Monday, September 19, 2005
Time for a small break
So I managed to go on a mini-tilt the other night and run down the rest of my 4.15 bankroll to 0.00. Time for a week or so off. It takes 4 days for more money to get in my account anyway, and on top of that I have to wait until I get paid from my side job (website project) to fund my poker. That is my current agreement with my wife - not to use our "real" money, but to use the money from my side job to fund my poker habit.
This should give me time to catch up on my poker blog reading, work on my blogroll here, and link back to some good posts around the interwebs.
This should give me time to catch up on my poker blog reading, work on my blogroll here, and link back to some good posts around the interwebs.
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Saturday, Sept. 17
Session 1:
Starting bankroll: 13.65
Ending bankroll: 12.45
Played: 1.00 + 0.20 Sit and Go
First let me explain the discrepancy between the starting bankroll today and the ending bankroll from the last post. I played a few times this last week that I shouldn't have. I played when I only had 30 mins or so at a time to sit at the table. Not enough time for me to keep me calm and make me ride out variance. Lesson learned here is don't sit down if you can't stay awhile.
I jumped in a tournament game this morning. First hand, sitting at small blind, I got a pair of 7's. Decent flop (don't recall it) and I start betting. Just barely beat by another player, lost almost 500. After that, all downhill. Went all-in on a boat 5's full of 9's, but the opponent had 9's full of 5's. So much for that tourney. I'm happy with my play, so not too disappointed.
Time to play a ring game and get my tourney buy-in back, plus a couple more tourney buy-ins.
Starting bankroll: 12.45
Ending bankroll:
Played: 0.05/0.10 ring game
Game Buy-in: 10.00
Left game with:
I'm trying not to make this a hand history blog. And when I do put one in, I try to make it short and sweet with a more narrative style. Am I successful?
About 2 months ago I checked out Harrington on Hold'em from the local library. I got about halfway through it before it's due date came and I had to leave town for a week. I learned quite a bit, and my game improved. Then I took a bit of a break from poker. After getting back in, I seem to have forgotten much of what I learned, especially about good starting hands relative to position. I need to get that book again.
So I just played a hand - don't even recall what I had, something marginal. A couple rounds of betting, leading player betting .50 and a couple of us calling. After the river, he bets 2.30 (all-in). We both fold. He no-shows. Then has the gall to ask us why we didn't keep betting. "Y'all were betting big, why not stay in?". My response was that .50 was not big relative to 2.30, and if you had the nuts, why not show? Why does he want to know why we didn't stay in? Maybe I wanted to give some money away. Not like he's been playing stellar today. I took money from him several times at showdown when he should have folded (based on my betting) long before that.
One thing I do remember from the Harrington book is that not betting/raising will keep too many players in. This is definitely playing itself out in this ring game today.
Hole in my game: I have learned to manage my tilt for the most part, but it still peeks out once in a while. I need to learn to control it even more.
Mid afternoon update: This has been a bad overall day. Played two more tournaments, lost them both. Made a couple of stupid moves in a ring game, and had one bad beat. Bankroll (yes, total bankroll) now down to 2.10. Clearly I need more practice. Time for another deposit.
Maybe this time I'll try party poker. I've heard about it, but never tried it.
Update: Bankroll back up to 4.15. That's enough for now. The Notre Dame game is getting good, and I'm tired of staring at this screen.
Starting bankroll: 13.65
Ending bankroll: 12.45
Played: 1.00 + 0.20 Sit and Go
First let me explain the discrepancy between the starting bankroll today and the ending bankroll from the last post. I played a few times this last week that I shouldn't have. I played when I only had 30 mins or so at a time to sit at the table. Not enough time for me to keep me calm and make me ride out variance. Lesson learned here is don't sit down if you can't stay awhile.
I jumped in a tournament game this morning. First hand, sitting at small blind, I got a pair of 7's. Decent flop (don't recall it) and I start betting. Just barely beat by another player, lost almost 500. After that, all downhill. Went all-in on a boat 5's full of 9's, but the opponent had 9's full of 5's. So much for that tourney. I'm happy with my play, so not too disappointed.
Time to play a ring game and get my tourney buy-in back, plus a couple more tourney buy-ins.
Starting bankroll: 12.45
Ending bankroll:
Played: 0.05/0.10 ring game
Game Buy-in: 10.00
Left game with:
I'm trying not to make this a hand history blog. And when I do put one in, I try to make it short and sweet with a more narrative style. Am I successful?
About 2 months ago I checked out Harrington on Hold'em from the local library. I got about halfway through it before it's due date came and I had to leave town for a week. I learned quite a bit, and my game improved. Then I took a bit of a break from poker. After getting back in, I seem to have forgotten much of what I learned, especially about good starting hands relative to position. I need to get that book again.
So I just played a hand - don't even recall what I had, something marginal. A couple rounds of betting, leading player betting .50 and a couple of us calling. After the river, he bets 2.30 (all-in). We both fold. He no-shows. Then has the gall to ask us why we didn't keep betting. "Y'all were betting big, why not stay in?". My response was that .50 was not big relative to 2.30, and if you had the nuts, why not show? Why does he want to know why we didn't stay in? Maybe I wanted to give some money away. Not like he's been playing stellar today. I took money from him several times at showdown when he should have folded (based on my betting) long before that.
One thing I do remember from the Harrington book is that not betting/raising will keep too many players in. This is definitely playing itself out in this ring game today.
Hole in my game: I have learned to manage my tilt for the most part, but it still peeks out once in a while. I need to learn to control it even more.
Mid afternoon update: This has been a bad overall day. Played two more tournaments, lost them both. Made a couple of stupid moves in a ring game, and had one bad beat. Bankroll (yes, total bankroll) now down to 2.10. Clearly I need more practice. Time for another deposit.
Maybe this time I'll try party poker. I've heard about it, but never tried it.
Update: Bankroll back up to 4.15. That's enough for now. The Notre Dame game is getting good, and I'm tired of staring at this screen.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Sunday, Sept. 11, 2005
Starting bankroll: 25.80
Ending bankroll: 24.60
Played: 1.00 + 0.20 Sit and Go
Watching some NFL football and decided to play a 1.00 + 0.20 Sit and Go at Pokerstars. I typically finish in the money in these Sit and Go tourneys if I can keep my tight game going until down to the final table. Just outlast people.
Well, that was short. Almost out at 6 minutes, when I called an all-in after misreading my heads-up opponent. Thought he was trying to bluff me out of a pot that should be mine. Down to 40.00. Gradually crawled back up to 540 by going all in on a couple of moderate hands and scaring everyone out. Last all in move would have gotten me over 1000 if it had gone my way. Had A2o. Flop was 88x. Went all in. After much pondering, one opponent called with Qx. Turn was a Q. River x. Made it 15 minutes.
Let's try another tourney.
Session 2:
Starting bankroll: 24.60
Ending bankroll: 23.40
Played: 1.00 + 0.20 Sit and Go
I'll try to blog big stuff as I go along, but between football and the poker table there might not be much updated.
6 mins in. Down to 950 or so. Got scared out of a decent sized pot because of my last game. Next hand had KJo. Limped in. Someone else raised 100. Ok, still in - 3 in total. Flop shows J5K. Great - two pair. Raiser folds. Third player bets (forgot how much). I go all-in. He calls. Cards turn over - he has K9o. Ok..whatever...calling an all-in with top pair. Great. I win it, go to 2050.
Well, that didn't last too long. Longer than last time, but not long enough. Finished in 31st place. A few good pots there. Should have almost doubled at the end, but the opponent rivered his flush. I had JJ. Flop was KKx. Went all in. Was called. Caller had 2 hearts. There were 2 hearts on the flop. River was a heart. Oh well, I felt like that was a good wager. I'm happy with my play - maybe that's why I'm not angry I'm out now.
Enough for today. Not enough time to finish another if I should make it to the end. At least today wasn't too expensive.
Ending bankroll: 24.60
Played: 1.00 + 0.20 Sit and Go
Watching some NFL football and decided to play a 1.00 + 0.20 Sit and Go at Pokerstars. I typically finish in the money in these Sit and Go tourneys if I can keep my tight game going until down to the final table. Just outlast people.
Well, that was short. Almost out at 6 minutes, when I called an all-in after misreading my heads-up opponent. Thought he was trying to bluff me out of a pot that should be mine. Down to 40.00. Gradually crawled back up to 540 by going all in on a couple of moderate hands and scaring everyone out. Last all in move would have gotten me over 1000 if it had gone my way. Had A2o. Flop was 88x. Went all in. After much pondering, one opponent called with Qx. Turn was a Q. River x. Made it 15 minutes.
Let's try another tourney.
Session 2:
Starting bankroll: 24.60
Ending bankroll: 23.40
Played: 1.00 + 0.20 Sit and Go
I'll try to blog big stuff as I go along, but between football and the poker table there might not be much updated.
6 mins in. Down to 950 or so. Got scared out of a decent sized pot because of my last game. Next hand had KJo. Limped in. Someone else raised 100. Ok, still in - 3 in total. Flop shows J5K. Great - two pair. Raiser folds. Third player bets (forgot how much). I go all-in. He calls. Cards turn over - he has K9o. Ok..whatever...calling an all-in with top pair. Great. I win it, go to 2050.
Well, that didn't last too long. Longer than last time, but not long enough. Finished in 31st place. A few good pots there. Should have almost doubled at the end, but the opponent rivered his flush. I had JJ. Flop was KKx. Went all in. Was called. Caller had 2 hearts. There were 2 hearts on the flop. River was a heart. Oh well, I felt like that was a good wager. I'm happy with my play - maybe that's why I'm not angry I'm out now.
Enough for today. Not enough time to finish another if I should make it to the end. At least today wasn't too expensive.
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Saturday, Sept. 10
Session 1:
Starting bankroll: 22.70
Ending bankroll: 25.80
Played: 0.05/0.10 ring game
Game Buy-in: 10.00
Left game with: 13.10
Session History:
Had some time to kill waiting on my wife to finish getting ready for work, so I decided to play a little poker. It started off with most hands as a limp-in check-fest. Meaning 4 out of 6 would limp in pre-flop, and the check around through the river. So, I started betting on the flop or the turn. Small bets, like 0.20 or 0.30. Just stealing blinds, watching my total climb. Occasionally there'd be a hand when I got challenged, and since I would only stay in for the flop with moderate to good hands (other than small blind or big blind), I would usually win those pots too. It was getting kinda boring, but the bankroll was growing.
After about 30 mins. of that a couple of players left and a couple more showed up. The new players were all about betting, and not always with very good hands. After folding a couple of decent hands, since I was up a little I decided to invest a small amount to get some reads on these guys. I'm glad I did. That is how I found out they were betting some marginal hands like pocket rockets. Made a little off of them, too. After about 40 mins. they decided they'd had enough of that and moved on. I played a few more hands, played a little loose and gave back some money (which was fine with me), and left for the day up. Good way to balance out last Thursday night, BB. (Before Blog).
Things to correct: Quitting while ahead. At one point in this session I was at 16.00. That is a 60% return on my buy-in. I should have left the table then. Instead, I figured I'd play a bit more since I was doing well. More aggressive players showed up when the ATMs left, and I ended up dropping to 13.10 before I left.
Starting bankroll: 22.70
Ending bankroll: 25.80
Played: 0.05/0.10 ring game
Game Buy-in: 10.00
Left game with: 13.10
Session History:
Had some time to kill waiting on my wife to finish getting ready for work, so I decided to play a little poker. It started off with most hands as a limp-in check-fest. Meaning 4 out of 6 would limp in pre-flop, and the check around through the river. So, I started betting on the flop or the turn. Small bets, like 0.20 or 0.30. Just stealing blinds, watching my total climb. Occasionally there'd be a hand when I got challenged, and since I would only stay in for the flop with moderate to good hands (other than small blind or big blind), I would usually win those pots too. It was getting kinda boring, but the bankroll was growing.
After about 30 mins. of that a couple of players left and a couple more showed up. The new players were all about betting, and not always with very good hands. After folding a couple of decent hands, since I was up a little I decided to invest a small amount to get some reads on these guys. I'm glad I did. That is how I found out they were betting some marginal hands like pocket rockets. Made a little off of them, too. After about 40 mins. they decided they'd had enough of that and moved on. I played a few more hands, played a little loose and gave back some money (which was fine with me), and left for the day up. Good way to balance out last Thursday night, BB. (Before Blog).
Things to correct: Quitting while ahead. At one point in this session I was at 16.00. That is a 60% return on my buy-in. I should have left the table then. Instead, I figured I'd play a bit more since I was doing well. More aggressive players showed up when the ATMs left, and I ended up dropping to 13.10 before I left.
Welcome!
Welcome to my Poker Blog. Today I officially join the swelling ranks of the poker players that blog. I've been reading the poker blogs for quite some time and enjoying them very much. Then the other day I decided I should start tracking my bankroll and interesting hands. I started working on a spreadsheet, but then it hit me - start YAPB (Yet Another Poker Blog). So here it is.
My goal is to at least blog starting/ending bankroll for each session and any interesting plays or observations. I'll keep the hand histories to a minimum since those don't seem to be very popular out there. But there will be some. If you don't care for hand histories, skip over them when they occur.
My history: I am not a rookie to Texas Hold'em, but I'm no great player. I started at Poker Stars quite a while back at the 0.01/0.02 tables playing ring games and the occasional tournament. I made my minimum deposit which was $50.00 at the time. Played quite a bit and was up near $100.00. Then I had a few bad sessions, learned what TILT was, and lost it all. I took quite a bit of time off. I watched lots of Hold'Em on TV, read a lot online and a couple of books, and now I'm back. I played the 0.01/0.02 tables for quite a while, occasionally trying the 0.05/0.10 tables until I was comfortable playing there. Now I play regularly at the 0.05/0.10 tables, with the occasional attempt at the 0.10/0.25 tables. I'm still not completely comfortable there, but it is feeling better every time.
Anyway, welcome, and please come back.
My goal is to at least blog starting/ending bankroll for each session and any interesting plays or observations. I'll keep the hand histories to a minimum since those don't seem to be very popular out there. But there will be some. If you don't care for hand histories, skip over them when they occur.
My history: I am not a rookie to Texas Hold'em, but I'm no great player. I started at Poker Stars quite a while back at the 0.01/0.02 tables playing ring games and the occasional tournament. I made my minimum deposit which was $50.00 at the time. Played quite a bit and was up near $100.00. Then I had a few bad sessions, learned what TILT was, and lost it all. I took quite a bit of time off. I watched lots of Hold'Em on TV, read a lot online and a couple of books, and now I'm back. I played the 0.01/0.02 tables for quite a while, occasionally trying the 0.05/0.10 tables until I was comfortable playing there. Now I play regularly at the 0.05/0.10 tables, with the occasional attempt at the 0.10/0.25 tables. I'm still not completely comfortable there, but it is feeling better every time.
Anyway, welcome, and please come back.
