I withdrew a little bit and took a day off following the 3r win.
Over the last few days I struggled a bit to find a schedule I'm comfortable with. I think I've finally come up with something I'm very happy with (you'll find it on the Schedule Page if you're interested).
I'm excited to keep going. I love playing on all three sites. There are certain things I love about each site that makes the variety perfect.
As a tip, if you're trying to make a go of it in poker and are starting with a small roll and trying to build it up I highly recommend playing exclusively on UB. The fields are perfect in size and the players are just unbelievably awful. When you want to make more money you def will need to expand out to Stars or FT but starting on UB is prbly your best option imo.
GL out there.
2015 MTT Profit
Click the Graph for a Month-to-Month Breakdown of Data
Monday, February 21, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
I LOVE Making These Posts
The night started off at 6pm for me as usual. The first two tourneys I load are the $11 KO non-guarantee on Full Tilt and the $3r 40K Guaranteed on Stars. About four hours later the $11 KO ended with a good result.
Finally, ten hours later at 4am, the $3r on Stars ended.
Three-handed I had 58% of the chips in play. My two opponents were good players who knew what they were doing. We made an ICM chop whereby I ended up losing only 7.3% from first-place money. It was definitely worth it to me to virtually lock up first place money w/o having to beat the other two players (who collectively controlled 42% of the chips and weren't going to make many mistakes). I walked away w/ $5,800 from a $9 investment.
All I can say right now is IT'S ABOUT GOD-DAMN TIME!!!!
Sorry but I needed to get that out of my system ha. If you've been reading my blog for the last couple months you know I've been playing my ass off since the start of the year to rebuild my roll. It was forty-six days of pure frustration until tonight.
Okay so my roll is just shy of 10K right now so obv I'll be moving up in stakes as I've been talking about so much. I may withdraw some money so I'm not sure what my schedule will be yet but w/e it is it's gonna be good.
2011 Here I Come!
Finally, ten hours later at 4am, the $3r on Stars ended.
Three-handed I had 58% of the chips in play. My two opponents were good players who knew what they were doing. We made an ICM chop whereby I ended up losing only 7.3% from first-place money. It was definitely worth it to me to virtually lock up first place money w/o having to beat the other two players (who collectively controlled 42% of the chips and weren't going to make many mistakes). I walked away w/ $5,800 from a $9 investment.
All I can say right now is IT'S ABOUT GOD-DAMN TIME!!!!
Sorry but I needed to get that out of my system ha. If you've been reading my blog for the last couple months you know I've been playing my ass off since the start of the year to rebuild my roll. It was forty-six days of pure frustration until tonight.
Okay so my roll is just shy of 10K right now so obv I'll be moving up in stakes as I've been talking about so much. I may withdraw some money so I'm not sure what my schedule will be yet but w/e it is it's gonna be good.
2011 Here I Come!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Update
Haven't posted in a week. I took a couple days off. I'm feeling a little burned out. Still on pace for 500 MTTs this month. I really can't wait for this nonsense to turn around.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
4th in DD A
On the last day of January I got 4th in the FT 3r for $800ish (First was 2.6K, sigh). My 4th in the DD A tonight was almost identical to that. It paid like $750 for 4th (First was 2.3K, sigh again) and I busted in 4th losing another damn coin flip.
I lost a CL pot when I opened my 1010 utg and the CL in the SB shoved. I couldn't get my money in fast enough as he showed AQhh. The flop came down AAQ as if to laugh in my face and say "you ain't neva gonna win no tourney boy!"
Anyway, the $750 def helps. It puts my roll just a touch under 4K. I'm not going to make any dramatic changes to my current sched. I might add in the $22 6max on UB @ 23:00. I could prbly move up a little but I'm plenty comfortable where I'm at right now. I have 275 buyins in my roll and I'm thinking this year I'm gonna change up the old 200 buyin rule and try to aim for 250+.
I mean, there's just no question that the game has gotten tougher and it will continue to. The edges are getting smaller and it seems like the average player understands correct push/fold strategy late in tourneys (which creates higher variance). With that in mind, I feel like aiming for 250+ buyins makes a lot of sense.
Well I'm proud to say that after the first thirty-eight days of this year I'm finally enjoying my first day in the black ha. I really didn't expect that after about 600 MTTs my profit would only be $109 bucks but that's the name of game. Here's hoping my next 600 games are a lot different...
I lost a CL pot when I opened my 1010 utg and the CL in the SB shoved. I couldn't get my money in fast enough as he showed AQhh. The flop came down AAQ as if to laugh in my face and say "you ain't neva gonna win no tourney boy!"
Anyway, the $750 def helps. It puts my roll just a touch under 4K. I'm not going to make any dramatic changes to my current sched. I might add in the $22 6max on UB @ 23:00. I could prbly move up a little but I'm plenty comfortable where I'm at right now. I have 275 buyins in my roll and I'm thinking this year I'm gonna change up the old 200 buyin rule and try to aim for 250+.
I mean, there's just no question that the game has gotten tougher and it will continue to. The edges are getting smaller and it seems like the average player understands correct push/fold strategy late in tourneys (which creates higher variance). With that in mind, I feel like aiming for 250+ buyins makes a lot of sense.
Well I'm proud to say that after the first thirty-eight days of this year I'm finally enjoying my first day in the black ha. I really didn't expect that after about 600 MTTs my profit would only be $109 bucks but that's the name of game. Here's hoping my next 600 games are a lot different...
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Last Couple Nights...
I've come real close to hitting the kind of score I'm playing for.
Friday night saw me finish 8th in the $27.50 (10K) on UB for just $344. First place was worth 2.8K
Tonight saw me finish 17th in the $5 2r1a on Stars for just $82. First was worth 2.5K
Tonight saw me finish 13th in the $10 1r1a on Stars for just $110. First was worth 2.1K
It's been a week full of plenty of potential. Even though I know there will be plenty more potential in the future I can't help but feel like I didn't take advantage of this week. I mean, I feel like I made every play by-the-book. I just couldn't hold my 60/40s when I was ahead, couldn't hit my 60/40s when I was behind, and couldn't win a key flip.
It's crazy cause sometimes you'll have a period of time (anywhere from like a week to four weeks) where there is all kinds of potential and deep runs are plentiful. When you run good during those periods (which we call heaters) it feels like you're shipping top-three scores one after another. But then sometimes you have a period like I'm in right now where I've been playing catch-up for 550 tourneys.
But it's okay. It's okay because I know my heater is out there. There will be plenty of run-good for me. All I have to do is keep my roll stabilized and the growth will come.
Of noteworthy interest, within the last twenty-six days I've played twenty-four of them. Also, since the year began thirty-six days ago, I've played 554 MTTs. I can't think of a time within the last few years where I've played that many MTTs in that period of time or taken so few days off. What this tells me is that I'm focused, more serious about the game, and ready to have my best year.
Friday night saw me finish 8th in the $27.50 (10K) on UB for just $344. First place was worth 2.8K
Tonight saw me finish 17th in the $5 2r1a on Stars for just $82. First was worth 2.5K
Tonight saw me finish 13th in the $10 1r1a on Stars for just $110. First was worth 2.1K
It's been a week full of plenty of potential. Even though I know there will be plenty more potential in the future I can't help but feel like I didn't take advantage of this week. I mean, I feel like I made every play by-the-book. I just couldn't hold my 60/40s when I was ahead, couldn't hit my 60/40s when I was behind, and couldn't win a key flip.
It's crazy cause sometimes you'll have a period of time (anywhere from like a week to four weeks) where there is all kinds of potential and deep runs are plentiful. When you run good during those periods (which we call heaters) it feels like you're shipping top-three scores one after another. But then sometimes you have a period like I'm in right now where I've been playing catch-up for 550 tourneys.
But it's okay. It's okay because I know my heater is out there. There will be plenty of run-good for me. All I have to do is keep my roll stabilized and the growth will come.
Of noteworthy interest, within the last twenty-six days I've played twenty-four of them. Also, since the year began thirty-six days ago, I've played 554 MTTs. I can't think of a time within the last few years where I've played that many MTTs in that period of time or taken so few days off. What this tells me is that I'm focused, more serious about the game, and ready to have my best year.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Grrrrr Flips
It's been said many times that winning coin flips is vital to winning tourneys. I couldn't agree more.
I generally try to avoid flips if possible and look for spots where I can slowly accumulate chips w/o a showdown. But sometimes you just gotta flip.
On Jan 31st I lost a big flip five-handed that caused me to bust in 4th in the 3r on FT, rather than being CL three-handed. Tonight I busted in 11th while six-handed in the $10 2r1a on Stars... losing a flip. I shoved my 13bb with QJo from the cutoff and the button flatted w/ 77. Board bricked out.
Okay, whatever. Losing these flips is costing me the 2Kish score that I need to bump my roll up to the next level. Just gotta keep the grind on. I love my schedule and eventually I'll win an important flip and hit the score I need.
Speaking of schedules, I modified my schedule so I'll update it on the Schedule Page for those who are curious. At some point in the future I'm gonna make a post where I breakdown all the components of building and executing a proper schedule (as it relates to your bankroll).
In semi-poker related news, it turns out the motorcycle-riding, gun wielding thief who robbed the Bellagio in Vegas in December was a friend of mine from childhood. We went to the same middle school and high school and graduated in 2000 in Pueblo, CO.
We both had an interest in the "Magic: The Gathering" card game but I didn't really know him outside the MTG circle in school.
I remember when this national story broke in December and I remember thinking how bizarre it was. It's just unreal to me the masked motorcyclist turned out to be someone I had ties to in my quiet childhood.
What a small, crazy world we live in.
I generally try to avoid flips if possible and look for spots where I can slowly accumulate chips w/o a showdown. But sometimes you just gotta flip.
On Jan 31st I lost a big flip five-handed that caused me to bust in 4th in the 3r on FT, rather than being CL three-handed. Tonight I busted in 11th while six-handed in the $10 2r1a on Stars... losing a flip. I shoved my 13bb with QJo from the cutoff and the button flatted w/ 77. Board bricked out.
Okay, whatever. Losing these flips is costing me the 2Kish score that I need to bump my roll up to the next level. Just gotta keep the grind on. I love my schedule and eventually I'll win an important flip and hit the score I need.
Speaking of schedules, I modified my schedule so I'll update it on the Schedule Page for those who are curious. At some point in the future I'm gonna make a post where I breakdown all the components of building and executing a proper schedule (as it relates to your bankroll).
In semi-poker related news, it turns out the motorcycle-riding, gun wielding thief who robbed the Bellagio in Vegas in December was a friend of mine from childhood. We went to the same middle school and high school and graduated in 2000 in Pueblo, CO.
We both had an interest in the "Magic: The Gathering" card game but I didn't really know him outside the MTG circle in school.
I remember when this national story broke in December and I remember thinking how bizarre it was. It's just unreal to me the masked motorcyclist turned out to be someone I had ties to in my quiet childhood.
What a small, crazy world we live in.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
GG January
January '09 and January '10 were each my best month of those two years. Naturally I was hoping that result would repeat itself this year. It didn't.
January 2011 started off rough then it quickly switched gears to horrible. Luckily the last two days of the month almost completely negated the damage the first twenty-nine days inflicted.
On Sunday I made two small FTs (one win) and a deep run in a big tourney with a respectable cash. Tonight I got 4th in the 3r on Full Tilt for $865. First place was 2.6K so I'm obviously disappointed. One of the final five players was an average player, two were absolutely horrible, and one was really good. If we played out the final five 100 times it would come down to me and the other good player heads-up 90% of the time.
I lost a flip to the good player while five-handed (my JJ lost to his AQhh) in a three-way all-in pot. The shortstack shoved from utg+1 against a utg limp and the good player reshoved. We had about even stacks and I wasn't too excited about reshipping but I'm not sure I can fold in that spot given the strength of my hand five-handed and the aggressiveness of my opponent.
Anyway I lost the flip and had like 3bb left. I managed to work my way back to 16bb but busted in a B v B cooler. If I would have won the flip I'd have been three-handed against the two horrible players, WITH the chiplead. Dream scenario obv. Oh well.
Here's the screenshot:
While I missed out on a substantial score, I'd be lying if I didn't say the $865 doesn't help. I cleared out all of January's losses minus about $300. Good way to start off February.
So I played 454 MTTs in January. It was't a profitable month but I put myself in +EV situations and things just didn't work out. Now I just have to keep up the grind in February. I'm not likely to run that bad again so I'm hoping this is the month where I can get my roll into the 4K to 6K range at least. At this level I can move up slightly in stakes and take some bigger shots.
I've noticed in my poker playing career that things tend to explode after long periods of bricking. My roll could literally be 10K+ in the next five days while having spent the previous 30 days in the red. It probably won't but that potential is there and that's what the grind is all about for me.
I get excited about building my roll and I've already come up with future schedules for different rolls. I have a schedule ready for a 4K - 6K roll, a 6K - 8K roll, and an 8K+ roll. I also have Sunday schedules made for each of those scenarios.
I think the logistics of building bankrolls is what I most excel at in this game. And I'm not bad on the felt either so it's no wonder I've taken a marginal starting amount (something like 1K to 2K) and turned it into 10K+ several times in the last few years. Hell, I could write a book on it.
My problem is after I build the roll I tend to lose motivation towards the game. It's sad, really.
I learn more and more about my strengths and weaknesses as time goes by. Each year I've played I've improved on my consistency. I think this year will be the year I finally put in consistent volume and hopefully also the year that I force myself to play once I reach my "peak".
I'm thinking of doing something similar to the 25K Project in '09. For those who don't know what that was, I set up a goal to turn $500 on Stars into 25K. I set up different phases for what I would do w/ my roll once I reached a certain amount.
Anyway, I got the $500 all the way up to 15K, hit a bad run, got all depressed, then quit. In retrospect, it was really really stupid of me. I mean, once I got to 15K the hard part was over. I have a long history in my life of getting 90% of the way towards a really tough goal then quitting. I'm still not sure what that's all about.
Ok so this is getting absurdly long. My whole point here is that I'm thinking of resurrecting the 25K Project into something similar but not the same (and finishing it this time). I'll have more on this in the future.
Sorry about the long ramblings. Let's have a great February!
January 2011 started off rough then it quickly switched gears to horrible. Luckily the last two days of the month almost completely negated the damage the first twenty-nine days inflicted.
On Sunday I made two small FTs (one win) and a deep run in a big tourney with a respectable cash. Tonight I got 4th in the 3r on Full Tilt for $865. First place was 2.6K so I'm obviously disappointed. One of the final five players was an average player, two were absolutely horrible, and one was really good. If we played out the final five 100 times it would come down to me and the other good player heads-up 90% of the time.
I lost a flip to the good player while five-handed (my JJ lost to his AQhh) in a three-way all-in pot. The shortstack shoved from utg+1 against a utg limp and the good player reshoved. We had about even stacks and I wasn't too excited about reshipping but I'm not sure I can fold in that spot given the strength of my hand five-handed and the aggressiveness of my opponent.
Anyway I lost the flip and had like 3bb left. I managed to work my way back to 16bb but busted in a B v B cooler. If I would have won the flip I'd have been three-handed against the two horrible players, WITH the chiplead. Dream scenario obv. Oh well.
Here's the screenshot:
While I missed out on a substantial score, I'd be lying if I didn't say the $865 doesn't help. I cleared out all of January's losses minus about $300. Good way to start off February.
So I played 454 MTTs in January. It was't a profitable month but I put myself in +EV situations and things just didn't work out. Now I just have to keep up the grind in February. I'm not likely to run that bad again so I'm hoping this is the month where I can get my roll into the 4K to 6K range at least. At this level I can move up slightly in stakes and take some bigger shots.
I've noticed in my poker playing career that things tend to explode after long periods of bricking. My roll could literally be 10K+ in the next five days while having spent the previous 30 days in the red. It probably won't but that potential is there and that's what the grind is all about for me.
I get excited about building my roll and I've already come up with future schedules for different rolls. I have a schedule ready for a 4K - 6K roll, a 6K - 8K roll, and an 8K+ roll. I also have Sunday schedules made for each of those scenarios.
I think the logistics of building bankrolls is what I most excel at in this game. And I'm not bad on the felt either so it's no wonder I've taken a marginal starting amount (something like 1K to 2K) and turned it into 10K+ several times in the last few years. Hell, I could write a book on it.
My problem is after I build the roll I tend to lose motivation towards the game. It's sad, really.
I learn more and more about my strengths and weaknesses as time goes by. Each year I've played I've improved on my consistency. I think this year will be the year I finally put in consistent volume and hopefully also the year that I force myself to play once I reach my "peak".
I'm thinking of doing something similar to the 25K Project in '09. For those who don't know what that was, I set up a goal to turn $500 on Stars into 25K. I set up different phases for what I would do w/ my roll once I reached a certain amount.
Anyway, I got the $500 all the way up to 15K, hit a bad run, got all depressed, then quit. In retrospect, it was really really stupid of me. I mean, once I got to 15K the hard part was over. I have a long history in my life of getting 90% of the way towards a really tough goal then quitting. I'm still not sure what that's all about.
Ok so this is getting absurdly long. My whole point here is that I'm thinking of resurrecting the 25K Project into something similar but not the same (and finishing it this time). I'll have more on this in the future.
Sorry about the long ramblings. Let's have a great February!
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