So here we go, with the advent of the new Blog system, I will chronicle my ups and downs of going pro on a measly bankroll and playing the SSHE poker game. To update the less informed, I lost my job on Aug 10th. My position was absorbed mainly due to the rise of the Canadian dollar. Working in Canada for a US company had it’s benefits, but now, not so much. One of the problems that I will not get into detail about is that I may not be receiving unemployment, so my bankroll is my only hope.
Anyway, back to poker. I started grinding out the $100NL game at Stars and AP. I was running ok for the first week or so, but then the problems hit. I needed to withdraw. It takes a week or so to get the money from Moneybookers so when I took out $1K to make my usual payments it left me with less than $2K in my roll. This is where things get fun. One of the things you count on when playing full time on a short roll is rakeback and bonuses. When your not rolled for $100NL those things drop in value quite a lot. So what did I do. “Meh, I can beat the game, just grind it back. Your close enough with 15 but ins”
Mistake #1, this is not where you want to be when playing for a living. Can you say stress, can you say pressure. Everything that will make you play poorly, desperate and under stress was in effect. No bankroll cushion, losing daily and being asked by everyone in the house to do this and that, “since your home all day” really causes grief.
Mistake #2, was not dropping down right away. I would have had less stress playing $50NL now that I look back. I still could have grinded back to where I needed to be, (25BI’s at $100NL) at $50NL. It may have taken a week, but when downswinging or playing bad, not dropping half your bankroll ( 6+ BI’s) would probably be a lot less hassle to recover from.
Mistake #3, was not asking for help. I had offers to help, to cushion the roll, to take some payments off my hands. I thought I could do it without the help. Here’s the thing, taking the offer for help then for a little cushion would have been a lot easier than dealing with asking for a lot of help now. I should have, and now I did. I don’t have anywhere near the cushion I need, hell I ain’t even rolled for $100NL yet. I have withdrawn $2K from my roll so far since Aug10 and am still playing $50NL, and I am now only 2 tabling. (I will get to this in my next blog post)
So where am I? Digging in. I am not giving this up. I can play more hours than you can imagine. I won’t. I need to prepare for the long haul. So I am spending more time watching Vids. Reviewing hands, and talking poker on AIM, MSN and Vent. I play only 2 tables instead of 4, and I am getting a game. No more grinding 4 tables for a breakeven winrate and getting some bonus and rakeback. I want to get to $200NL by November 1st. All the while withdrawing $1K twice a month to pay my bills. May not happen, I may have to go back to work. I don’t want to, it all depends on the poker gods, and not finding,
Mistake #4……