[Closed] Switching to "leisure" poker

I played my first almost 1k hands on NL50 and it's going ok, like 50-60$ up. I got used to the stakes pretty fast and as for the level of play I'd say that during the day it was quite tight with no tables over 30% players per flop but I just finished a short session in the evening and the games were really soft - there's no significant skill gap between NL30 and NL50.

You just have to adapt your play to the table. I think I play my A game and hopefully in the long term I will stick to the 5ptbb/100 I aim for.
So if I play 15-20k hands a month(probably 15k), this will mean like 700-1000$ expected profit every month, even if less, I am clearing a nice bonus, so I will make it probably.
Btw, one ptbb means 1$ for NL50, doesn't it? At least my calculation shows this..

So till the end of August I want to cash out a total of 2000$ till then and have 1000$ in play(a total of 3000$). That's my goal at least - I cannot be sure whether it will work out as expected
Approx. 1000$ go for a laptop I have already chosen - Dell Inspiron 1525N with the colour pattern Street. It's really stylish besides its nice performance. My computer really is old now and it's time for a change.

Bankroll at 1080$

1 ptbb @ nl50 = 1$ indeed
It would be nice if u could manage to win 5 ptbb/100 over a big samplesize but to me it seems a bit optimistic

But good luck and I hope u get your 5 ptbb/100

Originally posted by Zeffke
1 ptbb @ nl50 = 1$ indeed
It would be nice if u could manage to win 5 ptbb/100 over a big samplesize but to me it seems a bit optimistic

But good luck and I hope u get your 5 ptbb/100

Mansion is so full of fishes that a 2ptBB/100 player is going a lot over the 5ptbb's. NL50 doesnt make any difference IMO the goals he made are achievable

As I mentioned 5 ptbb/100 including the bonuses(not only from pure play) is my goal.. But of course you are right that one cannot predict exactly what is going to happen.

Played some more, and I'd say that the level is not any better than NL30 - as long as you change the tables full of regulars.

Here are some hands from today which I unfortunately lost but still prove my point - but after all these people give me their money in the long term:

Known players:
[tg]UTG+2$20.40:///////;Hero$52.52:///////;MP2$56.03:///////;MP3$79.64:///////;CO$37.35:///////;BU$49.25:///////;SB$23.75:///////;BB$49.13:///////;[/tg]
Texas Hold'em NL50 (8 handed)
Hand recorder used for this poker hand: Ongame Hand Converter v0.2.5 by Life is a Bug.

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with 5♥, 5♣
UTG+2 calls $0.50, Hero calls $0.50, MP2 calls $0.50, 4 folds, BB checks.

Flop: ($2.25) 8♥, 5♦, 7♦ (0 players)
BB checks, UTG+2 bets $1.75, Hero raises to $5.00, MP2 calls $5.00, BB folds, UTG+2 calls $3.25.

Turn: ($17.25) 2♦ (0 players)
UTG+2 bets $8.50, Hero calls $8.50, MP2 calls $8.50.

River: ($42.75) 4♣ (0 players)
UTG+2 checks, Hero checks, MP2 checks.

Final Pot: $42.75

Results follow:
UTG+2 shows [ K♥, 8♠ ]
Hero shows [ 5♥, 5♣ ]
MP2 shows [ 7♠, 6♥ ]
UTG+2 wins $0.00 USD.
Hero wins $0.00 USD.
MP2 wins $41.25 USD.

Known players:
[tg]Hero$56.74:///////;MP1$28.80:///////;MP2$49.00:///////;MP3$7.75:///////;CO$48.95:///////;BU$62.48:///////;SB$10.75:///////;BB$48.75:///////;[/tg]
Texas Hold'em NL50 (10 handed)
Hand recorder used for this poker hand: Ongame Hand Converter v0.2.5 by Life is a Bug.

Preflop: Hero is UTG+2 with A♥, K♠
2 folds, Hero raises to $2.00, MP1 raises to $6.00, 6 folds, Hero raises to $56.74 (All-in), MP1 calls $22.80 (All-in).

Flop: ($86.29) T♠, 4♣, 4♥ (0 players)

Turn: ($86.29) 7♥ (0 players)

River: ($86.29) 2♠ (0 players)

Final Pot: $86.29

Generally I'd reconsider shoving with AK, but against this guy I'd never fold it. He wondered and in the last second called the shove with K10. Nice play!

I would raise more the first hand, and shove turn.
Second hand is all reads, as you say.
Im glad you realise that the lucky fishes are a nice source of income in general

I agree about the first hand that I should raise more. In fact I didn't see that there's one more opponent behind. With 5 tables I'm not too observant
As for turn, when two people call me on flop, I guess that at least one of them could be on the flush draw - I was afraid of it and that's why I just called the turn which completed the flush(it's just too difficult to fold a set) - wanted a cheap showdown or a full house on the river Anyway only a donkey would want such a big pot with a pair of eights, and only a donkey would call such a turn bet with just a straight draw with a completed flush. Maybe shove was better really but I like my line too - he just got lucky.

On the whole, I like the new limit although I am not running that hot but still ok, 50-60 bucks up after about 1,7k hands. Too tired now though to post graphs and stats though.

Just to whine a bit:
Was running pretty hot but today was kinda bad

A horrific end to the evening. Pity is that I cannot blame only variance this time, because I made 2-3 costly mistakes. Shoved QQ pre-flop against a guy who looked like a fish but still showed too much strength and it was a likely fold.. dunno maybe i was a bit tilted.
I could post some hands but I'm a bit tired.
Anyway, hope tommorow's better. Even if not I am going to spend my weekend in the mountains so it will be fun for sure

10,000 hands(and a total of approx. 14,000 since my challenge started, counting the hands at pacific poker for which I had no hand grabber) in my database now and it's time for an update.

Woohooo, I love this game.

Back from the mountains where I spent my weekend, I played 2 sessions ending up quite a lot in front.
This proves the point that after the 4 buy-in downswing I experienced some time ago, sooner or later everything will be regained if playing good poker.

Well, the hand where I trippled(i'm copying just below the paragraph) up actually I did not make the best move, I knew that someone had the fours but said "fuck it" and called - got a little bit lucky. Anyway, after making the calculations I got like 1 to 5pot odds(when I called the shove) and had 4 outs which is 16% to win so I did not make that big of a mistake anyway. And if I had folded which would have been the correct play, I would have killed my self by the time the ace came That was my biggest pot up to now, by the way!

Known players:
[tg]UTG+2$53.87:///////;MP1$30.31:///////;Hero$45.50:///////;CO$45.98:///////;BU$48.75:///////;SB$49.50:///////;BB$36.72:///////;[/tg]
Texas Hold'em NL50 (10 handed)
Hand recorder used for this poker hand: Ongame Hand Converter v0.2.5 by Life is a Bug.

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with A♥, T♥
2 folds, UTG+2 calls $0.50, MP1 calls $0.50, MP2 folds, Hero calls $0.50, CO folds, BU calls $0.50, SB folds, BB checks.

Flop: ($2.75) T♠, T♦, 4♣ (0 players)
BB checks, UTG+2 bets $1.00, MP1 calls $1.00, Hero raises to $4.00, BU calls $4.00, BB folds, UTG+2 raises to $13.00, MP1 folds, Hero calls $9.00, BU raises to $48.25 (All-in), UTG+2 raises to $53.37 (All-in), Hero calls $32.00 (All-in).

Turn: ($150.37) A♠ (0 players)

River: ($150.37) 2♦ (0 players)

Final Pot: $150.37

Results follow:
BU shows [ K♣, T♣ ]
UTG+2 shows [ 4♠, 4♥ ]
Hero shows [ A♥, T♥ ]
BU wins $0.00 USD.
UTG+2 wins $0.00 USD.
Hero wins $0.00 USD.

I stacked several donkeys and got sucked out a bit but on the whole this was one of the best days I've ever had.

Here are my stats after 10k hands in the database:

And the total graph for these 10k hands at NL30 and NL50:

What's more I got 90$ as a bonus and my total bankroll is now at 1307$

Besides, I will order the new notebook soon. Here's a photo, it will be the type of design to the left - very stylish indeed.

OK, because I have to spend more money at once for the notebook, I'm cashing out 374$ and leave just 1000$ in play following the 20 buy-in rule to continue to play NL50(i had another winning session today it's time to feel some of the money).
The notebook will be here probably on Thursday. I just have to install Vista and then I finally will be able to play 5 tables without the machine being slow as hell.

Bankroll:1000$.
Total cashed out:374$

Good read
Do you play SSS or BSS?

BSS. Was playing SNG's too before which I also like, but currently - cash game BSS.

My NL 50 graph

I like it ♦
And to boast off a bit - with my new notebook playing poker is just pure beauty because on my previous desktop PC(with 256 ram) it was a nightmare to change tables and to run pokertracker while playing. Now it's
So I can play 6 tables now and I am able to do some serious table selection.

Downswing expected but guess i'm ready for it.

Bankroll: 1105$
Total cashed out: 374$

This evening there are some interesting tournaments, it will be a MTT evening. I will play 2 10+1$ ones, the first one is the so called Royal Tournament with 15000 guaranteed. I guess there will be a nice overlay as I don't think that 1500 people will register.
Besides, I will play the Lucky Dollar tourney + a promotion 5k freeroll.
That's a total of 4.
I hope I cash something significant and get the thrill of the late phase of a MTT

June Summary

So it is the end of the first month of my summer poker adventure. I began the b-log on the 2nd of June playing on Pacific poker, June is over now and I am going to summarize the month.

Firstly, here is the monthly graph(like 3-4k hands from pacific poker are not counted, had no hand-grabber):

And a shot from the pokertracker(again pacific poker not included):

So a total of 19-20k hands this month counting these from pacific which are not tracked. The observations:

On the whole, I've played approx. 2 hours/day(of course some days I played way more and some days I didn't play at all) and actually this is the single thing I am not quite happy about. I could have played a bit more but I guess the reason was my old computer which really irritates with its slow-downs and besides I was unable to play more than 4 tables and no table selection was possible. Now with the new notebook playing is pure pleasure and in the future I guess I will be able to play more.

I am happy with my 12,5/8,4 game on NL50, I think I play very solid poker and get away from marginal situations and from way-behind situations(not always sometimes). One thing to add is that I lost 4 buy-ins in like 700 hands(one evening), an event that really put me to the test but I didn't tilt badly. So I'm not tilt prone I have learned to accept it as a part of the game(for instance, on 10,5k hands on NL50, KK is the hand I've lost the most with although I play it optimally.. but as a compensation my AA have been cracked just once out of like 50 times on NL50) and this itself is not a small achievement. From the "grounded" type of player I used to be(the term comes from an article here in PS) I am evolving step by step to poker attitude as it should be.

Enough with this game improvement and such stuff. Let's talk about money. As you can see I am 660$ in front just from pure playing(I played some MTT's which are not included here), what's more I released a 90$ bonus and on top of that I have completed 7/8 of a 200$ bonus, so I'm close to another bankroll-booster(but I will count it for July :P). I won 100$ and something from a MTT, too

So my current bankroll is at 1100$. I have withdrawn 374$ and my bankroll in the beginning of June(as you can see in the first post) was 779$. 1474-779 = 695$ earnings for June.

I am happy with that result and I enjoy it to be at least partially financially independable. I asked for no money for the new notebook(except the regular monthly money they give me but this does not count) and I will pay for my holiday myself. And I live my life well

As for the next month..
July though I think I won't be able to play much because there are is an exam in English ahead and I have to study till the 11th-12th of july and I will play hardly any hands(probably will go to my village after the 3rd-4rth). What's more, in the end of the month I've planned a 1 week holiday with my friends on the seaside. So after the 26th - still no play probably. But for the rest of the days I hope I will be able to play at least 15k hands - I will try to make more hands in a shorter amount of time.

I guess it may not run as good as in June but I hope the bonuses make up for variance and my goal is to reach at least 500$ profit in July, bonus + play combined of course. Maybe if I don't need any money to withdraw I could hit NL100 some time in August, who knows

I hope those of you who read my b-log have entertained themselves doing so and expect me to update regularly after my exams on the 12th and the 13th of July are over.

Hey finchy great updates! (and great graphs ♦)

Good to see you are doing well in all regards - be sure to always (even when running well) to continue working on your game - as there is always room for improvement!

Aside from that good luck at the tables

Best regards,
SoyCD

I'm losing so much with kings(close to 100 bucks down, the starting hand I have lost the most with)..
I play them as simple as I can, just shoving them pre-flop if possible and aces call me. It's possibly just cold-deck variance but to initiate a topic of discussion:

Known players:
[tg]MP1$19.98:///////;Hero$53.37:///////;BU$27.31:///////;SB$50.00:///////;BB$35.00:///////;Unknown$92.60:///////;Unknown$49.25:///////;[/tg]
Texas Hold'em NL50 (9 handed)
Hand recorder used for this poker hand: Ongame Hand Converter v0.2.5 by Life is a Bug.

Preflop: Hero is CO with K♥, K♣
MP1 calls $0.50, 2 folds, Hero raises to $3.00, 3 folds, Unknown raises to $10.00, 2 folds, Hero raises to $53.37 (All-in), Unknown raises to $92.60 (All-in).

Flop: ($147.47) 6♠, 4♣, 4♦ (0 players)

Turn: ($147.47) 5♠ (0 players)

River: ($147.47) J♣ (0 players)

Final Pot: $147.47

This is the optimal way to play them, isn't it? I know it is but i'm starting to wonder.. I really can't fold them but I hope that one time queens call me and not aces. But even if aces call me once again, statistically I have to hit my third king sooner or later because I have already lost 3-4 pre-flop all-ins KK vs AA

P.S SoyCD, thanks for the comments

OK, I'm setting off to my village in one hour(to study ♦) but I had the opportunity to play like 1k hands/day during the first days of July.
Here's the result:

What's more I released a 200$ bonus.

I withdrew 212$ from my bankroll so that I have enough money available till the end of summer(if I go to the seaside.. I want to please my father with not wanting money for that).

A thing worth mentioning is that I've made up my mind that I will grind up my bankroll to 2000$ from now on(no more withdraws till the end of summer) and climb up to NL100. Skill level seems to be higher but not by much. My goal is to reach it sometime in August - I've got 2 more 200$ bonuses remaining and with their help I will hopefully do it.

To sum up,

Bankroll: 1162$
Total cash-out: 374$+212$=586$

Actually had I not cashed out I would have been very close to NL100 already, but I prefer it this way - too fast is not too good. Should make at least 30k hands on NL50.

EDIT: I was glad to read in the b-log that pokerroom.com is going to join the partner sites family. It's from the ongame network and the bonus they offer will surely be nice. Once I finish my current bonus, I'm moving directly to Pokerroom(in September probably). I really dislike it that I am currently playing on a site that PS does not offer, but I just had no options from the sites here in PS. The full ring traffic in Betfair and Ladbrokes isn't enough for my likes and some of the other sites do not allow registrations from my country(titan and party). As for fulltilt - I already had an account there before I knew about Pokerstrategy
But pokerroom.com is just what I wanted

A quick update - I am a little bit thrilled from the experience I had in the Sunday Hundred Grand - I mean it's not that big deal in general but this was my biggest cash in MTT and I was just 90 places away from the final table with thousands in prizes. The feeling that you are so close to the big money is remarkable Anyway, didn't get that far, partly because of the lack of cards and partly because of a crucial mistake I made. But anyway - that's still good

Finished 104th for 301,66$(won the seat using my VPP in a qualifier).

Apart from that, I'm doing pretty well in the cash games, too.
Here's the graph for the beggining of July:

Bankroll: 1644$
Total cash-out: 586$

This time I won't make an update when I'm running hot. Just finished a session of 500 hands which ended up like 2 buy-ins back - not that I lost many big pots, just one(like -30), but I was constantly run over. Conti bets raised and such things - this really makes me mad I don't know why. In such cases usually I end up being very nervous - so I decided to finish with the current session.
You should see me how I curse when they call/raise my conti bet for the 4-5th time ♦

Anyway, I had many good sessions in the last days and of course it can't run good forever

Here's the July graph:

I'm close to the 20k hands mark (19,5k to be precise) and my total winrate after today's first session is 3,47 PTBB/100 which is fine I guess. True Win Rate in PT shows that my ring game play is for more than 10$/hour which is cool, adding the bonus it boosts up significantly.

I have set a goal to reach 2000$ bankroll till the end of July which should be relatively easy after I release the next 200$ of my bonus. I am planning a real poker marathon between the 14th-25th and hope to make 15k hands in that period(1,5k hands a day is a maraton for me :)). I'm not sure whether I will make it but it's very hot during the day anyway and one has not much to do.

Once I reach the 2000$ bankroll I will make my first shots at NL100 which is not much harder. My intention is to stay on this limit for long and withdraw the majority of my eventual winnings.

Total Bankroll: 1631$
Total Cash-out: 586$

Hi finchy,

Looks like you are doing well. Keep it up.