Played 9500 hands or so today. Took a ton of beats. Not hitting sets, getting coolered etc. Was up 2.5 buyins or so. Been the same for 14000 of the 17000 hands I've played at NL25 now. Just gotta battle through it.
Got to Goldstar today and will get Platinum next month so the FPP's should start coming in faster now. Only have 6k FPP's right now. I need 25k for the Gold bonus but I may just wait til 50k for the Platinum one. We'll see.
Disaster day
Played 4500 hands I think. -6 buyins. I didn't play my best. There were a few folds I could have made but I think that even if I made those folds it would be -4 or 5 buyins still. It was not my day. Lost every pot I played basically. Nothing much I could do. I think I will still stick with NL25 tomorrow but I'll see how I feel.
Moved Up!
Didn't get a chance to blog about it last night. But I finally moved up to NL25 and had a good first session making 4 buyins in 3300 hands and clearing a bonus for 2 more. I will be able to get to Goldstar before the end of the month now.
I am going to grind NL25 through December and get to Platinum Star where the rakeback is decent. I have no chance at getting to Supernova this year so I will begin that quest in the New Year. And I hope to hit NL50 sometime early in the new year also.
I am going to grind NL25 through December and get to Platinum Star where the rakeback is decent. I have no chance at getting to Supernova this year so I will begin that quest in the New Year. And I hope to hit NL50 sometime early in the new year also.
Nightcap
Put in another 1600 hands cuz the games looked good late at night. Must be the American thanksgiving. Anyways 4.5 more buyins. Poker <3
Meh
Short day. 3300 hands. 3.5 buyins. Just wasn't feeling very well today. Will try and play more tomorrow.
I'll add my graph of the month so far for something to do. Didn't play the first 5 days of the month. $100 in bonuses also. Click on it to make it bigger.
I'll add my graph of the month so far for something to do. Didn't play the first 5 days of the month. $100 in bonuses also. Click on it to make it bigger.
Short but solid day
5600 hands. 8.5 buyins. Ran at 17/8/2, ATS 32, 15 ptbb/100. Cut it off around 9pm PST when the games start getting worse and their aren't enough fast tables. This won't be a problem when I get to higher limits cuz their will always be enuf fast tables and even if its all nits, at least I'm getting some decent rakeback. There isn't any point playing NL5 without megadonks cuz the rakeback sucks so bad.
Anyways, the bankroll has really shot up this month. I am hoping to be able to take a shot at NL25 very soon. If I didn't have to cash out in a week or so I would be there now. But I will still be pretty overrolled for it after the cashout.
Anyways, the bankroll has really shot up this month. I am hoping to be able to take a shot at NL25 very soon. If I didn't have to cash out in a week or so I would be there now. But I will still be pretty overrolled for it after the cashout.
Long one
Played just over 12k hands today in 3 sessions. Ran a little below expectation but I still made 8 buyins and cleared a bonus for 5 more.
As sad as it is to say, the games after about 11pm PST at NL5 aren't very good. There are often 4 or 5 regs per table. While they are terrible nits, you still can't make a lot of money off them. Also, there aren't enuf fast tables running which cuts my hands per hour by about 200.
So I have to get going earlier in the day and cut off my play by midnight at the latest.
As sad as it is to say, the games after about 11pm PST at NL5 aren't very good. There are often 4 or 5 regs per table. While they are terrible nits, you still can't make a lot of money off them. Also, there aren't enuf fast tables running which cuts my hands per hour by about 200.
So I have to get going earlier in the day and cut off my play by midnight at the latest.
Grind em out
7300 hands. 9 buyins. Running pretty decent 6 of the last 7 days. It doesn't get much better than that. I played 17/8 today. I think thats a little more optimal for NL5 than my previous 14 vpip. Nobody really 3bets or ISO's and if they do, its not to a correct size. Also it is 200bb's deep and they don't fold anything postflop. JTs/98s etc are profitable from any position imo.
Another day
I only played about 3600 hands. But I ran like God and it was a Saturday night so that was pretty cool. 10.5 buyins. Tried a new style today of playing basically any playable hand, from any position, and raising almost any 2 in LP. So my VPIP was 21 and my ATS was 36. It seemed to work out pretty well so I will keep experimenting with it tomorrow.
Pretty ugly day
Played 7800 hands. Made just over 2 buyins. I think I played quite well. Just too many bad beats and coolers today. I also cleared a bonus though, so it was actually a 7 buyin day. Oh well, try again tomorrow.
Another good day
6500 hands. 9 buyins. I struggle to play a lot when running good. I may have to try something like just not looking at the cashier. I want to put in 10k+ hands per day and how much I am up shouldn't have any bearing on that. I'm gonna try to not look at my results at all tomorrow til the end of the day. 3 3500 hand sessions. An hour break in between each.
Shortish Day
Mostly b/c I was lazy. Gotta not do that. 4k hands, 4.5 buyins made. Ran pretty good again. EZ game.
Only 11 buyins today
But in less hands (7500) so a better winrate than yesterday. I continue to run pretty decently here these past few days and it feels great. Poker is so much fun and I think so clearly when running good.
I'm just playing around a 14/9/2 punishing the limpers and raising up the donk bets. I've realized that I don't need to risk much raising donk bets when I don't have much of a hand. Usually they only bet min or a little more so most of the time I can just raise them to around half the pot size and get tons of folds.
I gotta make sure I never turn the chat on. These idiots are still calling me a bot b/c I 24 table and that blows their minds. Or I'm a nit cuz I don't play 1/3 of my hands like they do. Its just pointless drivel. Just keep the chat turned off at all times.
I made silverstar today and am working on a $50 bonus. I have 12k FPP left so that means a couple more of them after this one. They should take just over 20k hands to clear so that means a couple of days. They will help get my bankroll up to where it needs to be. But its getting better after these last couple days.
I'm just playing around a 14/9/2 punishing the limpers and raising up the donk bets. I've realized that I don't need to risk much raising donk bets when I don't have much of a hand. Usually they only bet min or a little more so most of the time I can just raise them to around half the pot size and get tons of folds.
I gotta make sure I never turn the chat on. These idiots are still calling me a bot b/c I 24 table and that blows their minds. Or I'm a nit cuz I don't play 1/3 of my hands like they do. Its just pointless drivel. Just keep the chat turned off at all times.
I made silverstar today and am working on a $50 bonus. I have 12k FPP left so that means a couple more of them after this one. They should take just over 20k hands to clear so that means a couple of days. They will help get my bankroll up to where it needs to be. But its getting better after these last couple days.
Ship the 12.5 buyin day
In 9996 hands. I still didn't run very good today lol. It was painful through the first 3k hands. But I probably ran a bit above average in the last 7k. I changed my game up today. I just said fuck it, I'm gonna play something resembling TAG, which meant 15/11/2.5.
I think its better to play that way, even against legions of calling stations. I miss out on too many opportunities when I play like a nit. So I'm gonna stick with that for now, cuz its working.
50 VPP away from silverstar so I will get it tomorrow. Then I can start buying the bonuses and playing in the weekly freeroll. Which ultimately means, a bigger bankroll and bigger games sooner than later. Things are looking up.
I think its better to play that way, even against legions of calling stations. I miss out on too many opportunities when I play like a nit. So I'm gonna stick with that for now, cuz its working.
50 VPP away from silverstar so I will get it tomorrow. Then I can start buying the bonuses and playing in the weekly freeroll. Which ultimately means, a bigger bankroll and bigger games sooner than later. Things are looking up.
Couple Hands
Around 4k. Actually ran around average which felt kinda awesome. As much as I use this blog to whine and complain I do handle this stuff pretty well, or am at least getting better. I just took a long bike ride after last nights session, and it helped a lot. I didn't tilt a whole lot through this last downswing. I played a few hands a bit too aggressively but I did so b/c I believed it was +EV to do so, not b/c my emotions were getting to me. All in all, I can still do better at playing my A game when running bad, b/c that is truly what separates the elite from all the rest in this game.
Played a bunch
It was terrible again. Probably 6 or 7k hands. I'll review some stuff in the morning and see if I was doing anything wrong. Just no point in getting mad. Its just a stupid game. I know that even if I did make mistakes today it just wasn't my day once again.
Dawn
Well its not dawn, its early afternoon, but dawn just sounds better. I usually never post before my sessions but I didn't feel like posting last night. I had a bunch of things to do so I got a late start yesterday. I sat down around 8pm hoping to be in some great friday night games. I was but I ran so horrid it was disgusting. I managed to bang my head against the wall for 5500 hands and then finally quit, stuck just over 2 buyins.
I used to think losings days or even sessions at NL5 were impossible for me. I don't think I've had more than 10 losing sessions ever and with 520k hands played, I estimate thats around 170 sessions. Thats around %5 which I guess is still pretty good. I have had 3 losing days ever now.
People always say they run so bad or they run worse than anyone. I try to stay away from that talk b/c its self defeating. But its hard not to say anything either. Its hard not to think things like why is this happening to me again? How can they possibly hit these miracle cards over and over again?
I don't think I will ever understand this game sometimes. I just hate to lose so much. Its not the money as I don't play in any game where a loss could hurt me. I mean I lost 20 bucks. Nobody cares about 20 bucks. Its the having to face defeat to complete idiots that gets to me. In the end, I played great, I outplayed them in every facet of the game, and I lost. Almost nowhere else in sports or competitive ventures can this sort of thing happen.
It pisses me off even more b/c I just want the fuck out of the micros so badly. I want to make some real money. Ironically, I think I would feel much more comfortable having losings days at higher limits b/c at least then I would be where I want to be. I feel like they are just kicking me when I'm down through these bad runs in August and now in November. I feel cursed. A lot of bad feelings well up.
But this is what has held me back every time before. I just give up for a few days and it turns into an extended streak of non play and I cashout and I'm back to square one. I am determined not to let this happen this time. I am going to grind through it no matter what happens.
I'm just going to assume that I'm going to run bad forever so I'm going to get into the habit of taking mini breaks midway through bad sessions. I will hit the sit out all button on my script and go walk for 10 minutes. I'm not going to allow the bad side of variance to keep me from putting in the hands b/c I'm gaining bonuses and such anyways and they can fuck me til the sun comes up for all care.
I used to think losings days or even sessions at NL5 were impossible for me. I don't think I've had more than 10 losing sessions ever and with 520k hands played, I estimate thats around 170 sessions. Thats around %5 which I guess is still pretty good. I have had 3 losing days ever now.
People always say they run so bad or they run worse than anyone. I try to stay away from that talk b/c its self defeating. But its hard not to say anything either. Its hard not to think things like why is this happening to me again? How can they possibly hit these miracle cards over and over again?
I don't think I will ever understand this game sometimes. I just hate to lose so much. Its not the money as I don't play in any game where a loss could hurt me. I mean I lost 20 bucks. Nobody cares about 20 bucks. Its the having to face defeat to complete idiots that gets to me. In the end, I played great, I outplayed them in every facet of the game, and I lost. Almost nowhere else in sports or competitive ventures can this sort of thing happen.
It pisses me off even more b/c I just want the fuck out of the micros so badly. I want to make some real money. Ironically, I think I would feel much more comfortable having losings days at higher limits b/c at least then I would be where I want to be. I feel like they are just kicking me when I'm down through these bad runs in August and now in November. I feel cursed. A lot of bad feelings well up.
But this is what has held me back every time before. I just give up for a few days and it turns into an extended streak of non play and I cashout and I'm back to square one. I am determined not to let this happen this time. I am going to grind through it no matter what happens.
I'm just going to assume that I'm going to run bad forever so I'm going to get into the habit of taking mini breaks midway through bad sessions. I will hit the sit out all button on my script and go walk for 10 minutes. I'm not going to allow the bad side of variance to keep me from putting in the hands b/c I'm gaining bonuses and such anyways and they can fuck me til the sun comes up for all care.
Long Day
Almost 12k hands. Didn't run particularly well but it wasn't terrible either. I think I just realized partway through the day that none of the shit that happens each day even matters. Its just cards and I'm always gonna be at the mercy of them in the short term. Tilt is just fucking stupid. There is no point in feeling like the world is out to get you. That you will never make a hand. That you will never have a hand hold. The truth is that these things will happen.
I see these guys on Stars who just grind all day every day at higher limits. Many of them are pretty bad at poker and are strictly rakeback pros. With their tiny winrates, the variance must be insane. There must be a point at which you just stop worrying about it. I think it happens when you play 10k hands every day. There is always going to be those disaster sessions from time to time. No one is totally prone from tilt, but the day to day stuff just really shouldnt matter at all.
From a strat perspective, I realized today that I gotta pound on them more in position. Just because they call with any pair/any draw doesn't mean I shouldn't bet. At least 1/3 of the time I take it down when they literally have nothing and the other times I can catch up or just show down a winning Ace/King high hand. I think OOP is still a different story and I need to continue checking everything but decent to strong pairs and big draws to them.
I see these guys on Stars who just grind all day every day at higher limits. Many of them are pretty bad at poker and are strictly rakeback pros. With their tiny winrates, the variance must be insane. There must be a point at which you just stop worrying about it. I think it happens when you play 10k hands every day. There is always going to be those disaster sessions from time to time. No one is totally prone from tilt, but the day to day stuff just really shouldnt matter at all.
From a strat perspective, I realized today that I gotta pound on them more in position. Just because they call with any pair/any draw doesn't mean I shouldn't bet. At least 1/3 of the time I take it down when they literally have nothing and the other times I can catch up or just show down a winning Ace/King high hand. I think OOP is still a different story and I need to continue checking everything but decent to strong pairs and big draws to them.
Put in work son
So I played a fair bit today ~6900 hands and things went considerably better. The players I play against are so astronomically bad at poker. Which is of course a good thing for me. This is in fact how I picture them in my head
They don't fold ANYTHING, so I figure im cbetting about 30% of the time or so lol.
That is, I cbet when I have something. That is it. Most of the time I don't even get a chance to cbet cuz I get donked into 75% of the time it seems lol. Anyways, pure best hand poker is the only way to beat the uber micro stakes, I am convinced.
I'm playing a style I like to call "mousey." That is 15/8/2. I literally just nuthunt and fastplay the hell out of 2 pair+. That is all.
And by fastplay I mean even go out and just bet twice the pot or more. River overbet shoves with the nuts etc. They will call. Of course, they will call. Their bluffs on the river are absolutely retarded in size and make no logical sense.
I do a ton of river bluff catching after pot controlling certain spots on the turn. When they bet something thats actually close to the size of the pot, fold fold fold. Its always a big hand (excluding the maniacs).
Anyways, heres the graph for the month so far (I didn't play the first 5 days of this month). As I said yesterday, that dip at the end (which you can see a lot more clearly here) represents the most variance I have ever encountered at NL5 through 1/2 million hands.
My return to serious grinding in November has so far been wrought with a pretty horrific run. But its all good. My winrate 7.25 ptbb/100 is starting to get close to my alltime which is 9.
I am going to hit silverstar on Stars soon and buy up a bunch of $50 dollar bonuses. I have 16k FPP's hoarded up. I didn't want to do the bonuses before b/c its a lesser value than the ones at higher VIP tiers, but fuck it. I need out of NL5 asap.
They don't fold ANYTHING, so I figure im cbetting about 30% of the time or so lol.That is, I cbet when I have something. That is it. Most of the time I don't even get a chance to cbet cuz I get donked into 75% of the time it seems lol. Anyways, pure best hand poker is the only way to beat the uber micro stakes, I am convinced.
I'm playing a style I like to call "mousey." That is 15/8/2. I literally just nuthunt and fastplay the hell out of 2 pair+. That is all.
And by fastplay I mean even go out and just bet twice the pot or more. River overbet shoves with the nuts etc. They will call. Of course, they will call. Their bluffs on the river are absolutely retarded in size and make no logical sense.
I do a ton of river bluff catching after pot controlling certain spots on the turn. When they bet something thats actually close to the size of the pot, fold fold fold. Its always a big hand (excluding the maniacs).
Anyways, heres the graph for the month so far (I didn't play the first 5 days of this month). As I said yesterday, that dip at the end (which you can see a lot more clearly here) represents the most variance I have ever encountered at NL5 through 1/2 million hands.
My return to serious grinding in November has so far been wrought with a pretty horrific run. But its all good. My winrate 7.25 ptbb/100 is starting to get close to my alltime which is 9.
I am going to hit silverstar on Stars soon and buy up a bunch of $50 dollar bonuses. I have 16k FPP's hoarded up. I didn't want to do the bonuses before b/c its a lesser value than the ones at higher VIP tiers, but fuck it. I need out of NL5 asap.
Back
Well I guess I'll start posting here again. Sorry for the random AWOL for those that read this. I've done it before, hopefully I won't do it again. During the past 2 months, overall I haven't played near as much as I was before. But I have been playing a fair bit so far this month.
I don't currently have any explicit goals like before except to finally get the hell out of the micros. Not playing consistently is why I am still there. Which has been the main theme of this blog since the beginning. It makes me sick to be playing NL5 when I can beat so much higher, but I don't have the bankroll to do so b/c of cashouts and lack of play.
For hilarity's sake, this is my graph at NL5 this year. I don't know how to make it bigger, click on it for larger size.
That tiny downward turn at the end (which is yesterday's night session and both of today's sessions) is actually the biggest downswing I have ever faced at NL5 over 1/2 million hands. It represents 8 buyins. For both sessions today I had to insta close all tables to avoid full blown tilt. I can't remember when I last had to do that, and 2 in one day is just lol.
So its pure ridiculousness lately. I'm just waiting for it to stop so I can get back to some serious grinding again. I can handle all the day to day regular beats and coolers but this stuff lately is way out of the norm and does prevent me from playing as much as I want.
Anyways, to sum it all up. Fuck you poker. I will win. In the end. Well, I already have won a lot over the years. But I will win way way more and conquer the world and stuff.
I don't currently have any explicit goals like before except to finally get the hell out of the micros. Not playing consistently is why I am still there. Which has been the main theme of this blog since the beginning. It makes me sick to be playing NL5 when I can beat so much higher, but I don't have the bankroll to do so b/c of cashouts and lack of play.
For hilarity's sake, this is my graph at NL5 this year. I don't know how to make it bigger, click on it for larger size.
That tiny downward turn at the end (which is yesterday's night session and both of today's sessions) is actually the biggest downswing I have ever faced at NL5 over 1/2 million hands. It represents 8 buyins. For both sessions today I had to insta close all tables to avoid full blown tilt. I can't remember when I last had to do that, and 2 in one day is just lol.
So its pure ridiculousness lately. I'm just waiting for it to stop so I can get back to some serious grinding again. I can handle all the day to day regular beats and coolers but this stuff lately is way out of the norm and does prevent me from playing as much as I want.
Anyways, to sum it all up. Fuck you poker. I will win. In the end. Well, I already have won a lot over the years. But I will win way way more and conquer the world and stuff.