Graduate Micros - 1 Year

1. Graduate Micros - 1 Year
   Why are you playing both full ring and shorthanded games?
2. Downswing Report
3. Top 5%
4. Bankrolled for NL2

Good luck mate! One question: Why are you playing both full ring and shorthanded games? It's generally best to exclusively play one or the other.

This is going to be a quick response... just came back to the forums and this thread is on the front page.

My plan is to play FR for the lower variance and whilst I study more of the post flop game.

I believe that short handed is good to do this in due to the higher volume and seeing the flop more, but that Full Ring can provide more solid foundations (more selective pre flop for better chances post).

I am considering playing solely 6-max, but would this be advisable whilst still needing to digest the bronze material for play after the flop?

Would I just need to read some of the pre-flop silver articles on short handed play?

Having to ask questions like that is one of the reasons I started this blog.

good luck mate, looking forwards to reading your blog

Hey lynius, great to see you in our blog sections and looking forward to your updates!

I'm also playing 6 max, will ask pleno1 to pop by give you some tricks and hints ♦

Subscribed, VBOL and I am SURE you can crush this challenge. Post hands, hands hands so we can all get involved!

Not my favourite way to get a blog started, but over the 300 hands that I've played, I've effectively lost a couple of stacks

The Elephant says I played reasonably - but I did start to tilt a bit towards the end of that graph, was just getting nothing in the way of hands.

My plan of action:

• Take a short break - need to keep other areas of my life functional
• Study, study, study
• Play full ring tables - I need a bit less variance at the moment

Article on Time Managment

For most people, poker is a minor matter that doesn't determine their overall lifestyle. You need to make sure it does not start controlling your actions and negatively influence your education, your job or even your social contacts.

• Top 5% in Depositors Freeroll
• +$1 to the bankroll
• Overestimated Time
• Study, Study, Study

So it's been a week since my last update, so there's the list of things I need to update you guys on.

Top 5% in Depositors Freeroll

I entered into two tournaments this week, one of them was the Pokerstrategy depositors freeroll and the other was a WilliamHill depositors freeroll. I busted early in the Pokerstrategy one, having got my three of a kind all in on the turn against villains top two pair, I busted as he made a full house on the river.

William Hill Poker PS weekly 1.000 depositor FR 10/20

saw flop | saw showdown

Button wtfnowwww (1470)
SB greatbl (1420)
BB sjneverontilt (2610)
UTG ybmistake (3890)
UTG+1 barabaka1932 (2700)
MP NePriDelax (1450)
MP Lighmen (1500)
MP Rubird (1470)
CO-1 lynius (1410)
CO GermanKrautX (3120)

Preflop: lynius is in the CO-1 with 8♣ 8♥
5 folds, lynius raises to 80, 2 folds, greatbl calls 70, 1 fold.

Flop (180) 2♥ A♠ Q♥
greatbl checks, lynius checks.

Turn (180) 8♠
greatbl bets 135, lynius raises to 440, greatbl raises to 1340, lynius moves all-in for 890.

River (2985) A♥

greatbl shows A♦ Q♠
lynius shows 8♣ 8♥

greatbl wins 2985 with A full house, Aces and Queens

This disheartened me a bit, then I found out through email that WilliamHill has given me a couple of tokens into depositor freerolls.

After three hours of play my AKs busted all in pre-flop up against QQ and K5o. 31/~650 made me feel good and gave me some confidence again. It also helped build my BR up again (+$5) after that graph you saw in my last post.

+$1 to the bankroll

Not having managed to get in as many hands as I'd like to have, my total bankroll since the beginning of this blog is up around a dollar. More playing and more study should hopefully fix that.

I think one major flaw has been my approach to the psychological side of poker (I haven't been playing my A-game recently for a variety of reasons), nor playing as much as I'd like to have (one reason being because I'm not playing to my full ability).

I brought Jared Tendler's "The Mental Game of Poker" the other day. I've been looking for a book on poker to read and have read around the forums that psychology ones are the best to pick up as Pokerstrategy does a fantastic job on the core areas.

Overestimated Time

I don't think you guys will be let down by me saying that I certainly overestimated the amount of time that I can invest into study and play. Will certainly have to be grinding out some coursework over the next few weeks, and that has to take priority, and I know after that I have revision for exams.

Fortunately, I do consider poker my main hobby, and having recently purchased a laptop, feel geared up to do the best I can for this challenge, so will keep working at it for hopefully a good hour/two a day.

Study, Study, Study

Thought I'd kick of week four of the beginners course by attending the live coaching last night. I have to say that I enjoy the coaching a lot, and believe it may be the best way I learn.

I am hoping to attend a few next week, though any social plans take priority:

Tuesday:
No-Limit Hand Evaluation [Advanced]
No-Limit Special [Beginner]

Wednesday:
No-Limit [Beginner]
---> WilliamHill Depositors Freeroll <---

Thursday:
No-Limit Beginners Course

So lots of coaching and working over week four of the beginners course - makes me aware of the need to get a lot of coursework completed and out the way this weekend.

I'll link a few hands that I've had evaluated over the past week soon, other than that - good luck at the tables!

Interview with Barry Greenstein Part 1

Poker is an unreal world, the players need dose of reality. As I approach my 60's, I am not going to say I wish I had played more poker, I wish done other things. I've done a lot, I've written books, started a software company, did a PHD, I raised 6 children - I've had a full life, but most of the players I look at don't.

• Bankrolled for NL2
• Second over 1045 - $100 freeroll
• Pre-game warm up
• The Mental Game of Poker

I really do need to make more frequent, shorter posts don't I? Long posts are most likely a bit painful to read.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to put in as much time as I've wanted too, now is certainly the time to focus on focus - poker isn't something that can be dossed, and neither can my studies. Onto brighter news...

Bankrolled for NL2

Reminding you readers that I started with $20, I now have 25 buy ins for NL2. Not much of an achievement, but I guess that means I've done the preliminary training and now my journey begins. NL50, here I come!

Maybe not so much haste, with the amount of time I can put in, I'm hoping to have reached and got through some of NL5 by the time my January exams are over - after that, all my study can be focused on poker.

Second over 1045 - $100 freeroll

Not much more to say than what's in the tag line really. Considering how I played that night, I'm not entirely sure I deserved the $11, but it's a nice boost to the bankroll non the less.

Pre-game warm up

I intend to create a small warm up plan before I play poker. I've read the importance of doing so, and feel it would be best for me to create a short list of recent hands I've had evaluated before hitting the tables.

The Mental Game of Poker

I haven't read much of it, just the first four chapters and the one on motivation (I really am a lazy bastard). It is a rather enjoyable read to say the least, and like any educational material, one I'll need to keep consuming, evaluating and reviewing. I'll leave you with one of Jared's logic injections:

The Mental Game of Poker - Motivation

Today is the day to improve. Tomorrow is a fantasy. If you wait until tomorrow, you'll have twice the amount of work to do.