OK so it's Oct 1st and I am pretty much rollin now with my SNG schedule. I have been playing about 14 hrs/week through sept which is a little less than i intended but still not bad. I did get bored at one point and jump into some 45 and 180 player turbo mtt/sngs for a few days. I ran good in the 12$ 45 turbos and bad in the 180s. Anyway, here are my stats for sept:
6.50 turbos:
# Tournies Played: 227
Total Buyins: $1475.50
Total prize $: $1506.60
Profit: $31.10
ROI: 2.11%
16 turbos:
#Tournies Played: 226
Total Buyins: $3616.00
Total Prize $: $4158.00
Profit: $542.00
ROI: 14.99%
12$ 45man turbos
#Tournies Played: 27
Total Buyins: $324.00
Total Prize $: $550.00
Profit: $226.00
ROI: 69.75%
12$ 180man turbos
#Played: 33
Total Buyins: $396
Total Prizes: $221.76
Profit: -$174.24
Total sng Profit for last two weeks of Sept: $624.00
So thats the summary of my results so far. I'm pretty happy with them, and I accomplished a bunch of the goals i set for myself. I feel pretty confident going into october, I'm upping my tables to 10-12 and trying to play more 16's than 6.50s now that my bankroll is getting a little deeper. Hopefully by the end of october I will be getting close to fully rolled for taking some shots at the 27's. I may cash out if i continue to run good, before moving up.
This week i'll update again and outline some of my goals for october after i think about it for a bit.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
So much for discipline
OK so here are my stats for the weekend. I went on a bit of a heater in 6.5's on friday and then decided i was going to add some 16$ tables into the rotation. By the end of the day saturday i had gone on a bad downswing in my 6$ tables, and stayed floating by playing 16s and running OK. After that i decided to switch to basically playing 3 of each at a time. I dont' think there's a difference really in the strategy between these two levels...they play very similar, only a few more super donks in the 6.5's and a few more regulars in the 16's.
PokerTracker has really helped me in identifying the sharks at my tables and spotting the really awful players. I've seen a lot of people who are 45+ vpip over 200 hands and they are just constantly limp/folding late with 7 bb stacks and stuff like that...poker tracker is so great for identifying these fools.
Phase 1 Stats so far:
6.50 Turbos
Played: 188
Amount Won: $1,236.6
Profit: $14.6
ROI: 1.19%
Lol pretty bad ^^ like i said i went on a bad downswing.
16$ Turbos
Played: 143
Amount Won: $2,288.0
Profit: $277.00
ROI: 12.11%
Total Profit in Phase 1: $291.6
So thats that. I haven't been reviewing my sessions as much as I wanted to. This week i'm going to try and play a lot less and review a ton of hands before jumping back in and doing some big sessions at the end of the week maybe.
PokerTracker has really helped me in identifying the sharks at my tables and spotting the really awful players. I've seen a lot of people who are 45+ vpip over 200 hands and they are just constantly limp/folding late with 7 bb stacks and stuff like that...poker tracker is so great for identifying these fools.
Phase 1 Stats so far:
6.50 Turbos
Played: 188
Amount Won: $1,236.6
Profit: $14.6
ROI: 1.19%
Lol pretty bad ^^ like i said i went on a bad downswing.
16$ Turbos
Played: 143
Amount Won: $2,288.0
Profit: $277.00
ROI: 12.11%
Total Profit in Phase 1: $291.6
So thats that. I haven't been reviewing my sessions as much as I wanted to. This week i'm going to try and play a lot less and review a ton of hands before jumping back in and doing some big sessions at the end of the week maybe.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
So far so good
OK so i've logged about 6 hours of sngs between yesterday and today. Here are my stats for my first two sessions:
Since last post
# Tournies Played: 78
Buyin: $6.50
Total Buyins: $507.00
Total Prizes: $572.40
Profit: $65.40
ROI: 12.9
The sample size is obviously beyond insignificantly small. Just posting these stats makes me cringe a little bit because I know they really don't represent anything. Oh well, I'm only two days into phase 1 here. Hopefully in the next few weeks i'll have logged a significant sample to really see how i've been playing.
Six tabling hasn't proved to be too much of a problem. I started off a little slow and I think i played my first session really way too loose early because I wasn't used to the 6 tables at first and was rushing a lot of decisions. By the end of last night i was down 7 buyins over 30 games which is pretty awful. But by that point i had pretty much adjusted to my new setup and was pretty confident going into my session today. I ran hot for an hour and won 4 tournies and didn't stop rollin from there.
I really think these games are super easy. The only problem is they are very very frustrating. I'm having a lot of bad beats put on me, and i'm also having to suckout a lot more to win these bubbles. I'm seeing players making -EV calls with hands like Q9, JT, or A2 against my bubble pushes when they should be only calling ~10% or less due to stacks. This is probably going to increase my variance in these a lot but makes them even easier to beat, i just gotta adjust my push/call ranges a bit in SNGPT to account for the loose donkeys.
There are a TON of loose/aggro donkeys reraising me preflop at 75/150 with junk hands way more so than i'm used to in the 16s. I have raised with AK in middle position and gotten reshoved on by QJo and A4 sooted in spots where the villain really has NO reason to be making these plays. Oh well, these are easy players to exploit it just takes some adjustments which i'm in the process of making.
Tomorrow i'm going to try and play another 30 sngs and then review my first 100 tournies in SNGPT for a couple hours. I prob won't update this again until the weekend.
Since last post
# Tournies Played: 78
Buyin: $6.50
Total Buyins: $507.00
Total Prizes: $572.40
Profit: $65.40
ROI: 12.9
The sample size is obviously beyond insignificantly small. Just posting these stats makes me cringe a little bit because I know they really don't represent anything. Oh well, I'm only two days into phase 1 here. Hopefully in the next few weeks i'll have logged a significant sample to really see how i've been playing.
Six tabling hasn't proved to be too much of a problem. I started off a little slow and I think i played my first session really way too loose early because I wasn't used to the 6 tables at first and was rushing a lot of decisions. By the end of last night i was down 7 buyins over 30 games which is pretty awful. But by that point i had pretty much adjusted to my new setup and was pretty confident going into my session today. I ran hot for an hour and won 4 tournies and didn't stop rollin from there.
I really think these games are super easy. The only problem is they are very very frustrating. I'm having a lot of bad beats put on me, and i'm also having to suckout a lot more to win these bubbles. I'm seeing players making -EV calls with hands like Q9, JT, or A2 against my bubble pushes when they should be only calling ~10% or less due to stacks. This is probably going to increase my variance in these a lot but makes them even easier to beat, i just gotta adjust my push/call ranges a bit in SNGPT to account for the loose donkeys.
There are a TON of loose/aggro donkeys reraising me preflop at 75/150 with junk hands way more so than i'm used to in the 16s. I have raised with AK in middle position and gotten reshoved on by QJo and A4 sooted in spots where the villain really has NO reason to be making these plays. Oh well, these are easy players to exploit it just takes some adjustments which i'm in the process of making.
Tomorrow i'm going to try and play another 30 sngs and then review my first 100 tournies in SNGPT for a couple hours. I prob won't update this again until the weekend.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Guidelines
Like i said in my last post, I intend to use this blog to outline the games i'm going to play and how i'm going to play them for the next month or 6 weeks or so. Hopefully I can stick to these guidelines and make this exercise work for me. The main point of doing this is to practice my discipline and get me into the "grinding" mindset that i've been steering away from the last few months. I find that without having a set list of goals, I get bored quickly and lose my focus so the point of this is to set those goals and put them in writing so that I can keep them in mind while i'm playing.
Because I want to start this thing off right, I want to choose a type of game that I know i can crush. For me, that game is single table turbo Sit and Go's on stars. I've been studying SNG strategy for a long time and I've developed (at least I believe I have...i'll talk more about sample size/statistics in a post someday down the line but not here...) a firm understanding of all the concepts required to win at these games regularly. My hold'em SNG game is by far the most "complete" out of all the other types of poker i've ever played, so i'm going to set myself some SNG goals and try to stick to them and hopefully hit the ground running.
"Phase 1" is going to be the period from now until the end of october. The following are my short term guidelines/goals for phase 1 of this exercise.
Bankroll/game selection stuff:
OK so I have about $1,000 on stars right now which I consider a solid bankroll to play $16 turbo's (60 buyins). However, because I am primarily starting this challenge for myself as an exercise in discipline, i'm going to start way below that and begin by playing $6.50 turbos instead. Many of you guys who play SNGs regularly probably think having over 150 buyins for STTs(single table tournies for you guys not "in the know") is stupid or a waste of time and not a great way to make any $$$, but the first month of this challenge isn't about maximizing my profit in the short term. The main purpose of phase 1 is to put myself into the SNG grinding mindset, and get myself comfortable playing more volume than I have been recently. After that I will add tables and move up stakes to try and squeek out the most $/hr i can, but for now I am focusing on my mechanics and not so much on my results. I will detail my short term goals next, but suffice it to say that for now I just want to have a very very deep bankroll for all the games i'm playing to minimize my risk of going broke as much as possible. I've played as high as the 27$ turbos regularly in the past, and even some brief stints into the 60$ turbos, and I am pretty sure that I would be a winner in these games...It's just that for now my main goal isn't playing for the max return.
So i'm starting with 150+ buyins for 6.50 turbos, and I don't intend to move up to the 16's for a while. Whichever comes first between hitting 150 buyins for the 16's, or when I have reached the point where I know i've made some significant improvements to my all around game, i will move up.
Goals for Phase 1:
1. Become comfortable playing 6 tables regularly
Up until now, I have only played 4 tables. Never 1, never 2, never 5 or 6...always exactly four. The reason is that any less gets way too slow/boring for me, and any more would be a pain because of the physical real estate i had available on my old desktop monitor or crappy laptop display. Now i have a new laptop with 1900x1280 resolution and it plays 9 tables with no overlap without any problems whatsoever...I don't think i have the concentration (yet) to play 9 tables, but I know i can do 6 and thats where i intend to start. By the end of the month of september I want to have ironed out all the kinks that come along with the two additional tables, and have my time-per-decision worked out so that I never time out on any of my tables while playing six continuously.
2. Utilize all my poker software to it's fullest potential
I have always had a lot of poker software, but I never really use it. I use poker tracker to track my results, but I rarely (almost never) use it to analyze my play. I have had PokerAceHUD for the last 2 years but never run it because I was never too comfortable using the stats to my advantage. That's something i've been working on and something that I intend to nail down completely by the end of this phase of my personal challenge.
Sitngo Power Tools is another great piece of software that I just got into recently, and it's already helped me plug some leaks in my game. I intend to use this software religiously on every single hand I play past 100/200/ante where i'm not 100% confident in which action is best. This is really where all my leak plugging is going to come from, and if I ever want to crush the 60's or higher I know that this tool is going to be what gets me there...Incase you haven't realized it by now, I highly recommend it for any of you readers out there who play SNGs and don't use it already.
3. Maintain a weekly schedule without letting myself get distracted too much
I intend to play at least 15 hours of sngs per week. That's about as much as I think i can handle while still balancing in my normal 40 hr/week job, my girlfriend, and my other committments (capstone and stuff, bleh). Once co-op ends and class starts up in january I intend to try and play much more. Six tabling turbos, i figure this should put me in around 150-180 sngs/week.
In addition to my 15 hours of playing, i'm going to put in two sessions per week of SNGPT/PokerTracker analysis where I work through all my hands that I'm not sure of. I figure 2 hours per session should do the trick. I really want to make sure that i'm making profitable pushes/calls/folds on the bubble every single time without having to even think about it. This is the key ingredient in being able to play 12 tables for hours and hours...and studying is the only way to get to that point.
Geeze that turned out to be a lot more typing than i intended...Oh well, hopefully it will be worth it as this thing starts to progress. If i think of any more goals as I begin phase 1, i will add them to the list. To summarize:
-I will play 6.50 turbos, 15 hrs/week, despite being grossly over bankrolled for these games.
-I will analyze my play in SNGPT twice a week for as long as it takes to go through all of my "question hands" I will also post most of these on 2+2 STT forums for alternate opinions
-I will update this blog with my progress including games played, $ won/lost, hours logged, and any interesting hands or discussion topics that I decide are worth typing about during the course of my play
-I type faster than I think
God bless you if you actually read any of this and found it interesting in the least. Until next time.
-pat
Because I want to start this thing off right, I want to choose a type of game that I know i can crush. For me, that game is single table turbo Sit and Go's on stars. I've been studying SNG strategy for a long time and I've developed (at least I believe I have...i'll talk more about sample size/statistics in a post someday down the line but not here...) a firm understanding of all the concepts required to win at these games regularly. My hold'em SNG game is by far the most "complete" out of all the other types of poker i've ever played, so i'm going to set myself some SNG goals and try to stick to them and hopefully hit the ground running.
"Phase 1" is going to be the period from now until the end of october. The following are my short term guidelines/goals for phase 1 of this exercise.
Bankroll/game selection stuff:
OK so I have about $1,000 on stars right now which I consider a solid bankroll to play $16 turbo's (60 buyins). However, because I am primarily starting this challenge for myself as an exercise in discipline, i'm going to start way below that and begin by playing $6.50 turbos instead. Many of you guys who play SNGs regularly probably think having over 150 buyins for STTs(single table tournies for you guys not "in the know") is stupid or a waste of time and not a great way to make any $$$, but the first month of this challenge isn't about maximizing my profit in the short term. The main purpose of phase 1 is to put myself into the SNG grinding mindset, and get myself comfortable playing more volume than I have been recently. After that I will add tables and move up stakes to try and squeek out the most $/hr i can, but for now I am focusing on my mechanics and not so much on my results. I will detail my short term goals next, but suffice it to say that for now I just want to have a very very deep bankroll for all the games i'm playing to minimize my risk of going broke as much as possible. I've played as high as the 27$ turbos regularly in the past, and even some brief stints into the 60$ turbos, and I am pretty sure that I would be a winner in these games...It's just that for now my main goal isn't playing for the max return.
So i'm starting with 150+ buyins for 6.50 turbos, and I don't intend to move up to the 16's for a while. Whichever comes first between hitting 150 buyins for the 16's, or when I have reached the point where I know i've made some significant improvements to my all around game, i will move up.
Goals for Phase 1:
1. Become comfortable playing 6 tables regularly
Up until now, I have only played 4 tables. Never 1, never 2, never 5 or 6...always exactly four. The reason is that any less gets way too slow/boring for me, and any more would be a pain because of the physical real estate i had available on my old desktop monitor or crappy laptop display. Now i have a new laptop with 1900x1280 resolution and it plays 9 tables with no overlap without any problems whatsoever...I don't think i have the concentration (yet) to play 9 tables, but I know i can do 6 and thats where i intend to start. By the end of the month of september I want to have ironed out all the kinks that come along with the two additional tables, and have my time-per-decision worked out so that I never time out on any of my tables while playing six continuously.
2. Utilize all my poker software to it's fullest potential
I have always had a lot of poker software, but I never really use it. I use poker tracker to track my results, but I rarely (almost never) use it to analyze my play. I have had PokerAceHUD for the last 2 years but never run it because I was never too comfortable using the stats to my advantage. That's something i've been working on and something that I intend to nail down completely by the end of this phase of my personal challenge.
Sitngo Power Tools is another great piece of software that I just got into recently, and it's already helped me plug some leaks in my game. I intend to use this software religiously on every single hand I play past 100/200/ante where i'm not 100% confident in which action is best. This is really where all my leak plugging is going to come from, and if I ever want to crush the 60's or higher I know that this tool is going to be what gets me there...Incase you haven't realized it by now, I highly recommend it for any of you readers out there who play SNGs and don't use it already.
3. Maintain a weekly schedule without letting myself get distracted too much
I intend to play at least 15 hours of sngs per week. That's about as much as I think i can handle while still balancing in my normal 40 hr/week job, my girlfriend, and my other committments (capstone and stuff, bleh). Once co-op ends and class starts up in january I intend to try and play much more. Six tabling turbos, i figure this should put me in around 150-180 sngs/week.
In addition to my 15 hours of playing, i'm going to put in two sessions per week of SNGPT/PokerTracker analysis where I work through all my hands that I'm not sure of. I figure 2 hours per session should do the trick. I really want to make sure that i'm making profitable pushes/calls/folds on the bubble every single time without having to even think about it. This is the key ingredient in being able to play 12 tables for hours and hours...and studying is the only way to get to that point.
Geeze that turned out to be a lot more typing than i intended...Oh well, hopefully it will be worth it as this thing starts to progress. If i think of any more goals as I begin phase 1, i will add them to the list. To summarize:
-I will play 6.50 turbos, 15 hrs/week, despite being grossly over bankrolled for these games.
-I will analyze my play in SNGPT twice a week for as long as it takes to go through all of my "question hands" I will also post most of these on 2+2 STT forums for alternate opinions
-I will update this blog with my progress including games played, $ won/lost, hours logged, and any interesting hands or discussion topics that I decide are worth typing about during the course of my play
-I type faster than I think
God bless you if you actually read any of this and found it interesting in the least. Until next time.
-pat
The Beginning
Ok. The point of this blog is for me to document my poker goals, and keep track of my progress toward meeting them. Lately i've been having a problem staying focused and keeping myself in games that I can beat. I've been straying into random cash games (7-2 tripple draw, limit o8, limit stud!?) and blowing my hold'em profits as fast as I can earn them. In a recent stint of playing cash games i managed to throw away a quarter of my bankroll foolishly in games that i have no hope of winning at because I don't know how to play them... and that's something I decided needs to stop. Sooooooooooo i am inventing this blog to provide a framework for me to keep my goals in mind whenever i'm playing.
Later today i'm going to write about my new playing guidelines that i've been thinking about, including what sites/stakes/hours/# of tables/bankroll requirements etc that i'm going to play with during the next few weeks/months. I plan to update this blog at least twice a week with my progress, as well as any interesting hands or discussion topics that come up along the way.
I'm not a great writer and i tend to ramble, I apologize for that but i'm not twisting anyones arm to read this thing regularly. It's mostly for myself anyway, but hopefully some people out there can get some useful info from it. I hope you enjoy, stay tuned for the next installment.
Later today i'm going to write about my new playing guidelines that i've been thinking about, including what sites/stakes/hours/# of tables/bankroll requirements etc that i'm going to play with during the next few weeks/months. I plan to update this blog at least twice a week with my progress, as well as any interesting hands or discussion topics that come up along the way.
I'm not a great writer and i tend to ramble, I apologize for that but i'm not twisting anyones arm to read this thing regularly. It's mostly for myself anyway, but hopefully some people out there can get some useful info from it. I hope you enjoy, stay tuned for the next installment.
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