Review of September

I had a bizarre final two days for September, losing 1.2K on Saturday and winning 1.7K today. I was up 2.4K at one point today and pounding my chest, but lost a cooler as my final hand for the month that stung. Oh well. It still is very psychologically satisfying to dig myself out of the hole I was in yesterday.



Overall, September was a mediocre month, and the reoccuring theme was that I didn't push myself enough. I played about 7K hands less than I said I would, and didn't finally dive into 2/4 NL until the end of the month. I do feel like I played well when I did play, but I didn't play nearly enough if I want to keep progressing. I'm hell bent on having a $10K month before the end of 2007 without having to have played more than 25-30K hands any single month. I'm also hell bent on being one of the best mid-stakes players on Full Tilt by the end of the year.


Goals for October:
-Play at least 20K hands at 2/4 NL 6 max
-Play at least 6 sessions of 5/5 NL live
-Take notes on most CardRunners videos (unless it's a video from Andrew)
-Post at least 5 hands per week on CR forums

The harsh reality of online poker

Cardrunners released its new site layout today, and CTS/Muckemsayuhh is the newest Cardrunners pro. He is a very respected high stakes NL and PLO player. He's also only 20 years old, but you would never peg him as being so young because of the amount of respect he has in the online poker community.

Lots of the online winners, most of which are in my 20-25 age range, say that they aren't worried about the future of online poker. I am trying to be a realist. The main problem lies in the fact that poker (unlike the real economy) is a negative sum game. Rake takes tens of millions of dollars out of the online poker economy every year, and the winners obviously take money out of the economy when they cash out. Thus, the only way for the online poker economy to maintain itself requires a LOT of new blood and new money to continually enter it.

The amount of information at anyone's disposal is amazing. The learning curve is so quick that one could go from novice, to winning HS player in less than a year if they push themselves. The amount of people in my age range who are rapidly becoming stronger and stronger NL players is insane. With CTS's new video, that much more information is being consumed by thousands of players.


It has gotten to the point that the shark-to-fish ratio is getting very sour. So many people are excellent players, while fish are more reluctant to part with money now (in comparison to the golden PartyPoker days). In the high stakes games, “fish” don’t really exist anymore. The high stakes games online are so incredibly dry that it’s a bunch of excellent regulars battling it out with little edge over each other.

What all this means, I don’t know. Online poker may just be a complete niche in a few years, where the games are so tough that there is little money to be won. In the mean time, I need to do everything I can to stay with the pack as games keep getting tougher. I’ll start right now by taking notes on CTS’s video, which is extremely insightful.

Guys love to sweat me

I did a sweat session tonight with a poker friend, jaywks. The session was very bizarre. I ended down, in spite of getting more JJ-AA than I ever have, but the session was very productive. Having poker friends is extremely important, and doing sweat sessions are the best way to collaborate with another serious poker player. I've done sweat sessions with 2-3 other guys as well, and they are a great way to improve your game.

I finished down 7.5 buy-ins, or $1500 during that horrible day I blogged about last week. While losing that much in one day is pretty atrocious, I didn't get down on myself. I went to bed, woke up and it was a new day. I've gotten much better at coping with tough times in poker lately. I recovered those losses and a bit more since then, in spite of not playing very much.

Time to hit the sack. I got a bunch of schoolwork tomorrow and then I'm gonna go play some 2/5 NL live tomorrow night. Good luck at the tables, everyone. My next entry I'd like to discuss High Stakes Poker, a show that I have a love-hate relationship with.

Playing very badly

As of the time I'm writing this post (7 PM EST), I am down almost 6 buy-ins on the day. Unless I start winning some of that back tonight, this is the worst day I've ever had for poker (in terms of BIs). This really sucks because it means I need to work on my fundamentals again, and this whole fiasco is going to delay me from permanently moving up to 2/4 NL.

I think that I have been playing badly the past few days, but I've been lucky to break even the couple sessions previous. It has finally caught up today in a big way. My opponents are catching a lot of hands, and I'm just closing my eyes and throwing money into the pot.

Some of my perceived holes of late:
1.) I am not c-betting the flop enough (I check behind ace high or pairs too much)
2.) I am stacking off WAY too light vs solid regulars
3.) I am firing multiple barrels vs opponents who I shouldn't be bluffing
4.) I am making hero calls on the turn and river when I can only beat air

This list doesn't even have a lot in common, other than the fact that I'm certainly a.) rushing myself, and b.) not playing patient poker. Once I'm in a pot, I have to win the pot. It is reminiscent of how I was playing before this summer. I need to figure out how to switch myself back, and do it quick.

But you gotta make the money, yo!

I just busted out of the Pokerstars WCOOP #1 event ($200+15 NL 6 handed). I finished 556/4610, just 22 spots out of the money. It is frustrating, but I was playing to win the tournament. I got extremely aggressive in the last half hour before I busted. I probably was spewy, but I'd rather play to give myself a chance for first. So many of the people in this tournament were trying so hard just to make the money, which is a recipe for never getting really deep.

I gave this tournament my all, which I can't say for most tournaments I entered this year. I'd make a horrible professional tournament player, but it can be enjoyable to play 1-2 a month. I just need to ensure I'm going to try my hardest if I enter one, otherwise I am wasting my time and my money. I don't regret playing this tournament, though. It was a good structure, and just the right buy-in. I wasn't taking a big shot, yet it's enough money to make me feel invested enough to focus.

Anyway... this past week, I've played less poker than any other week in about 4 months. I've been busy with school, and just doing other things. I am going to get back on the grind now, though. I'm gonna log a few thousand hands at 200NL to get the rust off, and then grind 400NL seriously. I still have big expectations for September, and I'm going to follow through with them.

Let's step it up, man

I did well in a live session yesterday. I was on the fence about playing because live is boring (and less profitable), but I can't complain since I booked a nice win. However, I'm most glad about playing because I met a dealer who knows a lot about the bigger games running in in the area. He give me information on all of the 5/5 NL (and larger) games in the city.

I am going home this weekend to get my car (it was in the shop). A primary reason I'm bringing it out to school is for the poker games in the city and suburbs. I realize that playing live can be very slow, and I am not learning a lot when I play live versus online, but there is still a lot of money to be made. The 5/5 NL games here are full of complete idiots sitting with 1K+ stacks... lots of middle aged people looking to blow off some money.

I also played a session of 2/4 NL today, which was very swingy and ended with me breaking even. I butchered a hand worse than any hand in a while. I have no history with villain, so this is probably a fold... but even if we're not folding, my 5 bet is absolutely horrible.

Starting next week, I'd like to begin logging a lot more hands than I have been lately. I need to follow through with my goals, and start beating 2/4 NL. I'm at the point mentally where I don't feel on track with accomplishing my goals if I'm not having 10K+ months soon.

I question my intelligence sometimes

I just lost $43 pushing all in blind at $3 cap NL. Throwing away money is always fun (especially when it makes you tilty, thus stopping you from playing actual poker afterwards). Please punch me in the face if you ever catch me doing something stupid like this anymore.

In other news, I'm off to a good start for August. My winrate for 200NL is very pretty (6.5 PTBB/100 over 50K hands). I have proven I can beat 1/2 NL for a pretty solid rate, and I'm rolled for 400NL... so basically I need to stop being a pussy and start grinding 2/4.

Review of August

August has come to an unfortunate end, signaling the beginning of the academic year. I had a decent month for poker...





I feel dissatisfied though, because the second half of the month was very swingy, and I always feel like I am capable of more. The shots I have taken at 400NL and 600NL were against very favorable opponents, but I ran badly (ever since the AA vs AA hand). I'll stay away from 3/6 for a bit, but I definitely think I am capable of beating 2/4 NL. I'm just going to pull myself fully out of my current downswing before I move back up. I would like to see myself playing 2/4 NL as my main game by the end of the month.

Goals for September:
-Play at least 20K hands at NL 6 max, 5K hands at NL heads up
-Play WCOOP #1 on Pokerstars ($200+16 NL 6 max), put my full effort in
-Go back to 2/4 NL after recouping a few thousand

I'm not going to set a monetary goal, but I would like to have a 10K month soon. Winning 10K is very realistic for someone grinding 2/4 NL. All I have to do is believe I can do it. On 2+2, a screenshot was posted of someone who made 50K in one month at these stakes (over 53K hands).