I was playing exclusively on FT up until last week then I spread out to UB. I took a look at Star's lowstakes schedule and tomorrow I'm gonna get some funds over there. Tonight I came up with a two-hour loading block on all three sites that I'm satisfied with. Click to enlarge.
The bold number in parentheses at the end of each tourney indicates its actual buyin amount (i.e. I estimate a 3r will cost $12 on average). Adding up these bold numbers is what gives me the total cost of the schedule.
The three $8.80 tourneys at the very bottom are on Full Tilt. Full Tilt runs these odd $8.80s (180-player max) every 50 minutes. Their start times vary from day to day but within a two-hour loading block I usually end up squeezing three in. I love the $8.80s as the players are horrible, the fields are small, and they aren't turbos which make them an excellent choice for variance control.
So how did I come up with this schedule? Well my roll is about 3k right now. So when I decide what my schedule will be I usually take my roll and divide it by 200. This gives me a good idea of what my average buyin should be. My ABI is somewhere in the $15 range. So now what I do is come up with a schedule where my ABI ends up coming out to around $15.
As you can see from my schedule my ABI is $12.21. That may seem a little low but I like to play it safe. The extra cushion allows me to really play my A+ game and be confident about every tourney I enter and every decision I make. For me, confidence is a big deal when I'm playing so it's worth it for me to have that extra cushion.
The other important factor in the bankroll/schedule equation is to make sure you mix in some tourneys where the fields aren't huge. This variance control factor is really important. It helps keep you sharp when your FTs from large fields are few and far between and helps keep your bankroll from fluctuating too wildly. I've talked a lot about this concept in previous blog entries. I feel (now more than ever) this is very important for the non-staked player who can't replace his/her roll.
As the sessions go by I'm always reevaluating my bankroll and schedule. If I'm on a downswing I adjust my schedule accordingly so that I'm back in my comfort zone. If I'm hitting a tourney(s) then I look to adjust my schedule in the upward direction. This is the exciting part for me as I love to come up with "imaginary" schedules that I know I will be playing soon.
For example, tonight I made up this schedule for when my roll reaches the 5K range:
Making up these futuristic schedules is a huge motivating factor for me. For some people this may not be important but for me it always has been. It really gives me something very specific to work towards and when it comes to goals it turns out people who work towards very specific goals are much more likely to get there.
For example, if you wanna lose some weight you can't just say "OK I'm gonna lose some weight". You've gotta set very specific numbers and say something like "OK I'm gonna lose 15 lbs". The person who works towards the actual number is far more likely to achieve his/her goals. The ability to measure how far you've come and far you have to go is very important. Abstract goals just don't make any sense.
So anyway that's whats up right now. It's not much but as soon as I catch a heater or two at this level and the next then I should be back to my former midstakes glory ha. Also hopefully some players struggling with their schedules and bankrolls are able to take something away from this post.
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