Today I won a quick $20 and bought into a satellite into the $55 buy in $50k Guarantee. I donked out early, but I am going to try to satellite into some of the tourneys. However, I think I will hold off until I get my bankroll over $1k. Should have done that today...but i did play a bit impatiently. Updates to follow after my session.
lost to the river gutshot and rivered flush for $300+ pots...I had chipped up on a few tables and then got involved in big hands. Lost them both on the river. Hopefully my luck will turn later this session, but my goal was to win a quick $100-$200. I would have been up about $400 had those two hands held up. Gonna keep plugging away!
What a crazy night...got into a big hand 3 way with QQ vs AK vs not quite sure...board had paired and was all black, so i was nervous, but the river was a queen and i filled up! won a $260 pot. Down a little, just lost to a 2 outter on the river...man, just a crazy night. Been taking some nasty beats on the river, but fighting back!
Ok, so including the buy in for the tourney I burned, I am up about 65 bucks. I was down quite a few hundred and took a few huge pots...here are a few things I have learned...
NL cash is quite a bit more aggressive. People raise with garbage and try to bluff their way to win pots. there are also quite a few people that call down with 2nd and 3rd pair. So, I need to bet my hands for value on the river when I have a solid hand. I cant get pushed off hands so easily and need to control the size of the pot. Do not build it on the flop and be very careful about playing marginal hands out of position. yes, i know these are all simple concepts, but I am violating them. I need to realize that spewing a few bucks here and there mean a lot both to your bankroll long term and your psychological state during the session as you watch your bankroll evaporate. Need to be a bit more disciplined and need to learn to get into the poker mindset earlier in my session. Play strong hands, bet your good ones and just let the crap go...learn it, live it!
So, another excellent night results-wise. I made a few bad calls that costs me a few hundred. I knew better and should have just folded...trust your gut and instinct. i am up a net of about $45. bankroll is $755 and thankfully growing. I earned well over 300 VPPs and will most likely fall short of making any VIP status this month. But, considering I started playing so late in January, I should easily make gold next month...shooting for a few of those cash bonuses or maybe a buy in to a tourney...anyway, until tomorrow!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Wow, it's been a long, LONG time!!
I have been away from poker for some time. I haven't flushed my bankroll down the toilet, but my passion for poker was waning and I had other things that I wanted to focus on. I was more focused on my job, on getting back into shape, and in the time that I was away, I had a baby boy! So, a lot has happened in the past 9 months!
I have moved to Tucson and have taken a job. I am making roughly twice what I was making 2 years ago and am loving my job. Being a father is just awesome! Life-changing is an understatement and one of the best byproducts of being a new father is the newfound discipline and sense of responsibility. I know it might seem ironic that I am talking about responsibility and all of a sudden I pop in to start up my poker blog again. My girlfriend, Penny, was considering getting a part time job, but I told her that I wanted to see if I could start up playing poker again. If she worked 20 hours per week and made like $10/hr, I told her that was just a waste of her time. That if I could start playing poker profitably again that I could make that and much more from the comfort of our own home.
How this all started was I put a few hundred bucks in Poker Stars and was messing around playing sngs. I gravitate towards those because I am an effective player. However, the game is so mechanical and there are so many people grinding sngs that I decided i would make the leap to NL. It was something I have always wanted to do and decided I would say screw the sngs and focus on playing some NL. Well, I have a starting bankroll of about $100. I started playing NL about a week ago. I am shortstacking the $1/$2 NL game. I buy in for $100 and try to grind out some dough. So far, I have had all winning sessions and have brought my bankroll to over $700. I am also shooting to make Gold Star on Poker Stars next month so I can start to work towards earning some cash bonuses to build my roll. It is all quite fun and exciting. I know I am still gambling with my bankroll due to playing well over my head. One bad run and I am pretty much toast! However, recent success has made me feel confident and I am looking to document what i have learned and put it down for me to review. I am learning with every session and I dont want to forget some of the lessons that I have paid to learn!
When I sit down, I need to remember to not force the action. Control the pot size and do not build it too quickly...be careful of playing out of position and just relax and let the game come to you. At this level, there are so many people willing to put all their cash in the middle with draws and pure bluffs that being patient is the key. I forced a little and dropped about 2/3 of a buy in tonight. I spent the rest of the night digging out of the hole I dug and then another half hour grinding out some profit. On the night, up $40 and made 213 FPPs on PS.
Look out, here I come!!
I have moved to Tucson and have taken a job. I am making roughly twice what I was making 2 years ago and am loving my job. Being a father is just awesome! Life-changing is an understatement and one of the best byproducts of being a new father is the newfound discipline and sense of responsibility. I know it might seem ironic that I am talking about responsibility and all of a sudden I pop in to start up my poker blog again. My girlfriend, Penny, was considering getting a part time job, but I told her that I wanted to see if I could start up playing poker again. If she worked 20 hours per week and made like $10/hr, I told her that was just a waste of her time. That if I could start playing poker profitably again that I could make that and much more from the comfort of our own home.
How this all started was I put a few hundred bucks in Poker Stars and was messing around playing sngs. I gravitate towards those because I am an effective player. However, the game is so mechanical and there are so many people grinding sngs that I decided i would make the leap to NL. It was something I have always wanted to do and decided I would say screw the sngs and focus on playing some NL. Well, I have a starting bankroll of about $100. I started playing NL about a week ago. I am shortstacking the $1/$2 NL game. I buy in for $100 and try to grind out some dough. So far, I have had all winning sessions and have brought my bankroll to over $700. I am also shooting to make Gold Star on Poker Stars next month so I can start to work towards earning some cash bonuses to build my roll. It is all quite fun and exciting. I know I am still gambling with my bankroll due to playing well over my head. One bad run and I am pretty much toast! However, recent success has made me feel confident and I am looking to document what i have learned and put it down for me to review. I am learning with every session and I dont want to forget some of the lessons that I have paid to learn!
When I sit down, I need to remember to not force the action. Control the pot size and do not build it too quickly...be careful of playing out of position and just relax and let the game come to you. At this level, there are so many people willing to put all their cash in the middle with draws and pure bluffs that being patient is the key. I forced a little and dropped about 2/3 of a buy in tonight. I spent the rest of the night digging out of the hole I dug and then another half hour grinding out some profit. On the night, up $40 and made 213 FPPs on PS.
Look out, here I come!!
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