My project: Baby steps at the Micro stakes

[Gobbatino]

Weekend + next week goals progress:
*4/8 hours of play
*2/6 hours of study (videos, session reviews, hand postage)
*Workout/Basketball/Volleyball 4x - Not happening, I was playing basketball once and fucked up my back. Nothing sporty happening this week or next.

So I'm behind on my study.

Poker is going alright. I ran well for two sessions, then dropped three or four buy ins during the next two sessions. I'm running about 5 buy-ins under EV so I'm not doing particularly well on my all-ins. Overall I'm content with my play, although there's always areas to improve, as always.

Here are some points I'm writing down more for my benefit than anything else.

* TAGgish stats + dry flop + check raise = set a high percentage of the time. Play overpairs with caution.
* Go with my instincts more often than not. They are a product of observation of a player's habits, my current image at the table, the board texture and SPR. They aren't random feelings.
* Every hand I play is an opportunity to play the best I can. The results on that hand are irrelevant. Only EV matters. The amount of money doesn't matter. Only EV matters.

[dranger7070]

Hey dude, I was posting around here a ton right around the time you joined, but you weren't very active until I left for boot camp back in May. Glad to see you're back on the grind, much like myself. Good luck and wtfpwn some feeshus!

[dranger7070]

Oh yea, if you want to do some time studying, I recommend starting with Spoon's Exercises in the BC.

[Gobbatino]

Yeah you left for the marines right after I started cash games. I've been following your OP from back then though. Hope you rebuild and move up quick. Did you ever give moving to FR a thought? So many of the 6max players seem to struggle at the micros while FR nits move up through the limits, I'm tempted to make the move myself.

[Gobbatino]

Week progress:
*6/8 hours of play
*5/6 hours of study (videos, session reviews, hand postage)

On track to finish this up. I know these are pretty lame goals compared to everyone who has one of these operations but as my first week back, it's alright. I'll play the last two hours tomorrow and review my sessions after that for the last hour of study. Next week I'll add a couple more hours to my goals.

I'm up about one buy in for the week after trainwrecking pretty seriously. I played pretty hideously on my last session, not happy about it at all. Three river calls were obvious folds I think. Anyways, I couldn't really expect to come back to poker after 2 months of no play with my A game up my sleeve so it's ok. I'll need to build up my discipline again. I also ran bad, but not terrible. That part doesn't bother me, but the play bad does.

[dranger7070]

Yea I've played FR in the past and have been really successful with it, especially last March-April. I'm just sick of nitting it up and hoping to hit sets to win. I want to be able to win vs ANY kind of player, instead of just fish/bad regs. There's a reason why people struggle with 6m more, its because its harder and you have to put in more time to learn, get better, and stay ahead of the game. You have to play more marginal hands through to showdown, etc. I think FR is a good place for people to start, but at some point I think having some 6m experience is imperative to being really successful. Besides, once I'm REALLY good at it, my winrate will double anything I could have gotten 12 tabling FR.

[Gobbatino]

Oops, forgot to update. I reached my last week's goals nps. I ended slightly positive for the week/month thanks to bonuses and rakeback which is fail. Also ended the month at -$130 at expected value - also pretty gay. This month I'm trying out FR.

So far FR is going well, though I have to restrain myself to play tighter in general. Atm, I'm playing 16/14/4&#37; which I guess is quite loose for FR? The games seem quite a lot less aggro than the 6max I was used to. There's a lot of room for stealing in general. Yesterday I had a fucked up session where I was hitting everything but getting loads of coolers as well. Over around 750 hands I was all in like 15 times (2x AKs < AA PF). Speaking of which, I need to stop auto-felting AKs pre. Still ended the session up a few buy ins but it was a pretty crazy session. Atm I'm starting out the sessions with 6 tables and then hovering around 8-9 depending on table selection. Also playing this many tables I will be able to clear the FT first time deposit quite easily, which will be a sexy boost. Oh yes, I cashed out of Cereus Network sites and moved over to FT. I plan on staying there for the foreseeable future.

Here's to a good March at the FR nitfest.

[Gobbatino]

So it looks like I'll be able to make Gold Ironman status pretty easily. So far this month I have every day at around 125 FTPs. Weekends see double or triple that. I'm happy with my time spent on the tables vs time spent studying my sessions and the regs at 25NL. The notes are piling up and with more and more reads it gets that much easier to play correctly.

FR is going well. I'm not up much but doing ok. The bonus is helping a lot to have my BR climbing steadily. I couldn't really expect to hit FR running but I hope my initial stumbles are over and I'll keep it going from here. Anyways, I'll try to post a mid-month analysis of my game by then to get some input from the FR regs around.

[Gobbatino]

Note to self: if I'm playing too many tables to take enough notes, I need to devote more time to session reviews to make up for notes I could have made during the session.

Poker is going good. I'll post a mid-month review thing this weekend.

[Gobbatino]

Right, I suck at updating this.

[x] goal failed

I will try to do it more often. Atm I'm too high to play or I probably wouldn't have taken the time to do this update.

So this month has been going great for me. I moved to 25NL FR since the first of the month and then played a few days of break even. I struggled a little bit to adapt to the change and eventually I found I was feeling comfortable. Since then it has been going really well. I've also been clearing first time deposit bonus on FT, which is just awesome. I've released like 250 or so already, so I should definitely be able to clear it in time, I have about two months and a bit. I will also be up for Gold Ironman this month and it seems super easy to keep it at at least Gold from here on.

So here are my stats so far and since this is my first time at FR cash ever I would love some feedback if you guys can see any glaring problems. I have loads to work on my game, I make a lot of mistakes although I try to make them smaller and smaller and hopefully less frequent as I learn. I think next I will be working on my squeezing. Stats:





And graph:



I also run good. And my bankroll really needed this heater. I was down about 15 buy ins over a while of not playing much. Now having been clearing this bonus plus rakeback and running well it's looking up again. If I continue to do well, I may even be looking at starting some 50NL tables here and there when they look juicy next month.

Bankroll at: $1495.32

[gosam]

Sir, that is one hell of a sexy graph! GJ!

Your stats look fine to me, but I'm far from being an expert.

[Gobbatino]

And ofc I doomswitched 7 buy ins since I posted this. \o/ FML.

[Gobbatino]

Bleh. Doomswitch positively not averted yet. I've had one nice +4BI session, everything else has been total fail. What looked like a very solid month is now mediocre at best. Oh well.

I did learn a lot during the month. After all it is my first month of FNit. The start to the month was very shaky and I was playing rather stationy. Unfortunately my play to study ratio went way down during the second half of the month because we had mandatory overtime at work and I only had time to play my daily session and check a few hands post-session.

[FMLwin422]

It is really interesting to see your progress from when you first opened this thread. You have really improved a lot! Good luck in the future

[Gobbatino]

Hey thanks for reading, FML. I saw your operation as well, meant to wish you GL, so GL!

[x] Achieved Gold Ironman

[Gobbatino]

Month recap:

[x] Volume
[x] Gold Ironman
[x] Profit
[x] Rolled for 50NL

My BR is just hovering around the 30 buy in line for 50NL but I won't be moving up quite yet. I do plan on opening up a few 50NL tables if they look juicy but my primary stake, if you will, is still 25NL.

Goals for this month are to keep up Gold Ironman, put in at least 30k hands, I'm signing back up at DC and plan on watching a few videos per week. My girlfriend is back home for the month, overtime is done at work so starting today I will have loads of time to focus heavily on poker this month. Barring horrible run bad, I should be playing solely 50NL by the end of the month.

Good luck to everyone during April!

[Gobbatino]

I RUN LIKE FUCKING ASS WTF ASDG HETY5QW5H EQWTGSDF THIS IN 500 MISERABLE HANDS HOOOOOOOOOOOW THE FUUCK

1. vs the table donk
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($29.59)
UTG+1 ($25)
MP1 ($44.29)
MP2 ($73.11)
CO ($32.57)
Button ($18.25)
SB ($73.17)
Hero (BB) ($25.35)

Preflop: Hero is BB with K, A
6 folds, SB bets $0.75, Hero raises to $2.75, SB calls $2

Flop: ($5.50) A, 9, 6 (2 players)
SB bets $2.76, Hero raises to $7.50, SB raises to $70.42 (All-In), Hero calls $15.10 (All-In)

Turn: ($50.70) 3 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($50.70) 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $50.70 | Rake: $2.53

Results below:
SB had A, 9 (two pair, Aces and nines).
Hero had K, A (one pair, Aces).
Outcome: SB won $48.17

2. std
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (MP1) ($55.02)
MP2 ($25.57)
CO ($11.08)
Button ($22.25)
SB ($25.67)
BB ($8.75)
UTG ($25)
UTG+1 ($26.15)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with A, A
2 folds, Hero bets $1, 3 folds, SB raises to $3.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $9, SB raises to $25.67 (All-In), Hero calls $16.67

Flop: ($51.59) 6, 3, 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: ($51.59) K (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($51.59) 2 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $51.59 | Rake: $2.57

Results below:
SB had K, K (three of a kind, Kings).
Hero had A, A (one pair, Aces).
Outcome: SB won $49.02
3. ofc
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (BB) ($25)
UTG ($18.65)
UTG+1 ($9.65)
MP1 ($29.76)
MP2 ($24.40)
CO ($7.07)
Button ($25)
SB ($35.94)

Preflop: Hero is BB with K, 6
UTG calls $0.25, UTG+1 calls $0.25, 2 folds, CO calls $0.25, 2 folds, Hero checks

Flop: ($1.10) 9, 6, K (4 players)
Hero bets $0.75, UTG calls $0.75, UTG+1 calls $0.75, CO calls $0.75

Turn: ($4.10) 2 (4 players)
Hero bets $3, UTG calls $3, UTG+1 calls $3, 1 fold

River: ($13.10) A (3 players)
Hero bets $15.60, UTG calls $14.65 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $42.40 | Rake: $2.12

Results below:
Hero had K, 6 (two pair, Kings and sixes).
UTG had A, K (two pair, Aces and Kings).
Outcome: UTG won $40.28
4. yes, river me again bitch
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG+1 ($49.10)
Hero (MP1) ($25)
MP2 ($25)
MP3 ($219.86)
CO ($81.78)
Button ($34.10)
SB ($27.93)
BB ($32.97)
UTG ($20.32)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with 2, 2
2 folds, Hero bets $1.50, 1 fold, MP3 calls $1.50, CO calls $1.50, 2 folds, BB calls $1.25

Flop: ($6.55) 2, A, 3 (4 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $5.25, MP3 calls $5.25, 1 fold, BB raises to $31.42 (All-In), Hero calls $18.20 (All-In), 1 fold

Turn: ($58.70) 10 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($58.70) A (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $58.70 | Rake: $2.93

Results below:
BB had As, 3 (full house, Aces over threes).
Hero had 2, 2 (full house, twos over Aces).
Outcome: BB won $55.77


5. vs table maniac - prolly a bit tilted at this point but he was going all in with any K, draw, etc
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($36.06)
SB ($25)
BB ($25)
UTG ($44.64)
UTG+1 ($34.90)
MP1 ($32.57)
MP2 ($79.52)
Hero (CO) ($39.24)

Preflop: Hero is CO with A, A
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.25, 2 folds, Hero bets $1, 3 folds, UTG+1 calls $0.75

Flop: ($2.35) K, 10, 8 (2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $1.75, UTG+1 calls $1.75

Turn: ($5.85) J (2 players)
UTG+1 bets $5.85, Hero raises to $36.49 (All-In), UTG+1 calls $26.30 (All-In)

River: ($70.15) 10 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $70.15 | Rake: $3

Results below:
UTG+1 had 9s, Qs (straight, King high).
Hero had Ah, As (two pair, Aces and tens).
Outcome: UTG+1 won $67.15


HOW THE FUCK IS THIS POSSIBLE TIME AFTER TIME AFTER FUCKING TIME COME FUCKING ON

I take it usually without a problem. Time after time. "Ten deep breaths," I tell myself. "It's poker, its counterproductive to look at results. It will even out with time. You don't have time to think about results, because you need 100% focus on hands happening right now." Eventually it builds up into this and I asplode into this forum. Enjoy the emorage. Jesus fucking christ fuck my life.

[Gobbatino]

Still running like poop, 6 buy-ins under EV in the last three days, breaking even for like 10k hands now, always good fun.

Played a really long session yesterday, probably the longest I've ever played. Ran like poop some more but played well, especially for a 4h+ session - ended a miserable amount up but hey, I'll take it as a win.

[Gobbatino]

Last 5 days. -11 buy ins. At least I'm breaking even. I'm ready to start running not horrible at any point now, though.

[dranger7070]

Lol shitty dude. It'll turn around eventually. Just keep puttin in the hands. 6k hands is nothing in the grand scope of things.

[Gobbatino]

Dr. Anger you are the John the Baptist to my heater. +$275 weekend!

[dranger7070]

Excellent! Now I just need to find mine...

[Gobbatino]

The only thing that gets me through this is if I can win even marginally when none of my big hands hold up, I can destroy these stakes if I run normally. I don't even want to run good. Just normal. Winning most of my 80/20s and a flip every now and then. That's all I'm asking for.

Here's some of the latest jewels.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (7 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($18.76)
Button ($73.28)
SB ($48.10)
BB ($88.90)
Hero (UTG) ($48.08)
MP1 ($54.89)
MP2 ($25)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 8, 8
Hero bets $1, 3 folds, Button calls $1, SB raises to $1.75, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.75, Button calls $0.75

Flop: ($5.50) K, 10, 8 (3 players)
SB bets $6, Hero raises to $16.50, 1 fold, SB calls $10.50

Turn: ($38.50) 4 (2 players)
SB bets $29.85 (All-In), Hero calls $29.83 (All-In)

River: ($98.16) 2 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $98.16 | Rake: $3

Results below:
SB had Q, K (flush, Queen high).
Hero had 8, 8 (three of a kind, eights).
Outcome: SB won $95.16

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP2 ($50)
MP3 ($50)
CO ($23)
Button ($51.90)
SB ($52.05)
Hero (BB) ($53.40)
UTG ($51.25)
UTG+1 ($54.60)
MP1 ($47.75)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 8, 5
2 folds, MP1 bets $1, 5 folds, Hero calls $0.50

Flop: ($2.25) 7, 6, 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP1 checks

Turn: ($2.25) 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $2, MP1 raises to $4, Hero raises to $6, MP1 raises to $20.25, Hero raises to $52.40 (All-In), MP1 calls $26.50 (All-In)

River: ($95.75) 2 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $95.75 | Rake: $3

Results below:
Hero had 8, 5 (flush, eight high).
MP1 had 7, 7 (full house, sevens over twos).
Outcome: MP1 won $92.75

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($45)
UTG+1 ($22.50)
MP1 ($47.20)
MP2 ($50)
MP3 ($92.60)
CO ($21.25)
Button ($47.25)
SB ($49.50)
Hero (BB) ($50)

Preflop: Hero is BB with K, K
6 folds, Button bets $1.50, SB raises to $4, Hero raises to $12, 1 fold, SB calls $8

Flop: ($25.50) 8, 10, 3 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $12, SB calls $12

Turn: ($49.50) 9 (2 players)
SB bets $25.50 (All-In), Hero calls $25.50

River: ($100.50) Q (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $100.50 | Rake: $3

Results below:
SB had J, J (straight, Queen high).
Hero had K, K (one pair, Kings).
Outcome: SB won $97.50

[daven]

I don't even want to run good. Just normal. Winning most of my 80/20s and a flip every now and then. That's all I'm asking for.0

feeling better?

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (7 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (CO) ($25)
Button ($40.43)
SB ($13.86)
Teeltme1083 = gobbatino ($25.75)
UTG ($19.29)
MP1 ($25)
MP2 ($24.54)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 2, Q
UTG calls $0.25, 1 fold, MP2 bets $1, 1 fold, Button calls $1, SB calls $0.90, BB calls $0.75, UTG calls $0.75

Flop: ($5) 5, 6, 7 (5 players)
SB checks, BB bets $4, UTG calls $4, 2 folds, SB raises to $12.86 (All-In), BB raises to $24.75 (All-In), UTG calls $14.29 (All-In)

Turn: ($54.44) 4 (3 players, 3 all-in)

River: ($54.44) 9 (3 players, 3 all-in)

Total pot: $54.44 | Rake: $2.72

Results:
SB had 8, 6 (straight, nine high).
Teeltme1083 had 7, 8 (straight flush, eight high).
UTG had A, J (flush, Ace high).
Outcome: Teeltme1083 won $51.72

[Gobbatino]

Haha, I was wondering if you'd seen that hand. I was still a favorite on the flop, almost 50%. Looks like you should have come around as well, tbh.

[Gobbatino]

I ran pretty good today and since I usually just come here and whine and moan about how I'm 15 buy ins behind EV in 40k hands, I'd thought I'd change it up a bit. Today is also the first time my bankroll dips over 2k which is definitely cool. I'll be done clearing my first deposit bonus at FT within a couple days, I'm looking forward to seeing how the rakeback is going to be without a bonus being cleared.

I'm also wondering whether I should take 1k or so and take the Stars initial deposit bonus. The only problem with that is it would be difficult to maintain Ironman while clearing the bonus. I guess I'll see next month how everything is going.

Edit: woot, page 3

[dranger7070]

I'd wait to do the stars deposit bonus until you decide to switch over for good. (If you don't plan on doing that, then do it whenever obv, but make sure you can maintain Ironman since you don't want to lose that value.)

[Gobbatino]

I had a pretty crazy weekend. Saturday was a pretty massive fail, I ran 3 buy-ins behind EV and ended the day at like negative 3 buy-ins. Sunday I made all that back and a bit. I guess I'm not used to the swings at 50NL in terms of monetary value quite yet. This weekend definitely popped my cherry in terms of swings that big, being down like $200 one day then making like $250 the next.

I really want to put in more study time. Against several reggy types in 50NL I don't feel like I have a big edge yet. This is both psychological because I just moved up and also because I don't quite feel in my element and also because with new regs I have to build up my database of reads on them before I can really start playing back with confidence.

Overall the move up is going alright, though.

[Gobbatino]

Ok move up going like shit now. In 50k hands I'm $500 behind AI EV. This is over 1/4 of my bankroll at this point so it's really starting to affect me. I can't do fuck all about it of course, but I feel the tilt creeping in pretty badly every time it happens... again. About half of it is from 50NL the other half from 25NL. I just had to stop playing with 3 perfect seats/tables going but I was again down over 3 buy ins for the session.

I might have to go back down to 25NL to chill a bit. We'll see after tomorrow's session. BR was at 2.2k monday, it's at 1.8k now. That's really depressing.

[daven]

I might have to go back down to 25NL to chill a bit. We'll see after tomorrow's session. BR was at 2.2k monday, it's at 1.8k now. That's really depressing.

play tomorrow's session, move to 25nl if your roll is under 1.9k at the end of it. Big chance that you'll be playing under subtle tilt if you're aware that you're running this bad.
Here's my prescription:
Get through it, pwn a few more 25nl buyins, get your rakeback pay at the end of the week, feel good about carving it up at 25nl again, move back up, run average = beat the games comfortably, stay up.

[Gobbatino]

Sad fucking shit going on right here. I'm 700 behind EV and just played a session where AK < AA pre, QQ < AA on AQx board, JJ < AA on AJx board and AA < 88 pre, 3 way pot with AK in there. -4 buy in in the session. Bankroll is fucked. Mindset is fucked. Considering withdrawal. I don't think I could handle this at a higher limit.

Sick thing is a downswing doesn't have duration, it's not like it's "time I ran good" now, this can literally go on forever, there's the same chance of running like this on tomorrow's session as there was in this one, and it's been going on for a while now.

It's just such a fucking huge dissapointment.

[Gobbatino]

FUCK IT. IM FUCKING DONE WHINING. Tomorrow I start rebuilding at 25NL. If I run like death then I'll go down to 10NL. FUCK IT. Because I can and if nothing else because I'm stubborn and I know I can. FUCK IT.

[rpm]

25nl sounds like a good option. if just for rebuilding of your confidence. its hard to play your best at a new limit after moving up when you have run so bad in terms of situations (ie coolers) AND all in EV. especially seeing as you're used to losing half the monetary value while running this bad at 25nl.

[Gobbatino]

Yeah, thanks rpm. I've made Gold Ironman already so I'm taking the rest of the month off. Thursday I'm getting laid after a month of no sex then saturday or sunday I'll start off at 25NL. Sounds like a plan.

[Gobbatino]

/brag

Just posting this because I've never had a heater like this. It's 25NL up to around 8.5k hands, the rest is 50NL. I'm running like Jesus obviously.

[dranger7070]

Heaters are fun, aren't they?

[Gobbatino]

Fuck yeah they're fun. Still going strong, too.

I'm at 22.25 bb/100 over my last 10k hands. I've effectively doubled my BR in 20 days. I'm almost rolled for 100NL and I'm not even used to 50NL yet, I've played barely 10k hands since moving up so 100NL is kinda intimidating still. I doubt I'll move up for a while, at least not this month for sure.

Man this is so cool. :P

[Gobbatino]

Ok, my heater finally tapered down. I'm still running good, just not absurdly great. I played some Rush, winrate wasn't impressive so I only got the 4 day 100 point bonus for $25.

[x] Cleared mid-year bonus
[x] Rolled for 100NL

I felt really intimidated about 100NL but nonetheless opened up a couple tables during my last session when they were really tasty. It paid off nicely, won a couple buy ins. I'll keep playing 50NL for the most part but opening up good 100NL tables to start getting used to the monetary value. To be honest there was very little difference from 50NL. Maybe my tables were just ridiculously good.

I doubt I'll move up for a while, at least not this month for sure.

Ya rite...

[Gobbatino]

To be honest there was very little difference from 50NL. Maybe my tables were just ridiculously good.

Ok lol just played a session with about 40% 100NL 60% 50NL and I could definitely notice a big difference now, my tables yesterday must've just been soft as fuck.

Loads more 3 and 4 betting pre is the main difference I suppose. I'm actually kind of proud of myself for adjusting to that somewhat decently. I found a couple spots to 4 bet light from LP where the 3 bettor was likely light himself. So that was definitely new. :P Seeing a lot more floating as well. I definitely feel somewhat gimped for now since I'm not used to the amount of money on the line yet and I feel that I let that affect my decisions in tough spots, ie, going kinda weak tight.

At the same time, dipping my foot in these waters is exciting as well. I'm officially out of the micros and really looking forward to learning to navigate these stakes.

[Gobbatino]

Ok so like hi ftr!

Its been over a month since I played. RL BS bla bla. Here was my july garph:



+$175 bonus
+$223 rakeback

$1635 for the month! My BR before this month was 1.4k or thereabouts so I more than doubled it. In the process I dabbed a bit into 100NL tables, the last 5-6k hands were mostly 100NL. I've been meaning to start up again and today I logged in to FT to find a $500 bonus waiting for me (what is this for, btw?), so the timing couldn't be better. I have 21 days to clear this and it should be doable fo sho. I'll be starting at 50NL to get back into the groove and then back to 100NL if things go well and I feel confident.

I hope everyone's been having a good September. Good luck!

[dranger7070]

The bonus is for the 'Fast $50' (most people that grind on FTP got $50 lol) but the amount of bonus you could received ranges from $50-$500. I myself got $400. I'm gonna go ahead and say you picked the best month of the year to take a month long break from poker lol.

[Gobbatino]

Ahh I see... Wow, cool story, then! Thanks mister Anger. <3

[Gobbatino]

Right, so after a little bit of calculation, the $500 bonus won't be as easy as I thought. If I stick to 50NL, its over 3 hours of play a day, which is a lot for me. Mixing in some 100NL is going to be necessary. For now I'll stick to 50NL until I feel back in the groove (I'd I can allow say 3-5 days or so), playing at least a couple hours daily then I'll start opening up juicy 100NL tables and go from there. I will not play more time or stakes outside of my comfort zone just to clear the bonus.

edit: dranger your avatar rocks

[dranger7070]

Sounds like a good plan man. Gogogo!

Haha thanks, I thought so too. :P

[daven]

Right, so after a little bit of calculation, the $500 bonus won't be as easy as I thought. If I stick to 50NL, its over 3 hours of play a day, which is a lot for me. Mixing in some 100NL is going to be necessary. For now I'll stick to 50NL until I feel back in the groove (I'd I can allow say 3-5 days or so), playing at least a couple hours daily then I'll start opening up juicy 100NL tables and go from there. I will not play more time or stakes outside of my comfort zone just to clear the bonus.

have you considered max-tabling 25nl to clear it?

[Gobbatino]

I find when I go over 8-10 tables my winrate goes to poop so I'd rather do a mix of 50-100NL. So far I'm on track at $52/$500 with 19 days to go, pleeeenty of time if I keep this up.

[Gobbatino]

Bonus will be cleared np. I'm about halfway there.

Been playing only 100NL the last few days. I'm breaking even. Ran kinda meh but also made some pretty big mistakes here and there. Just playing here consistently is a big success, mental state is healthy, losing the "omg I'm playing $200-300 pots" feeling, which is great. I honestly thought playing at these stakes would be harder to get used to. I'm pleasantly surprised at how easy I'm finding desensitizing myself to the monetary value at stake.

Homework for this week is to choose my aggression better. I know I'm being passive in places where I could be aggressive and vice versa.

[Gobbatino]

Ahh, 100NL is fun. I'm really enjoying this. For one I'm finally at stakes where the money I make (or lose) is actually significant. That makes it exciting. And second, making some moves in the right spots against the right players works. But somehow there are still fish calling down with middle pair in other spots, so its the best of both worlds.

Results-wise things are kinda shit, not running good in big spots, which sucks butt. Cleared almost $400 of the $500 bonus, so even though I'm break even at the tables I've boosted the BR a bit.

It's an ongoing theme in this operation that I say I should study more and its becaues I barely study at all. I need to think of ways to motivate myself. But seriously I don't know when to do it anymore. I get home from work at around 6:30-7:00, I play from 7:00-7:30 to 8:30-9:00, then I go to the hot tub for about half an hour, swim half an hour, get some dinner, do some house chores and boom, time for bed. Maybe during the weekends. At least half an hour a day of videos I should be able to do though, no excuses.

[dranger7070]

Before you you eat dinner, after the swim, fire up HEM or PT3 and review your top 3 biggest losing and winning hands. Then on the weekends do some in depth analysis. This won't take very long, maybe 15 minutes tops.

[Gobbatino]

Thanks dude, I'll give that a try.

Full on running like poop in a bunch of situations, KK pre, AK pre, everyone and their mom has AA. Also a few buy ins behind in all in situations. The river hates me, etc.

I might have to move down for a bit. BR still comfy thanks to the fast bonus and rakeback but nonetheless being down about 1k from my peak this month is taking its toll on my tilt control.

[Gobbatino]

Last post on this blog to close it off.

November was my first month at 100NL 100%. I also changed my game quite a bit, went from playing 13/11 3% to 17/14 5% or so. I had also been on a short break before doing it so it's a wonder that I didn't nosedive doing all three things at the same time. Quite the opposite, I ran pretty good, played well and had a good month, results wise. I feel I developed a lot, so I'm pretty happy. I'm still working on not being results oriented. I tend to close down sessions where I'm up a lot even when I have good seats and that sort of shit is just stupid. Curiously I play better when I'm down a few buy ins than when I'm up a few... anyways, something I'm working on, along with a bunch of other things.

So my bankroll is hovering over the $5k mark atm. I'll be playing 100NL for the forseeable future unless something goes terribly wrong or something. Which means I'm officially off of the micro stakes and this operation is complete. It took me about a year, starting with $300 @ $10NL 6max and ending at 100NL FR. In that year, I played about 6 months, so I guess it's alright. I never withdrew money except for $100 to pay for HEM. I managed to keep it a hobby that I could drop and pick up as I wished and I feel that went a long way in helping me get here. Anyways, I'll start up another blog type thing at some point.

Thanks to FTR for helping me get here so much. I think it's safe to say that other than my time at the tables, FTR has been my biggest source of information and development.