I don't know why it is that I usually start off on the wrong foot in my sessions, but I have been good at turning it around and then some. Started off down 3 buyins, but was playing decently. There was one hand I can recall where I made a standard raise of AQ. All of a sudden, someone pushed his stack in of about 60bb. It was not warranted, and it's not like he had just lost a big pot and was tilting; however, it did seem for the past 2 orbits he couldn't take down a pot. I felt he was a little frustrated and I snap-called and he showed A7. Even though he took down that pot, I felt good. (I didn't feel so good about getting a buyin in w/ JJ though and seeing AA.)
Anyway, I turned things around and got to run good. I have been keeping my eyes peeled for the best tables, and today that happened to include a heads up table. I was watching two guys go at it, and the fishier of the two had got his $50 stack up to about $750-$800, until he gave it back. Well I was first on the waiting list for that game, and when I got called he was still sitting there with about $100. He was pretty bad, and sent 3buyins my way. After 7.25hrs playing, I averaged $49.45/hr, and I'm definitely pleased.
Sooooo, my current FTP roll is $2329.45, and my rakeback account is at $679.56. That adds up to a total roll of just over $3k!!!
That means it's time for the $100NL game. I am feeling good right now, and I will be showing a graph at the end of the week. I would show a graph from the start till now, but I filled up my PT database during the 2nd week. (I should've created a new one, but oh well.) It's going to be hard to say goodbye to the $50NL game, but it's definitely time to move up. I'm sure the $100NL game will be difficult at first, but will become easier in 2-3 weeks. We'll see.....
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Quick Update
Sitting at approximately $1970 in FTP. I've accumulated approximately $650 in rakeback for the month of May (hope to get that over $700 by the end of the month). So I'm sitting at about $2600. I feel this is slightly ahead of schedule, but not by too much. I wasted a lot of time, but learned a lot in the first 2-3 weeks. I've rode out bad swings, played badly, played well, ran good--but most importantly am playing a style I'm comfortable with. I am looking forward to the $100NL game. I'm not sure when to start, but it should be soon......
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
As of now....
OK ok ok. It's now time for me to get a little organized. Waking up everyday at the same time, having time for studying set aside everyday, and relaxing at night (well I'll do that once I make more headway). As of now, I still have one table open, my bankroll is at around $1800, but who knows what's gonna happen in the next few minutes--I'm almost 4buyins deep and there's someone w/ 3.5buyins. Currently rakeback is sitting at $562, so that puts me above the $2k mark, but I won't see the rake money until sometimes in the middle of next month.
Disclaimer to JUSTIN. My bankroll includes my rakeback, EVEN if it isn't actually in my FTP account, it is in my bankroll. Just a heads up for when the last month is upon us, if it's close, the money in my rakeback account is PART of my bankroll. For example, my roll the day the bet is over is $9k and I have $1.4k sitting in my rake account, my actual ROLL is $10.4k.
Well, I misclicked TWO TIMES today, and I almost NEVER misclick. I've played so many hands and I rarely misclick. I had AA on one table and AQ on another at the same time. On both tables I 3bet and had an opponent on each table allin pre. I meant to click call on the table w/ AA, but instead clicked the one w/ AQ. Well I won the AA hand (KK, sorry). The other table I ended up going against QQ and spiked the Ace on the river. So, that proceeded to get him on tilt (he still had a full buyin left) and he pushed pre everyhand until he got called. Well, he got called by ATs and KK, while he held 88. KK took it down, and by the way, I was lucky enough to get the KK that hand. So, from that misclick I profitted 3buyins. Lucky eh?
The other misclick didn't turn out the same, well, this actually isn't a misclick at all. I read my hand wrong, and it isn't the first time I had trouble differentiating between the T and 8. (I need to count the pips or something.) Well I'll show you the hand, but keep in mind I thought I was holding TT.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?2675892
As you can see from the graph, my winrate so far this week hasn't been great, but it's a winrate nontheless. I started off rushing things and not paying much attention to the tables. I picked it up and was running fine until around the 10k hand mark. I started getting beat in a nice variety of ways. Then I proceeded to run good and play against big stacks that didn't realize they could actually lose. I really wanted to get into a 8buyin pot, but I was waiting for something that didn't come. So far I'm up 6.5buyins this week, but need to pay more attention to what I'm doing and stay fresh.
Disclaimer to JUSTIN. My bankroll includes my rakeback, EVEN if it isn't actually in my FTP account, it is in my bankroll. Just a heads up for when the last month is upon us, if it's close, the money in my rakeback account is PART of my bankroll. For example, my roll the day the bet is over is $9k and I have $1.4k sitting in my rake account, my actual ROLL is $10.4k.
Well, I misclicked TWO TIMES today, and I almost NEVER misclick. I've played so many hands and I rarely misclick. I had AA on one table and AQ on another at the same time. On both tables I 3bet and had an opponent on each table allin pre. I meant to click call on the table w/ AA, but instead clicked the one w/ AQ. Well I won the AA hand (KK, sorry). The other table I ended up going against QQ and spiked the Ace on the river. So, that proceeded to get him on tilt (he still had a full buyin left) and he pushed pre everyhand until he got called. Well, he got called by ATs and KK, while he held 88. KK took it down, and by the way, I was lucky enough to get the KK that hand. So, from that misclick I profitted 3buyins. Lucky eh?
The other misclick didn't turn out the same, well, this actually isn't a misclick at all. I read my hand wrong, and it isn't the first time I had trouble differentiating between the T and 8. (I need to count the pips or something.) Well I'll show you the hand, but keep in mind I thought I was holding TT.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?2675892
As you can see from the graph, my winrate so far this week hasn't been great, but it's a winrate nontheless. I started off rushing things and not paying much attention to the tables. I picked it up and was running fine until around the 10k hand mark. I started getting beat in a nice variety of ways. Then I proceeded to run good and play against big stacks that didn't realize they could actually lose. I really wanted to get into a 8buyin pot, but I was waiting for something that didn't come. So far I'm up 6.5buyins this week, but need to pay more attention to what I'm doing and stay fresh.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Nothing Much
Sitting at $1580.10 + rake. I just need to concentrate on my tables when I'm playing and pay less attention to roaming around on the internet. If I had to guess how much I've earned in rakeback it'd be around $530ish. My goal is to get to $2000 (w/out rakeback) as soon as possible, move up to the $100NL game, and have the rake pad the roll up to about $2700. That should leave me comfortable at that level. One thing I need to do is start collecting data on the $100NL regulars. Justin is actually playing that game right now and we'll probably be running into each other. I guess we'll try and avoid each other unless a table is juicy......
Friday, May 23, 2008
Overtime
Well now. Here's an update. I sat in front of the computer for 11 hours playing today! I played the most hands I've played yet in one session: 5684. And I had an up and down day until I won 6 buyins from an action junky to put me at $1474.35 + rake. I can't wait to throw some of that rake into my bankroll. The rake is at aroud $400 last time I checked. So what that means is that if I can have a good week playing I should be at the $100NL game. Oh it's starting to get interesting.
I was playing fair, but went through a stretch where I was down 4 buyins. At that point, things turned around and I got into some bigger pots with good hands and took em down. I told myself the other day that I need to remember to keep table selection a high priority and today it paid off. I found a table with someone with about $300 on a $50 table and he was overbet/pushing his stack on flops. I got first-hand sight of this when I 3bet someone w/ KK, and the maniac flat called. On a JJx flop, he open pushed his stack. I think he was really used to people paying him off that he was hoping I had a big pair in my hand and I wouldn't be able to drop it. I dropped those Kings there, and then doubled up on that table (through this same aggro guy) by inducing him to push pre w/ AQs vs my AA. It held up and I got my stack up to about $120.
I played a few small pots with him, and let him bluff at me a few times. I had the feeling he would call big bets pre "just to see the flop." So, like I used to do on PartyPoker, I started raising my monsters accordingly. I tried raising AA one time by almost open-pushing my stack, but it didn't work (made it $100.50 to go pre). So I thought maybe he'd call something small like 30bb pre (to him it was small).
This hand went like this: http://www.pokerhand.org/?2651733
This hand went like this: http://www.pokerhand.org/?2651739
And this one went like this: http://www.pokerhand.org/?2651742
As you can see on the graph, I had a big upswing because of my new friend. So, the 11.25hr session ended with a net profit of $350.25 @ $31.13/hr while 6tabling $50NL 6max (5684 hands). Total roll is $1474.35 + rake (~$400) = ~$1900. I will definitely try and keep this upswing from changing the way I play and still play patient and try and get value from the hands that deserve value. But I won't walk away from somone like the guy I played with tonight....
I was playing fair, but went through a stretch where I was down 4 buyins. At that point, things turned around and I got into some bigger pots with good hands and took em down. I told myself the other day that I need to remember to keep table selection a high priority and today it paid off. I found a table with someone with about $300 on a $50 table and he was overbet/pushing his stack on flops. I got first-hand sight of this when I 3bet someone w/ KK, and the maniac flat called. On a JJx flop, he open pushed his stack. I think he was really used to people paying him off that he was hoping I had a big pair in my hand and I wouldn't be able to drop it. I dropped those Kings there, and then doubled up on that table (through this same aggro guy) by inducing him to push pre w/ AQs vs my AA. It held up and I got my stack up to about $120.
I played a few small pots with him, and let him bluff at me a few times. I had the feeling he would call big bets pre "just to see the flop." So, like I used to do on PartyPoker, I started raising my monsters accordingly. I tried raising AA one time by almost open-pushing my stack, but it didn't work (made it $100.50 to go pre). So I thought maybe he'd call something small like 30bb pre (to him it was small).
This hand went like this: http://www.pokerhand.org/?2651733
This hand went like this: http://www.pokerhand.org/?2651739
And this one went like this: http://www.pokerhand.org/?2651742
As you can see on the graph, I had a big upswing because of my new friend. So, the 11.25hr session ended with a net profit of $350.25 @ $31.13/hr while 6tabling $50NL 6max (5684 hands). Total roll is $1474.35 + rake (~$400) = ~$1900. I will definitely try and keep this upswing from changing the way I play and still play patient and try and get value from the hands that deserve value. But I won't walk away from somone like the guy I played with tonight....
Monday, May 19, 2008
Happy Birthday Nick!
Yeah it's my birthday, so fold to me please. I'm still out in Vegas playing scarcely. It's hot as shit out here, but I'm having fun. I'm playing a session right now without PT or any other aides. The 50NL game has been very soft lately, but I haven't been putting the work in. Well in other news, my rakeback is at around $300, and my poker roll is rigt now around $900. So if I could look back, I'd say I learned a few things in the past 2 weeks. I started off playing a very loose/passive style, which had way too many leaks. I changed it to a LAG style that, in a few words, I wasn't ready for. As of now, I'm playing TAGish and will most likely stay this way well into the 200s. More updates and possibly some hands to come.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Rakeback
Revelation time
#1) Rakeback is nice and I just realized how it is going to be the main factor of how I will get the roll up to $10k
#2) Playing at THIS level, and playing at the pace I'm playing, I've been making $40/day in rakeback.
#3) $40/day, playing CONSERVATIVELY 20 days/month, for four months = $3.2k.
#4) The bet was if I will have a $10k ROLL at the end of the four months. I know you'll try to nitpick on this one Justin that's why I'm being clear (remember pointing to the corner pocket?). Money earned by the end of the alloted time, INCLUDING RAKE, is included.
So with all that said, after I add up all the rakeback I stack up in the allotted time, I should be close.
Bankroll on FTP: $720.90
Added bankroll already on rakeback: $200+
Time to grind homie....
#1) Rakeback is nice and I just realized how it is going to be the main factor of how I will get the roll up to $10k
#2) Playing at THIS level, and playing at the pace I'm playing, I've been making $40/day in rakeback.
#3) $40/day, playing CONSERVATIVELY 20 days/month, for four months = $3.2k.
#4) The bet was if I will have a $10k ROLL at the end of the four months. I know you'll try to nitpick on this one Justin that's why I'm being clear (remember pointing to the corner pocket?). Money earned by the end of the alloted time, INCLUDING RAKE, is included.
So with all that said, after I add up all the rakeback I stack up in the allotted time, I should be close.
Bankroll on FTP: $720.90
Added bankroll already on rakeback: $200+
Time to grind homie....
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Follow Along
Besides using PT and occasionally checking my graph, I post a few hands on pokerhand.org (PH). There are different reasons for posting hands on PH, but the main reason is if I feel I either misplayed my hand or played it well/made a good read. I go through a bunch of hands every session, and there are bound to be a few coolers--those hands won't be posted unless they're really nasty. I currently feel fresh right now and I'm playing good poker. I've noticed people 3betting me pre with hands I shouldn't let them in with. I need to work on 3betting my own good hands, or just letting them go earlier, especially if out of position. The sooner I have more information on the opponent's hand, the sooner I'll know if I'm ahead or not. The $600 bonus is getting close to being compeleted, and I've noticed I've made over $100 in rakeback so far.
My roll is around $1k right now. So if I were to calculate my bankroll without bonuses, I'd be down about 10 buyins, but that was when I was playing much worse. Since making a change in my playing style 3/4 of my sessions have been me averaging winning 4 buyins. Going on vacation for a few days, but I'll still be playing poker, just without PT, and not playing much. It's still possible for me to get to $1.5k by the end of this week, I just need to put the time in.
Well, if you want to check on some old pokerhands, and some that I'll be continually posting from time to time, check this site: http://www.pokerhand.org/index.php?page=list&user=nbermudez415
My roll is around $1k right now. So if I were to calculate my bankroll without bonuses, I'd be down about 10 buyins, but that was when I was playing much worse. Since making a change in my playing style 3/4 of my sessions have been me averaging winning 4 buyins. Going on vacation for a few days, but I'll still be playing poker, just without PT, and not playing much. It's still possible for me to get to $1.5k by the end of this week, I just need to put the time in.
Well, if you want to check on some old pokerhands, and some that I'll be continually posting from time to time, check this site: http://www.pokerhand.org/index.php?page=list&user=nbermudez415
Monday, May 12, 2008
Well Now
I tried to play a quick session and tried to run the table over too quickly, even when I ran into big hands. I'm going to take the rest of the day off and start the rest of this week early in the day and play more relaxed sessions. My goal for the end of the week is to have a bankroll of $1.5k. We'll see if it happens.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Week 1
Well, week 1 is finally over, and I couldn't be more happy that it's over. This first week was a big learning experience as to how the game has changed over the past 2 years. I put in a little over 26k hands and 48 hours. My net profit was -$151.80 and my total bankroll is $838.40. My hourly for the week was -$3.16. I started the week off with 3 sessions of full ring, but have moved to exclusively playing 6max tables--all of which were $50NL. I have a new outlook now on the current trend the game is at and have plugged up some major preflop leaks and postflop intentions. I'm predicting week 2 to be much better, but we'll see how I run.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Long Session
Well, I woke up at 5 something and started playing poker before 6am. I was determined to have a good poker day. Well, it didn't go as planned, but today was a really good day. I was examining my graphs, and even though I was having HORRIBLE luck to half-stack players, my all-in graph is excellent. This is basically something I don't really need to work on. What I do need to work on is the limping to try to stack loose players. I'm ALWAYS looking to stack someone, but I've been getting caught up trying to do it against the wrong players. All of my leaks seem to be not getting those river value bets and from limping against the wrong players. I am going to continue to 6-table and keep them full of the more active tables. Getting the hands in is going to be no problem. Getting my money in good has been, and won't be a problem. The problem is trying too hard to profit. I just have to let it come to me and choose the right players to go up against. My current bankroll is at $807.40. By my bankroll requirements, I should be moving down to the $25NL game, but let's just say that isn't going to have to happen. I intend on using a more accelerated buyin rule to get up to the $200NL game. Once I get there and plug some leaks, I should be on my way...
Yee.
Yee.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
I Can't Wait
A few updates on progress.
PT is up and working again. At the end of the day I'll have my current bankroll and daily graph for the day's session.
Everything is going GREAT so far--aside from running badly. The graph will show what I mean.
I added another $1k to the prop bet. This time it's for me to reach a bankroll of $11k. There's no way I reach $10k and then not be able to reach $11k, so adding on another $1k on to the prop bet was a simple no-brainer.
Finally, I'll say a word about my opinion on how people play. I've heard that playing this and that sort of PT #s are good and others aren't and I understand the concept. But post-flop is where the money is made, so we'll see if I can come out on top in the end w/ my supposed pre-flop leaks...
PT is up and working again. At the end of the day I'll have my current bankroll and daily graph for the day's session.
Everything is going GREAT so far--aside from running badly. The graph will show what I mean.
I added another $1k to the prop bet. This time it's for me to reach a bankroll of $11k. There's no way I reach $10k and then not be able to reach $11k, so adding on another $1k on to the prop bet was a simple no-brainer.
Finally, I'll say a word about my opinion on how people play. I've heard that playing this and that sort of PT #s are good and others aren't and I understand the concept. But post-flop is where the money is made, so we'll see if I can come out on top in the end w/ my supposed pre-flop leaks...
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
5/5/08
Had a 4.5 hr session and a 6.25 hr session after the gym. Played 2.5k and 5k hands, respectively, dont know how i doubled my hands and didn't double the time, but whatever. I'm slowly releasing the $600 signup bonus and have released $80 so far. Bad news is that even with bonus money, I'm break-even right now. It's not exactly a bad thing at all to break-even, but I'm not exactly super happy. I need to work on playing at the right times, and using PT stats to make reads. I was just playing to play and on autopilot for first few hours of second session. I've been posting hands to pokerhand.org and I took a snapshot of my PEV graph. I'll be posting that when I blog--usually. The graph shows I had a break-even day, but ran bad. Losses were recouped through bonuses and current bankroll is $992.45.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Preparation
Money is in, everything working. I prepared PokerTracker (PT) to my screenname and set preferences on PT to make sure things are running correctly. I had to spend time w/ PokerEV (PEV) to get used to making graphs and saving them. Before I officially begin, here is a sample of what I'll be posting up on a usual basis.
Graph shows how I played, bankroll shows ending bankroll for the session. Enough said.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Background
May 3rd, approximately 12:30am, Lucky Chances Casino.
Aaron was in town and we decided to hang out and have a little dinner with his brother, cousin, and Justin. A bunch of poker talk finally got down to motivation bets. I first offered Justin a bet so that we could race to 10k. Now, we had already done this in the past and it was fairly successful for both of us. Back then we were both playing on Party during school and summer was about to begin. We recently got rakeback and both of us were playing fairly well. I ended the bet at about 11.7k and Justin ended with a respectable 8k. So it would only make sense for us to motivate each other with another race to 10k.
However, this time Justin would be starting off with 4.5k and myself 1k. He would have a huge edge in being basically already half-way there, but he has a 9-5 so I would be able to put in more hours to hone my game and catch up. It went back and forth, but in the end I decided against that bet. I offered Aaron's brother a race to 6k, but it wasn't as interesting.
We then got to the subject of me deciding to work instead of play poker, but still REALLY wanting to have my bankroll increase. (I basically want to get out of debt through poker and save money through work.) My argument was that I would rather dedicate myself to getting a job and earn about 1k/week steady. I told them in four months I would have earned 16k working, while playing poker I estimated I'd earn 10k. "I would need 6k to make up for the 'loss'." That's when I said, jokingly, that if I could be compensated somehow I'd consider taking poker more seriously.
Well, Aaron's eyes lit up, and he said he would consider giving me that action. And even more surprisingly, Justin said he'd like to buy some of that action! So now I have two of my closest poker friends talking about betting against me making 10k in four months. That was a slight jab to my ego, but when they both jumped at the thought of putting up 6k to back it up, I couldn't believe it. I have already accomplished this in less time; however, the poker world has DEFINITELY changed since then.
Now what was going on in MY mind at this point was, if I made 10k in four months, I'd be making an additional 60% bonus. This sounded too good to be true. I added a small stipulation that took them a while to agree to. I asked for a varied extension if I got a permanent job within those four months. If I got a job in that time, I would get an extension equal to HALF the time remaining. So if I got a job at exactly the two month mark, I would have two months left, giving me an extension of half that--one extra month. (If I got a job two days before the end of the four months, I get one extra day, etc.)
As of now, the bet is on. I am in the process of loading the 1k on Full Tilt Poker (FTP). I will be receiving FTP's $600 bonus. The account I will be playing on will have 27% rakeback. I will probably be starting on the $50NL tables, possibly playing anywhere from 6-9 tables at a time, full ring. When the time is right, and if I can find better tables on PokerStars (PS), I may transfer total balance to PS and give up rakeback if the tables are that much better. I may switch over to 6max tables if I deem ready/appropriate. There is no stipulation on what games I play. I can build this bankroll only by playing poker, receiving poker-related bonuses, and rakeback. I will be updating with PokerEV graphs and screenshots of total bankroll.
The game begins May 5 and ends September 5, 2008.
Aaron was in town and we decided to hang out and have a little dinner with his brother, cousin, and Justin. A bunch of poker talk finally got down to motivation bets. I first offered Justin a bet so that we could race to 10k. Now, we had already done this in the past and it was fairly successful for both of us. Back then we were both playing on Party during school and summer was about to begin. We recently got rakeback and both of us were playing fairly well. I ended the bet at about 11.7k and Justin ended with a respectable 8k. So it would only make sense for us to motivate each other with another race to 10k.
However, this time Justin would be starting off with 4.5k and myself 1k. He would have a huge edge in being basically already half-way there, but he has a 9-5 so I would be able to put in more hours to hone my game and catch up. It went back and forth, but in the end I decided against that bet. I offered Aaron's brother a race to 6k, but it wasn't as interesting.
We then got to the subject of me deciding to work instead of play poker, but still REALLY wanting to have my bankroll increase. (I basically want to get out of debt through poker and save money through work.) My argument was that I would rather dedicate myself to getting a job and earn about 1k/week steady. I told them in four months I would have earned 16k working, while playing poker I estimated I'd earn 10k. "I would need 6k to make up for the 'loss'." That's when I said, jokingly, that if I could be compensated somehow I'd consider taking poker more seriously.
Well, Aaron's eyes lit up, and he said he would consider giving me that action. And even more surprisingly, Justin said he'd like to buy some of that action! So now I have two of my closest poker friends talking about betting against me making 10k in four months. That was a slight jab to my ego, but when they both jumped at the thought of putting up 6k to back it up, I couldn't believe it. I have already accomplished this in less time; however, the poker world has DEFINITELY changed since then.
Now what was going on in MY mind at this point was, if I made 10k in four months, I'd be making an additional 60% bonus. This sounded too good to be true. I added a small stipulation that took them a while to agree to. I asked for a varied extension if I got a permanent job within those four months. If I got a job in that time, I would get an extension equal to HALF the time remaining. So if I got a job at exactly the two month mark, I would have two months left, giving me an extension of half that--one extra month. (If I got a job two days before the end of the four months, I get one extra day, etc.)
As of now, the bet is on. I am in the process of loading the 1k on Full Tilt Poker (FTP). I will be receiving FTP's $600 bonus. The account I will be playing on will have 27% rakeback. I will probably be starting on the $50NL tables, possibly playing anywhere from 6-9 tables at a time, full ring. When the time is right, and if I can find better tables on PokerStars (PS), I may transfer total balance to PS and give up rakeback if the tables are that much better. I may switch over to 6max tables if I deem ready/appropriate. There is no stipulation on what games I play. I can build this bankroll only by playing poker, receiving poker-related bonuses, and rakeback. I will be updating with PokerEV graphs and screenshots of total bankroll.
The game begins May 5 and ends September 5, 2008.
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