2 Crazy Hands

This first hand is one of the worst I have seen from an opponent at super turbos

Full Tilt Poker Game #19573836654: $160+$9 Sit & Go (Super Turbo) (149508465), Table 1 - 30/60 - No Limit Hold'em - 11:31:32 ET - 2010/03/26
Seat 1: robbieg96 (350)
Seat 2: frankw1968 (900)
Seat 4: Hero (300)
Seat 5: Scoss (340)
Seat 6: imbrogio (285)
Seat 7: CaseL11 (200)
Seat 8: genghis888 (325)
Hero posts the big blind of 60
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero [4h Qs]
Scoss folds
imbrogio folds
CaseL11 folds
genghis888 calls 60
robbieg96 folds
frankw1968 folds
Hero checks
*** FLOP *** [6d 2c Ac]
Hero checks
genghis888 checks
*** TURN *** [6d 2c Ac] [5s]
Hero checks
genghis888 checks
*** RIVER *** [6d 2c Ac 5s] [8s]
Hero checks
genghis888 checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Hero shows [4h Qs] Ace Queen high
genghis888 shows [7d 9d] a straight, Nine high
genghis888 wins the pot (120) with a straight, Nine high

The second hand is the worst hand I have played in 16k super turbos

Full Tilt Poker Game #19577753369: $320+$15 Sit & Go (Super Turbo) (149538185), Table 1 - 40/80 - No Limit Hold'em - 14:45:24 ET - 2010/03/26
Seat 5: Hero (225)
Seat 6: DogGoneGood (1,530)
Seat 7: AlexR81 (90)
Seat 9: mcsplash007 (855)
AlexR81 posts the small blind of 40
mcsplash007 posts the big blind of 80
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero [Qh As]
Hero calls 80
DogGoneGood raises to 1,530, and is all in
AlexR81 folds
mcsplash007 folds
Hero calls 145, and is all in
DogGoneGood shows [Ah Kh]
Hero shows [Qh As]
Uncalled bet of 1,305 returned to DogGoneGood
*** FLOP *** [3s 8h Jd]
*** TURN *** [3s 8h Jd] [Qs]
*** RIVER *** [3s 8h Jd Qs] [8c]
DogGoneGood shows a pair of Eights
Hero shows two pair, Queens and Eights
Hero wins the pot (570) with two pair, Queens and Eights

The limp was awful. Then after big stack pushed and small stack folded, I got the dreaded "Next level is 50/100" and I had to call. Just a trainwreck.

I had a pretty bad day today but I ran good. EV -1500, but I won like 2500. My EV line is now breakeven for the last 2000 super turbos. I am definitely getting worried now. I will wait till the end of the month and reevaluate.

3 Days Done, 6 To Go

My goal was to play 150 games per day for the rest of the month (9 days). I have thus far played 356 games in 3 days, which is a little below pace. I really don't think I will be able to match my volume requirements but I will be happy with anything over 100 per day.

All I have been focusing on is making the right decisions and I have even tried to stop refreshing my red line after every game. I need to do this more and more and just worry about playing each hand. Here is my graph of the last 3 days -



















I have played around 14 hours in the 3 days and made around 740 in rakeback in addition to this.

My games per hour is ~ 25
My rakeback per hour is ~ 53

I do play quite a bit during non peak hours. I would estimate the above numbers to be around 30 and 60 respectively during peak hours.

I will update again after 3 days unless something spectacular happens. Run well.

Rest of the Month

After a good start to March, my EV line has been breakeven for over 1000 games. Sigh. But unlike the past, I am doing a lot better at not worrying about it. My goal for the rest of March is -

1. Reach 3500 games for the month.

That's all. That is 1377 more games, which works out to 153 games per day. That should be around 5-6 hours per day, so there really shouldn't be any excuse for me not doing it. I am really curious to see what my red line is at after those games. If it goes up at my overall winrate, I should make around 10k which includes 3k in rakeback.

March so far:

I am pretty excited to start playing regularly again after a week and want to keep crushing. The red line and green line are going up up up.

Holiday

So I ended up winning the rake sprint for 1000, which brings the weekend profit to 2445, running under EV. Not bad at all.

However, since then I have taken 4-5 days off. That is one of the single biggest advantages of being a professional poker player. You can set your own timings, take days off, and don't report to anyone. I watched the IPL, played football, went to the gym, caught up on tons of TV shows, and even played some live low stakes poker with friends. I thoroughly enjoyed my time off and got a pleasant surprise when I checked today and saw that I am 3rd on the SNG High Limit leaderboard on Full Tilt.

I just played a small session to end the holiday and lost a few hundred, while my EV was +500. Seems like I picked up where I left off!! The plan for the next week is to play as much as possible, despite having lots of fun stuff to do. I am hoping for 25 hours or so.

Rake Sprint II Results

I rebounded nicely after a bad first day. I won 630 and around 815 in rakeback, for a final profit of 1445. I also ran around 2k below EV. I am just waiting to hear now what I finished in the rake sprint, and I will post the final results. I am starting a session now, so will post more later.

Halfway Through the Sprint

I got up all excited to play, and had a pretty perfect day with non-poker stuff, and pretty awful day with poker. I played some 5 on 5 football, watched Formula 1 qualifying, IPL, etc etc. Poker, meh. I played well for a while, but then this continuous running bad got to me. I made some pretty bad tilt calls. Bah.



















My EV line was still positive for the day. Let's look at some grand totals of how bad I am running.

Today: 3300 below EV
This month: 6500 below EV
This year: 8100 below EV
Alltime: 19000 below EV


This is getting to be no fun anymore.

Weekend Rake Sprint II

I had another bad day yesterday. I think my red line was at -1.5k, and I lost around that much. But I know I am being stupid by worrying about it. I keep saying this, but it's just all about volume. I took today off because my rakeback site announced the 2nd weekend rake sprint and I wanted to give it my best shot. The top 5 finishers get paid, and the winner gets 1000. I know that I will win if I put in a decent amount of volume, since it's hard to rake much more than a multi-tabling, high stakes, super turbo player.

It starts in 9 hours or so and I am already excited thinking about it. The day off today has helped refresh me mentally. I can't wait to put in 20 hours of super turbos over the weekend and play well.

Having said all that, the goals for this weekend are -
1. 20 hours of playing.
2. Win the Rake Sprint.
3. TAED (Think about every decision) and play well.

Super Turbo Weirdness

Let's talk red line. Today was going fine... after 150 games, my red line was +1500. Then something happened. I don't know what. I started running into hands, shoving WAY too wide, and making dumb calls. My red line ended up at -700 through 235 super turbos. For those last 100 games, it felt like I was the fish in the game. WHY DO I FEEL THAT WAY? I have crushed these games for over 15k games, but when my red line nosedives over 100 games, I doubt myself.

I just hate seeing the red line down. I played 9 hours and it's down 700. It makes me feel like the day has been a waste.

And I KNOW that what I just wrote is nonsense. The red line has swings of it's own. I need to go back to the Attitude Change that I talked about earlier. I have to keep putting in the games and play well. I definitely didn't play my A game today.

I am going to post my graph of the year so far, which will put that latest red line downswing in perspective. It's so silly to get worked up over it.



















Whoever said that playing poker professionally was easy is so wrong.

I actually made 1300 today, but it didn't even strike me that I was up. I am so obsessed with the red line. Before I knew of it, I would refresh my cashier 100 times a session. Now I refresh my red line 100 times a session.

My only goal for tomorrow is to play a decent amount and think about every decision. If I do that, then the red line will take care of itself.

Running Bad

Warning: This post consists of me whining.

I played the golf tournament yesterday and shot 80, which is decent for how little I have been playing. I thought I would put in a lot of volume today, and I did. 7.5 hours, 206 super turbos, -3700. UGH. 4000 below EV. I am playing so well, I just cannot catch a heater like I did in November. I am not 16k below EV in super turbos overall. Puke.

I have never been happier about the way I'm playing though. I have tweaked (mostly tightened) my ranges in certain spots, and it seems to be working.

Here is today's awful graph:



















Even though I am playing well, I am making a few mistakes. The goal is to cut those out, play perfectly, and RUN GOOD. The next few months are going to consist of me CRUSHING these games. I reached 6 figures from super turbos a couple of days ago, and want to make another 6 figures soon.

Good night.

March So Far

March has been great so far. I have put in lots of volume - 31 hours and 776 9 man super turbos. There were some 6 max ones mixed in. I ended up like -2.8k at them, running 1.6k under EV and decided to never play them anymore. I don't know the subtleties of them and don't want the bother of learning a new game. If there aren't enough 169s are running, I just add a few 75s and 45s.

I am playing well, and running at EV. However, my red line is definitely running good. It's at 9.5% through 776 games which is definitely not sustainable. I'll take it though :)

I have started game selecting some 335s. I really don't want to play every one that goes off. That can only lead to crazy downswings. I have restricted myself to 4 or 5 fishy ones a day. This way, I get to play some really +EV 335s and they don't influence my overall results too much.

This is my overall graph at the 335s, the last 10 of which are included in my monthly graph above.

I am now up to 6th in profit at 9 man super turbos for the year. I want to keep climbing. The only way that will happen is if I put in lots of volume. I am taking tomorrow off since I am playing a golf tournament, but next week is going to consist of lots of grinding. I am off to watch the Man United Wolves game now!

Attitude Change

I have realized that I need a different way of thinking of poker for me to take my game/profits to another level.

Old Attitude:

My old attitude comprised of me playing lots and lots to get unstuck when I was losing, and not play much when I was winning. I used to feel good about myself, look at graphs and stats, and not play when things were going well. Also, I used to keep dreading the awful 100+ buyin downswing that can happen in a flash at super turbos. This attitude has to go.

New Attitude:

I KNOW that I am crushing super turbos. I have made 200 an hour for a pretty huge sample. I need to think that if I play 20 hours of solid super turbo poker, then I should make 4000 in those 20 hours.. I need to just put in the volume, even when I am running hot. No more gloating, just hardcore grinding. I have no excuses not to play lots.

Having said that, I am pleased with my start to March. I have played 13 hours in the 2 days, and am up around 3300 after rakeback, running just a little below EV.

March

I have made somewhere between 17 and 20k this year. I did take 3 weeks off due to grad school applications, and my volume hasn't been great when I have been playing.

Having said that, I have BIG plans for March. I intend to put in lots of volume. I was also thinking earlier about my best month ever, and I think it was the month I started the blog - around 25k. But I am not sure exactly what it is. I thus want to have my best month ever and I want to shatter my previous record. I will be aiming for 30k. I won't be doing a challenge though, because that just puts me under pressure and makes me results oriented. I will be satisfied if I put in lots of volume and the red line goes up. A little run good wouldn't hurt!

How do I intend to make the 30k?
Rakeback: 10k (180 hours or so)
Bonuses: 3k (Full Tilt Leaderboard and a rake race in mid-March)
Profit: 17k

Let's hope this works out.

I just wanted to congratulate Aaron "The Baron" Barone for his great month. Having a 10k month playing the 16s is really awesome. I owe a lot of my success at super turbos to him. He has sweated me a couple of times and we have talked a lot about various spots. Do it again in March, The Baron.