Daven pseudo-grind

Time to get some focus. Started out playing and losing sngs. But learnt a little about poker on the way. Then deposited 50 and withdrew some profit a while back. But still not really playing to my bankroll or with much focus or discipline. Somehow I'm still in profit, but now to do it all a little better.

Goal
Try and grind a bankroll from full-ring cash games and bonus whoring.

Starting bankroll.
$100 on party, $100 on empire, $300 for any deposit bonus whoring I feel like doing (or to maybe open accounts elsewhere).

Bankroll rules
Only play games that I think I'm rolled for on the site I'm playing at. This means minimum 300BB for limit, 30 buy-ins for no-limit. Only move up when I'm rolled for it.

Game
Cash ring games. Exclusively limit for a while, unless there is a very good reason to do otherwise. Grind out 5k hands at 0.10-0.20 before moving up, even if I am rolled for it.
MTTs and SnGs. Only play these for a laugh, and only when the buy-in is under half my profit during the previous week. I might get money back from these, might not, and I will try and play them well - but these are not my current focus.

Game play.
1) Play tighter. I'm not good enough to try and play LAG 25-13 at low limits. Try and play something like 17-10 with some decent aggression.
2) Lay down beaten hands. Getting better at spotting sets and draws that hit. Now I need to stop paying them out.
3) Maximise return from monster hands. Flopped quads should be worth than one BB....
4) Don't play tired. Don't play too many hours. Don't play more than five tables. Don't play after drinking. Don't surf multiple web-sites while playing. Do play when feeling alert, sober and happy!

Learning poker.
Keep reading the limit holdem posts and writing responses. Submit my questions and/or difficult hands to forum. Study my pokertracker stats and see where i'm going right and wrong. Study stats of players I encounter frequently to try and understand their game (and mine) a little better.

hmmm... that sounds like a good start. I'll try and update this fairly frequently, but depends how much I play I guess...

GL!

I suggest, when you grind that money up to or better than $650, take it to FT to use the double-up bonus. Be sure to get a rakeback account. It will set you up to speed.

OK. First update. The first few days went terribly, I was adjusting my play loads and ended up playing badly. Went down about $28 on my party account (140bb!) and decided to look closely at my game. Found some leaks that are now closed.

1) I was still paying out too frequently when I knew I was beaten - the last two sessions (about 1k hands) I've done it only twice. And cheaply. Happy about that (once was blind vs blind, I raised from small blind with jj and it was capped pre-flop. I called him down when the ace hit the flop, knowing i was beaten, but it wasn't so bad. The other was a river flush that hit when I had a set...)

2) I had some crazy ideas about c-betting, two-barrelling etc. I'm now a lot better at spotting when it is appropriate (i.e. not always!!!)

3) And another crazy idea with pocket pairs, basically happy to pay one small bet to see the turn, or betting out one sb without a set when I knew there would be callers. Now only doing it when I'm pretty sure I'll get a fold out of it

3) Not watching pot-odds closely. I'm now almost intuitively aware of how many bb are in the pot and how many outs I have, plus how strong the outs are - reading the Abdul Jalib articles helped a lot with this. And reviewing hand histories.

4) I was not getting much value from my sets and other made hands. Now I am. Smooth calling on the flop when it feels safe, normally gets a bb bet that I can re-raise and people hate folding here. Plus I've realised it's better to keep three players in with one BB on the turn than only one when I have a non-vulnerable hand. Cos they'll normally pay to see on the river.

As well, I'm taking a lot more time/care with seat selection. And it's paying off. And I'm keeping far away (either off the table, or opposite) from the only player who consistently dominates me and the tables he's playing on.

I'm back up into the low $90s now, playing on party doing the grindroll thing. Easy to earn 25pp a day (500 hands of 0.10-0.20, five tabling between one and two hours), and i'll do that everyday to qualify for some reasonably big freerolls. That works out at about one dollar worth of party points too, cos I get 3x points earned. I've currently got $25 worth of party points I can cash-in sometime, and there is a deposit bonus associated with the grindroll promotion that should be making me another quick $100 (doubling my party bankroll!)

I'm learning loads. And things seem to be working out ok. Up to 0.15-0.30 once I've reached $120 and then I'll go from there.
I'm also opening a purple lounge account in the near future for 35% rakeback equivalent (player points that buy cash) and what should be an easy to clear $300 deposit bonus. And then maybe FullTilt? Maybe Pacific for another quick bonus? I'll decide when the time comes.
Cool. Hasta pronto....

Played loosely during a tired session and paid to see hands I knew had mine beat. Was tough to breakeven after that.
So I'm still in the 90s on party, going to reload there next week for an easy clear $100 bonus. May cash in my points there too. Dunno.
Haven't touched my Empire account, still on $100. Bankroll seems to be standing still. Dull.
But I think I'm becoming a far more solid player, I think my game is good enough for the next couple of limits at least, just need to get my bankroll there....

Had some lucky breaks five-tabling 0.10-0.20 mostly short(ish) handed - between 3 and 7 players. Anyway, I'm in profit at last after the terrible start - and up $35-ish since I took a closer look at my game.
A few more hands tonight, and then a break until the four grindrolls I'm going to be hitting. And then deposit for the bonus, then clear it - I would like to do this playing no-limit because it's twice as fast to clear (although not sure if I can comfortably five-table NL, will find out). If I'm at or around $120 I'll play $5NL and buy in with $4 to keep within my stated bankroll rules!

Happy update here. I started trying to clear the party $100 bonus at 0.10-0.20 limit. This will take ages, it is twice as fast playing $5NL. So.. my balance was at $110 and I decided i could take a shot at $5 NL buying in with $3 (I know, i hate shortstacks too...) I chose shorthanded tables to get through hands faster, although they all filled up eventually.

I think I played well, loose and aggressive. Feels as though I may have the ability to destroy the game at this level. Will see over the next few days. I was hitting cards all over the place for the short session I played (AA 3x). 5-tabling for one hour and my stats were...
Hands: 312
VPIP: 27
PFR: 10
Flop AF: 6
Turn AF: 5.5
River AF: crazy high
amount won: $11.86
BB/100: 47.52

Seems that a basic understanding of bet-sizing, pot and implied odds, when a pot is orphan, and the basics of identifying who is weak and who will call down are enough down here. The suckouts don't hurt as much either (even when my 88 flopped set got broken by someone calling with a gutshot draw against my pot--size raise) because they never have odds to call (unlike in limit).

Bankroll update:
Party: $122
Empire: $100
(plus the $300 deposited for the bonus on party, but I don't count that!)
Next update two days from now. Only downside is that I've been called in for work Monday morning unexpectedly so will not be able to play the three grindroll-freerolls I've qualified for. Shame. They looked like an easy way to maybe pick up a few dollars...

loving $5NL... Once I hit $220 bankroll I will buy into the occasional $10NL table with around $7 and build it up from there.

I'm buying into tables with 3-6 players to get through more hands (bonus clearing), these seem to fill up eventually but I stay anyway. Generally five tabling.

Some stats from the last few days, I've divided it into short-handed and full-ring. Interesting, as I thought I was doing far better in short-handed play than in full-ring, seeing too many sh flops i think.

Tables with 7 or more players:
Hands 3376 VPIP 24.59 PFR 6.84 Total AF 3.61 Net $34.96
Tables with 6 or less players
Hands 3947 VPIP 37.47 PFR 11.96 Total AF 3.53 Net $23.22

And the grind update, doing ok. Will hopefully clear $100 in bonus by tomorrow...

Starting Current
Party $100 $177
Empire $100 $100
Bonuses $0 $0
Rakeback/cashable player points
$10 $36

Bonus cleared. First time I've done the bonus whoring thing, happy about that. Going to post some stats again sometime with the six-max figures broken down a little more, there are a bunch of heads-up hands in there that distort things a little.
Had some beats recently, but still surviving...
Here is where I now stand:

Party $100 $166
Empire$100 $100
Bonuses $0 $100
Rakeback/cashable player points
$10 $40

This morning I played the party grindrolls that i qualified for last week.
No final tables, but I think my MTT play is improving. I'm not 100% happy with how I played, but I have no problems with how I played the hands I busted out on.

1) 2.5k grindroll 462/1580 for $1
2) 3.5k grindroll 1144/1560 for $0
3) 5k grindroll 105/1482 for $10
4) 7.5k grindroll 84/928 for $30

and the hands i busted on:
1) shortstacked. Pushed KQo pre-flop, called by shortstack with K10 o and the ten hit twice. Should never have let myself get so shortstacked: m<2!

2) Blinds 100/200. Had 2300 in chips, holding qq in the big blind. Folded to villain in mid-position who raised to 700. Folded to me. Villain had been raising about 1/3 of pots since I joined the table and generally relishing having double the chips of the nearest opponent there. I re-raise pushed, expecting a fold. Villain called with AQo, and guess that's a badbeat when the ace hits...

3) Blinds high, almost everyone left was in push-fold mode. Hand folded to cutoff who raised all-in (m=5ish) and I called with KK. Villain turned over AKs and hit the ace, oh well. Shame, cos the next pay level was at 100 and i could have easily limped there, but I was aiming for my first MTT final table.

4) Pushed JJ with m<10. Called by villain with 56s. 6 on flop, 6 on river...

oh. Bankroll status. The grindrolls were a nice booster. Not sure whether to keep MTT/Free-roll money recorded separately from the cash ring games income. Think that I will for the moment. Regardless, it means my starting $200 is now $457!!! Stoked

Party $100 $174
Empire$100 $100
Bonuses $0 $100
Rakeback/cashable player points
$10 $42
MTT profit
$41

So the first 3 weeks of this op have been going pretty well...
Gotta love easy-clear reload bonuses. Empire had a 25% to $100 bonus this morning - cleared at 10x raked hands.
Might open on pacific and clear their $100 bonus the next few days. See what other suggestions turn up first though...

anyway, I cleared the empire bonus playing $0.05-$0.10 limit (the disgustingly high 10% rake at this level means that any two players to the flop will make it a raked hand - so almost every hand dealt counts towards clearing the bonus). Experimented with playing loose and very aggressive poker. 25-15 with flop AF of 6.... good fun but only 1BB/100hands so not something to replace what I've been doing recently

Total starting roll: $200
Current roll: $558

Party cash ring $100 -> $172
Empire cash ring $100 -> $101
Bonuses cleared $0 -> $200
Rakeback/cashable player points
$10 -> $44
MTT profit
$0 -> $41

so I moved today from $5NL to $10NL - buying in with $7 until I get used to it. And it has been break-even today. First serious run of badbeats, my biggest losing hand is AA, an example below

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (10 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

MP2 ($1.85)
MP3 ($3.08)
CO ($10)
Button ($1.85)
SB ($9.90)
BB ($10.26)
UTG ($9.05)
UTG+1 ($18.02)
Hero ($7.09)
MP1 ($6.55)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+2 with , . CO posts a blind of $0.10.
2 folds, Hero raises to $0.4, 2 folds, MP3 calls $3.08 (All-In), CO (poster) calls $9.90 (All-In), 3 folds, Hero calls $7.09 (All-In).

Flop: ($18.26) , , (3 players, 3 all-in)

Turn: ($18.26) (3 players, 3 all-in)

River: ($18.26) (3 players, 3 all-in)

Final Pot: $18.26

Results in white below:
Hero has As Ac (two pair, aces and eights).
MP3 has Kh 6d (straight, ten high).
CO has Jd Jc (straight, jack high).
Outcome: CO wins $20.62.

Final Pot: $18.26

and I've been getting money in ahead most of the time....
Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (10 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

SB ($1.80)
Hero ($8.09)
UTG ($12.23)
UTG+1 ($1.55)
UTG+2 ($9.75)
MP1 ($1.50)
MP2 ($14.60)
MP3 ($8.90)
CO ($10.04)
Button ($4.25)

Preflop: Hero is BB with , .
5 folds, MP3 calls $0.10, 1 fold, Button calls $0.10, SB raises to $0.6, Hero raises to $1.75, MP3 folds, Button folds, SB calls $1.75 (All-In).

Flop: ($3.70) , , (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: ($3.70) (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($3.70) (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $3.71

Results in white below:
SB has Jc Jh (straight, king high).
Hero has Qs Qd (three of a kind, queens).
Outcome: SB wins $3.70. Hero wins $0.64.

but I've had some food luck to compensate. This was by far my happiest hand of this limit to date...
Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (10 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

UTG ($1.85)
UTG+1 ($7.33)
Hero ($6.65)
MP1 ($1.85)
MP2 ($3.40)
MP3 ($8.10)
CO ($3.30)
Button ($13.87)
SB ($1.60)
BB ($0.60)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+2 with , . UTG posts a blind of $0.10.
UTG+1 calls $0.10, Hero calls $0.10, 1 fold, MP2 calls $0.10, MP3 raises to $0.7, 1 fold, Button calls $0.70, 2 folds, UTG+1 calls $0.60, Hero calls $0.60, MP2 folds.

Flop: ($3.05) , , (5 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero checks, MP3 bets $2.5, UTG+1 folds, Hero calls $6.65 (All-In), MP3 calls $3.45.

Turn: ($14.95) (4 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($14.95) (4 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $15.65

Results in white below:
BB doesn't show.
Hero has 8d 8h (full house, eights full of fours).
MP3 has Ks Kc (two pair, kings and fours).
Button has Kh Kd (two pair, kings and fours).
Outcome: Hero wins $14.95. MP3 wins $0.35. Button wins $0.35.

what else? played a 50player $6sng as well. M=4, pushed AJ in late position, ATen called and busted me... shortstack (m=0.5) went out next hand. So ended up in the money, but....
lucky I cleared that bonus this morning...

another party bonus grind underway. This time $80 at 6x. 10% of the way there playing $5NL again, and $15 up at the same time. Running 15BB/100 hands for the 1100-ish hands so far put towards clearing this bonus... and a couple of dollars worth of loyalty points.

Did I call this a pseudo-grind?
This is bonus-grinding at it's murkiest worst...

hmm, funniest hand so far this session - i had the table a little talkative, and a little riled up, they had no belief in anything i did, think I was running 21-19-8 or something - the idiot calling my all-in pre-flop with K7 proves it. Shame he hit...

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.04 BB (10 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

saw flop|saw showdown

CO ($6.45)
Button ($5.18)
SB ($2.64)
BB ($5.05)
UTG ($1.98)
Hero ($4.54)
UTG+2 ($5.79)
MP1 ($2.73)
MP2 ($1.86)
MP3 ($5.05)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with A, A. Hero posts a blind of $0.04.
1 fold, MP1 calls $0.04, MP2 calls $0.04, 2 folds, SB completes, Hero (poster) calls $4.50 (All-In), 1 fold, MP2 calls $1.86 (All-In), 1 fold.

Flop: ($6.50) K, 3, 5 (5 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: ($6.50) K (5 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($6.50) J (5 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: $6.52

Results in white below:
BB doesn't show.
UTG doesn't show.
Hero has Ah As (two pair, aces and kings).
MP2 has 7c Kc (three of a kind, kings).
CO doesn't show.
Outcome: MP2 wins $3.88. Hero wins $2.62. CO wins $0.00. BB wins $0.00. UTG wins $0.00.

and another couple of favourites...

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.04 BB (7 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

saw flop|saw showdown

MP2 ($3.34)
CO ($4.44)
Button ($1.54)
SB ($4.78)
BB ($3.90)
Hero ($6.57)
MP1 ($0.57)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with J, Q.
Hero calls $0.04, MP1 calls $0.04, MP2 calls $0.04, 1 fold, Button calls $0.04, 1 fold, BB checks.

Flop: ($0.24) Q, J, Q (5 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $0.08, MP1 folds, MP2 folds, Button calls $0.08, BB calls $0.08.

Turn: ($0.48) 7 (3 players)
BB bets $0.24, Hero calls $0.24, Button folds.

River: ($0.96) K (2 players)
BB bets $0.8, Hero calls $6.57 (All-In), BB calls $3.86 (All-In).

Final Pot: $10.28

Results in white below:
Hero has Js Qs (full house, queens full of jacks).
BB has Th 9h (straight, king high).
Outcome: Hero wins $12.19.

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.04 BB (8 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

UTG ($4.60)
UTG+1 ($1.51)
MP1 ($1.88)
MP2 ($5.23)
CO ($8.90)
Hero ($3.94)
SB ($1.92)
BB ($2.58)

Preflop: Hero is Button with , .
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.04, 1 fold, MP2 calls $0.04, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.04, 1 fold, BB checks.

Flop: ($0.20) , , (4 players)
BB checks, UTG+1 checks, MP2 checks, Hero checks.

Turn: ($0.20) (4 players)
BB bets $0.24, UTG+1 calls $0.24, MP2 folds, Hero raises to $0.8, BB calls $0.56, UTG+1 folds.

River: ($2.04) (2 players)
BB calls $2.54 (All-In), Hero calls $1.74.

Final Pot: $5.52

Results in white below:
Hero has 6d 7d (straight, nine high).
BB has 3c 9s (three of a kind, nines).
Outcome: Hero wins $6.32.

Total bankroll: $564. Getting there slowly. Thank xxxx for bonuses...

Party: $320 (incl $100 of bonus)
Empire: $197 (incl $100 of bonus)
Cashable loyalty points: $47

Originally Posted by daven

This is bonus-grinding at it's murkiest worst...

I'm right there witcha pal

Mostly a blah post - except that party busted a frequent abuser of disconnect protect who had tried that trick against me once too often... see the letter below..

I was running hot and up 3-4BI, then ran terribly for the rest of the long session = a -7BI run, net -3BI for the session.... wrong end of set over set twice, nut flush all in on turn busted by the board pairing on the river, and one BAD mis-read which saw me lose almost 2BI in one hand. I think that was a tilting mis-read and I should have already turned off my computer by then... Counting the portion of bonus I probably cleared during that session AND cashable loyalty points I was still behind.

Started another session an hour ago and played well AND got good cards, up three buy-ins with that nice combination. So it's back to where I was. Break-even poker... dull, except I guess the bonus is going to be profit now after all...

Thank you for taking the time to report a potentially suspect usage of
the 'disconnect protect' feature.

We have thoroughly investigated xxxxxxxx's account history with a
particular focus on the player's previous usage of this feature.

We have found that the hand you reported to us was indeed suspicious and
as the investigation has revealed further suspicious disconnects in the
past, we have proceeded to block the protection feature for this
account. In future, should the player disconnect, his/her hand will be
folded. The player concerned has been sent an email explaining the
reason for our actions.

If you need any further clarification, please do not hesitate to contact
us.

Contact us anytime, we are available around the clock to assist you with
your account related questions and suggestions.

Sincerely,

Nikhil
Investigations Team

Note: Your PartyAccount username and password are confidential
information. No one from the company will ever ask for your password in
a phone call or email message. Do not respond to any message or request
that asks for your password.

First final table today. 17o player $1k freeroll on Pacific. Was 2nd with 8 players left, m about 4 or 5 and I raised (not pushed!?!?!) AKs under the gun. BB was chip leader and called. Flop was KQ7 with the flush draw, I pushed, BB called with KQ, the flush and ace outs didn't turn up and I was out.. stoked to make my first final table, annoyed with my stupidity. Why didn't I push pre-flop? no idea.... and three of the players left on the table had m<1.... oh well, still some free money... but... never mind, next time!

Had a nice little session (ca 1hr) playing a mix of short-handed and full-ring $5nl. Felt aggressive and calm, and ran hot on cards - 27-12-5 and 33BB/100 for the session. Would have been a lot better if it wasn't for this:

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.04 BB (10 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

saw flop|saw showdown

Hero ($4.80)
BB ($5.16)
UTG ($4.96)
UTG+1 ($4.84)
UTG+2 ($2.74)
MP1 ($3.63)
MP2 ($6.50)
MP3 ($3.96)
CO ($2.11)
Button ($1.46)

Preflop: Hero is SB with T, 8.
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.04, UTG+2 calls $0.04, 2 folds, MP3 calls $0.04, CO calls $0.04, Button calls $0.04, Hero completes, BB checks.

Flop: ($0.30) Q, 9, 7 (7 players)
Hero bets $0.12, BB folds, UTG+1 calls $0.12, UTG+2 calls $0.12, MP3 folds, CO calls $0.12, Button raises to $0.36, Hero calls $0.24, UTG+1 folds, UTG+2 calls $0.24, CO calls $0.24.

Turn: ($1.86) 6 (4 players)
Hero calls $4.78 (All-In), UTG+2 calls $2.74 (All-In), CO calls $2.11 (All-In), Button calls $1.46 (All-In).

River: ($10.91) 7 (4 players, 4 all-in)

Final Pot: $10.91

Results below:
Hero has Th 8h (straight, ten high).
UTG+2 has Kd Ad (flush, ace high).
CO has 6h 6s (full house, sixes full of sevens).
Button has 9s Qc (two pair, queens and nines).
Outcome: CO wins $9.65. Hero wins $2.04. UTG+2 wins $1.26.

my flop play is debatable, but i felt i had good implied odds. Turned out to be correct, just a shame about that river!

note to self. Never again clear a 6x bonus on party at 5NL....
but it's done now. Got about another week where I can devote some serious time to poker, then party is over for a while

Party: $417 (incl $180 of Bonus)
Empire: $197 (incl $100 of Bonus)
Cashable loyalty points: $60
Pacific: $30 (still smarts that it;s not $200, stupid mistake...)

so $200 is now $704. Time to move all my money to pacific, get their easy $100 bonus and try and pillage their new player freerolls....
still playing 5NL, wtf!?!? 140 buyins.... hmmm... time to move up and stay up...

pulled $185 out of empire and $300 out of party - this is my bonus whoring fund now - using bonuses to buy more bonuses. I like that... putting it into my neteller account and transaction/currency conversion fees will become a bad memory! start on pacific tomorrow perhaps. Then maybe learn some SnG on stars? or grind on FullTilt? or?? maybe purple lounge - but I don't think I like the prima interface

ok. I've got $200 in purple lounge, a 100% bonus to clear without a time-limit or restrictions on stakes played AND rakeback. Received $13 in bonuses simply by depositing, but that's already gone in a couple of badbeats... running horribly there, gotta swing up soon!

here's one: http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...oker-60631.htm

Deposit in Pacific tomorrow and start the freeroll madness... Their bonus is released instantly, but have to play a little before I can withdraw. Shouldn't be a problem. Other downsides there are that I can only play four tables, no rakeback, and that I can't get hand histories to poker tracker without buying an add-on application. Don't think I'll bother with this as I doubt I'll be playing Pacific much in the long-term.

That purple run wasn't a patch...
welcome to full buy-in $10NL... went down like 4 buy-ins, was stacked three times where I wouldn't play the hands any differently if they happened again...

so a bit of grind getting back up again. Only running 3-4 tables there cos i can't handle more on their interface yet. And playing 6-max cos that's where most of the action is. And back to just under square (ahead if I include the free welcome bonus) and I think 15% of the way towards clearing $300 in bonus, but have to confirm that. Oh, and a little rakeback coming...

The play there seems strange. A lot of open limping. A lot of players seeing flops. Very few pots contested past the flop, if they are chances are someone is getting stacked. Biggest hands for me have been re-raising all-in with only two pairs (but a solid read) and two hands later at the same table slow playing my nut flush long enough for someone to river two pairs and stack off. Nice to go up 2buy-ins in the space of three minutes.

I don't think I really like the Prima interface much, but I think the play where I'm hanging out could become a money tree when I get used to it... I'll play there when I haven't got anything better going on anywhere else...

All good in this hood. Out.

I heard that the competition at purple lounge is tough.

Still, its on my list, but I'll wait until I can deposit the full $1000 bonus, some time in the near future.

Keep it going.

Originally Posted by Jack Sawyer

I'll wait until I can deposit the full $1000 bonus

Just a heads up, I'm pretty sure only hands at $200NL and above count towards clearing the 100% up to $1000 bonus. I'm working on the RTR any limit deposit bonus - max $300 (but I just realised that my above post is wrong, I only put $200 there, so guess I'm clearing $200). I think that any raked hand counts, but there could be a loophole where only hands raked above x count. My plan is to get through the hands assuming no loophole, naively ask for the bonus to be released and then go from there...

as for the level of competition, I'll let you know after 10k hands!

Might be time to set up a spreadsheet as well as this blog to manage my poker money... current status below. Loving that the pacific bonus is instantly released into my account, and their play through requirements are soft. Start their welcome freerolls tomorrow. Here's hoping I cane them as I still haven't made it to 1k yet. Was hoping to get there during this month - started this op 24th August... Not sure how much of my purple bonus is cleared yet - think about $30. Probably about $10 in rakeback there so far as well - I'll add these to the numbers once they hit my accounts.

Money in:
Party: $100
Empire: $100
Purple: $200
Pacific: $400

Money out:
Party: $522
Empire: $185
Purple: $0
Pacific: $0

Balances:
Party: $9
Empire: $11
Purple: $200
Pacific: $534

Profit:
Party: $431
Empire: $96
Purple: $0
Pacific: $134

Profit: $661 (of which $380 is bonus money!)
Poker balance: $861
so close, but still no cigars being relished to the sound of soaring fat voices... soon...

oh, I'm only playing $10NL 6-max on purple at the moment. Interesting change - starting to get the hang of it. Will be posting some hands in the sh forum, and some stats once I've played 10k hands (this week sometimes perhaps?). So far it seems to be all about winning a lot of medium sized pots (managing that) and avoiding being stacked (need to improve). A contrast to full-ring $5NL that's for sure....

Six-max is the business!!!
i'm not looking so good at purple so far, barely ahead of break even from the tables... so, I filtered to see how I'm doing at 6-max relative to full-ring there. Sticking to 6-max there from now on, running 25-12-5 and +7BB/100 over 3k hands. I'd be way ahead on full-ring if it wasn't for two nasty badbeat hands, but I'll stay on 6-max cos I can get a LOT more hands in towards clearing the bonus... Not sure how close I am to clearing the bonus there, but I've contributed to the pot in around 1500 raked hands, and i think it's 30 raked hands per dollar. So guess that would mean about $50 of the $200 cleared. Rakeback is looking reasonably trivial so far = less than a buyin.
Some delays at Pacific, but I'm in my first $500 freeroll tomorrow - and they've acknowledged an error at their end so I should be able to play these daily freerolls on seven days of my choosing rather than being constrained to every day of the next seven.
All good.
Bankroll is still looking healthy at $875 now (excluding rakeback and partially cleared bonuses)
And still playing $10nl...

Looking good m8! Keep it going!

xxxxxx badbeat xxxxxx xxxxxxx sons of xxxxxxx.... etc...
no more poker for me today. Can't be bothered converting hands

My losingest hands on purple thus far are:
AJo, 66, ATo, QQ, A8s, AA, 77

Anyway:
Both 150bb deep. 77, limped from big blind. AA7 flop, uber-fish on the button raised 3xpot, I smooth-called, 8 on turn, check-raised allin. River 8 and button was smiling with their stupid A2...

QQ. Set on flop. Big fight and we both end up all-in. Villain hits two outer to stack me.

First of the pacific freerolls. About halfway through, m about 13. One shortstacked limper to me in cut-off with tens, I raised 5xbb, folds to the shortstack who pushes. I call the 1xbb difference. AQ so 50-50, no worries. Next hand. Three limpers to me on the button with JJ, gotta push, all fold bar a stack equal size to mine who calls with KJo and hit a straight...

blah blah blah. Afterwards I went out for a 15km hill-run in the wind and sleet, now I feel alive again and tomorrow I start over!

daven what is your winrate? that's a lot of money to make from 10nl.

Originally Posted by martindcx1e

daven what is your winrate? that's a lot of money to make from 10nl.

agreed, it's ridiculous for risking nothing at 5NL and 10NL

my winrate isn't that hot, this is the reason I'm still playing 10NL - I don't feel that I've earned enough money playing poker to move up to 25NL just yet. I've played there and above in the past (hell, even a stupid but profitable venture into $2-$4 limit returning 72BB/100!!!) but this op is mostly about bankroll principles, learning to whore, and being a little smarter about poker. I've got some longer term goals that will have to wait until the op after next.

Anyway, bonuses and promotions seem to be where it's at for me at the moment - although I'm starting to get a vague feel for 6-max and feel fairly comfortable playing low stakes full-ring (ignoring the spurious prima experience - two BIG badbeats are responsible for almost all of that).

winrates (most of these hands, but maybe not all?, are since this op started):
10NL 6-max prima +2.53BB/100 over around 4k hands
10NL full-ring prima -34BB/100 over less than 500 hands
5NL party +5BB/100 over 25k hands (this is where i was clearing all the party bonuses, got a LOT of hands in...)
$0.10-0.20limit party +1BB/100 over 10k hands
$0.15-0.30 limit party +14BB/100 over 500 hands


most of the money is cleared bonuses, cashed party points and freerolls.
Started with $200 and some money that I move around for bonuses but don't count as part of the bankroll. Bonuses as described below:

$100 reload bonus from empire
$100 grindload bonus from party
$80 reload bonus from party
$41 from the party grind promotion freerolls
$30 from the 888-facebook-pacific freeroll
$100 first depositer bonus from pacific
$55 cashed in from party loyalty points
$13 bonus from purple for simply opening an account!

and still to come: the purple bonus I'm clearing at the moment, and some rakeback

Well it's the end of the month and I haven't hit 1k yet....

Current roll = $892 (excluding bonus yet to be released, rakeback yet to be received)

But I'm overall around $1k because:
Some rakeback to come tomorrow (about $20-ish)
Halfway through clearing the $200 purple bonus.

I haven't cashed in five pacific freerolls I've played this week (average overlay $5/player!), three coinflips lost, once outplayed, one badbeat - this was the worst, on the bubble, average stack, AKs vs K5o all-in pre and the 5s hit to put the chipleader into an even better position. Bubble was worth $20 and rapidly increasing... Going to start a "Pacific Freerolls" op after I finish this one!!!

Doing ok on the 6-max tables and realising just how important position is.

There's going to be a lot less poker in the weeks to come, I'm starting what will likely prove to be the most intense contract of my life - and that's going to consume me during the next six months. That, and running, and climbing, and surfing, and yoga, and BEER AND COFFEE!!!!

All good...

Woot!!!
had a couple of short sessions that went ok, then got rakeback credited to my purple account.
current balance $945.
Almost there....

my 6-max stats make interesting reading:
6.5k hands, 25-10-4 and +7.46BB/100hands.

by my calcs I've got about another 6k hands to go to clear $200 in bonus, no time restrictions which is nice - cos it may take a while!
hoping to get a nice e-mail from empire shortly

Just a bit more to reach the finish line
Good going, m8!

600 hands of yuck.
AA < KK all in pre-flop, king on turn.
KK < Q9 villain 4-bet pushed my 3-bet. 9 on flop, 9 on river.
Turned straight busted by villain's runner-runner river flush.
3-way limped pot in SB. Flopped trips, limper abandoned ship, BB stacked me with flopped full house (mid-pockets)
Zero flopped sets.
Was lucky not to finish the session a lot worse than I did - down 2 1/2 buy-ins. Back to where I was last time I updated my op progress, still about 50 bucks from finishing this thing.

My plan. I'm going to continue this op until I finish clearing whatever bonuses I'm involved with at the moment. Then I will pull all my poker money to Neteller and decide where to go from there - likely to be starting with the FullTilt and Stars bonuses, etc. And a new op.

empire had another easy clear reload bonus. Cleared 5-tabling fr $10nl in a few hours. 1200 hands running 10BB/100... so a profitable time.
Anyway, I'm well over $1k on this op now. Still a few hands away from clearing the purple $200 bonus, soon though. And then.....
All good.