[Closed] My personal $100 to $1000 challenge

Hey hackbinder,

I cant really give you any tips on Ring games as I rarely play ring games but with SNG i really recommand you to watch some of 9 man sng from Video section.

It REALLY helped me alot.

and than you should also get SNG wizard. its 90days or 180 days trial (cant remember now) which is plenty.

Before i used to sit and go through EVERY hand i played (specially from mid to late phase of sng) and see if I made right move and what kind of possible hands they might have for my push to be +EV and so on.

Let me know if you need any other tips on SNG, even im not expert or good player but Im happy to give any tips I know

still up and down,

but managed to be +ROI,

$411

hi, hackbinder!

Good luck with Your challenge!

I also made my own blog, started with $42, yesterday went down to $13!!! - but this morning I'm up to $20,,,,,I don't know if I want to have some special challenge for me, but I like to see my progress here in blogs.

So if You don't mind, I'd like to post my progress (BR) also in Your blog.

Good luck!

@miljonszalie

No problems! Post your challenge rules (BRM, buy in, etc etc).

$196

I seem to have hit a plateau around $200... Much nicer than a plateau around $50! Again, if you follow BRM, success is slow but sure. In a way I envy people who do it sooo quickly. But then again I had an amazing run of 2500 hands earlier but then variance / bad play etc. This is the natural cycle of things. Much like the business cycle. Just like you won't trust a stock that shoots up 300% overnight, you can't trust extreme peaks and valleys as accurate measures of how well you play.

Today's highlight was my pocket aces getting cracked by trip fives. But you know what, the money I lost was really my own fault. When I bet twice the pot after the flop and he went all in, I thought about folding. I mean, that is not a place someone would bluff very often, especially at micro. Here's my thought...

... The day that I can fold pocket aces when I feel I'm beat is the day that I know that I have truly improved my play. Until then... Going to try 9 handed for a change of pace.

Hi,

down to $363

few bad plays and bad beats

pushed with AA with less than 10BB and out floped by TT and end up losing to two pair.

also my two pair but out rivered him hitting his trips

arg....

have not won any sng for a while....

hope this downswing stops was almost $500

if this downswing continues gotta drop down to $2 sng again

Guess I'm going to take some week without playing poker (except The Big Little Tournament on Sunday).

Why???

Just because I've got BR $10 right now.

so thre's something to improve about my game.

Thanks we have so good forum here, so I can take lessons I need.

Good luck!

$229

So tonight I felt I played great, but man did I get hit with a couple truly awful 2 outer bad beats for large chunks of my buy ins. But, like I said, I was playing great so I did something I do not usually do... I waited for tables. Basically, I looked for tables that had names I didn't immediately recognize (thus, making that table potentially profitable because there are next to no regulars). When I got my seats, I patiently capitalized on some weak players (well.... weaker than me!) and I managed to turn a profit for the session.

I also did something that I don't usually do. Now, I cut out of a table when I double my buy in. Today, I cut out of a table when I got hit with an aforementioned truly awful bad beat that left me with 15% of my buyin. Here's the thing... And I know people do this... When this happens, in your mind you've lost that entire buyin so you shove on any hand until you lose that little bit because playing with that little bit will take ages to rebuild. And if you reload, you KNOW you will tilt off more money so you don't reload. But you will donk off that remaining 15% because of anger. Now, add up all those 15%s... That's a lot of buyins!

So I cut out of that table and saved some money.

keep it up, wanna make same or smth like that challange soon.
gl at tables

$214

I should be up more but today I went on a very unfulfilling date with an old girlfriend. You know the one. The ex that took everything you had, gave you almost nothing in return, but yet for some reason you still went back for more, just because she looked soooo voluptuous that you could not resist... Yep, THAT ex girlfriend! Her name is Sally, but most of you know her as...

ACE HIGH FLUSH DRAW!

Along with calling with pocket Aces or Kings when opponents shove post flop on dangerous boards (when I am almost certain that I am beat), I think my biggest bad habit that keeps me from really breaking through is how attracted I am to the ace high flush draw and how I just can't stop myself sometimes from putting more money than I should into it. I know the odds and how much is too much. Just like you know THAT girl is trouble and will bring you nothing but problems and emptiness. You know all this yet you watch yourself doing what you know is wrong. Why? Because it looks sooo damn good.

Today, this was not a leak. It was a full blown flood in my game. I'm disappointed in myself today. I don't like how long I'm treading water around $200 and not moving. When the allure of Sally's round booty becomes LESS important than my goal to improve my game, that's when Sally will disappear. Until then, I'm basically asking for her to hang around.

@johnylee

Do it! Hop on this thread!

@hackbinder hahahaa i know what u mean!!! lol so hard to throw that hand away!!

@johnylee Yeah join us! its really encouraging to set your goal and work towards it.

I took small break over this weekend, didnt play any online and played few live tourny,

from $1500 guarantee
my QQ to flop Qd4h8d I shoved on some one who raised. and he had AdKd, and he hit his flush on River

prob start playing again from tomorrow.

wish me luck

Well... Small consolation but you played it correct!

Nice reading here and sweet to see your progress hackbinder..was thinking myself to make my starting 100$ with 10$ ,still dont know what should I stick with...ring games or SnG. I've seen that you can make pretty nice and kind of fast profit on ring games but on the other hand,you can lose it pretty fast aswell...gonna give it a shot and I'll find out what suits me better

You are better off...in my humble opinion... making it $20 because then you buy in to either cash or ring for no more than $1. That way, you are practicing good bankroll management and can thus absorb the inevitable swings.

Never buy in for more than 5% of your roll!

Originally posted by hackbinder
You are better off...in my humble opinion... making it $20 because then you buy in to either cash or ring for no more than $1. That way, you are practicing good bankroll management and can thus absorb the inevitable swings.

Never buy in for more than 5% of your roll!

So lets say 20 to 100,then I play lowest ring games 0.1/0.2$ or 1$ SnG tournaments and stick with it till 100$. Should I continue with it after 100$ or switch on higher stakes?

Here's what I'm doing...

I started at $100

- bought in for $5 at 5 / 10 (some people say it is better to play $5 at 2 / 5)
- when I got to $200, I kept 5 / 10 but bought in for $10 (still 5% of BR)
- when I get to $300-$350, I have a choice, continue the same until $400 or switch to 10 / 25 but, again, my buy in must never be more than 5% of my roll (personally, I think I will make the switch to 10 / 25 when I hit $400)

One is considered "rolled" for a particular stake if they buy in for 5% of their roll when they play. So if you have a roll of $200, you can buy in for $10. It is recommended to play a lower stake so you can buy in with 100 BB.

If you follow this 5% rule, when you get to 40$, you can start buying in for $2 at 1 / 2, and so forth.

SNGs, for me, are a bit different. Again, never buy in for more than 5% but I don't feel like I am very good at them so I buy into SNG for like 1-2% of my roll right now. For MTTs, it is recommended you never buy in for more than 2% of your roll. Read articles on bankroll management, too.

Hope this helps!

This is what I am doing, anywayz!

One note - For me, this challenge is to get better. It is well established that if you follow BRM, and you have a winning strategy, you should never need to reload. If you follow BRM strictly and you lose it all, it means that you do not have a winning strategy. Also, mentally, you need to treat this roll as the end. There is no more money. If you find yourself taking risks because you know you can reload, then what's the point of BRM? Now, if taking X or Y risk is a good decision, then you take it. You cannot be afraid of losing money on a good decision. But losing money because of decisions you know are bad are a major leak. I struggle with ace high flush draws, personally!

That's nice!
You put some new thoughs on my mind....sometimes I'm on winning strike;I win 2,3 SnGs in row(first place) then I got that feeling that I'm not playing the best I can but on the other hand (IF I WANT) It's not hard for me to win 9seats SnG tournament for 1$20- sometimes I just dont play hard enough...probably a thing that effects my BRM. Gotta clear the things with myself before I want to moneymake tho,I'm kinda satisfacted with my play so far(not saying it's super good but as long I keep winning its good for me) ♦
I probably gonna stay active with SnG 1$ tournaments for now it makes much better profit for me then playing Ring games...

Thanks for your advices I've watched some articles about BRM and probably gonna watch again

$232

I am not intimidated by the regs, but if there are more than 2 at a table I am hesitant to go.

But there are a couple of regs that do seem to have my number. Today, at separate tables they both sat beside me in position. It was freaky. So I cut out and looked for other places to play.

It was a smart move, but I feel like a wuss. If they hadn't sat at the worst place possible, I would not have left. I can hear a little voice... "Who are you trying to convince, hackbinder? Others, or yourself?"

downswing still continues

lost AA to KK,
QQ to TT
JJ to TT
AT to A6

$320

$264

(Would be $284 if I wasn't so bad at SNG!)

So today I finally broke through the $250 barrier. I will probably dip again but this is my highest total so far and I am happy because I am under (cash game) 15,000 hands. I never wrote it, but after I got my HUD, I wanted to try and make $100 every 10,000 hands, at least for the first bit of the challenge. I'm at 13,000 hands and feeling pretty good, although SNG are a leak I'm not too happy about. But I keep plugging away.

Anywayz, today there weren't too many good tables to sit at (a minor inconvenience when one does not play on a major site). I remembered what I read in "The Poker Blueprint". The author encourages people to move up sooner rather than later, but of course with the caveat that you drop down if you lose a few buyins early on.

So I decided to play some 10 / 25 but again, following BRM and only buying in for $10, roughly 5% of my BR. I made a nice little profit. But that experience got me thinking about what to do when (if!) I hit $300. The conservative in me is saying to stick to 5 / 10 until $400 because then I can buy into 10 / 25 for $20, a good stack. But the prospect of making money quicker is alluring. If I make the jump at $300, I would be buying in for $15, a little over 50 BB.

Its something to think about.

I am getting a little tired of 5 / 10. A change might be nice.

@onepark

Tough beats... I'll tell you about a bad beat I had at the casino.

It was $2 / $5, I had a stack of a little over $200. I was on the button. Three people limped. I called with A8s. The board was AQ8 rainbow. Check, Check, bet of $30. I call, the guy to my left calls, the other guy folds. The turn was a 5. Check, bet of $65. I raise all in. The guy to my left calls (!) and the original bettor folds.

I have A8. Two pair. He has A10o. One pair, no draw. The river is another queen. We both now have two pair but now HE has a higher kicker. Damn!

@hackbinder
great work mate,
keep going,

yeah i know wat you mean, but it just getting fraustrating bad beat after another..

need to focus tho.... and stop getting tilt!