343 hands +69BB

As some of you may know, I used to play a lot of limit poker.  So starting out again at the short handed no limit tables is a bit strange.  Variance at NL, anyway, is a lot more volatile, but at the micro stakes any one hand can lose you (or win you) a hefty chunk of BB.

Anyway, after going down at my last session, I've turned it around and then some.  PT tells me that my VIP still seems to be on the high side at 32%, as for my other stats, I really do need to reconfigure PT to reflect shorthanded play, and find a book that is decent for short handed play.  Unfortuneately where I would normally do my research during lunchtime at work, my company has banned all poker sites, so kind of finding it hard to juggle family life, study and play.

Play seems to be a lot better at this level compared to the 0.03/0.06, but it still sucks, as long as you don't get carried away if someone shows real strength, then you should be fine.  As it is you get an edge by not taking your bad hands further than you should.

One problem I am finding at the micro limits is that I have to constantly remind myself not to look at the cash on the table, but look at it in terms of Big Blinds.  If someone raises 3BB ie 30 pence, it is way to easy just to say that I'll have a look at the turn because it is only a small amount.  Especially when in my case I was playing up to the 3/6 limkit tables, where a pot could hit $100 plus.  Looking at it in terms of BB kind of focuses the mind somewhat.

Anyway, onwards and upwards, my BB per hour is sitting at 10, I'm not sure if this is sustainable in the longer run at this level, but we will see.  I'm actually looking forward to play at some higher levels, but I'll resist the temptation and stick to the challenge.

134 hands -47BB

I played my first 140 hands at the next limit up, and I got pawned.  Not through good play or anything like that, just through my bad play.  With online play it is just so easy to get a game.  From making that decision to play, you can be in the game within a couple of minutes.

My head has been all over the place over the last few weeks, and I wasn't inthe right place to play, as a result I got my ass whipped.  I chased way to long on the draws, and the top pair hands, and didn't get paid off when I did hit the long shots, that I didn't have the odds to play anyway.

Two hands stood out where I lost in total 58 BB. 

First hand

One was where I was dealt 99 here is how it played out... 6 handed table

• UTG Fold
• UTG +1 Fold
• hero dealt 99 raised 3 BB
• Button Fold
• SB raised to 6BB
• BB Fold
• hero raised to 10BB
• SB RR to 30BB

hero called. - That was one bad call I should have known that the range I was up against was pretty narrowed that was mistake 1.  I don't mind the RR that I put in, as it should have told me taht I was behind, and I should have folded at that point.

• flop 7,6,Q
• Villain bet 10BB
• hero calls all in

Mistake 2, although I was getting 7-1

• Villain turns over AA his hand is good.

Really not proud of this hand at all, it was just a case of me not being mentally tuned into the game.  A Whopping 40BB loss.

Second hand

• Hero dealt JJ on the button
• UTG Call
• UTG+1 Call
• MP1 Call
• Hero Button Raise 9BB Js,Jc
• SB Fold
• BB Fold
• UTG Call
• UTG+1 call
• MP1 fold
• Flop: Ad,Kh, 6c
• UTG Check
• UTG+1 Check
• Hero Bet 8BB
• UTG Raises 24BB
• UTG+1 Fold
• Hero Fold

Don't think I did anything wrong here, I maybe should have taken a free card, as I was either way in front or way behind, but wanted to get some cash in the pot.  Was this wrong?

Anyway, if it wasn't for those two hands, I would have been in the money.  As I have already said the one that did me in was 99.

Ces't La Vie.

Good luck at the tables.

AG.

Oh and does anybody have a hand convertor for this website?

+450 BB over 521 hands,  

NL 0.03/0.06 +£27.00

Been another good day, thanks to one guy wanting to go in every hand.  I had to pick my spots but managed to double up a couple of times to the point where I was actually £14 up just in the one game.  Not much but when you are playing 0.03/0.06 NL that is a hefty chunk.

So onwards and upwards, I know that the play will get better, and my good run will come to an end, but no problems so far, just play tight, and fit or fold, always looking at the pot odds, though to be honest at this level the implied odds are pretty good.

Oh, and for the eagle eyed amongst you, I know I am only showing my roll as increasing by £12, but what you have to remember that on my drunken forray back to SnG's I lost £16, so for the purposes of this challenge I'm moving on up to the 0.05/0.10, with £30 profit required, or a loss of £15 to move back down.

One interesting thing is that the villain going all in, made the table play crazy, and to be fair with every right to.  He hit some huge hands, with what was basically a coin flip.  Latterly he cooled off a bit, and actually broke even over 68 hands.  I just wonder if that was his strategy, get the table fired up and then hit them when he did have a decent hand, or indeed he may just have been loose and crazy.

This guy aloan lost £17 to me, but still ended up at break even, happy days. 

It was one of the first times that the vilalin was immediately on my left.  So with him playing that loose the first chance I got I upped sticks and changed seats to have him on my right, where I could fold, or isolate him with a better than average hand.  I'm never sure though whether this tactic backfires in the longer run, because it does scream to the other players that you have an inkling of what you are doing.  Therefore do the other players give you a bit more respect and don't pay off as much.  I'm just not to sure.  I'm guessing at these limits, maybe 2 players out the remaining 5 would clock the positional move, everybody else would just think I was a donk.

Good luck at the tables.

AG

So what is your biggest leak at the tables?  Is it playing to loose?  Is it chasing that draw with incorrect odds?  Or is it calling to the river with top pair only to find out that you were way behind?

Mine has to be alchohol!  I never played much poker over the weekend, because I was out quite a bit watching the football.  Well done Manchester United by the way.  On Friday night I had an evening out after work having a few drinks, went home and struggling to even see the screen I fired up the computer for some poker.  The angel on my shoulder was saying don't play, the devil in my head was saying, 'look you've had a few but just think of the action, and hey you are better than everybody out there, and you deserve to win'

Actually I'm getting better, I knew I shouldn't be playing but I did anyway.  Instead of playing my whole bank roll, I ended up on 2 SnG's a £5, and a £10.  Needless to say, I can't remember much about it, and needless to say I never even got close to the money.  Fridays and Saturdays are great times to play SnG's sober, because there is always at least one person like me who has had one to many, and lets face it thats dead money in the pot.  If only I could rememeber that.

Anyway, I'll update my roll, at some point when I can check my new balance, and hopefully get back on track for the challenge over the next couple of nights.

Good luck at the tables, and plug those leaks.

AG.

Well it's been interesting, I have seen the loosest play ever.  Ended up playing 203 hands four tabling on the 0.03/0.06 NL tables.  It helped I was running good, but even so, it was hard to know where I was in a hand.

Quick Summary of the session follows:

I had QQ twice, and KK four times, and believe it or not I lost a net 37BB which can't be good.  Ok an ace hit pretty much every time, and I ended up calling down to the river the once.  15BB of the loss was when I called an all in from MP, I flipped over KK, he flipped over AQo, two Aces came on the flop and mhwng.

That was about the highlight, I tried to play tight, but my VIP was 27.45% (cause of the run of cards and because it was 6 handed.) My biggest loser was the hand above, and a lot of 10BB range hands where I basically played fit or fold after raising first in preflop.

I realise that 16BB per hour is unsustainable, but it's nice to be off to a winning session.

Till next time

Good luck at the tables.

Doh, Just fired up 4 micro limit limit games.... NL starts at 0.03 / 0.06 same rules apply! Only good thiing is playing 0.05/0.10 tables and I was up 53p over 9 hands

Lets start again playing NL.

Ok to keep things interesting, and since I've never really played NL shorthand before, (other than SnGs) this is what I propose.

1. Challenge will be at Will Hill a Cryptologic site

2. Start off at the lowest nl limits, currently 0.05/0.10

3. Only advance to the next limit if I make 300 big blind profit

4. Only play a maximum of 4 tables at any one time

5. Drop back a level if I lose half the current profit from the previous limit

6. Play a minimum of 500 hands per month

Think that about covers it, I've got cash at Will Hill of £155 so bankrolled ok at the moment.  Lets see how it goes.

Will let you know how it goes.  Playing limit is totally different, but easy to accumalate cash long term.  With NL I find I normally do ok for a while then blow it all on one hand.  Thats poker!

Any improvements to what is above let me know.

First post, so I guess it should be inspiring. But hey ho, never mind.

I have been playing poker now for oh about three years, mostly limit, where I played up to $2/$4.  In the glory days of bonus chasing, I did pretty well out of it, but due to our enlightened cousins across the water banning internet gambling, I find less and less limit games to play, and to be honest the grind just isn't worth it now for the bonuses.

So Lately, I have picked up my Harrington poker books again, and started playing the much more fun SnG's anything from £5 up to £30.  The roll took a dent previously, as I spent it on dual monitors, and a new computer but it is slowly building itself up again.  I have to admit though tournaments are a slooooowww way to build a bank roll, but is more fun.

Over the next few weeks I'll hopefully get back into the blogging again and let you know where I end up, how many times I've had to kick the cat, and hopefully some articles on my outlook on poker. 

At the moment I reckon I may set myself a challenge, say starting on the micro limits, nl tables, and moving up as the role dictates, I reckon shorthanded is the way to go.  If anybody has any ideas please let me know.

Be lucky, and catch you at the tables.

Amerettogin