Operation: WTF am I Doing

[Phantaroth]

Yes.

Basics: I've been playing poker / posting on this forum on-and-off for quite a while - almost always donking around small stakes. I am still donking around small stakes.

I started playing again in June and grinded $50 into $800 over the course of about 700 sit n gos. I then donked off most of that.

I deposited $100.00 on to Pokerstars and started playing MTTs. I won a $2.00 180 man, a $1.00 w/ 1,500 people, and then finally a $5.00 w/ 2,600 people and my roll was up to $2,300.

For whatever reason - whenever I get a big win - I seem to go on a massive self-inflicted downswing, as was the case here. So before I donked off my profits I took it all offline.

I decided the best course of action, for my own sanity, would be to pocket the profit and re-deposit a roll of $500.00 and start a focused, non-donkish grind and hopefully never look back.

I will be playing exclusively turbo Sit n Gos, starting at the $6.50 level. Hopefully keeping track of it in public will keep me from committing the mistakes I usually make.

Goals:
- Bankroll Management, minimum 50 buy ins per level.
- $300 profit at the $6.50 level
- ROI of at least 10% over first 400 games
- Review hands in here and SNG forum to improve

Good luck me.

[Phantaroth]

Day 1:
Fuck

Well, I grinded away 26 Sit n Gos today, four tabling a mix of NL Hold Em and PLO8.

Result: $-9.67
Bankroll: $490.33

Basically it was a mix of being card dead and the occasional running bad. Aside from one game of NLHE and the last two PLO8s I played, I don't feel I played that poorly. I think it'd probably be best if I stuck to NLHE from now on. With that said, I did finish 1st / 1st / x / x in four PLO8 games.

WTF hand of the day:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t20 (9 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

Button (t1500)
SB (t1500)
Hero (t1500)
UTG (t1500)
UTG+1 (t1500)
MP1 (t1500)
MP2 (t1500)
MP3 (t1500)
CO (t1500)

Preflop: Hero is BB with K, T.
UTG calls t20, 1 fold, MP1 calls t20, 3 folds, Button calls t20, 1 fold, Hero checks.

Flop: (t90) 8, 2, 9 (4 players)
Hero checks, UTG checks, MP1 bets t20, Button folds, Hero raises to t80, UTG folds, MP1 calls t60.

Turn: (t250) 9 (2 players)
Hero bets t120, MP1 raises to t240, Hero calls t120.

River: (t730) 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP1 bets t500, Hero calls t500.

Final Pot: t1730

Results in white below:
Hero has Ks Ts (one pair, nines).
MP1 has Qs 6s (one pair, nines).
Outcome: Hero wins t1730.

Two Hands I Could have Played Better

1. AJ

POKERSTARS GAME #18890938241: TOURNAMENT #96227850, $6.00+$0.50 HOLD'EM NO LIMIT - LEVEL V (75/150) - 2008/07/17 - 15:41:02 (ET)
Table '96227850 1' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: acoimbra (1090 in chips)
Seat 2: ipla4fun (2535 in chips)
Seat 3: Vile66 (1878 in chips)
Seat 6: StevenvanS (2637 in chips)
Seat 7: u_got_st8 (1545 in chips)
Seat 8: QKA23 STR8 (3815 in chips)
acoimbra: posts small blind 75
ipla4fun: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to QKA23 STR8 [Js Ad]
Vile66: folds
StevenvanS: calls 150
u_got_st8: folds
QKA23 STR8: calls 150
acoimbra: folds
ipla4fun: checks
*** FLOP *** [9s 2s Jh]
ipla4fun: bets 150
StevenvanS: calls 150
QKA23 STR8: raises 600 to 750
ipla4fun: folds
StevenvanS: calls 600
*** TURN *** [9s 2s Jh] [As]
StevenvanS: checks
QKA23 STR8: checks
*** RIVER *** [9s 2s Jh As] [Tc]
StevenvanS: bets 750
QKA23 STR8 said, "sigh"
QKA23 STR8: calls 750
*** SHOW DOWN ***
StevenvanS: shows [7s 8s] (a flush, Ace high)
QKA23 STR8: mucks hand
StevenvanS collected 3675 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3675 | Rake 0
Board [9s 2s Jh As Tc]
Seat 1: acoimbra (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: ipla4fun (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 3: Vile66 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: StevenvanS showed [7s 8s] and won (3675) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 7: u_got_st8 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: QKA23 STR8 (button) mucked [Js Ad]


I really really thought I was beat here but called anyway because I felt like the turn check might induce some bluffs... I don't know.


2. AK

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t20 (9 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

MP3 (t1500)
CO (t1460)
Button (t1540)
SB (t1480)
BB (t1500)
UTG (t1640)
UTG+1 (t1500)
MP1 (t1380)
Hero (t1500)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with K, A.
UTG calls t20, 1 fold, MP1 calls t20, Hero raises to t80, MP3 calls t80, 4 folds, UTG calls t60, MP1 calls t60.

Flop: (t350) A, J, 6 (4 players)
UTG checks, MP1 bets t60, Hero calls t60, MP3 folds, UTG calls t60.

Turn: (t530) Q (3 players)
UTG checks, MP1 checks, Hero bets t180, UTG calls t180, MP1 calls t180.

River: (t1070) 6 (3 players)

Final Pot: t1070

Hand History mest up - basically, flop aggressor lead out with a quickly timed push on the river and I folded.

Results in white below:
UTG doesn't show.
MP1 doesn't show.
Hero has Kc Ad (two pair, aces and sixes).
Outcome:

Here I just felt like I was beat very often. AQ/AJ struck me as very likely holdings, and I thought at the time, I could find a better spot later. Maybe not since, as is the case in turbos, I was forced to take a marginal spot later as well.

Overall, I hate everything about this hand. I don't understand why I just called the flop, my bet size on the turn is horrible, which makes the river confusing.

[Phantaroth]

Day 2:

I have to go like rite now, but:

I run bad.

(Down 11 Buy Ins)

[Phantaroth]

Nothing solves a 100 SNG downswing (-8 Buy Ins over that period of time) like cashing 8 of 9 while 9-tabling.

Operation is now back on track. Roll: $560.00