Monthly review- August 2010

Cash winnings: $674.43

SNG/MTT winnings: $0

Rakeback: $563.87 FPP value (14,096.74VPPs * 2.5 FPPs/VPP * 1.6c/FPP)

Stellar Rewards- $100

Current Bankroll- $1,882.33+68,342.53 FPPs x1.6c= $1,093.48= $2,975.81

Hours played|$/hr: 84.46| $15.85/hr

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$1,338.30 profit

As you can see, it was a pretty poor month from a variance perspective but once again, it was a winning month so I guess I shouldn't complain. With the recent adjustments to my game I am jumping into September with both feet. I am hopeful that it will be a breakthrough month.

I am going to set a few more targets for September, but before I do.. here is how I fared regarding August's. (by the way, for some reason the fonts are screwed up on this blog today and I can't get anything to work.. my apologies for the annoyance)

Last month's targets

1. Get rolled for 50NL and move up.- I succeeded here and as you probably know, I lowered my br requirements for each level after cashing out.

2. Stop looking at the how I am doing during sessions. Focus on playing hands and table selecting and only check the cashier once a week (Sunday evenings?) - I am getting much better at this. I am still having trouble going more than 2 days without checking the cashier. I will work on this further in September.

3. Work on continuing to lop off my C-game.- I made great strides in this area. I can safely say I did not tilt off a large chunk of money at any point this month. I did go through a few tilty moments, but overall, I succeeded here.

4. Set a more rigid playing schedule.- Accomplished, however, I need to make sure I don't take any "days off" without good reason. I definitely need to work on my volume.

5. Start working out again and continue eating well.- I went to the YMCA many times this month and overall ate much better. Still an area I can improve. I am down to 210.5 from 215 in August. I am looking to continue that trend this month as my goal is to get back down to 175ish. (I am 6'1)

6. Play 200,000 hands.-Didn't even come close. I played 116k. I am hoping to put in my highest volume ever this month.

And now for my targets in August:

1. Play 200k hands.

2. Do not look at winnings for the week until after my Sunday session.

3. Lose 8 pounds

Working on my 50bb strategy lately

I am seriously considering a run towards Supernova Elite in 2011. In order to prepare for that I need to find the optimum game and style of play to achieve the following:

1. Most hands per hour possible.

2. Most FPPs per hand possible.

3. A style that allows me to play decently even when I am not on my A game.

4. A style that is tight enough that I will not burn out and can put in long sessions.

5. Play at a level that has the most fish possible because game selection is tough when trying to hit a high h/hr.

I have looked over all of the options available and it appears that the 50bb max games most accurately reflect my needs as a player.

1. Most of the games are on fast tables which gives me as many as 2,000 hands per hour.. which over the long run is huge. (normal tables seem to give 1500 hands per hour when 24-tabling)

2. FPPs per hand will be a bit less at the 50bb tables, but the increase in h/hr should more than make up for this.

3. A tightish 12/10 style that employs playing value hands in ep and mp with a fairly wide stealing range in late position should make both preflop and postflop decisions pretty dang easy, even when my mind is not operating at peak performance. And over a year long grind this is very important as my C game will likely be more like a B minus game at the worst times due to low SPR in most cases.

4. Not burning out is of extreme importance. Having several "tough" decisions in one session can not only burn the mind out, it can also hurt my hands per hour. 50bb tables with a tight game should help remedy this.

5. There is no doubt that the 50bb tables have the most fish. Since bad players mostly buy in short on the normal tables anyways, I also get the added benefit of hardly ever being deep against the better players. And since I won't be able to game select, having the highest fish per table matters over the long term.

So going forward I will spend the rest of the year attempting to grind to 200k vpps (I am currently at 65k) and "practicing" my 50bb game. Depending on how it goes, I will modify things as necessary.

I am not going to go into my breakthrough on being successful at the 50bb tables. Many many hours of play and thought on the subject made me realize which bet sizes and ranges are optimal for half stacking. Although I am sure it is a work in progress, I feel the nuances I have worked out are groundbreaking and could be employed by a novice with minimal training in order to beat just about any game up to 50NL (or at least break even.) But before I get ahead of myself, I will need to play a few hundred thousand hands before the verdict is in.

Aggressive BR strategy

I have decided to try to shed my nitty BR management once and for all by forcing myself to play at a smaller bankroll than I am accustomed to . My reasons for doing so.

1. I have to get past playing on "scared money."

2. I need to focus more on moving up in limits rather than trying to become an "fpp" pro at any given level.

3. Tying into #2, I feel 24 tables is sometimes too many. Sure, most of the time I am on my A+ game and 24 tabling seems boring.. but other times it'd be nice to have that extra 3-4 seconds to make each decision.

So to accomplish all of the above, I am cashing out to $1,500 and playing 50NL. I will move up or down according to the following schedule:

Start with $1,500- 30 buy-ins for next level- go back down if 5 buy-ins lost

step 1: 25nl till roll = $1500

step 2: 50nl till roll = $3000 Go back down if roll hits $1250

step 3: 100nl till roll = $6000 Go back down if roll hits $2500

step 4: 200nl till roll = $12000 Go back down if roll hits $5000

step 5: 400nl till roll = $18000 Go back down if roll hits $10000

step 6: 600nl till roll = $30000 Go back down if roll hits $15000

step 7: 1knl - Go back down if roll hits $25000

Notes:

- I have never played above 100NL and for the few thousand hands I have played it have not beat it. What makes me think I can make it to 1kNL? Well I am not sure how far I can make it.. but hopefully I have improved over the past 3 years and can someday get there. If I don't set it as a goal and map it out, I never will.. so there we go. If I end up having to settle in as a 100NL grinder, so be it. But why not give it a shot at something more?

- This may look like a normal 30 buy-in schedule that people use to play poker.. but for me it is extremely aggressive. In the past I have not even thought about moving up until 50 buy-ins and have really only felt comfortable with 100.

- I will abide by the schedule on a daily basis. If I have to move down after one session, so be it. I must start each session at the correct level and be mindful of where I stand at all times.

- The possibly frequent moves up and down will hopefully train me to stop thinking of chips as money and play loose no matter what the stakes. I can always move down right?

- The money I have tied up in FPPs will not count towards my current bankroll anymore. They will simply be saved as "bonuses" to be used at my discretion.

I will post my progress as frequently as possible.

So I was a punching bag for a few days

I moved up on Wednesday and proceeded to play like everyone's little bitch.. playing way too passively (in hindsight of course)

When I reviewed my play Friday morning I almost puked when I saw my redline which dropped off a cliff compared to 25NL.

So I decided to switch to a more LAG style to force me to be more aggressive postflop. I proceeded to take 2 buy-ins off the 50NL tables in an hour before wrapping it up with a redline that shot straight up.

I did moved back down, however, since I want to have 100 buy-ins to play at any level comfortably. I then played a 23/20 style at 25NL for 10k hands, running 8.5ptbb/100 with a steady breakeven red line.. which in my experience, means I am playing optimum. (for my game)

So for the week I did manage to take $269 off the tables (after rakeback), not bad for a learning experience. I also got platinum star again and a $100 stellar reward. I remember a time back when I was in my 20s when 369 a week took 40+ hours of work and wore me out physically. Now its funny to play a game, experiment, play badly, and make the same amount in 23 hrs. Why couldn't the poker boom happen when I was 21 years old?

I plan to move back up when my sessions resume Wednesday and continue playing LAG. Here is my graph for the week. I didn't play as many hands as I had hoped, mainly to cutting my sessions short on the weekend due to the PGA Championship and wanting to spend time with the family.

Can you spot the moment I switched to LAG?

Game Selection Problems

So 50NL is not quiet the fishfest that 25NL was.  So what are the solutions?

1. Play less tables, only where the fish are.

2. Play 20-24 tables but with the understanding the average game will be tougher due to more scarce fish.

3. Mix limits to get more access to more fish.

Option 3 seems like the trivial choice.  The question is, mix 25NL and 50NL or 50NL and 100NL?  I am going with the latter, at least initially.  Unless I dump a ton of my br in the first week or something I think this is best.  I have nearly 100 buy-ins for 50NL and 50 buy-ins for 100NL.  More than adequate unless an epic downswing occurs.  Hopefully my game is ready.

I think its time move up

After doing some thinking and discussing my situation on irc, I have decided that nearly 500k hands and almost 7k in winnings (rakeback adjusted) is enough to show I am a proven winner at 25NL.  So what's next?  I actually bounced around the idea of just going straight to 100nNL.  I do have 50 buy-ins for that level.   However, I do not want to get ahead of myself and get super culture shocked so in the end I will be moving to 50NL which I have 96 buy-ins for currently.

On my last attempt at 50NL, I didn't really fail.  I did run very well at it until my epic $1,700 downswing.  I just had some major mental problems at that time which forced me to move back to 25NL and cash out some dough just to keep my sanity.  For my career at 50nL, I am running at .75ptbb/100.  Not bad considering the huge downswing right in the middle of it.  I am confident I can beat 50NL for at least the same clip as 25NL and likely 100NL as well, since I hear they are not that much different.  (some people say 100nl is softer)

So I did sit down with my wife and set a poker playing schedule.  I had to factor in a lot of different realities in order to come up with what works best for me.  And while it is not likely the schedule I would keep were I a 21 year old single college student, it is optimum for my situation. (married with 2 kids and a day job.)  Just to run through it briefly, it includes 3o hours of play per week.  (not inflexible, the real job could override it at times)

Monday-Tuesday: Off

Wednesday-Thursday: 6-9AM, 12:30-4:30PM

Friday: 12:30-4:30PM, 8PM-12AM

Saturday- Sunday: 12:30-4:30PM

So Wednesday will be my first session back at 50NL.  I will try to post something Sunday night after I am able to see my progress..

I am going to cut this short and post my lifetime graph at 25NL.