I was speaking to someone in Vegas who used to stake people. He said it's more difficult than you'd think to find good people to back. Think he said that 90% of the people who approached him weren't people you'd want to stake, either they weren't good enough, were prone to other forms of gambling or were just outright scammers. I suppose there's a lot of people with a lot of different motives who might attempt to get backed. I think he had more success over the people he approached. I guess when you stake enough people its likely you'll end up with a few bad eggs.
Well that was a real 'ffs' kind of session. Tonight I managed to lose an almost obscene number of 80/20 and 70/30 spots, including some at real key moments like deep in the money or on a finely balanced FT. I'm fine with losing flips but when your big favourites fail to hold up multiple times on the trot, it takes a bigger man than me not to feel a little salty at then end of it. Pfft... it's my diary and I'll moan if I want to! In some ways it feels like a minor miracle to only finish the night £16 down, but there were soooo many what might have been moments .
In other news, that marks the last session before my original July 5th deadline expires. In some regards, only having played 324 games vs the initial target of 500 makes the whole thing an epic fail. However, I'm still plugging away, I'm in profit and, despite currently feeling like I want to throttle random inanimate objects, I'm still enjoying my poker and feeling enthused to turn up of an evening. I'd call that a success all things considered .
I took a couple of days off poker so have only played 2 sessions since the last update. Rather annoyingly, the 'ffs' session of day 25 seems to have turned into a trend and days 26 and 27 have continued in the same vein. I don't think I've played too terribly on the whole but it's hard to do much when your big favourites repeatedly fail to hold. I have managed the odd small cash here and there so I'm not haemorrhaging money at an alarming rate, but it is effecting the enthusiasm a little.
Playing deeper stacked is definitely the strongest part of my game which means I often run fairly deep so when the ugly suckouts happen they're frequently near the business end of things, which makes them all the more frustrating. It's really making me miss one of the main elements of cash games which is that when those bad beats happen (especially against a player I think I've have a decent edge over), I can reload and have another shot at it. I know the MTT equivalent is just getting on and hitting the register button for the next tournament, but it's not the same as getting to continue on the same table with an already established dynamic. Pfft .
I know how you feel, I am down £200 in my last 4 sessions after bricking mostly every tournament and it is definitely demotivating and annoying especially when cards don't go your way.
However, you are one of the better players on the site so you will be winning again very soon.
I remember Issac Haxton one of the best MTT player out there didn't cash a single high roller for over 40 events, so it happens to the best of us.
After starting this challenge/diary full of drive and enthusiasm, the pace of my play has very much slowed into a gentle plod around the MTT scene. I know exactly why this is. I've been breaking even recently and I'm a complete mental game fish, so the novelty has worn off and the level of desire to grind has faded. Still, a plod is better than a complete standstill and breaking even is certainly better than losing money.
Session wise, I played and uneventful and slightly losing Thursday night, took Friday off and returned for a slightly better time of it on Saturday. I even managed a very rare win in something, which was nice! It was just a tiddler really (a £500 gtd £11bh), but it was good to end what was starting to feel like a bit of a drought on the victory front. I'm only £3 shy of my profit peak now so I'll hopefully be breaking new ground again soon which may help fire me up a little more.
Glad to see you back to winning ways. One big win, which you are more than capable of and the enthusiasm will be renewed I'm sure. If not then there is no reason why you can't alternate between cash one night and mtts the next. Or do you think if you started playing cash again then that would put and end to regular mtt sessions?
Also, out of curiosity, you have made 1400 in roughly a month now which is decent. How does that compare to an average month when you played cash? You played 20 and 30nl didn't you? Is that a factor behind your recent lack of motivation?
I can be a bit mono-focused at times so I'll probably continue to put the vast majority of my table time into MTT's until I reach the 500 target of this diary. Before starting this, tourney's probably accounted for around 10% of all my play in 2019 but moving forward I think that number will end up nearer to 50% over the longer term, if not more.
Comparing my returns from MTT play to cash isn't particularly straightforward as volume is by far the most significant factor. Over the last 18 months my total volume has been far less than in the preceding years, so I can't really consider myself a proper cash 'grinder' over that period. In 2017 I was much more consistent and would regularly make priority each month (10k-12k points per month was my average) from mostly playing 20/30nl, although there was some 10nl and 50nl mixed in there too. During that time I was averaging profits of around £1,200 -£1,400 per month, although it would vary somewhat - my best month was +£2,500, my worst was around +£300. Rakeback is also more of a factor and would account for roughly £300 of those profits per month.
The lack of motivation is mostly a symptom of just having played a lot of poker over a number of years. MTT's are actually better for me in that regard as there is generally a set time when one needs to turn up and play whereas it's much easier to procrastinate with cash games (given they're always running/the same) to the point where I often never make to the table at all.
I was slightly concerned by the post of Matt Bates getting unlucky and assumed that there was a glitch in the matrix or that you had photoshopped a hand history, thankfully your next post confirmed that all was indeed in order. I note that Matt got unlucky in a 22 bb pot but then got lucky in a 60+ bb pot and for his tourney life. I just thank my lucky stars he doesn't play PLO8!
I was slightly concerned by the post of Matt Bates getting unlucky and assumed that there was a glitch in the matrix or that you had photoshopped a hand history, thankfully your next post confirmed that all was indeed in order. I note that Matt got unlucky in a 22 bb pot but then got lucky in a 60+ bb pot and for his tourney life. I just thank my lucky stars he doesn't play PLO8!
Thanks.
The top conspiracy theorists out there have confirmed to me that this was merely the RNG presenting the illusion of balance, but you can clearly see the truth of it Paul
Get ready for another exciting and extremely samey update folks!
So, I played Sunday and Monday night and it was all generally the same story as the rest of July - I lost a few quid on Sunday and made a few quid back on Monday. I am at least at a new profit peak, but only just.
Monday brought one of those real mixed feeling kinda results in that I finished deep in the Main for 8th (yay!) but went out feeling full of frustration when my QQ couldn't hold all in pre vs A8o (boo!). I'm sure most tourney players think this way, but I really do feel like I've been getting more than my fair share of bad beats for a fairly long stretch now. I am a bit of a promo luckbox though, so I guess I can't moan too much .
After starting this challenge/diary full of drive and enthusiasm, the pace of my play has very much slowed into a gentle plod around the MTT scene. I know exactly why this is. I've been breaking even recently and I'm a complete mental game fish, so the novelty has worn off and the level of desire to grind has faded. Still, a plod is better than a complete standstill and breaking even is certainly better than losing money.
Session wise, I played and uneventful and slightly losing Thursday night, took Friday off and returned for a slightly better time of it on Saturday. I even managed a very rare win in something, which was nice! It was just a tiddler really (a £500 gtd £11bh), but it was good to end what was starting to feel like a bit of a drought on the victory front. I'm only £3 shy of my profit peak now so I'll hopefully be breaking new ground again soon which may help fire me up a little more.
I started to write this before you moaned in a prizedraw win and a deep run in the main!
The reality is with MTTs you will have a lot of sessions which are probably going to be seen as boring. Brick the bigger games, have the odd deep run but end up breaking even or winning or losing small.
Key is making the deep runs count and trying to get the max out of each session. Getting a result in one of your last games when you try your best rather than make some punty plays because its only a small buy in for you will make a big difference at the end of the year.
Get ready for another exciting and extremely samey update folks!
So, I played Sunday and Monday night and it was all generally the same story as the rest of July - I lost a few quid on Sunday and made a few quid back on Monday. I am at least at a new profit peak, but only just.
Monday brought one of those real mixed feeling kinda results in that I finished deep in the Main for 8th (yay!) but went out feeling full of frustration when my QQ couldn't hold all in pre vs A8o (boo!). I'm sure most tourney players think this way, but I really do feel like I've been getting more than my fair share of bad beats for a fairly long stretch now. I am a bit of a promo luckbox though, so I guess I can't moan too much .
Get ready for another exciting and extremely samey update folks!
So, I played Sunday and Monday night and it was all generally the same story as the rest of July - I lost a few quid on Sunday and made a few quid back on Monday. I am at least at a new profit peak, but only just.
Monday brought one of those real mixed feeling kinda results in that I finished deep in the Main for 8th (yay!) but went out feeling full of frustration when my QQ couldn't hold all in pre vs A8o (boo!). I'm sure most tourney players think this way, but I really do feel like I've been getting more than my fair share of bad beats for a fairly long stretch now. I am a bit of a promo luckbox though, so I guess I can't moan too much .
Get ready for another exciting and extremely samey update folks!
So, I played Sunday and Monday night and it was all generally the same story as the rest of July - I lost a few quid on Sunday and made a few quid back on Monday. I am at least at a new profit peak, but only just.
Monday brought one of those real mixed feeling kinda results in that I finished deep in the Main for 8th (yay!) but went out feeling full of frustration when my QQ couldn't hold all in pre vs A8o (boo!). I'm sure most tourney players think this way, but I really do feel like I've been getting more than my fair share of bad beats for a fairly long stretch now. I am a bit of a promo luckbox though, so I guess I can't moan too much .
Comments
Well that was a real 'ffs' kind of session. Tonight I managed to lose an almost obscene number of 80/20 and 70/30 spots, including some at real key moments like deep in the money or on a finely balanced FT. I'm fine with losing flips but when your big favourites fail to hold up multiple times on the trot, it takes a bigger man than me not to feel a little salty at then end of it. Pfft... it's my diary and I'll moan if I want to! In some ways it feels like a minor miracle to only finish the night £16 down, but there were soooo many what might have been moments
In other news, that marks the last session before my original July 5th deadline expires. In some regards, only having played 324 games vs the initial target of 500 makes the whole thing an epic fail. However, I'm still plugging away, I'm in profit and, despite currently feeling like I want to throttle random inanimate objects, I'm still enjoying my poker and feeling enthused to turn up of an evening. I'd call that a success all things considered
MTT's played: 324
MTT's won: 3
Profit/Loss: +£1,386.96
Having witnessed the nonsense that was the Mega Stack FT last night - can confirm
Very tidy profit indeed given the volume and glad to hear you're still enjoying MTT's even in the face of such brutality
Well done.
I took a couple of days off poker so have only played 2 sessions since the last update. Rather annoyingly, the 'ffs' session of day 25 seems to have turned into a trend and days 26 and 27 have continued in the same vein. I don't think I've played too terribly on the whole but it's hard to do much when your big favourites repeatedly fail to hold. I have managed the odd small cash here and there so I'm not haemorrhaging money at an alarming rate, but it is effecting the enthusiasm a little.
Playing deeper stacked is definitely the strongest part of my game which means I often run fairly deep so when the ugly suckouts happen they're frequently near the business end of things, which makes them all the more frustrating. It's really making me miss one of the main elements of cash games which is that when those bad beats happen (especially against a player I think I've have a decent edge over), I can reload and have another shot at it. I know the MTT equivalent is just getting on and hitting the register button for the next tournament, but it's not the same as getting to continue on the same table with an already established dynamic. Pfft
MTT's played: 348
MTT's won: 3
Profit/Loss: +£1,312.90
I know how you feel, I am down £200 in my last 4 sessions after bricking mostly every tournament and it is definitely demotivating and annoying especially when cards don't go your way.
However, you are one of the better players on the site so you will be winning again very soon.
I remember Issac Haxton one of the best MTT player out there didn't cash a single high roller for over 40 events, so it happens to the best of us.
Ollie
I'm still not sure if MTT's are more fun than cash but they are most certainly more frustrating!
After starting this challenge/diary full of drive and enthusiasm, the pace of my play has very much slowed into a gentle plod around the MTT scene. I know exactly why this is. I've been breaking even recently and I'm a complete mental game fish, so the novelty has worn off and the level of desire to grind has faded. Still, a plod is better than a complete standstill and breaking even is certainly better than losing money.
Session wise, I played and uneventful and slightly losing Thursday night, took Friday off and returned for a slightly better time of it on Saturday. I even managed a very rare win in something, which was nice! It was just a tiddler really (a £500 gtd £11bh), but it was good to end what was starting to feel like a bit of a drought on the victory front. I'm only £3 shy of my profit peak now so I'll hopefully be breaking new ground again soon which may help fire me up a little more.
MTT's played: 368
MTT's won: 4
Profit/Loss: +£1,400.90
Also, out of curiosity, you have made 1400 in roughly a month now which is decent. How does that compare to an average month when you played cash? You played 20 and 30nl didn't you? Is that a factor behind your recent lack of motivation?
I can be a bit mono-focused at times so I'll probably continue to put the vast majority of my table time into MTT's until I reach the 500 target of this diary. Before starting this, tourney's probably accounted for around 10% of all my play in 2019 but moving forward I think that number will end up nearer to 50% over the longer term, if not more.
Comparing my returns from MTT play to cash isn't particularly straightforward as volume is by far the most significant factor. Over the last 18 months my total volume has been far less than in the preceding years, so I can't really consider myself a proper cash 'grinder' over that period. In 2017 I was much more consistent and would regularly make priority each month (10k-12k points per month was my average) from mostly playing 20/30nl, although there was some 10nl and 50nl mixed in there too. During that time I was averaging profits of around £1,200 -£1,400 per month, although it would vary somewhat - my best month was +£2,500, my worst was around +£300. Rakeback is also more of a factor and would account for roughly £300 of those profits per month.
The lack of motivation is mostly a symptom of just having played a lot of poker over a number of years. MTT's are actually better for me in that regard as there is generally a set time when one needs to turn up and play whereas it's much easier to procrastinate with cash games (given they're always running/the same) to the point where I often never make to the table at all.
I was slightly concerned by the post of Matt Bates getting unlucky and assumed that there was a glitch in the matrix or that you had photoshopped a hand history, thankfully your next post confirmed that all was indeed in order. I note that Matt got unlucky in a 22 bb pot but then got lucky in a 60+ bb pot and for his tourney life. I just thank my lucky stars he doesn't play PLO8!
The top conspiracy theorists out there have confirmed to me that this was merely the RNG presenting the illusion of balance, but you can clearly see the truth of it Paul
Get ready for another exciting and extremely samey update folks!
So, I played Sunday and Monday night and it was all generally the same story as the rest of July - I lost a few quid on Sunday and made a few quid back on Monday. I am at least at a new profit peak, but only just.
Monday brought one of those real mixed feeling kinda results in that I finished deep in the Main for 8th (yay!) but went out feeling full of frustration when my QQ couldn't hold all in pre vs A8o (boo!). I'm sure most tourney players think this way, but I really do feel like I've been getting more than my fair share of bad beats for a fairly long stretch now. I am a bit of a promo luckbox though, so I guess I can't moan too much
MTT's played: 393
MTT's won: 4
Profit/Loss: +£1,420.63
The reality is with MTTs you will have a lot of sessions which are probably going to be seen as boring. Brick the bigger games, have the odd deep run but end up breaking even or winning or losing small.
Key is making the deep runs count and trying to get the max out of each session. Getting a result in one of your last games when you try your best rather than make some punty plays because its only a small buy in for you will make a big difference at the end of the year.
Big congrats on taking it down. It gives a lot of hope to the rest of us tourney fish