BLaCkDiAMoND's ROAD TO $1K

[BLaCKDiAMoND]

My Story

Since I started playing, I've been mostly a casual, break-even live poker player taking home the occasional $150 from home game NLHE tourneys or a lucky win from the local casino. Over the past year, I started playing online and have had the same "break-even" success after logging just over 100,000 hands.

Well, today is the day I'm putting my foot down. Today is the day I STOP gambling and START playing poker like it's my fucking job.


My FTR Operation

Starting Bankroll: $165.06
Increase my bankroll to $1,000 on Cake Poker / deadline TBD
Play 2500 hands per week
80% Full-Ring NLHE / 10% SnGs / 10%MTTs


The Ten Commandments

1.) Practice solid, disciplined bankroll management.
2.) Take and digest constructive criticism from players BETTER than me.
3.) No more bitching about bad beats. They happen - move on.
4.) Control that whore they call TILT. Take a break.
5.) Post both well and poorly played hands in this operation thread.
6.) Stay disciplined - Cold cards are no excuse to get adventurous.
7.) Take lots of notes and log each and every session.
8.) Continue to read and improve my game, every hand, every session.
9.) Never show my cards to any player, ever.
10.) No distractions. Turn the chat box and browser OFF.

Bonus #1: I am putting myself on probation from playing ANYTHING but the top 19 hands until further notice. Only when I feel I am ready will I add more hands to my pre-flop selection.

Bonus #2: Unless my pot/implied odds call for it, I will throw away my hand if I know I'm beat. Conversely, I will always look to extract the most money away from my opponents when holding the best hand.

Wish me luck!

[BLaCKDiAMoND]

Dealt to HERO [ Ks Ac ] on the button
UTG: folds
VILLAN2: calls
MP1: folds
MP2: calls
MP3: calls
MP4: calls
CO: calls
HERO: raises to $0.60
SB: folds
VILLAIN2: is all in 1.1500
VILLAIN1: raises to $4.50
MP1: folds
MP2: folds
MP3: folds
CO: folds
HERO: calls
@@@ F_L_O_P @@@ [ Qs 2d 5d ]
VILLAIN1: is all in 2.6500
HERO: calls
*** TURN *** [ Kh ]
*** RIVER *** [ 9h ]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
VILLAIN1 wins $11.21 with Pair of Aces
*** SHOW DOWN ***
VILLAIN1 wins $3.99 with Pair of Aces

I will never understand the limp from EP with AA. The problem was I had seen this person raise with mediocre hands from all over the table. The all-in from the Big Blind is an obvious call IMO but I know a made a bad call holding AKo to a big raise like that. I just never figured she was holding Aces. I was thinking a mid-pair like 88 or something. The call after the flop was even worse, and IMO idiotic.

Oh well, ya live, ya learn I guess.

[bikes]

Limping Aces from EP is a very very read dependant play. That being said at the micro's someone probably saw it on "High Stakes Poker" and is misusing it in his game. If you didn't raise fucker would be in a world of hurt due to the huge limped pot.

That being said preflop is a fold. When you have lots of limpers and you raise and your raise is 3bet than 4bet its time to dump AKo.

[BLaCKDiAMoND]

That being said preflop is a fold. When you have lots of limpers and you raise and your raise is 3bet than 4bet its time to dump AKo.

I suppose I've already semi-broken my #12th commandment. That didn't take long...

At any rate, here's a much better hand that I just played...

VILLAIN: posts small blind $0.05
BB: posts big blind $0.10
Dealt to HERO [ 7s 7h ]
UTG: folds
MP: folds
HERO: calls
MP: folds
CO: folds
D: folds
VILLAIN: calls [ Qd 8c ]
BB: checks
@@@ F_L_O_P @@@ [ Qh 7d Ac ]
VILLAIN: bets $0.10
BB: folds
HERO: calls
*** TURN *** [ 8s ]
VILLAIN: checks
HERO: bets $0.25
VILLAIN: raises to $0.50
HERO: raises to $1.75
VILLAIN: raises to $3
HERO: is all in 4.0700
VILLAIN: calls
*** RIVER *** [ 4d ]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
HEROwins $11.54 with Three of a Kind, Sevens

[BLaCKDiAMoND]

Well after a few really solid days of grinding my way past $250 in less than a thousand hands, I managed to really suck it up tonight. I lost 2.5 BI at $10NL in less than maybe 100 hands. It was really ugly, and I'm talking "The Hills Have Eyes" ugly... if you've seen the movie.

I closed up shop when I folded the absolute STONE COLD nuts - a straight flush - to a small bet on the river. I haven't done that since I was a baby fish just learning how to swim. So, I've managed to actually put myself on tilt and therefore have decided not to play tonight.

I'll probably go back to playing some MTTs and SnGs this weekend and give cash games a rest until next week. Ughh....