[Closed] My personal $100 to $1000 challenge

$283

Today I do not think I played well. I think that today I either overthought my hands (thereby making them seem better than they were... I mean, who cares about range, pot odds, position, etc etc when you have Jacks, an ace is showing, the villian is betting and he called your preflop raise... FPS... Fancy Play Syndrome) or I just plain sucked. In my defense, however, I was trying out some strategies that I have been reading about in "The Poker Blueprint" (so far a very good read, recommended by PokerStrategists to me)... I think I need to reread that section!

But I did come out ahead thanks to two shoves. This first guy had been abusing me since the moment he sat down... I was surprised that he had so little. He even thought about it for a bit... I guess he thought I was bluffing because he was outplaying me so much... I really just wanted him to fold! I thought he had a small pair.

Totally random... I friggen love the hand converter / replayer!

Hand converted with online PokerStrategy.com hand converter:

Play hand

$0.05/$0.1 No-Limit Hold'em (5 handed)

Known players:
[tg]MP3$17.07:///////;CO$15.16:///////;BU$9.93:///////;SB$10.00:///////;BB (Hero)$10.25:///////;[/tg]

Preflop: Hero is BB with A:d, K:c.
MP3 calls $0.10, 3 folds, Hero raises to $0.35, MP3 raises to $0.70, Hero raises to $10.35, MP3 calls $9.55.

Flop: ($20.55) 7:d, T:d, 8:c (2 players)

Turn: ($20.55) Q:h (2 players)

River: ($20.55) 6:d (2 players)

Final Pot: $20.55.
Results follow:

Hero shows high card ace(A:d K:c).
MP3 shows high card ace(A:s J:s).

Hero wins with high card ace(A:d K:c).

***************

This one is just standard in rush... Giving one guy hope on the flop, the other guy hope on the turn, then finally squashing someone on the river with something crazy... I understand AK, I do not understand 46!

************

Hand converted with online PokerStrategy.com hand converter:

Play hand

$0.05/$0.1 No-Limit Hold'em (9 handed)

Known players:
[tg]MP2$11.75:///////;MP3$7.35:///////;CO$9.15:///////;BU$19.00:///////;SB$11.70:///////;BB$5.86:///////;UTG1$8.16:///////;UTG2$27.89:///////;MP1 (Hero)$8.78:///////;[/tg]

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with Q:d, Q:c.
UTG1 calls $0.10, UTG2 raises to $0.50, Hero raises to $1.75, 5 folds, BB calls $1.65, UTG1 folds, UTG2 raises to $10.00, Hero calls $7.03, BB calls $4.11.

Flop: ($24.79) J:d, 2:h, 9:h (3 players)

Turn: ($24.79) K:d (3 players)

River: ($24.79) T:d (3 players)

Final Pot: $24.79.
Results follow:

Hero shows a straight, king high(Q:d Q:c).
UTG2 shows a pair of kings(K:s A:c).
BB shows high card king(4:d 6:s).

Hero wins with a straight, king high(Q:d Q:c).

***********

I know these hands are not particularly amazing but they were indicative of today.

@geoelt... My biggest challenge is trying to stop being such a calling station, overvaluing my hands, and thinking about times where I called bluffs to justify a call in a -EV situation, I think. I say it over and over... My biggest challenge is me.

@stonej... I thought the same thing! But in practice it works out okay, at least today, anyway. This is because I trying to play 3-4 tables now so I'm usually up a little in another place, so the total loss is not a full buyin if I get cleaned out at one table.

$300.91

So today I reached another milestone. Its funny, as soon as I hit it, I quit!

Everything will remain the same regarding what I play until $400.

There will, however, be one change. I will now buy into 5 / 10 deep stack ring games. I've often wondered about them, because when I'm searching for a table I look for high flop percentages and those deep stack tables, from the sample I've seen, are usually in the 40% range. I will be buying into those games for $15 because, again, that is 5% of my roll as per my BRM rules.

Quick Update... $310

Wow congrat hackbinder!!

you have almost same bankroll as me!
lol

Ive started to play some $5 sng but im still break even or slightly -ROI atm..

But its good to hear your slowly building ur bankroll

Congratulations! ♠_cool:

Good job hack. Keep it up.
As long as you stay disciplined you'll keep winning.

Congrats!
Are you playing any sngs as well as 10nl? and also when do you plan on moving up to 25nl, $400?
I am attempting the exact same challenge, seems like you're moving up nice and steady which is encouraging :), i'll keep an eye on your progress, gl!

$316

@Gambit

I have a negative ROI on SNG so while I do play them to try to improve, I only do the $1 buy in. Once I see a little SNG profit I will move up to $2. SNG are a problem for me. But thanks to some good videos off PS, especially one by Pzhon on SB shoving, I think I am getting better.

I plan on moving up to NL25 at $400, where I will buy in for $20 (5%).

I don't know how steady it has been, especially at the beginning! But I think I am slowly but surely plugging up some leaks and stayed disciplined more consistently.

Are you going to post your rules and progress?

Hey hack,

Yeah it's seems like it would be best for you to focus on cash atm, But winning an SNG now and again is certainly a real boost the bankroll, I try to play a little of both atm and am doing ok this way.

Moving up @$400 sounds like a good idea, so i think i'm gunna steal it and do the same

I've just started my blog in the section, been playing for 11/12 days and just finished a 2 hour session: +$26 my rules will be the same as yours, except I will be throwing in $5 and $10 SNG games also.
I'm not tracked here on the site i'm playing which sucks, which site do you play?

$334

You know you are on a heater when this is the first hand of the session and your opponent plays it THIS way...

Hand converted with online PokerStrategy.com hand converter:

Play hand

$0.05/$0.10 No-Limit Hold'em Deep Stack (5 handed)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A:d, A:s.
MP3 folds, CO raises, 2 folds, Hero 3-Bets, CO caps, Hero raises, CO raises, Hero calls.

Flop: (367.8 SB) 4:d, 6:h, 9:d (2 players)

Turn: (183.9 BB) 4:h (2 players)

River: (183.9 BB) Q:s (2 players)

Final Pot: 183.9 BB.
Results follow:

Hero shows two pairs, aces and fours(A:d A:s).
CO shows two pairs, kings and fours(K:h K:c).

Hero wins with two pairs, aces and fours(A:d A:s).

**********************

@Gambit - At first I played on Sportsbook but now I'm back to Full Tilt... The rakeback helps! I could not ignore the free money.

Note for admin... The converter did not recognize 5/10 Deep Stack and labeled it incorrectly 10/20 Fixed Limit (I re-labeled it). It says I won $36 when I won $28 after rake. Also, it says "caps" when it should have said "raise" or "reraise".

Quick Update... $341

... But mostly friggen awesome!

$395

Yep... Thanks to placing fourth in a Rush 135 person. Here's the screen shot... Yep, that's my screen name... Pretty awesome name, eh? Real inconspicuous. I've won a couple 45 man SNG but this is my best finish ever, I think.

What sucks is the WAY I got knocked out... Here, see for yourself!

OK... sorry the converter did not work, so here is the long version...

Full Tilt Poker Game #23382139593: $4 + $0.40 Rush Sit & Go (180740555), Table 8 - 1200/2400 Ante 300 - No Limit Hold'em - 13:03:49 ET - 2010/08/26
Seat 2: franco1954 (69,345)
Seat 4: caiobianco05 (85,290)
Seat 7: LoewenHerz82 (85,318)
Seat 8: dackbinder (30,047)
franco1954 antes 300
caiobianco05 antes 300
LoewenHerz82 antes 300
dackbinder antes 300
LoewenHerz82 posts the small blind of 1,200
dackbinder posts the big blind of 2,400
The button is in seat #4

HOLE CARDS
Dealt to dackbinder [Ad Qd]
franco1954 calls 2,400
caiobianco05 folds
LoewenHerz82 calls 1,200
dackbinder raises to 10,800
franco1954 calls 8,400
LoewenHerz82 folds

FLOP [Ac Tc 7s]
dackbinder bets 18,947, and is all in
franco1954 calls 18,947
dackbinder shows [Ad Qd]
franco1954 shows [7d Ks]

TURN [Ac Tc 7s] [Qh]

RIVER [Ac Tc 7s Qh] [Jc]

dackbinder shows two pair, Aces and Queens
franco1954 shows a straight, Ace high
franco1954 wins the pot (63,094) with a straight, Ace high

***************
Runner, runner for a straight... Wow.

So now, with rakeback coming in tommorrow, I should be past $400 and ready for 10/25. NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One problem... My HEM, for some reason, thinks the tourney is incomplete, so it will not give me the credit for it! I feel like HEM doesn't believe me. What a bitch.

Quick Update - Ahhh the Poker Gods... No, I played like shit... In an effort to make it to $400... $5 more... before tommorrow, I ended up steaming session after session, tilting and finally calling it a day when I got hit with a very unlucky flop. Unlucky for me, great for the other guy.

$355... Yep... $40 pissed away.

My entire MTT winnings pissed away, plus a few dollars extra.

I am tilted. I feel really stupid because it isn't like I played well. I played desperate and scared.

$334

Plus Rakeback...

$363

$385

So with the wife gone and the baby asleep I was anxious to erase the memory of bad play last night. I played well this morning and I feel better about last night, however, losing $60 on tilt / steaming and ignoring my stop loss was unacceptable.

So this morning I read more of "The Poker Blueprint" and played my A game all the way through. I didn't recoup all my losses from last night but I recouped a little self-respect. If I would have tried to recoup my losses than last night would have taught me nothing.

I entered this mornings session thinking, "I will play what I'm given to the best of my ability. If I end up down, that's fine because if I don't play well I will be down more."

It seems weird to say, but sessions like last night, even when I'm in the middle of them, I feel like less of a man. A man is supposed to be strong. Playing like a weak minded fish / gambler really hurts my pride as a man.

For me this whole challenge is largely an exercise to see if I am mentally strong, and if I'm not, then learn how to be that way and put it into practice. Poker is an excellent vehicle for this because you either build, or you destroy what you build. There is no gray area. You really know where you stand. And there is no way to talk your way out of it. The graph and cashier do not lie.

Is that silly?

Here's one hand where I actually planned this out, but my plan didn't matter because it was a crazy deal. With two people to go, I felt that I would get no action on my aces with a pot raise, so I made a really lame looking raise to induce a 3 bet. After seeing what they had, however, I think they would have called a pot raise anyway!

Hand converted with online PokerStrategy.com hand converter:

Play hand

$0.02/$0.05 No-Limit Hold'em (9 handed)

Known players:
[tg]MP3$4.24:///////;CO$2.00:///////;BU (Hero)$7.18:///////;SB$3.36:///////;BB$7.73:///////;UTG1$10.88:///////;UTG2$5.69:///////;MP1$1.65:///////;MP2$1.80:///////;[/tg]

Preflop: Hero is BU with A:s, A:c.
6 folds, Hero raises to $0.12, SB calls $0.10, BB raises to $0.55, Hero raises to $7.18, SB calls $3.24, BB calls $6.63.

Flop: ($17.72) 7:c, 5:s, Q:s (3 players)

Turn: ($17.72) 8:h (3 players)

River: ($17.72) K:c (3 players)

Final Pot: $17.72.
Results follow:

Hero shows a pair of aces(A:s A:c).
BB shows a pair of kings(A:d K:d).
SB shows high card ace(A:h J:s).

Hero wins with a pair of aces(A:s A:c).

Quick Update - $395 due to $10 MORE of rakeback... That's two payments in one day... I think they made a mistake... I emailed them.

$410

But that does not tell the whole story.

My cash game was HORRIBLE. I cannot complain. I got what I deserved. Lost a lot of money... However, I did break after each stop loss, but I needed to recoup so I lost more. I gotta say, 5/10 Rush is my achilles heel. I have lost WAYYYYYY too much money. I think I will stick with 2/5 Rush to get my Rush fix. I have great stats there. In 5/10 Rush, my stats are embarrassing.

I have great stats in 5/10 ring games... I think I will stick with that too.

I think people are bluffing too much, so I call with mediocre hands. I am still overthinking hands.

Also, my first foray into 10/25 went BAD.

363 hands... $48 Lost...

So I'm sitting at $335 having pissed away my MTT score and my rakeback all in 24 hours. I decide to do something crazy... I enter 6 super turbo $10 SNGs... I figure it is within my bankroll and if I'm going out, I will go out with a bang and start fresh at $300. And you know what? I did really well. I got lucky in a few places but I didn't do anything stupid and I again used the rule in Pzhon's video about SB shoving to great success.

6 Super Turbo SNGs $10 (3 were 6 handed and 3 were 9 handed)

- 119% ROI
- 66% ITM
- $75 profit
- 2 firsts
- 2 seconds
- Placed ITM in all 9 handed ones
- Placed ITM in 1 6 handed one

If I hadn't pissed away so much money I would be at $500 right now... I need to count my blessings because today could have ended a lot worse. I think the variance fairy is trying to teach me a lesson.

$435

10 / 25 ring - I caught a few cards, made some nice scores against short-stackers, lost a couple stupidly played hands where I pot committed myself didn't realize it and then had to fold, cashed in on a tilting player, and overall I am feeling more comfortable with 10 / 25. Lost a bit at 2 / 5 Rush but overall a decent session.

During 2 / 5 Rush... I bet way too big in a few spots where I had over pairs. Unfortunately, by doing so, I put myself in a position where a mediocre hand will not call and a better hand will. I've said that maybe I overthink hands but these are just plain stupid errors that require only basic brain power!

And I like it that way!

$464

The big difference I am starting to notice here at 10 / 25 as opposed to 5 / 10 is that players are more willing to fire a turn continuation bet without a made hand because a flop continuation bet without a turn bet looks weak.

wow hackbinder! U reallying doing well

u might get to $1000 before me!

had pretty good session today
finally made +ROI..

my bankroll now $413

$482

I'm just humming along. I am making better folds. I had profit playing 5/10 Rush 4 tables for a change. I didn't do anything stupid. Had a horrible beat but shook it off and stayed even minded and it paid off in the end. At one point I was just past my stop loss but I decided to keep going because I was still playing well and I felt good and unemotional. Today was a good day because of that.

@onepark... Nice to see you back in the $400s!

Here's a funny hand from today.

OK... I am having issues with the converter... Long story short, we both had pocket aces, we both went all in, and the winner was the rake.

$345

I don't know what to say.

Edit the next day...

- 3 BI at 10 / 25
- multiple BI at Rush (2/5, 5/10)
- tilting hard trying to recoup
- same old mental weakness
- I can't walk away when I'm down, even if I know my stop loss
- it eats me alive to know that I am having a losing session

I need to start fresh... I'm going to vacuum my HH out of my tracker and "start" again... Just seeing my stats sets me off to tilt... Rakeback is coming soon and that makes me feel even worse... I don't want to be "that guy" who loses but stays afloat because of rackback...

My goals this time around is to quit when I hit my stop loss. Also, I want to play Rush no more than 350 hands a day and concentrate on regular ring games because THAT'S where I do well. Also, minimizing Rush will also keep my rakeback $ down. While I cannot say no to free money, it really makes me feel worse to receive money when I am losing.

So I erased all my hands and in my mind I am starting fresh.

So let's refresh rules...

- 5% BI for cash and SNG
- 2% BI for MTT
- quit table when I double
- HUD and rakeback

New rules...

- while rakeback is added to my roll, and I will use 5% of that towards my buyins, the amount that I count towards my challenge WILL NOT include the rakeback
- in other words, I want to get to 1K clean, without counting rakeback, but I will use my total BR, rakeback included, when buying into games
- strict stop loss (1-2 BI loss = done for session, if this happens again = done for the day)
- No 5 / 10 Rush at all
- 350 hands per day max of Rush 2 / 5

Sooooo...

Total BR - $345
Total amount of bonuses, rakeback etc - $125
Therefore my true challenge amount - $220

BR - $345
Challenge - $220

* Admin... please move this thread to blogs! *

@hackbinder

hey mate just hang in there..
if it doesnt get any better n keep getting tilt just take a week break like what i did.

after I come back i feel much better