For the last week or so, I've been trying to shift my focus from cash game play to tournament play (primarily online), and the transition so far has been a little rough. I've been going deep in MTTs with fields of anywhere from 180 to over 2000 players and buy-ins from $1 to $10, but I haven't had any notable finishes. I play a tight game for the most part, and I think one of the biggest problems is that I'm failing to loosen up at extremely tight tables, which I seem to inevitably find in every tournament about halfway through. These are golden opportunities to stay ahead of the pack, and I need to start taking advantage of them.
To help keep my head above water until my next big (hopefully) score, I've decided to turn to single-table Sit n' Gos. I've had a lot of success with SnGs in the past, and I personally don't know of a safer, more consistent way to build a bankroll from scratch. My approach will differ somewhat from the strategies I've read about at 2+2; rather than playing mass amounts of Turbo SnGs, I will be playing regular SnGs and no more than 2 at a time. My last experiment with the "2+2" Turbo strategy was a complete failure, so until I have a large enough bankroll to go back and figure out what I did wrong, I'm going to stick with what's worked for me.
In order to keep a more tangible record of my progress, I'll update my total online bankroll at the end of each post from here on out (yeah, I think I was supposed to be doing it from day 1, but better late than never):
Total online bankroll = $92.76 (down from my original $200 deposit)
Friday, May 25, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
Time management issues
So much for buckling down. I recently caved in to pressure from a buddy of mine and bought an Xbox 360 Elite. As a result, my poker hours are way down. Granted, I'm still waiting on a deposit to hit my ePassporte account so that I can play online, but I've certainly had plenty of chances to play poker regardless. It's a simple matter of discipline; I just need to get off my lazy ass.
Here are the few results from last week:
Monday - Dropped $198 in 7 hours of play at a $.50/$1 table. I played a fairly tight game at a loose table, but my big hands kept running into bigger hands. By the same token, I definitely could have limited my losses by getting away sooner when I knew I was beaten. I'm pretty good about trusting my instincts/reads when I feel that I'm ahead, but it's a different matter altogether when I think I'm behind (I'm about as bad as it gets when it comes to paying "just to see it").
Wednesday - The Liz and Brandon $20 Freezeout was called off because Liz had her baby the previous morning (no word yet on whether it looks more like me or like Brandon). I decided to host a freezeout of my own but only managed to get 5 players. I made it to heads-up where I chopped the pot yet again for a net profit of $30.
Krumbine Thursday - Dropped another $183 on Thursday, all of it on an early hand where I couldn't get away from AK on a board of AJ9. I was playing lazy, distracted poker and didn't even bother to put the other player on a hand. I got what I deserved.
It was a pretty rough week, but at least I recognize that behind everything was a total lack of discipline and focus on my part. My ePassporte deposit is scheduled to hit tomorrow, so there will definitely be no more excuses.
Here are the few results from last week:
Monday - Dropped $198 in 7 hours of play at a $.50/$1 table. I played a fairly tight game at a loose table, but my big hands kept running into bigger hands. By the same token, I definitely could have limited my losses by getting away sooner when I knew I was beaten. I'm pretty good about trusting my instincts/reads when I feel that I'm ahead, but it's a different matter altogether when I think I'm behind (I'm about as bad as it gets when it comes to paying "just to see it").
Wednesday - The Liz and Brandon $20 Freezeout was called off because Liz had her baby the previous morning (no word yet on whether it looks more like me or like Brandon). I decided to host a freezeout of my own but only managed to get 5 players. I made it to heads-up where I chopped the pot yet again for a net profit of $30.
Krumbine Thursday - Dropped another $183 on Thursday, all of it on an early hand where I couldn't get away from AK on a board of AJ9. I was playing lazy, distracted poker and didn't even bother to put the other player on a hand. I got what I deserved.
It was a pretty rough week, but at least I recognize that behind everything was a total lack of discipline and focus on my part. My ePassporte deposit is scheduled to hit tomorrow, so there will definitely be no more excuses.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Results Update - May 5, 2007
Wednesday - I made it to heads-up again in Liz and Brandon's $20 Freezeout, this time against Brandon. Same results, however, as I again agreed to a 50/50 chop for a net profit of $80.
Krumbine Thursday - We introduced a round of Seven-card Stud to the mixed-game table, which brought the rotation to 2 rounds of Pot-limit Omaha, 2 rounds of No-limit Texas Hold'em, and 1 round of Seven-card Stud. I finished with $147 net profit over 6 hours of play.
At the stakes that I currently play, ABC Hold'em definitely seems to be the most efficient approach. My style had taken an unmistakable step towards loose-aggressive in recent months (probably because of too much TV), but my rededication to tight-aggressive poker has paid dividends in both tournament and cash game play. I know there are games where a loose-aggressive style wins money, but they don't include the loose-passive games I've typically found at these lower stakes.
Along those same lines, the PLO games that I play in are virtually ante games since NO ONE seems to raise pre-flop, and EVERYONE calls in the rare instance that someone raises. I'm trying to develop better habits by folding more pre-flop and raising more often when I decide to play. At worst, I'll be building bigger pots with my better hands.
As for 7-stud, the thing that I'm focusing on the most is remembering everyone's door cards, even after their hands have been folded. Again, due to the loose nature of the games I play, right now I'm just sitting back and waiting for strong hands/draws. Bluffing with high frequency in these games is definitely a losing proposition.
Krumbine Thursday - We introduced a round of Seven-card Stud to the mixed-game table, which brought the rotation to 2 rounds of Pot-limit Omaha, 2 rounds of No-limit Texas Hold'em, and 1 round of Seven-card Stud. I finished with $147 net profit over 6 hours of play.
At the stakes that I currently play, ABC Hold'em definitely seems to be the most efficient approach. My style had taken an unmistakable step towards loose-aggressive in recent months (probably because of too much TV), but my rededication to tight-aggressive poker has paid dividends in both tournament and cash game play. I know there are games where a loose-aggressive style wins money, but they don't include the loose-passive games I've typically found at these lower stakes.
Along those same lines, the PLO games that I play in are virtually ante games since NO ONE seems to raise pre-flop, and EVERYONE calls in the rare instance that someone raises. I'm trying to develop better habits by folding more pre-flop and raising more often when I decide to play. At worst, I'll be building bigger pots with my better hands.
As for 7-stud, the thing that I'm focusing on the most is remembering everyone's door cards, even after their hands have been folded. Again, due to the loose nature of the games I play, right now I'm just sitting back and waiting for strong hands/draws. Bluffing with high frequency in these games is definitely a losing proposition.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
April 2007 Recap
April 2007 was my best month ever, but only because of my Borgata final table in Atlantic City. My cash game hourly rate ended up at a pitiful $4.50, well short of my $20+ goal. But since nearly a grand of my gross losses came while playing Omaha (which I'm studying intently), I'm confident that I'll turn that ship around in May. Here's the overall breakdown:
Cash game net profit = $396.83 (88.10 hours of play)
Tournament net profit = $6112.00
Total net profit = $6508.03
My goal again for May is to get my cash game hourly rate up over $20, but I'd like to cut down on my total cash game hours in order to play more online tournaments. Aside from the Liz and Brandon $20 Freezeout tonight and Krumbine Thursday tomorrow, I won't have much time for poker of any kind this first week of the month due to various commitments, but I plan to really buckle down beginning next week.
Cash game net profit = $396.83 (88.10 hours of play)
Tournament net profit = $6112.00
Total net profit = $6508.03
My goal again for May is to get my cash game hourly rate up over $20, but I'd like to cut down on my total cash game hours in order to play more online tournaments. Aside from the Liz and Brandon $20 Freezeout tonight and Krumbine Thursday tomorrow, I won't have much time for poker of any kind this first week of the month due to various commitments, but I plan to really buckle down beginning next week.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Results Update - April 29, 2007
It's hard to believe that the AC trip was only a week ago; it feels like it's been months. My tournament success has continued since then, though nothing nearly on the scope of the Borgata score. I've also done well in NLHE cash games over the last several days, but my luck has been terrible in both PLO and PLO8:
Tuesday - In Captain G's $1/$2, I made $100 in the only 2 rounds of NLHE that we played. However, due primarily to 'variance' (aka shitty luck) in PLO8, I finished the night with a net loss of $320 despite playing like an absolute rock in an ultra-loose game.
Wednesday - In the Liz and Brandon $20 Freezeout, I chopped the pot 50/50 when I got heads-up with Liz ($80 net profit). Sorry; I just couldn't bring myself to play cutthroat poker with my girl.
Krumbine Thursday - As on Tuesday, I played well during the NLHE rounds but faltered at Omaha. We were playing PLO (Hi only) this time, but it was still the river that bit me. $37 net loss over 6.5 hours.
Friday - Played an impromptu NLHE cash game at a new location with several of the regulars from Krumbine Thursday. Good combination of cards and post-flop play for a net profit of $259 over 4.5 hours.
Saturday - One of the Krumbine Thursday regulars and his wife had a poker-themed baby shower, including a $40 NLHE freezeout. I made it to the final 3 of the 19-player field before agreeing to an even split ($210 net profit). I actually had a sizeable chip advantage at the time of the deal, but I wasn't about to try to negotiate a more equitable deal in the middle of a baby shower and among friends =)
In summary, I feel like my NLHE game is about as strong as it's ever been. For the first few months of the year, I think I had been trying too hard to make things happen regardless of the situation. Lately I've been more selective with my aggression and just let the game come to me. I'm in a real comfort zone right now as a result, and I hope that the strategy continues to pay off.
As for Omaha (both PLO and PLO8), I've been playing super-tight due to the loose nature of the games that I've played in, but I'm definitely calling too much in spots where I should either be raising or folding (including pre-flop). This has been especially true in PLO8 when I've had the nut low on disjointed boards. Because of my passive play, I've been getting quartered and/or counterfeited on the river by marginal Hi hands which would have folded to pressure on earlier streets. Of course, this could all just be yet another example of a Hold'em player trying to make sense of Omaha...
I've ordered a couple of books and have been browsing the 2+2 forums for information on both PLO and PLO8. If I don't improve soon, these losses could really start to eat into my overall profit.
Tuesday - In Captain G's $1/$2, I made $100 in the only 2 rounds of NLHE that we played. However, due primarily to 'variance' (aka shitty luck) in PLO8, I finished the night with a net loss of $320 despite playing like an absolute rock in an ultra-loose game.
Wednesday - In the Liz and Brandon $20 Freezeout, I chopped the pot 50/50 when I got heads-up with Liz ($80 net profit). Sorry; I just couldn't bring myself to play cutthroat poker with my girl.
Krumbine Thursday - As on Tuesday, I played well during the NLHE rounds but faltered at Omaha. We were playing PLO (Hi only) this time, but it was still the river that bit me. $37 net loss over 6.5 hours.
Friday - Played an impromptu NLHE cash game at a new location with several of the regulars from Krumbine Thursday. Good combination of cards and post-flop play for a net profit of $259 over 4.5 hours.
Saturday - One of the Krumbine Thursday regulars and his wife had a poker-themed baby shower, including a $40 NLHE freezeout. I made it to the final 3 of the 19-player field before agreeing to an even split ($210 net profit). I actually had a sizeable chip advantage at the time of the deal, but I wasn't about to try to negotiate a more equitable deal in the middle of a baby shower and among friends =)
In summary, I feel like my NLHE game is about as strong as it's ever been. For the first few months of the year, I think I had been trying too hard to make things happen regardless of the situation. Lately I've been more selective with my aggression and just let the game come to me. I'm in a real comfort zone right now as a result, and I hope that the strategy continues to pay off.
As for Omaha (both PLO and PLO8), I've been playing super-tight due to the loose nature of the games that I've played in, but I'm definitely calling too much in spots where I should either be raising or folding (including pre-flop). This has been especially true in PLO8 when I've had the nut low on disjointed boards. Because of my passive play, I've been getting quartered and/or counterfeited on the river by marginal Hi hands which would have folded to pressure on earlier streets. Of course, this could all just be yet another example of a Hold'em player trying to make sense of Omaha...
I've ordered a couple of books and have been browsing the 2+2 forums for information on both PLO and PLO8. If I don't improve soon, these losses could really start to eat into my overall profit.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Weekend Recap
Here's a rundown of the events of this past weekend:
I made $180 in the Thursday game over 8.5 hours. I tried to tighten up a little more than usual in order to get into 'tournament mode' for the AC trip, but I still managed to have a decent session thanks to some quality cards.
After spending most of Friday morning getting packed for the trip, I arrived in AC just after 10pm and met up with the others at the Hilton, where they were already seated at the $1/$2 NLHE tables. I wasn't really interested in sitting in a cash game since I had planned on entering a tournament at 11:00 the next morning at the Borgata, so I decided to hang out at the video poker machines and test my knowledge of basic strategy. I quickly learned that my knowledge of basic strategy was virtually non-existent, and it wasn't long before I took a seat at $1/$2 NLHE along with the rest of the guys. I continued to play the same tight game that I tried to play Thursday night, but consecutive bad beats (of which I will spare you the details) put me $300 in the hole right off the bat.
Rather than trying to get my money back, which I'm typically inclined to do despite my better judgement, I actually got up from the table and headed back to our room at the Fairfield Resorts to get some rest. Lack of sleep cost me dearly in my first trip to AC last year when I misread my hole cards during a tournament. I was determined not to make the same mistake this time around.
I woke up to my alarm at 9:30 Saturday morning and was out the door of the hotel an hour later (note: no matter how close it looks, trying to walk to the Borgata from the strip is a very bad idea). When I got to the Borgata poker room about 5 minutes before the tournament start time, there were a number of people in line for registration. Unfortunately, it wasn't until about 10 minutes later that half of us realized that we didn't have the player cards necessary to register, which ended up costing us another 15 minutes of table time. In short, the registration fiasco (my fault entirely) caused me to miss out on all but 2 hands of the first blind level.
Late start aside, I played a fairly disciplined game for the remainder of the tournament and didn't have to make many moves at all. I basically just used my tight image to steal the occasional blinds and take down pots post-flop whenever my position and/or cards (mainly cards) allowed me. There were a few interesting hands/concepts that I encountered, but we'll save those for a later post.
I reached the final table about 8.5 hours into the tournament. When we got down to 8 players, one of them asked if everyone wanted to chop the pot at a little over $4K per man. It sounded like a pretty good deal to me since the blinds were getting large in relation to our stacks, and it would take either a first place ($14.5K prize) or second place ($7K prize) finish in order to make a substantially larger amount. Unlike a few of the other players, I had no problem when the chip leader relented, but it was still somewhat poetic that he ended up going broke just 5 hands later.
The 7 remaining players agreed to an equal chop of $5100, with final places being assigned for tax purposes based on chip stack. Despite having only the 2nd smallest stack, I agreed to accept the $14.5K hit on my taxes in exchange for $1K of the small stack's $5100 prize up front (I'm at the high end of my tax bracket, and the $7K 2nd place prize would likely have put me over regardless). This brought my total prize to $6100.
After the tournament, I went with the guys on a buffet run, then we all registered for a $40+$10 NLHE freezeout at the Hilton. At 10 tables, this tournament was about 30% smaller than the Borgata's, but I was still pleased to finish one spot from the final table in 10th place, especially considering the very fast structure. Making back-to-back final tables would have been pretty sweet, but I certainly couldn't complain about my results for the day.
I made $180 in the Thursday game over 8.5 hours. I tried to tighten up a little more than usual in order to get into 'tournament mode' for the AC trip, but I still managed to have a decent session thanks to some quality cards.
After spending most of Friday morning getting packed for the trip, I arrived in AC just after 10pm and met up with the others at the Hilton, where they were already seated at the $1/$2 NLHE tables. I wasn't really interested in sitting in a cash game since I had planned on entering a tournament at 11:00 the next morning at the Borgata, so I decided to hang out at the video poker machines and test my knowledge of basic strategy. I quickly learned that my knowledge of basic strategy was virtually non-existent, and it wasn't long before I took a seat at $1/$2 NLHE along with the rest of the guys. I continued to play the same tight game that I tried to play Thursday night, but consecutive bad beats (of which I will spare you the details) put me $300 in the hole right off the bat.
Rather than trying to get my money back, which I'm typically inclined to do despite my better judgement, I actually got up from the table and headed back to our room at the Fairfield Resorts to get some rest. Lack of sleep cost me dearly in my first trip to AC last year when I misread my hole cards during a tournament. I was determined not to make the same mistake this time around.
I woke up to my alarm at 9:30 Saturday morning and was out the door of the hotel an hour later (note: no matter how close it looks, trying to walk to the Borgata from the strip is a very bad idea). When I got to the Borgata poker room about 5 minutes before the tournament start time, there were a number of people in line for registration. Unfortunately, it wasn't until about 10 minutes later that half of us realized that we didn't have the player cards necessary to register, which ended up costing us another 15 minutes of table time. In short, the registration fiasco (my fault entirely) caused me to miss out on all but 2 hands of the first blind level.
Late start aside, I played a fairly disciplined game for the remainder of the tournament and didn't have to make many moves at all. I basically just used my tight image to steal the occasional blinds and take down pots post-flop whenever my position and/or cards (mainly cards) allowed me. There were a few interesting hands/concepts that I encountered, but we'll save those for a later post.
I reached the final table about 8.5 hours into the tournament. When we got down to 8 players, one of them asked if everyone wanted to chop the pot at a little over $4K per man. It sounded like a pretty good deal to me since the blinds were getting large in relation to our stacks, and it would take either a first place ($14.5K prize) or second place ($7K prize) finish in order to make a substantially larger amount. Unlike a few of the other players, I had no problem when the chip leader relented, but it was still somewhat poetic that he ended up going broke just 5 hands later.
The 7 remaining players agreed to an equal chop of $5100, with final places being assigned for tax purposes based on chip stack. Despite having only the 2nd smallest stack, I agreed to accept the $14.5K hit on my taxes in exchange for $1K of the small stack's $5100 prize up front (I'm at the high end of my tax bracket, and the $7K 2nd place prize would likely have put me over regardless). This brought my total prize to $6100.
After the tournament, I went with the guys on a buffet run, then we all registered for a $40+$10 NLHE freezeout at the Hilton. At 10 tables, this tournament was about 30% smaller than the Borgata's, but I was still pleased to finish one spot from the final table in 10th place, especially considering the very fast structure. Making back-to-back final tables would have been pretty sweet, but I certainly couldn't complain about my results for the day.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Results Update - April 22, 2007
Just a quick update:
Thursday - made $180 net profit over 8.5 hours in the Krumbine game; $21.18 hourly rate
Friday - lost $300 within about 45 minutes in a $1/$2 NLHE cash game at the Atlantic City Hilton
Saturday - made $6100 gross profit in a $300+$40 NLHE freezeout at the Borgata
I'm too tired to go into details right now, but the $6100 prize from the Borgata tournament easily shattered my previous record.
Thursday - made $180 net profit over 8.5 hours in the Krumbine game; $21.18 hourly rate
Friday - lost $300 within about 45 minutes in a $1/$2 NLHE cash game at the Atlantic City Hilton
Saturday - made $6100 gross profit in a $300+$40 NLHE freezeout at the Borgata
I'm too tired to go into details right now, but the $6100 prize from the Borgata tournament easily shattered my previous record.
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