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Down then up..
The last post detailed me being to the middle of a slight downswing. That very much continued into last week. I was fairly happy with the way i was playing however hit some coolers and was on the wrong end of some 2/3 outers and runner runner! I was down about 5 buyins for the week when it turned around.
The whole country was partying hard last week, so not to be left out I joined in…..untill I got ill that is. The later part of the week was difficult but meaning I was not in the mood for leaving my room much I put in just short of my 20 hours for the week. This meant I played 5274 hands and went on a bit of a heater and end up just over break even for the week. I ended up just over break even for the week.
In terms of how my is evolving, plans are changing, I feel I need to study more and play less. I am probably going to cut down the hours I play slightly and study more. I have found a great thread on 2p2 by a absolute legend called veneer. The thread basically follows his journey from depositing $100 i think, through the micros to the small stakes. He covers a huge amount of poker and the way in which he explains this is both correct and concise! I am only about a third of the way through I have learnt a lot and feel I am thinking more about every decision in terms of hand reading and not auto-piloting. I would definitely recommend any struggling or break even micro stakes player with a basic knowledge of NLH to read all of this thread……two plus two, no limit holdem, micro stakes, moving up through unl 2010. Sorry I wasn\’t sure how to link here.
Through reading this thread, I feel am playing a slightly higher range, finding some spots to take pots due to better hand reading. I hope this continues into this week. This week I am going to figure out how to post images on here and hopefully will be able to post some stats and graphs to show my progress.
Once again good luck on the virtual felt.
ssgrinder
Start of a slight downswing
I would like to start by apologizing for late blog this week. The country I am in has been at a complete stand still since Monday, with lots of drinking and partying. Grinding has been difficult let alone writing this blog. However better late than never as they say.
Well last week was a bit of mixed week really. I started the week strongly, quickly moving up 5 buyins, before running a little bad. I ended up just under 1 buyin up for the week. When I say running a little bad, dont think i am moaning by any stretch of the imagination and I am certainly not saying this is a bad downswing…..far from it! I have been hit by a few 2 or 3 outers but thats poker. It was more my 3bets, or c bets not working or people hit a weak two pair on the river after calling 3 streets of value to beat my TPTK. All things thats I am not worried about, and will keep doing as I have been.
In terms of volume, i put in just under 16 hours. Not where I want to be but I partied hard last week. That grinded me 4516 hands so my predicted of playing 8000 hands a week is far from the mark.
This week is already Thursday and I have not been able to concentrate on poker due to the partying. Its dying down now though and I am not back at work until Monday so I have 4 days to put some serious hours in and hopefully play as well as I can.
I hope to feed back some positive results soon.
Take care and good luck on the virtual felt.
ssgrinder
A pleasing start!
Before I start with my first update of how the last week went, there is something I would like to address, that I forgot to mention last week.
Firstly I will be applying a 25 18 bankroll rule. This basically means that when I have 25 buyins for a limit I will move up. If I drop down to below 17 I will then grind the lower level again till I am back up to the 25 buyins required. I feel bankroll management is hugely important and something I am determined to be strict with myself on.
Ok well having started my quest on Wednesday and having an extremely busy week I am please with the amount of hours I put in. I moved into a brand new apartment on Thursday so didn\\\’t play at all on Thursday and didn\\\’t have the internet available of the Friday. So all in all I am pleased with the 11.06 hours I played.
I played 3171 hands and was extremely please with the way I played. Yes looking back there was one or two bad decisions, but playing a tight game of 14.5/12 I kept out of a lot marginal decisions. Perhaps in the past I would not have been so focused, and ended throwing away a few buyins of hard graft.
Results wise I am $60.15 up which equates to a win rate of 18.97bb/100. This takes my bankroll to just over the $360 mark.
I am hoping I can keep this up in my first full week of grinding starting with two later today. I have a day off tomorrow as well, so will be looking to put in a few extra hours. I am going to try and play as much as possible this week due to there being a national holiday next week, for 5 days. I can see a lot of drinking occurring which will of course hinder the grinding. I will try to curb this as much as possible and continue my good start!
Untill next time, good luck on the virtual felt.
ssgrinder
Road to who knows where….
I have been playing poker now for about three years on and off. I have played live and online, both cash and sngs with some success. Although I have always wanted to win, poker has been recreational. Originally from the UK and working a 9 to 5 time available to dedicate to poker was limited. Now with a change in circumstances I found myself living abroad teaching with a lot more free time on my hands. The time has come for me to put the time and effort try to be the best poker player I can.
I have a plan that I have put together, that I want to follow as closely as possible to allow me to achieve my aim. My goal is simply:
MAKE THE BEST POSSIBLE POKER DECISION ON EVERY DECISION AVAILABLE.
I have a plan I have put together which I want to follow as closely as possible:
1) Firstly I am looking to study a large amount. Having played micro stakes before I am confident I can beat these games, however I am not naive enough to imagine I am a good player. I definately need to brush up and without a doubt plan to improve my game as I move up in stakes. I have been reading a lot recently, and I have just joined Dueces cracked. I plan to be watching at least 3/4 videos a week. Also I will be reading forums such as 2+2 and reviewing hands and studying my stats.
2) Talking of stats, I have purchased HEM and plan to use it in the most affective way possible!
3) I have deposited $300 onto a site a site, receiving 30% rakeback and a sign up bonus. Both of which I hope will help me increase my bankroll.
4) I will be 4 tabling only!!! I have played more tables, however I think this is an optimum amount that allows me to play my A game. I want to think every decision through and by playing 4 tables I will be able to consider position, opponents, opponents hand ranges and plan for future streets. Any more and I feel my A game will become my B game, something I am keen to avoid. If I am playing extremely well, or struggling I will move up or down accordingly.
5) In terms of the amount I have decided on 20 hours a week, which should equate to about 8000 hands a week if I played 100 h/hr per table. I will be happy with 8000 hands a week, however it not an aim…..the simple aim I stated above is. However I play 20hours a week is flexible , but I feel 2 hours ever weekday plus 5 hours on Saturday and Sunday could be the best way to do it. Obviously I am still looking to have a life, so like I said this is flexible, but I am commited to following this as closely as possible.
6) Lastly I will be looking to keep a blog on here once a week. I feel this will keep me focused and motivated, something I think is key for me playing my A game. I will be writing on here either Sundays or Mondays talking about the previous weeks action.
My one simple aim may seem a bit unusual. Most poker players aim based on hands, stakes, hours or mostly money. Obviously I want and welcome those to however I am confident that if I achieve my one simple goal those will follow accordingly! Right I am off to start my quest for poker glory, I think I will be able to put in 2 hours this evening. I look forward to giving some positive feedback soon.
Good luck on the virtual felt.
Regards
ssgrinder