Bankroll has gone up, mainly due to cash. Had three winning sessions. I guess I have to be pleased lately as Ive had a run of winning sessions lately, even though I dont think I have 'ran well'. But I guess thats a sign that I rely on good play rather than luck. But if I can combine the two then who knows what I can make?
MTT's have been seeing the other side of variance at the moment. Was expected as I had a lot of deep runs/wins lately. Still, happy with my play, just not coming out the right side.
Just a little bit of run good/ hands holding and today could have been very, very different.
Started with cash this morning, wasnt running great. Lost with top set to running straight when allin on flop. then lost all in on flop with 2nd set to top set. But managed to claw a £15 win at the end with two good pots. One with quads against a total wierd bluff.
Came back in the afternoon to play the £11UKOPS BH. Was doing ok, then after watching one of the good regs win a 3 way alpf with JJ v A3s v A4s twenty minutes later I have a 6000 chip pot with JJ v AQs v Q10o. The flopped nut flush knocked me back to about 500 chips. I stayed patient and ground that up to 2000 and then took a bounty. Then lost a race AJ v 88 for an average stack pot.
Bricked the £2BH, two FR's and both the £3 and £5 UKOPS BH's. Nothing really devoloped in either and again lost a few races against mid stacks for bounties and then for my own life.
Played the £5BH where I went very deep. Played well and then with 19 left lost a huge pot (for 3rd/4th spot) with AK v JJ. I flop K but the rivered J kills me. So gutted.
Played a little cash afterwards but again didnt run great. Again flopped top set and lost to a rivered gutshot. Then flop two pair on a K89 board with 89. Pot bet two streets and get called down by J9 who rivers J. Bah. Did well not to finish that much down and actualy make a little profit on the day.
Got my BR to above £1100 in the morning. Another set over set, this time all in on flop and two outered on turn. AA v Q4 to rivered trips and another suck out. Thankfully managed to get it back versus same player who was just a manaic. SO dispite all that, I somehow won over two BI's.
Played the £2 BH, was doing very well then lost my 3rd pot against the table maniac who just liked to allin at least twice a round, either pre or on flop. For a massive chip lead pot (i had 8000+, he had 6000+) he jammed 107s and I call with QQ. He flops a pair, turns a FD and hits the flush on river. I then lost next hand to a race. Figures. Took 3 good heads at least.
Played the UKOPS rebuy. Again, was doing real well. Then hour and half in I lost 3 races in a row, two to short stacks and then my life when short. I'm winning about 1/4 races at the moment. Finished in about 50odd with 23 paid.
Finsihed with cash, again losing decent pots to running cards. Did get my one and only suck out of the day late on AQs v KK aipf. Hit two Q's then the A to almost cover the losses of this session.
Another up day, another day that could have been so so much better. I have so many of these!
Craig mate, you have quadrupled your bankroll in 2 months and yet you seem so frustrated in every post. You must be winning your share of pots to have managed such great results so far so just keep positive pal. That Main event final table deffo on the cards for next year.
Craig mate, you have quadrupled your bankroll in 2 months and yet you seem so frustrated in every post. You must be winning your share of pots to have managed such great results so far so just keep positive pal. That Main event final table deffo on the cards for next year. Well played!! Posted by SJspanky1
I have to echo the above, Craig.
I'm also surprised you're still playing £2 BH's with a 4 figure roll. I'd look to play the £11 ones, plus some £5 freeze outs. The standard in the £11 bounty hunters is 'funky', you'd have no problem at that level.
Not sure what, if any, mains you play but the Turbo is worth a spin every week. Would take the odd shot at the SS BH on a Thursday too.
SJ - Hi, looking back on it, your right. Its not easy to see sometimes when your in your own bubble. Another reason why I do this diary is to be able to look back and even better, have comments to help me. I guess thats the frustrating part of MTT's, a lot of effort for little reward. But thats what makes the wins that much sweeter. I will endeavour to be more positive.
HHY - Firstly, I play the £2 BH out of a) habit b) being a BR nit c) I like to use it for experimenting and d) its the first thing thats on when I start. I thoroughley take your point and after playing so many low BI events its hard to break the habit. I wonder if anyone has had the same problem but I cant stop giving myself a target to get to before I jump up and then I reach said target and say to myself, just £50 more to cover a few BI's and it spirals on.
I have a bad mentality that if my BR goes down then i've failed. Stupid, I know. Never had this before. Its good that im sensible but I guess im too far over the line in that regards.
As for Mains, im usually out Tuesday which is a big shame as I know I do well in turbo's and that would be one I would target. Next year will see a focus on getting to/playing main events. I will try at least once a week at first and see what happens.
Thanks for the input, every bit is very appreciated and its always nice to get input, evan a plain hello!
So, over the past few days I have played a bit of cash. A lot of hour or so sessions spread out through the days while I'm enjoying this awesome break. Its the best thing about christmas! That and having an excuse to drink most nights. I have had a lot of small winning sessions and one or two losing ones. Its been good though as its more than paid for my MTT buy ins and increased my PP's tally.
MTT's; well. I want to say frustrating but I cant now can I SJ? In summary ive played 6 UKOPS events from rebuys to the £11BH's. I somehow lasted almost an hour and a half in yesterdays dispite having about 3 hands. Just so dead. Lost a tripple up pot with QQ v AJ v AQ to a river A and in the other £11 BH i again lasted over an hour, took one head but had an amazing spot with AK v A7 v QJ just before the break that would have given me a top 5 stack and two heads. The guy with A7 just loved to either fold. Or go allin. So shortish stack goes allin, A7 rejams and I call. Flop A. Turn is a 7. A huge dent for me that proves terminal.
Got a good stack going in rebuy and then as blinds caight up and me being card dead I lose two hands in a row with AK. One to AQ who flopped staright, the other a race. Flop well, turned set.
All the others just didnt get going.
I have run deep twice in the £5 BH at 6:45. The latest one tonight. Cashed both and took heads.
A genuine question. I have noticed lately that the majority of my MTT exits have come either in a race or me ahead. With the exception of genuine coolers, very few times do I get it in bad. EG AQ v AK or whatever. Is that just variance or am I not being aggressive/more active enough? I mean getting myself into spots to win chips with a few more bluffs/marginal hands? Will this sort of strategy, even though I will fail more often, give me bigger stacks to better tackle deep MTT runs?
I'll probably have a session or two at cash tomorrow to finish off the year and then I will review my month and diary goals and come up with some more for 2015.
Enjoyed reading this just keep building slowly and gradually encorporate other games into your schedule when you have had a good couple of sessions and feel comfortable with the thought of losing a small of chunk of roll, there is never any rush with poker. I'm currently reading Chris Moormans book deffo reccomend investing in that ,the way they have written the book is almost like being a 3rd party in a coaching session between moorman and a competent player and is helping loads with thinking about different ways of playing hands in mtts.
SJ - Hi, looking back on it, your right. Its not easy to see sometimes when your in your own bubble. Another reason why I do this diary is to be able to look back and even better, have comments to help me. I guess thats the frustrating part of MTT's, a lot of effort for little reward. But thats what makes the wins that much sweeter. I will endeavour to be more positive. HHY - Firstly, I play the £2 BH out of a) habit b) being a BR nit c) I like to use it for experimenting and d) its the first thing thats on when I start. I thoroughley take your point and after playing so many low BI events its hard to break the habit. I wonder if anyone has had the same problem but I cant stop giving myself a target to get to before I jump up and then I reach said target and say to myself, just £50 more to cover a few BI's and it spirals on. I have a bad mentality that if my BR goes down then i've failed. Stupid, I know. Never had this before. Its good that im sensible but I guess im too far over the line in that regards. As for Mains, im usually out Tuesday which is a big shame as I know I do well in turbo's and that would be one I would target. Next year will see a focus on getting to/playing main events. I will try at least once a week at first and see what happens. Thanks for the input, every bit is very appreciated and its always nice to get input, evan a plain hello! So, over the past few days I have played a bit of cash. A lot of hour or so sessions spread out through the days while I'm enjoying this awesome break. Its the best thing about christmas! That and having an excuse to drink most nights. I have had a lot of small winning sessions and one or two losing ones. Its been good though as its more than paid for my MTT buy ins and increased my PP's tally. MTT's; well. I want to say frustrating but I cant now can I SJ? In summary ive played 6 UKOPS events from rebuys to the £11BH's. I somehow lasted almost an hour and a half in yesterdays dispite having about 3 hands. Just so dead. Lost a tripple up pot with QQ v AJ v AQ to a river A and in the other £11 BH i again lasted over an hour, took one head but had an amazing spot with AK v A7 v QJ just before the break that would have given me a top 5 stack and two heads. The guy with A7 just loved to either fold. Or go allin. So shortish stack goes allin, A7 rejams and I call. Flop A. Turn is a 7. A huge dent for me that proves terminal. Got a good stack going in rebuy and then as blinds caight up and me being card dead I lose two hands in a row with AK. One to AQ who flopped staright, the other a race. Flop well, turned set. All the others just didnt get going. I have run deep twice in the £5 BH at 6:45. The latest one tonight. Cashed both and took heads. A genuine question. I have noticed lately that the majority of my MTT exits have come either in a race or me ahead. With the exception of genuine coolers, very few times do I get it in bad. EG AQ v AK or whatever. Is that just variance or am I not being aggressive/more active enough? I mean getting myself into spots to win chips with a few more bluffs/marginal hands? Will this sort of strategy, even though I will fail more often, give me bigger stacks to better tackle deep MTT runs? I'll probably have a session or two at cash tomorrow to finish off the year and then I will review my month and diary goals and come up with some more for 2015. Any ideas welcome. Posted by CraigSG1
That's fair enough Craig. I did wonder if you used if for experimentation. But there is being a bankroll nit, and there is being a bankroll nit! With your BR, I'd look to phase them out and start introducing slightly bigger tournaments. I cannot stress how soft some of the £11 BH's can be (esp the 9.30 one), and with the BH element they reduce variance somewhat. The £5 £200 gtd are also reasonable, and I'm sure your BR is big enough to handle them
You have the game mate. Start building up to that main event score you want.
Benc - Thanks, means a lot to get feedback. Yes, Moormans book was on my christmas list but unfortunatly I wasnt a good enough boy it seems. That is the next book I am reading as of next week. Looking forward to it immensly. It seems like a better version of "Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at A Time" series that I really enjoyed and learnt from. WIll actually reread them as well afterwards.
HHY - Ta, mate. Yeah, may look to adjust when I start playing on a night to slightly later so I have more energy later on. The problem with the higher priced ones I would play is they start later on and I get up early for work. But definatley can make them on w/e's so I will look at them and stop being a BR hoarder! Besides, as it builds the BI's wont dent it as much.
Glenelg - Great! Thats nice to know and thank you. I really hope so. I intend to improve and move back up. Maybe if I start playing my sessions later I can use the time before for a little revision.
Lets get todays result out of the way. Played three sessions, one winning and two losing ones. Played OK. Not great, not bad. Maybe lacking in focus and on autopilot? Not sure. Maybe it was just the lack of hands and spots. Pleased with my discipline though of not searching for spots with bad hands as much as I used to. Still did a few times though and paid for it.
That brings me to a monthly review and to set myself some, I hesitate to say targets or goals as they are not set in stone. Lets just say aims and go from their.
I started the month with a BR of about £750 so I've added about £320 if I dont include the £45 I got back via PP's. I made over £15 in them this month so its been another great month. A few hands here and there and it could have been so much better so I cant wait to have a 'run good' month! But we dont rely on anything like that do we?!
So, dispite some chatbox hero's saying otherwise, I know I have game and can do it. Its actually good to know if someone views you as a donk or fish or whatever. I just make notes and open up my value bets and tighten up my bluffs against them.
Below are the goals I set myself at the beginning so I will now look for the first time and rate how I did:
Goals:
* Play 4nl and show a profit. THIS I DID QUITE EASILY.
* Play £2/£3/£5 tournaments. 40 BI rule. OK, ANOTHER GOAL I DID. BUT MAYBE NOT AS MANY £5 ONES AS I SHOULD (EH, HHY.....)
* Play my game and not focus on PokerPoints and BR total. AGAIN, HAPPY I DID THIS AND SUCCESSFULLY. I MAY NOT PLAY PERFECTLY OR 'AS I SHOULD IN SOME AREAS' BUT I HAVE A METHOD THAT WORKS AND GOING BACK TO THAT HAS PAID DIVIDENDS. WHAT I HAVE DONE THOUGH IS FOCUS ON ONE AREA AT A TIME AND LOOK TO ADJUST THAT BEFORE I MOVE ON TO SOMETHING ELSE.
* Not play 10nl until I hit £450BR and cease to play if dip below £400. (like i intended to. sigh) ERM, FIRST FAIL. I DID NOT AT ALL DO THIS. IVE HAD UPS AND DOWNS AT THIS LEVEL AND IT IS A REAL ROLLERCOASTER AS THIS LEVEL HAS THE BIGGEST RANGE OF PLAYER ABILITY FROM REALLY GOOD TO REALLY, REALLY BAD. EVEN WORSE THAN 4NL.
* This is real embarrassing and im ashamed of but I want to stop moaning on chat! Seriously, Im an idiot and no one cares! I will honestly say how many times IF i do indeed do this. Im 36 for crying out loud! I need to find another way to vent and then calm down and play properly. I WOULD GIVE MYSELF A B- I THINK. IVE DEFINATLEY NOT BEEN AS BAD BUT I FIND MYSELF HITTING THE KEYPAD EVERY SO OFTEN AND THEN AFTERWARDS THINKING 'WHY DID I DO THAT?!?!'
* Finally, I would like to reach 1K again. No time frame, just a target. YEAH! I DID IT, AND A LOT FASTER THAN I THOUGHT.
OK, that penultimate one was embarrassing. Good i say. Stop it! Shrug, sigh, moan out loud. Not chat box.
So, my new goals.
* Play some actual Main Events! Even if I start at one a week.
* Play satalites. Why dont I? Definatley a form that would suit my game.
* Improve my cash game.
* Do more studying and analysis and review my own game too.
* NO MORE CHAT BOX MOANING!! I want this gone asap, by the end of the month if I can.
I would just like to say thanks for reading and have a great night everyone.
HAPPY NEW YEAR AND ALL THE BEST FOR NEXT YEAR!!! Hope it will be as succesful as mines going to be and that you get many 2nd places!
Started with cash this morning and I played well. Just no results as two river cards cost me a £30 profit. I had top set of Q's against AK on a Q83 all club board and got snapped called by the A high FD and then my turned nuts lost to another flush on the river. Dissapointing really as those where for by far the biggest pots of the morning. Did well to only finish a few quid down.
Came back this evening and managed to accomplish two of my goals already. I played a £7 sat into the main event and after a slow start I won two biggish pots, one including my only race win of the day AK v 66 that got me chip leader and from there I just shut up shop and didnt play a hand. Its wierd not playing decnet holdings and its amazing that when you want said hands they dont come but when your not bothered you get PP's galore! Anyway, that was very pleasing and even though I was tempted to just take the money (BR nit alert!) I put that aside and played the Main...
...which went ok but no heads - which I'm very dissapointed about - and over an hours worth of play. I did get lucky in two spots so no complaints. Just a shame it was a cooler when i had AQ v AK SB v BB aipf for a big stack.
My small MTT win came in the £5 BH HU shuffle. Ive said in the past I should be playing more of these as I think I have about 3 wins out of 8 with two other FT's. I think my HU's game is pretty decent so I will try and remember to add them to my list. I played well, ran ok and got lucky once. Saving that for the very last hand when I played 98o agg and got it in on a J10x board. My opponent flipped over J10 but I hit my Q on the turn. So a nice £30 profit there.
Feeling sad I busted the Main, but happy I achieved two goals already and intend to keep that up and won an MTT. And no £2 BH's in sight!!
Edit for today. I totally forgot I played the two £3 BH's this morning. I made the final table of the first, bowing out in sixth when I first lost a race AKs v 66 and then bust AJ v AA. And as fate would have it next hand in the other tourny I lost 1010 v AA. So not a bad start to the year.
Its a strange feeling that after a good day in which I have increased my BR by £75 I feel a bit blase about it all. A few months ago I would have felt great to get that much but it doesnt seem that much of a jump now. Maybe its the disapointment feeling when busting a tournament very deep.
Ill start with that, I played 3 MTT's today. All this evening. The £2 BH went ok. Wasnt paying attention so much as trying a few moves when I had the chance and somehow got very deep but with no heads. I then got my only one but bust in 11th when lost with QQ v AK. It was the reverse of that exact hand that saw me bust in 10/379 in the £5 BH. That got off to a great start with a bounty in the first hand and then a few hands later took another with a full house. A few hands later a guy nicely jammed allin pre with AJ while I had AA. Could have been even better if 10 minutes later my KK had held v's AK but I did manage to get the guy before the break a half hour later. I went a bit card dead then won a huge chip lead pot with a flush v's the straight. Again I went card and situation dead for half an hour. I had only two hands in that time but had to give up AJs v's serial limper from a big stack and then my straight on a flushing board to an allin. Shame really as I thought I could make the FT at least but yet again the wrong end of a race cost me but no complaints this time. It happens. I did actually win two myself so only 2/5 this time. I also went very deep in the UKPC FR, finishing 10 places off a seat when my A6s lost to KJo.
Cash went well today, had two winning sessions. My best pot of the day was when my AA beat A6o (who called a huge 3 bet after limping) on a A66 flop. Another close one was AKs v KK v JJ when I made my flush all in pre. So I ran well for most of the day which was nice for a change. I will be the first to admit it when I do instead of saying otherwise.
Overall a great day and as I write this I do feel a bit more pleased with how its gone. I have identified a few areas I really want to improve on in MTT's. I have the patience and ability to find some spots but I really need to find ways of making a few chips when I am absoloutly card dead. Maybe I need to find a few more bluff spots and not be so cautious and move my chips a little more aggressively. Its just sometimes I dont like out right bluffing without at least some outs!
Played a lot of cash today, the most in a while. HAd 3 out of four winning sessions and my losing one was only £3 or so. I feel Ive played well and had a few big hands that held. A few that didnt of corse but I can take that as long as I get my fair share.
Wasnt quite in an MTT mood but still played two, one a FR. Bricked that. Got almost two hours in the £5 BH but ended up busting that in a standard spot. Did take two heads, one a juicy one, that covered my buy in by 33p! Profit is profit!
Another decent day and also have 350 PP's so I have half an eye on getting 3000 this month. I wont bust a gut for it or play when I dont want but if my poker appetite stays the same for a while then its do able.
On another note I did splash out and treated myself for the first time in a long while and bought myself some bluetooth headphones. They are Bose Soundlink and cost £180, paid for by my recent successes on Pokerstars. Real nervous about spending so much (for me anyway) but I did read up a lot(!!!!!) and finally plumped for these. I must say they are fantastic and i'm really pleased with them. Sound great, work flawlessly with my iPhone6 and the range is great too.
Its great when a hobby makes you money and you can buy things you would never usually be able to buy!
***EDIT***
Just realised ive crossed the £1000 profit barrier on this diary with £15+ PP bonus to come. So pleased.
WP Craig, certainly makes it worthwhile when you can use your winnings to buy yourself/someone else a nice gift. I think it is a good idea to do every so often as should keep your appetite up to keep winning.
When people tell me i should not be gambling or it's just down to luck, I show them what i've treated myself to or my BR and they soon change the topic!!
Citylawer - Hi, thanks a lot. Its a great feeling I agree, over the years I've had two holidays, two computers, a deposit for my car as well as a lot of other things (including treats for my partner which is a nother nice thing to be able to do). My parents were also sceptical on my poker 'hobby' until they realised how well I do! Took a while though!
Ive had another great day today. Almost £50 profit from two two hour poker sessions playing cash. Ive ran well in the sense that when I got my money in good, for the majority of the time it stayed good. Im very pleased that I played well and made some very good decisions. Missed a few spots, mainly on the river, so will look to improve that.
I did forget to mention I played a Main event sat yesterday. But as I forgot you can probably tell it didnt go well.
Played the FR which didnt go well and a £5 BH this evening but that was over very quickly. My AK v AQ aipf losing to a flopped Q. As luck would have it got AA next hand when I had 200 chips left but got no callers! Bust a few hands later.
Im really, really pleased with myself to make £170 over the w/e. Especially as most of it came from cash, my weakest discipline. I've made a lot of improvements with hand discipline in regards to position, type of stack the weaker players have, how often I get called and how I'm betting and why. I hope to keep it up.
So after a great 11 days off its sadly back to work tomorrow. Sucks so bad! I have really enjoyed the time off, not to mention being able to play poker whenever I want and I'm really pleased to have made £270 in that time. Its been so relaxing and even though I have played a lot more I havent played tons so I've had a very good return. Right now it feels ages since I've been at work but I know when I'm there it will feel like no time at all has passed.
Oh, just remembered. I have a poker book to buy...
Hi Craig - great to see that your bankroll is really motoring forward now... even sounds like there are hints of positivity replacing all the chuntering
For as long as you keep tilt at bay, there's no doubt the profits will keep coming. Perhaps the book (or books) to buy are the Jared Tendler ones!
Are there any specific strategy articles / videos / forum threads that you've used recently to improve your play which you'd recommend?
Hi Craig - great to see that your bankroll is really motoring forward now... even sounds like there are hints of positivity replacing all the chuntering For as long as you keep tilt at bay, there's no doubt the profits will keep coming. Perhaps the book (or books) to buy are the Jared Tendler ones! Are there any specific strategy articles / videos / forum threads that you've used recently to improve your play which you'd recommend? Posted by shakinaces
Hi shakin. Thanks. How's your progress doing? Been a while since you updated yours. Just glad you've not been on my table recently!
I've been perusing YouTube on my lunches and I did find a very helpful video series about the top 10 small stakes leaks. This not only helped my game but has helped me spot it in others and exploit them.
I've just started Moormans book today, it's great so far and I know already I will be rereading it tons. Not sure if I've stated it before but I know you want to improve your MTT play and the Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand At A Time series is a must!!
My progress was on a sort of hiatus due to festive drunkeness / hungoverness
Was that 10 leaks video one of the ones that w34s3l recorded? I've watched a few of his and really find his presentation style easy to take in - although some of his ideas I may be using at the wrong levels and throwing cash away as a result!
My copy of WPT1HAAT arrived yesterday so will be my main reading material in January. Having skim-read the first 7 or 8 hands I'm starting to think that my main problem is playing too loose aggressive... quite the opposite of thinking I was way too much of a nit... although will need to spend more time reading to get a better idea. My MTT play really is appalling
Comments
Well played!!
I'm also surprised you're still playing £2 BH's with a 4 figure roll. I'd look to play the £11 ones, plus some £5 freeze outs. The standard in the £11 bounty hunters is 'funky', you'd have no problem at that level.
Not sure what, if any, mains you play but the Turbo is worth a spin every week. Would take the odd shot at the SS BH on a Thursday too.
You have the game mate. Start building up to that main event score you want.
When people tell me i should not be gambling or it's just down to luck, I show them what i've treated myself to or my BR and they soon change the topic!!
By the way your diary is a good read also.
For as long as you keep tilt at bay, there's no doubt the profits will keep coming. Perhaps the book (or books) to buy are the Jared Tendler ones!
Are there any specific strategy articles / videos / forum threads that you've used recently to improve your play which you'd recommend?
Was that 10 leaks video one of the ones that w34s3l recorded? I've watched a few of his and really find his presentation style easy to take in - although some of his ideas I may be using at the wrong levels and throwing cash away as a result!
My copy of WPT1HAAT arrived yesterday so will be my main reading material in January. Having skim-read the first 7 or 8 hands I'm starting to think that my main problem is playing too loose aggressive... quite the opposite of thinking I was way too much of a nit... although will need to spend more time reading to get a better idea. My MTT play really is appalling