Operation: Grind out of micros in '09

[Outlaw]

Although I am a winning player at both sng/tournies and ring games, I really enjoy the former a lot more. Even though its still a grind, the sessions define themselves a lot better and I seem to be less tilt prone playing them.

However, I feel it is important for me to learn how to play ring games. Although I do plan to one day become a mostly tourney player, I can see there is a lot of money to be had in cash games.

I am now making it a goal to achieve a nice working bankroll of 10k by the end of '09, if not get to at least 100NL. After that, I plan to still play cash games as an income but to start playing some tournies on the side, both live and online.

Written down this looks like a lofty goal, but I have built a 2k+ bankroll 4 times now.. I am bound and determined not to cash out again unless I have to before reaching my goal.

I realize that my game is still in its infancy, I have only been playing 18 months and am not going to set anymore specifics. I am sure I will specialize at some point and who am I to decide that now while I am still a newbie donk.

Starting BR- $10 (3/1/09)
Current BR- $429 (4/17/09)
Goal- Get BR to $3,000 and play 100NL by the end of '09

[BankItDrew]

Excellent Outlaw.

I don't even need to wish you the best because we both know you'll be there in no time. Congrats on being a good father as well. A successful man is not always a successful father, but a successful father is always a successful man.

[Outlaw]

I had another 4+ buyin day and reached 10NL. It always feels good to move up. I'll start my trek towards 25NL tommorow.

No interesting hands really today, it was actually pretty boring.. I had a few beats but mostly it was me just valuebetting donks all day and stacking occasionally with the 1st-3rd nut.

I did play the Sunday 2hundred grand (fpp qualified). There were about 4k peeps left and I was ranked about 600 when I flopped a straight with K10 on a rainbow board.. guy that had me covered shoved. I snap call, he shows AQ, turn is a 10, river is a K giving him a better straight.. it stung for a bit but since I was freerolling anyways, its all good.

[CBAT]

Nice work man! And welcome back to $10NL.

[Outlaw]

I was only able to squeeze in 6k hands (11 hours) this week due to being busy doing RL work. I did manage to increase the BR by $106.

So far 10NL has been going fairly smoothly. Its amazing how many people sit out there and look for ways to give away money. I only wish I had more time to extract it.

I hope to be at 25NL by early October and seem to be on pace to get there.

No hands to post yet.. pretty much all standard stuff. Its odd that I haven't really faced that many hard decisions. Of course, at these stakes people are so easy to read its ridiculous.

I have been playing "name that hand" as I go, however. Before making a call or while watching a hand go to showdown that I had folded out of, I verbally try and guess every holding. Its pretty funny how often I know exactly what these donks have. Most of them might as well announce their hand preflop.

I would recommend other beginners out there get in the habit of this.. it makes things less monotonous and really allows you to start noticing patterns.

The biggest skill I am trying to develop is spotting traps/sets etc. I am working on aquiring "nut radar". Man that sounds gay. lol

At any rate.. I will try to find a hand worth posting.. I'm sure I will encounter tougher spots once I hit 25NL.

[nice_aiau]

lollolerskates, "nut radar"

nice work!
happy treking

[Outlaw]

Another pretty good day. Cashed in the stars 200k, had my aces cracked by 5s with 2k peeps left, woulda had 120k chips and in the top 50 if they hold up. Better luck next time.

Played some 10nl just a bit ago and was up 3 buy ins in 15 minutes, decided to call it a night.

Everyone have a good holiday, and those on the gulf coast.. good luck. (I have family in New Orleans area)

Tj

[CBAT]

Damn, talk about a solid day. How much was the cash for in the 200K? And what is the buy-in to that event?

[Outlaw]

Damn, talk about a solid day. How much was the cash for in the 200K? And what is the buy-in to that event?

Thanks man. It only pays $21 bucks for places 800-2800.. $40 for inside 800. The big money is at the top so no sense just trying to cash. The buy in is $11.

I haven't made a FT in a big MTT in a long time.. the last time was late last year when I was chip leader with 4 people left and we chopped for 4k in the $8 rebuy.

This year I only play MTTs on Sundays but once I am rolled for it I will splash around a lot more in them since I prefer them anyways. I only play cash to build a BR. I'd like to have a 20k BR before I switch exclusively to MTTs... and that is a LONG way off. I am still a beginner and know how bad I am but I will get there one day.

Tj

[Outlaw]

I endured a 6 buy-in downswing over about 2,500 hands this week. Over the last 2,000 hands I was up almost 8 buy-ins so all is good. Its amazing how quickly the poker Gods can cut you down to size no matter the stakes. I was down $60 in about 2 hours the other day, it definately opened my eyes. Cooler after cooler.. it was actually pretty funny to see that many sets, quads, straight flushes gotten against me.. 20+, 3, and 2 respectively. I never thought it would end.

At any rate. I seem to be back on track now and am hoping to have a few good sessions in a row and push towards 25NL by months end. I just wish I had more time to play. Between a job that I work 60-80 hours a week and a 22 month old daughter, time is hard to come by. Its probably in my best interest to find some more time as I have been running at about $15/hr at 10NL.. if only I can convince my wife that its a viable second job. She still looks down upon it and dismisses it as an annoyance to her evne though I've made about 3k this year doing it. Anyone got any ideas on how to get her on board with it?

I promise to find some hands to post! There aren't that many tough spots at these stakes.. people are either weak passive or idiot-aggressive.. solid people that get into your head are really hard to find.

[ib3x]

Hey man, I really like this thread. Keep trekking along! Hopefully I won't run into you at 25nl

[Outlaw]

I seem to be in a rut. Anyone else gotten stuck in this trend?

I begin a session and boom, I get coolered.. I flop/turn a flush and someone else has a better flush or rivers a full house. Then boom, I flop a set and some guy 4 flushes me or has a better set. Then I get Aces and get it all in preflop and boom.. another loss. Suddenly I am 3-4 buy ins down in like 10 minutes. Then I spend the entire rest of the session building it back.

It happened again today and for the 3rd consecutive day. Each day I ended up like $5-$10 up but only have dropping an assload of buy ins right off the bat. If not for the first 10-15 minutes each session I'd be up like $150.

Someone invent an early session anti-clusterfuq please!

But.. at least I am still up.. so I am okay with it. I guess I am just ready to be through 10NL already.. these people must have went to the min-bet deep sea fishing institute of suckology.

Oh and there is a mid season Pub Poker tournament tonight with a little $500 prize pool. All of the peeps with the highest power rankings (I'm ranked #2) get to play. Its exciting for me because I've never played a live tourney for real money. I will either go out extremely fast or win the thing because of the prize structure. 75ish people and it pays the top 3... everyone starts with only 3k chips and the blinds increase every 15 minutes.. so within 1.5 hours its basically pushbot time.

Wish me luck!

Tj

[daven]

best of luck in the pub-gambool - pays 3/75!?!? crazy...

I seem to be in a rut. Anyone else gotten stuck in this trend?
I flop/turn a flush and someone else has a better flush or rivers a full house. If not for the first 10-15 minutes each session I'd be up like $150.

People love to limp Axs, stop and think about that next time you've limped QTs in position, flop a flush draw and overs then wonder why three people are calling a bet, then wondering why everyone wants to get their stacks in when the flush completes...
as for flopping flushes, sets, AA all-in pre - yep, that's horrible cooler territory...

Someone invent an early session anti-clusterfuq please!

something that used to happen to me is not really paying enough attention during the first few hands of the first few tables I open. I'm too busy adding myself to waitlists, checking table composition, buying into tables, and, hey, I got an idiot straight over there of course it's the nuts!!!
not sure if this applies to you? maybe?

[Outlaw]

I got 7th in the Pub Poker event. I was cruising for awhile as the chipleader, then blinds go up and its pushbot time and as always I start doubling up short stacks one by one. But I am still happy with the finish, even thought it would have been nice to cash.

If anyone cares, I went out with K9o, shoved it on the button, big blind calls for another 15k with 87o, he flops a 7, I turn a king, and he rivers a 7. That's poker.

[Outlaw]

I have hit a really rough patch lately. My winrate has decreased substantially due to these big swings I seem to almost get daily. I had a 9 buy-in downswing yesterday and finish up a buy-in down for the day. I am going to play a few less tables for a bit and see if that helps.

I have basically been treading water since September started. It makes me nervous to struggle at 10NL when I was beating 25NL a couple of months back for 6BB/100 with a $17 hourly rate. Hell I was beating 5NL for $7/hr. I have been doing $2/hr at 10NL. Its times like these that make one question ones abilities. If lowering the # of tables doesn't help by months end I am going to take some time off and read (and reread) a couple of books and read these boards for a few days.

[Outlaw]

I dropped down to only 8 tables for a 45 minute session and it seems to have made all the difference. It was so much easier to make good reads when you actually have more than 3 seconds. I jumped up 3 buy-ins even after getting my AA wacked by 22 after getting it all in preflop (4 flushed, ouch)

So I ended up picking up 4 more buy-ins today. and am within $200 of 25NL.

There were a couple of hands today that I wanted to post, but it seems my 22 month old stole the piece of paper I wrote the hand numbers down on. I don't feel like searching so I guess I'll start typing them into word or something.

So today's lesson is.. don't play so many damn tables ya idiot. (I had been 20 tabling)

Tj

[Outlaw]

Dropped almost 8 buy-ins yesterday in like no time then spent 2 sessions getting it back. 3k hands= +$1.20 lol

I swear it seems to happen every other session.. I get coolered like 3-5 times in the first 20 minutes of a session... its really impeding my progress. I by no means am one to post a bunch of bad beats to whine.. but I thought I'd just show you my daily tribulations.. its amazing I haven't gone busto lol

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

SB ($10.65)
Hero (BB) ($10)
UTG ($9.85)
MP ($9.30)
CO ($3.25)
Button ($13)

Preflop: Hero is BB with K, K
1 fold, MP calls $0.10, CO raises to $0.20, 2 folds, Hero raises to $0.80, MP calls $0.70, CO calls $0.60

Flop: ($2.45) 2, 10, 4 (3 players)
Hero bets $2, MP calls $2, 1 fold

Turn: ($6.45) 8 (2 players)
Hero bets $4, MP calls $4

River: ($14.45) A (2 players)
Hero bets $3.20 (All-In), MP calls $2.50 (All-In)

Total pot: $19.45 | Rake: $0.90

Results in white below:
Hero had K, K (one pair, Kings).
MP had 4, A (two pair, Aces and fours).
Outcome: MP won $18.55

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

UTG ($14.05)
MP ($12)
CO ($6.15)
Button ($8.30)
Hero (SB) ($9.90)
BB ($18.75)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, A
2 folds, CO calls $0.10, Button calls $0.10, Hero raises to $0.60, 1 fold, CO calls $0.50, Button calls $0.50

Flop: ($1.90) 7, 9, 8 (3 players)
Hero bets $1.50, CO calls $1.50, 1 fold

Turn: ($4.90) 3 (2 players)
Hero bets $4.05, CO calls $4.05 (All-In)

River: ($13) 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $13 | Rake: $0.60

Results in white below:
Hero had A, A (one pair, Aces).
CO had J, 5 (straight, nine high).
Outcome: CO won $12.40

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

MP ($13.60)
CO ($19.70)
Button ($8.25)
Hero (SB) ($11.30)
BB ($1.10)
UTG ($23)

Preflop: Hero is SB with J, J
UTG raises to $0.40, MP calls $0.40, 1 fold, Button calls $0.40, Hero raises to $1.60, 1 fold, UTG calls $1.20, MP calls $1.20, 1 fold

Flop: ($5.30) 9, 7, 5 (3 players)
Hero bets $5, UTG calls $5, 1 fold

Turn: ($15.30) 10 (2 players)
Hero bets $4.70 (All-In), UTG calls $4.70

River: ($24.70) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $24.70 | Rake: $1.15

Results in white below:
Hero had J, J (one pair, Jacks).
UTG had 10, 10 (three of a kind, tens).
Outcome: UTG won $23.55

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

SB ($11)
BB ($10.95)
UTG ($8.25)
MP ($10.85)
CO ($5)
Hero (Button) ($10.85)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 9, 8
UTG calls $0.10, MP calls $0.10, CO (poster) checks, Hero calls $0.10, SB calls $0.05, BB raises to $0.20, UTG calls $0.10, MP calls $0.10, CO (poster) calls $0.10, Hero calls $0.10, SB calls $0.10

Flop: ($1.20) 9, 4, 4 (6 players)
SB bets $0.80, 4 folds, Hero calls $0.80

Turn: ($2.80) 9 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $2, SB raises to $10 (All-In), Hero calls $7.85 (All-In)

River: ($22.50) J (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $22.50 | Rake: $1.10

Results in white below:
Hero mucked 9, 8 (full house, nines over fours).
SB had 9, J (full house, nines over Jacks).
Outcome: SB won $21.40

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

Button ($5.50)
SB ($12.85)
Hero (BB) ($10)
UTG ($2.80)
MP ($10.15)

Preflop: Hero is BB with K, J
UTG (poster) checks, 1 fold, Button raises to $0.20, SB calls $0.15, Hero calls $0.10, UTG (poster) calls $0.10

Flop: ($0.80) Q, 10, 9 (4 players)
SB bets $0.30, Hero raises to $1, 2 folds, SB raises to $12.65 (All-In), Hero calls $8.80 (All-In)

Turn: ($20.40) 4 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($20.40) Q (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $20.40 | Rake: $1

Results in white below:
SB had 9, Q (full house, Queens over nines).
Hero mucked K, J (straight, King high).
Outcome: SB won $19.40

I'm sure everyone goes through this.. I just wish I could go 3 straight days without it happening and get to the next level

Tj

[Outlaw]

Pretty boring stuff as usual.

My last two sessions were typical, drop 3-4 buy-in immediately then end up a buy-in after an hour or two of solid play.

I swear I need to run good just one day or I'm going on tilt for a year lol

I got another win in Pub Poker on Thursday, that's 5 wins and 14 top four finishes in 38 games. Keep in mind the average number of players per game is about 25. I am still ranked high enough in tourney dollars to qualify for the season ending TOC, but its going to be tough to stay there with a month left as I only get to play 2 games a week. Everyone else in the top 25 has played over 70 games.. some have 100+. I am going to be peeved if I don't get to play the end of the season event.

The FTR TOC is tommorow in case any of you that are qualified didn't see the email. Wish me luck everyone, I've played like a donk for the past several FTR games.. maybe I can get back on track tommorow.

$185 from 25NL.. I might be able to still reach my goal of getting there by months end.. come on poker Gods, keep the doom switch turned off!

Tj

[CBAT]

Damn, you're killing me now. Props to you!

I'm stuck at that $300 mark. Keep going over it and dropping back under. Good luck dude, hopefully see you at $25NL.

[Outlaw]

Damn, you're killing me now. Props to you!

I'm stuck at that $300 mark. Keep going over it and dropping back under. Good luck dude, hopefully see you at $25NL.

Drop down to 5NL or ever 2NL for a day or two.. building the BR to like 320-330 to get over the hump, then go back to 10NL.. I've done that at a few of my "stuck" points

Tj

[Outlaw]

I just spent the last month donking around some mtts, sngs, steps tournies etc. My roll dropped to $270 at one point and I've recently built it back to $600.

I have switched back to SNGs, mainly because I have been playing a lot of live pub poker and that game matches SNGs best.

So now that I have been doing really well at SNGs I am enjoying them.. so.. I guess I can switch back and build my roll this way. Eventually I will have to specialize in something and it might as well be what I'm best at right now.



On another note, the season ending high rollers and TOC is tommorow for the local pub poker. I already won my home location bracelet last Thursday (they do something simlar to the wsop the last couple of weeks.. each location has a bracelet tourney)

Everyone wish me luck for tommorow.. prize pool is 2k for each tourney.

O

[Outlaw]

I was able to win the Pub Poker high roller tournament last night. For those of you unfamiliar you can check out pubpokerchampionship.com
The high roller tournament was for the top 75 power ranked people in the league.

I won $100 bucks cash and $500+ in prizes including a year membership in Spadeclub.com.

The tournament lasted about 6 hours, I had never played that long in a live tournament. The TOC came right after that and I was completely braindead for that entire tournament, I definately have to work on mental endurance. I did manage about 40/200 in that and got it all in with an M of 10 with KQs on a KJ3 rainbow board against a very laggy person.. he called and showed K8o.. the turn was an 8.

Here is a picture of my bracelet and card protector I won for my two latest wins.

[URL=http://imageshack.us][/

[Outlaw]

I can't win a heads up the past couple of days. I have cashed 55% of the time and been heads up 16 times and won 3. Its getting to the ridiculous point. Almost everyone goes the same.. I press hard in heads up and wittle the poor guy down to like 4 big blinds.. then he wins 4 straight races and boom, im down or out.

I should have won like $100 more bucks the past 2 days, God I hate variance.

Oh well maybe it turns around tommorow

O

[Outlaw]

I managed to recover from my first really big downswing. I dipped down to just below $500 but have since gotten the BR up to $780. I had my best set of 8 ever today, cashing in 5 and winning all 5.

I am thinking I will get my BR to $1,600 before going on to the $16 sngs again. Well I'm off to watch the election results.

O

[Outlaw]

Well I did what I said I wasn't going to do. I cashed out all but about 140 bucks to pay some bills. I haven't been able to play much because we just moved so now I am basically starting over.

I was talking to my cousin the other day, and he is currently building his roll with the 45 turbos on PS. I have played tons of those in the past and am going to go that route for a bit.

I started yesterday at the 1.10s and so far have been running hot. achieving 122% ROI through my first 45. I have done two sessions where I 20 table, adding on if I happen to bust out fairly early in a couple. So I am up to $199 now. I am going to stick to a 100 buy-in rule on these due to the high variance I have experienced in the past and also because I am putting 20 buyins out there at once.

So my goal is the same.. to build to a nice working bankroll, trying not to cash out along the way unless I have to.

[bigred]

Good luck man. Having to withdraw all the time will be a huge detriment to your game but I hope you can work through it.

P.S. Who's the hot chick in your avatar? She single?

[Outlaw]

After playing the 45s for a couple of months, I cashed out $400 bucks.. and I am making a promise to myself to make that the last cashout for awhile. I cashed out all but $125 bucks and have started grinding 6-max micros. I ran 17bb/100 through 2NL then 5bb/100 through 5NL. (yuck)

I started 10NL about a week ago and instantly dropped 10 buy-ins (biggest lowlight was losing my entire $30 stack to quad fours with Aces full).. I stuck it out though and have since ran 15bb/100 and am now back to $290. Next stop 25NL.

I will try to start posting here again.

Goals this year:
1. Get to 100NL.
2. Build a 10k working bankroll for a side income.
3. Play in a live pro MTT by years end.

Wish me luck!

O

[Outlaw]

The last week or so has sucked pretty hard.. its like I have been in neutral. I have managed to grind up to $300, but I seem to have mini 2-3 buy-in downswings daily. Every day starts the same: Up a few bucks fast, boom cooler cooler cooler, down 2-3 buy-ins, followed by 2-3 hours of hardassed grinding to end up about 1 buy-in up for the day.

Its gotten to the point where if I get up a buy-in or more really fast, I just quit for the day and go grind 2NL for the rest of the session.

Any one else have a doom switch fear like I do?

On another note, since I can't reach silverstar grinding 10NL, I used 700 of my fpps today to grind 10 sunday hundred grand qualifers. I won 3/10 for a total of $33 bucks. I am going to grind some low stakes SNGs sometime to convert it to real cash. I have about 7,000 fpps which I'd really like to add to my BR with some rakeback.

Current BR: $308
Next step 25NL ($750)
Goal 1: $10,000
Goal 2: NO MORE CASHOUTS FOR KRIKEY SAKES

[Outlaw]

What the hell.. the doom switch was shove up my ass and flipped today. I started out 2 buy-ins up, then dipped to over 10 buy-ins DOWN at one point. I then ran fine again for an hour and gained all but 1.5 buy-ins back.

So my winning sessions outnumber my losing sessions.. but I've had a couple insane downswings that is really hurting my progress.

It's getting ridiculous! Anyone got any advice or is this just the way it is?

Thanks,
O

[bjsaust]

After my only cashout I dropped 10 buyins (5 at 100nl and 5 at 50nl since my withdrawal left me right on the margin) in a few thousand hands.

10 buyin swings in a day is bad. You should probably look over Jyms new opp. A stop loss sounds like a good idea.

[Outlaw]

I agree. I am adding a new rule, if I get down 2 buy-ins I will take a mandatory 10 minute break. Once I come back I will quit for the day if I drop 1 more buy-in... this way 3 buy-ins is my max for a day.

On the other side, if I get 3 buy-ins up I will then play until I am either 4 buy-ins up or dip to 2 buy-ins up. That way I can't blow a full days work with reverse tilt. (playing different because I'm running good) which seems as deadly as the other tilt.

BR- $294

[Outlaw]

I had a decent couple of days. I also cashed in some FPPs by playing some SNGs with tourney dollars won on sunday hundred grand turbos. I was able to add $30+ with 700 fpps... which is damn good from what I understand.

BR- $337

[Outlaw]

+2.5 buy-ins for the day.

I experimented with a more aggressive preflop game today. I 3bet a ton more than usual and was finding it cut down on variance, at least on a short term basis.

I set a rule for myself before starting the session that I would not cold call any hands except pps. I either 3bet or folded all other hands. I hit some really weird 3 of a kind hands and straights doing this and quickly went on a heater.. I stacked 3 people on the same table within 5 minutes and was up 4 buy-ins at one point. I only played 1k hands and decided to stop when I dipped down after a cooler. (I lost with JJ to a guy who called my preflop 3bet with q4 and hit quad 4s.)

I had a pretty bad month in January. I only played 30k hands of 10NL and ran at under 2BB/100. Of course I had two 10 buy-in downswings which really killed my progress. I'm just happy to be up at all.

I feel like I have come a long way since getting back into cash games in December. I am hoping to have a very good February and make a push for 25NL by months end.

BR- $360

February goals
1. Add $200 to my BR
2. Run at least 5BB/100 in 10NL
3. Cash in more fpps and get my BR to $600 by months end then take a shot at 25NL.
4. Get silverstar

[Outlaw]

1 hr session: +3.5 buy-ins


Another good day. I ran 17/14 as the tables were very laggy. I got paid on a a couple of sets and AA, had only one cooler.

I've gotta start posting some hands. Only problem is I play on my PC in the basement and then don't go back down.. I end up doing the rest of my stuff on the basement with no access to HHs.

I need to spend a few minutes after each session reviewing hands and posting a couple.. I'll do that beginning tommorow as time allows.


BR- $393

[Outlaw]

Hand #1- Villain running 14/14/4.5

This is an obvious shove on the flop right? When he 3bet flop I was pretty sure he had to have a set.. I guess Kx of spades is possible.. what's my equity here? Do I always have to get it all in here? I know I have 0% fold equity. I am pretty sure I know the answer, I just wanted some input.


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



saw flop | saw showdown

Button ($21.50)
SB ($10)
Hero (BB) ($10.70)
UTG ($6.40)
MP ($9.60)
CO ($5.25)



Preflop: Hero is BB with A, Q
4 folds, SB raises to $0.40, Hero calls $0.30

Flop: ($0.80) 3, 7, Q (2 players)
SB bets $0.55, Hero raises to $1.80, SB raises to $4.50, Hero raises to $10.30 (All-In), SB calls $5.10 (All-In)

Turn: ($20) 7 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($20) 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $20 | Rake: $1

Results in white below:
SB had 3, 3 (full house, threes over sevens).
Hero mucked A, Q (two pair, Queens and sevens).
Outcome: SB won $19

===============================================

I feel like I play hand #2 like shit. Villain running 14/9/4.5. My initial thought was to 3bet preflop.. but this guys opening range utg is like kqs+, pp+. Only better is calling my 3bet. I always get in these spots with AQ.. and it always seems to be for a big pot. How do I play this?

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



saw flop | saw showdown

MP ($10.95)
CO ($9.20)
Hero (Button) ($13.65)
SB ($10.45)
BB ($5.15)
UTG ($10.45)



Preflop: Hero is Button with A, Q
UTG raises to $0.40, 1 fold, CO calls $0.40, Hero calls $0.40, 2 folds

Flop: ($1.35) A, 6, 3 (3 players)
UTG bets $0.70, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.70

Turn: ($2.75) 5 (2 players)
UTG bets $2, Hero calls $2

River: ($6.75) 7 (2 players)
UTG bets $7.35 (All-In), Hero folds

Total pot: $6.75 | Rake: $0.30

Results in white below:
UTG didn't show
Outcome: UTG won $6.45
============================================



I finally got my license to work my real job up here so I have been busy as hell without much time to play.. but I did manage to get in a 2.5k hand session today, played pretty well I think.. got in on the flop as a 4 to 1 favorite or better in 3 pots and lost all 3 (all runner runner drawouts) so ended up down half a buy-in.. so I am very happy with that.

BR- $383

[Outlaw]

I changed the name of my op to better reflect my '09 goal of getting the BR to 10k and leaving micros behind forever.

Some thoughts.

1. Yes I know micros supposedly only go up to like 50NL and 10k would be more than enough to play 100 or even 200NL. But I wanted to challenge myself and not only get out of micros but by years end be a proven winner in low stakes (100NL at least)

2. 10k allows me to donk around in some higher MTTs than I am used to and I am sure I will want to go back to them again at some point... if only sporadically.

Show me da money!

O

[Outlaw]

I just passed to $400 point for the first time in this op. I think I will do some satellite rakebacking a little later today and make a push for $500. I am thinking of taking a shot at 25NL then, going back down if I drop below $400.

I did a little reverse stop-lossing today, I just played for 20 minutes and was up over 2 buy-ins.. so I decided that was good enough for this session and I can now go spend some time with the family.

Anyone else do this? I pretty much have a goal of averaging +1 buy-in per session and when I get up that much that fast, I like to protect my winnings and quit right away. Its the same as my 2 buy-in down rule that I setup except this one allows me to do some other things I tend to neglect too much.. like hanging out with the wife, reading, studying, exercising etc. I think my positive stopping points are just as important as my negative ones.. if not more so.

On days I set aside to play several hours I don't do this.. but since I was only planning to play for 1 hour or so.. I figured.. what the hell.

BR- $403 (+274)

[Outlaw]

My favorite hand strikes again. My only straight flush live was with 10 8 suited... so it became my favorite hand. I have now made 4 straight flushes total.

One question.. I sized my flop bet intentionally to commit me no matter what he did. I calculated that I had at least 40% equity... even if I knew he had a set (and I was pretty sure he did when he shoved) I had to call with 3-1 odds. Is my thinking right here?

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

BB ($9.30)
UTG ($10.10)
MP ($3.20)
CO ($25.10)
Hero (Button) ($10)
SB ($10.05)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 10, 8
3 folds, Hero raises to $0.40, 1 fold, BB raises to $0.80, Hero calls $0.40

Flop: ($1.65) 9, Q, 2 (2 players)
BB bets $1, Hero raises to $3.45, BB raises to $8.50 (All-In), Hero calls $5.05

Turn: ($18.65) J (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($18.65) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $18.65 | Rake: $0.90

One question.. I sized my flop bet intentionally to commit me no matter what he did. I calculated that I had at least 40% equity... even if I knew he had a set (and I was pretty sure he did when he shoved) I had to call with 3-1 odds. Is my thinking right here?

[Outlaw]

I have missed playing SNGs so decided to spend some time today grinding some 1 tablers. I did 3 sessions of 30 tables each, 2 sessions of $1 buy in and 1 session of $3 buy in. Ran really bad but still managed 19% ROI for +$32 on the day.

I have decided that even though most peeps say I should specialize, I get really tired of playing one type of game day in and day out. So I am going to just do whatever I am in the mood to do every day and to hell with that specializing crap. I guess I specialize in NLH

Edit:I just 30 tabled some 2 table/5 table sngs. +$19.50, 29% ROI. So +$52 on the day. weee

[Outlaw]

I am enjoying the SNGs a lot more than cash games at the moment. I was beginning to feel a sense of dread about playing.. and that is never good.

I still do plan on going back to cash at some point. I will likely set aside $700 to grind 25NL.

I have moved up to grinding the $3.40 sng turbos now. So far so good, 7 hrs played and up $80.

I seem to be getting back in the groove today.. I did two 30 table sets for +$50. I felt like I was running bad the while time and was surprised at the results.

I spent a couple of hours yesterday fooling around with an ICM quizzer.. I usually get about 17/20 right on average.. not sure if that's good or not. Anyone else got SNGEGT?

I have decided to go with a real conservative BR management plan for SNGS.. I am doing 1/4 Kelly based on a 5% ROI and 40% ITM. It has me moving up to the $6.50s at $845. I think this is reasonable since I stick 30 buy-ins on the table each set.

By the way, 40 tabling regular sngs isn't that hard.. but do NOT try it with turbos.. its friggin insane. My timers were all down to like 3 by the time the set was done and I was ready to jump out of a window. 30 seems to be the right # for me. Of course I will likely play less tables as I move up.. closely watching my ROI to find out what's optimum.

BR- $644

+$284 for the month.. over my goal of $200. I also should have silverstar by the middle of next week.

[Outlaw]

All I can say is that it is a good thing I am a patient person because I did the unthinkable again. I cashed out to pay some bills.

I did finally get my license to work in NY so I won't have to do it again. I just needed a few hundred to tie up some old bills before they become too stinky.

So here we go again. I started at $10 a few days ago.. played a couple of sngs and got it to like 20. But have decided to switch back to ring games to rebuild the roll.

So far I am doing reasonably well at 2NL, running 18BB/100 over 7 total hours played for +$26. The funniest thing is AA is cursed for me during these first 3.5k hands. I am negative $5 with it! I don't let little things like this bother me though, I know it'll even out.. and when it does I will run the normal 25BB/100+ at 2NL.

The BR is currently just shy of $46.. my next stop is 5NL at $125. I get nittier with my BR as I move up in levels as usual. Here is my schedule.

step 1: 2nl till roll = $125
step 2: 5nl till roll = $300
step 3: 10nl till roll = $700
step 4: 25nl till roll = $1500
step 5: 50nl till roll = $3000

[Outlaw]

Graph for my first week back in the cash game grind. I am pretty pleased with there results so far. I wish I was able to play more than about an hour per day.

Notes: Odd week.. AA=+$1.50 only, I am +$15 from the sb (only +12 from the button) Oh well, small sample size.



I experimented again with stack sizes and SPR. I bought in today for 60BBs and played according to the short stack strategy mentioned in Professional No-Limit Hold'em by Ed Miller.

Once again the results were miserable. After being down as much as $4 I gave it up and switched back to 100BBs.. 45 minutes later I am up $8 for the day! Maybe this shortstacking stuff is for when I play opponents better than me.

Hopefully this time next week I am at 5NL

[Outlaw]

My BR just hit the $100 mark today.

I have had a few mini-swings in the past few days but I just checked my stats and I am still running 24BB/100 over the past 10 days... so I guess there's nothing to be alarmed about.

I have been playing 45 minutes to an hour most days since the month began and although it is taking me forever to get to 5NL I am okay with that.. I spend 90% of my poker time studying the game (reading books, watching videos, reading FTR etc) rather than playing.. I feel it is better overall for my game. I want to eventually play in the mid-stakes games and beyond and I know I have a ton to learn before I can make it there... playing a ton of hours simply isn't going to be enough.

Speaking of which in case you didn't know, I won one of the luckyslev1n scholarships and got a 1 month subscription to the low stakes videos on grinderschool.com. I've already watched and re watched a couple of the videos and feel they are well worth the price of a membership. I will definitely be joining later on the get access to the higher stakes videos once I get to 50NL and beyond.

Additionally, I made it to round two of the n00b heads up tourney. I will be playing IOPQ either Thursday or Friday.. wish me luck.

The bracket is here: http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cf...313065&tclass=

[HarleyGuy13]

Outlaw have you watched Jyms lectures yet? If not do it right away they are really good. I just signed up for a membership myself and am so excited about it. I feel like these two vids paid for it all!
Good luck buddy!

[Outlaw]

Outlaw have you watched Jyms lectures yet? If not do it right away they are really good. I just signed up for a membership myself and am so excited about it. I feel like these two vids paid for it all!
Good luck buddy!

I have watched one of them so far and about 7 other videos.. they are all awesome. Thanks for the heads up.

[Outlaw]

I was $3 away from 5NL when today started and immediately dropped 4 buy-ins.. it was the most painful thing ever. I then got to $124 only to drop back to $120.. then I slowly grinded it back up to $124 and boom won two huge pots to finish 2NL at $130. So onward to 5NL we go! Here is my final graph for 2NL. It took me 22 days and 16k hands to go from $10 to $130.. Overall I am pretty happy with my progress.

[Outlaw]

I was able to get in 1k hands today, what a rollercoaster. Got coolered 4 times and was almost 3 buy-ins down at one point. Then picked up quads on TWO tables at once. I almost needed depends. I ended up getting all in with quad 4s against a set of sixes and AK on a K644x board. Its nice to actually give someone else a cooler for a change.

So after all that I ended up +1 buy-in for the day. I was worried about tarnishing my streak of 12 straight winning days. I have also been a winner on 26 out of 27 days I have played this month. It is 2NL and 5NL, so I don't think its that big of a feat.. it does feel good though. Doom switch anyone?

[Outlaw]

The month of March was a good one for me. I posted my graph and stuff over in the beginner results thread if anyone wants to check it out there.

Results in a nutshell:
+$203
Current BR= $217
Ran about 16BB/100 through 2NL and some 5NL
Played 27k hands
Made about $4.50/hr

Goals for April:
Play at least 35k hands
Make at least $300
Loosen up a bit. Was 15/10 for March.. I'd like to get that up to 18/14 or somewhere near that.

[Outlaw]

I had my first real downswing to start the month. Got doom switched and dipped down to $175 at one point. Since then, even though I'm not running great, I have regained my losses and then some.

I decided to switch to FR for a bit to work on playing more tables and developing a more well-rounded game.

I am experimenting with a more ergonomic/efficient way of playing. I use my left hand only to make all actions, only using the mouse to change bet sizing. w=fold, e=check, r=raise, a=call, space=betpot. Its working out pretty well, my hands/hr has definitely gone up.

Current BR- $254- Only $46 more to 10NL.
Running 23BB/100 ($16/hr) in 5NL in the past 5 days.

[dranger7070]

Here is a tip that will probably help you out immensely as you continue your grind: Don't set monetary goals.

You are setting yourself up for failure. It is in The Poker Mindset by a couple of guys I am too lazy to look up to find their names. It is an incredibly good book, and a must read for most, if not all poker players. Basically, if you hit your $$$ goal, what next? You set another one right? Well what happens if you hit a big downswing during that timeframe and you are unable to reach your goal? You feel demoralized, you begin to question your play, etc. Try to set goals that aren't so results oriented. Like, I want to increase my ATS in correct spots vs the correct villains of the next x amount of hands.

I think you will be much more pleased with the result. Other then that, keep up the good work! See you at the 10nl in no time!

[Outlaw]

Here is a tip that will probably help you out immensely as you continue your grind: Don't set monetary goals.

You are setting yourself up for failure. It is in The Poker Mindset by a couple of guys I am too lazy to look up to find their names. It is an incredibly good book, and a must read for most, if not all poker players. Basically, if you hit your $$$ goal, what next? You set another one right? Well what happens if you hit a big downswing during that timeframe and you are unable to reach your goal? You feel demoralized, you begin to question your play, etc. Try to set goals that aren't so results oriented. Like, I want to increase my ATS in correct spots vs the correct villains of the next x amount of hands.

I think you will be much more pleased with the result. Other then that, keep up the good work! See you at the 10nl in no time!

Thanks for the advice, I will have to grab that book asap.

I think you are right. Its pretty ridiculous to set goals revolving around money except for bankroll management purposes. I don't think I will set monthly money goals anymore.

Better goals would be.. play more hands, study more hands, read 1 poker book per month, make no decisions without thinking about ranges.. etc

Thanks again. I'm just glad someone finally posted in my blog.. I was beginning to wonder if it was even open to public viewing lol.

[Outlaw]

Woohoo, my BR just hit $300!

I actually was getting sick of the cash game grind so I spent the last 2 days playing $1 sngs. (+$28)

Now I guess I'll move up to 10NL

[BooG690]

Hey Outlaw. Congrats on hitting $300...glad to see you dug yourself out of that hole. I had a downswing recently as well. I think it's good to have our downswings early to see how well we deal with it.

Anyway, I'm a little curious as to your BRM for SnGs. I see you're grinding $1 SnGs with a (at the time) $278 BR. Any reason? I mean...that bankroll is potentially large enough for $10+$1 SnGs. Are you practicing? The $6+$.50 SnGs are pretty easy and pay off pretty nicely. I work on those when I get tired of the cash game grind or feel I should get some practice rounds in. Additionally, the $2+$.20 MTT's are pretty good at 11:00EST. First prize usually wins about a grand and it is quite easy to make the money and get some practice in. This is all assuming you're on PokerStars. Good luck buddy!

[Outlaw]

Hey Outlaw. Congrats on hitting $300...glad to see you dug yourself out of that hole. I had a downswing recently as well. I think it's good to have our downswings early to see how well we deal with it.

Anyway, I'm a little curious as to your BRM for SnGs. I see you're grinding $1 SnGs with a (at the time) $278 BR. Any reason? I mean...that bankroll is potentially large enough for $10+$1 SnGs. Are you practicing? The $6+$.50 SnGs are pretty easy and pay off pretty nicely. I work on those when I get tired of the cash game grind or feel I should get some practice rounds in. Additionally, the $2+$.20 MTT's are pretty good at 11:00EST. First prize usually wins about a grand and it is quite easy to make the money and get some practice in. This is all assuming you're on PokerStars. Good luck buddy!

Yes I play on stars.

I was just doing the $1s to relax for a bit and make some easy money. I 20-30 table them and enjoy just doing brainless ABC grind sessions. I would play the higher ones but putting 10% of my bankroll on the table seems like enough.

I was able to post a decent sit and go planet high orbit score though in the 100 I played this week. I am currently 8th and should end up in the top 30 for +$20. My PS SN is triplej74 if you want to check it out. I ran really bad in my last 30 set (only +$6) or I had a chance of getting 1st.

I do like MTTS, but they are way too time consuming for me right now.

[Outlaw]

The grind continues. I am currently doing sets of twenty $6.50 turbos. Running at 16% ROI through my first 5 sets for an hourly rate of $21/hr.

The BR is at $429. I am debating whether to switch back to cash games once I'm rolled for 25NL or move up to $16 SNGS. I might just switch back and forth since I enjoy both. I know I am supposed to specialize but I can't seem to give up either or stick to one form or other for more than a month or two.

Honestly, my hourly rate is always higher in SNGs.. any one got any advice?

Thanks in advance.

[dranger7070]

If you enjoy playing sngs, and you $/hr is higher (and thats something you care about right now) then stick with those and mix in some cash when you feel like it. I feel that there is more of a shot at making a higher $/hr at cash once you get to a level that is high enough, as the sngs continue to get dryer and dryer as you move up, but there are still enough fish (apparently) at 100nl and possibly 200nl. Its totally up to you though, and whatever you choose, make sure its right for YOU.

Good work on the roll building sir, keep up the grind.

[daven]

I am debating whether to switch back to cash games once I'm rolled for 25NL or move up to $16 SNGS. I might just switch back and forth since I enjoy both. Any one got any advice?

keep doing both for as long as they are both profitable. Poker is about fun as well as $$.
nice work on the bankroll progression by the way

[Outlaw]

Thanks guys.

Yeah I think its easy to forget this is a game and it should be about having fun. I just can't believe I am playing a game I love and making money at it.

[dranger7070]

Thanks guys.

Yeah I think its easy to forget this is a game and it should be about having fun. I just can't believe I am playing a game I love and making money at it.

This

If only I could be a pro football player though, I'd swap it in a heartbeat. I miss it.

Although, this is pretty awesome too, and you know, less chance of getting fucked up by a 260lb linebacker.

[Outlaw]

April results:

BR +$320
Achieved Gold star
15k cash hands at 9BB/100
800ish SNGs at 4% ROI (yeah I suck)

Ran decent the first half of the month then was doom switched the past 2 weeks. I still managed to move the BR up a bit anyways so all is well.

May goals:
Get to 25NL
Play 25k hands
Play 500 SNGs
Maintain Gold star status
Review more hands
Tape the doom switch in the off position or break the fuc!#! off.

[dranger7070]

Good month sir!

[Outlaw]

A special thanks to Robb for sweating me the other day and mailing me a HUGE list of notes on the session. Very good stuff man, I can't thank you enough for the help!

On another note, I just played in four of those 3FPP steps tourney qualifiers. What a clusterfu#@ those are. I managed to win one but won like 18/20 flips to do it. Needless to say, I am never playing these again unless I am friggin' drunk or really bored.

I guess my 12FPP investment to win $7.50 isn't too bad though

[Outlaw]

I haven't updated the op in awhile.

I have only been able to play very sporadically the past few months but am recently starting to get back into playing a few more hours a month.

Last month was my first real month with any volume and I managed to add about $300 to my tiny bankroll.

So far this month I have managed to get the BR above $750 for the first time in a LONG time because I am trying to stick to my "never cash out" again policy. At least not my entire friggin BR.

I am hoping to start getting in at least 50k hands a month.

I played my first 25NL session today, btw. Here is the results.

[dranger7070]

Thats a good start, keep up the good work dude!

[al yell]

Thats a good start, keep up the good work dude!

Outlaw, hope u don't mind me dropping by to say 'gl'. 7 bb/100 = sustainable imo.

[dranger7070]

Thats a good start, keep up the good work dude!

Outlaw, hope u don't mind me dropping by to say 'gl'. 7 bb/100 = sustainable imo.

7bb/100 at 25nl is easily sustainable, 7BB/100 is obv harder, but still sustainable.

[daven]

nh nit!
well done, keep it up

[Outlaw]

Thanks yall.

I am still grinding 25NL. I find it to be very similar to 10NL if not a bit nittier. There are a lot of 5/3ish people.. just gotta stay out of their way.

I have been experimenting with playing a 50bb stack and it seems to be working okay so far. I feel like although my monsters don't have the same potential, they are more likely to be paid off because the commitment threshold is so much lower due to my stack size.

I also don't give the regulars the right price to set mine against since my standard raise is to 5bbs. I almost never lose to a set anymore with QQ/KK/AA.. maybe I just run good.

I have flown through this level so far but don't have my hopes up. I will take a shot at 50NL when I hit $1,500. Hopefully I don't muck it up too badly

I am running about 9/7 some days and 10/8 others with a ATS of about 28%. I would like to get that up to around 12/10. I think my MP range is way too tight. I run 8/6 from the hijack and 20/18 from the button. Any thoughts?

Here is my 25NL graph so far. My all in performance graph says I'm running $100 under ev? wth does that mean?

[al yell]

My all in performance graph says I'm running $100 under ev? wth does that mean?

Every time you go all in the equity is calculated to give a projected expectation of earnings. ex. In a $100 pot you go all in on the Turn where you are a 80% favorite to win. You can say that each time you do this you are making $80. But on those occasions where your opponents sucks out on you on the River with his 20% your EV stat will indicate that you are running $80 below EV. Conversely your opponent will be running above EV because he made money where statistically he should have lost. Hope I explained that correctly. Either way I don't think that stat is too important.

[Outlaw]

First month of 25NL complete. I ran 2.66BB/100 over 50k hands. Not too bad, although I did run bad over the last 20k hands. I was running about 4BB/100 over my first 30k. I am still adjusting to the play and hope to make 50NL this month.

I made a decision to start cashing out half of what I make in poker every month as kind of a side job/paycheck. I was up $900 this month and had $450 shipped to me yesterday by stars.

I felt it works out really well for me anyways because I was $70 from $1,500 and 50NL and know that I am no where near ready to move up. So I'll spend at least most of November grinding 25NL and trying to improve my game so that I don't get culture shocked too bad when I hit the next level.

My hourly rate this month was the best ever, $21/hr with rakeback. Where the hell was this game when I was in college and working my ass off for $5/hr? (that was the early 90s) You young guys are so lucky.

I was able to get Goldstar this month and played 80k hands. My goal this month is 100k, but I'd be okay with a bit less since I am moving in the middle of the month and won't be able to play for up to a week. Platinum star should be obtainable with 75k hands at 25NL.

I don't think I will hit my goal of 100NL by the end of this year, and its not because I don't think I can get there bankroll wise, its just I don't want to rush my development. I want to be an above average winning player at all levels and since this is only a side income for me, I don't feel any pressure to move up too fast.

I think 100NL by spring is a realistic goal. I would like to make a push for Supernova next year. It should be fairly easy as I am likely to get about 8kVPPs per month at 25NL alone and almost twice that at 50NL. I will hold off on setting next years goals until the end of this year, however. Anyways, I think I've written enough for now. Thanks for reading it you made it this far and thanks for following my progress.

[dranger7070]

Very nice work man! Good to see you've kept on improving since I've been gone. I think thats a pretty good idea to hold off until you think you are ready for the next level. Good luck with the rest of this year man.

[Outlaw]

Since cashing out on the 30th I have been on a massive heater. Every session is similar.. I hit this 20 minute stretch where everything goes my way. The rest is all break even stretches.




So I am sitting at about a $1,400 bankroll. I really wasn't expecting to get to 50NL this fast.

I need some advice here.. do I just keep grinding 25NL for the rest of the month for the experience? Or do I go ahead and move up once I hit $1,500 and take a "shot"?

I am running 3.5BB/100 through about 60k hands so far at 25NL. I know that is way too small of a sample size. Any input would be appreciated.

[daven]

So I am sitting at about a $1,400 bankroll. I really wasn't expecting to get to 50NL this fast.

I need some advice here.. do I just keep grinding 25NL for the rest of the month for the experience? Or do I go ahead and move up once I hit $1,500 and take a "shot"?

I am running 3.5BB/100 through about 60k hands so far at 25NL. I know that is way too small of a sample size. Any input would be appreciated.

that's a big enough winrate/sample size to show that you beat 25nl. I recommend that you move up at $1550 with a 6 bi stop-loss. Don't change your game at all, play well, and there's a very good chance you'll stay at 50nl = on the way to 100nl and small stakes glory!

[Outlaw]

I just played my first session ever of 50NL and it was disconcerting to say the least. All that money on the table at once.. holy cow.. major culture shock.

It only lasted 45 minutes but seemed like 2 hours. I managed to run okay, though. I avoided a lot of tricky spots and hit a couple of sets that I got paid some on. I ran 12/10/5.0 but only had 21% ATS which is way below the norm for me. I was definitely way too timid and will have to get over that. Remember, its only bbs we are playing for.. not cash.. now if I can convince myself of that..

Anyways, I'm glad its over with.. my results are below. Sustainable for sure.

[WeaselT]

Nice job, u seem to be pretty stable u'll probly cruise thru 50NL also.