Operation: 1000 SNGs in 2009

Hiya all

This is long and rambling... just so you know :)

Well it's been a long time since I started a new op, I used to start one every other month back in 2006-7, but then came the realisation that I suck at poker and all the $$$ I had lost began to depress me.

I've managed to lose a lot of my RB + Bonus records somewhere, so it's hard to be accurate, but I know that after my first year or so of playing I was up a couple of grand, even after the couple of grand I'd lost at the tables.

My history at ring goes something like this:
Year 1: -$1690
Year 2: -$4732
Year 3: -$543 (Didn't play much in 2008)

So my entire ring career is that I lost around $7000 at ring poker, I was a winner more-or-less up to $50NL (60k hands) and a big loser whenever I went up.

SNGs have been something I've always enjoyed and these days I'm more happy to pump "my" money into.
Historically I've lost money on tournies too, about -$350.
That's mainly explained by losing $350 at $10+1 turbos


I just play $10+1 regs at Party these days. So far in 2009:
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/6074/aprres.jpg

Which just goes to show how little I play these days.
But the aim is to make it to 1000 SNGs this year, given that I can 6-table quite effectively it seems I should be able to make 25 tournaments a week.
(I can just say that I am still on 75% sick leave from work after being quite seriously sick in summer 08...)

Maybe I can use this op to share my thoughts, finally get around to learning stuff about putting people on ranges, ICM and all that.

Or maybe I'll just write crap in here every now and again because otherwise I never post to FTR these days.

The king of OP threads returns.

stik with it.. we all have are ups and downs.. just set goals and dont try to go overboard.. patience is a virtue..

Hi Jyms!
And I've been following your OP which is bigger than all of my ops combined... just saying... ;)


Update:
Played 10 tournaments tonight, 3 DoNs, rest were just regs.

Up $70 tonight which is nice... that takes me back to where I was before March.

If I have another 80 nights like tonight then I'll make my target and some money :)

Today stretched me in terms of multi-tabling. I played 8 tables, and finished ITM in 7, bubbled out in 4th in the other. So found myself playing short-handed on several tables and my skills apparently are a little rusty.

Sadly the only first places I took were in DoNs... but still, an 87% ITM is not bad, that's up $72 tonight and HEM now shows me up $390 in 2009, so I'll just wait for it to drop the other side.

One big problem tonight was not noticing when I was getting short-stacked on some of the tables when I was playing ITM in a couple. I was actually 2BB on one DoN table, but managed to finish ITM there too.

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/7413/easter09res.jpg

A fun Easter weekend. I played 26 SNGs and made more than I had made previously in 2009....

Upswing... yeah... now we enter that, oh so typical, phase where I know there's the coming downswing waiting to bite my butt, but what can you do?

I'm now rolled for the $22+2s, but I don't really feel like moving up... maybe when I get to 500 SNGs... but I like the idea of cowardly never moving up ever :)

One thing that irritates me is that it's more-or-less impossible to see DoNs in HEM and I have to just check now and again to make sure HEM isn't mis-reporting prize money from one.

I think my ROI from DoNs is like 5% or something, but I find they keep my ITM ticking over and stops me tilting :)

Probably come back next weekend and drone on some more....

Well, the end of another month.

Stats for April are:

Played 66, +$164, with ITM at 47% (There's some DoNs in there).

Yes, played another 40 or so SNGs after Easter and lost cash, but that's the trouble with variance.

So far as the whole op goes I've played 234 so far in 2009. My aim is to play a hundred SNGs a month; not sure how easy that will be... perhaps during the summer I'll get more in.

I'd post some hands, but most of this stuff is so straightforward...
take tonight, got to HU as chip leader by playing good agression around the bubble.

I raise with ATs, he has KK but I had a 33% shot at first there. But lost.
Work my stack up a but to the final hand. Get my money in with A3s he calls with K6o and wins.

So with games like this 33% of the time I win first anyway.
62% of the time when I lose I would have won what was the final hand and again had a short with a 3-1 chip lead.

That sounds like enough for me... I'll need to think about it a bit more :)

So, coming towards the end of May... and finally am up for the month.
+$17 off 33 SNGs.

That result was somewhat expected as I started this evenings sesh down about $40 and only played 9 SNGs.

First SNG: get QQ early on in the BB, 3-bet a low-raiser, he calls. Low flop, he raises my c-bet AI, I call, he has rockets. I finish 10th. Harumph.

Second SNG: Get KK, first hand, raise UTG; get min-raised, low flop, we get it all in. He has rockets, I finish 10th. Harumph pt2.

Third SNG: I got 88, limp behind two limpers, flop K78, two hearts.
I bet pot, one caller. Turn is another heart. So I check behind caller.
River is nothing, villain bets pot into me, I realise that turn was a 7, I have a boat... I push, villain calls and turns over his open-limped KK. I finish 10th. Harumph pt3.

Other than that I managed to bubble out in one more SNG (paying too much attention to another SNG, leaving myself way too short to handle the situation), the rest I finished ITM, taking first in two (not entirely sure how in parts).

My two victories make me feel better about my HU play after I managed to finish 2nd in two SNGs the other night when everything I thought I was doing right got me in trouble... may post those in the SNG forum when I get the HHs onto my PC here.

I'm back to +$393 over 267 SNGs in 2009. I don't know if I'm going to make it to 1000 SNGs in 2009, but I seem to be a winning player... haven't really been able to say that since what, May 2007?

Wow, youre playing really well with SNGs. Im sort of the same in that i seem to play badly in ring games but play alot better in SNGs and i find them alot more enjoyable.

Right now im only playing $1 buy-ins at PStars and have only been playing a few weeks, Im really trying to improve and have finished 1st in a few but im not finishing ITM in enough so im not making any profit...

How long were you playing before you started winning more frequently? do you have any good tips or articles you can link me to?

thanks

Well, I sorted of started in the SNG world, went into ring and then moved back. So I've been playing a few years.

But it's probably only the last couple of years where I've played mainly SNGs and so I've probably no more than like 1000 SNGs under my belt. I think I've been quite good at reg games a while, turbos just suck for me.

My advice is to go through your HHs, post hands or even entire histories (run through the converter) in the SNG forum and get feedback.

There's a lot of ways to be a winning SNG player and you don't have to take every piece of advice as the ultimate truth; but if you're not holding your own at the lower buy-ins then get help from the people on this board because they can.

Good luck mate.

I played an SNG yesterday. It was like a $3 turbo on Party.

It was like playing with an Atari-ST emulator... days gone by...

haha awesome bump

If only he had one more posts then it would truely be epic......