November

Live play is so much more fun than playing on the net. I went to the casino maybe three times this summer and played 1/2$ NL. Each time I came back with at least $100 more in my pocket. So I have 500$ profits from live play, and just a lot of good stories.

The best one is when a guy sitting at the table next to us, wearing a suit, got so frustrated that he just shoved blind preflop for $100. He got called by two people. He turned over K3. Flop: K39. Turn and river completed a straight and a flush for the two other guys in the pot. The very next hand he dropped $200 on the table and shoved blind again. He talked the guy next to him into calling blind, then some jerk reraised the other guy all in after looking at his cards. The second guy looked at his cards then folded. The reraiser showed AK ("I have to play it, I have a monster"). Tilty guy showed J8o. The board bricked for both players on the flop and turn. Just before the river hit, tilty guy yells 'JACK!'. The jack falls on the table, and the whole room is out of their seats and cheering for the guy who just raked in the 600$ pot. AK guy is just pissed off but he deserved it imo. If the other guy hadn't called blind then it would have been fine but I think just to show some good sport he should have laid it down.

Took my $160 on stars a few days later and just decided to play all or nothing. Jumped on a $200NL table (kinda) short stacked with all my money and played. Brought it up to $300 in a few hours. Then a few days later I had it up to $900. I got too confident and three-tabled, and promptly got bad beat, coolered and called too light within five minutes. Dropped my roll down to $400. Felt pretty crappy. I played 200NL again a day later but dropped down to $360. Then I said, screw it, if I'm going to run bad I'm going to at least take SOME profit. So I withdrew $160 and sat down at a 200NL table with 200$, my entire bankroll, again. Played careful. Avoided marginal situations. Made money. It's now about a week later, and my bankroll is at $300, playing at $100NL. I've been withdrawing money constantly, and have withdrawn $390 thus far. So if I hadn't withdrawn money I'd be at 750$.

I know it's not optimal but I find that playing with a small 'visible' bankroll really helps me keep focused and stops me from making stupid decisions. In the past I've found that when my bankroll gets too large, I get too confident and I play much more loose, get myself in more situations where I make the wrong decision or whatever. So I'm trying to artificially influence how I play by putting myself in a situation where losing a buyin hurts me. This way I really make myself think about my decisions. Every time I withdraw, I make sure that my bankroll has grown by a buyin or half a buyin, so that my BR is constantly getting larger. In doing so I hope that I'll be able to observe the way I play, what works and what doesn't, and thus improve my skills.

It also stops me from playing when I'm frustrated. I have a bad habit of continuing to play even when I'm stressed, tilting or don't have the time to play a proper session. It's the whole wanting to 'at least break even' thing, or even when I'm winning, wanting to win more. In the past it's caused me to play too aggressive trying to meet my objectives. With this artificial scenario that I've placed on myself, I find it's easier to stop a session just before or just as it goes downhill. I'm trying to get used to doing this, so that I can maintain this habit even when I am properly rolled.

After grinding at $5NL and $10NL, I find this limit really refreshing for me. I know the bankroll rules, and I know that I'm playing with fire here, being so underrolled, but I have two things going for me that I think offset this. First, I can beat the limit. These past three days I've had a really bad run of cards, but because I've kept myself away from marginal situations and kept my cool, I've managed to run positive at the end of each day, though not necessarily each session. And on days when it just clicked, I can make two or three buyins easily within a few hours. Second, I am technically properly rolled. My 'visible' bankroll is just what I have on stars (currently at 3 bi for 100NL), but I'm not spending the money that I'm withdrawing, so if I go broke on stars its a simple deposit to get back in the game. The idea of withdrawing is so that I won't use that money to gamble, but it's an option, at least. I think the chances of me actually going broke is slim, and it's much more rewarding to win a tangible amount of money.

Playing live has really given me the confidence and experience to handle this limit, and a little bit of luck (or maybe, the lack of bad luck) has stopped me from going busto in those critical times where I've had one buyin before going broke.

There are definitely flaws with the way I play. I feel like my playstyle can be easily exploited by someone who knows what they're doing. Fortunately I don't think there are that many skilled players, and with all the donkeys at this limit there are easier fish to fry. Once I get a solid base and more consistency and control over my play style, I'll start working on playing the game properly.

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25NL loves me. I sat out of stars after grinding out 3.5 buyins at 5NL, and felt I was done playing seriously for the night. But I got bored and decided to just play on Party for a while. I had about $62 after dumping $25 the last time I tilted.

So I go and open up a $25NL table, 6 max, super super underolled. I just sit in there for a while and play TAG. My first big hand I had Ac with 3 clubs on the table. I bet out in position preflop, flop and turn. Villain check called me down to river where I checked behind my ace high and he shows a pair of 3's for bottom pair on the flop, no flush draw. Sick calldown. Anyways I find myself at $15. I obviously do the sensible thing and reload. Three hours later I'm up to $96 on the first table. I also opened up a second table with my remaining $21.73 and doubled up to $50.34 after this hand.

I love 25NL, they're like the fish in 5NL and 10NL except there are some lines you can play which have like an 80% chance to induce a bluff shove, because everyone has FPS and if you display any weakness they'll try to pounce on you. And even if you're strong they'll still call you down to the river anyways with top pair on a four flush board.

I was trying to hit $100 on that first table, but then this strange hand occured. He doesn't have the king, I can just feel it, like his shove was a bit too confident. So either he's just way too aggressive with a flush draw or he has a set.

Anyways, that hand cost me about $10, but I think that it was a strong fold (he shoved for $17 more).

Anyways--

Party Poker: $134.61
Poker Stars: $224.47

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I've decided to stay away from 10NL for now and just grind at 5NL on stars. I'm not really superstitious about luck but it really did seem like I was getting sucked out on or coolered every other hand the two times that I tried to jump to 10NL.

Anyways, my 'bad luck' has simmered down and I am steadily building it up on stars now. I haven't touched party since I tilted since I've been feeling pretty good on stars for the last while.

I think I have a good feeling for this limit, when to cont bet and when to hold back, and how much to value bet to get a call.

I'm up 3.5 buy ins today =]

Stars bankroll: 224.47

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