Update

For the past week I've been completely addicted to something. Its caused me to be almost totally inactive on my 25K Project.

I've been 24-tabling cash games on Stars.

You're prbly wondering why the hell I've been wasting my time doing this and the truth is I'm wondering the same thing myself ha. Well, since I've been playing so much on Stars the last couple months I've become very familiar with their VIP rewards system and how it works.

I wanted to see if I could make Supernova status by year's end. I did some calculations and determined it would be very difficult by playing MTTs and SNGs only. However, it turns out the VIP system on Stars is heavily weighted towards cash games. Once I realized how many points I could earn by playing cash I took off.

Since the middle of last week I've earned just under 10,000 VPPs and just under 25,000 FPPs by 24-tabling 50nl. Just to be clear on the significance of 10K VPPs, that's 1/10th the necessary annual amount required for Supernova status in just one week. So at the pace I've been playing it would only take me ten weeks to make Supernova.

But let me also be clear with the volume I've had to put in. I had to play just under 46,000 hands at 50nl to earn all those points. To do this in a week's time would be impossible without my new favorite thing in the world: Table Ninja.

Table Ninja is software created specifically for PokerStars which allows you to program hotkeys and makes the mechanics of mass multi-tabling simple. I can program Table Ninja to auto-buyin so I don't have to load tables up constantly. I can raise, call, bet, or fold with single keystrokes on my keyboard. I hardly even use my mouse! I can execute a decision as quickly as I can make it. In fact, I'd be playing more tables at once if the maximum wasn't 24.

I'm down about ten buyins right now after 46K hands but I'm not worried at all. I've been running on the wrong end of coolers but those even out over time. With as awful as the players at 50nl are it won't be long until I'm raking in the buyins.

This has been very exciting and addicting for me. Being able to put in over 4,000 hands in about three hours is just too cool to me. And knowing I'm earning a ridiculous amount of VPPs and FPPs really keeps me pumped to keep going. I'll be a Supernova in less than two months at the pace I'm on. Then with the FPP multiplier increase I'll be earning sick points. Porsche anyone...?

The bad news is this has obv taken me away from the 25K Project. I tend to get ridiculously focused on something and go at it 110%. Then when I get bored I look for something else to put all my energy into.

I feel really bad lately because I know so many ppl have been following this blog with all my updates about getting to 25K and for the last week I haven't even been playing tourneys! To those ppl who have been inspired and have been following along I apologize. My addictive personality has temporarily strayed me in another direction.

I can't make any promises on when I'll find my intense motivation to finish the 25K Project but I WILL finish it. Maybe I just need to crank out a quarter million cash hands then I'll get burned out and wanna play tourneys again ha. I really just don't know.

I've been staying hidden from search on Stars cuz I didn't want ppl to know I was playing cash games ha. I'll change that so if you wanna look me up and say hi thats cool. I'm keeping track of my +/- in cash games so as to not disturb the 25K Project bankroll.

On Sunday I played the Brawl on Full Tilt and Warmup on Stars. I cashed both and finished like 90th in the Brawl and like 400ish in the warmup. Meh. At least I'm cashing Majors now. For the first half of this year I literally couldn't even cash a Sunday Major to save my life so even mincashes are noteworthy.

Ok well thats whats been going on. To summarize, the 25K Project is on a bit of a hold and I'm completely addicted to mass multi-tabling cash games. This won't always be the case as my bread and butter is definitely tournaments.

glgl

My Main Event Trip

After winning the $12K Main Event package on Sunday I didn't play on Monday and barely played today. I was trying to make plans for my WSOP trip but things have definitely changed. It turns out I'm responsible for buying into the Main Event and my account was simply credited with the package funds. This really changed everything. I thought I was going to be bought into the Main Event and just had to show up.

Once I was credited the funds I had no choice but to view that money as part of my bankroll. That being the case, I couldn't possibly justify buying into a $10,000 tourney... even if it is the biggest and most exciting poker tournament in the world! I'm very strict when it comes to bankroll management and despite temptation I've made a disciplined decision to keep the funds as part of my bankroll.

I was thinking I might compromise and still fly out to Vegas and play the last two $1500 WSOP events before the series is over. The last two $1500s are this Saturday (27th) and next Monday (29th). But I was looking at how much it would cost me to fly out there and get a room near the Rio (or at the Rio) on such short notice and the prices are ridiculous. Trying to rush a trip and getting killed in travel expenses isn't something I'm interested in. The WSOP will be back next year and every year after.

So basically at this point I don't have any plans to go to Vegas for the WSOP this year.

Its kinda sad I won't be playing the Main Event this year (despite my opportunity) but the reality is its just one tournament and I can use that 12K for a LOT of other different tournaments. I feel that keeping the package funds and adding them to my existing roll will help me build a substantial bankroll a lot faster than if I plump down 10K on one tournament and take a long shot.

I've never been a long shot kinda guy.

25K Project

I've really been slacking on this over the last few days. I've lost some of my intense motivation to get to 25K. I think the combination of a break-even period and winning the Main Event package on Full Tilt is to blame. I did run a SNG session tonight where I played about 30 games and only mincashed one SNG. It was unreal. I hate variance ha.

The roll is at $14,427 right now and Its been hovering in this range for over a week. Now that I don't have any "sidetracking" WSOP plans I should be able to get 100% of my focus back to this project. I've got 29 days left to reach 25K.

Oh and just to be clear (cuz I've had some questions and comments about this) the 25K Project is ONLY on Pokerstars. What I do on Full Tilt is completely separate from the Project. If I were including both sites in the project I'd already be over 25K ha.

Other Thoughts

Over the last couple weeks I've been strongly considering moving to Vegas at the end of the summer. I feel like being able to play online AND having easy access to live tourneys is a powerful combination. More about this later.

The gaming laws here in Colorado are changing on July 2nd and the ridiculous $5 maximum bet limit will finally be gone. It will become a spread limit $5 to $100 game and also we can directly buy in to any tournament. It used to be if you wanted to play the $1650 Heartland Poker Tour event you could only get in by satelliting in for $500 or less, you couldn't directly buy in. That changes in a couple weeks and I'm planning on playing the HPT tourney on July 17th in Blackhawk.

Then in mid-August the HPT is going to Mount Pleasant, Michigan where I happen to have friends. So I'm thinking about taking a week and going up there to hang out and play that event at The Soaring Eagle Casino.

Sometime before or between these two HPT events I'll have the Stars Project done and I'll have a 25K+ roll on that site. After I get back from Michigan in late August I'll prbly look into being moved to Vegas by early September.

I'm not 100% sure about all this yet but this is whats been circling in my head for a while now and it feels right. I feel like I've got the skill on the felt and the discipline with the bankroll to have a really successful career as a tournament poker player.

Thats it for now. I hope all of you out there are doing well with your goals.

glgl

Ship The Main Event Seat!!!!

After seven hours of play I won a $12,000 package to the WSOP Main Event on Full Tilt!!

Too exciting imo...


















I don't really even know what to say about this. Its basically unexpected. I mean I ponied up $535 for the satt obv expecting to do well but its still pretty surreal. In a post I made a few days ago I said I was playing this because there was gonna be a lot of dead money in it and boy was I right. Its hard to believe such idiotic people even have $535 to play a tournament with...

well more on this later after I've had a chance to figure it all out.

I played 53 SNGs on Stars today and came out +$400. I ran some MTTs and finished 10th in the $10 cubed (the tourney I've final tabled twice in the last nine days). I also ran very deep in the $27.50 (25K guar) and busted 22nd I think. Overall it was a pretty good day for the project and the bankroll is just under 15K.

Ok well I'm gonna really try to play my ass off this week on Stars and put in some good volume since I'm gonna be in Vegas for at least a few days in early July.

glgl

Bluh

I barely played tonight.

I woke up feeling a little under the weather and still pretty tired but I forced myself to play anyway cuz I really wanna have this project done in the time line I set out.

Well just after my tourneys started popping up it was obvious I wouldn't be able to play for long. I was dozing off and having a hard time seeing the monitors ha. I unregd from tourneys and went back to sleep.

Oh well no biggie. This project isn't a race and I don't wanna burn myself out on poker getting it done either.

Hopefully I have a good Sunday.

glgl.

Decent Day

+541 today. Made a final table.

I cashed only the 3r and 10 1r1a and FTd the 10 1r for 6th and $650. Took a retarded beat in the $162 just before the money for what woulda been a nice stack. No matter what ppl say there are definitely plenty of fishes still out there to make money from in ALL stakes of tournament poker.



















The 180 and 45 mans turned around decently today. I had a 3rd and a 4th in 180 mans and a few min cashes and won a couple 45 mans.

























I'm still -$460 in the 180 mans since I started them early last week but once I start shipping some 1sts that won't even be a problem.

Well thats pretty much it. I feel like I'm playing pretty well and I'm looking forward to getting to $25K pretty soon. Its just a matter of getting in there everyday and playing my best.

glgl

Day Off

I didn't play on Thursday the 18th (Day 65).

In my last session on the 17th I felt myself being anxious and generally unfocused. Well its not that I was "unfocused" just that I didn't feel as focused as usual. I was easily irritable and frustrated. It really drives me crazy when I'm playing and I don't feel like I'm playing my best. I'm very obsessive-compulsive. I think the day off did me some good.

It should be a pretty busy weekend. I'm gonna hit the stars project hard Fri, Sat, and Sunday and also on Sunday I'm playing the Brawl, Mulligan, and 150 seat main event satellite on full tilt. Would be pretty dope to scoop a main event seat for $535 but only like 1 in 24 players will get a seat so I'm not holding my breath. Its still a way +ev tourney (as is the wsop main event) so I feel like I should play it.

glgl

Bad Day

-$584 today.

I spent the majority of the session losing virtually every single coin flip possible. One thing about tournament poker is if you aren't winning coin flips you aren't gonna go far. Period.

I cashed the $55 Nightly 70K guarantee and had a few top three finishes in 45-mans.

The 180-mans were again pathetic but I'm sick of complaining about them. I know I'm playing amazing and I know they'll turn around eventually and I'll be killing 'em.

I don't feel like posting graphs or getting too in depth tonight. I'm prbly gonna take a day off pretty soon. I think I'm feeling a little burned out.

Gl out there.

Good Day

+$764 Today. Made a final table.

Played the 3r, 27.50, 55 6max, 20r, 162, 55, 10r, 55 6max, and 77 6max. I would like to play the $109 2x chance every night but some nights its a turbo and some nights its not. Tonight it was a turbo and that's no good. The 77 6max is also a turbo but I played it anyway. I don't remember those two tourneys being turbos so often... I don't like that at all. If I wanted to play turbos I'd play SNGs only. Get your shit together Stars and stop making so many MTTs turbos.

I cashed the $162 Nightly $100K and finished somewhere around 40th. I had a great stack post-bubble and was playing great. Its a tough world though in NLHE tourneys these days with ppl being so aggro. I opened in LP w/77 and some aggro moron shoves outta the BB with Q10o. I make the good call and he makes a straight. You gotta be so so so careful these days with ppl three betting so crazy. Anyway I went card dead and shoved A2o in LP and ran into A10o. GG me. Oh well. That elusive 20K+ score evades me yet again.

Luckily I was getting deep in the second $55 6max of the night and ended up 3rd in that for just under $1K.


















I ran my AKhh into 99 aipf and couldn't hit or else I woulda been a 2 to 1 CL going into HU. Oh well. I play to win.

Those $55 6max tourneys are awesome. So many weak players and I consistenly get deep in them. They only get like 115 to 160 players per night and first place is only worth about 1.8K in both of them but I'm making consistent and decent profit from them. Also its nice to be able to run MTTs w/o 1,000+ players.

Ok so the 180 mans were retarded again today. Its unreal how I'm running in those. Its getting so old. I ran pretty well in the 45 mans so that helped cancel out the ridiculousness of the 180s but I'm getting really impatient with them. I guess I just need to stay calm and collected.

Here's the daily SNG graph:
























This is my 4th straight losing day in SNGs. The last three days have been just barely losing but its still been frustrating.

I guess since I'm running turbo 45 and 180 mans I'm gonna have to accept long periods of losing and/or breaking even with the occasional high-profit rush to balance things out. Thats not something I look forward to but the play is so awful in them I'd be a fool not to be grinding 'em.

Here is my 180 man graph since I started playing 'em last Monday the 8th:

























I'm showing this ugly graph because when the 180 mans finally turn around it will be fun to show the good graph. Also its really motivational for me to see where I'm at and where I expect to be.

Also you might have noticed I made up a graph of the Bankroll Timeline and put it at the top of the blog. It shows the progression of the entire bankroll itself over time. I think its a fun little treat ha. Can you tell I'm addicted to graphs and numbers ha? Ya I'm just a big nerd at the end of the day.

Anyway I'll update that every few days or whenever there is a significant change in the bankroll.

Well thats it for today. Tomorrow rolls on with Day 64.

Gl out there!

Average Day

I guess today was what you might call a typical day. Didn't run particularly great, didn't run particularly awful. I did end the day -$356 but for the high volume sessions I put in that's really a pretty negligible amount.

For MTTs I played:

3r, 27.50, 55 6max, 162, 20r, 55, 10r, 55 6max, 109 2x chance, 27.50 turbo, and 77 6max. I cashed the 20r and the 77 6max was all. I finished 13th in the 20r. I was short stacked and shoved AQss only to run into 1010. Obv couldn't outdraw. I prbly would have at least made the FT if i had. Oh well.

So for MTTs I went 2/11 with one deep run. Meh.

I found myself getting very irritated with the 45 and 180 mans today. I've been running like shit in the 180 mans since I started playing them last week and it really got to me today. I know the variance is tremendous in them but I was having a difficult time keeping my cool.


























This is my third straight day with a losing SNG session. The 45-mans have been going quite well and actually they are the only thing saving me from being way down in SNGs over the last three days. The 180 mans have yet to even begin to even out. I feel like I need to win ten of them in a row to make up for the crap I've been putting up with since I started playing them.

If there is one thing I can't stand when it comes to poker its having consecutive losing days. It really messes with my mind. I start to feel like I can't win and occasionally it has a small effect on my decision making. It can also really make me start to hate the game. If I'm losing over and over and over again I start to adopt an "I don't care" attitude. Obv thats -ev. I guess I was starting to feel that way with the SNGs today. I hope the 180 mans turn around soon.

Well that's about it. Back at it tomorrow.

Angry Rant

I hate this game right now as I write this.

I finished 15th in the 50r for $1500ish and then finished 16th in the $109 (80K guarantee) for $700ish. While those scores are nice and go a long way towards this project they remind me of why I hate Sundays so much or ANY tourney with a payout of 20K+.

I was down to 7 BBs in the 50r and openshoved my A9o right into AKo. GG me. Whatever. Of course I'm never gonna catch any cards and win the 30K first place in that. Thats fine.

Then a couple hours later I found myself super deep in the $109 with 1100+ players. Down to the final two tables. I'm having a great time. I just doubled up w/ 66 against QJhh. I'm chatting with some cool guy on the rail who follows this blog. I've forgotten all about the 50r. I'm eying the 20K 1st place prize. Everything feels right.

Then I pick up JJ. I open and the guy who just doubled me instaships. I snap and rejoice to see his 99. A hold here is worth a 300K stack and top five position. Of course the board comes the unreal xxxx9. Heres the visual.

Just flop that mother fucker FFS. That would hurt twenty million times less than seeing it fall retardedly on the river.

I'm a very emotional person and I get my hopes up easily. Once I fade the two outer on the flop my emotions skyrocket. I start thinking "Oh baby I just might ship this tourney and the juicy 20K this time!!" That would = project goal accomplished and my first big score. The devastation in the moment of seeing that nine is overwhelming to be honest.

I'm really upset in this moment. I know I have no right to complain. We all take unreal beats at the most painful times. I've gotten used to that and accepted it. But somehow it never hurts less in a big spot like that.

I've been playing a lot of Sunday tourneys for several months now and the rare few times I make it past the donkey masses and find myself in a good spot it seems like I take an absolute ridic beat or someone makes a retardedly obvious overshove and finds a miracle against my good call.

Sure I picked up about $2200 in cashes between those two deep runs but I've had a dozen scores above $2200 in the last year. I don't care about $2200 to be completely honest. I want a GOOD score. I've never had a score above 10K. I've had a bunch of scores between 2K and 9.8K but every time I find myself in a good spot for a 20K+ score something ridiculous happens.

I'm kinda tired of just being a midstakes grinder. I already know I can tear up midstakes. My MTT and SNG stats on Full Tilt prove that effortlessly. My ROI in midstakes is ridiculous.

And on Stars I've already grinded $500 up to over $14K in just two months... and I just started playing MTTs seven days ago.

I played the three majors on Full Tilt again today and crapped out of everything pretty early as usual. When it comes to tourneys with a very significant prize pool I feel like I'm automatically drawing dead. It feels like there is some barrier or shield keeping me from breaking out of this midstakes rut I'm in. It feels like a curse.

But...

I know its just a feeling and NOT reality. In reality there are no curses. In reality there is nothing in particular holding me back from a good score. Its just a series of unlucky events that make it seem like I'll never get there.

I have to keep going. I have to keep pushing. I'm playing so well right now. I'm not stopping. I'm never stopping until I have the results I want. My time WILL come.

I started this project because I was frustrated with my results in buyins above the midstakes level. I was burned out and bored with my mediocrity. I knew a project like this would kick start my passion for tournaments again... and it has. Today was just a gross reminder of all that frustration.

However the roll now stands at $14,290 which is pretty amazing. Just seven days ago I was grinding small stakes SNGs only and finally got the roll above 5K to $5,111. I was so excited to finally be able to start Phase Two. I remember that moment vividly.

Obviously things are looking really good right now. I really couldn't have asked for a better seven days to start out Phase Two. I've nearly tripled the roll.

I've got to let go my frustration and anger about the "big score". All it will do is haunt me and hold me back if I focus on it. I've got to stick to my game plan and get in there and play my best everyday like I have been.

Everything will be OK.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Heres todays SNG graph:


























They started out really well with a couple 1sts and a 2nd in 45-mans but then after about 30 games it went to hell. I think I only mincashed one 180-man. I can already tell the variance in the 180s is gonna be brutal but I've seen the profits of some of the regs and I know they're gonna be worth it in the long run.

I thought I would show the graph of just the $12/45-mans since I started this project:


























Kinda pretty huh? Ha. I know graphs are popular with readers so I figured this would be a nice little treat.

Ok well I guess I'm done complaining and then feeling better. Hope your Sunday went well. I'm back at it tomorrow.

Day Off

I took today off. It was my first day off in weeks.

I watched The Colorado Rockies win their 10th straight game. That was nice.

I also looked through the Stars MTT lineup and came up with a rough schedule more reflective of the "new" bankroll.

Even though the roll stands at 12K+ I'm really not going to be changing a whole lot. I can add in any freezeout up to a $162 buyin and any rebuy up to a $55 buyin. The majority of my MTTs are still gonna be midstakes buyins where theres a lot of dead money. On Sundays I might throw in one of the $216 majors.

The $12/45 and 180 mans will remain a staple of my daily grind.

I've got 39 days to reach $25,000 or more.

Back at it tomorrow. Gl out there.

Two Final Tables, First Big Score of the Project!

K so after last night's deep runs and coming up with nothing but painful FT bubbles I went ahead and had another set of deep runs tonight. I had some better results this time though.

After almost ten hours of grinding I came up with 2nd place in the $10r (50K guar) for $6,500 exactly. Going into HU I had a 2 to 1 CL but my opponent was very aggro. I knew I'd be walking on glass with him.

After a few small battles I opened 2.5x on the button with A3o and he flatted from the BB (first time he flatted from BB during HU play). Flop came xAx all spades and I had no spade. He instachecked. I knew my Ace was good cuz if he had a bigger Ace he woulda three bet me pre flop. I was thinking he prbly had a large spade so I bet out about half-pot giving him the rope to come over the top on the draw. Sure enough he minraised me. I knew exactly what the situation was and instashoved on him. He called with Ks10x and I had all the money in the middle (for the tournament win) as a 2 to 1 fav. Obv a ridic spade fell on the turn like it was nothing and now he had a 7 to 1 CL. It was over a few hands later when he minopened the button with 10Jo and I shoved Q9dd and it came xJx10x. Whatever.

Obv I should be completely thrilled with this score as its what I've been busting my ass for these last five days in Phase Two but I'm so competitive and determined I'm NEVER happy with anything but the best. I guess I'll just have to let it go like I've let the results of every other day go. The fact that this score almost EXACTLY doubles my roll from where it started today will also ease the pain ha.

Heres the screenshot of that 2nd:



















Also I FTd the $10 cubed with 650ish players and was 2nd in chips coming in. I was being my usual aggro self but I wasn't ready for the complete donkiness of that table. It was insane. Morons flatting three bets cold with marginal hands. I lost several moderate size pots and began to lose my cool. I opened KQo from EP and this clown who kept three betting me flatted with 88. The flop came 9K8 and I led half pot to which he raised. I was having none of it and shoved and obv went broke. I was very upset with myself over this one. I had plenty of chips and didn't need to bust with top pair only.

Heres that lobby:


















The 45 and 180 mans were absolutely horrendous today. I think I mincashed 2 out of 37 was all. So many beats and ridiculousness. One thing about turbos is that you can definitely make money quickly with a good run but you can lose money just as quickly on a bad run.

Heres this ugly graph:

























I'm not too proud of this one ha but this is the reality of poker from day to day and session to session. Its important to be honest and learn to take the good with the bad.

K so the first five days of Phase Two are in the books. I've played ~60ish MTTs and the roll stands at $12,479. Obvs everything is on schedule (ahead of schedule actually) and I'm certain if I continue to work hard and play aggressively and fearlessly I'll hit my goal.

Its hard to believe that just six days ago I was playing about 100 small SNGs per day trying to get my roll over the 5K hump so I could move onto Phase Two. Now, just five days later, I've already more than doubled the roll in Phase Two. Its amazing what focus and determination can do for a person.

This project has really had a major positive impact on me. Before I was just kind of floating in limbo trying to hit a big Sunday score. I found myself getting frustrated and having no direction. This project has brought focus and rythym and energy back into my play. I feel like I have a purpose again ha. I know it sounds corny but I'm the kind of person who needs structure and goals to function at his best. I'm certain some of you out there are the same way and I hope you can take some good things away from this project and my in-depth daily blog updates.

K I'm tired and hungry. I'm contemplating taking tomorrow off so I can be rested for Sunday. I'll be playing the majors on Full Tilt and now that the roll is 12K+ I can move up to higher buyin MTTs on Stars. Also I haven't taken a day off in at least a couple weeks, maybe longer I can't even remember anymore. I've been pretty focused in on this project. Idk though I'm really in the zone right now so I might play. I'll just see how I feel when I wake up tomorrow.

Thats all for now. Stay cool out there.

More Deep Runs, More Disappointment

Another night of deep runs with agonizing results. I min-cashed the $20r. I min-cashed the $5 2r1a again. I finished 49th in the Nightly 70K when I shoved my 88 from the SB against an aggro LP opener who woke up w/QQ. But that didn't hurt too badly cuz I was one of the top five stacks in the $3r at the time with about 45 players left (almost 5,000 starting players). When down to the final two tables I was 2/18 with over three million chips and in good position to claim the $7K 1st place prize. But down to 12 players I only had 10 BBs and the chip leader only had about 40 BBs. The structure turned horrible at the end. Five-handed and on the final table bubble I ran my 99 into QQ and busted 11th for a pathetic $250ish. It was earily reminiscent of my 11th place finish last month in the mini FTOPS Main Event (with over 10,000 players) where first place was worth 92K and I picked up a paltry 4K. I remember how horribly I felt after that.

A lot of emotions are involved in going deep in tourneys and getting your hopes up and being disappointed most of the time. I've cashed and gone deep in ten tournaments in the last 24 hours and don't have even a single final table to show for it. Right now I feel like I'm not meant to win. I'm feeling like "why do I even bother?" These are normal human emotions but if I let them get the best of me I'm in a lot trouble.

Over the last couple years of playing poker seriously Ive learned that the most important thing a person can do (as long as they are playing their best) is learn to let a session go. If I carry my frustration into tomorrow's session thinking thoughts like "well I just can't win" or "this game is too hard to beat" then I'm setting myself up for failure. I'll only be paying attention to how my luck is running. I won't be focusing in on situations where luck plays no factor.

This game is ALL about mindset once you have the fundamentals down and aren't making mistakes on the felt. So instead of complaining about my luck and how I could easily have my roll over 10K right now "if only I ran better deep" I'm going to completely let tonight's results go and focus in on tomorrow. I'm gonna wipe the slate clean and tackle tomorrow's tourneys with as much fearless aggression and determination as I have for the last four days.

Ok rant over. I played 34 SNGs tonight as well:
























I also thought it might be cool to show the graph of my SNGs since I started Phase Two four days ago:


























Also my complete SNG graph since I started the project 58 days ago:


























I think its always cool to be able to look at the graphs and see how far you've come from the start. For me its motivational. Every single session or day has its own funky-looking graph that could be up or down or twisty but when you put all those graphs together they make sense and have a meaning.

Well thats a wrap. Back at it tomorrow.

Tons of Deep Runs

I played 10 MTTs and 24 SNGs tonight. I cashed and ran deep in a bunch of the MTTs and took 2nd in a 180-man.

I cashed both the $55 6max MTTs finishing 15th and 7th (losing flips in both to bust) and bubbling the FT of the 2nd one. I cashed the $5 (2r1a) that I won last night but ran my AK into AA. I cashed the 3r and lost my stack in a 100k pot when my AA lost to QQ aipf 10J1098. Busted the Nightly 70K in 56th place when I ran my 1010 into 22 on a 234 flop. Busted somewhere around 100th in the $10r. Just bubbled the 20r.

It was definitely an evening ripe with possibilities but absolutely nothing huge materialized. Oh well. All you can do with tourneys is put yourself in position time and time again. Eventually things work out. I did manage to log a +$500 session so it definitely wasn't all for nothing.

I'm playing with amazing confidence and my reads are ridiculously sharp. I want so badly to complete this project within the time line I set out.

Daily SNG graph:
























As I mentioned above I got 2nd in a $12/180-man. I like the structures in those as they are a bit slower than the 45-mans. I'm gonna run 180-mans and 45-mans only from now on and drop the 18-mans all together most likely.

Well thats it. Back to the grind tomorrow.

First Tourney Win!

Today was just the second day of Phase Two where I'm allowed to play MTTs and I've cranked out 29 so far. Good news is tonight I've already had two big milestones! Not only did I make my first final table but I logged my first tourney win of the project in the evening $5 (2r1a) with 415 players for $1,182.76!


















This increases my roll by a significant 26% and completely offsets the lost buyins of the other 28 MTTs I've played with no results.

I played less MTTs and SNGs today than yesterday. Apparently I was really tired cuz I slept until this afternoon and didn't even get started til 6pm. I guess all this playing and blogging and just being emotionally involved in this project has wiped some energy out of me.

Anyway I played 12 MTTs and 38 SNGs this evening. I ran just awful in all the other MTTs except the one I won obv. Thats the thing with MTTs though... you usually either completely crap out or have a good score. There seems to be very little in between. Keeping your emotions in check is really the hardest part (for me anyway)

The SNGs went "meh". I ended up a little bit but I ran pretty crappy at my 45-man FTs and there was definitely potential for more winnings.

Daily SNG graph:
























I think I'm gonna drop the $16/18-mans for now and just focus on the $12/45-mans. I think I'm also gonna run one or two of the $12/180-mans at a time during my sessions for awhile.

Well I don't feel like rambling on like I did in yesterday's post so I'm gonna wrap it up.

Btw I know some of you guys are watching me play sometimes cuz I see some comments on the rail. Please feel free to say hi and I'll gladly say hi back. I don't always have my chat tab on so I won't always see but its good to know you guys are out there and involved in this!

Also I'm getting a lot of emails and PMs on P5s with questions about the project and other personal projects you guys are working on. I may not get to them right away but I will eventually so be patient with me on those. Also a lot of you are telling me that my blog and this project have been inspirational. I can't get enough of those comments! Knowing that I've had that kind of effect on people is the best feeling for me, even better than winning tourneys.

Well I'm back at it tomorrow. Glglglglglgllgl to all of you!

First Day of Phase Two: MTTs

Well today was an interesting day for sure. I got a good, solid taste of what the next 44 days are gonna be like trying to complete this project ha. I played 17 MTTs and 57 SNGs. It was definitely tense. I had three deep runs in MTTs but in the end the usual beats got me.

I played the following MTTs:

$11/30kG
$3.30r/50kG min-cashed
$22c/20kG
$5.50/turbo/3kG
$55/80kG
$11/15kG
$11r/70kG min-cashed
$5.50/2r1a/10kG
$55/50kG
$7.50/turbo

Took like a two hour break then came back and played:

$55/70kG
$11r/70kG
$55/6max/7kG
$7.50/turbo
$33/15kG
$11/6max/7kG
$27.50/turbo/15kG min-cashed

I was pretty tired throughout the day but I felt like I played really well. I can definitely think of two mistakes I made that I knew were mistakes at the time but was in such a robotic mode I almost couldn't stop myself. I'm sure you know what I mean. Thats something I'm gonna have to work on immediately.

I also cranked out 57 SNGs on the side. Some of you might be wondering something like "ummmm you played over 2,600 SNGs to build a bankroll for playing MTTs so why are you still messing with SNGs?" Well, if you are in fact wondering something like that, I'll provide three really good reasons why I'm still messing with SNGs.

Really Good Reason #1: The Rough Math

I'm averaging $2 profit per game in the SNGs. If I play 50 per day I'm making $100 profit per day. If I play 50 per day for the last 45 days of this project thats an additional $4,500 profit. This addition 4.5K profit combined with the 4.5K I've already earned gives me about 9K in profit from small SNGs alone. The importance of 9K profit from small SNGs speaks for itself.

Really Good Reason #2: Staying Sharp

SNGs are a microcosm of a large MTT. Throughout a SNG you'll experience a slow beginning period where the stacks are deep, a chaotic middle period where the stacks vary wildy and players struggle to either get in the money or accumulate chips, and finally an intense ending period complete with shorthanded situations, large pay jumps, and heads-up play. The better you are at SNGs the better you'll be at MTTs.

If you're three betting a lot in SNGs you'll be more comfortable three betting in MTTs. If you're abusing the bubble a lot in SNGs you'll be more comfortable abusing the bubble in MTTs. Etc, etc, etc. Being successful at SNGs keeps you very sharp for those rare times when you're deep in an MTT and aiming for a large score.

Really Good Reason #3: The Beating Heart of The Project

This is prbly the most important reason. SNGs are a low variance tournament (which is nice) but unfortunately low paying (which sucks). MTTs are the opposite. MTTs are a high variance tournament (which sucks) but have tremendously large payouts and ROIs (which is nice). So basically SNGs = small but steady profit while MTTs = long periods of bankroll bleeding with the occasional huge score.

Most ppl tend to play one or the other. But in my mind the optimal way to make the most money possible AND have absolutely zero risk of going broke is to utilize BOTH.

I grind the hell out of low variance/low paying SNGs and use the steady profit to fund the high variance/high paying MTTs.

Without the steady stream of SNG profit you might watch your bankroll get cut in half or even disappear before you finally get a good score from a MTT. But if you only ever played SNGs then it would take you a very long time to get the high profit rewards you're prbly looking for. Its the best of both worlds and I can't realistically see myself turning $500 into $25,000 without both.

So, in essence, SNGs are the heart of this project. They provide the funding to play virtually an unlimited supply of MTTs. And with an unlimited supply of MTTs I'm guaranteed to eventually hit. Its basically a system that can't fail unless its fucked up somehow by its user lol.

Anyway heres the graph of my SNGs today. Its nothing too pretty but it gives an idea how an average daily SNG session might look:

























Ok I'm exhausted its bedtime. I can't promise I'll have posts as in depth as this one every day but I will update every day. Sometimes I just feel like explaining everything thats in my head and sometimes I just wanna get it over with ha.

Back at it tomorrow. Stay Cool.

Phase One Complete!

Phase One is finally over and I can now move on to Phase Two. It took me 54 days to turn the initial $500 bankroll into a respectable $5,000 bankroll by playing small stakes SNGs only.

Heres the final graph:


























And heres a screen shot of my cashier box:



















The next time I post a screen shot of the cashier box will be when the roll is at $25K or more.

I'm excited to be at this point but the reality is the real work begins now. I'll no longer be playing SNGs only. Things will get much more dynamic at this point as I start to mix in scheduled, daily MTTs. This is where proper BR management will become my greatest ally.

I'm going to try to have the roll at 25K or more within 45 days from today. This will be a challenge but I feel like I'm up to the task. I've had great success in low and midstakes MTTs on Full Tilt over the last six months and I don't see why I can't duplicate that on Pokerstars.

I've made up an initial MTT schedule for the roll as it stands right now:


























All these tourneys are within my bankroll and if I played all of them in one day it would run me about $900 and get me 31 MTTs. I doubt I'll be playing all of them everyday but its certainly a good starting point.

As my bankroll grows I'll be able to add in higher buyin tourneys. As it shrinks I'll drop down accordingly.

In addition to these daily MTTs I'm going to continue grinding the 45-man and 18-man SNGs that earned me this 5K roll. I like to always be grinding some SNG action on the side as it helps keep the MTT variance in check and keeps me sharp in shorthanded and final table situations.

I certainly hope I've inspired some of you out there to set goals and be specific in what you want. I know it sounds cliche but all you have to do is put your mind to it and never give up, no matter how tough it gets sometimes. Perseverance is the quality all great human beings posses, including the best poker players in the world.

Well wish me luck over the next 45 days as I look to take this 5K and turn it into 25K or more. I'll be posting every day. I wish you the best of luck in all your goals as well :)

-Adam

91 SNGs Tonight

As I mentioned in my lengthy post yesterday, I was very confident things would be turning around for me soon. I've been losing and breaking even for so long it had to let up eventually. Well I broke through pretty huge with tonight's session. It started out pretty rough but I didn't care. I want to be done with Phase One so badly I kept on loading games up anyway. Eventually things turned around and when the dust finally settled I was +$516 on the session. Heres tonight's session graph:
























At one point I think I was actually above the $4500 profit mark but I can't know that because I'm running twelve tables at a time and I'm constantly loading new games up whenever I bust. If I hadn't run so poorly in my last 20 games I prbly would have completed Phase One tonight. Oh well.

Heres where I stand right now after 53 days:

























I'm just $187 away from having a 5K roll and being able to say I completed Phase One. Providing I don't run like crap tomorrow I should be able to push over that hump and start with Phase Two on Monday.

Also tomorrow I'm prbly playing the majors on Full Tilt... the brawl, the 750k, and the mulligan. I might not be awake by noon for the brawl but the other two I'll be playing.

Well not much else to report I guess. I'm pretty excited now that I'm within breathing distance of being done with this first phase. Hopefully tomorrows the day I get it done.

The Nature of Variance

Well I played exactly 40 SNGs again tonight. I was getting crushed early on and for some reason I just didn't have it in me to keep grinding tonight. I hate playing when I'm completely disinterested or frustrated.

Luckily I won a couple games before it was all said and done and I kept the damage to just -$123. I now stand $703 away from completing Phase One. Its been like one step forward, two steps back for the last week.

I can't seem to catch a break or find any level of consistency anymore. Its been incredibly frustrating and I've decided to take a close look at my stats to see if I can learn anything.

I've played 2,530 SNGs in the past 52 days and I can clearly see a pattern in the games over time. My first 1200 games were nothing short of amazing. However my last 1300 games have been, at best, a struggle just to keep my head above water.

I'm going to show two graphs. The first graph is my first 1,217 games. The second graph is my last 1,313 games.

First 1,217 games (from April 15th to May 19th):


























Last 1,313 games (from May 20th to June 5th):


























The second graph picks up exactly where the first one left off.

The differences are mind-boggling. I go from a very nice 22% ROI to a paltry 1% ROI. I go from $3 average profit per game to $0. I go from just under $3,700 in profit to just over $100. Its like looking at the stats and graphs of two completely different players!

One would think that over the course of roughly the same stretch of games (approx 1250-game stretches each) the stats would be somewhat similar. That couldn't be further from the truth.

I have to ask myself whats going on. I'm playing more games per day in the last 1,300 games but its nothing I can't handle and my quality of decisions are as sharp as they were in the first 1,200 games. It turns out the culprit here is good old variance.

The truth is its not uncommon for SNG players to go long stretches of losing or break even games. This is especially true for turbo games.

I realize that its prolonged, incredibly frustrating runs of poker that get a lot of really good players down. I read a lot of posts on P5s or hear a lot of stories about really good players losing their minds and their bankrolls and thinking about quitting because they just can't shake a prolonged downswing.

Variance is a tricky beast. He fools us by letting us win over long stretches then turns around and shows us what hes really capable of. If we let ourselves get tricked into thinking we'll always win (or always lose) then we don't have the correct mindset to approach poker.

I've always said proper bankroll management is the most important thing in poker and I've proved it with these two graphs. Often times when we're winning consistently we tend to let our guard down about solid BR management. We might think thoughts like "Bah I don't need 50 or 100 buy-ins in my bankroll... I can do this with just 25 buy-ins". Then when the inevitable, prolonged downswing hits you're completely unprepared for the tidal wave of devastation coming your way.

Luckily I have plenty of buyins in my bankroll and despite this prolonged downswing I'm as optimistic about the future as ever. My numbers will turn around, I'll start profiting steadily again, and the graph will start moving steadily upward again. Its only a matter of time and patience.

The most important things you can do for yourself while on a prolonged downswing are:

1) Do NOT Tilt. This is most important. If you start making irrational decisions based on a string of irrational results then you are only helping variance work his black magic. Do whatever you have to do to keep yourself from making mistakes.

2) Stay Calm. I often start to worry when I'm running horribly and think things like "I'll never win again" or "time to find a new job". Thats just how I am. I'm a worrier by nature. But I'm learning that staying rational and focused on the long-run is the key.

3) Continue Making Correct Decisions. Its easy to start to doubt yourself and your decision-making process when losing for a prolonged period. Focus even harder on reading situations and making optimal decisions and have faith that those decisions are correct despite negative results.

4) Practice Sound Fundamental Bankroll Management More Than Ever. During my last 1,300 games I had two harsh downswings (clearly visible on the graph). The first was a $900 downswing which I then immediately recovered. I remember thinking "phew the worst is over... time to get back to winning again". Little did I know the worst was yet to come. Immediately after recovering all $900 I went on a massive $1,400 downswing. I remember wanting to quit so badly. I was losing so much everyday and the two outers and runner-runners would not stop.

During this period I had an average buy-in of $14 per game. So that means my first downswing was -64 buyins and the second downswing was a whopping -100 buyins. However, at no time was I in any danger of going broke. I still had plenty of buyins cushioning me. I knew that if I continued making correct decisions and forcing my opponents into making mistakes things would turn around, and they did. I recovered the $1,400.

Anyway my whole point here is that staying calm and rational during a string of irrational events is the key to this game. Going on tilt and losing your bankroll on a cash table because you're so fed up with losing is NOT the way to go, believe me... I've been there. Thats how this whole project kinda got started anyway ha.

Wow what a long post. Guess I should wrap it up now. Just remember, if you're going through a downswing (like I was) or a frustrating break even period (like I am now) you have to stay positive and follow those tips I gave. Things WILL turn around and you'll reach your goals for sure!

I'm back at it again tomorrow for Day 53, stay cool.

Good Session

I only played 40 SNGs tonight (easily the fewest I've played in a while) but it was a good session ending at +$353. Once it gets around midnight my time the 45-man action really dies out and I hate to have to drop to the $6 buyins to keep my screens full.

Heres the graph:

























I'm now just $580 away from completing Phase One. One good session could put me over the top or I could have to grind it out some more, who knows. I sure wish I could run like I did in my first 1200 games where 80% of my sessions were winners and most of those were big winners. The last 1300 games have been so swingy its been unreal. I never know what to expect from session to session anymore.

Btw you may notice the Sharkscope chart showing me with $12 more than I show on the right of the blog on the bankroll updater. I guess sharkscope must have missed one of my $12 45-man games. The accurate number will ALWAYS be on the right as that is my actual account balance.

Well back at it again tomorrow. Hopefully I can put a lid on Phase One in the next couple sessions and move up to Phase Two and MTTs.

Quicky

I didn't get to start playing when I wanted to cuz my recent check from Full Tilt bounced this afternoon and I've been on the phone with my bank and trying to find out what the hell is going on from full tilt's end. Apparently things are solved now but I'm always skeptical of these issues. And what an inconvenience to have a check bounce. Full tilt gave me a free $150 for the inconvenience but I'd rather NEVER have these problems than get a bit of free money.

Oh well anyway I'm gonna start playing right now on stars and play throughout the night and I'll post results and a fresh graph when I'm done.

Grrrr

Sorry I didn't post after my session last night. I got started late and was really tired after. I only ended up playing 68 SNGs and it was rough riding from the get go. I ended up down -$183 compliments of bubbling a bunch of games. This session was exactly like my last session in that only a few individual hands determined whether it was going to be a winning or losing session. Oh well.

I'm still $933 away from completing Phase One but I have a feeling I'm gonna have a sick rush of like 100 games where I make most of that. I'm playing every single day trying to catch that rush.

I'm planning on playing a ton tonight as I finally got some good sleep last night. I'll post a fresh graph after my session tonight.

Stay Cool

130 SNGs on Tuesday

I cranked out 130 SNGs over a seven hour period and managed to be down a negligible -$45 bucks. If just like five or ten single hands had gone my way out of that whole damn session I could have been up three or maybe four hundred. Its such a funny game. I find it hard to believe that I could be up $3,750 in my first 1200 SNGs and somehow be just barely above break even in my last 1200 SNGs. So much frustration in this game. I guess it really comes down to accepting the good with the bad and marching on.

Anyway I'll keep cranking out these sessions and one of these times I'll catch the rush I'm looking for to put me over the $5K bankroll mark. I feel like I'm so close now.

Stay cool

Inching Closer

I played 121 SNGs today and had a healthy +$350 session. This is the closest I've been to completing Phase One:

























I'm just $705 away from moving to Phase Two. The closer I get the more I want it.

Well there's not much more to report. I'm just really in the zone and excited to start Phase Two. Back to the grind tomorrow.

In Position To Close Out Phase One, Yet Again

Ok so I had another good session today and for the third time now I'm within $1,000 of completing Phase One:

























The last two times I was in this position I hit two ugly, long-lasting downswings (the second of which being particularly nasty). Third times the charm...? Ha. Well, without question I will be done with Phase One this week sometime. I'll put in 200+ games per day if I have to. I'm definitely starting to get tired of grinding these baby SNGs like a mindless zombie. I swear to God I can see tables flashing in my head at night while I sleep. I'm hungry to start putting in some nice MTT action again.

Speaking of MTTs I had a deep run in the Sunday Mulligan on Full Tilt today. I busted in 64th I think on a ridic hand. I just got moved to the table about five hands earlier with 40K in chips (800/1600) and opened 1010 on the button. Immediately the assclown in the SB overships 70K in chips. I snap and he shows exactly the kind of crap I figured, A8o. The previous hand when he was in the BB the button opened and he unnecessarily overshoved Q9o and got snapped by AKo and hit a 99Kxx board. So I knew this clown had no clue how to play postflop and was just shovehappy in the blinds. Anyway the board came 2459A obv and I'm busto instead of doubling to about 90K in chips and being in excellent position for a final table run. Whatever. This clown went on to finish 6th (blowing a huge FT CL lol ha) for a little over 10K.

My big Sunday score will come I know it. And its gonna happen this year. I guess I'm so excited about this project because it gives me something to focus on and look forward to while I'm waiting in the wings for a big score. I feel like I've proven my midstakes mettle and since Sundays only come once a week I can work on the Stars project most of the rest of the time.

I guess I'm the kind of person who needs a lot of structure in their life. I feel like I always have to be doing something meaningful or productive. This Stars Project is just the type of thing I can really sink my teeth into.

Anyway ramble over. Look for lots more posts this week as I wrap up Phase One on the Stars Project and dive head-first into Phase Two!