey. I RR him, the loosey goosey pushes all in and the other guy folded and i got all in with the Loosey with the OESD for a buyin, he called with KQ and hit 2 kings and no luck for me. It was terrible play all round from me.

After this i got a bit tilty and lost a couple of buyins. Im not that tilty luckily and pulled myself out of it and managed to get some of the buyins back off villain and then i did it again shortly after, i got on a open straight flush draw against another opponent i built a nice big pot by the turn RR him on the flop and betting the turn and he called both, i missed on the river there were 2 kings on the board and i was pretty sure he didnt have them and i taught he maybe on a FD too so i pushed all in for the other half of my buyin and because of my image against the other loosey i think he had me pinned for a donk and called with AA after nearly timing out. I should have got it all in on the turn or check folded the river.

So what can i take from this, play my big draws heavy so i cant get paid off my big hands too but dont bother bluffing at this level especially if i have a suspect image like i had. Check fold my draws like non nuts flush and low OESD and concentrate on making a hand and getting paid off by calling stations and not building a pot with a suspect draw and then bluffing off my stack on the missed river.

If i can stick to this ill be very happy. All in all i made a good recovery after my tilting session but because the better half of my session was after 12 midnight it wont show until tommorrows update so todays dosent look the best but tommorrows should improve.

Played 701 Hands
V$PIP 22%
PFR 13%
AF 1.3
Profit -$59.52

Showdowns WSF 8%
Won Showdowns 46%

Day 2 Update

2007-05-21T18:04:00.000-07:00

191 Hands Played
Profit -$2.20
V$PIP 23%
PFR 13%
Show WSF 8.5%
Won 50%

Ill update my overall stats once a week. Everythings going grand so far, havent been getting into too many difficult situations. My V$PIP seems a bit high but im not raising junk but its possible im calling too light in the blinds which is a bad habit as my saw flop not in blinds is 16%

Day 1 Update

2007-05-21T09:44:00.000-07:00

Ok i played 308 hands with a profit of $29.51
V$PIP 28%
PFR 17.5%
AF 1.8

Showdown WSF 10%
Showdowns Won 43%

V$PIP seems a bit high here, using poker office you cant track your session stats while you play but ill need to keep an eye on this.

The Beggining Of Something Beautiful - I hope

2007-05-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

My last and first blog was short and sweet, i overestimated my ability as a sng player and couldnt cut it. This time i hope things will be different. Im starting out playing 6max on Green Joker Poker on the ipoker network at the 10c/20c level and hope to work my way up to the 1/2 level.

Ive been playing online since around Sept 06 and up until recently i was a sng player and played very little cash. I've read the usual book, Skalanskys Theory Of Poker and Harringtons I & II, ive read boards.ie posted Hand History's and Ive joined Cardrunners.com. I also plan to start reading and posting on ssnl forum on 2+2. Thats basically my experience up to now, i think i have a grasp of the fundementals and i hope to pick up the rest as i go along.

I expect this to be relatively low content but i think its essential to keep my discipline and keeping track of my progress. Ill be using poker office to keep track of stats and one of the things i want to improve is concentrating more on the games im playing instead of browsing the internet. Ill review my biggest wins and losses after each session to keep track of where im getting my stack in and wheter i should have or not and hopefully ill improve as a player.

I think starting out my biggest weakness is playing draws, occassionally open limping when i want to get into a pot with a maniac and the maths behind the game. I also feel my game is a bit too 1 demensional as in i get a good hand i bet hard, i have a weak hand i dont build a pot. Thats possibly good enough for this level but i think i need to add more to my game. These are all issues i hope to improve as i read and post on 2+2 and watch videos on cardrunners.

My biggest strength IMO is i have a good feel for knowing when i have the best or worst hand now all i need to do is trust this instinct more often. So many times ive said to myself im beat here but its only x amount to call into that big pot, i seem to have a good read on betting patterns and obviously dont get it right everytime but if i just trust that judgement more often i think ill improve my profits alot. One thing i also have to start doing is just saying to myself in the above situations what hands do i beat that would play this way, and if i can do this i think ill definetely have improved, my gut usually tells me im beat but i need to convince myself then by asking myself that question everytime. I also want to get into the habit of watching the play and guessing hands as i think this is one of my strengths and id like to improve on it.

My current Bankroll is $290 between my Green Joker Poker account and My Full Tilt Account. This is only 14.5 buyins but it should be sufficent at this level and I will mostly play ipoker but i have money stuck in full tilt and i have to send ID to get it released so ill leave it be for the time being simply because im too lazy.

So for the next level ill be happy enough with 20 buyins = $1000 so ive bit of work to do.