Challenge: Build a bankroll for 10NL via $20 Rush Ring Game Ticket

Originally Posted by daven

Have you got a HUD that is working on rush?

I'm currently using PT3. If you wait a while before acting the stats do show up, but I cannot really vouch for the accuracy of the stats, although they look fine.

Third session went very well. Fourth session was somewhat meh, misplayed some hands terribly. But I think I have already adjusted to 5NL Rush play, but I still find myself not giving credit to squeezes too often, and out-leveling myself against unknowns (which is a very bad habit I have even on regular tables).

This hand illustrates this. 14 hands on villain with a 21/21 vpip/pfr. No stats on UTG:

Full Tilt - $0.05 NL RUSH (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

BB: $20.92
UTG: $2.30
MP: $5.30
CO: $3.76
Hero (BTN): $5.11
SB: $2.35

SB posts SB $0.02, BB posts BB $0.05

Pre Flop: ($0.07) Hero has Q A

UTG raises to $0.15, fold, fold, Hero calls $0.15, fold, BB raises to $0.62, fold, Hero calls $0.47

Flop: ($1.41, 2 players) 8 3 5
BB checks, Hero bets $0.85, BB raises to $3.96, fold

BB wins $2.91

I think pre-flop call vs squeeze is terrible given I don't really have good reads, but I somehow leveled myself into thinking he was squeeze-bluffing. I should have known better as the original raiser was UTG. But when UTG folded it was 'leveling' time! As played, flop bet was too big I think.

I have almost gotten back the value of my ring game ticket to its max value, and have increased my cash bankroll a bit. I haven't played in a while though due to work deadlines, but will try to put in some volume tonight. Hopefully this doesn't affect my quality of play, and continue to run good.

Bankroll update:

Ticket: $18.37
Cash :$60.50

Cheers!

Current update:

Cash : $114.16
Ticket: $0

So after being able to bring back the value of my ticket to its maximum value, everything went down from there. Challenge ends here. Results: FAILED.

Silver lining: at least I made something $28 out of this challenge ($50 I left in my account, $20 from the ticket and around $16 in rakeback). I can still continue building up a roll for 10NL, but one of the rules I stipulated is that the challenge ends when my ticket values goes 0, so there it ends.

Post-mortem: I had several difficulties taking on this challenge: The main one is that Rush (or Zoom) just isn't the game for me, I think. I am really having a difficult time getting reads on players and couldn't make correct standard decisions. And I time-out while taking notes too often even getting folded out with AA once, so that too is a pain. On hindsight though, I think I should have just stuck to playing 2 tables instead of 4.

Another reason is that given the speed of how the game goes, I had very high expectations on how quickly I can win money. When I started out with pokerstars last year I was able to zoom past 5NL regular tables in just about 35k hands over a month and a half (excluding bonuses), yet here I am playing more than that number of hands and yet I haven't even managed to win 6 buyins, so I found myself in a lot of spots were I was forcing the issue (making bad bluffs, overbetting too much for value, etc.) which of course cost me money.

Another thing I realized, which I think is most important, is that I have become weak when it comes to standard stuffs. Given how readless we mostly are against villains at Rush, at least at 5NL, I find myself lost in such situations and making the wrong plays. This is quite alarming and I need to go back to the basics.

Now that I'm done with this craziness, I think I should just go back playing my regular stakes. The challenge was eye-opening though. I hope to retain the lessons I learned from the challenge.

Cheers!