It's May 31 and I've just finished playing in my last games for the month (two unsuccessful SitnGos, in both of which I ended up all-in against AA!). It must be time to review my progress for the month of May.
I played in three Fixed Limit Texas Holdem sessions (7hrs), three Multi-Table Tournaments (6hrs) and seventeen SitnGos (14hrs).
In the FLTH games I had one very small win and two small losses. In total it was only a small loss, mainly because I'm still playing this game at very low limits.
In the MTTs I came 46/263, 10/251 and 78/164, the 10th place giving me a small cash. The overall result was a small loss.
In the SNGs I cashed in seven out of seventeen games and five of those were first places. That tells me that if I make the top three I usually end up winning, which suggests my end-game is pretty good. I ended up well ahead overall in SNGs, which more than made up for the losses in the other two game types.
The overall result for the month was a 6% increase in my bankroll which, as it happens, was my target figure. So I'm pretty happy with that result, especially as this is the third month in a row where I've come out ahead. Lets hope the trend continues.
Apart from the fact that I still haven't worked out how to successfully play FLTH, my biggest disappointment is that I didn't play any live games this month (not counting a couple of NPPL games up at the club, but they don't count as real poker games). So my main goal for June is to find some live poker games to play in. And to stay in the black in the online games. Here's hoping...
Thursday, 31 May 2012
Tuesday, 29 May 2012
My Bankroll Plan
I got a little change in my pocket goin' jing a ling a ling... Georgia Satellites
When I started reading books about poker, one of the first things I learned was the importance of having a dedicated poker bankroll. This means that winnings don't get spent: they go into the bankroll and that money is only ever used for poker play and nothing else. Not only does this help you to keep control of what you spend on poker, but it forces you to keep records of your wins and losses. It is because of these records that I know that I started keeping a poker bankroll in October of 2008.
Unfortunately, I didn't adopt the second part of the equation, bankroll management, until much later. For a year and a half I continued to enter games that required me to buy in with a big chunk of my existing stake. The result was that, with the natural ups and downs of poker, my bankroll would go up for a while, then get busted down to zero again. To be fair, there weren't that many games available to me that offered a reasonably low buy-in. But in March 2010 a local pub started playing Texas Holdem Cash Tournaments for a $10 buy-in. From then on I adopted a bankroll management plan.
Most poker experts suggest that you shouldn't buy in for more than 5% of your stake, and some go as low as 2%. I couldn't afford to do that so I adopted a complex sliding scale to govern my buy-in level, starting at 20% and reducing down to 2% as the size of my bankroll increased. This was less than ideal but was the best I could do as long as I was only playing in live games.
I started playing online in February 2011. At this stage I could have reduced my maximum buy-in because there are so many low-cost games available online. However, I kept operating with a maximum buy-in level of around 20% until May of that year. That's when I stumbled upon an article by poker pro Chris Ferguson that reminded me of the importance of bankroll management. Ferguson's article outlined three simple rules that made a lot of sense to me. I adopted them immediately and have been following them ever since. Here they are:
1. Never buy in to a ring game (cash game) or a sitngo for more than 5% of your bankroll.
2. Never buy in to a multi-table tournament for more than 2% of your bankroll.
3. In ring games, if your chip stack has reached 10% of your total bankroll, leave the game.
I have added some minor modifications of my own to these rules. Firstly, I will buy in to a single table Satellite Tournament for up to 2%, and a multi table Satellite Tournament for up to 1%. I don't actually play in satellites because I think the odds against cashing are too high, but I added this just in case I change my mind one day. Secondly, I apply these rules to a single poker session, rather than a single game. So if my maximum buy-in was $50 and I wanted to play in a single Sitngo, I could buy in for up to $50. But if I intended to play in up to four Sitngos, then I'd buy in for up to $12.50.
So that's my bankroll plan. The beauty of this sort of scheme is that if you have a losing streak, your maximum buy-in reduces along with the stake size. This means that it's very difficult to actually run out of money. You just keep dropping down to lower levels. You'd have to be a consistently bad player to actually go broke. That's good news.
Read more at http://www.chrisferguson.com/article-4
When I started reading books about poker, one of the first things I learned was the importance of having a dedicated poker bankroll. This means that winnings don't get spent: they go into the bankroll and that money is only ever used for poker play and nothing else. Not only does this help you to keep control of what you spend on poker, but it forces you to keep records of your wins and losses. It is because of these records that I know that I started keeping a poker bankroll in October of 2008.
Unfortunately, I didn't adopt the second part of the equation, bankroll management, until much later. For a year and a half I continued to enter games that required me to buy in with a big chunk of my existing stake. The result was that, with the natural ups and downs of poker, my bankroll would go up for a while, then get busted down to zero again. To be fair, there weren't that many games available to me that offered a reasonably low buy-in. But in March 2010 a local pub started playing Texas Holdem Cash Tournaments for a $10 buy-in. From then on I adopted a bankroll management plan.
Most poker experts suggest that you shouldn't buy in for more than 5% of your stake, and some go as low as 2%. I couldn't afford to do that so I adopted a complex sliding scale to govern my buy-in level, starting at 20% and reducing down to 2% as the size of my bankroll increased. This was less than ideal but was the best I could do as long as I was only playing in live games.
I started playing online in February 2011. At this stage I could have reduced my maximum buy-in because there are so many low-cost games available online. However, I kept operating with a maximum buy-in level of around 20% until May of that year. That's when I stumbled upon an article by poker pro Chris Ferguson that reminded me of the importance of bankroll management. Ferguson's article outlined three simple rules that made a lot of sense to me. I adopted them immediately and have been following them ever since. Here they are:
1. Never buy in to a ring game (cash game) or a sitngo for more than 5% of your bankroll.
2. Never buy in to a multi-table tournament for more than 2% of your bankroll.
3. In ring games, if your chip stack has reached 10% of your total bankroll, leave the game.
I have added some minor modifications of my own to these rules. Firstly, I will buy in to a single table Satellite Tournament for up to 2%, and a multi table Satellite Tournament for up to 1%. I don't actually play in satellites because I think the odds against cashing are too high, but I added this just in case I change my mind one day. Secondly, I apply these rules to a single poker session, rather than a single game. So if my maximum buy-in was $50 and I wanted to play in a single Sitngo, I could buy in for up to $50. But if I intended to play in up to four Sitngos, then I'd buy in for up to $12.50.
So that's my bankroll plan. The beauty of this sort of scheme is that if you have a losing streak, your maximum buy-in reduces along with the stake size. This means that it's very difficult to actually run out of money. You just keep dropping down to lower levels. You'd have to be a consistently bad player to actually go broke. That's good news.
Read more at http://www.chrisferguson.com/article-4
Thursday, 24 May 2012
Playing Check 'n' Call
I played in another 6max FLTH session last night and, as usual, came out behind. It's a tricky game and the game-plan I tried last night didn't work. After nine sessions, here's what I've learned about playing online 6max Fixed Limit Texas Holdem at the lower buy-in levels:
*Play is incredibly passive. Players mostly check or call with little raising and not that much folding. It's not unusual to see a hand checked all the way to the river.
*Most players will limp in to see the flop with a very wide range of hands.
*A single pre-flop raise may induce one player to fold, but the rest will all call. A further re-raise (3bet) or cap bet (4bet) will not generally cause anyone to fold. If they come in for one raise, they'll come in for three.
*There are usually one or two players who habitually raise pre-flop with good hands (high pairs, high aces, picture cards). The rest just call.
*3bets almost always get re-raised. If the betting is capped, at least one player has QQ, KK or AA.
*Post-flop most players will call a bet or raise if they have any sort of draw, however unlikely.
*These players can be bluffed out of a pot, but only in the most 'bluff-friendly' situations. Most of the time they hang on like grim death.
*Because there are so many players in most pots, good starting hands get drawn out on A LOT.
*If one of these players starts raising post-flop, it means they have a monster hand. Fold your pocket Kings and run.
*These guys don't like to chat much, and don't appear to have a sense of humour.
I accept no responsibility for any losses that may be incurred by anyone acting on the mixture of facts and wild generalisations set out above.
Now that I have some insight into the way these fixed limit games are played, I have to figure out a way to beat them. That's the tricky part.
*Play is incredibly passive. Players mostly check or call with little raising and not that much folding. It's not unusual to see a hand checked all the way to the river.
*Most players will limp in to see the flop with a very wide range of hands.
*A single pre-flop raise may induce one player to fold, but the rest will all call. A further re-raise (3bet) or cap bet (4bet) will not generally cause anyone to fold. If they come in for one raise, they'll come in for three.
*There are usually one or two players who habitually raise pre-flop with good hands (high pairs, high aces, picture cards). The rest just call.
*3bets almost always get re-raised. If the betting is capped, at least one player has QQ, KK or AA.
*Post-flop most players will call a bet or raise if they have any sort of draw, however unlikely.
*These players can be bluffed out of a pot, but only in the most 'bluff-friendly' situations. Most of the time they hang on like grim death.
*Because there are so many players in most pots, good starting hands get drawn out on A LOT.
*If one of these players starts raising post-flop, it means they have a monster hand. Fold your pocket Kings and run.
*These guys don't like to chat much, and don't appear to have a sense of humour.
I accept no responsibility for any losses that may be incurred by anyone acting on the mixture of facts and wild generalisations set out above.
Now that I have some insight into the way these fixed limit games are played, I have to figure out a way to beat them. That's the tricky part.
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Ace on the River
I played in three sitngos a couple of nights ago. It was originally supposed to be just two games but I got knocked out of the first one early. Really early. In the first hand. Not in MY first hand but in THE first hand of the game.
I limped in with 4 5 on the dealer button. The flop was A 2 3, giving me the absolute stone-cold nuts. Player X put in a decent sized bet, everyone else folded and I called. I figure maybe he has an Ace. The turn is a nothing card, he bets about half the pot and I call. Then an Ace hits the river. Now a full house is possible (or even quads) so I no longer have the nuts. He puts in a big bet. Maybe he's just rivered trip Aces, which is very good for me, or maybe he just hit a full house, which is very bad for me. In the end I get greedy and go all-in, he calls and shows A 2 for full on Aces. Bye bye.
This is one of those situations where raising is a bad idea. Most of the time you're only going to get called by a better hand. I should have just called. Hopefully, I'll remember this next time.
The second game I played I couldn't hit any decent cards and/or decent boards and got knocked out 6/9. The third game was a real roller coaster. I started out well and was the big stack for a while, then I took a couple of big hits. Eventually, I ended up with just one big blind left. Somehow I was able to claw my way back into the running and eventually took out first place. So in the end I came out slightly ahead. Not only that, but I've set a new personal record for elimination from a tournament. An interesting evening.
I limped in with 4 5 on the dealer button. The flop was A 2 3, giving me the absolute stone-cold nuts. Player X put in a decent sized bet, everyone else folded and I called. I figure maybe he has an Ace. The turn is a nothing card, he bets about half the pot and I call. Then an Ace hits the river. Now a full house is possible (or even quads) so I no longer have the nuts. He puts in a big bet. Maybe he's just rivered trip Aces, which is very good for me, or maybe he just hit a full house, which is very bad for me. In the end I get greedy and go all-in, he calls and shows A 2 for full on Aces. Bye bye.
This is one of those situations where raising is a bad idea. Most of the time you're only going to get called by a better hand. I should have just called. Hopefully, I'll remember this next time.
The second game I played I couldn't hit any decent cards and/or decent boards and got knocked out 6/9. The third game was a real roller coaster. I started out well and was the big stack for a while, then I took a couple of big hits. Eventually, I ended up with just one big blind left. Somehow I was able to claw my way back into the running and eventually took out first place. So in the end I came out slightly ahead. Not only that, but I've set a new personal record for elimination from a tournament. An interesting evening.
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
Plan C
So much for my plan. I wanted to play fixed limit Holdem tonight, but no-one was playing. So I went to Sitngos, but no-one was playing at my usual buy-in level. After a long wait I ended up playing in a lower level game. Meanwhile, I entered a cheapie tournament, as there were still no limit games going on.
I did ok in the Sitngo but the tournament started while I was still playing, so I had to play two tables. I don't like playing more than one table. I concentrated mainly on the Sitngo and eventually came first. But I didn't pay enough attention to the tournament and was well below the average stack size by the time I was back to one table.
Here are some editted highlights from the night's play:
...Getting short stacked I get AQ in the small blind. Five players have already limped in so I raise 5X the blind. Four players call! There's an Ace on the flop and I go all-in. One player calls with A4 and I collect a nice chip stack. Went from 117/138 to 27th place.
...Suited AK in early position. I raise 4x blind and get re-raised x3. Reluctantly, I call. Flop is J Q *. I bet and get called, then when the J pairs on the turn I end up all-in with nothing but A high and an inside straight draw. The other player has 99. Then the Q pairs on the river giving me two pair with an Ace kicker! Another Dumb Luck Moment.
...I raise with KQ and the big stack calls. When a King hits the flop I raise 3/4 pot and get called. Another 3/4 pot on the turn also gets called. I hit two pair on the river, go all-in and get called again. He had A2 and was calling those big bets with bottom pair. Go figure. This puts me in 3rd place.
...Already in the money, with less than ten blinds left I go all-in with (guess what?) King Jack. I'm called by JT and KT and end up winning with King high. 16/25.
...Finally I fold my way to 10th position, which is the next level where the payout increases. With about six blinds left and bottom of the table I go all-in with KQ against AJ and Ace high wins. I finish 10/251.
Not a bad result I guess but the payout in these tournaments is heavily weighted towards the upper end. I actually made more money playing in the Sitngo for an hour than I did after playing for three hours in the tournament. There must be a lesson there somewhere.
I did ok in the Sitngo but the tournament started while I was still playing, so I had to play two tables. I don't like playing more than one table. I concentrated mainly on the Sitngo and eventually came first. But I didn't pay enough attention to the tournament and was well below the average stack size by the time I was back to one table.
Here are some editted highlights from the night's play:
...Getting short stacked I get AQ in the small blind. Five players have already limped in so I raise 5X the blind. Four players call! There's an Ace on the flop and I go all-in. One player calls with A4 and I collect a nice chip stack. Went from 117/138 to 27th place.
...Suited AK in early position. I raise 4x blind and get re-raised x3. Reluctantly, I call. Flop is J Q *. I bet and get called, then when the J pairs on the turn I end up all-in with nothing but A high and an inside straight draw. The other player has 99. Then the Q pairs on the river giving me two pair with an Ace kicker! Another Dumb Luck Moment.
...I raise with KQ and the big stack calls. When a King hits the flop I raise 3/4 pot and get called. Another 3/4 pot on the turn also gets called. I hit two pair on the river, go all-in and get called again. He had A2 and was calling those big bets with bottom pair. Go figure. This puts me in 3rd place.
...Already in the money, with less than ten blinds left I go all-in with (guess what?) King Jack. I'm called by JT and KT and end up winning with King high. 16/25.
...Finally I fold my way to 10th position, which is the next level where the payout increases. With about six blinds left and bottom of the table I go all-in with KQ against AJ and Ace high wins. I finish 10/251.
Not a bad result I guess but the payout in these tournaments is heavily weighted towards the upper end. I actually made more money playing in the Sitngo for an hour than I did after playing for three hours in the tournament. There must be a lesson there somewhere.
Monday, 14 May 2012
The Plan
I'm a man with a plan. Before I started playing online it was a matter of playing in any live game that I could find. But now I can pick and choose. I can choose the buy-in level, the bet limits, the type of game, the number of players etc etc.
My online play last year consisted of two game types: multi-table Texas Holdem tournaments with no rebuys or add-ons and pot limit Omaha ring games (cash games). I did quite well in the first and quite badly in the second. Then, during the summer months (December to February), I played mainly in Sitngos (single table on-demand tournaments) and did reasonably well in them.
This year I am once more playing in two game types: the format that I had the best results from last year - multi-table tournaments - and a new format I haven't played before - Texas Holdem fixed limit 6 max ring games. Having played only no limit or pot limit games before, I wanted to try my hand at fixed limit. The reason I'm playing on six player tables is very simple: no-one is playing on the ten player tables at the lower buy-ins on 888.
However, there is a flaw in this plan. If I'm playing in a MTT I have to allow at least three hours for the game, in case I make it through to the end. Of course, chances are I'll be knocked out in the first hour, but there's no way of knowing where I'll finish beforehand. Likewise, for the ring games, I want to allow about three hours minimum for the session. You really have to allow enough time to balance out the ups and downs that are the norm in any poker game. On top of this, MTTs are played at set times that are not always convenient and the fixed limit ring game tables only fill up at certain times.
The solution to these problems is simple enough. If I'm pushed for time or the game I want to play isn't available, Ill play in a Sitngo. These games, by their nature, are always available and the waiting time for a table to fill up is usually just a matter of minutes. What's more, even if I play all the way into first place, the game only takes about an hour.
So that's the plan for 2012. So far, my results from the fixed limit games have not been good. It's a tricky game. But I'm playing at the lower limits, trying to learn the finer points of the game. Whether I'll succeed, only time can tell.
My online play last year consisted of two game types: multi-table Texas Holdem tournaments with no rebuys or add-ons and pot limit Omaha ring games (cash games). I did quite well in the first and quite badly in the second. Then, during the summer months (December to February), I played mainly in Sitngos (single table on-demand tournaments) and did reasonably well in them.
This year I am once more playing in two game types: the format that I had the best results from last year - multi-table tournaments - and a new format I haven't played before - Texas Holdem fixed limit 6 max ring games. Having played only no limit or pot limit games before, I wanted to try my hand at fixed limit. The reason I'm playing on six player tables is very simple: no-one is playing on the ten player tables at the lower buy-ins on 888.
However, there is a flaw in this plan. If I'm playing in a MTT I have to allow at least three hours for the game, in case I make it through to the end. Of course, chances are I'll be knocked out in the first hour, but there's no way of knowing where I'll finish beforehand. Likewise, for the ring games, I want to allow about three hours minimum for the session. You really have to allow enough time to balance out the ups and downs that are the norm in any poker game. On top of this, MTTs are played at set times that are not always convenient and the fixed limit ring game tables only fill up at certain times.
The solution to these problems is simple enough. If I'm pushed for time or the game I want to play isn't available, Ill play in a Sitngo. These games, by their nature, are always available and the waiting time for a table to fill up is usually just a matter of minutes. What's more, even if I play all the way into first place, the game only takes about an hour.
So that's the plan for 2012. So far, my results from the fixed limit games have not been good. It's a tricky game. But I'm playing at the lower limits, trying to learn the finer points of the game. Whether I'll succeed, only time can tell.
Friday, 11 May 2012
Back in the Game
Well, I'm back in the 888 poker room. After staring at the update message for a while, I uninstalled the program, went to the 888 site and downloaded all over again. If this happens again I'll have to seriously consider playing somewhere else.
So I missed my Wednesday night poker fix. I entered in a cheapy MTT (multi table tournament) tonight though, and just finished playing. Finished 46/263 after two hours' play. I started out pretty good and was in the top ten for a while, but I slowly lost chips through the middle stages. By the end I was down to less than ten blinds and went all-in with only A high after a flop that looked pretty safe. Turns out my opposition was slow-playing his set. Oops.
Here's my Dumb Luck Moment of the week:
Early on, I pick up QQ, so I bet five times the blind, and get two callers. The flop is Q 5 6, with two spades, so I bet the same amount with my set of Queens and get two callers again. The turn is 7s, so this time I bet seven times the blind. One player folds, the other bets about half their stack. This is bad. It's highly likely that my opponent has hit a straight or a flush and I'm in big trouble. But I can't let go of my trip Queens, so I go all-in. I'm called and the caller shows As 4s for an Ace-high flush. Oops! Then another seven comes on the river, giving me a full house and doubling my stack.
This was an incredibly stupid call and I just got lucky on the river. This is exactly the sort of thing that I curse other players for doing. I guess sometimes playing like a donkey pays off.
So I missed my Wednesday night poker fix. I entered in a cheapy MTT (multi table tournament) tonight though, and just finished playing. Finished 46/263 after two hours' play. I started out pretty good and was in the top ten for a while, but I slowly lost chips through the middle stages. By the end I was down to less than ten blinds and went all-in with only A high after a flop that looked pretty safe. Turns out my opposition was slow-playing his set. Oops.
Here's my Dumb Luck Moment of the week:
Early on, I pick up QQ, so I bet five times the blind, and get two callers. The flop is Q 5 6, with two spades, so I bet the same amount with my set of Queens and get two callers again. The turn is 7s, so this time I bet seven times the blind. One player folds, the other bets about half their stack. This is bad. It's highly likely that my opponent has hit a straight or a flush and I'm in big trouble. But I can't let go of my trip Queens, so I go all-in. I'm called and the caller shows As 4s for an Ace-high flush. Oops! Then another seven comes on the river, giving me a full house and doubling my stack.
This was an incredibly stupid call and I just got lucky on the river. This is exactly the sort of thing that I curse other players for doing. I guess sometimes playing like a donkey pays off.
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
Locked Out
It's Wednesday night. I should be playing poker. I had plenty of time to start this blog today, on my poker playing night, because I can't get into my online site. Again. I play on 888 Poker. Generally, it's a pretty good site. Even though I have an ancient, steam-powered computer and use ultra-slow dial-up, I don't get many disconnection problems.
However, a few weeks ago, 888 decided to upgrade their software and when I tried to open the program, all I got was a message saying 'Please wait a few minutes while we upgrade the software'. Unfortunately, no matter how long I waited or how many times I tried to reload the program, nothing happened. In the end, I uninstalled the 888 program, went back to the website, and downloaded the 'improved' program. What a hassle!
Now, it's happened again. This is very annoying.
However, a few weeks ago, 888 decided to upgrade their software and when I tried to open the program, all I got was a message saying 'Please wait a few minutes while we upgrade the software'. Unfortunately, no matter how long I waited or how many times I tried to reload the program, nothing happened. In the end, I uninstalled the 888 program, went back to the website, and downloaded the 'improved' program. What a hassle!
Now, it's happened again. This is very annoying.
The Story So Far
I've played live poker games off and on for most of my adult life, but it's only recently that poker has become my main leisure activity. It started five or six years ago when they started showing poker tournaments on ESPN. This was my introduction to Texas Holdem, which I'd never heard of before, and also to the tournament format. Not long after that the poker boom hit New Zealand; all the pubs chucked out their karaoke machines and started running Texas Holdem tournaments for bar tab prizes. I played in a few of these and even went up to the Auckland Casino a few times to try my hand at the games up there, but it wasn't till I read my first poker book that I really got the bug.
After reading a few poker books I realised that there was actually a lot of theory and strategy to poker play and that there were even people who made a living out of playing the game. Well, I read a lot and played in as many games as I could find. Fortunately, a local pub started playing regular low buy-in cash tournaments and my wife and I went to quite a few of those. After about nine months of steady losses I actually started winning a few games.
Then, at the start of last year, I finally entered the 21st century and bought a computer! One of the first things I did was to download a poker program and start playing online. Although its become quite hard to find live games at a reasonably low buy-in, I can play online anytime I like and, most importantly, at any buy-in level I like.
So that's where I am now. I play every Wednesday night and I try to fit in at least one other session during the week if I can. It's my intention to post something on this site every time I play. I hope you'll join me as I try to climb the poker learning curve.
After reading a few poker books I realised that there was actually a lot of theory and strategy to poker play and that there were even people who made a living out of playing the game. Well, I read a lot and played in as many games as I could find. Fortunately, a local pub started playing regular low buy-in cash tournaments and my wife and I went to quite a few of those. After about nine months of steady losses I actually started winning a few games.
Then, at the start of last year, I finally entered the 21st century and bought a computer! One of the first things I did was to download a poker program and start playing online. Although its become quite hard to find live games at a reasonably low buy-in, I can play online anytime I like and, most importantly, at any buy-in level I like.
So that's where I am now. I play every Wednesday night and I try to fit in at least one other session during the week if I can. It's my intention to post something on this site every time I play. I hope you'll join me as I try to climb the poker learning curve.
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