The Slow March to $1000

I've thought about posting an op for a long time, and now it's time to make the leap. I'm a part-time player meaning currently, I play about 10-14 hours per week at night and on weekends. I have a full-time job and I'm a full-time husband and father of two young children.

This op will help me on my way to making my first $1000 playing poker. I've been playing off and on for about 2 years now. I consider myself to be a decent player with a lot to learn. I understand BR Management and I practice it pretty closely. Now for my stated goals and methods:

Play $2.00 FR and 6-max about 10 hours a week, single or two table. I'm still learning so I don't want to give up my reads by playing more than that.

Play several $3.40 ST SNGs per week. Maybe between 5-10. I'll also throw in some multi-table turbos as well.

Try to play in a couple of MTT tourneys per week. Mostly of the $2.20 turbo kind. I prefer turbo because they are much faster to play, even though the variance is obviously much higher and the emphasis is mostly on pre-flop play, especially late.

My currently BR is $283.42. As stated, the goal for this OP is $1000 but I won't give a time frame because I'm more interested in doing it right than doing it fast. I play exclusively on Poker Stars simply because that is where I have the money. I started out by cashing in a couple of PCA free-rolls that gave me $7.50 and I've worked my way up and down from there. Most of my BR is due to SNG play, but now I'm actively trying to build it up through cash games. Once I've hit $50 in cash games, I'll move up to $5.00 cash.

I'm focused and I'm ready!

1st!

Good luck. I'm in a similar situation: playing 2nl, work FT and have 2 young kids. I usualy play b/w 9pm and 12 am weeknights on PS...
Lets stay out of each others way...

Originally Posted by Vinland

1st!

Good luck. I'm in a similar situation: playing 2nl, work FT and have 2 young kids. I usualy play b/w 9pm and 12 am weeknights on PS...
Lets stay out of each others way...

LOL! Not a problem. I'm in bed by 9pm! I work from 6:30-3pm and it's an hour commute each way.

Interesting session this afternoon. I should note that I normally buy in at $3. I find that $5 is mostly wasted as most of the people I'm playing against don't have that much to begin with. At the right table, I would buy in for $5 however.

So early in the session I recognize the ATM. He's the one who went up to $7 quickly and just as fast dropped a couple of dollars. I'm going to look for opportunities to take advantage of this guy. I finally got a good hand just after he took at big hit to his stack. I KNEW he was going all-in with any two. Here's what happened:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($0.84)
SB ($2.52)
BB ($1.42)
UTG ($1.10)
Hero (MP) ($3.41)
CO ($6.79)

Preflop: Hero is MP with K, A
1 fold, Hero bets $0.10, 2 folds, SB raises to $2.52 (All-In), BB calls $1.40 (All-In), Hero calls $2.42

Flop: ($6.46) 7, 2, 8 (3 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: ($6.46) 2 (3 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($6.46) 6 (3 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $6.46 | Rake: $0.30

He had A-7o. Figures, right? Oh well. I won't deny that was a big and frustrating hit, but I didn't give up, even though I knew that I wasn't rebuying once this money was gone. I got down to $,54 before I doubled up going all-in pre with A-Jo. I got called by K-2s of all hands.

I looked for more opportunities to play this guy and I ended up doubling through him on this hand.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($2.12)
BB ($1.24)
UTG ($0.36)
UTG+1 ($3.88)
MP1 ($1.33)
MP2 ($1.22)
CO ($4.39)
Hero (Button) ($1.07)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K, Q
2 folds, MP1 calls $0.02, MP2 calls $0.02, CO bets $0.06, Hero calls $0.06, 2 folds, MP1 calls $0.04, MP2 calls $0.04

Flop: ($0.27) K, J, 2 (4 players)
MP1 checks, MP2 checks, CO checks, Hero bets $0.20, MP1 calls $0.20, 2 folds

Turn: ($0.67) K (2 players)
MP1 checks, Hero bets $0.81 (All-In), MP1 calls $0.81

River: ($2.29) 9 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $2.29 | Rake: $0.10

A few hands later, he was felted and left. Too bad! My last good hand of the session was this one.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($2.11)
MP1 ($1.19)
MP2 ($1.50)
CO ($4.26)
Button ($2.28)
SB ($3.51)
Hero (BB) ($2.01)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 7, A
2 folds, MP2 (poster) checks, 2 folds, SB calls $0.01, Hero bets $0.10, 1 fold, SB calls $0.08

Flop: ($0.22) 2, A, 6 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.10, SB raises to $0.20, Hero calls $0.10

Turn: ($0.62) J (2 players)
SB bets $0.40, Hero calls $0.40

River: ($1.42) 7 (2 players)
SB bets $1, Hero raises to $1.31 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $3.42 | Rake: $0.15

I thought it was hilarious that he'd bet $1 and then fold when I raised it another $.32. In this particular hand, I didn't believe his raises. And when he raised on the turn, I wasn't folding with top pair and the nut flush draw. All told I ended up with a nice $1.36 in only 46 minutes. Or in other words, 64bb/100. Sweet!

Hey good luck! Being a husband and father and finding time to play seems pretty tough. Hope you succeed!

Originally Posted by kmind

Hey good luck! Being a husband and father and finding time to play seems pretty tough. Hope you succeed!

Thanks! I'm confident I'll succeed, I just don't know how long it will take. Squeezed in another micro session and added another $.32 in 17 hands. Up to $8.98 in cash game earnings! Woo hoo!

Of course I lost $3.40 playing a 10-man SNG when my A-K was beaten by A-J by a J on the river. I'm keeping the earnings separate. When I hit $50 in cash earnings, I can move up, but not before.

Total BR is down due to variance on the SNG. $281.70. I'm on a horrific run in the SNGs right now. May have to take a break from them for a bit and play more cash. I'll have to evaluate that this week.

Any thoughts from anyone on the subject of SNG vs. Cash?

Not a good night last night. Another flame out in the 180-man $2.20 turbo. my first playable hand occured at the 75-100 level when I push my last $1170 with A-Qo from MP and was called by A-3o. 3 on the flop and that's all she wrote. Again.

Then in cash, same problem. A-Qo, I re-raise against a small stack and he calls along with one other. The flop comes Q high with two hearts so I go all-in. the short stack calls and the medium stack (whom I had covered) gets out of the way. 6 on the river gives the short stack three of a kind.

A little later, this hand happens.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (2 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($2.69)
Button ($0.57)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 10, 3
Button calls $0.01, Hero checks

Flop: ($0.04) Q, K, 9 (2 players)
Hero bets $0.06, Button calls $0.06

Turn: ($0.16) J (2 players)
Hero bets $0.14, Button calls $0.14

River: ($0.44) J (2 players)
Hero bets $0.36, Button calls $0.35 (All-In)

Total pot: $1.14 | Rake: $0.05

Results:
Button had Q, Q (full house, Queens over Jacks).
Hero had 10, 3 (straight, King high).
Outcome: Button won $1.09

So after that, I played about 20 more hands and quit before I lost the entire $3. Then I did some poker studying. I don't think I'm playing badly, but my results sure do suck. I think I'm going to try one more 180 tonight and if I don't at least cash, I'm done with them for awhile. And also I think I'll stop playing turbo sngs until I can reverse my losses. I'm down about $60 from my peak. The turbos are killers in the variance department, but playing the regular ones take so much longer...

So I do what I say and play a 180-man tonight. Finally had some decent hands and they held. Pocket Aces twice. I think I was only all-in twice with the worst hand. One time I had A-6 and he had A-K. We ended up splitting the pot with Aces full of 8s. Then I called an all-in due to pot odds and won with K-9 vs A-Q and a 9 on the turn.

Whenever I pushed, my hands with hold, although each time, my opponent managed to have some sort of draw after the flop so I'd have to sweat out the last two cards. Throughout it all, I had to play pretty conservative because of the loose play going on around me. There were few times were I had opportunities to steal. Finally I make the finally table and we're down to three. And this is how it ended for me.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $2.00+$0.20 Tournament, 2500/5000 Blinds 500 Ante (3 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB (t74404)
Hero (BB) (t37805)
Button (t157791)

Hero's M: 4.20

Preflop: Hero is BB with K, A
Button bets t15000, 1 fold, Hero raises to t37305 (All-In), Button calls t22305

Flop: (t78610) 9, 6, 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t78610) 9 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t78610) 2 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t78610

Results:
Button had 8, 2 (two pair, nines and twos).
Hero had K, A (one pair, nines).
Outcome: Button won t78610

Now THAT sucked. Still it's the best I've ever done in the 180-man turbo and the most I've ever won in a tourney. Something to build on! And the $42.84 certainly doesn't hurt. Now it's time to put the kids in bed and play about an hour of 2nl!

Didn't play much poker over the weekend. Played another 180-man and finished 12th. Never got much in the way of cards to make a move. Came back from a vicious beat in the middle to even make it was pretty good in my opinion. Played some cash yesterday for about 40 minutes and was up $1.12 playing single table 6-max.

I like to switch between 6-max and Full Ring for variety and to work on my game. I'm a fairly aggressive player, although I'm not loose. Typically, I'm playing around 22/18/3. I win a lot of small pots, but lose many bigger ones because of this. I just can't stop trying to bluff the calling stations. It's one of the things I've got to work on more. Yesterday at least the bluffs were working.

Up to a total of $322 on the BR front and up to about $12 on the cash only front. Only $38 to go to get to 5nl! I hope to make it by July, but I'm planning on moving in August, so my poker playing may slow down for awhile while I get ready. I might start 2 tabling and see how that goes.

how long did that $2 - 180 SNG take? I'd like to play them but I dont have lots of time in the evenings...

congrats on 3rd in the donkament. That river just sucked.

Originally Posted by Vinland

how long did that $2 - 180 SNG take? I'd like to play them but I dont have lots of time in the evenings...

congrats on 3rd in the donkament. That river just sucked.

I should preface that it's a turbo, so not terribly long. I think that one last about 90 minutes. They don't normally last much longer than that. The $4.40/180s non turbos last about 5 hours. I don't normally have the time for those.

HUGE night on the cash front. Played for roughly 90 minutes, single table full ring. As usual, started off poorly, mostly through spewing, but also when I had this hand:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG+1 ($0.95)
MP1 ($2.42)
MP2 ($1.22)
MP3 ($1.95)
CO ($2.07)
Hero (Button) ($2.78)
SB ($4.93)
BB ($3.14)
UTG ($4.78)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 10, 10
UTG calls $0.02, UTG+1 bets $0.04, 1 fold, MP2 calls $0.04, 2 folds, Hero raises to $0.12, 2 folds, UTG calls $0.10, 1 fold, MP2 calls $0.08

Flop: ($0.43) 9, 2, 9 (3 players)
UTG checks, MP2 checks, Hero bets $0.20, UTG calls $0.20, MP2 calls $0.20

Turn: ($1.03) 4 (3 players)
UTG checks, MP2 checks, Hero bets $0.32, UTG calls $0.32, MP2 raises to $0.64, Hero calls $0.32, UTG calls $0.32

River: ($2.95) 3 (3 players)
UTG checks, MP2 checks, Hero checks

Total pot: $2.95 | Rake: $0.10

Results:
Hero mucked 10, 10 (two pair, tens and nines).
UTG had Q, Q (two pair, Queens and nines).
MP2 had 9, 2 (full house, nines over twos).
Outcome: MP2 won $2.85

9-2? Really? OK. I didn't tilt though, mostly because I was never ahead in that hand. I'd like someone's opinion on how I played this hand however. I honestly though I was ahead all the way and I never was.

I overcame that when I had pocket Kings back-to-back. First time, I raise and get called by the resident calling station. It looked like this:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 ($1.96)
MP2 ($0.98)
CO ($2.71)
Hero (Button) ($2.20)
SB ($5.33)
BB ($3.33)
UTG ($1.29)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K, K
1 fold, MP1 calls $0.02, MP2 calls $0.02, 1 fold, Hero bets $0.10, SB calls $0.09, 3 folds

Flop: ($0.26) 9, 4, A (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.16, SB calls $0.16

Turn: ($0.58) 4 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.24, SB calls $0.24

River: ($1.06) 3 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Total pot: $1.06 | Rake: $0.05

Results:
Hero mucked K, K (two pair, Kings and fours).
SB had 8, A (two pair, Aces and fours).
Outcome: SB won $1.01

I thought I played it pretty well. But hey, what can you do? The very next hand. Sweet revenge!

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($1.94)
UTG+1 ($0.96)
MP1 ($2.71)
MP2 ($1)
Hero (CO) ($1.70)
Button ($5.84)
SB ($3.31)
BB ($1.29)

Preflop: Hero is CO with K, K
UTG calls $0.02, UTG+1 calls $0.02, 1 fold, MP2 (poster) bets $0.08, Hero raises to $0.20, Button calls $0.20, 2 folds, UTG calls $0.18, UTG+1 calls $0.18, MP2 (poster) calls $0.12

Flop: ($1.03) 4, 4, 6 (5 players)
UTG checks, UTG+1 checks, MP2 checks, Hero bets $0.50, Button calls $0.50, UTG calls $0.50, 2 folds

Turn: ($2.53) 7 (3 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $1 (All-In), Button calls $1, UTG calls $1

River: ($5.53) 7 (3 players, 1 all-in)
UTG checks, Button checks

Total pot: $5.53 | Rake: $0.25

Results:
Button mucked 3, 3 (two pair, sevens and fours).
UTG had 6, 5 (two pair, sevens and sixes).
Hero had K, K (two pair, Kings and sevens).
Outcome: Hero won $5.28

I'm not sure I played this one all that well, but I really didn't think I was beaten, based on my reads. I thought it likely though that someone had paired their 6 on the flop.

A few hands later, I lost another decent pot when two opponents had full houses. The next hand - booyah!!!

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($0.58)
UTG ($2.54)
UTG+1 ($0.46)
MP1 ($1.10)
MP2 ($0.95)
Hero (MP3) ($4.61)
CO ($4.15)
Button ($5)
SB ($3.62)

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with A, A
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.02, MP1 bets $1.10 (All-In), 1 fold, Hero raises to $4.61 (All-In), 1 fold, Button calls $4.61, 3 folds

Flop: ($10.37) J, 7, 10 (3 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: ($10.37) 9 (3 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($10.37) 2 (3 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $10.37 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Button mucked A, J (one pair, Jacks).
MP1 mucked 5, 5 (one pair, fives).
Hero had A, A (one pair, Aces).
Outcome: Hero won $9.87

I ended the session at $10.28 for a total profit of $7.28. That brings my 2nl total to $19.32 and my total BR to $329.20. Just $6 off my all-time high.

Hand One:
Flop bet is too low esp w/ 2 hearts on the flop.
Getting 2 callers would raise alarm bells.
The turn bet is again too low, or you could have checked it (although I may be wrong here)
As is, the turn check raise (into 2 opponents) my MP2 signals the end of the hand. He's not doing this with a lower PP than your TT right?? These kind of garbage limp callers dont often check raise into 2 opps with weak hands...
Also, he is a complete retarded asshead for checking that river....what a tool

Also, can I suggest that you reload after your lost hands?
If you had closer to $3.00 in your stack that 3way pot w/ KK would have been that much sweeter...thats my opinion.

Originally Posted by Vinland

Also, can I suggest that you reload after your lost hands?
If you had closer to $3.00 in your stack that 3way pot w/ KK would have been that much sweeter...thats my opinion.

I'm sure that would have been the best thing to do, but part of my stop loss/risk aversion is to only play the money I have. I start with $3 and if I lose it, I'm done. Granted, I'm leaving value out there, but I'm OK with that. I won't make as much, but then again, I won't lose as much either. In rare instances, I might re-buy or add on, but it won't happen often. I don't play scared with the money out there, but I try to maintain control. The good thing about my tilt is that I usually stop playing as opposed to trying to win all my losses back at one time.

As for your advice about the hand, I'll take a look. I'm sure you are right. It took me until the turn however to realize that I was beaten. A little slow there for me, I could have saved some cash if I just listened to those warning bells in my head.

Thanks for your help!

Pretty slow going the last couple of days. I think I put in a total of about an hour and half. I played one 180-man and finished OOTM. I'm really slacking on the SNG front. Haven't played any since this weekend.

Cash games are still going well though. Wednesday I was up $1.12 in about 20 minutes of play before someone brought it to my attention that the Pens were waxing the Caps. So I had to watch the end of that game and see my team make it to the Conference finals.

Yesterday was the same thing. I was pretty busy and managed to only play 36 minutes (43 hands) of FR. Haven't played 6-max this week, but I will. It was a short session but a hugely profitable one. Right now, I've been lucky to pick the right tables and also lucky that no one has drawn out on me. Here's a couple of hands from last night:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) ($3.13)
SB ($1)
BB ($5.22)
UTG ($1.41)
MP ($3)
CO ($0.41)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K, Q
UTG calls $0.02, MP (poster) checks, CO calls $0.02, Hero bets $0.16, SB calls $0.15, 2 folds, MP (poster) calls $0.14, CO calls $0.14

Flop: ($0.68) 8, K, K (4 players)
SB checks, MP bets $0.20, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.20, 1 fold

Turn: ($1.08) 10 (2 players)
MP bets $0.42, Hero calls $0.42

River: ($1.92) 7 (2 players)
MP checks, Hero bets $0.72, 1 fold

Total pot: $1.92 | Rake: $0.05

Results:
Hero didn't show K, Q (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $1.87

I love it when they think they can steal the pot. I suppose there was an outside chance he had flopped a boat or had A-K, but I couldn't let myself worry about that. I didn't re-raise because the board was so dry and I thought if I did, he'd fold quickly. On the River, I don't think he calls any raise of mine, but I thought a little less than half the pot was appropriate. I'm not checking down so he can see what I had. Why did I raise so big pre-flop? I wanted to whittle the field down and isolate. I assumed that I would still be called and I had position, so I was more interested in building a bigger pot. These guys weren't tricky to this point. A check meant weakness.

Now here's the big hand. This flop was much more dangerous so I thought I'd push and see what happened.

PokerStars Game #28209284353: Hold'em No Limit ($0.01/$0.02) - 2009/05/14 23:30:49 ET
Table 'Gothard IV' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: tuuk2 ($4.12 in chips)
Seat 4: nono93150 ($0.91 in chips)
Seat 5: ag0ng ($6.81 in chips)
Seat 6: rocket132 ($1.59 in chips)
Seat 7: naffopca ($2.14 in chips)
Seat 8: stucknohio ($3.25 in chips)
Seat 9: betoconforti ($0.27 in chips)
stucknohio: posts small blind $0.01
betoconforti: posts big blind $0.02
PEELII: sits out
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to tuuk2 [Jd Jc]
tuuk2: raises $0.12 to $0.14
nono93150: calls $0.14
ag0ng: folds
rocket132: calls $0.14
naffopca: folds
stucknohio: calls $0.13
betoconforti: raises $0.13 to $0.27 and is all-in
tuuk2: calls $0.13
nono93150: calls $0.13
rocket132: calls $0.13
stucknohio: calls $0.13
*** FLOP *** [7d 3h 9h]
stucknohio: bets $0.48
tuuk2: raises $3.37 to $3.85 and is all-in
nono93150: calls $0.64 and is all-in
rocket132: folds
stucknohio: calls $2.50 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($0.87) returned to tuuk2
*** TURN *** [7d 3h 9h] [Js]
*** RIVER *** [7d 3h 9h Js] [4h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
stucknohio: shows [Jh 8c] (a pair of Jacks)
tuuk2: shows [Jd Jc] (three of a kind, Jacks)
tuuk2 collected $4.48 from side pot-2
nono93150: mucks hand
tuuk2 collected $1.82 from side pot-1
betoconforti: mucks hand
tuuk2 collected $1.30 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $7.95 Main pot $1.30. Side pot-1 $1.82. Side pot-2 $4.48. | Rake $0.35
Board [7d 3h 9h Js 4h]
Seat 1: tuuk2 showed [Jd Jc] and won ($7.60) with three of a kind, Jacks
Seat 4: nono93150 mucked [9c 9d]
Seat 5: ag0ng folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: rocket132 folded on the Flop
Seat 7: naffopca (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: stucknohio (small blind) showed [Jh 8c] and lost with a pair of Jacks
Seat 9: betoconforti (big blind) mucked [4d Ac]

Here since I'm under the gun and we're 8-handed now, I want to raise to try to narrow the field, but I want to try to keep the pot a bit smaller because I'm OOP. I must admit I was a little concerned when my 7bb bet was called by 3 players and the fourth one re-raises all-in. His re-raise meant nothing to me, however since it was only another .13 to call. No one folded so we went to the flop which was pretty favorable, but drawy. I decided to push all-in to not give people the odds to draw out on me, but this is 2NL so they called anyway.

I especially like the second big stack who donked off all his chips on the Gutshot straight draw. Like I said, I'm getting lucky (or at least not unlucky) right now and they aren't hitting their draws. Out of all 4 opponents, not a single one had a flush draw. That hand put me way up in the profits. I finished about 20 minutes later with $9.68 in hand.

So here's the new totals after two days. Cash total: over $27 (over halfway to 5nl!). Total BR: just over $334. I'll post some stats from PT3 tonight when I get home. I'm running at 51bb/100 over 1000 hands. If only I could stay there!

When I originally started this OP I mentioned that when I got to $50 in cash games I would move up to 5nl. I now realize that I got my numbers mixed up and according to proper BR Management, I shouldn't be moving up until at least I get to $100.

However, I'm going to ignore proper BRM temporarily and see how I do at that level (once I get to $50). There are two reasons why I feel I can get away with this.

1. I will only allow myself a stop loss of 2 buy-ins ($10). If I drop to $40 or below, I'm back down to 2nl at which point I won't try again until I get to $100.
2. I can afford it as in reality, I have over 60 buy-ins if you include my entire BR. But again, if I drop down to $40 or less, I drop back down.

Does anyone disagree with this and if so, why? I'm always open to hearing counter arguments.

Had a pretty rough couple of sessions. Dropped my total $3 when my KK ran into A-J. He flopped a flush and I kept betting into him. The 4-flush on the river gave me a king high flush and that was enough to donk off my stack. Tried a little later and lost a .07 over about 80 minutes. Just couldn't get going and had to struggle to get back to break even.

Two sessions since then have been profitable, although entirely unremarkable. No big numbers. Haven't gotten the cards lately. Just the way it goes.

Finished 2nd in a 10-man turbo SNG for a $5.60 profit, but finished out of the money in a couple of 180s. So for the weekend, I'm down a bit. As soon as I can, I'll post the stats. If anyone knows of a way to do it other than linking to an image on a web page, let me know.

Tuesday was up and down. I started by playing FR Omaha at 2nl just for the hell of it to see how it would go. It went poorly as I dropped my entire $3 in about an hour. The problem I see with Omaha is that you need to hit the nuts in order to make any money. It's nearly impossible to bluff anyone out of a pot, especially since it's Pot Limit. But that's ok. I'll chalk up that $3 to entertainment. I've kept it separate from my Hold-em totals.

After that, I played a little FR NLHE and again lost nearly my entire $3. Just not getting the cards and donking off my stack on bluffs. After that debacle, I went on to play another 180-man in which I had exactly one hand - 99 - the whole tournament. Of course I have to push with my last 1000 and get coolered by AA AND QQ. Just not my day.

After that, took a break and went back and played 6-max. Finally hit the jackpot! Sat down to the left of the big stack and then proceeded to take said stack from him. Here's the 3rd hand of the session.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (4 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($0.31)
SB ($3.17)
BB ($5.82)
Hero (UTG) ($2.97)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, J
Hero bets $0.08, Button calls $0.08, 1 fold, BB calls $0.06

Flop: ($0.25) 10, 8, Q (3 players)
BB bets $0.02, Hero calls $0.02, Button calls $0.02

Turn: ($0.31) 3 (3 players)
BB checks, Hero checks, Button bets $0.06, BB calls $0.06, Hero calls $0.06

River: ($0.49) K (3 players)
BB bets $0.56, Hero raises to $2.81 (All-In), Button calls $0.15 (All-In), BB calls $2.25

Total pot: $6.26 | Rake: $0.30

Results:
Button mucked 2, K (one pair, Kings).
BB mucked 5, K (one pair, Kings).
Hero had A, J (straight, Ace high).
Outcome: Hero won $5.96

I couldn't believe he called me with his Kings. Thank you for idiot players. Normally, I wouldn't call a bet with a gutshot, but I thought that I probably had at least 5 (discounting the Ah and Kh)outs after the Turn, and I was getting 7:1 to call. Not quite +EV, but for that little, I had to see the river and I'm glad I did.

A little later, there was this hand to finish him off.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($4.55)
MP ($0.62)
Button ($3.84)
SB ($3.79)
Hero (BB) ($5.90)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q, Q
UTG bets $0.10, 2 folds, SB raises to $3.79 (All-In), Hero raises to $5.90 (All-In), 1 fold

Flop: ($7.68) 4, K, 9 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: ($7.68) 7 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($7.68) 5 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $7.68 | Rake: $0.35

Results:
SB had 4, J (one pair, fours).
Hero had Q, Q (one pair, Queens).
Outcome: Hero won $7.33

It took me a little bit before I called. I thought he might be a little on tilt or was just looking to make a statement that hand. I thought that if he had AA or KK he's not pushing at this table, since there had been very few all-in pre-flop raises and I don't think there hand been many calls of those all-ins unless extremely short-stacked. Since I didn't put him on AA or KK, then I have to call. I'm ahead of everything else, although I'm 51-49 against A-K, which is what I put him on. Luckily, he had J-4 and I felted him. Later on two hands from the end, I had this hand.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($3.15)
UTG ($0.99)
MP ($4.46)
Button ($4.87)
Hero (SB) ($9.85)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 10, J
UTG calls $0.02, MP calls $0.02, Button calls $0.02, Hero calls $0.01, BB checks

Flop: ($0.10) J, K, 3 (5 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG checks, MP checks, Button checks

Turn: ($0.10) K (5 players)
Hero bets $0.08, 3 folds, Button raises to $0.16, Hero calls $0.08

River: ($0.42) 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $0.24, Hero calls $0.24

Total pot: $0.90 | Rake: $0

Results:
Button had 5, 6 (one pair, Kings).
Hero had 10, J (two pair, Kings and Jacks).
Outcome: Hero won $0.90

After the turn I led out with a 4/5 the pot bet to get an idea of where I stood. The min raise didn't really concern me from this opponent. He had done that a lot and I didn't put him on a King. I thought it more likely either a 5 or flush draw. But because I wasn't sure, I just called.

The river I check to see what he would do. His small raise wasn't going to push me off the hand, but I wanted to keep the pot small to guard against the Kings. Yep, busted flush draw. They just can't help themselves. So I finish the session up $7.33, which means that I've covered all my losses from early in the day. Here are the totals.

Total BR: $328.00
NLHE Total: $31.12. - 60% of the way to my shot at 5nl!

Pretty good sessions lately. On Wednesday I won a 10-man $3.40 SNG for $15 and followed that up with two 2nl sessions that netted me another $1.49. This afternoon, I played a 180-man turbo $2.20 and finished 6th for $18.00. Although I did pretty well, I'm obviously disappointed that I didn't win.

I've probably played between 40 and 50 of these 180-man and I've never won. Most times, when I get to the final table, I get it all-in good only to lose. I've just got to keep plugging along and hopefully my efforts will be rewarded.

So for those keeping track:

Total BR: $356.89
Total NLHE: $32.61

Finishing 1st is nice but be very happy to make the FT. At the end, it always ends up being a shovefest in a SNG esp the turbos. You have to be happy with a FT finish.

With your BR you really need to hit the 5nl tables....dont worry that you have part of that BR built on SNG's....you are overrolled for 5nl as it is so go for it.....play aggressive, dont change your thinking (unless its bad thinking).

Don't get me wrong, I'm always happy to make a final table because it's so difficult to do in these push/fold turbo tourneys, but I think I need to become more aggressive at times so that I have a better chance to win. I usually hit the final table pretty much near 8th or 9th and I have to pick my spots carefully, since you'll get called so light.

As for the 5nl, I agree I'm overrolled for 2nl, but as part of my "training" I'm going to make myself wait until I hit $50 in 2nl earnings. That would mean that I've exhibited the patience that you need to play at the lower levels. I'm running around 40bb/100 right now single tabling. Obviously this is pretty high and unsustainable over the long haul, but I'm doing well now and I don't always have cards to take to show down so I'm adept at driving them off their hands sometimes. The most important part is to determine who will fold and who won't.

I know that most people here multi-table 50 at once , but that's for those with a very solid foundation. I find I learn more this way. Granted I could probably move up to 2-4 tables, but I'm content right now to slowly grind my way up. Once I get to 5nl and I feel that I'm doing well enough, I'll probably start to multi-table.

Your pretty lucky you run into idiot players. Its free money. nice hands BTW.

Originally Posted by golfguy37

Your pretty lucky you run into idiot players. Its free money. nice hands BTW.

Thanks. I don't think it qualifies as luck to find idiot players at 2nl. It would be harder not to find them...

I swear when I was at $2NL, I couldn't find the fish to save my life. Everyone thinks I'm crazy when I say that, but I swear it's true. Found way more fish at $5NL at Poker Stars then fish at $2NL at Full Tilt. Full Tilt $2NL players were all so nitty in my experience.

Anyways, I'm in a similar situation as you. Our bankrolls are actually the same (if you're still at $280-ish) and I got about $100 from heads up s&g's and maybe $30 from FR. I'm contemplating whether I should move up to $10NL as my whole bankroll is rolled for it, or whether I should move up when I make enough from $5NL to justify the move. For the time being, I'm gonna have "two" bankrolls, one for s&g's and one for cash games until someone tells me that is stupid (which I doubt) or until I feel I'm ready to move up to $10NL.

As for your case, I would move on up to $5NL right away and use your whole bankroll for it (make a larger stop loss because going down two buy-ins on your first attempt at the next level is very common). I say this because in my experience, and a couple of other guys' experience, $5NL plays identical to $2NL but with more money.

Good luck and I'll be following your OP now!

Thanks for your advice! Right now I'm taking a break from studying for my Microsoft Certification and thought I'd reply to you before I get back to the grind. Haven't played since Monday since I've been in full study mode. Trying to get my certs so I can get a better job.

I only play pokers stars because that's where I have money. I haven't had much trouble finding the fish, although I've done well against the tight passive players as well.

After the weekend, I'm currently at a BR of $357 with about $36 in nl winnings. The reason why I'm waiting to move up is because I want to reach the goal I've set. I'm not worried about the money just yet, but I want to make sure that I maintain the discipline I need once I do reach the higher stakes.

Got to play for about an hour this evening. Had an up and down session mostly because I played way too many hands and bluffed way too often. Here's a good hand from that session where I had a great read on my opponent. I was pretty sure he had Ax. It was the X I was unsure of. I actually put him on a higher A so although not certain, I was willing to play if out.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (MP3) ($3.17)
CO ($2.54)
Button ($4.96)
SB ($2.25)
BB ($2.57)
UTG ($1.35)
UTG+1 ($0.88)
MP1 ($1.08)
MP2 ($2.81)

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with 4, A
UTG calls $0.02, 1 fold, MP1 bets $0.08, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.08, 1 fold, Button calls $0.08, 1 fold, BB calls $0.06, UTG calls $0.06

Flop: ($0.41) 4, A, 5 (5 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, MP1 bets $0.20, Hero calls $0.20, 3 folds

Turn: ($0.81) 7 (2 players)
MP1 bets $0.40, Hero raises to $0.80, MP1 calls $0.40 (All-In)

River: ($2.41) J (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $2.41 | Rake: $0.10

Results:
MP1 had A, 10 (one pair, Aces).
Hero had 4, A (two pair, Aces and fours).
Outcome: Hero won $2.31

More to come. For those interested, I passed my MCP - XP Admin test. 2 done, 2 to go for my MCSA cert!

Got in a quick nl session and finished up .64 in about 15 minutes. My reading skills have been pretty good lately, I'm seldom making the wrong reads, especially when calling all-ins. Here's one that exemplifies that.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (3 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($1.16)
Hero (Button) ($2.48)
SB ($1.36)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Q, Q
Hero bets $0.10, 1 fold, BB calls $0.08

Flop: ($0.21) 2, 3, 8 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $0.14, BB raises to $0.28, Hero calls $0.14

Turn: ($0.77) J (2 players)
BB bets $0.78 (All-In), Hero calls $0.78

River: ($2.33) K (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $2.33 | Rake: $0.10

Results:
Hero had Q, Q (one pair, Queens).
BB had 8, 9 (one pair, eights).
Outcome: Hero won $2.23

My read was that he had a Jack or flush draw. I didn't put him on a made flush. Later on I finished 2nd in a 10-man $3.40 turbo for another $9. I'm hoping to get in some good sessions this weekend, but we'll see if time permits.

Total BR: $364.04
NL BR: $36.38

The weekend was not good to me. I dropped about $5 on NL before I turned it around slightly by the end. Not much to talk about because I didn't get to play much. All I know is that I need to stop bluffing so much when I get played back at. It's better to let it go than to keep throwing money away. That doesn't mean I should never bluff, but I've got to know why I'm bluffing as opposed to just always throwing a bet out there when I'm checked to.

Tuesday was a better result for me in cash, not so good in SNG. I played extremely tight in the 2nl (about 8/8/1) and it paid off pretty well. There were two rather large stacks at the table including one who had about $13 when I started. Here's a tip for all you out there. Look for some tables that have large stacks. A lot of the time the large stack is more lucky than good. Those are the stacks where you can take their money. Just remember to observe them first before you start playing big pots against them.

My large stack playing friend was about 75/35/4 over 50+ hands. A small sample size to be sure, but enough to know he was loose and lucky. I also got to see him mix it up a few times with another large stack so I could see what he was playing.

I started off playing really tight and it took about 20 hands before I picked up KK in the cutoff. I raised to .12 and was called by 4 opponents. Crap. I told myself that unless I hit a K on the flop, I wouldn't know if I was ahead. Luckily, I spiked another king on a two spade board. Everyone checked to me and I bet out about 90% of the pot. I was re-raised by one player and everyone else folded. I re-raise all-in and was insta-called by A-Ko, no spades.

That doubled me up and from there on, I was able to pick on the large stack for a couple more $. I ended up $4.43 for the hour session. The big stack wasn't hurt by me though, when I left, he was up over $20! He was getting paid off whenever he hit. It was ridiculous.

Later on that night, I played a 10-man turbo $3.40 sng. I did reasonable well, tight/aggresive. I made one mistake where I bet 3x the BB with 8-9s only to be re-raised all-in by the SB. Had to let it go. It was a mistake because the blinds were 150/75 and I had only about $2400 chips. I should have either pushed myself or gotten away from the hand. Even with that, I was doing pretty well until I ran into the standard asshat at the table. I pick up A-9o from the BB and I tell myself that if it's folded to the SB and he limps in, I'll punish him by pushing.

That's exactly what I did. Unfortunately, he calls with J-9o. You'd think I would be happy there, but the idiot catches a j-high straight on the turn and I'm crippled. I understand that I want him to call there, but every once in a while it gets on my nerves when idiot players call when they have no business calling - and win. Especially when they are "dominated".

Oh well, what can you do? I've made some progress on the cash front, making up my losses, but I'm basically standing still on the total BR front. Here they are.

Total BR: $358.01 (I made about $63 in profits on a light playing month in May)
Total NL: $35.93. Still down from my peak, but I'll get it back hopefully by the end of this week.

I haven't written in awhile because there's nothing to write about. I'm getting punked with pocket KKs. I've lost the last 5 times I've had them. I'm punking myself with crappy play and I'm getting tired of it. After this weekend, I'm going to take a break. No one is going to feel sorry for me, and playing pissed off isn't conducive to optimum play. Here's a sample of how my weekend is going. And it's been going like the for at least the last week or so.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($0.56)
UTG+1 ($3.31)
MP1 ($1.80)
MP2 ($3.58)
CO ($1)
Button ($2.12)
Hero (SB) ($2.55)
BB ($4.02)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, 8
UTG calls $0.02, 1 fold, MP1 calls $0.02, MP2 calls $0.02, CO (poster) checks, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.01, BB checks

Flop: ($0.12) A, J, 8 (6 players)
Hero bets $0.10, BB raises to $0.30, 4 folds, Hero raises to $2.53 (All-In), BB calls $2.23

Turn: ($5.18) J (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($5.18) 2 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $5.18 | Rake: $0.25

Results:
Hero had A, 8 (two pair, Aces and Jacks).
BB had J, 8 (full house, Jacks over eights).
Outcome: BB won $4.93

This will be my last post at least until Friday. I'm going to study for my MCSA (two more tests to go by the end of the month) and try to get a job in the state I'm moving to. I found the fish at the table and it's me.

Dont get down on yourself just because your not making money. Dont think of it as winning and loosing. Try to think of the game as being bigger than the current table your playing at...For example, if your quad tabling notice the entire amount of $ you bought in for at all 4 tables is the current $ being risked, not just the one table. Its the same thing if you play just one table at a time. Your entire BR in your PS account is the total amount your willing to gamble with. Your just doing it more intelligently by playing a bunch of smaller tables rather then just put it all on the line...All you have to do is make +EV plays and the money will come, statistically it has to...Like the hand above. Your going to win it more times than your going to loose it and in the end you will see profit from this specific situation! But right there is a point in itself about why NOT buying in for your entire BR is a good thing. You can always go to sleep and wake up to play more GLGLGLGLGLGLGLGLGLGLGL!

Thanks for the kind words. I think my biggest problem was with my play. I was playing way too many hands and I played them too aggressively when aggressive play won't work. I need to sit back and let the cards come to me. I know that you need to play the player, but that also means knowing when you have to play with the best cards when you want to win.

Had a good 6-max session tonight. Was up $1.66 in about 90 minutes. Total grindfest. I wasn't involved in any really big hands. It was small to medium pots under $1.50. Most I won on any pot was $.55 and the most I lost was $.52.

Unfortunately, the 180-mans haven't been going as well. It's been a big fat zero. And I'm down for the month. It's been a light month because of all the studying I've been doing. I passed my last certification on Thursday and I'll be going for the final one on the 23rd. Yay, me!

So I've been having some decent success lately. Finished 16 out of 180 for a small payout. Not bad considering I never had anything over about $7000 in chips. I was able to survive that long without a whiff of good cards. My cash game is back as well.

I've gotten myself up to $39.91 in cash now, the highest ever. I've done it by playing unimaginative poker. I'm folding most times when I don't hit the flop (unless I think I can float and get them later which is rare) and I'm betting out strong when I hit. And I'm also playing less hands (somewhere in the 18/14 range mostly). I started playing two tables occasionally, especially if one of the tables is a slow go.

I think I've finally found the trick to successully playing 2nl. Patience. Don't bluff often unless you've gotten a read on your opponent that says he will fold to a bluff. Most times, your op at 2nl will not fold if they've hit something on the flop unless you're willing to push and even then they might not fold.

Play in position almost always. When I play a hand, I'm almost always in position to play it unless it's a monster where I don't need position (like KK or AA). Being last to act after the flop is a money making endeavor. Having to act first just plain sucks unless you flop the nuts.

Having said that, you will still lose from time to time like I did yesterday. I managed to sandwich two good sessions around a bad one. In the bad one, I had A-9 and raised 4x the BB with position and got two callers. One thing I've noticed, if your Opp limps in, they will almost always call you unless you raise a huge amount. The flop comes 5-6-9 rainbow so I bet a little more than the pot and get called by one. The turn comes another 6 and he checks to me. That's a huge scare card for me because I could see him calling my raise with a 6. If he did, he's now got me crushed. I check behind.

The river is a brick (3, I believe). He bets out a dollar. I know that three didn't help, but what could he have? It's either a bluff or he's got the best hand. I still think he might have the sixes, but I call anyway. He turns over J-6 and I lost about half my stack. Here's the lesson I learned: Early in your session fold those hands if you have any doubts. Folding's much cheaper than finding out the hard way you're beat. There will be other opportunities to make money once you've had time to watch your idiot opponent play.

Unfortunately, he left soon after before I got a chance to get my money back. So from then on, I'm in catch up mode, being very patient, but looking for an opportunity to get my money back. About 40 minutes later, I get my chance when I have 10-2 in the big blind and I check. I flop two pair on a 10-k-2 board. My opponent raises, I re-raise and the other person gets out of the hand leaving it heads-up. My oppponent re-raises me and I push all-in. I know he has a King. I don't know what the other card is, but I'm fairly sure that I'm ahead here. The turn is a 7 and the river is a 9. He turns over the King.... and the 9.

Such crap! I leave the table cursing my bad luck, but I am still at another table. And in that table about 4 hands after my debacle, I have A-J from the small blind. I raise to 6x the BB because I'm OOP and I don't necessarily want a call, I'll be happy to take down the blinds plus the extra from the two limpers. I get insta-called by one opp and then another. The flop comes K-10-Q, two spades and I'm one happy camper. I raise and get re-raised by the biggest fish at the table. I'm happy to go all-in and he calls. Q on the turn and a 7 on the river. He turns over K-9. All of a sudden, I've made back almost all of the $3 I lost at the last table.

Luckily this guy has me covered so he's still got chips left to burn. He's one of those players who will randomly push all in. He's not getting called, so I can't see what he's playing but I know if I wait long enough, I'll get the rest of his chips. It took some time, but here's the last hand I played at the table (when I felted him).


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($5)
BB ($1.51)
UTG ($2.92)
UTG+1 ($1.18)
MP1 ($5.78)
MP2 ($2.58)
Hero (MP3) ($5.41)
CO ($2.65)
Button ($9.32)

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with Q, A
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.02, MP1 calls $0.02, 1 fold, Hero bets $0.12, 1 fold, Button calls $0.12, 1 fold, BB calls $0.10, UTG+1 raises to $1.18 (All-In), 1 fold, Hero calls $1.06, 2 folds

Flop: ($2.63) A, 5, Q (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: ($2.63) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($2.63) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $2.63 | Rake: $0.10

Results:
UTG+1 had 8, J (one pair, fives).
Hero had Q, A (two pair, Aces and Queens).
Outcome: Hero won $2.53

Almost there! After an up and down week (mostly up), I'm nearly there! I'm now at $46.15 in 2nl. $3.85 to go and I take my shot at 5nl. I can't wait! Hopefully I can get off to a good start there so I don't have to fall back down.

Tuesday is the last test I need to take for my MCSA. Once I get that out of the way, I can start concentrating on Poker before I move to CT. So far, this month has been pretty poor in the SNG department. Yesterday down to the last 22 (in the 180) and I push all-in with A-Ko. Get called by Q-4 and he ends up with a full house on the river. That gets old real fast.

It's likely I'll end up with a negative amount for the first time since I've kept track starting in January. However, my cash winnings have made up for it and I'll probably finish just above break even.

5nl here I come!!! I thought I'd play a quick session while the kids were out in the pool and the wife was taking a nap - all before I sat down to study for my last MCSA cert. I looked for a 6-max table and bought in for my standard $3.

What a goldmine! The first hand went like this...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($1.08)
Button ($4.59)
SB ($3.57)
Hero (BB) ($3)
UTG ($2.89)
MP ($4.10)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A, Q
2 folds, CO calls $0.02, Button calls $0.02, SB calls $0.01, Hero bets $0.10, CO calls $0.08, Button calls $0.08, 1 fold

Flop: ($0.32) J, 6, Q (3 players)
Hero checks, CO checks, Button checks

Turn: ($0.32) K (3 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $0.98 (All-In), Button calls $0.98, Hero raises to $2.90 (All-In), 1 fold

River: ($3.26) 7 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $3.26 | Rake: $0.15

Results:
Hero had A, Q (flush, Ace high).
CO mucked 9, 8 (flush, King high).
Outcome: Hero won $3.11

The very next hand...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP ($3.51)
Button ($3.55)
Hero (SB) ($5.03)
BB ($2.89)
UTG ($4.10)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, K
1 fold, MP bets $0.04, Button calls $0.04, Hero raises to $0.12, 1 fold, MP raises to $0.22, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.10

Flop: ($0.50) 5, 9, K (2 players)
Hero bets $0.50, MP raises to $3.29 (All-In), Hero calls $2.79

Turn: ($7.08) 9 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($7.08) 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $7.08 | Rake: $0.35

Results:
Hero had A, K (two pair, Kings and nines).
MP mucked A, 10 (two pair, tens and nines).
Outcome: Hero won $6.73

And finally, 7 hands after that...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($3)
MP ($0.95)
CO ($3.45)
Hero (Button) ($8.11)
SB ($2.86)
BB ($4.36)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Q, Q
1 fold, MP bets $0.06, 1 fold, Hero raises to $0.20, 2 folds, MP calls $0.14

Flop: ($0.43) 7, 5, 5 (2 players)
MP checks, Hero bets $0.40, MP calls $0.40

Turn: ($1.23) 2 (2 players)
MP bets $0.35 (All-In), Hero calls $0.35

River: ($1.93) 4 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $1.93 | Rake: $0.05

Results:
Hero had Q, Q (two pair, Queens and fives).
MP had 9, 8 (one pair, fives).
Outcome: Hero won $1.88

I couldn't believe how everyone was just begging me to take their money. Especially on the first hand where there a 4-flush on the board and he pushes all-in. I almost wish I hadn't re-raised there though, I might have gotten the other one to push on the river.

The second hand was a bit more scary. But in my experience, the over bet almost always means nothing. Still to call with TPTK was a little bit concerning, but I couldn't fold there.

The last hand, with an overpair to the board, I made an easy call. $6.03 in profit in 10 hands!!!

Failed the last cert. But I've been studying all week and I'm re-taking it for free on Monday. Hopefully, I'll have learned enough to pass the damn thing so I can take a break.

Been playing a small amount of 5nl over the last week in between study sessions. Been up and down, although today brought me back into the positive numbers again. I'm up a little over a $1. Long way to go to get to 10nl!

Purchased Hold'em manager today using some birthday money. I have been using the trial version of PT3, but that ends Tuesday. I've tried them both and found for my purposes that they are pretty much the same. I actually like Hold'em manager a little better. So I purchased the low-stakes version. I'll give it a go tomorrow.

Nothing exciting going on. Been up and down. Got up to $370 total before I've dropped back down due to some crappy play and even crappier luck. Tried a $6.50 6-max turbo SNG and lost that when I decided to push against the big stack's raise with my A-Js. Of course he turns over A-K. Then as usual, I flop two diamonds to make it interesting before bricking the turn and river. Catching flushes is pretty rare for me. Especially when I'm all in and need it.

The 180-mans have been a disaster. I can't get any cards, especially when I need them and I'm forced to push with crap cards that get called by even crappier cards that beat me. I don't care what anyone says, you can't win these without a lot of luck and some good cards. It's almost impossible to win without the best hand since no one lays their hands down in these things.

Whatever. I'm tired of poker right now once again. Time to take a break. Can't wait to move out of California and back East. 110 degrees just sucks. I'll take my chances with the humidity.

This week in poker so far has really sucked. I keep getting it in good only to lose. Today is a prime example. I have 10-10 in a 90-man $3.25 turbo and raise to 100 (5bb). I get raised to 180 and there are two other callers, so I'm calling since I'm last to act pre-flop. I catch the 10 on the flop and raise it about 1/2 the pot only to be re-raised all-in. I of course call and he's got AA. Not a problem and I'm on my way to a double up until he catches an A on the river. I finish 86th.

Same thing happens in 180-man, only this time I raise with JJ and get called by Q-7 who manages to flop a Queen. That didn't bust me but it hurt a lot. Then my A-10 loses to 9-8. Then I have to push with 3-3 and get called by two people and that's the end of me.

Playing 5nl after that. Have JJ once again. I raise to .25 and get 3 callers. I have to fold after a K comes on the flop. Then JJ again later on and I go to the river only to lose to 7-8. He catches a 7 on the flop and an 8 on the river. I was calling him down since I knew I was ahead. I lost about $2 out of the $5 I had there.

Then later I have A-Qs and I raise it to $.20 only to get re-raised by the idiot who had taken my $2 earlier to $.35. he had been raising a lot and c-betting everything. I knew he couldn't beat A-Q so I pushed all-in. He calls and I flop the Ace. The river comes with a 4 and he turns over A-4 for the two pair. Total BS. I can't catch a break.

The weekend was certainly a mixed bag. Saturday morning I finished 15th in a 180-man. Then failed to cash in a couple more. Lost a buy-in 6 hands in in 5nl when my A-Ks ran against AA pre-flop. Played pretty poorly. Wasn't paying attention and my head wasn't into it.

On Sunday, I played much better. Won back my buy in when my AA was called by three others and I pushed all-in when the flop came 2-2-3. Only got one caller and he was on a draw which he didn't hit. Then last night I was able to win a 10-man SNG turbo $3.40. It was one of those rare games where everything went my way.

Heads up though, I was getting pwned. I couldn't get a read on this guy and he kept re-raising my bluffs. He got me down to the felt when this hand happened.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $3.00+$0.40 Tournament, 300/600 Blinds 50 Ante (2 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (BB) (t2035)
SB (t12965)

Hero's M: 2.04

Preflop: Hero is BB with 2, Q
SB bets t1200, Hero raises to t1985 (All-In), SB folds

Total pot: t2500

Results:
SB didn't show
Outcome: SB won t700

I have no idea what the hell he was thinking. There's 4000 in the pot and he won't call 700 more? Huge mistake. Now I knew I was playing an idiot. Next hand I push again with K-9 and he calls with 9-7. I double up. Then two hands later, it's over and I've beaten him. 4 straight all-in wins and only once was I behind, which was the last hand when I had K-8 and he had A-6.

Haven't had much chance to play lately, and the chances will get even fewer with the move coming on. On the 29th, my wife and kids are headed back East with me following about two weeks later. So now it's time to pack up the house and take off. I've given my notice at work and we're ready to go.

Once my family leaves, I'll have some time to play non-turbo events after work. I'll probably be able to get in a from MTTs as well, especially on the weekend.

I did pretty well last night. I played only 26 hands of 5nl, but I managed to parlay that into my biggest single session cash yet to date. I basically had two hands that made me money and both were pocket 10s.

The first one I'm not sure I played it all that well. It was my second hand of the session so I've got no reads on anyone. I tend to tighten up in those situations. I don't want to be down a buy-in that quickly.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($0.53)
UTG ($6.10)
MP ($10.67)
Button ($0.96)
Hero (SB) ($4.61)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 10, 10
UTG bets $0.10, 1 fold, Button calls $0.10, Hero raises to $0.30, 1 fold, UTG calls $0.20, Button calls $0.20

Flop: ($0.95) 2, 3, 9 (3 players)
Hero bets $1, UTG calls $1, Button calls $0.66 (All-In)

Turn: ($3.61) 5 (3 players, 1 all-in)
Hero checks, UTG bets $1, Hero calls $1

River: ($5.61) 7 (3 players, 1 all-in)
Hero checks, UTG checks

Total pot: $5.61 | Rake: $0.25

Results:
Button mucked K, 9 (one pair, nines).
Hero had 10, 10 (one pair, tens).
UTG mucked 9, J (one pair, nines).
Outcome: Hero won $5.66

I posted this hand in the Beginner's Circle to get some advice. Being OOP just sucks. I'm sure I would have doubled up if I was on the Button here.

The next hand, I was up against the whale at the table. He was pushing his stack around, raising big time when he was bluffing, but only raising moderately when he wasn't. I had a pretty good read on him after only a few hands. He liked to play any two and if he hit the flop with top pair, he wasn't going away even if a higher card came later. So I waited and waited. This was the last hand of the session for me.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (4 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($7.17)
SB ($1.27)
BB ($9.21)
Hero (UTG) ($7.60)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 10, 10
Hero bets $0.15, 2 folds, BB calls $0.10

Flop: ($0.32) 9, 10, K (2 players)
BB bets $0.50, Hero calls $0.50

Turn: ($1.32) A (2 players)
BB bets $0.20, Hero raises to $1, BB calls $0.80

River: ($3.32) K (2 players)
BB bets $3, Hero raises to $5.95 (All-In), BB calls $2.95

Total pot: $15.22 | Rake: $0.75

Results:
BB mucked 6, K (three of a kind, Kings).
Hero had 10, 10 (full house, tens over Kings).
Outcome: Hero won $14.47

I got a little worried after the flop since he had me if he had Q-J. If he did though, I think he would have bet more. I'm putting him on a draw or top pair here, maybe A-K, but not likely. The ace meant nothing, because if he had Q-J, I was already beat. His small raise was his way of seeing if I hit the A. Then his call was a head scratcher in hindsight.

The King on the river was definitely a scare card since he could now have a better full house than me. K-10, A-K, even K-9 was in his range. Normally I would have just called, but his bet didn't scare me, so I pushed and then hoped for the best. Trip Ks. Not good enough! After that, it was time to give the kids their baths before bed.

Not playing much lately. Just haven't had the time. Played a few 180-man turbos and it's not going well. I'm trying to remain positive, because I don't want to have this OP turn into a bitch-fest about how bad I run. I think I'm playing these tourneys well. I'm just not getting the results. That's poker for you.

I've decided to play the 180s more aggressively. For instance early on I had 10-10 and raised it to 150 (3x bb). Another player pushed all-in and had me covered by a couple hundred. I decide to play for the coin-flip and it paid off when my hand held against his A-K.

Later on I double up with A-Q vs K-J. Then my "luck" finally ran out when I had this hand.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $2.00+$0.20 Tournament, 125/250 Blinds 25 Ante (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 (t11590)
MP2 (t4045)
CO (t7885)
Button (t2540)
SB (t4420)
BB (t1555)
Hero (UTG) (t5610)
UTG+1 (t1020)

Hero's M: 9.76

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Q, Q
Hero bets t750, 3 folds, CO calls t750, 3 folds

Flop: (t2075) 9, 7, Q (2 players)
Hero bets t750, CO raises to t1500, Hero raises to t4835 (All-In), CO calls t3335

Turn: (t11745) K (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t11745) 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t11745

Results:
Hero had Q, Q (three of a kind, Queens).
CO had 8, 7 (flush, King high).
Outcome: CO won t11745

So that's Poker, you move on right? So I did. I went to try my luck at 5nl for a little while before going to bed. 9 hands of nothing, then this hand happens:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (4 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($10.10)
SB ($5.22)
BB ($5.11)
Hero (UTG) ($5.01)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with J, K
Hero bets $0.15, Button calls $0.15, 2 folds

Flop: ($0.37) J, 9, J (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

Turn: ($0.37) 5 (2 players)
Hero bets $0.35, Button raises to $0.95, Hero raises to $4.86 (All-In), Button calls $3.91

River: ($10.09) A (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $10.09 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Button had K, Q (flush, Ace high).
Hero had J, K (three of a kind, Jacks).
Outcome: Button won $9.59

This is poker telling me that it doesn't matter what I do. I can get it in good and I will still get my ass handed to me over and over again.

It's been a long time since I've had a chance to play poker. I've been playing all week since my family went back East and it's not been a good week. Tourney play has been dreadful. I don't think I'm playing horrible, but my results are. Cash has been a little better, but it's been a very frustrating time. I really want to get better at tournament play. I think with some breaks going my way, I could easily double my bankroll in a week or so.

And speaking of Bankroll... It's dropped about $60 in the last two weeks. Mostly due to bad beat after bad beat in tourneys. I really need to stop playing the turbos. They don't suit my game as well as normal speed, but it's hard to set aside enough time to play the normal speed games.

This weekend I'm going to get in a few tourneys as well as some cash. This will be my last weekend in California before I move East. Once I move East, I probably won't have as much time to play until the kids go back to school. I'll also be looking for a new job since my last day at my job is Tuesday. I don't have anything lined up so that's a bit scary. Hopefully I can find something within the month. It's a leap of faith to leave my secure job but I think it's best in the long term for my family.

So back to poker... As I said, it's been pretty rough and frustrating over the last couple weeks. The results are just not there, and sometimes it's me and sometimes it's just poker screwing me over. Cooler after cooler, that sort of thing. Cash has been a little better although Thursday just plain sucked all around. However, tonight was much better. Here's the hand that proved it.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($4.23)
BB ($6.61)
Hero (UTG) ($10.47)
MP ($4.51)
CO ($5.63)
Button ($4.87)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with J, A
Hero bets $0.15, 3 folds, SB calls $0.13, BB calls $0.10

Flop: ($0.45) J, 5, 3 (3 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $0.40, 1 fold, BB calls $0.40

Turn: ($1.25) 3 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $1, BB calls $1

River: ($3.25) A (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $8.92 (All-In), BB calls $5.06 (All-In)

Total pot: $13.37 | Rake: $0.65

Results:
BB had 2, A (two pair, Aces and threes).
Hero had J, A (two pair, Aces and Jacks).
Outcome: Hero won $12.72

It's always nice when you get an idiot that pays you off instead of sucking out on you. By the way, I've purchased Kill Everyone. My preliminary read through the first few chapters is quite positive. I've used some of the techniques already and of course my tournament play results aren't any better, but I think it will help long term.

It's been awhile, but over the last two days I've been able to play a bit before bed. Last night it was a $3.25/45-man tourney. I finished 3rd, which is the highest I've ever placed in this specific SNG. That was for $21.

Tonight, I was able to get in a little over an hour of 6-max. I managed to finish up $2.05 in 92 hands. I'm only 870 hands from my milestone 10,000 hand. I know that most grinders do that in about 5 hours, but I've never played more than 2 tables at a time and most times it's only one. I prefer quality over quantity right now.

I'm now nearly a quarter of the way to 10nl. For the most part, I'm playing 6-max. It's working out very well for me so far. I think 6-max holds my interest level better for some reason.

Played another couple of sessions over the last two days plus a 10-man turbo SNG. I've now had 10 consecutive winning sessions for a total of 5 1/2 buyins (if you consider a buy-in $5). Ever since I've switched to a 200bb buy-in ($10), I've been on a good roll. I think I play less scared and my opponents who usually have less than $10 are more afraid of me.

Here's a hand from two nights ago. This was an up and down session where I kept getting owned by the same guy. Once he had quads to my full house, and once he had a full house to my straight. I was down about 2/3s of a buy-in and then started grinding my way back up, mostly through well-timed aggressive bluffs that were working. On this particular hand, the ideal scenario happened.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (BB) ($7.56)
UTG ($9.69)
MP ($9.28)
Button ($15.05)
SB ($18.79)

Preflop: Hero is BB with J, 9
UTG calls $0.05, MP calls $0.05, 1 fold, SB calls $0.03, Hero checks

Flop: ($0.20) 8, 3, 10 (4 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, UTG bets $0.20, MP calls $0.20, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.20

Turn: ($0.80) 7 (3 players)
Hero bets $0.80, 1 fold, MP raises to $3.40, Hero raises to $7.31 (All-In), MP calls $3.91

River: ($15.42) 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $15.42 | Rake: $0.75

Results:
Hero had J, 9 (straight, Jack high).
MP mucked 6, 9 (straight, ten high).
Outcome: Hero won $14.67

I thought he was on a draw, not a made hand so I was very displeased to see that third diamond until he mucked his hand. Now for my SNG... I've found that over the last two months, it's nearly impossible to do anything in them. The players on Poker Stars are getting so nitty that it requires great luck to cash. I think I'm going to give the turbos up at that level for now, it's just not worth playing. When you have 10 players left at 100/200 blinds, your chances of winning are pretty slim if you can't get cards. I'll play the 18 and 45-man instead. At least there's still some idiots there that you can take advantage of.

Well, had my first losing session, breaking my 10-session win streak. I was crushing the table, everyone folding to be C-bets and aggression. I wasn't making much money because I couldn't get the cards that would stand up to show down, so I was patient, taking down small pots and waiting for my chance.

I finally got it with this hand...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (3 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($3.43)
SB ($5)
Hero (BB) ($9.92)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A, A
Button bets $0.25, SB calls $0.23, Hero raises to $1, Button calls $0.75, SB calls $0.75

Flop: ($3) 10, 3, 6 (3 players)
SB bets $0.70, Hero raises to $8.92 (All-In), Button calls $2.43 (All-In), 1 fold

Turn: ($8.56) J (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($8.56) 2 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $8.56 | Rake: $0.40

That turn card really sucked for me. I thought I played it well, I raised pre-flop to 4x the raise since there were two other people in the hand. Post flop, I felt I was still ahead, but I wanted to try to push out anyone on a draw, hence the huge overbet. I also expected to get called by anyone with top pair in that situation. Of course anyone would trips would also call.

After that hand, he left and I was left playing heads-up for awhile, which allowed me to make back some of my losses. I took back about a $1 from the remaining player before he'd had enough. Then family obligations prevented me from continuing.

Losing in that situation with AA always sucks, but I'd won roughly twenty times in a row with AA so I can't complain.

Had my first 2 buy-in ($10) loss today after a few sessions that equaled +2 buy-ins. Just played poorly, and had even worse luck. Like calling an all-in with A-Qo because I knew he was weak and losing to K-J. Then losing to the same idiot when I called his all-in with my 3-3 against his AJ0 and the board pairs to counterfeit my threes. Crap like that.

I admit the final hand was very tilty. I was so tired of not getting cards or flops and just pushed. Because of the loss, I won't be playing any more cash tonight as my punishment. When I play tilty, I won't allow myself to get back in until I've had overnight to cool off.

However, I may play some sngs tonight. Possibly a couple of $2.20 180-mans. I haven't played (lost) in those for awhile.

Played two SNGs tonight. Same results. Lost to coolers. Standard. I have had some horrible luck with them over the last few months. I don't play that many anymore because I'm more into the cash games, but I would like to have a little better results than I'm having.

Won $9.22 in 5nl today in about 70 minutes of play in 6-max. I found a great table full of 70/5 fish that were donating. I was also able to catch some good cards that helped a lot. Tomorrow I hope to keep the streak alive and make up all the cash I lost over the previous two sessions.

Made back everything I lost and then some with a $7.70 profit this morning. I played like a maniac , 34/22/5.7. I was raising hands like 3-5s and getting it to pay off. I've decided to play a little looser if the occasion calls for it rather than trying to play the standard 25/20/2 in 6-max. If I can find some loose passive players, I think I can take advantage of it.

More to come later!

When you play well and you get lucky, well you can ask for more than that. I played some FR tonight and was dominating the table. Winning pot after pot against a bunch of loose weak players. They'd call and then fold to my flop bets. Wasn't winning much, but practically every time I was in a hand, I would win it with a flop bet.

I decided to leave the table to switch to 6-max for more action. I wasn't thinking I would win too much at this table. My last hand was this one.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($3)
Hero (UTG) ($11.37)
MP ($1.06)
CO ($5.73)
Button ($8.51)
SB ($10)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 8, 8
Hero bets $0.15, 1 fold, CO calls $0.15, 3 folds

Flop: ($0.37) 2, 4, 7 (2 players)
Hero bets $0.25, CO raises to $0.75, Hero calls $0.50

Turn: ($1.87) 8 (2 players)
Hero bets $10.47 (All-In), CO calls $4.83 (All-In)

River: ($11.53) K (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $11.53 | Rake: $0.55

Results:
Hero had 8, 8 (three of a kind, eights).
CO had J, J (one pair, Jacks).
Outcome: Hero won $10.98

So that last hand was a good one! With mid-range PPs, I like to raise to give me a chance to win without seeing a flop, or if I do get called, I can win if I have the overpair or if I hit the set. In this case, I led out for my standard .15 and had the one caller. I c-bet the flop since I have the overpair. His re-raise was a bit of a surprise and I instantly thought he also had an overpair. I called quickly though. It was possible he had A-7 or even a set of his own. I just put him on an overpair based on his previous plays. Just a strong feeling.

When the turn came, I knew there was no need to slow play. I pushed and I expected to get called. Once he did, I just had to fade the J on the river and his cash was mine. I've overcome my 3 buy-in loss from Thursday and Friday and I've broken through the $50 mark. In fact, I'm at nearly 4000 hands in 5nl (mostly 6-max) and I've beaten my total profit from 2nl in about 2500 less hands. Look out 10nl! I'm coming for you soon!

Since my last post, I've been on a ridiculous run. I'm up $28 over 851 hands for a monster 66bb/100. And that's with making some seriously bad calls that have left me starting off in the hole in my sessions. I'm up to $78.06 now in my 5nl career. If all goes well and I don't get too unlucky I should easily hit $80 before I leave Friday afternoon.

I'll be gone to Vermont visiting relatives all weekend so there won't be any more chance of playing until Sunday night. Right now, without a job, I'm able to play roughly 250 hands per day. I've decided to play almost all single table 6-max. I am making a killing on it and I can play much more aggressively as well. FR is just too boring when you single table. Why not play more tables? For some reason I do horrible when playing 2 or more tables.

Here's two hands from my last session. I'd like someone's opinion if they care to give it...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (3 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($5.80)
Hero (SB) ($10.02)
BB ($3.10)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K, J
Button bets $0.20, Hero calls $0.18, BB calls $0.15

Flop: ($0.60) 4, K, 4 (3 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, Button checks

Turn: ($0.60) J (3 players)
Hero bets $0.30, 1 fold, Button calls $0.30

River: ($1.20) Q (2 players)
Hero bets $0.70, Button raises to $2.05, Hero calls $1.35

Total pot: $5.30 | Rake: $0.25

Results:
Button had Q, Q (full house, Queens over fours).
Hero mucked K, J (two pair, Kings and Jacks).
Outcome: Button won $5.05

I was confused and made the call at the end. I did not put him on such a premium hand. Three-handed, I'll call those kind of raises even OOP occasionally because they'll fold to aggression on the flop if they don't hit. I think my biggest mistake was only raising .30 on the turn, although I probably should have raised the flop as well.

Here's a call that I actually won...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP ($3.38)
Hero (Button) ($6.81)
SB ($4.50)
BB ($6.60)
UTG ($5.56)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 8, Q
2 folds, Hero bets $0.15, SB calls $0.13, 1 fold

Flop: ($0.35) 3, 7, K (2 players)
SB bets $0.30, Hero raises to $1, SB calls $0.70

Turn: ($2.35) A (2 players)
SB bets $0.20, Hero calls $0.20

River: ($2.75) 9 (2 players)
SB bets $3.15 (All-In), Hero calls $3.15

Total pot: $9.05 | Rake: $0.40

Results:
Hero had 8, Q (flush, Ace high).
SB had 7, 10 (one pair, sevens).
Outcome: Hero won $8.65

He had been raising the flop nearly every time so I thought a re-raise would win it right there. When he called I thought I was in trouble. Then his idiotic .20 raise had to be called. I thought about it for a bit before I called his all-in. There's only one card in the deck that beats me and I wasn't sure he'd go all-in with it. I would have thought he would go for the value bet instead.

Honestly, I'm torn on the hand. Does anyone fold this hand?

My run officially ended today due to some terrible play by me. I kept chasing 4 flushes after the flop and of course I didn't hit a single one. Pretty card dead too and play against callers who didn't know when to fold. But what a run it was! I went from $50 on August 30 to over $103 September 7th. During that time, I played 1171 hands. Just ridiculous.

Hopefully after this reality check this morning, I can get it back over $100 and get up to 10nl by the end of the month. Only $50 more to go!

Back in the black. It's been pretty mellow right now. I haven't won or lost much. I'm up about $2 more for a total of $105. I can taste the 10nl. I'm doing well single tabling. I know it's taking me much longer than a multi-tabling player, but I am patient. I'm also running around 40bb/100, which I don't think I could ever do if I played several tables at once.

Granted, I've only played about 5600 hands at 5nl, but I think I'm playing pretty well. It's not just positive variance, I don't believe, although there are many veterans on this site that would of course disagree and they might even be right. All I know is I'm not going to stop what has been pretty successful for me. I think when I hit 15000 hands or 10nl, I'll post my stats for a checkup.

The run is back! Since Sept 4, I'm up nearly $60. I am absolutely killing 5nl! I've officially topped my bb/100 average from 2nl. In fact over the last 1400 hands, I'm at 1187 bb/100. If only I could keep that level up! Less than $8 from tackling 10nl. I'm ready to go!

nice work.

consider playing 2 tables.
Easiest way to get comfortable doing this is to spend an hour 7-tabling play money. Then, drop down one level in stakes for the first session you play the extra table. There is a lot to be said for playing less rather than more tables - but I think that this only really starts to apply at >4 tables.

Get in IRC sometime and sweat someone playing 3-4 tables to get a further feel for it.

Originally Posted by daven

nice work.

consider playing 2 tables.
Easiest way to get comfortable doing this is to spend an hour 7-tabling play money. Then, drop down one level in stakes for the first session you play the extra table. There is a lot to be said for playing less rather than more tables - but I think that this only really starts to apply at >4 tables.

Get in IRC sometime and sweat someone playing 3-4 tables to get a further feel for it.

Thanks for the advice! I really do want to expand the number of tables, but I totally suck at it. Maybe I should just try to two table 2nl for now. My other problem with it is I use a laptop to play so my screen res is only 1440x900. Makes the tables small if I want to see them all on the screen instead of cascading.

I think I will give 2 table 2nl a try this weekend and see how it goes. as for IRC, I really should do that someday. I'd like to watch others play and see how we differ.

It took a little longer than I expected, but I am now officially ready for 10nl. I had a good session today in 6-max and I kept running into a pretty decent player. I could tell that he was aware by how he played against me. He would float a flop if I bet and fold when I double barreled. So that meant to me anyway that he wasn't just playing his cards.

Strangely enough though, I took nearly all of my winnings for the session off him. Once with A-J against his QQ and once with Q-J against his JJ. I took the rest of the day off after hitting my goal. I start once again tomorrow and this time at 10nl. I'll probably still play some 5nl for the time being as well, since I'm on such a rush. I don't want it to ever end! Here's my 5nl stats and graph for your enjoyment...

So the 10nl experiment has officially begun and what a wild ride it was today! From the highs to the lows, it was certainly interesting. My first session ended with me up just .75 but my second session was up and down. At one point due to my own spew, I was down a record (for me) $13.57. It was mostly due to one player who was just owning me.

I kept trying to bluff him out of pots and he couldn't be bluffed if he hit any part of it. It was my own stupidity. I turned it around with this hand:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP ($10.85)
CO ($18.05)
Hero (Button) ($10)
SB ($10.25)
BB ($10)
UTG ($9.90)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 5, 5
2 folds, CO calls $0.10, Hero calls $0.10, 1 fold, BB checks

Flop: ($0.35) 4, 8, 6 (3 players)
BB checks, CO checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($0.35) 5 (3 players)
BB bets $0.40, CO calls $0.40, Hero calls $0.40

River: ($1.55) 6 (3 players)
BB bets $1, 1 fold, Hero raises to $9.50 (All-In), BB calls $8.50 (All-In)

Total pot: $20.55 | Rake: $1

Results:
Hero had 5, 5 (full house, fives over sixes).
BB had K, 7 (straight, eight high).
Outcome: Hero won $19.55

I knew I was behind on the turn when I hit my trips, but I also knew that my implied odds were fantastic. If I could get the boat, I could stack one, maybe two players. I overbet all-in because I knew he wouldn't be able to fold the 7 and he would have called any lesser bet I'm sure without re-raising. This was all made possible by my chip re-buy to $10 from $5.50. I normally don't rebuy but I was so sure I could stack one of them that I wanted to keep my stack at the max.

My last session of the day was just awesome. Here were my two huge hands.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($14.20)
Button ($10)
SB ($10.05)
BB ($13.45)
Hero (UTG) ($9.60)
MP ($10.60)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with K, K
Hero bets $0.30, MP calls $0.30, 2 folds, SB calls $0.25, 1 fold

Flop: ($1) 6, 3, 9 (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.80, 1 fold, SB raises to $2, Hero raises to $4, SB raises to $9.75 (All-In), Hero calls $5.30 (All-In)

Turn: ($19.60) Q (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($19.60) 10 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $19.60 | Rake: $0.95

Results:
SB had J, J (one pair, Jacks).
Hero had K, K (one pair, Kings).
Outcome: Hero won $18.65

I kept thinking that he had a set, but I couldn't let my hand go. This is the second hand for the villain at the table so absolutely no reads. I breathed a sigh of relief when he turned over JJ there.

Last hand was obviously easy, but I still had to fade a 10 on the river.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP ($13.25)
Button ($11)
SB ($10.05)
Hero (BB) ($18.15)
UTG ($11)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A, A
UTG bets $0.40, 1 fold, Button calls $0.40, 1 fold, Hero raises to $1.40, UTG raises to $2.80, 1 fold, Hero raises to $18.15 (All-In), UTG calls $8.20 (All-In)

Flop: ($22.45) A, 4, Q (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: ($22.45) J (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($22.45) K (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $22.45 | Rake: $1.10

Results:
Hero had A, A (three of a kind, Aces).
UTG had K, A (two pair, Aces and Kings).
Outcome: Hero won $21.35

Always good to be on the winning end of coolers for a change!

Had my first bit of negative variance at 10nl today when I lost a little over $12 when my AA was cracked by JJ. I wish I could have gotten away since the flop was so bad, but I couldn't. I'm surprised that I'm not as annoyed as I thought I would be. But that's life. Can't win with AA every time. I'll start again tomorrow and hope to do better.

The verdict since my last post? Meh... It's been been pretty non-eventful. I'm still winning, but the amount has slowed down. I've lost the last couple of times I've had AA, but I think I've done well to lose only small amounts instead of my entire buy-in.

Since it's the weekend, I'm not getting a chance to put in a lot of hands. I played only 117 today, but still made $11.10. Most of it came on this easy hand.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($2.65)
MP ($9.55)
Button ($6.55)
Hero (SB) ($10.45)
BB ($12.55)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K, K
UTG calls $0.10, 1 fold, Button calls $0.10, Hero bets $0.40, 1 fold, UTG calls $0.30, Button raises to $6.55 (All-In), Hero raises to $10.45 (All-In), UTG calls $2.25 (All-In)

Flop: ($15.85) K, 6, 7 (3 players, 3 all-in)

Turn: ($15.85) 2 (3 players, 3 all-in)

River: ($15.85) 9 (3 players, 3 all-in)

Total pot: $15.85 | Rake: $0.75

Results:
Button had Q, Q (one pair, Queens).
Hero had K, K (three of a kind, Kings).
UTG had J, Q (high card, King).
Outcome: Hero won $15.10

I wasn't expecting the short stack to come along, but I guess he felt he was "pot committed" since he had already put some money into the pot.

What's my goal for the coming week? It's to get a job. I've got a phone interview on Monday and if that goes well, I'll get an in-person interview later this week. It's been fun staying home and playing poker, but at my level, I make a lot more working. Wish me luck!

Originally Posted by tuuk2

I knew I was behind on the turn when I hit my trips, but I also knew that my implied odds were fantastic. If I could get the boat, I could stack one, maybe two players. I overbet all-in because I knew he wouldn't be able to fold the 7 and he would have called any lesser bet I'm sure without re-raising. This was all made possible by my chip re-buy to $10 from $5.50. I normally don't rebuy but I was so sure I could stack one of them that I wanted to keep my stack at the max.

55 hand played perfectly
now go and click the auto-top-up button, you're rolled for the stakes you play, so play them!

and nice work with the aces and kings

oh, and good luck with the job interview. Go and write down some standard interview questions, then write down some good answers = brainstorm what is relevant in your work history etc, then practice saying these out loud.

Thanks again Daven. I think I'll do what you suggested about the auto top-up. I haven't done it in the past because I was always afraid I'd over do it. I can keep track of my losses with HEM and make sure I don't go past my stop-loss (which is usually $10 for this level).

As for the interview, I'm usually pretty good at knowing what to say and impressing them. My BS quotient is pretty good for these things. However, what makes me a little more nervous here is it's a telephone screening interview with one of their Tech guys. I've been told that he'll ask me some technical questions (it's a computer help desk position) so I hope I can get by that. If I can, the in-person interview should be 50-50 that I'll get the job.

Had another crappy day on the poker front, losing a buy-in. I played ok, mostly just getting whupped by crap hands, like losing KK vs A-9 all-in preflop. I'm not surprised I lost that hand, just can't stand losing to such a bad move on villain's part. Then later I lose with trips 2s to trip js on the river. After that it was small losses here and there. Couldn't get it going today. I think I'll try a 180-man. It's been a long time since I've played one of them.

After a good few sessions, I went back to crap. Had a good session in the morning where I was up $7.50. Then I decided to play this afternoon. And it was bad as can be. I lost two buy-ins in two hours. That will never happen again. It was mostly just opponents catch cards against me. Chasing draws and hitting them time and time again.

I thought I did a good job of not tilting and I probably saved at least $10 by folding when I knew they got there but it was so frustrating. I was only down about $4 until the last hand when I lost with trip Aces to J-10 (he hit broadway on the river). Of course, I probably let him stay in the hand too long which is my fault.

I'm going to set a new stop-loss. I'm going to play 1 hour sessions only. Whatever happens after that hour, I'm done. Whether I'm up or down doesn't matter, I'm quitting after an hour and coming back to it later. I tend to play better I think if I play in shorter bursts. Let's see how it works when I start it tomorrow.

The losing continues. I've been running into the type of opponent that gives me the most trouble, the one that can't fold. I keep bluffing into them and losing when they can't fold middle pair or top pair with a crappy kicker. And since I'm not hitting, I try to two barrel and I keep getting called.

What I am proud of though is that I didn't tilt. I eventually adjusted my game and left with a small loss rather than the nearly buy-in I was down near the end of my session. And best of all, I quit after my hour was up instead of trying to win back that last little I was down. Here's a hand that gives an indication of what I was running into. This was practically the only guy I could make money off. I stacked him twice.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (UTG) ($9.35)
MP ($13.40)
Button ($9.20)
SB ($23.35)
BB ($21.10)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with K, K
Hero bets $0.30, 1 fold, Button raises to $1, 2 folds, Hero raises to $3, Button raises to $9.20 (All-In), Hero calls $6.20

Flop: ($18.55) 9, A, 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: ($18.55) J (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($18.55) K (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $18.55 | Rake: $0.90

Results:
Button had J, K (two pair, Kings and Jacks).
Hero had K, K (three of a kind, Kings).
Outcome: Hero won $17.65

And I still had to fade a damn Queen after that flop. It was a hard table because I'd raise, get re-raised with another caller. I had to fold some pre-flop and then they'd turn over crap like this or worse suited cards.

Note to self... Learn not to bluff when you find calling stations. It's ok to do it once or twice to be sure they can't lay a hand down, but don't try to force it if it's not there.

Can I suggest an improvement on the last point:

Learn to not bluff anyone at micros until you see that they are solid or competentish at least.

Don't bluff off chips to find out if someone is a station. Bluff rarely and selectively and let other players/your value hands find out if they're a station first.

Here's some proof. Villain is unknown.

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($20.80)
Button ($6.20)
SB ($13.20)
Hero (BB) ($30.35)
UTG ($14.35)
MP ($24.40)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q, Q
2 folds, CO calls $0.25, 1 fold, SB calls $0.15, Hero bets $1.10, CO calls $1.10, SB calls $1.10

Flop: ($4.05) 2, 5, Q (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $3.10, CO calls $3.10, 1 fold

Turn: ($10.25) 9 (2 players)
Hero bets $6.50, CO calls $6.50

River: ($23.25) 7 (2 players)
Hero bets $19, CO calls $9.85 (All-In)

Total pot: $42.95

Results:
Hero had Q, Q (three of a kind, Queens).
CO had 4, 4 (one pair, fours).
Outcome: Hero won $50.05

Thanks carroters. I've lost more money to calling stations than to all bad beats, or coolers combined I'm sure. It's death by a thousand self-inflicted cuts. I try to be aggressive and when it works, it's great, but when it doesn't, I can't stop trying.

So today continues my slide. I'm down another $12. So now I'm down $26 since my previous high and have lost nearly all my 10nl earnings. It's not one thing other than bluffing. I'll probably play another session this afternoon and I'll keep the bluffing down to a minimum, usually only as a c-bet or in position on safe boards. Let's see if I can't change this downturn.

I successfully passed the technical interview I had on Wednesday. Now I have a real one this Wednesday. I probably won't play poker at all from Monday-Wednesday as I prepare for the interview and for my next certification. Maybe the break will do me some good to clear my mind and get me back in the groove. It certainly helped at 5nl.

I'm done. There's no point in playing anymore right now. I can't win. If I have A-K, I lose to Q-J. If I hit top pair, I lose to two pair. If I hit middle pair, I lose to top pair. It's beyond ridiculous. I've lost everything I earned in 10nl so I'm back to negative 1. I'm not getting outplayed, I'm not spewing, I'm just losing every damn pot of any size.

After my last whiner post I took a break and didn't play again until today. The job interview went well, although I don't expect to know if I got the job for a couple of weeks. I'm not sure how much poker I'll be getting in over the next few days, but I'll get in a few hands at least.

Today was pretty good. I got in 75 hands over a couple of short 6-max sessions. Up $6.90 for the day and I'll leave it at that. It's my first winning day in about a week so I think it's important to leave on a high note. Analyzing my play over the last week and I think I know where I went wrong for the most part. My table selection was poor I think and I was playing against opponents that are not conducive to my game. It was nice to have opponents actually fold to a c-bet for a change instead of calling with nothing and then hitting runner-runner.

Since my self-imposed break, I've done pretty well, winning all of my sessions and slowly making back the money I've lost. So far I've won $25 over the last three days. I've been playing well and my opponents aren't hitting their outs (well sometimes they are) as often. Here's an example of a guy I took to value town.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($10)
MP ($23.85)
Button ($10)
Hero (SB) ($10.55)
BB ($16)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Q, K
UTG calls $0.10, 2 folds, Hero bets $0.30, 1 fold, UTG calls $0.20

Flop: ($0.70) 2, 6, Q (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $0.30, Hero calls $0.30

Turn: ($1.30) 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $0.30, Hero calls $0.30

River: ($1.90) 10 (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $0.90, Hero calls $0.90

Total pot: $3.70 | Rake: $0.15

Results:
Hero had Q, K (one pair, Queens).
UTG had 9, A (high card, Ace).
Outcome: Hero won $3.55

I couldn't check/raise on the river like I wanted, because he raised a lot more than previously, and I thought he could have had q-10 in his range. If I c/r or raise myself on any of the streets before the river, I think he folds because he had been doing it pretty consistency. Whenever he was raising .30, he either had a second pair or top pair with a crappy kicker.

I also just got a call and was offered the position I was interviewing for. I start on October 19th if I pass the background and drug test. Shouldn't be a problem. So in the next two weeks, I've got to figure out what to do with the kids. But that's a good problem to have because it means I'll be making da money again!

The winning continues. After I starting spewing early, I was able to right the ship and start taking back my money. The big hand was this one.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($2.20)
UTG ($2.35)
MP ($3.70)
Button ($10.70)
Hero (SB) ($9.90)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Q, K
UTG bets $0.30, 1 fold, Button calls $0.30, Hero calls $0.25, 1 fold

Flop: ($1) 10, 9, 6 (3 players)
Hero checks, UTG checks, Button checks

Turn: ($1) 4 (3 players)
Hero bets $0.40, 1 fold, Button calls $0.40

River: ($1.80) J (2 players)
Hero bets $1, Button raises to $2, Hero raises to $9.20 (All-In), Button calls $7.20

Total pot: $20.20 | Rake: $1

Results:
Button had 4, 4 (three of a kind, fours).
Hero had Q, K (straight, King high).
Outcome: Hero won $19.20

That was my big hand for the session and the one that made me almost all of my profit. Villain's big mistake was obviously not re-raising with the trip 4s on the turn. By just calling, he game me my inside straight. When he re-raised me on the river, I wasn't exactly sure what he could have, but I knew I had the nuts.

Don't call it a comeback! I've regained all of my monies lost over that horrible 4 day period near the end of September. This morning I got to play a 6-max short-handed table, mostly HU or 3-handed and I just straight pwned them. I outplayed them practically every hand, no matter what I had. Here's an example where I read him spot on and crushed his spirit.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (2 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($11.35)
BB ($9)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 2, K
Hero bets $0.30, BB raises to $0.80, Hero calls $0.50

Flop: ($1.60) J, 2, 3 (2 players)
BB bets $0.70, Hero raises to $2, BB calls $1.30

Turn: ($5.60) 6 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $2, 1 fold

Total pot: $5.60 | Rake: $0.25

Results:
Hero didn't show 2, K (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $5.35

Ok so his raise means a pretty good hand in my opinion, so I just call behind to make him think that I also have a decent hand. I put him on AK-AQ, possibly with a mid pocket pair. His less than half pot raise on the flop is just a typical c-bet, I'm not worried. I raise it to pot size to let him know I'm serious about this hand. I thought I'd win it right there, but his call did concern me a little bit and made me think he could have A-J here.

Then the turn is a blank and he checks. He's not checking here unless he hit trips or is beat, so I throw out another smallish bet. If he comes over the top, the hand is his. However, he folds. I don't think I was bluffing here, I honestly think that my hand was the best. A lot of times, this is either A-K, or perhaps 10-10, something like that.

It was that kind of session. It's so good to be back!

Another good day, up $8.40 on the cash front and won another $9.70 playing a $6.50 9-man Turbo. It was actually nice to finish ITM in a SNG for the first time in a long while. Everything's clicking right now and I'm at my all-time high bankroll. If I'm lucky, I might even hit $500 before the end of the week.

Here's a hand from yesterday that I was particularly happy with. I typically play a hand very aggressively, betting on all streets. But this time, I found someone who was willing to spew with nothing so I thought calling was the best line.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($5.25)
BB ($9.60)
UTG ($10.60)
MP ($26.65)
CO ($10.55)
Hero (Button) ($8.75)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 9, A
3 folds, Hero bets $0.30, 1 fold, BB raises to $0.70, Hero calls $0.40

Flop: ($1.45) 5, K, 2 (2 players)
BB bets $0.90, Hero calls $0.90

Turn: ($3.25) 4 (2 players)
BB bets $1.90, Hero calls $1.90

River: ($7.05) J (2 players)
BB bets $6.10 (All-In), Hero calls $5.25 (All-In)

Total pot: $17.55 | Rake: $0.85

Results:
Hero had 9, A (flush, Ace high).
BB had 4, 7 (one pair, fours).
Outcome: Hero won $16.70

I thought I had pretty good implied odds to call his 2/3 pot bet. I needed to call .90 into 2.35. That's about 2.5 to 1, but I think if I hit the flush, he'll try to rep it. Once I did hit the flush, the call was the obvious choice in this case. I tried a timing tell on the turn, taking a long time to think before I called his $1.90 bet.

No need to think about the river. That was a snap call. Only hand that beats me is very unlikely straight flush.

Half-way there! After a good half hour session, I've finally cracked the $500 in earnings barrier. Only $500 more to go and this op is done. I reached the halfway mark with this hand against a total donk. This one's for all those people who think that there's a huge difference between 5nl and 10nl. There's not, except maybe a larger willingness to bluff off all their money.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP ($9.25)
Button ($10.10)
SB ($6.25)
Hero (BB) ($12.90)
UTG ($7.40)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 2, J
1 fold, MP calls $0.10, 1 fold, SB calls $0.05, Hero checks

Flop: ($0.30) K, 2, 2 (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.30, MP raises to $9.15 (All-In), 1 fold, Hero calls $8.85

Turn: ($18.60) A (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($18.60) 8 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $18.60 | Rake: $0.90

Results:
Hero had 2, J (three of a kind, twos).
MP had 5, K (two pair, Kings and twos).
Outcome: Hero won $17.70

I put him on a Kx with his push. I knew I had him so it was a snap-call. I'll be gone to Vermont this weekend for some leaf peeping and photography so I hope the colors are great!

The last week has been just slow. I'm playing a lot of hands (for me anyway) but the results aren't there. I'm into the grind phase now. Over the last week, I'm up about $20 with half of that coming yesyerday. I keep losing to sets or coolers and then I'm having to grind out a small loss or gain for the remainder of the day.

I guess the good thing is that I'm not tilting, but it's still frustrating. The other thing is I start work on Monday so my volume will be falling off to about 100 hands per day.

So in the upcoming weeks, I need to start recognizing sets better. And I also need to run better. That would help a lot.