[Closed] My personal $100 to $1000 challenge

I don't know what the hell happened. I was going good and then... well... I don't know. I'm at $44 and I will be moving down in blinds to 2/5 until I can get myself winning. I play on Sportsbook, and I do not have a time limit (wife, kid!). It's funny... If you can't spot the fish you are the fish. I am the fish!

This is teaching me that I am not mentally strong enough to sustain a winning streak. I find it hard to play my A game for an extended period of time. Then I start 'having fun' and that's when I play badly and lose, a lot. I see that pros are pros (heck, even winning players are winning players) because there is no emotion, just the right moves. They play their A game all the time.

I need to shift my focus from 'fun' to emotionless, smart play. But how can I NOT get emotional when I have trips going into the river, and buddy hits a miracle card to make a straight?

I hate to get all Oprah, but in the few days I've tried this, I am really learning a lot about myself, and I am truly experiencing what I keep reading about in poker lessons etc. I will not win, and I will not get better unless I learn to be mentally stronger. Anyone can hit a big hand. I am learning that only a few can handle what happens after the big hand.

Wow... I'm at $25... And I do not feel bad about it because I think I played well from start to finish... almost every big hand I had got met with runner runner for a flush, or runner runner for a full house, or the guy going all in on an inside straight draw and hitting... It actually got comical... I counted 5 straight times my pocket kings got beat by either miracle straights or aces... The last two times I got kings I just knew an ace would flop... and they did after the guy pushed all in with A5o... This has to be the worst friggen luck ever... There really is nothing I can learn from these last sessions because I don't think I got outplayed much... The luck was so bad, it was funny... This is how "rigged" threads are born, I think!

Just take a limit.. Then You feel unlucky.. You don't need to continue playing.. Sometimes You can be unlucky all month.. You need minimize your loosing in bad periods..

If You feel that You can loose with good card, don't bet ever..

@ Stanevicious

You know what, that is an excellent line...

"If you feel you can lose with good cards, don't bet"

I like it... thanks!

Well, I seem to have found my sweet spot. I'm starting to climb again. I'm at $42... I'm very happy with my play, which is most important. Now that I'm climbing, I cannot lose focus trying to steam and get back to my starting position of $100 too quickly. I also think it may be a mistake to not have a rakeback. I'm adding up how much it would have been and that's a sizable chunk of cash! I still think no rakeback is important for me right now, however, because I want to be rewarded for good play, not LOTS of play.

Nice to hear good news!

I'm at $47 and feeling pretty good about my play. I'm getting better at folding great starting hands that don't hit, folding if my flush draw is not given the right odds, stealing pots with river raises when I know the other guys have broken draws, out-waiting my opponents for profitable situations, and spotting players that will pay me off.

I've made a change to what I play.

I will not play draw... I think I need to learn that game a little better. I think what my dad taught me about draw was misguided. Either that or the cards fall REALLY differently than live. So I am playing some 7 card stud hi. I like to play it heads up or max three people. I've moved back up in blinds to 5 / 10 NLHE because I found the 2 / 5 was REALLY tight, unprofitably tight. I know that this breaks my first rule but I'm trying to get back to the starting line here!

I'm also limiting myself to only two tables at a time. My reads were suffering at 4 tables. Also, I am not playing any SNG or tourneys right now either. If things are going well, why mess with it?

Originally posted by hackbinder
I've moved back up in blinds to 5 / 10 NLHE because I found the 2 / 5 was REALLY tight, unprofitably tight. I know that this breaks my first rule but I'm trying to get back to the starting line here!

This is not how you should think. There is no point in thinking about how big your bankroll was, that doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is how big it is now. Moving up because you say the players in the lower level are too loose/too tight/ don't think so you should move up is another thing you should really get out of your head. If you can't beat the lower limit you won't be able to beat the limits above that..

It sounds like your making good progress though. If you can afford it i highly suggest buying "the poker mindset". It's a really great book and it explains why you shouldn't think in certain ways and how to handle downswings and bad beats.

@ hahaownedlolz

You know what... You are absolutely right. I ordered the book. Thanks for the suggestion.

$55

I'm at $72 and I'm looking forward to starting again!

But what I really want to say is that I am learning the true meaning of GRINDING. I always read people's posts about grind this and grind that but I never REALLY appreciated it until now. Because I'm not necessarily playing for FUN but to reach a goal (which I guess is fun but the process itself is "business"), I never did any grinding, which is to say, I never had to be very patient. Grinding is such a test of patience. Waiting for profitable situations, not "fun" situations. Even though I am not here to have "fun" I am starting to enjoy myself. I think I am getting the hang of it.

The more you play and the more hands you see, you should appreciate the startegy articles on here and why what they preach is correct.

Find the game that suits your style, if you find you lose concentration then maybe SNG's where you can loosen up once in the push or fold stage would be better for you.

I play SNG and MTT's and until Friday was turning a small but steady profit. The I cashed in 2 MTT's for over $300 to double my bankroll. Play solid and the results will eventually come.

Also, always evaluate yourself, even when I think I've stuck well to the articles advice I look back and see I played a SNG too loosely, keep going back and looking at how you could improve your game.

Finally, I wish you the best of luck! For someone who is trying to make enough dollar to make it a full time profession I understand the frustration when you lose and get negative thoughts but just keep plugging and play your A-game.

$73

I have played a few "double up" SNG lately just to try them out and I have had some success. I am curious to know what people think about them and if the strategy changes since you are not necessarily looking for a first place finish.

Any thoughts?

From what I noticed, at first glance one may think that the best bet is to hold on and play ABC until the blinds get high and then wait for people to make mistakes. But after playing a few I noticed that if you loosen up a little you can actually bluff your way to a sizable stack because everyone is in a tight survival mode even in the beginning stages. I think having a bigger stack is extra important in these types of SNGs because once there are only a couple of players to go until the bubble, the big stacks can ALL line up against the little stacks because there is no pay off for being first. It feels like bullying, actually!

@ drdrab

I appreciate the encouragement.

$36

I got myself up past $70 and then I went sour... Again, not mentally strong enough for a downswing. It started actually as an upswing, then I start to gamble... The mindset is that you see people gambling in front of you and hitting flushes etc, so you think, "When is it my turn?" After hours of not getting anywhere a draw comes up, you call big bets, and you lose (well, I lose). Then I tilt... Dammit! And it is so easy to tilt because you figure, "He cannot have the nuts AGAIN!" And he does. You KNOW he does, but you HOPE he doesn't. I'm very disappointed with myself. All this in ONE day. Moving back down in limit.