Thursday 2/23/2006

Last night I was up late, obsessing over results and my gameplan. Part of successfully being a poker player is to separate yourself from results-oriented thinking. Let me explain...

As you log sngs, you track your statistics and over infinity, your statistics level out. Once you can determine approximately where this is, that should be considered your long term ROI. Of course, this is the simple version, but it gets the idea across. Therefore, if you take the number of tables you play in a day, for me this will be approx 16, multiply it buy the total buy in ($77), you will get your total invested ($1232). That is how much in buy ins I spend every night...if I make, say 15% ROI, my average daily profit is $185.

I know that sounds weird to some, but as a poker player, you cannot expect to make $185 every day. Some days it will be much, much more, some you may lose your ass! BUT, over the long term, you will average $185 a day if you can hit the previously stated numbers. So, how does this relate to results-oriented thinking?? Simple...

If I get caught up obsessing over a losing session, I need to realize it is a necessary evil in order to average whatever it is that I am averaging. $185 a day is well over what I thought I could average in a day...and it came much sooner than I ever thought it could. Problem is, my head gets me intimidated because I just feel like those numbers should not be within my reach yet...but in actuality, my hesitation is keep that number from getting bigger. I know this is a bunch of just rambling, but it makes sense to me and this is pretty much my blog to put my thoughts on paper...so I hope that anyone that actually reads this can translate this.

So...Tonight, >=16 sngs...no exceptions...get em done....get em won...make dat money!

Ok, so I am an idiot...ended up drinking some beers and watching TV and logged none! But, in my own defense, I didnt want to play while I had a solid buzz working. Plus, once the buzz wore off, I was in no mood to be playing poker. So, I am happy with my decision to not play...and I feel refreshed today and hope to win some money!!

Wednesday 2/22/2006

It is kind of frustrating that the sng tracker software isnt functioning properly for me...Well, at least i dont think it is...I dont feel like checking it out in depth because I am lazy and have other projects I need to be working on. As long as I am winning, thats all I am really concerned about.

I just check my activity, and it isnt logging all of my activity. I dont know whats up...hopefully a fix will be coming soon. My sng tracker stats are not accurate, though I wish they were!

Tonight, I decided I needed to log a minimum of 16 sngs a day until the month is over...or, 4 sets. I played 19 today and won $77, but if you include rakeback, thats an additional $35 bucks. Grinding away...

Some thoughts...

those of you that read this and know me, you all know how obsessive I can be when I get involved in something. I think about it constantly and my competitive nature comes out. The last time I challenged myself to play more sngs, I hit a huge wall and dropped over a grand. Since then, I have fully recovered, both my bankroll and my confidence. Now that there are $77s on Party, i will be 4-tabling them in sets. My goal is to play at least 4 sets a day, for 16 sngs a day, or about 112 a week. This translates to about $1500 a week. This seems like a pretty reasonable amout of time to spend playing...and a very, very nice return.

So, to make my playing more structured and consistent, I am going to play more often, meaning almost every day. I often take few days off, but it is essential to get some tables in every day. I do not like to have marathon sessions...the ONLY reason I have marathon session is if i am losing. 16 a day is a perfect amount for me...I played 19 today and feel pretty solid...not even close to being burned out. As my game progresses, it would be pretty amazing to think about how many sngs you could play if you 8 or 12-tabled...I dont even want to think about it...will get too excited and wont be able to sleep.

Tuesday 2/21/2006

Fired up a set of 2 $77s and threw a Speed $77 in there as well. I won the speed and was on the bubble in the other 2 sngs. I should have beat this guy several times heads up, but sucked out 2 straight splits against me and a bad river beat to take it down...just unreal sometimes, but thats ok, took 2nd. Bubbled out of the other one with a marginal push, but blinds were creeping and I was the shorty. Overall, super happy with a quick set taking most of last night's sting away.

Ended up playing quite a few more sngs, sucks the new sng format is messing up sng tracker, so I am not sure about how many I played or what my distribution was, but I know I won a good amount. I am up $462, so almost won everything I lose last night. Played well, then bad, then well again. finished strong with a couple 1sts and am calling it a night. Feels good to get back to winning.

Monday 2/20/2006

I am fired up and ready to go. This is a good thing...when I feel like this, i usually bring home the bacon. There is a strange feeling...a confidence and excitement that I feel every once in a while...and when i feel that way, I win. I am excited to play, but I have a lot of work to do...so I better get crackin...will update when I sit down at home and start playing.

UPDATE:

Up $110 and havent even hit the tables yet. Stopped at the casino on my way to meet up with a friend. We put our names in to play in a $30 sng satellite to enter into the Celebrity something or other tournament. It is a $35,000 guaranteed tourney, winner is guaranteed $10,000. The winner gets a free entry and $50 bucks, so I thought it would be fun to give it a go. The tables were full and the waiting list was pretty long. So, I had to go get some dough because if the tournament started, I needed to cough up $30. So, I cashed out $160 and put $100 on the blackjack table. My goal was to get up $30 really quick and pay for my buy in. But, after I got up $30 after my first 3 hands, I knew that the tourney wouldnt start for a while and played more. I ended up losing all $160! Typical Ryan fashion...I love to gamble and admit that I do pretty well at blackjack. I dont grind, I hit them for the number of units I want and run. Tonight, I just gambled and had some fun...

...So, after hitting the ATM again for a quick $100. I sit down at the $25 tables...All the other tables are full, so I figured I would really gamble and try to win my money back fast. Nice looking dealer...My friend, Al, is standing behind me the whole time. I win the first hand and ask to be paid in $5 chips and start betting $30 - $40 a hand. I win every hand until the last one of the shoe, I got there and most of it was gone, but I had won a good 5 or 6 hands and tipping well. Next shoe started, I lost the first hand and then won a bunch more. Ended up winning all my money back in about 9 hands and quit. I think I had $300 left when they switched dealers, so I quit. Ended up playing some more and winning another $70 and going home...I suppose I should log some tables.

Had a bad night. I think if I came straight home, I would have been ok. But, I went to the casino and got my gambling juices flowing. Couple that with me getting shortstacked early in one of my 4 sngs, the aggressive style I had to play on the shortstack and seeping into my game. I should have just went to bed tonight because i won a little at the casino, which I quickly gave back at the tables. It was more bad play than anything...I think I am getting too impatient. I played a few turbos to see if that would help and I won the first one I played, did well in the other 2, with another cash, 3rd. I think party poker might be down, so I cant play anymore...going to hit the sack.

Sunday 2/19/2006

Didn't play last night. Ended up going out, drinking a lot of beer, and shooting pool. Havent played pool in a while, but played decent. Some guys thought I was hustling them because I was on fire and told them I havent played in about a year...Bar tables make everyone a good pool player. Back to poker...

So, with all the new changes to Party, I decided to go to 2+2 and see what was going on. Everyone there is quite reactionary, so I figured there would be a lot of activity. There is so much good content on there, but it is mixed in with so much bullshit that its hard to see the information that is worthwhile. I think I am pretty much done with 2+2 as a resource for improving my game. I think I have the tools I need to adjust and I need to log hours and tables, not message threads. I am going to hop in the shower, clear my head, and maybe fire up some sngs.

UPDATE:

I just played 5 sngs tonight. Went 2/5 with a 1st and a 3rd. Moving up to the $77s has been refreshing because the jump to the $109s is a big one...moving from 22s to 33s can just take a few days of running well...same for the $33s to the $55s. but, the jump from the $55s to the $109s has been taking a while. While obsessing over my desire to jump buy ins, i have put a lot of thought into this. But, the introduction of the $77s helps me build the bankroll faster to get to my target.

So, while thinking about when I should make the jump, I realized that many have said you only need 30 buy ins. I agree because my biggest downswing has been less than 20. BUT, if I were faced with having to fire up a few more sngs (at the same buy in) after losing two thirds of my bankroll, I dont know if I could. For me, I am foregoing the fast approach for the safe one. The ironic thing is, compared to most, I am a pretty risky person. Compared to poker players, I'm pretty conservative. Right now, I am bankrolled for the $215s, but I am playing the $77s. I really, really want to be making the money that the $215 players make, but I want to get there and never have to drop down. Instead of jumping up buy ins so fast, here is how I build my roll and why I take such a conservative approach.

When I am playing a certain level, for instance the $77s, I want to master this level where I understand the nuances of that particular level. So, as I acquire this information, I want to use it to its fullest because it is expensive information to get. So, I maximize the amount I win at each level so I can give myself a chance to learn the new level's nuances. Therefore, even if I go on a losing streak the moment I move up buy ins, I can still handle it without every worrying about my bankroll. I do not get nervous if I have 80 buys ins. So, if I have a 20 buy in downswing, which is equal to my biggest, I still have 80 buy ins and have no worries...much of poker is psychological and I want the impact of my bankroll to have no bearing on my style or level of play. By taking this approach, I give myself the best possible scenario to succeed when I move up. AND, if I go on a losing streak, I NEVER HAVE TO DROP DOWN A LEVEL TO WIN MY MONEY BACK AT HALF THE PACE IN WHICH I LOST IT! I just dont understand how people can stomach doing that.

Saturday 2/18/2006

Been evaluating my progress, both for this month, year, and overall. I admit that I am new to playing poker as a business, but not new to poker. After reading so much on the different forums, I just figured I was experiencing some good luck and was hoping to sustain my run for as long as possible. Then, I realized that a lot of the people telling me that I was most likely not a winning player were losing players themselves...and those that were not losing players were not winning very much. I am blowing by people that used to talk trash about my game. I have been playing and keeping my stats since April 2005. I am finally convinced I am a long term, profitable player. I no longer worry about what anyone says about my game, nor do I care whether people think I am a good player. BOTTOM LINE: I now have the confidence in my game where I believe I can continue to grow my bankroll.

Poker is a funny game. Your game seems to be only as good as your confidence...and your confidence is a delicate balance between good cards, solid play, decent luck, and positive results. the sad thing is, it only takes one of the four aspects to fall off to completely kill all confidence. With so many variables affecting the success of your poker game, it is easy to see why it is such a tough way to make a consistent living. The only thing you can do is look at your history and, assuming you are truly a profitable player, you should just continue to play your game and the results will come.

the next logical question is, how do I know if I am a profitable player? That is a much harder question. Do I need 1000 sngs logged to determine whether I am a long term winner, or do I need 10,000. Obviously, the more sngs logged, the more reliable your numbers. However, we obviously want to know whether we are winning players before we have logged 1000 sngs, muchless 10,000.

well, I have listed all the reasons I have had doubt in my game and the thought process I have been going through the past 10 months. Am I going to be a long term winner? Am I a good player? Will I be able to move up in buy in and still remain successful? All these questions, and doubts, enter your mind to keep you focused and humble. I think I am finally past doubting my skills and need to focus more on my gameplan.

I guess this post is the first time since I started blogging over 9 weeks ago that I feel like this blog is going to be around next month, or next year for that matter. I feel like I am the only thing that can stop me from getting to where I want to be...if it is up to me and my discipline, then there is a lot of fun to be had in the near future. So, I wanted to celebrate that today.

Friday 2/17/2006

Cashed out a little last night...hate to touch the bankroll, but only took out $300 for some bills...it really is my rakeback, so thats ok...not touching the meat yet!

So, last weekend I failed miserably and played less than 10 sngs when my goal was like 50. I get into these ruts..usually last a day or two, but I have no desire to play. Poker, for someone like me, is a very competitive endeavor. That constant pressure and game play wears on me and I think this is my mind's way of telling me that I am burned out and to take a break. I really try not to play when my head and heart arent in it. I find that when I push it too hard, I play when I shouldnt and end up losing. Then, when I am refreshed, I have to waste a session getting back to even before I get a chance to make some money. so, less may be more in terms of playing...get quality hours logged and I find my stats reflect the quality of my play, not quantity. I still think logging 5 sets of 4-tables is pretty easily doable with some discipline in the other aspects of my life. On second thought, I am starting to think that 4 sets of 5 tables might be better. I have been playing 4 tables pretty easily...thinking about adding a 5th pretty soon...but would like to build my roll a bit more. I am very conservative in my approach in terms of buy in and the # of buy ins before I move up. I would like 100 buy ins before I start to add another table...so when I hit $7700, I will add a 5th table, until I hit $11,000, then I will drop down to 2 tables and work my way back up to 5.

GAMEPLAN:

I need to log a min of 16 sngs a day from here on out for the rest of the month. About a month ago when I made this statement on my blog, it started a tail spin that I have finally recovered from. But, I would like to start setting end of the month goals to help me make a push at least one week a month. Here is what hitting my goals would mean to me and my bankroll:

If I hit my goal, I will log 176 sngs @ $55. If I can play these at 15% ROI, that would net me $1,452 plus over $200 in rakeback. Definitely a nice close to the month...Party put up some $77s yesterday, but they only have PL games. I hope they open them up to the NL sngs.

OK, a few changes. They opened up the $77s to NL, so I figured I had a nice run at the $55s lately, why change up. I opened up with a set of 4 $55s...went 0/4!! Started up a set of $77s and went 4/4, 3 1sts and a 3rd. Mad at myself because my third place was a bad push because I got impatient. In retrospect, that frustrates me because 4 firsts would have been sweet to start my run on the $77s. I will never take a battle in the money for granted again! 2 sets done, up $662. I think 2 sets says it all! I'm done for the night and going to enjoy my best week ever. From Monday through Friday, I netted over $1800. A solid finish to the month will put me in a great position to move up to the $109s at the end of March and perfectly on pace to bankroll myself for a trip to Vegas for the World Series this summer!

Thursday 2/16/2006

Party found a way to mess things up again. First, they kill the skins. Then, they change their rules so they will eliminate rakeback. I gotta figure out what this means for me...how the game will change and stuff...and i just won abotu a grand over the past 3 nights...was locked in! Damn!!!

Started a set of 3 $11s on Empire and took a 1st and a 2nd. Thinking about trying out a few on Party Poker...not sure what I am getting myself in to.

Ok, just logged my first few sets on the NEW AND IMPROVED Party Poker. I am down 1 buy in, and I played horribly for about 3 of those buy ins, so not too bad. Should have been up about 45, but I got sucked out against heads up and took 2nd...not too much different, but not sure yet. Gonna fire up a few more after a short break.

2:00 Am and I am just finished up. I believe I played 16 sngs...cashed in all 4 of my final set, but two 2nds and two 3rds unfortunately. but up again...so the new format isnt so bad...I think it might be good for me to adjust to a slightly different variation or format...my game seems to translate and adapt...things are good...cards are falling just the right way...lets hope it continues.

Wednesday 2/15/2006

I used to read a lot of discussions about bankroll management. The area that particularly interested me was how many buy ins was enough to ensure a solid transition to the next level of sngs, with little chance to crap out. I have heard as low as 30 buy ins and as many as 100. Considering I am more of a gambler than many poker players, I tend to me much more conservative here. I figure if I can get 100 buy ins, my Risk of Ruin is very low. I believe once I read 100 buy ins, I will never have to ever step down, even when I have a few bad runs, i will never have to drop down a buy in and win back my money at half the pace I lost it at. I think it is very important to for me to have that comfort level.

When I decided to plays more sngs @ the $55 level, I deviated from my plan. I had about 60 buy ins and felt that a 30 buy in downswing is probable, but 60 is highly, highly unlikely. So, I "Gambled." I felt underbankrolled for the $55s when I had about $3k in my poker account. Well, today I hit my 100 buy ins for the $55s, so that is great news!! I believe I am a solid winner on the $55s and have my sights set on the $109s. I need to build my roll another $2500 bucks to get me to around $8000. Then, i will allow myself to play a few to start getting my feet wet.

The thought of 4-tabling the $109s is very tempting and after running some numbers, it could prove to be very, very profitable. Just as exciting is that at that level, I could start to enter some of the bigger buy in tourneys. Those are some big paydays. I have found some decent success in MTTs and want to get a lucky run in a bigger buy in tourney...$10k in one lump sum would be sweet...so far, my biggest tourney cash was just over $2500, after subtracting the buy in, it still netted me over $2500.

UPDATE:

Played 7 sngs so far. 2 2nds and a 1st...so a good start. Trying to keep this great momentum going. But I am going to relax and call it a night...have to be happy winning $165 in about 2 hours. Up almost a grand the past 3 nights!!!

Last night I read some Harrington on Hold 'Em. Read about the first 75 pages in the first sitting, which is amazing for me. I am not a big reader...I do not read for pleasure. I read for information and to learn. I found this book to be pretty amazing so far...hopefully will learn a lot. For me, because I have been playing a while, I am confident in my ability. But, it was often an unstructured game we played, so it is hard for me to gauge how my game stacks up to the good online and tourney players. I seem to do well online at sngs...seem to be profitable at the $55s and am enjoying playing. I am sooo excited to move to the $109s...My game seems to be coming together and my confidence couldnt be higher...cosmic forces are aligning.

I have always been someone that would like to track his progress. So, last April when I decided that I was going to try to make playing poker a real second job, I started to document my progress. When my spreadsheet was in about the 8th month, I was surprised I was still tracking my results. I was still going at it months later. Usually, I would have crapped out or lost discipline and blew my roll. I admit I lost some discipline early on in my playing, but I tighten things up and started to go about this in a very serious manner. When I mentally committed to giving sngs a shot...or playing a high enough volume where great money can be made, I decided to start this blog. Hopefully, like my spreadsheet, my blog will be around in 8 months and I will be reflecting on how far I have come. For the time being, I am going to enjoy my 3rd month of blogging and hoping for more favorable results.

I'm counting down...$2300 bucks short of my next jump in buy ins...

Tuesday 2/14/2006

Still feeling confident about last night. I am playing well and my cards are holding up, even caught a few suckouts! I havent played yet today, but as I was in the shower, it got me to thinking about poker, my recent downswing, and my recovery from it. My second major downswing is in the books and it rattled me pretty good. Confidence was SHOT! Patience were SHOT! Temper was FLARING! Honestly, I think that downswing and some of the events afterwards helped me immensely...Here's how.

After I decided to make a push and start playing more sngs, about a month ago, I have been struggling to remain as profitable as I would have liked, but thank god still profitable. January started out nicely, good profits and solid returns. But, as I increased the number of sngs I played, I found my ROI and ITM% drop, and that lead my $$/hr to plunge. I think I have found a reason for this.

I blamed it on variance and bad luck, with some occaisional bad play. When I start to go on a losing streak, say no cashes in 5 or more, I start to play my "A" game to stop the slide and start to climb out of the hole. This usually works and after a few hours, I'm up and hitting the sack. Sometimes, the slide continues and that's when I think my play can start to fall apart. Well, that is what I used to blame it on. As you remember, my laptop was out of commission for about a week. After playing on my desktop, away from everyone and all the normal household distractions, I have a different answer.

Yes, I did get pretty damn unlucky during that losing streak, no doubt. I would see AA or KK in front of me and see it as a death sentence...a hand I was committed to playing and just knowing it was going to get cracked! I started to alter my play, tighen up, loosen up, aggressive post flop...whatever I could do and I was doing about the same...breaking even. Then I started to climb out of the hole slowly. Things started to come back to normal and my hands were holding up. So, here is where I think the cards started to run as they should...and the bad luck was pretty much gone. I mean, sure these terms are just silly...what is bad luck really? I guess just variance, so lets call it that. Now, it was up to me to play well and recover from the beating I took a few days ago. That is when the laptop went out.

So, I didnt play for a few days...but then I realized I needed to play and had to suck it up and play at the desktop. I resized my screen to 1600X1200 and fired up 3 sngs. did pretty well, fired up some more. Now, the laptop is back, but im still on the desktop. All of the distraction in the living room (TV, people, conversations, etc) were definitely distracting me. I think of it like this...when I am in 3 sngs and itm or on the bubble in all of them, sometimes I fixate on one sng more than the others. typically it is because I am heads up and want to get 1st. But, with the tables so empty, blinds come fast. Next thing I know, I am short stack on my other tables. That is how I play sngs when in the living room. Not enough of my attention is on the game...lack of respect. I have been playing at the desktop this month and my returns have gone back to where I want them (>15%). I have pulled back on number I have been playing, but that is because I am trying to build my roll...remember, goal is to hit $8000, then dabble in the 109s.

UPDATE:

Getting started here...just fired up my first 3.

Well, I finished my set with 2 firsts! Up $335 tonight, so I might not play anymore. It is a nice boost to the bankroll, so I will just be happy with my night.

In the first one I won, I was shortstacked for awhile and was definitely the shortstack on the bubble, but the dominant chip leader took out the 2nd stack when the dude rode top pair and lost to the pocket overpair held by the chip leader. I was heads up now, and with about 1100 chips. I kept pushing...got like K7 or K8 every hand and kept pushing...got to about 3000 chips and i pushed the AKs into him and he called with pocket 10s. I caught a king and took it down from there.

The second one I won, I was down to about 450 chips. I pushed when blinds were 75/150 and just kept up the momentum. After I fought back to about 1000 chips, I got into a three way pot with JJ. It held up and I jumped into the chip lead and took it down from there. Great night...

Monday 2/13/2006

Just relaxing for now. Going to play some later.

Got going...played 3 $55s on party and got 1st, 3rd, and 5th. Played 2 $11s on Empire and got a 2nd and a 4th. In a $40+4 MTT on party. about to come up on first break...

I have pretty much folded every hand. I think in the first 50 minutes, I played one hand, raising in position and picked up a few blinds. Had AK and raised to 200, got 2 callers and one paid me off to the end when I flopped a king and he called me to the river with 2nd best pair. Doubled me up, so right now, unless something happens soon, I will hit the first break just under the average. I am used to coming on slow...when I do well, I usually make my move after the first and second breaks. 2 minutes until break, I am coming up on the big blind...looks like i will have about 1660 chips at the first break.

Half way through the second session and I had a nice suck out. I had A9 up against 10 10. we get it all in on turn, and i catch a river 9. as soon as that hand finished, i got moved, so i didnt have to hear any shit hahahaah!!! Anyway, doing well, about 1k over the average. I have 4820 and the average is just about 3600. Looking to play a few monsters before 2nd break.

Coming up on second break. After my last post, I went completely card dead. I had A10s in middle position and raised to 3xbb and bought the blinds. Thank god too because i havent had anything to play. I am hoping we get down to 20 soon so i can start to make a few more moves...just folded to me on my big blind...sweet. update at break.

Sitting at 4520 after the 2nd session. Lost 300 chips in the last half hour. I got moved again, my 3rd time, and I just couldnt catch a hand. looking to limp into money and then press...

Ok ITM with just under 4000 in chips. Need to make a move or get a hand. They are dropping like flies though...chip leader just took out the 3rd biggest stack and has a huge lead. Of course, i am on his right!

Final table, I am 6th in chips, but a long, long way from getting near the leaders.

Nice suck out. I had 10 7 s on button and pushed. Been getting blinded away. Dude calls me and he has AKo, I caught a 7 and doubled up. Sitting around with 11k in chips...have a little to work with...lets see what i can do. 7 left. 5th is almost $400 bucks and there are 2 shorters stax than me...going to try to ensure that payday...then push like a crazy man. Took 6th...made 312, so netted like 268...nice.

Sunday 2/12/2006

Really a wasted day. I am watching the Winter Olympics and just relaxing. I will be playing some poker here soon. and I have some homework to do for my project...Essentially, my project is me coordinating the development of a piece of software. I look at it like it is my business and I am developing my product. Cool thing is, I never has to sell or let anyone else use my product because it will make me money. But, the potential to make money once I open it to the public will be amazing. so, off to play and get some work done.

Fired up 2 $55 sngs, a $55 MTT, and the $22 $10k Guaranteed on Party. Busted out of the 2 sngs and the $55 MTT. Have 2 more sngs fired up and still in the $10k. Not playing well...need to get my head focused!

Just busted out of the $10k with AA vs A10, guy flopped 2nd best pair and thought it was good apparently. on to sngs...

Ended up playing 9 sngs and won $28 overall tonight. I lost $77 in MTT tourney buy ins, so if I didnt splurge on those, I would have been up over $100 on sngs. So thats pretty solid. I know I shouldnt be playing tourneys yet, but I have been feeling good about my game and have had some success in them recently. Played poorly in the $55 and got unlucky in the $22...

I need to get some live action going pretty soon. In the few times I have played live, it was a different experience. Obviously, if I ever want to get better, I need to learn to develop this part of my game...so this month, I have to get my ass down to a tourney. Going to start reading Harrington On Hold 'Em Volume I. I had also bought Phil Hellmuth's Play Poker Like the Pros. Terrible read and not very much information. Pretty piss poor excuse from the self proclaimed best poker player in the world.

Saturday 2/11/2006

Getting started around 7:15 tonight. Just playing 2 $11s on Empire. Going to ease into the night with some low stress, low stakes sngs.

Played 3 $11s and took a first...just chillin...hopefully log some $55s later.

I have found there are quite a few nights where I am not feeling up to playing poker. But, I need to play and log a certain number per month. Previously, I had struggled to play 150 a month. Those days are behind me, but I am still finding it challenging to stay on pace to log 300+ a month. I need some more structure...and I am working on that. I am also spending a lot of time thinking about my side project. Great things are happening and hopefully in a month or two things will get going. The project became more complex, much better, but come complex. It also adds a different spin to the original plan...but one that allows me to open it up to the public, which excited me.

Anyway, I digress. What I wanted to say was that I have been logging $11 sngs on Empire when I havent been in the mood to play. I have had a lot of success on those and am trying to build my bankroll there. I would like to play smaller stakes there while my main income will be generated from the $55s on Party. Since I started dabbling on Empire again, my return has gone up on Party and have a sick return on Empire (over a tiny sample size.)

Bottom line, good things...I think a good game plan...an amazing project on the horizon...

Friday 2/10/2006

Today is my Mom's brithday! Happy birthday MOM!

Just finished importing my hand histories into SNG Tracker. I had half a night's worth in there (8 sngs), for the first 5 hours of February, but then the laptop went down and I couldnt upload my hand histories. Now that I had a chance to get them updated, I got a chance to look at my first 9 days of February. Here are the vitals:

71 sngs
18% ROI
37% ITM

I have been pretty money late in tourneys lately, my ITM from the bubble % is sitting at 95% for the first 9 days...so I guess that means I need to start getting deeper in the sngs and giving myself a chance to take advantage of the bubble advantage I have been enjoying this month.

I am taking tonight off. Just going to sit back and relax. Just finished uploading my hand histories from empire poker into SNG Tracker...not much, just 9 tourneys, but 5 cashes.

Going to set a goal for this weekend...I would like to play at least 40 sngs, shooting for 50.

Thursday 2/9/2006

Today is my Grandpa's birthday, so I wish him a very happy birthday!

Just getting the start of my entry for Thursday going. I think I am playing much better lately. I liked how I finished out the night. I think I started out down 5 buy ins, so I came back from that. I think if I can sit down and be "on" from my first sng, that will be a big step for me. Usually by the time I start playing solid poker, I have just recovered from my donk-session and have pulled myself out of the hole. Need to concentrate on that for today!

Playing much better tonight. Had a rough stretch in the middle...started out addressing my weak play when I start my sessions. I had a 2nd in my first set (remember, 3-tabling), so was down juice. Took a 3rd in my 2nd set and was feeling ok. Then went about 0-7 and fired up a final set of 3. Hit 3 1sts on my last set to end up +$245 at its not even midnight!!! I know the 4-tablers call 4 firsts a grand slam, but I got my first as a 3-tabler!

Made some nice progress on a project I am working on...It is becoming more involved, but I think things are coming together. I have a small army of people working on this with me...not because I am paying them, but because they believe in the idea and believe it will produce enough to allow us to support ourselves. I surrounded myself with some bright people with exceptional talent, so to know I have their critical eyes looking at this project and still wanting to volunteer to make it happen...I am encouraged! Going to get to work...these people are night owls, so 2:45 AM is right in the middle of the workday!

Wednesday 2/8/2006

I must admit some feelings of guilt for not playing too much poker so far in February. The little bit of time I have played, I have done well. Maybe there is something to this playing smarter, not longer line of thinking. Most of what I have learned about playing poker as a business is from what I have read on 2+2. Problem is, it is all the same advice, packaged differently from varying levels of understanding. There are many on that site that have no idea what they are talking about, but they know what the "respected" posters say, so they echo that. Personally, I take what I want from them, and disregard the rest. Many on 2+2 mention that not caring about the individual sng is ok because over the long haul, it isnt about the individual sng, its about long term ROI & $$/HR. While I do understand that, I still believe every sng deserves my best effort. So, I think that is part of the reason I play less than those on 2+2. On the other hand, I think I should be able to log 350 sngs this month. So far, I think I have about 25.

Played a good 12-15 sngs already tonight...still looking to get 12 more in before hitting the sack. Just relaxing and 3-tabling. Had a 1st and a 3rd in the last set, but still down 2 buy ins. Started slow, but heating up!

Just getting started...have 2 $55s open on Party and in a $55 MTT. Just getting started...

Even right now in the tourney...pretty much card dead and hit one hand to cover my blinds. Bubbled out of both sngs I was playing. Fired up 2 more...just some bad timing...playing well. Very relaxed and focused...I am liking right now.

Still at it. Playing 3 at a time and taking a 2nd in each set to keep me even, less vig. Still down a couple buy ins, but playing well. Getting caught here and there and hands are holding up a bit better tonight. Had a nice suckout that lead to a win...so all in all, a solid night. I can tell I control the outcome of my sngs by how well I play. I just need to keep that level of discipline up so I quit losing due to stupid mistakes. I still see them...and it is frustrating. This last set went pretty well. Going to fire up a few more after a break.

Ended the night on a nice run and am up $15 playing sngs and down $55 from my MTT. Got a little jumpy and pushed AK into a big pot on the last hand before the break. Figured I would either bust out or go into the break with a very healthy chip stack. I guess we all know which way it turned out. Logged a bunch tonight...hopefully keep it up tomorrow!

Tuesday 2/7/2006

Just getting started for the day. Just not finding the fire I need to play $55s right now, so I fired up the $1k Guaranteed on Empire. I spoke with a local friend of mine today, Al, and we decided we wanted to work on our live, tourney games. I am excited to give that a shot. I really like playing tourneys online though. It is so nice to have everyone's chip counts in front of them and have real time access to all the necessary information. I really miss that in the live game. But, it is all a skill and I cannot get better at it if I do not start playing more live...so we have made a commitment to play at least one live tourney this month...I am hoping to get in two a month, and depending on my results, hopefully more...

Ok, so on to the tournament!

So I busted on AJ in the tourney...ran into AK. no worries...I would say I played poorly in the few hands I did play. I dont think I should multitable MTTs because I just have to be locked in. But, I did play 2 sngs while I played the tourney and took 1st and 3rd, so up about $40 bucks and have my Empire account over $200 bucks! I will be playing Party later...grinding some $55s!

Up $75 on Party. A first and a third in 5 sngs. Just chilling for now, its early. Will probably fire up another set soon.

Didnt play any more today...so I ended the night up just over $100 on the two sites combined. Rakeback came in today, so that was a nice treat! Hoping to log a strong 20 sngs tomorrow...my website is running now, so let's see how it goes...but this was something that I have been trying to get off the ground for a few years, so very exciting news for me.

Monday 2/6/2006

It has been a hectic week here to kick off February. My bro just left, so he has been in town since Thursday. Tonight is a friend of mine's birthday, so we will be celebrating that...I sure hope to get some sngs in by tomorrow. I have been slowly building my Empire account, but I need to make some bacon. I think I will fire some up tonight...

Sunday 2/5/2006

Not really playing tonight. Hopefully will get a power cable for the laptop this week because I do not really enjoy playing poker at the desktop computer. Played some $11s on Empire tonight. Wasnt looking to play a lot tonight...just looking to see how my change of scenery affects my game. I am in the $1k guarantee on Empire...$20+2, 60 entries, pays top 8 with the winner taking home $360.

At the first break, I had 2510 and the average was 2400. Looking ok...had one big hand and folded the rest. Lets see if I can double up at least once here in the next half hour and make a push for the money.

2nd break...sitting at 7500, which is 1500 above average. One dude just got crippled in 2nd hand after the 2nd break...so one down...one more to the money! sitting in a good spot...I WILL FOLD TO THE MONEY IF I HAVE TO!!

Ok, in the money. Sitting 4th in chips with 6 to go...

Took 4th. Was on the shortstack and pushed 66 on button...called by AK and king hit the flop...i did get an open ended straight draw by the turn, but missed. Anyway, netted $98 bucks on that tourney...was fun!

I have taken the free $10 bucks Empire gave me and have it up to $166...solid progress!

Saturday 2/4/2006

I guess this really isnt Saturday anymore. I was hanging out with my brother and my friend Ben that moved down here and we got the UFC Pay per view tonight. Was pretty cool...getting my first few sngs of the month in right now. 3-tablings, lets see how it goes.

About 1:40 and I am getting tired. I played 1 set and finished 1st, 3rd, and 6th, so not bad. I had a feeling playing at night is a good move for me. Whatever the reason, I play much better late at night. Going to call it a night, just happy to get my first few of the month in and have a solid night. Hands held up. Couldnt believe it when a guy raised UTG and I pushed AKs on the button. He called me with KQo and my hand held up. Those are the kinds of hands I had been losing with regularity, so they were really killing my bankroll...February started nice, lets see if I can keep it rolling tomorrow.

Good luck to Ric...hope you're killing! I've been out of commission for a bit...catch up with ya in a few days...

Thursday 2/2/2006

Might not be playing or updating quite as much in the next day or two. I have to go get a new power cable for my laptop because last night it was sparking! I do not like playing at my desktop, but it actually might be better for my bankroll if I did because it would get me away from the TV while I play.

Going to get started later...going to update last night's entry.

Wednesday 2/1/2006

Just getting started...fired up my first sng. Thinking about some goals for February. I will post them later...

UPDATE:

Well, things are just throwing me lately. Here is a typical shitty way I lose and bust out of sngs. I have AA with 6 people left, 900 chips. I push, get called by 2 people. I am called by AKo and A9s. I lose when the board reads 88995...just unreal.

Ok, so things got interesting later in the night. I got really pissed off after a decent downswing. I mean really pissed. A few good things...I was able to control my frustration pretty well. I decided to only play 2 sngs and to play those 2 sngs in sets. I think that is a big thing for me mentally...I need to play in sets. I was playing 2 tables and opening a new one when I busted out or won one. I think that is a situation where I do not do well. I need the small break between sets, the satisfaction of enjoying my win, a little time to digest, and it just adds a little structure. So, I think sets is imperative to my success. I played more aggressive a little earlier than usual. Pushed to pick up some blinds and kept my stack well above average. That allowed me to take a few chances, and therefore a few hits, survive and cash!! Later at night, when there were under 29k people playing on Party, I seem to do very well. I usually could cash in 1 of 2 and took down a 1st and 2nd along with a 3rd in my final 3 sets. I pretty much got back to even for the night after a terrible start, so I am very happy about last night. I think I identified some of my problems and really solidified the value of what I preach to myself. Hopefully tomorrow will be a good night...not sure if I will play much...my bro is coming in from New Orleans and I have to get him from the airport at 11 tomorrow night.

Tuesday 1/31/2006 - Month In Review

So I pretty much took yesterday off. Ended up hanging out with my friend Ben and then got home a little too buzzed and late to play poker...at least profitably.

Tonight I am not going to push it to make up for last night...I am going to take it easy and maybe play a few, but I wanted to just end the month on a relaxing note. I made money this month, maybe not quite as much as I wanted.

I have been thinking about how my play has changed since I started playing more sngs. My ROI is down, so I am not exactly sure if that means my game does not translate well to me playing a higher volume and paying less attention to each game. I know when I feel like I am in the zone, I see everything on the table. I wish I knew how to turn that on and off, but when I am in the zone, I know I will win...the only question is how much. I think that January showed me some tough love...positive movement in the bankroll, but a big downswing and a very long stretch of tough beats. So February will help me understand whether it was truly just variance, or whether I need to take some serious time and re-evaluate my game. Not that continual evaluation is bad, but I honestly believe that once I am able to play the $109s profitably, I will have very little desire to change my game. I am not quite sure whether I am going to be willing to move up because such big profits can be attainted at the $109s, but when my bankroll is at $20k, I am sure I will be playing the $215s...it would be silly not to.

Playing well, but the bad beats are just horrible. I lost on the river in at least 4 sngs tonight. Been playing well, just cant understand how I can continue to lose hands where I am a dominant favorite...need to keep cool.

Played 2 more and took 2 2nds, so that helped take the sting out of tonight. Im down 5 buy ins.

I ended the month on a terrible downswing. I had a still believe I am playing solid, but just not getting very lucky when the river hits. I have been getting destroyed on the river...but these things will balance out. I had a few suck outs, but then again, i got sucked out against heads up and he ended up going on to beat me. This month, I am up over $1000 including rakeback. Considering I was up nearly $2k about two thirds of the way through the month, this is a disappointing finish. But I have to look on the bright side, I won for the month. I think part of the reason I am putting so much emphasis on my numbers this much is because I am still trying to figure out how I will end up long term. I would like to figure out what my typical ROI will be, and the more I have been playing, the more it has dropped. Need to get a good start to February!

Monday 1/30/2006

Tired. Going to get my first few going. Crapped out today. Played 2 $11 sngs on Empire. A 3rd and crapped out, so down vig. Just chilling. Going to get it going tomorrow.

Sunday 1/29/2006

About to get started here, nothing exciting. Updates to follow.

Took a 6th and a 2nd, so not bad. I did well in the one where I placed 6th, but the unorthodox play from some of the players through me off. I knew they were not very solid players, calling preflop raises for HALF THEIR STACK with J10s. But, knowing that, I need to play a bit tighter...however, I was playing pretty tight due to the very loose calling range on these guys, but I think when I stick a 5xBB preflop raise, they just see it as a weak bet, level 1, its only 75 chips. Therefore, you see a lot of action and a lot or reraises with marginal hands. In my head, I am thinking he must have a monster when in reality, he probably has a worse holding than me. Seems like when you finally get a great hand, say QQ or KK and raise, only to get reraised, then I push and they call with their A7o and hit their ace. I KNOW, I KNOW, these people make the game profitable, quit bitching! Honestly, not really complaining about them at all, just venting frustrations.

One thing I need to learn is to deal with downswings better. Mentally and emotionally, I am not equipped to handle this sort of thing, so this will be another major hurdle for me. I have had a lot of success in overcoming hurdles in poker and life in general, but now that it has an effect on my income, it will be fun to watch my progress...and there is a great way to quantify my progress...BANKROLL BABY!

UPDATE:

Just finished up. Was frustrated early because I started out pretty cold. Mostly due to my mind being elsewhere. I buckled down and finished strong 1st, 3rd, 3rd, 1st in my last 4 to end the night up $205. I think I got a little too crazy on the 3rds. I pushed the edges a little too hard and busted when I still had a pretty healthy stack (>2200 chips). I think that got to me a little and I played a pretty loss bubble, got a big stack, and took that momentum into the money and won it. Very satisfying that I have logged my third straight winning night after my downswing.

Saturday 1/28/2006

Looking back on the past few days, I have come up with a few thoughts. I am playing well early...I think I am pressing too much on the bubble. I am making good moves and making excellent calls, but when I call a push with a solid hand and have the guy dominated preflop, I end up losing and my good call nets me an early exit...I busted in 5th with a good stack I pushed 88 over the top of a guy I knew had a mediocre hand. He called with KQo, suicide if you ask me and hit 2 kings. My mistake for making a move. Still plugging away, gonna chill on bubble a bit and quit pressing the action.

It's about 20 mins after I posted this and just won a sng. I did exactly what I said, tightened up my play on the bubble and did well.

10 mins after the few lines I wrote I finished another sng in 1st. I think I have identified my problem...Bubble play. I was too loose!

Early in the month, I was busting a lot in 8th place. I mean, >20% were 8th place finishes. So, I thought I needed to play a little more intelligently and tighter early in the sngs and that really helped me get deeper. When I started to 3 and 4 table the sngs, I think I was pushing too hard on the bubble and couldn't figure out why I was not making any dough! Pretty much one of two things were happening in my sngs.

• Either I was playing too tight and when I choose my spot, I let myself get a bit too shortstacked and people would call and suck out. But, I did see some fuckin crazies calling with crap. On the last sng I won, I pushed K9s and was called by the big stack with K8o!! My hand held up and I went on to finish it up and take it down, but I just can't believe some of the stuff I see on the $55s.
• Or, I would play very well early, double up within the first 25 hands and then I would get too aggressive and bust.

Thing is, I think just poor luck in terms of the cards that hit the board were the biggest reason I ended up with a losing streak. I have to admit I could have played better, but I think I have made a few tweaks in the past 2 days and not only stopped my hemorrhaging of my bankroll, but had a winning night!

Just cashed in an $11 sng on empire to get my roll to $88 on there. I've cashed in 4 straight. Those players on the $11s are just plain terrible. If anyone mentioned their horrible play, they get very defensive. There was a conversation on the table and of course I had to join in. Anyway, they all thought they were playing well. I called a 7xbb raise, very reluctantly, but I realized I was playing against donks and thought I would just see the flop. I flopped the nut straight, but there were 2 hearts on board, so I raised about a quarter of the pot and got called, jack comes on turn to make the board 10 J Q K. I figure I am gonna split the pot and saw the guy called all the big pre-showdown raises with A8o. Peddle nuts on the $11s!!! The play is so bad and predictable that I am considering some 4-tabling challenges on the $11. Maybe play a few hundred in a week and see what I can do.

Quick update, playing in the Empire $200 freeroll. These are pretty fun...you push early and try to double up. I was able to hit a pretty fat hand early and got really lucky so far. Already itm and I have a fat stack. Blinds are 5000/10000 and I am on button after the break....so I should be in a great position to sit tight and wait for a hand to push on.

Friday 1/27/2006

Started out messing around today. I used to play on Empire poker, but after the split between Party and the Skins, I started to play on Party. I was worried the skins would end up dying off and all the fish were playing on Party. I had $3 bucks in my Empire account and they gave me $10 free. So, I went and played an $11 sng and took 3rd, then a $22 and took 3rd. So, I had $40 bucks, but they took the $10 free back, so I had $30 when I logged on today. I just played an $11 and won it, so I am up to $69 from my $3! I have to admit, I have had amazing luck when I start building a bankroll. Those of you that have read my blog know that I usually start with a $50 deposit and work my way up...this time, it was $3 bucks and a $10 deposit. I find the $11 so amazingly basic right now, I am considering dropping to the $11s and $22s and playing like 1200 sngs a month...but I am obviously going to play the $55s. It gives me a lot of confidence to know I am dominating when I play the $11s and $22s, so I know my risk of ruin with my current bankroll is very low. Considering my rakeback account now holds enough to bankroll me with over 30 buy ins for the $11s, this is a very encouraging sign. Although I had a horrible run this week, I am in good spirits and ready for the weekend.

Gonna take a short break...good luck to my buddies Ric and Al as they continue to grind! Here is to a great, profitable weekend!

Thursday 1/26/06

I am doing alright. Definitely stopped the bleeding and have started to cash with a little more regularity. Still taking a lot of horrible beats when it really hurts. I just lost A10 to K8. He had the chips, but I defintely had the play on him. I am becoming more aware of my losing streak as a necessary step in my development. I must admit there are cosmic forces at play, so these must be pretty few and far between (I'm hoping!) I can pretty consistently losing consistently on the bubble with very strong hands, only to get rivered. If that doesn't happen, I go card dead when we hit 4 or 5 people and the blinds climb to 150/300 and hit you ever 5 hands...just tough, tough situations and I am still hanging in there. Lets see how the night finishes...

Well, finished the night with a bad beat and exactly even. Not too bad. Appears that I not only have stopped the bleeding, but came out a little ahead overall tonight. Perfectly even over 10 sngs, but up $13 in rakeback. Good for the confidence and the game is starting to come back from Bizarro world. It isn't just the bad beats that I take that have been really hurting my bankroll, it is the constant suckouts that the shortstack makes on the bubble. I have been on the bubble on level 1o several times now...and everyone is feeling it too because everyone is so tight...no one calls a push and it takes people forever to get themselves to call a push, even with premium hands. I hope things settle down soon, but I guess thats just part of the game.

Wednesday 1/25/2006

Well, I stopped the bleeding tonight. I am pretty happy with the way the end of the night went. I had a bunch of 2nd place finishes and a few firsts today. Playing a lot of sngs is not going to be very difficult for me anymore. So I have quickly, and very effectively, overcome that problem. However, I am in the midst of my first major downswing. It hurts...I believe I am playing well...a few moments of indescretion that I prefer not to relive are mixed in there because the suck outs and bad beats were getting to me. I have heard about 20 and 30 buy in downswings and knew that they were something I would have to learn to live with, so I am trying to deal with mine in the best way I can. This is usually just bitching and cursing at the computer screen. Over the past 2 days I am on a 18 buy in downswing. I really dont want to do the math, but you guys know what that means...it hurts. I think things are finally coming around and I am looking forward to playing tomorrow...hopefully my strong finish tonight can carry over to tomorrow.

Tuesday 1/24/2006

I have to run to the second job again tonight. Not sure how long it will be, but I have a long night of sngs ahead of me. I didnt get any in this morning and I still need to get moving on my project...but overall, things are looking good.

I am going to be heading out in 30 mins and will hoping to get playing by 6 tonight...

7:30 - about to get started...

An hour in and down a few buy ins. I caught myself playing too loose and adjusted it early. One 2nd so far and lost my KK to 99 in another...amazing how the 2 outer always hits on the river.

Amazing run of bad beats and I dont want to bitch about it too much. Still playing....hard to take. Just busted 99 vs 77 when i hit a set but lost to the str8. Then I lost A10 to K6 when the dude had no reason to call with that crap and hit a flush. just dont know what to say...

Monday 1/23/2006

Going to get started here soon. I have to go to my night job for a bit, but hopefully can get away early and take care of business.

Just fired up my first 2 sngs...only 5:00.

Taking my first quick break. Played 6 after just over an hour...up 20 bucks so far. 1 first and 1 third...not too bad. gonna get back at it in a few!

A very nice run tonight. Finished my last set of 3 - 4th, 1st, and 1st. Made a move on the bubble too with a healthy stack and busted. I think I tightened up too early and allowed the shortstacks to recover. 9 sngs up $355.

Revised Goal for the Month:

I would like to finish January with a total of 350 sngs played. This would be by far the most I have ever played in a month and would be an average of 20 sngs per day to close out the month. That pace is a 600 sng per month pace and I would like to see if I could maintain it and get a feel for it. My gut says I will be ready for more after a few days. But, if I find it too strenuous, I might have to readjust my goals. I believe I am ready for this level of play. So, as I set this revised goal, let me post my current stats for the month and see how they hold up over increased volume of play:

192 sngs
14% ROI
36% ITM
$1440 profit
$250 in rakeback
Total profit: $1690

Add to that $180 for my cash in the $40k and it is turning out to be a big month. Considering I plan to play almost as many sngs the final 8 days of the month as I did in the first 23, these numbers are going to change dramatically. Hopefully, I can get the profit from playing up to around $2500 and the rakeback will follow. Looking forward to tomorrow...

Sunday 1/22/2006

I am about to get going here. Got a late start today and watched some football. Didnt catch any of the Pitt game, but I hate those bastards and hope they tank in the Super Bowl. Seattle is looking tough...I hope they smoke the Steelers!

On to sngs...

Ok, was sitting pretty, down 2 buy ins and had over half the chips on the bubble. then I lost 3 hands in a row, ALL 3:1 FAVORITES, and busted out on the bubble. I just dont get it sometimes...It just doesnt seem like I could take a worse run, but it all happened in one sng. I guess it could have cost me a sng per bad beat. I sure do bitch about bad beats a lot....so that leads me to think about one thing...I must be playing pretty well and I am sure they are hard to take for any newer player. So I need to learn to deal with them better. I will quit bitching, but I want to make sure I relay in my blog that I am playing well, just getting sucked out on...that's right, no more bad beat talk, I am the victim of variance!

UPDATE:

Well, I am taking a break for a while. I am very encouraged during my first month. I have overcome a lot of obstacles already. I logged 56 sngs this weekend so far. Very mixed results, but I have been getting deep in most of them, but just running into horrible variance on the bubble. Read the previous paragraph to get a taste of what I am going through on the tables. On a positive note, I am not sucking out and am taking a lot of bad beats...so that is very encouraging. I think my game jumped a level this weekend and I am excited to keep the learning process going. Some quick weekend stats:

56 $55 sngss
7% ROI
35% ITM
Profit $220

Profit wasnt great, but consider thats $73 in rakeback and that pushes my weekend to almost $300. Defintely worthwhile!

Saturday 1/21/2006

So I am getting an earlier start on a weekend than usual. I just fired up my first sngs and it is about 12:45. I usually do not start playing until the evening. I wonder if I will notice anything different. I have to admit that at night, the $55s have been much more competitive on the bubble lately. Usually 6 people left on level 5 and the pushing on the bubble is everywhere, so there are not a lot of opportunities.

Just played about 10 hands total and I have noticed that these people are much looser during the day and make some weird calls and pushes. Definitely seems like weaker competition...Let's see if my results show that as well!

Seems like I did well during the day...Definitely a different group that plays. Then again, it is the weekend, so it might just be all the same people. I am not used to playing during the afternoon...Just doesn't feel right, but if it is profitable, I will adjust.

UPDATE:

So far, played 3, up $135 and could have done better. Feelin' It BABY, Feelin' It! But, I am going to take a quick break and fire some more up.

Just fired up a few more on Party...going to see if I can win about $300 tonight...that's the overall goal for tonight. So, if I hit it, I am done.

I got a free $10 from Empire poker. I had $3, so I hopped into an $11 sng, took 3rd. Jumped into a $22 sng, and took 3rd again. So I got my $10 up to $40. I am going to see how far I can build that account...I realize I will most likely bust out...but let's see.

Playing great on Party. In with dominant hands and just getting sucked out on. Once they start to hold up I should be doing great...lets just hope i keel putting myself in winning situations and dont let the tilt get to me...so far, so good. these suck outs are costing me real money lately cuz they come when I'm in the money!

Wow, I lost 2 3:1 favorite hands and shortstacks were catching to completely fuck me out of my last 2 sngs. I busted out on both on the bubble...and I had DOMINATING hands both times. I am losing my AK and AQs to very weak off suit aces and havent had one hold up in a while. Considering I am looking to do well this weekend, these suck outs are killing me!

Here was a sweet loss i just took. I had 77 in small blind and 4 people in hand...flop comes 7 hi and 2 clubs. I check, min raise, i caller, i raise to 100, push after me i call. He pushes with 64 of clubs and catches 2 more of them to beat me...i was just hoping the board would pair.

Brutal stretch continues...I see why Party is so profitable! Quick recap, busted out 4th in 3 of my lst 4 sngs. All of them, I played well, but so did everyone else. Not going to take anything away from anyone because they played a good bubble. But, I will say every time I went in I was ahead...just not holding up. Going to add a 3rd table, let see what happens.

Well, fired up 3 and did very well in all. Finished 2nd, bubbled out AGAIN!, but I made a mistake on that one, and I am still playing my 3rd one, chip leader with 5 to go...4 now that my kings just took down Queens. Another 2nd place...not bad. Starting my comeback and playing well...Let's see how the next set goes.

Well, things went well late. I started to get into the zone and I was getting to the bubble every time again, but this time I was able to take a couple firsts and seconds. Finished up the night heads up against a dude. If i take first, I can be up about 155, but I take a bad beat to lose and end up just up $55. I was up more than that after 3 sngs!!! I played 39 tonight! played a ton, and at least I won...and made a lot of rakeback.

Friday 1/20/2006

PROJECT STARTED! FIRST HURDLE OVERCOME?

The weekend is upon us and I am getting pretty excited. My project is moving along well and I have a little extra help on this...so I should be able to finally give this a go!

As for poker, I took last night off. Did some research on my project and played some video games...nice, low-stress change of pace. For the first time in months, losing did not affect my bankroll!

Hoping to log a bunch of them over the weekend, starting tonight! If I can get a strong 10-20 in tonight, I have a feeling this will be a great weekend. Actually, I am more concerned with my bankroll than my ## of sngs right now. So, I might have overcome my first hurdle. I am able to play the ## of sngs that I set as a goal for myelf, so I am really excited about that. So, the next step is to build my roll to 4-table. I am shooting for $5500. Once the bankroll gets there, I need to get a monitor and maybe a cheap desktop to devote to playing...

So, revised goal for the weekend:

Play until bankroll, including all rakeback, is $4500, or 50 sngs, whichever comes first! 50 sngs at a 15% ROI will accomplish this, so very attainable!

UPDATE:

So far, slow start. I have played 11 and am up $40. I plan on vegging out and playing a lot over the next few days. Sunday while the playoffs are on for sure.

Thursday 1/19/2006

Had to work the second job today and decided to take a break from poker. Just a little tired and I have the whole weekend to play, so it isnt like I am going to miss out on it over the next few days. My play has been great and the results are showing it. I am getting excited because I can see how quickly you can move up a buy in and add a few more tables and next thing you know, you are making $5k a month. I hope to get there!!

I know this is a poker blog, but let's change subjects for a bit. To my friends that know me well, I am sportsbettor at heart. I just don't bet sports anymore because I am trying to make money, have some other interest, but most importantly, I lose my money. I can pick games pretty decently, but I just can't find a way to make it profitable. The old unit betting is just too slow for me and $$ on each unit just bore me. So, making any real money sportsbetting is just something I do not have the passion or discipline for.

But, back to sportsbetting. A few friends and I have just bought a domain and are working on a project...I will let you all know when it will be ready for everyone, but I am excited to test it out. I think I can be operational within a few weeks and tested within a few months...Exciting times ahead everyone...

this is the end of my 5th week blogging! Woo hoo

Wednesday 1/18/2006

Playing well, just lost a bunch of bad ones. Ak to A8 then AQ to A8. Busted out on bubble of the 2nd one i played when my 22 lost to AK. Funny, my strong aces never hold up :)

More to come....

Felt like I was able to get in the zone after playing my first 2 sngs. I thought I would have cashed in both of my first two, but did not let it get me down when I busted out 5th in both. I kept my cool, relaxed, and fired up 2 more...won them both and am going to call it a night, up $280 after 4 sngs...I'm cool with that for the night.

So, I have been thinking. The new year brought about the focus on my poker game and the past 10 days have been a blur. So, I wanted to take a moment halfway through month one to assess my progress.

I set my goals to win $2,000. This was a relatively ambitious goal because I have not won that much in a month on sngs alone. I am a little behind schedule, but am on schedule after considering my MTT cash. I played in one MTT and placed 31st out of like 2350, so that was nice. Had a decent run to get my juices flowing...was so much fun. I am looking forward to building my roll and buying into the $200+ buy in tourneys and trying to get lucky.

So, I am well on my way towards having a successful start. My biggest concern was profitability over the long haul. My next biggest concern was that I might be underbankrolled to play the $55s. I put a lot of emphasis on January to help me decide how close I am to where I need to be to make enough money to support myself. I think the $55s are the first level where you can make significant enough money to consider this. So, I want to have at least 100 buy ins before I move up, so starting the new year with under $3,000 and playing the $55s already was setting myself up for failure. But, I have been very fortunate that I have been able to be up at this point and halfway to $5,000. So, just over halfway and hopefully the next time I update my progress, i will be writing this at the end of January with my bankroll over $5,000.

Tuesday 1/17/2006

I decided to mess around and clear my second $50 bonus from party. I lost $49.36 to clear the $50 bonus...what a waste of time. So, I might play some more tonight, I might not. Was going to give myself the night off anyway. Doing well so far this month...looking to finish the second half strong!

Monday 1/16/2006

Had an up and down night. I am starting to realize I am playing far, far too loose. I dont know if it is because I am more comfortable playing now that I am playing more sngs or if it just lack of respect for the game. I think more of the latter and I am a bit ashamed of myself for not respecting the game like i should. I was too busy watching TV and other stuff while I play. Tonight I was messing around and playing and losing my ass. I finally had had enough and decided to start concentrating. So, after a long night of playing and a bit of a confidence boosting session...here are tonight's stats:

19 $55 sngs
3 firsts, 2 seconds, and a third
Finished 2nd, 6th, 1st, 7th, 1st, 1st
Was down about 8 buy ins at the worst point.

Just a great session because when I really put my mind to it, I was very happy with my play. I am capable of it if I just concentrate and am disciplined!

Sunday 1/15/2006

I got 2 $50 deposits into my account from Party Poker and I have to play 300 raked hands to cash this money out. Since I got 2 deposits, I figured I would give it a shot. I 2-tabled the 1/2 limit game for 305 hands and cleared one bonus. I lost $20 bucks clearing it, but it netted out to +$30 bucks...fine by me. I started to figure out limit after a few hours. I had dabbled in limit before. I found it to be a way to make pretty good money. Pretty mechanical and fun. I think I will try to clear the other $50 bonus and learn a little more. Maybe start to develop a limit game to change things up and help with burn out. I played for a while tonight and then switched over to sngs and played well.

I played 7 sngs. I had 1 first, 1 second, and 2 thirds...so, overall a very good night. Up over $230. Gonna call it a night...Halfway through the month and I have 104 sngs in.

Saturday 1/14/2006

Well, another tough start to my sngs. Taking some bad beats and playing a bit tighter than I have been. I busted out on the bubble on 2 straight after taking a bad beat. It is hard to keep cool, but I am getting better and better at it. Actually, I dont feel like it affects my play. If I am going to sucessfully 4-table, allowing a bad beat to get into my head will be a big problem, so I think I have that under control. So far, played 13 sngs tonight...just not getting great numbers. my ROI is 5%...I havent had a month with an ROI under 17%. I am sure it will all work itself out, but as long as I am in the black, thats all I care about.

Tonight, I have realize it hasnt been good or bad play, I am just losing all my coin flips. That pretty much explains my results. I think I am playing good poker, but just cant get a hand to hold up....welll keep plugging away!

Finished the night down $135. Not too bad. Hoping for a better day tomorrow.

Friday 1/13/2006

I just got started playing and am taking a ton of bad beats. So, I feel like I am playing well, just horrible luck. I think I have lost the last 5 coin flips, 3 in one sng. Its been rough, but still playing.

I should be pleased. I am dominating the play of these sngs, but continually lose 3:1 hands...very frustrating.

Well, I fired up 2 sngs and opened up the Party Poker $40k. I took first in both sngs and doubled up in the $40k in the first level. So I am just concentrating on a deep run into the tourney. I am even on the night...so I think I will end up playing a few more sngs at some point tonight.

Party $40k

• First Break: Only played a hand or two, but I doubled up. Slowly being blinded away, slightly below the average. 1655 after first break.
• Second Break: Just below the average again. I have 6130 and average is 6730. Was down to 600 early after the second break and came back strong. Feeling good.
• Third Break: Played my good hands and they hit. I have 40720, average is 17600, so doing well. 142 left...nothing to get excited about yet, gotta get in top 40 to get excited. And you all know how fast chips can go late in tournaments. About to get started....wish me luck!
• Fourth Break: 50018, right about average. 47 left, blinds 2000/4000

Busted out 31st. Pushed A10o and lost AQo...pushed the next hand, 10 6s when it was folded to me on SB. Made $200 bucks...should be happy.

Thursday 01/12/2006

Man, these days just keep flying by. I can't believe it is already Thursday and I have to go to my second job after my first one. Then, after my second job, I want to log at least 6 sngs tonight. It really does make Monday and Thursday just fly by. But, working two jobs is definitely better than I thought it would be. Admittedly, I have a great situation. I just have to get in there and do some work tonight because it is month-end and I have a lot of extra stuff to do this time of the month. I sure hope this arrangement lasts for a while because it will help me get ahead!!

Other than that, I have a very busy day ahead of me...just wanted to post because I am thinking about poker...just don't have time to play a lot of it tonight. Here are a few random thoughts:

I was mad at myself for not playing last weekend. What that did was put me behind schedule, was a lapse in discipline, and in the long run, may hurt my game. I have tried to set up my week where I will have a MINIMUM of 2 days off from poker. Well, when I push that limit, it takes away from my study time. When I take an unplanned break from poker, it is usually to waste time doing something unproductive. While I am the slack-master, my goals are to be disciplined. So, instead of studying hand histories and reading, I had to log another night of sngs. My ROI isn't quite where I would like it, but then again, I have a small sample size. Just need to be patient!

Once my work life settles down, I will be heading to the gym and trying to take care of myself, physically. I am the type that does everything compulsively. I am trying to take control of that, but I do everything to the extreme. I have never been able to incorporate more than 2 or 3 passions into my life because I get so absorbed with one or two of them. For instance, working out is a passion of mine and when I am into it, I do it compulsively. But, then I get burned out after about a year and my body aches, so while I rest my body, I pick up something else. Well, it appears poker is here to stay and working out MUST become a top priority, not for vanity but because I am getting older...well, finally out of my 20s. Work usually takes a back seat to my happiness. This has caused me some frustrations, but I have had jobs that just plain SUCKED! Sucked is a relative term; let's just say it affected my life outside of the office and I vowed to never let that happen again. If I play my cards right, it never may! (Damn I am good with these puns!!) But poker can definitely infringe on my home life...the ups and downs are hard to handle, but I look forward to learning!

As some of you know, I have been interviewing for jobs. I have quit my old job on a full time basis and have been able to keep my core duties. So, I have freed up myself to get a different full time job. I am currently working at a large corporation and I really like the people I work with, but the work is mind-numbingly boring. One of the advantages of working in a large corporation is that you can be anonymous a lot of the time and just mess around and get paid decently to just hang around. Smaller companies do not usually pay quite as well and you have much more responsibilities and less benefits. So, I have been working at my new job on a temp to hire basis for the first month. After which, I will have to "apply" for the job...I should find out today or tomorrow if I get offered a job at a very fast growing networking company. I feel like i am in a morgue at work...all these old people coughing and complaining. I feel like I am dying here...but it seems low stress and pretty easy. It will be a hard decision to make if I am offered the other job. I have pretty much decided to take it if it is offered. Better pay, about 12-15% higher than what I am making now, full benefits, plus 3 weeks vacation in year 1! Sounds too good to be true. I know working there will be much more active and potentially stressful, but much, much more fulfilling. Anyway, I will keep you updated on the job situations. I cannot bank on doing the books at my old job forever...so if that ever gets yanked away, then I will be happy I opted for a bit more money and more vacation!!

UPDATE:

I ended up playing 11 sngs tonight. I played better, but not great. Still too many early exits for my taste. I am usually seeing 4 multitablers on my tables...which sometimes makes playing the bubble easier. The only reason I say this is because they respect the pushes and they often push marginal hands. In the last sngs that I won tonight, one guy kept playing very aggressively and was picking up blinds. So, I had K8s and called his push and he had Q9o. My hand held up, but bad players usually do not play Q9 so aggressively, and if they do, they do not often tighten up and do not continue to play so aggressively. I was able to bust that dude about 4 hands later when he pushed A 10o into me when I had QQ.

So, down $5 from poker, but up just over $9 with rakeback. I am amazed how I am playing so many sngs and just winning or losing small amounts. Back when I was playing one at a time and only a few a night I was able to win or lose more. I guess this is a good thing though.

Wednesday 1/11/2006

Tonight, I came home and fired up 2 sngs. Got 1st in one and busted out 5th on the other. I think I am going to get to bed early tonight because I have to work the second job tomorrow. I am committed to paying off all debt so I will not have any future, unnecessary drains on my bankroll. If I continue to pull from it, I am not giving myself a chance to succeed. I will hopefully have time tomorrow night to play some...but I am happy to win some and build the ole bankroll.

Tuesday 1/10/2006

I was looking at my spreadsheets and stats for December and realized that, once again, I am falling behind on my goals for the month. I am going to do everything I can this week to make up for the gap and try to get ahead. In a way, I feel like I am challenging myself. So, it is becoming fun to try to set a goal and attain it. I used to see posts on forums where people would play like 200, 300, or even 400 sngs in a few days. I never understood it, but now I see why. We are competitive and this sort of challenge brings out the gamer in us. Plus, if you can play 100 sngs in a weekend, even if you break even, the rakeback makes it worthwhile.

As I am sitting here thinking about my past few nights of play, I realize I have deviated from the formula that I have been using to successfully play and win at sngs. I think part of it is that my comfort level has changed. I am far more comfortable playing and in my playing abilities. When you start to play all the time, you recognize players and know their abilities. I often keep my eye on known multitablers and people with solid records & stats and have noticed that I am very successful against them.

I wanted to post a few hands from last night. I don't post hands much, so I thought I should start with a few that entertained me, and I will then start to post hands that challenge me.

I am in middle position with KQo. I raise to 3xbb and get one caller. Flop comes KQX, no flush possibility. I bet 2x min raise to see if he is interested and build the pot. He calls. Turn comes 10. I remember thinking, no way this joker has AJ, so I put out a pot sized bet. Next thing I know, I get reraised all in. I couldn't believe it...and how can I fold top 2 pair?? I talk myself into believing he has AK and I very reluctantly called. He shows AJ! RIVER QUEEN! So here is a good, bad beat story :) But, it is just proof to me that getting mixed up in pots with marginal hands is just plain dangerous. And, slowplaying anything but DA NUTS!! Is pure suicide!

Another hand that I have to post: There has been some crazy plays at this table, pushes to win 45 in blinds, pushes into 100 chip pots, you know, donk stuff. So, the table has been quite loose. I am on BB, blinds are 25/50 and there are 9 left. Min raise starts it off, 4 callers, and it is on me. I am sitting on the BB with AA..Heree is my thought process. AA does not play well in a multhanded pot and a medium sized raise, like to 300, would probably have a couple callers, so I push my 950 chips in the middle. Everyone folds. I was immediately yelled at by the worst player on the table..Telling me how he folded AK. Why would he yell at me for saving his butt? Moreover, why would he yell at me at all? I see it as a win/win for us both. I boosted my chipstack 50%, and pushed myself into 2nd place (pun intended) without ever seeing a showdown. For donk with the loud mouth, I saved him $55 in entry fees because he would have been busted and firing up another.

Sorry for the stupid hand posts, but I just needed to laugh. Hope you enjoyed it. I will be playing later tonight and updates to follow!

UPDATE:

Finally a good start. I played tighter early and took a 1st and 3rd in my first 2 sngs. And this leads me to yet another roadblock that I need to overcome. Most times when I get 1st in one of my first 2 sngs and cash in the second, I would quit. Especially after having 2 session of grinding small profits, I should really be calling it quits for the night...I am going to shoot for 10 total tonight...

Big downswing after the hot start. My gut says I should have quit, but that isn't the correct way to think about it. But, in the meantime, while I am still in the bankroll building phase, I think I will quit when I am ahead again. Lets see how I can finish. I must admit, I want properly focused and played horribly...HORRIBLY. Need to stay disciplined, focused, and smart!

Ok, after dumping my money back with stupid, undisciplined play, I buckled down and finished 1st and 3rd again to temporarily end my night up $40. So, it could have been worse and I could have started out up $240 only to lose for the night. In the future, again until I start to 4-table or while I am building a bankroll, I will quit if I start the night with 2 cashes and at least 1 first.

Played 12 sngs, mostly because I busted quickly playing stupid. But, the good thing is that now that I play more regularly, I see the same people and my moments ofindiscretionn might reward me down the line.

Monday 1/9/2006

Not sure when I will be playing tonight. I have to run down to my other job after work for an hour. I like to get settled before I play. So, I am thinking I will get moving around 7:00 tonight. My goal is to play 5 nights this week. I have a friend moving to town and my brother will be in town in a few weeks, so I know my time this month might be a little tighter than usual. the goal for tonight is 8 sngs, shooting for 10+. I figure if I can manage 10+ on the nights I play, that will be perfect. It will put me well on my way towards my goal of over 200 sngs a month, and put me on pace for 400 sngs once I start to 4-table.

It is weird how poker becomes a job. But, it is like being self employed, so it is very easy to say, screw poker; I’m going to happy hour. Or forget poker, I have friends in town. Then, at the end of the month, you have 100 sngs and failed to make any of your goals. I am pretty disappointed in myself knowing the power of playing sngs and how much I would like to hit my numbers. I have always though about playing poker for a living and it wasn’t fame or money that keeps me focused; it has always been the freedom. I now realize there is no job out there that will offer me the type of freedom I want, unless I marry very well :) But seriously, the life of the anonymous, online, poker pro is fine with me. People pulling in 6 figures, cash where ever you decide to call your home for the week sounds pretty sweet. But, I need a running partner...someone to share the responsibility and help with the rough months...so, in the immortal words of Jerry McGuire, "Whose comin' with me?"

UPDATE:

Again, started slow. I played 11 sngs after starting pretty late. I have to admit, I did not feel that I was playing well. Results showed as I won myself $45, about half of what I would hope for. But, need to get away from results oriented thinking. I am happy to have logged another 11 sngs! That is the goal I should be most focused on.

I am starting to wonder if I need to tweak with my game. I am playing well on the bubble, but I am busting out early in a lot of the ones I don't cash in. I have a lot of 8th places. I do push some edges and have taken a few bad beats, but overall I think I am just playing a bit too loose in early levels. Luckily, most of my bad beats happen early and most of my suckouts happen ITM! Fine by me!

Couple mental notes from my session:

1. There was some pretty awful bubble play on the $55s last night. Just awful.
2. I played pretty poorly overall
3. I tried to get away from the more mechanical style of play and tried to "play" a little more. I admit that it probably is not smart, but sometimes you can feel the game. I think I am going back to my old style. Quit messing with what works!
4. Even though I think I played poorly, another winning night! Hit my goal of 8-10 sngs (Played 11)! Another successful night of grinding!

Sunday

Horrible start so far. Lost 3 in a row, and had dominating hands when I was busted...Had QQ and pushed post flop only to be called by a guy that says, I know I'm beat, but I cant fold. Turns over Jacks only to hit a Jack on turn! Unreal! Still playing...

Just pushed at CO with 99 and was called by K5o. Of course a King came on flop. tough man, tough.

Bunch of bad beats tonight. Just finished 2nd and 3rd. Should have won the 2nd one though. Had him beat to eliminate him and he caught a flush. Then, I fought back and would have taken a 2.5:1 chip lead, but my JJ didnt hold up against K4o. Thats the way it goes sometimes. Gonna take a break and get back to it later.

Ended the night up $145. I was able to play 11 tonight, so that was good too. I only played 35 sngs this week, so that is behind schedule.

Nothing exciting to report...just a typical day at sngs.

Everything Falling Into Place...

Well, I think a major hurdle was overcome this week. First off, I started a new job, which pays me more than my old job which barely covered the bills. Problem was, I couldnt make more money at my old job, but it was a pretty good situation. I didnt work too hard and I could do my core functions standing on my head. Now, I am at a new job, making more $$, AND I was able to keep my core functions from my old job. I come in twice a week, pick up my work, complete my work from home, and we are still working out the compensation. This is a big development for a few reasons.

First, I am assuming this will last at least 3 months, hopefully much longer. This will not infringe much on my playing time because it am able to work from home. Second, and more importantly, it allows me to comfortably pay all my bills and then some. Poker used to be a much needed source of income, where I would scrape some (Over $2,000 one month and over $1,000 the next) off the top at the end of every month. Now, not only am i not counting on the income, but I can let it build! I do not think I will experience the same hang ups, so this will allow me to truly focus on building without the added pressure.

Lots of good stuff happening already in 2006! I knew this would be my year! Stay tuned, I have one more BIG project I am working on. If I can develop the software, anyone following my blog will be the first to know and the first ones offered the service! (FYI – this service is already being done, but at a very prohibitive cost, about $10k a month!) My service would offer the same abilities, but at a few hundred bucks a month...Anyway, I digress...good things though, good things!

I am feeling a big night tonight...really looking forward to playing tonight!

Success...And More Success

Last night was a test for me. Not only did I log 17 sngs, I made $9! :)

OK, so my return was nothing to brag about. However, the number of sngs I played was! While 17 sngs is a few hours, or even 1 hour, of work for some sng players; this represents a big step. Sure, I have played 18-22 sngs in a day, but here is why I am excited:

This represents a terrible day of play and I still ended up making some money. The reason why I put so much emphasis on getting my numbers up is because I am currently 2-tabling. When I finally can 4-table effectively (never even tried it), I can log twice as many sngs in the same amount of time. So, if it took me 3 hours to log 8 sngs before, I could log a healthy 16 in that same time. So, hitting my first few monthly goals is going to be important. I believe by the end of February I will be able to buy myself a nice monitor to start 4-tabling. This should decrease my playing time and increase my returns. You find me another endeavor where you could honestly say this! Moreover, it will help decrease burn out. If I can comfortably play 250 sngs while 2-tabling, 400 sngs 4-tabling is a very attainable goal. Very, very good money can be made at this level. Netting a minimum of $2k this month is huge! Gotta keep plugging away!

Tonight after my day job, I am heading back to my old job to help them with their accounting. The nice thing is, if I can play my cards right, I will be doing their books on the side. This will defintely help my overall bankroll and help me make a little extra money. So, I will probably be home and ready to play by 7 tonight...so I hope to get in a solid 8-10 sngs tonight, depending on how I am running.

Update:

It's 11:20 and I havent play 1 sng yet, I am dead tired, and I feel pretty good about it. I just started a new job, but I was able to keep my old job and work from home. I never wanted to leave, but I needed to move on. I enjoyed my time there and now i get to work 2 days a week, drop by the office, pick up my work, drop off what I've done, and thats it. PRETTY SWEET. Obviously not at the same salary, but I get to do what interests me while giving them a good value. Works out well...

So, that allows me a little less time for poker, but definitely plenty to meet all my goals. but, tonight, I take the night off and enjoy my windfall.

FIRST MAJOR HURDLE...

Ok, while I wait for my passwords and for people to find the time to train me, I am sitting here at my new job reading contracts and perusing their network and accounting software. I know; loads of fun. There is a lot of room for growth here and I think my time will be well spent...but in the mean time, here is what is going through my mind:

The past month and a half, my ROI on the $55 sngs on Party poker has been 14-15%. While the bad beats have been plentiful, I am still quite disappointed with this ROI. Mentally, this is hard for me to take for the following reasons:

1. This low of an ROI will subject me to pretty major swings
2. Bad beats just make me fixate on my return
3. I feel like it should be higher, but from my reading on forums like 2+2, they tell me I should be happy with this ROI.

Ok, so what is my problem?? Let me change gears and look for reasons why I should be happy with this:

1. DO NOT FIXATE ON ROI!! Try to mentally prioritize my stats and put more emphasis on $$/hr!! DO IT!!
2. Bad beats happen. If you are taking more than you are giving, then you are playing solid poker because you are ahead when the money goes in. If you can't take them, find a new way to make money!!
3. Look at, digest, and keep the following numbers at the forefront of my mind:

I would like to devote 20 hours per week playing sngs. If the average sng is 45 minutes long (In actuality, it is more like 35 minutes, but lets assume I am 4-tabling in sets, not firing up a new one as I bust), here are some numbers:

(20 hours per week):
106 $55 sngs
$880 profit
$137 in rakeback
Total Profit $1017
$$/HR: $50.85

So, now what I believed to be a paltry 15% ROI has netted me over $1000 a week in about 20 hours of work. With numbers like these, why the hell am I having such a hard time hammering out sngs?? Do I really want to do this? Is my heart in it?

I have to admit to myself that I have been questioning whether I can do this. Keeping my return positive is not the challenge, it is keep up the # of sngs I play. Is anyone else experiencing this sort of disconnect? I started this blog to document these sorts of things, and I just cant understand what my issue is. COMMENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO ANYONE READING THIS!!

I need to hammer out some sngs tonight...bottom line, get er done!! Focus, Discipline, Focus, Discipline!

About ready to head home...another hour or so. Gotta make a quick stop and then I am heading home to watch the Rose Bowl and play some sngs. My goal for tonight is 8-10 sngs. I think if I start to set more short term goals, like daily and weekly goals, I might be able to achieve them.

Update:

Playing well and not getting results. Lost AA twice to crap hands to bust out of money...I have been playing them well, making people pay for every draw...but they call even when they are not getting proper odds. I should be smarter than that, but in retrospect, I would play them the same. If any night will test my resolve it is tonight. But, I have logged at least 7 sngs and have 2 more going....so I am powering through them. Looks like I will make my goal for tonight, but it is always easier to keep playing and try to win rather than quit when you're ahead. It will be interesting to see how I hold up when I start the session on a winning note.

Tough night to take...lots of suck outs. I am playing solid, but just not holding up. Going to have these nights...so have to learn to expect this. Doesnt bother me too much, but I have to admit I am getting pissed. I am gonna take a break in a few and start up some more.

Just finished up. I played 17 sngs tonight...down $13, but had a great comeback finishing 1st, 1st, 3rd to complete my set. Including rakeback, it is actually a winning night. Very happy with my play tonight...had a few bad beats, a few suckouts, and a break even night...not bad. Definitely played a good number of sngs. I was 3 tabling for 2 sets and 2 tabling for the rest. A few observations:

• 9 straight out of the money finishes
• 2 1sts, 2 2nds, and a 3rd
• 5 8th place finishes, 2 7ths, and a 10th
• I actually played some poker tonight. I dont know how to explain it. Usually I sit around and play my cards, but tonight, I was into the game a little more than usual. I could actually feel the game...I dont know, it was during my losing streak, but I was ahead in most situations and took a lot of bad beats.

Strange distribution of finishes. Had fun tonight, but my comeback is the only reason I can find any positives tonight. If I had not finished strong, it would be tough sleeping tonight!

And Here We Go...

Well just fired up a sng at 6:50...I'm pretty tired and was not sure if i should be playing. First hand, AA, 3rd hand, JJ. Doubled up without having to go to showdown...so things are starting well...update to come!

I took a few bad beats tonight. Had a 2nd and a 3rd in 5 sngs and am down vig. I got pretty frustrated because I was in with the best hand quite often and lost. If half of my hands would have held up, I would have cashed at least one more. I quit because I felt it was going to affect my play.

Late Start - College Football Finales

I got a late start to the day and have been stuck watching college football. My badgers are playing and handling Auburn today. So, I am enjoying the game. Plus, there are 2 BCS bowl games later. So, after the Badger game, i am heading out to run some errands and will be back playing sngs while I watch Ohio State handle Notre Dame! Big Ten needs some wins, I think we are 0-4 in bowl games so far. If the Badgers & Ohio State win, that will be 2 wins against top 8 teams and Penn State could knock off a Florida State team in another BCS bowl. So, depsite a bad start to the bowl season, the Big Ten could finish very strongly!

Updates to follow!

Well, it is 10:30 and I have not played any sngs. I am a bit disappointed, but I have been watching a few football games and went over to a friend of mine's to talk about my sports software. I am pushing hard for some software to be developed. If I can get what I am requesting, I think I can have a very powerful tool. Updates will follow, but developing this software is on my list of priorities, so it was not a wasted night.

Poker tomorrow for sure!

First Session of 2006

I just fired up a few sngs to kill some time and play my first couple of the new year. I played 2 of them pretty well, at least when I reviewed my hand histories, I thought I played them pretty well. Ironic thing is when I reviewed the hand history of the one I won, I played horribly. I even knew it at the table and joked about how I was playing like a donk and how I was unbeatable. I had 2 or 3 nasty suck outs...Here is one:

Raised 25/50 blinds to 200 preflop UTG with AKo and had one caller. Flop came QJx, no flush draw. I put in a 2/3 pot size raise and was reraised. I was getting the odds to call but knew I was in trouble. Turn comes K and I pushed, which was about 20% of the pot, so I knew I was getting called. He turns over QJ and the river brought another K and I doubled up. Pretty funny hand, but what the hell is he calling a 4xBB raise with QJ in middle position. People online at the $55 sngs just do not respect the UTG raise. I am sure to play a few more tonight...I will update later...

Well, I didnt play any more tonight. Not sure what that means. Is that the same old problem I have had since last year or am I showing discipline? The reason I did not play any more was because I felt out of sync in the 3 sngs that i did play. I felt very fortunate to have won anything, so I decided to call it a night. Is it discipline for recognizing that my play might be off tonight? Or, is this something I need to overcome and just power through it. I still feel underbankrolled right now and wont be comfortable until I have 100 buy ins. I should be able to get there by the end of the month. So, until that point, I will be more concerned with my ROI because the higher my ROI, the less variance I should experience. I know, it sounds like I am making excuses, but once I hit 100 buy ins, I will have to find another excuse. :)