Thursday, December 25, 2008
dexter
I haven't been playing much at all lately because of the holidays and all... I've been watching a lot of Dexter, and i must say this is an awesome show. i have arleady watched the first two seasons, but i dont want to start the third one until it's finished. I hate having to wait.
Friday, December 12, 2008
like a rollercoaster
No more thousand dollar swings please. I can confidently say that i am running below expectation this month. I’ve tried to play a low variance style, but what can i do when i lose multiple all-in pots where i have around 80% equity. But im still up this month, so i shouldn’t be complaining too much. At times like this, i just want to play as many hands as i can so i can get through the swings.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Long session
I just had a super long session, playing 2800 hands. I started out playing some 2/4NL and some 1/2NL heads up. It was just one of those days where nothing went right. My lowest point was -$2832 (I think this was when I opened up a table at 3/6). I know it's very superstitious, but whenever i run bad at lower limits, i run awesome at the higher levels. Also, it just so happens there was an extremely bad player at the higher stakes. i checked my pokertracker stats and it says that i took him for $2.4k. So that upswing at the end there was pretty much all him.
After playing a session at 1000NL, I realized that i am not ready for that level. I'm not nearly aggressive enough for those games.
After playing a session at 1000NL, I realized that i am not ready for that level. I'm not nearly aggressive enough for those games.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Fear of Failure
A lot of times when people are scared to start something, or do a task, it is often because of the fear of failure. Theyre afraid that they will make mistakes, get rejected, or to be seen as a failure, so they rather not take action. The fear of failure has been keeping me from playing a significant amount of hands. I have so much time, but I only play for about an hour a day, sometimes less. The only time I play for more than 1 hour is if I was stuck a few buy-ins, and i’m trying to grind my money back. I really have to try to fix this because it’s costing me a lot of equity.
I think the fear of failure plays a greater role in poker because it’s a game of chance, and there are things out of your control. One can play perfectly for an entire session and end up losing money. I guess the key is just not to be results-oriented and play your best. Also, knowing that I will be guaranteed to make money by playing good solid poker in the long run makes me feel better after a bad session. Tomorrow, im going to try something different. I’m going to play a 2 hour session during the afternoon, and another 2 hour session in the evening. Whether i’m winning or losing, after my 2hours is up, im going to quit.
I think the fear of failure plays a greater role in poker because it’s a game of chance, and there are things out of your control. One can play perfectly for an entire session and end up losing money. I guess the key is just not to be results-oriented and play your best. Also, knowing that I will be guaranteed to make money by playing good solid poker in the long run makes me feel better after a bad session. Tomorrow, im going to try something different. I’m going to play a 2 hour session during the afternoon, and another 2 hour session in the evening. Whether i’m winning or losing, after my 2hours is up, im going to quit.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
need to play more hands
So i'm up about 800$ so far, but i've only played 900 hands. 900. in THREE days (played for like 2hours). I've got to step it up if i'm going to make my goal of 30k hands this month. ithink i'm going to need some motivation for this, so i'm going to reward myself with a Mac Book Pro if I can get in 30k hands by the end of December. i've been eyeing this for a couple of months now.
Even though i dont really use a laptop right now, i would like to have one just in case i decide to travel.
Even though i dont really use a laptop right now, i would like to have one just in case i decide to travel.
Monday, December 1, 2008
November recap + Goals for Dec.
This month was a really good month. I played almost all my hands at 400NL and 200NL. Too bad I am so lazy and played only about 12 thousand hands. I took almost the entire last week of November off. I have a habit of not playing much when I am running exceptionally well, something I definitely have to work on. Here is my graph for the month of November:
My goals for December:
- Play at least 30 thousand hands.
- Play strictly 400NL 6-max, 400NL Heads Up, and 200NL Heads Up.
- When playing HeadsUp, do not quit the person if I have an edge/momentum
- Have a 3 buy-in stop-loss
- Watch LESS poker training videos and play MORE hands
Non-poker related goals
- Go to the gym at least 3 times per week
- Practice playing hockey at least once a week
- Eat clean (no burgers/fries/potato chips/pizza)
- Read more of the Bible
- Read about internet marketing at least 1 hour/day
- Sleep before 2am and wake up at 10:30am
- Spend less time doing useless stuff
My goals for December:
- Play at least 30 thousand hands.
- Play strictly 400NL 6-max, 400NL Heads Up, and 200NL Heads Up.
- When playing HeadsUp, do not quit the person if I have an edge/momentum
- Have a 3 buy-in stop-loss
- Watch LESS poker training videos and play MORE hands
Non-poker related goals
- Go to the gym at least 3 times per week
- Practice playing hockey at least once a week
- Eat clean (no burgers/fries/potato chips/pizza)
- Read more of the Bible
- Read about internet marketing at least 1 hour/day
- Sleep before 2am and wake up at 10:30am
- Spend less time doing useless stuff
My poker story (long)
My first time being exposed to No Limit Hold’em was around 2005 when the World Series of Poker was constantly playing on TV. I watched them play and I was amazed by the way they were playing. People were constantly going all in, bluffing out the best hands. Of course, at that time I didn’t realize that the only correct play to do was to go all-in due to their stack sizes relative to the blinds.
My first experience playing the game was at my friend’s house. We were playing with 5 dollar buy-ins, and I had no idea what I was doing. I was just betting my hands aggressively because it was what the “pros” did on TV. We were playing poker almost every single week on the weekends for a year or more. I was probably a marginal winner amongst my group of friends.
In the winter of 2005, I was browsing through a forum, and it had mentioned something about bonus whoring on poker sites. Because I had no job at the time, I thought it was an awesome way to make some money. Even if I was a break-even player, I would be making money. I thought it was such a great deal. Because I was such a keener, I read some strategies online, and read the book Winning Low Limit Hold’em by Lee Jones. I had also read that having bankroll management was crucial for success, and 300BB (big bets) is sufficient for playing Limit Hold’em. After reading a couple of more books from the library, and a few articles, I deposited $300 to The Gaming Club (now changed to Poker Time) with 100% deposit bonus and I started playing .50/$1 LHE.
After about 3 to 4 weeks of playing, my bankroll did not grow at all. I was only breaking even because of the bonus that I was receiving from the site. One night I lost my entire bankroll due to tilt, and playing above my roll. A couple weeks later, I would deposit another $200 to give it another shot. I ran my bankroll up to about $500, and I was super happy. The next day I decided to deposit $150 to PartyPoker because of their $50 bonus. I think their smallest game at the time was $1/$2 and lost everything in about a day (everybody was playing like a maniac). Within a month, I would lose my entire online roll. I promised myself that I would not deposit ever again.
On March 18, 2007, PartyPoker sent me $20 to my account for my birthday. I didn’t want to go back and play cash games, because I thought it was pretty stupid, and I would lose it all for sure. I was looking through the site, and saw some Sit n’Go tournaments running (similar to the games that I have been playing with my friends) and registered for two $5 Sit n Go tables. I got first place on both, and thought this was the easiest game ever. I ran my bankroll to about $800 playing for four months, grinding Sit n Go’s and then went back to playing Limit Hold’em in September. This was when I had discovered Cardrunners, and bought a few Limit Hold’em videos by Schneids. I started gaining confidence and played above my bankroll. I ran pretty hot and ran my roll up to about $4000. Then in December, I hit a huge downswing and lost $2k. I was devastated and very angry at myself for having no self-control.
This was when I decided to take poker very seriously. I wanted to be one of the best poker players in the world. In addition to constantly lurking poker forums, I was also thinking of how I can improve my game. I found out that I was losing a lot of money from the rake from PartyPoker (they don’t have rakeback), so I withdrew the last of my poker bankroll into my bank account.
In the end of December, I subscribed to Cardrunners, and wanted to start from the ground up. Since I wanted to take poker seriously, I should start investing my time wisely and smarten up. My plan was to use $500 to deposit onto a site with rakeback and just grind my way to the top ( I decided to go with No Limit Hold’em because it has less variance than Sit n Go’s and Limit Hold’em IMO). In January of 2008, I made a resolution that if I lost the last of my bankroll, I would quit playing poker and stop trying once and for all.
With strict bankroll management and a minimum requirement of 30 buy-ins before moving up to the next level, I started playing $25NoLimit. I moved up to 50NL in February, then 100NL in March, then 200NL in April. This was all during my last semester of University, so playing poker for a living after I graduate was definitely on my mind. I had a lot of options to choose from, as I was also taking a Fashion Marketing program on the side. My major in University was political science, and I already knew I didn’t want to do anything in regards to politics. I had also been volunteering for a policing community center because I wanted to go into law enforcement. Others were also telling me about the Canadian Border Service Agency that was recruiting. After my graduation ceremony, my parents were asking me what I wanted to do. Of course I told them that I wanted to play poker. I wanted to take a shot at poker in the summer, and if I did well, I wanted to do it for a few years. I love the way that poker gives you so much free time, and the sky is the limit if you put the time and effort into it. Needless to say, they didn’t want me playing poker at all. So the only way for them to let me was to make a deal with them. If I was able to win $5k in May, they would let me play for the summer. Or else, I would have to find a job. They instantly agreed, since 5k in a month is a lot of money for a recent grad like me, and I would not be able to make that much at any job that I can find.
The month of May was my most intensive month of poker. Despite breaking even at 200NL, I had won $3k at 100NL, $1k at my shot at 400NL, and $1k in rakeback. That was the month I played my most hands (30k+). From the starting of June, I had an 11k bankroll and was playing 400NL. I was mostly playing 400NL and some 100NL throughout the summer. I didn’t play 200NL because I was a break-even player at that limit, plus I run so bad at 200NL. From that time on, I just wanted to keep moving up in limits and play my hardest.
After every upswing there is the dreaded downswing, and this hit me pretty hard because I’m not used to long break-even stretches. From September to the end of October, I was only up 4k. This was a very depressing time for me. I took a shot at 600NL, was losing, then hopped onto a 1000NL, and ran like crap. I managed to have a break-even month in September and was grinding my way back up at 400NL. After my bad run at the higher stakes, I promised to stay at 400NL until I have a large enough bankroll to take huge swings at the higher limits.
My first experience playing the game was at my friend’s house. We were playing with 5 dollar buy-ins, and I had no idea what I was doing. I was just betting my hands aggressively because it was what the “pros” did on TV. We were playing poker almost every single week on the weekends for a year or more. I was probably a marginal winner amongst my group of friends.
In the winter of 2005, I was browsing through a forum, and it had mentioned something about bonus whoring on poker sites. Because I had no job at the time, I thought it was an awesome way to make some money. Even if I was a break-even player, I would be making money. I thought it was such a great deal. Because I was such a keener, I read some strategies online, and read the book Winning Low Limit Hold’em by Lee Jones. I had also read that having bankroll management was crucial for success, and 300BB (big bets) is sufficient for playing Limit Hold’em. After reading a couple of more books from the library, and a few articles, I deposited $300 to The Gaming Club (now changed to Poker Time) with 100% deposit bonus and I started playing .50/$1 LHE.
After about 3 to 4 weeks of playing, my bankroll did not grow at all. I was only breaking even because of the bonus that I was receiving from the site. One night I lost my entire bankroll due to tilt, and playing above my roll. A couple weeks later, I would deposit another $200 to give it another shot. I ran my bankroll up to about $500, and I was super happy. The next day I decided to deposit $150 to PartyPoker because of their $50 bonus. I think their smallest game at the time was $1/$2 and lost everything in about a day (everybody was playing like a maniac). Within a month, I would lose my entire online roll. I promised myself that I would not deposit ever again.
On March 18, 2007, PartyPoker sent me $20 to my account for my birthday. I didn’t want to go back and play cash games, because I thought it was pretty stupid, and I would lose it all for sure. I was looking through the site, and saw some Sit n’Go tournaments running (similar to the games that I have been playing with my friends) and registered for two $5 Sit n Go tables. I got first place on both, and thought this was the easiest game ever. I ran my bankroll to about $800 playing for four months, grinding Sit n Go’s and then went back to playing Limit Hold’em in September. This was when I had discovered Cardrunners, and bought a few Limit Hold’em videos by Schneids. I started gaining confidence and played above my bankroll. I ran pretty hot and ran my roll up to about $4000. Then in December, I hit a huge downswing and lost $2k. I was devastated and very angry at myself for having no self-control.
This was when I decided to take poker very seriously. I wanted to be one of the best poker players in the world. In addition to constantly lurking poker forums, I was also thinking of how I can improve my game. I found out that I was losing a lot of money from the rake from PartyPoker (they don’t have rakeback), so I withdrew the last of my poker bankroll into my bank account.
In the end of December, I subscribed to Cardrunners, and wanted to start from the ground up. Since I wanted to take poker seriously, I should start investing my time wisely and smarten up. My plan was to use $500 to deposit onto a site with rakeback and just grind my way to the top ( I decided to go with No Limit Hold’em because it has less variance than Sit n Go’s and Limit Hold’em IMO). In January of 2008, I made a resolution that if I lost the last of my bankroll, I would quit playing poker and stop trying once and for all.
With strict bankroll management and a minimum requirement of 30 buy-ins before moving up to the next level, I started playing $25NoLimit. I moved up to 50NL in February, then 100NL in March, then 200NL in April. This was all during my last semester of University, so playing poker for a living after I graduate was definitely on my mind. I had a lot of options to choose from, as I was also taking a Fashion Marketing program on the side. My major in University was political science, and I already knew I didn’t want to do anything in regards to politics. I had also been volunteering for a policing community center because I wanted to go into law enforcement. Others were also telling me about the Canadian Border Service Agency that was recruiting. After my graduation ceremony, my parents were asking me what I wanted to do. Of course I told them that I wanted to play poker. I wanted to take a shot at poker in the summer, and if I did well, I wanted to do it for a few years. I love the way that poker gives you so much free time, and the sky is the limit if you put the time and effort into it. Needless to say, they didn’t want me playing poker at all. So the only way for them to let me was to make a deal with them. If I was able to win $5k in May, they would let me play for the summer. Or else, I would have to find a job. They instantly agreed, since 5k in a month is a lot of money for a recent grad like me, and I would not be able to make that much at any job that I can find.
The month of May was my most intensive month of poker. Despite breaking even at 200NL, I had won $3k at 100NL, $1k at my shot at 400NL, and $1k in rakeback. That was the month I played my most hands (30k+). From the starting of June, I had an 11k bankroll and was playing 400NL. I was mostly playing 400NL and some 100NL throughout the summer. I didn’t play 200NL because I was a break-even player at that limit, plus I run so bad at 200NL. From that time on, I just wanted to keep moving up in limits and play my hardest.
After every upswing there is the dreaded downswing, and this hit me pretty hard because I’m not used to long break-even stretches. From September to the end of October, I was only up 4k. This was a very depressing time for me. I took a shot at 600NL, was losing, then hopped onto a 1000NL, and ran like crap. I managed to have a break-even month in September and was grinding my way back up at 400NL. After my bad run at the higher stakes, I promised to stay at 400NL until I have a large enough bankroll to take huge swings at the higher limits.
