I need to build a bankroll! My first thoughts.

This sounds probably very familiar with a lot of you guys but I need to vent and I need to write this all down. My poker playing suffers big time at the moment and my month holiday away in the US/Mexico can’t come soon enough. So what’s my problem?

I started playing Poker with SNG’s and the occasional low buy-in MTT. I did well and my bankroll was growing; not fast but steadily. However, I was always lured by the cash games as I read that a) cash games are harder to master (the competitive spirit in me took over) and b) more profitable over the long run. Despite dropping a lot of my bankroll at the cash games I got better. When I suffered beats at the cash tables I went back to SNG’s where I did well and bolstered my bankroll again.

Now I come to the point where I suck at both and suddenly I start playing like a scared. When I’m at a cash table and have lost sometimes even only half of my buy-in I start to become depressed and leave. When I play SNG’s or MTT’s and I suffer some bad beat out of the money I start kicking & screaming. The good thing out of this is that I know when I’m on tilt and turn off the computer and do not return until the next day.

So my goal is to build my bankroll again when I get back from holiday, hopefully refreshed and itching to play Poker again. I set my goals at

a) read TOP and NLTP by Sklansky
b) set up a Poker friendly environment at home i.e. no TV, no bong, no wife
c) finish my Titan bonus and move to Bodog with rakeback and bonus
d) bonus whore all major sites
e) build bankroll with ????

I still have to decide whether to play full ring cash tables to build my bankroll or concentrate on my SNG play?

Thanks for reading this. Maybe someone could share his/hers experience of how to build a proper bankroll? Every input is appreciated.

e) consider building your br with casino whoring

i would suggest starting at a level that you previously dominated - for me it was going back to 10NL for a few weeks - Losing a bunch of BR was actually really good for me. I realized i wasn't great just cause i had won a big tourney for $3k - so i started over...I think its important to have confidence and it sounds like you don't have any right now - 1st off take your holiday - go enjoy yourself and don't even THINK of poker (or as little as possible)...This alone will help you come back fresh and ready to play - I would casino whore until you have 300-400 to start and then go hit whatever bonus' you can - If you play limit you will clear the bonus' faster - Or just do bodog (can you PM me and tell me how to get the Rakeback there? Thanks) - if you can get the bonus there with rakeback that should be plenty of cushion to help -

When you come back, come back to a level you feel absolutely comfortable at - Don't go in thinking ur going to dominate everyone - think of it like your starting from scratch (worked from me - bury the ego and your game will improve) - It sounds to me like you just need a break and some confidence - You have PokerTracker, right>? Review hands, post some, think about WHY your betting and who your playing against - Typical straightforward play will beat most cash game below 50NL that I have found...

also, it sounds like you KINDA want to do everything at once (whoring, bodog rb & bonus, cut off the bong, wife etc) - Slow down - for whatever people think of AOK, he had some good advice about what we expect when we're playing - yeah, we all want to go in and win 5 buy ins every night, but it doesn't work that way - We will have downspells, and upswings - Don't piss it all away when your running bad and don't start thinking your the best ever when things go your way - Just try to build your skills and the rest will fall in line....

i really did just go through exactly what you were talking about...the biggest realization for me was that it wasn't the game, but me that needed some tuning - good luck and let us know - you know your on the right path just by asking for advice - go get em

Thanks for the replies guys. OK I better tell you what I have done so far in my 6 months

a) read HOH, HOH II and the little Green Book
b) read FTR from start to finish
c) purchased Poker Tracker and PAHUD and got myself familiar with it
d) played on Party, Stars, Noble, Full Tilt and try to clear a bonus on Titan at the moment
e) built my bankroll to approx $500 from $200
f) play $25NL full ring
g) play $5+0.5 & $10+1 SNG's (also full ring and NOT turbo)
h) play MTT's with buy-ins of less than $10

I really struggle switching tactics between the tourneys and cash games. I promised myself not to play them both on the same day but that has gone out of the window. However, with a proper environment I might be able to follow my own promises a little bit better.

But limpin mentioned something which is probably hitting the nail on the head - expectation. I know that I am a good player but somehow i loose confidence too quickly. Then I jump back and forth between games just to try to win it all back again. I have noticed that if I have a good start to a session then I usually destroy the game. But as soon as I made a bad play or got a bad beat then I start playing scared. Maybe some positive reinforcement post-it notes on my calender?

Originally Posted by midas06

e) consider building your br with casino whoring

sorry but I wouldn't know how? Are there any websites which specialise on casino bonus whoring?

Originally Posted by silu_nz

Originally Posted by midas06

e) consider building your br with casino whoring

sorry but I wouldn't know how? Are there any websites which specialise on casino bonus whoring?

You could check out the "house of cards" forum on FTR.

There is a casino bonus whore site, but I don't remember what it's called.

Sound like alot of my goals silu. Listen, one of the things you need to address is the tilt you go on when you get beat. I can speak a little on this because I don't do it anymore. You need to figure out that your going to get beat sometimes. Once I realised that almost every bad beat I take is one where I was ahead, or I did something stupid myself. Play your game, the one you enjoy, because that will make you the most money this early in your poker career (why play if you aren't enjoying the game).Then spend some time on Poker Tracker and sort your session to look at all the worst net loss hands. For me, there is usually 4 or 5 in a 1k session of 4 tabling. Watch the hands and see what happened. you will see them differently. You will see that you missed something, or you were right to call or bet and they were the idiots because they were behind and never should of bet. These beats cannot bother you, you will remember them more than the wins. If I look through PT and see my best winning hands, some of them are from guys folding on the river from the missed draws and I got the money in early enough to make it worthwhile. Use the tool for what it is made to do, Monitor your game. What it does at the table is only half the program.

Just a quick update. Only had time to play about 20 SNG’s in the last couple of days with mixed results. I started great, played badly for a while just to pull back again. I haven’t really started building the bankroll but at the moment I show a 35% ROI which is above my usual rate but reflective of be bad players on Titan at the moment. Will keep you up to date after my holiday (incl Vegas!!). I plan to keep a ROI of above 25% which seems certainly doable at my current skill level.

Also just got Rakeback on Bodog which means that from December onwards I will be whoring their bonus at their apparent soft tourneys.

Have kind of a good run at the moment. Played 8x $10 SNG's and 1x $5 MTT. Placed second in ALL SNG's!!! Also bubbled the MTT when I raised KK and called a push by ---wait for it-- Q7s! Needless to say that he made his flush.

But seriously, whats wrong with my HU game?? I analysed the HH and I went into every hand I lost as favourite. Even when I made TP I got beaten by gutshot straights and the lone Ace is my nemesis. You push with JJ and A3 calls without being paired just to spike a Ace on the turn/river.

Early game good, bubble play is very good but I have to work on my HU game. But at least the BR is growing finally.

Post some of your HU HH's so we can look at them

Originally Posted by Hartlin

Post some of your HU HH's so we can look at them

Thanks. Unfortunately most of the SNG's I play at the moment are on Titan and getting the HH from there is pretty useless. But here some examples:

When I was short stack HU:

Raised with KJs (hearts) got called, K73with 2 hearts. I push get called by KTo and he gets a T on the turn

in BB with AA. SB raises I push. Hit a set on the flop but he makes runner/runner straight with KQ

pushed ATs and get called by 89o. I get the Ace but he makes two pair on the river

push with A7s, get called by K5o and he hits a K on the flop

Opp pushes with A3o and I call with 99, he hits an Ace

But at least my BR is growing. Because I am moving and planning to go overseas this weekend I could only play about 30 SNG's.

Current stats:
47.1% ITM
37.7% ROI
72.7% ITM from bubble