Can't beat 10NL!!!!

I'm busy so I'll keep this short. Leaving for Chicago tomorrow, should be fun. I'm a really big Cubs fan.

I really want to get my money from Bodog and my money loaded onto Epassporte so I can play like normal. I hate feeling short playing my sessions on Bodog and Full Tilt, and I think it hurts your play worrying about not going busto because you're playing on limited buyins.

I'm running really really bad on Full Tilt. I won 2 BI the other night to get close to even but in one 25 minute and one 45 minute session in the last two days playing FT 10NL I've lost 3 buyins so I'm down again. I know nobody cares about coolers/beats but I'll list anyways:

-AQ vs QQ on A-high flop, he shoves all in and I call, river is the case Q
-22 vs 33 on 732 flop
-AQ vs 99 on AQ9 flop this morning

Blech. I know the cards will break my way soon, so maybe this vacation is coming at the perfect time. I can get refreshed and get going when I get back. I am excited to try my Full Tilt/Cake 5-tabling plan, as long as Bodog gets me my friggin' money SOMETIME soon.

GL at the tables...

Pete

P.S - the play at 10NL on Full Tilt is tougher than 25NL on Bodog. I've been three bet from the blinds so many times, people check/raise much more often, just more aggressive play in general. Makes me realize how weak play on Bodog is.

Trying to create a community...

I had an idea and posted this on Cardrunners...I think it's a cool idea that could help a lot of our games, keep us motivated, etc...we'll see what people think.

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

Hey fellow low limit grinders:

I'm trying to think of a way to make all of us work harder and play better, and ultimately, of course improve our games long term. I was thinking that some members of this board should do a group "challenge" for the month of July. I use quotations because I'm not thinking a money challenge, like who can make the most money in the month, but instead create a more collaborative environment for the really serious low limit grinders who want to work hard to improve their games, and work hard to discuss hands and situations with others who take the game seriously in order to improve. That's what these forums are all about, after all.

My idea involves something like this:

-"Sign up" if you want to be a part. When you do so, post what you plan to play in the month of July; What sites do you play, what stakes do you play, what are your goals for the month, how many tables do you play at once, how many hands do you usually play a month? This way we can have a better idea of where we're all at going in.

-If you don't have one already, create a poker blog.

-Starting July 1st, update your poker blog as often as you can. Go over your good and bad hands after each session in Poker Tracker, post them to your blog, give your thoughts behind your plays and why you did what you did, what you're confused about or think you could have done better, etc.

-Once you have posted, go through the other low limit grinder blogs and add comments to their posts about the hands they have posted, giving your opinions and creating discussion.

-To ensure that we have equality in effort and participation, only comment on the blogs of those members who are actively contributing on your blog and others! It's no fair if somebody goes through ten blogs and gives well thought out comments but nobody ever comments on his blog, and therefore he's not getting the same value out of doing this. So if you don't participate, contribute, comment, then you don't get anything on your own blog!

-I will start a centralized message board thread where we can talk about whatever, post our results, anything specific we want to talk about that's easier to post in a more centralized manner than on various blogs.

What do people think? I think this could be a great way to get people thinking more about poker and to encourage everybody to participate in helping each other out, instead of always just asking for advice about hands but never helping anybody else out. (We all do this at times...well, everybody against Sir Neb lol)

Also I don't intend on being a dictator, so any suggestions, comments, ideas, etc are welcome.

If you would like to be a part of this, please sign up now, and we'll start July 1st! (I will be in Chicago until July 2 but I will be back after that and happy to participate) Please fill out the form below and respond with what you plan to play/do in the month of July...be specific about 6-max, full ring, heads up, etc.

Name:
Cardrunners name:
Sites/stakes you will play:
Tables you will play at once:
Estimated # of hands you'd like to play during the month:
Blog address:
Poker goals for the month of July:
Anything else you'd like to tell us:

Make some laydowns!

Making a good laydown is like winning money because once you click "call" and you lose, that money doesn't come back. I need to make more good laydowns and not call everybody down!

I had another losing session this morning on both Bodog and Full Tilt. Bodog doesn't even bother me because I had some ridiculous hands and the swings there I'm used to. (I got it in with AKss vs AJ on a J high flop with two spades, he held with his TPTK for the biggest pot I played) But Full Tilt is starting to piss me off because I've had three straight losing sessions of 10NL 6-max there and I'm down 2.5 BI in only three days. How can I not beat 10NL for crying out loud?

I lost a little under a buyin this morning...I won two nice pots, both with overpairs...JJ vs TT and AA vs a flush draw. I didn't get paid like I should with the latter hand because the board was scary. Flop was like Q53 two spades, villain calls my reraise and then the turn is another Q. Hate that. So we checked it down after that. The two big hands I lost were pretty bad. One was really my fault, the other was sort of just crappy. The first I had JJ on a board that was something like 45697. The villain made a big pot sized river bet and I time banked it and called like an idiot when there's nothing I could beat except a busted diamond draw. He flips over 96dd for two pair value betting a scary river card. NH sir and I'm a donk for calling. The other hand I had 55 and the flop came JT5 two spades. I had called a raise and the original raiser led out, I reraised, he called, turn comes As, we both check. River his a blank, he fires out big, and I call even though I can't beat spades and he flips over...KQo for the straight. LOL.

Running and playing badly is a nasty combo. But I don't want to do the "oh the cards are so bad I just can't win why is it all rigged against me I'm so unlucky" crap because I hate that (MKind please pay attention). The fault is my own, and I need to play better. End of story. I am making some -EV plays very regularly right now and I need to find out what they are and change them so I don't continue to burn money.

And I need a winning session at Full Tilt 10NL. Seriously! How bad is that?

Meh meh meh...

I don't feel I've been playing all that well lately but the deck has been pretty bad aside from my really hot day the other day. When I hit hands nobody has anything...today I had a few cold decks as well but I could have laid the hands down. Here is one I should have folded, for example, but I just couldn't get myself to do it:

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1204229

And why do I keep trying to bluff people at this level they will not lay hands like this down:

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1204230

Also right now I can't beat 10NL on Full Tilt! I'm down like 1 and 1/2 buyins in 2 days of playing there. I won one big pot today with AA against some idiot, other than that nothing. I also had Q9cc all in on a TJ8A board against KQ, there were two clubs on board also but the river blanked. I also had T3dd against K7dd and the flush hit for both of us. Uggh.

But then at the end of an awful session I got lucky on Bodog and won a really nice hand and actually ended UP for the session!

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1204217

I hope to get things going better in the next few days, maybe it's just the fact that I'm playing more tables? I think I REALLY REALLY REALLY need to tighten up on Full Tilt at the 10NL level and play REALLY boring poker and just NEVER BLUFF and try not to c-bet light much either. Bodog I'll be fine, just the swings of play I suppose but I think I can play better.

Pete

Blah

Played a quick session today, lost on Bodog and Full Tilt. Lost about $10 on Bodog and $5 on Full Tilt playing 10NL there. Lol, it's hard beating 10NL on Full Tilt, you just HAVE to wait for cards people never fold ever.

I got stacked on Bodog with QTcc on a Kc6cT flop against pocket TT and K6. All three of us got it in after that cooler flop and I couldn't hit my club or else I would have tripled. I did make a sick call on a guy in this hand I'm posting here...just couldn't put him on a hand he'd play like this except a busted draw, or MAYBE QQ:

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1201428

I'm happy I have a little money on Full Tilt now though...I actually was paid my rakeback on time this month from Rake Aid, first time ever! I was actually surprised it actually came without me having to badger them this time. Now when I get a little more money in there when my Epassporte is ready to go and when my cashout comes back from Bodog (mid/late July?) I'll be ready to roll. Getting used to 5-tabling again will take some work and ZERO distractions for me to play my best.

Pete

Still waiting...

My very first cashout from Bodog that I made on May 19th to help cover some bills has STILL not yet arrived. Thank God for credit cards! Apparently I should get that around the 1st of July and hopefully get my other cashout in mid-late July. So frustrating.

Played a little bit this morning and won $7 or something small. Anything upwards, I'll take it. I worked on playing a bit more tight and working on cutting down on my fancy play syndrome. I just played hands and didn't do too much crazy stuff. I made some nice reads too.

I'm excited to get my money on Full Tilt so I can start 6-tabling! 3-tabling right now seems so slow. I'll probably start doing 5 tables, get used to that again, and then bump it to 6. (I played 5 tables at a time last month when I had money on Full Tilt...3 Bodog 25NL, 2 Full Tilt 10NL...but I used my Full Tilt money to pay for 6 more months of Cardrunners)

I set up my Epassporte account, now I just need to verify it and get that money in to Full Tilt. Hopefully do that by the start of next week!

Pete

4 BI+

My biggest session at Bodog 25NL ever, only took an hour of 3-tabling so I ran hot and FINALLY caught some cards after running really bad lately.

Hands:

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1193209 Shouldn't have smooth called with AA preflop sir.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1193218 This guy was playing crazy and just waiting to give all his money away with. I figured TPTK was likely good and put him on a worse K he couldn't get away from. An ugly board but I was willing to get it in against a shortie with TPTK there.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1193223 I played this passively but I think that's an okay approach here. I almost always 3bet this preflop but didn't this time just to mix it up. I should have raised the flop probably.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1193232 Hitting sets vs AA = good session.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1193240 Can I make my hand more obvious? Yet they still give me their money.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1193244 Kind of a funky hand. I knew the player leading out had a 10, and I wanted to isolate against the shortie to I min raised here to see where the guy behind me was at. I have no idea if that's a good play or a terrible play, but I guess if that guy shoves a draw I have to fold and that's pretty shitty.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1193248 Just so my ego doesnt' get too big, here's a hand I misplayed in about every way imaginable.

Good session, nice to hit some sets after seemingly getting nothing for weeks. Really nice to pull in 4 BI after starting to get a bit short on Bodog after cashing most of my bankroll out in order to put it on FT/Cake.

Pete

Of course when you leave yourself short...

Of course you go on a downswing as soon as you pull money off a site and leave yourself a bit short there on funds...oh well. I played a bit more last night and lost about 1 and 1/2 buyins, though it was worse and I rallied a little. I lost two full buyins on hands, one was meh the other was just how it goes. The first I had KK UTG and a guy called on the button and stacked me with 22 when a 2 hit. I actually check/raised him on the flop and we got it all in and I lost. Oh well. The other hand I had JdTd on the button, call an EP raise, flop comes 9d8dx, I get it all in against AA and miss my zillion outs.

I came back with a few nice hands, but the best was with KK, I 3bet from SB, got called by original raiser, flop comes KKx. Flopped quads! I actually lead out for a 3/4 pot sized bet, he calls. I quickly check the turn, he checks behind. At this point I put him on 99-JJ. On the river I do about 9/10 of the pot and he tanks it and calls. Beautiful. Getting paid off with quads is nice, and I think I played it well because any flop check and raise just scares him off that I have AK or something (obv won't put me on quads), but betting out there seems like somebody who's trying to steal, checking the turn represents being scared now, and big river bet represents trying to steal again. I liked my line here.

So I'm nearing the stage that if I have another bad day I'm going to have to drop to 10NL on Bodog which sucks. I'm going to REALLY focus on playing LOW VARIANCE in my future sessions as I want to have some money to play there until they mail me my check in a month and I can put that money on Full Tilt. So I'd like to not go busto, and even possibly make some money in the meantime that I can later cash out and put on FT or Cake.

I'm going to be setting up an Epassporte account today or tomorrow. I'm setting up an online bank account that will just basically be for cashing stuff in and out so my online stuff isn't tied to my major checking account. That way if I ever get hacked it would only be for a few bucks...so hackers, don't bother unless you want like $20. :)

Hopefully the Epassporte setup goes smoothly, as I have about $200 to put on Full Tilt and will get $80 in rakeback there at the start of July. I'm not going to play 25NL though, I'm going to be very careful with my Full Tilt bankroll management and stick with my plan I outlined yesterday.

Not much else up here, it's kind of tough not being able to play much but hopefully I can be fresh and ready to go once things REALLY get going in August/September for me. Until then I just have to work on improving my game, studying, and preparing myself for some serious play in the fall.

I've also set a goal to win enough poker money to buy a really nice Apple Imac by Christmas time. My wife really wants one and if we get one I want to get a really nice one with a jumbo monitor, added on memory for more speed, etc etc. Apparently a new model is coming out in Septemberish, so Christmas time seems like the perfect time to get one. If I can make $1000 a month on average in September, October, November, and December I should easily be able to cash out enough to get something really nice. That's my goal...hopefully I can make it!

Pete

PS: Congrats to Sir Neb from Cardrunners for reaching $10,000 in his bankroll. Neb is one of the best posters on the CR low limits forums and attempts to give back to all the players there (he is one of the Pay It Forwards students of Brian Rue), and always puts a lot of time, thought, and insight in his posts and trying to help others. Check out his blog at sirnebsblog.blogspot.com - congrats Frank and good luck with 200NL...don't forget about us low limit grinders though. :P

Plans for the next few months...

Lost a little under 2BI this morning before work...got QQ AIPF vs AKs and lost, had AA vs 66 and QQ on a 6-4-3 flop and lost that as well. The QQ guy actually called after the first two of us got our money in, pretty bad but I guess tough to lay down but you gotta know you're beat.

The crappy thing is this of course is right after I took the majority of my money off Bodog. I was hoping I could make it on about 9 BI at 25NL so this hurts that a little bit. I told myself if I get down to $100 I will go down to 10NL at Bodog which would seem so wrong but hey you gotta do what you gotta do.

So my plan for the coming months is as follows:

I'm busy the rest of the summer with a few trips, work, and moving to a new city and into a new place. Therefore my play will be sporadic until mid August or so when we're finally settled and the school semester starts. I hope to get my money I cashed out from Bodog yesterday in about a month. (They're saying 20 business days which is basically 4 weeks) So let's just err on the side of caution and say I get that by the end of July or start of August. I'm going to take that money and put it into Full Tilt. I plan on creating an Epassporte account in the next day or two and putting like $100 on Full Tilt. I have something like $7 on there now and will be getting $80 in rakeback there at the start of July. So $180-ish should be enough for me to 3-table 10NL while I 3-table Bodog 25NL.

I will do this until I get my money from Bodog at the end of August, like I was saying. From there I should have enough to easily play 25NL on Full Tilt and very soon 50NL. I'd like 30 buyins if possible, so $1500 is the bankroll goal for Full Tilt.

Once I receive that Bodog check, I will take the rest of my money off of Bodog, however much that ends up being (hopefully my bankroll survives there for the next month and a half!) I will have them mail another check to me (SOOOOOO slow, ugggh) and then take that money and put it on Cake, along with enough funds so I can play 50NL on both Full Tilt and Cake. (5-tabling, 3 FT 2 Cake) I hope to do this by September 1.

So my plans are as follows:

Now - Aug. 1: 3-tables Bodog 25NL 6-max, 3 tables Full Tilt 10NL 6-max. (Moving down to 10NL on Bodog if my bankroll falls)

Aug 1 - Sep. 1: 6-table Full Tilt 25NL 6-max

Sep. 1 - on: 3-tables Full Tilt 50NL 6-max, 2 tables Cake Poker 50NL 6-max

I hope to get in 20,000 hands a month, and if I can beat 50NL at 5 ptBB/100, that would be $1000 a month. From there I want to make money and get comfortable at that level and with my bankroll before trying to move up to 100NL 6-max on both sites sometime next year. I think this is a good plan that will allow me to comfortably move up without rushing things or risking too much money by taking shots and "playing short". If I don't like Cake Poker then I just plan on 5 or 6-tabling on Full Tilt.

We'll see how things go and if I can meet these goals...I want to continue to work everyday on improving my game and preparing myself for tougher, more aggressive games...(not that I expect 50NL to be THAT tough).

Getting money off Bodog...

The Bodog check thing is getting ridiculous so I am trying to get my money off of there...the shitty thing is that I have to wait like two months to get my money so it'll be a bit before I can take that money and put it on to Full Tilt/Cake. But when I do it will be worth it...I can play Full Tilt 50NL 6-max, whereas on Bodog the jump goes from 25NL to 100NL. Also, I can easily 5 or 6-table on Tilt, and on Bodog it's 3-tables max. I think this will be a good decision.

Fun hand of the day:

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1182473 I knew the villain liked to bluff and now I know he calls with gutshot draws and bluff weakly on the river. Almost laid it down but I just couldn't put him on a hand he'd value bet there.

Insane session...

Just played a crazy session of Bodog 25NL where I ended up down about 10 bucks...I was down about 80 at one time though so I'll take it. Some crazy hands here, feel free to check out the insanity below:

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1175914 Not the best way to start a session.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1175916 Small pot, but can still piss me off! He did have a ton of outs though.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1175919 Worst hand of the session. This guy plays crazy like this and shows the occasional bluff but usually has the goods when he plays hard into multiple people here. Total tilt hand and stupid stupid stupid.

Why was I on tilt? This stupid hand:

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1175925 NH SIR!

But things got better and I rallied...

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1175927 I don't think I played this hand that well, but can the villain play his hand any worse?

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1175930 Another hand I overplayed, but WHY DOES HE CALL THE FLOP? Put me on AK lol I guess. :)

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1175932 He called me down with A3o with the 3 of diamonds! LOL!

And then the sickest hand of all:

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1175935 Online poker is so rigged lol.

Crazy session, I think I tilted a bit too much and overplayed my hands at times...I need to settle down and relax and not tilt when things aren't going my way because I didn't even really take any bad beats here...the T8 vs AQ hand is stupid but oh well...the set over set stuff happens...I need to stay calm, focused, positive and the good hands swing back your way in no time! (Hello quads)

Pete

Hand analysis...

I posted this hand analysis at a more "beginner" poker board today, so sorry if some of the stuff seems obvious, but I like walking through this hand and talking it out:


http://www.pokerhand.org/?1173914

Bodog History for Hand #759635334
Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2007-06-14 8:29:12
Table 'Poppy Hills' 6-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: hugepot ($91.19)
Seat 2: gobsmacked1 ($25.00)
Seat 3: nyyankeefan1021 ($12.75)
Seat 4: coachwcc ($63.07)
Seat 5: Narez ($51.35)
Seat 6: amypoker ($25.65)
------------------------------
NEW HAND
amypoker: posts the small blind $0.10
hugepot: posts the big blind $0.25
--- DEALING POCKETS
gobsmacked1 is dealt [9d,9h]
gobsmacked1: raises $0.65 to $0.90
nyyankeefan1021: folds
coachwcc: calls $0.90
Narez: calls $0.90
amypoker: folds
hugepot: folds
--- DEALING FLOP [6s,9c,7c]
gobsmacked1: bets $1.95
coachwcc: calls $1.95
Narez: folds
--- DEALING TURN [Js]
gobsmacked1: bets $4.10
coachwcc: calls $4.10
--- DEALING RIVER [Kd]
gobsmacked1: checks
coachwcc: bets $7.00
gobsmacked1: calls $7.00
coachwcc: shows [5c 4d], High Card, King
gobsmacked1: shows [9d,9h], Three of a Kind, Nines
Hand 759635334:
gobsmacked1: wins($27.70)
with Three of a Kind, Nines

Here's a hand from today's morning session that I liked how I played.

I'm UTG 6-max and raise 99. Pretty standard. Some people limp 99 here because it's hard to play OOP and you're going to miss most flops and have overcards as well so it's a tough hand to play and they want to see a flop cheap. I hate limping so I don't do that here. But if you DO limp 99 UTG you HAVE to limp AA, KK, QQ as well because if you always raise your big pairs UTG and always limp 99-22 you become very easy to read!

So the flop is great, I hit top set. But I'm not going to slowplay or check here, I'm going to bet out. I do that for a few reasons. One, the board has obvious straight and flush draws. It's a dangerous board, so I'm not giving any free cards. Two, I'd even bet if the flop was 9-5-2 rainbow because I'm also going to bet that flop when I have AK and have completely missed. So if I slowplay here with a big hand and bet out when I miss I become easy to read. Therefore I have to bet my big hands as well as my missed hands. Third, slowplaying doesn't put any money in the pot and something I always see people do is slowplay a huge hand on the flop, not get any money in the pot, and then on the river they're not really winning much money because they didn't bet big on the earlier streets, scared of scaring people off. So what if they fold sometimes, you have to bet your big hands or else it's hard to bet your missed hands with any credibility. Your opponents need to know you could have anything.

So I bet the flop with the second nuts and get called. What could he have? These guys will call raises with a LOT of hands at this level, so I could be looking at anything from a club draw to 5-4 to any hand with an 8 in it to two pair hands like 9-7 or even a hand like 66 or 77. I don't think he has 10-10 or JJ or QQ type of hands because he'd raise here to protect them. So I think he has a weak pair, two pair, draw, or maybe even a set. A draw is most likely.

The turn doesn't hit any draws. The clubs missed, and if he had 8-T he already had me on the flop. No reason to think I'm not still ahead, and no reason to slow down, so I fire another bet. He calls. No reason to change my view of what his hand was on the flop. Club draws and straight draws seem likely.

The river misses those draws. I check. Why? Because if I bet into a missed draw, he'll just fold and I won't make any money. If I check to him, he's likely to see that as weakness and try to take the pot away with a big bet. If he had 8-10 so be it. He may have even had a hand like AKcc and have hit top pair on the river and think it's good. I check to him, he bets, and I call. I'm not going to raise, because if I raised a missed draw all in he's just going to fold anyways, and a few hands beat me. (JJ and KK, though they're unlikely) He had 5-4 for a missed draw, and I scoop the pot. I made him pay on the flop and turn, and let him bluff into me on the river. Love this hand.

Pete

Quick update

A quick update:

I had interest from one person as far as a possible staking deal. We're going to take our time and talk things through and not rush into anything, and I think that's a good plan. Also, I don't have time to play a lot of hours right now, and I'll have time to play a good deal more come mid-August, which I'm looking forward to.

I think I've been playing better the last few days, but I'm still making a few mistakes. One thing I think that has hurt is that I used my rakeback money that I have on Full Tilt (my Bodog rakeback is transferred there since Bodog doesn't allow transfers) to cover my Cardrunners costs for the next 6 months. So I only have a few bucks on Full Tilt right now and haven't been playing there. Before, I was playing 3 tables of Bodog 25NL and 2 tables of Full Tilt 10NL just to keep me busy. Now I'm back to playing 3 tables of Bodog 25NL and nothing else. I think fancy play syndrome (FPS!) sometimes catches up with me as I get "bored" of not playing enough hands. I think that multitabling is a good thing for me at this level because it gets me to fold more marginal hands and not spew as much. Yesterday I was having a nice session and then raised J3cc on the button and ended up losing a large pot with a river bluff against a guy with KQ on a K-high board he was never laying down in a million years. Spewing money in spots like that is what's hurting me now, so cutting back on those plays and just playing good solid poker and NOT BLUFFING at this level aside from c-bets is going to be what nets me the most money. So yeah, I look forward to playing more than 3-tables at once again. I signed up for Epassporte, and my plan is to put some money into either Full Tilt or Cake so that when I get my rakeback at Full Tilt next month I can start 5-tabling or maybe 6-tabling again in July.

Still, I think I'm playing better lately. The funny thing is that you get so many gifts at Bodog that I know I just have to be patient and big pots will fall into my lap. I raised JTss UTG five handed yesterday and the flop came 9-high all spades. I got it in on the flop against the button who had K9o. I've also had people tilt and push whole stacks into my the last few days with KQ vs my AK, and A9 vs my QQ. The funny thing is on the latter hand I isolated raised all in and a player CALLED after me with A7cc! And you wonder why I love to play Bodog!

Anyways, my cards have been pretty blah lately so I think I'm doing okay...I made a buyin yesterday so I'll take it. I haven't been running BADLY, as far as bad beats and stuff...just getting dealt boring hands like Q5o and J4o all session. So when the cards pick up I know I'll make money.

Wow, this got longer than I planned. To give you the cliffs notes, I'm excited about getting money on either FT or Cake so I can start playing more than 3-tables at once again. (Damn your three table limits Bodog!) The other cool thing is that all the money I'll have on Cake or Full Tilt (well most of it, depending on how much I put on Epassporte) will have come completely from rakeback and earnings from that rakeback...I've still only deposited that original $200 to Bodog, and everything after that has been profit. Being able to start bankrolls on different sites without ever having to truly deposit your own money there is pretty sweet.

Pete

Cardrunners post...

I posted the following this morning on Cardrunners. I don't really expect to get a stake from it, but it was easy to put together and what's the harm in trying? I tried to get myself across in the post, and I thought including visual aids couldn't be anything but helpful. :) If I don't get a stake I'll still be fine because I consistently win at 25NL and I am building up rakeback money to start playing regularly on either Full Tilt or Cake, so playing more tables will increase my profitability. But still, be able to take a shot at 100NL and being able to play optimally instead of worrying about only having a three buyin shot for it or whatever would be REALLY nice. Plus from what I've seen on Bodog, those games are SO beatable over time with a decent bankroll. I KNOW I would win at them.

Anyways, here's my post:

----

So here's my story:

I'm Pete, and I'm a 24 year old master's student about to be a doctoral student in communication (officially get my master's in August). I have been interested in poker since the Moneymaker boom, but I only started playing online in December of 2006. Before then I couldn't really deposit online for a few reasons, but I joined Cardrunners and studied for months before I started playing because when I started playing for real money I wanted to do things right. Before then I just played with friends and at free bar leagues and stuff like that.

I deposited on Bodog in late December and ran really hot to begin with, so my end of December and January were very profitable. I believe around that time I got Poker Tracker (it might have been mid January) and started datamining. I know have over 45,000 hands of mine logged at 25NL, mostly at Bodog 6-max and a few at Full Tilt 6-max. Over those 45,000 hands I have beaten 25NL 6-max at a 7.2 ptBB/100 clip. (overall I have likely beaten it at a higher level, but like I said I ran hot when I first deposited on there. Since then I have grown tremendously as a player and continue to develop!)

This month I prepared a move up to 100NL 6-max on Bodog. The reason I skipped 50NL is because Bodog doesn't have 6-max tables at that level, and I don't enjoy full ring games as much. I made my move to 100NL and then my car broke down. I had to withdraw a big chunk of my bankroll to cover that and some other bills, and so I was back at 25NL in no time because it takes a while to make back $1000 playing at that level for the amount of time that I do.

Anyways, I believe that my numbers show I am ready to move up to at LEAST 50NL 6-max, but I don't have the bankroll for it on any other site than Bodog, and Bodog doesn't have 6-max tables at the 50NL level. Therefore, I would like to be staked for:

-50NL on Full Tilt or Poker Stars
-100NL on Bodog or Cake

I'm open to other ideas as well. I believe that the play on Full Tilt and Poker Stars is tougher than Bodog and that the 50N: levels are probably more like the 100NL levels on Bodog or another soft site in Cake. The tough thing about staking somebody on Bodog is that money transferring is not easy, and they don't even accept Epassporte, so that kind of sucks. But again, I'm open to suggestions. Cake I put in here because I have heard it is even softer than Bodog, and they allow peer-to-peer money transfers, making staking on that site easier. Full Tilt and Poker Stars are obviously potential sites even though the tables may be a bit tougher, because they are MUCH easier to multitable than Bodog or Cake. (Bodog has a max of three tables, Cake's screens are really big)

I have included a graph of my 25NL 6-max stats here. I would also be happy to share Poker Tracker data, etc.

I am looking for a stake at 50NL or 100NL. I have never been staked before, but I think a deal where you get your money back and 50% of my profits (if I win) would be fair. We could do it on a month to month basis. I am open to discussing things such as how to keep track of my profits (obviously we need to make sure I am honestly reporting what I'm winning, etc. How do people do that?), make sure you get paid, etc.

While you may not know me, I am happy to discuss via email or even over the phone anything related to this stake. I am a fairly regular poster in the small stakes NLHE forum, and I update a blog regularly where I discuss my growth and struggles as a poker player. I am open about myself as a poker player and am not trying to pull a scam. I love the game and love studying it and improving. I feel the fact that I was a Cardrunners member for months before I ever played a real money hand online shows this dedication and desire to improve and be able to do this well.

Right now I don't play a super high volume...probably 10k - 15k hands a month. A lot of this is due to the fact that Bodog only allows you to play three tables at once. I also have a very busy summer ahead of me, but when August comes around I should have a lot more time to play and be able to get in many more hands, especially if I am able to 5-6 table.

If you would like to discuss this further send me a PM on Cardrunners and I'll give you my email info. Reply here or send me a PM with any questions. Thanks!

Pete

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/9011/25nl45khandspu8.jpg

Tough last few days...

The last three days have been pretty bad results wise. Three days ago I posted about dropping 2BI at 25NL. The next day I dropped a buyin and a half at 100NL taking a shot there, which really hurt me. I was down the whole session, rallied back to being down only $5 or so, and then lost it from there. I played 99 about as badly as you possibly can and lost half a buyin on that hand alone.

Today I played LHE and NLHE on Bodog 1/2 and 25NL. NLHE was meh, I played AK terribly and lost a huge pot with two pair against a flush where I called out of frustration when I couldn't beat anything and it was obvious he had me beat but I couldn't lay it down...but I made it back the next hand with QQ with an overshove representing tilt and I got called with A6ss. In LHE the cards were terrible, but all in all I'm down just over a buyin at my usual stakes (25NL).

I haven't been playing well lately and the only one at fault is me! I need to make better decisions, not spew as much with mediocre hands, not call out of frustration when I'm running badly, etc.

On the plus side I've read some great posts on the 2+2 forum by AEJones regarding figuring out hand ranges on the river and figuring out what hands to bet for value on the river as well. A great point he makes is that most of us bet our top 15% and bottom 10% of hands on the river...big hands and big bluffs. He argues we need to bet more of our pretty good hands on the river to get value from people that always think we're bluffing.

I've realized I have a long way to go in improving my post flop game and that I can't just run people over all the time with blind aggression, especially when you move up. Nobody gives you credit for a hand when you do the "standard" things anymore, it seems. (Button raise, c-bet, etc) I need to become more creative with my post flop play...well, maybe thoughtful and analytical is the better word.

I've also been reading more about 3-betting from the blinds vs button raises, putting more pressure on people with check raises on dry boards, etc. I think by thinking about my game like this it will help me get through these tough streaks, find leaks in my game, and ultimately make me a better and more profitable player.

Pete

P.S - I know to many of you losing 3-4 buyins over three days is nothing but I play a fairly low variance game and don't play a lot of hours so to me it seems bad, but I understand how this run isn't really that bad...I just wanted to still complain about it. :P

Down 2 BI at 25NL...

I played 25NL today as I'm only going to take limited shots at 100NL right now and not play it every day. I think I played really well for about 95% of the time. I messed up some big hands though. I messed up AKo and got it AIPF against three players that ended up having AQ and QQ. The QQ held and I lost a buyin there.

I misplayed 46ss from the button...flop came 643 all clubs and I got it all in against somebody who had flopped a flush.

And then I ran really badly too, couldn't hit a set for the life of me with so many chances to stack people if I did. I made some really nice plays too, raising when I sensed weakness, getting people to pay me off, etc. I still feel very confident in my game, I know days like these will happen and I just need to eliminate mistakes to get better.

Here's an idea of how I ran and the caliber of play at Bodog:

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1152518

Limp UTG and call a huge raise out of the blinds with Q4o? Oh of course. :)

I'll do better next time. Peace.

Pete

Nice session, multitabling, Macs...

I squeezed in about 40-45 minutes of play before work today and had my biggest session ever at +$115 or so. I played both 25NL 6-max and 100NL 6-max. I also had a small winning session yesterday in which I played 25NL and some 50NL full ring but at a short handed table. (PBB thanks for the comment...while I don't play 50NL usually because Bodog doesn't have it at 6-max, I'll keep my eyes open for short handed tables that act the same...the play was super soft)

Anyways, this morning I won two big pots at the 100NL table. I don't have PT here for exact hands, but one was 99 vs. a short stacks all in CALL with 56o, and the other was me raising 9Tcc from the SB, BB smooth calls, flop comes T8x...I lead, he has been very aggressive and reraises, I shove, he calls with 97, turn and river brick and I scoop a nice pot. It's much higher variance than I typically like to play, but I want to at least be aggressive enough at this level so that people don't push me around, and I read him about perfectly on this hand.

At 25NL I got lucky on a hand where I had AKo with the Kh, flop comes Axx all hearts, and I get it all in vs Jh8h. The turn comes the 3h and I take down a buyin. I was actually impressed the guy actually played his hand fast enough to get all the money in on the flop instead of doing the usual Bodog slow play.

So I've been running pretty well lately but I also think I'm playing really well too. I am taking limited shots at 100NL when I believe the tables are weak...I have no interest playing good players, I am not in this for pride! I just want easy money. I feel extremely comfortable playing 25NL but I can't play that forever, and I always want to improve. I will continue to play 50NL at times when the tables are short handed, but I really don't have much interest in playing full ring a lot because I don't think I'm as good at it...have to have a lot of patience, and that can be hard playing only 3 tables at once on Bodog.

That's another thing I want to talk about...multitabling. Right now I really only have money on Bodog, so I can only play 3 tables at once. I had money on Full Tilt (that's where my Bodog rakeback is sent since Bodog doesn't do transfers), but I'm using that money to pay for 6 more months of Cardrunners. I've also not done all that great on FT and I think the play is a bit tougher in general than your average site. My plan right now is to use my rakeback money and a few extra bucks I have from selling some books and stuff to start up an account on Cake Poker, which is supposed to be about the softest site around. Hopefully on my Dell XPS laptop I can fit two tables of Cake and 5-table. I think that's a good amount for me until I get really good at doing that, because I know right now I just can't handle 8-tabling and I don't play on Stars or Full Tilt with resizable tables anyways.

My wife wants to get an Imac for our next computer, so I want to get one with a jumbo 24" monitor...anyone know how many tables you can easily fit on one of those? (Then I'd only have to figure out how to get poker software to work on a Mac!)

Anyways, that's it for me...ty for comments, etc.

Pete

100 NL...

I took a small shot today at 100NL...nothing insane, just 2 tables of 6-max and 1 table of 50NL Full Ring on Bodog for a very brief session...I won just under half a buyin. I am comfortable taking small shots at 100NL on occasion because I KNOW I can beat the games, I just don't have the full bankroll I need right now, and because I KNOW I can crush 25NL that I always have that. I have set aside a few buyins of my bankroll that I could lose and still be okay with to take shots at 100NL on occasion when the games look good. (I am datamining a lot)

When looking back at my few sessions of 100NL before, I realized I spewed too much money c-betting on flops where I could easily be taken off them (those way ahead/way behind situations where you have a hand but it's weak like KJ on a K-high flop maybe), or just when I had nothing. You can't run people over at this level like you can at 25NL, people float a bit more, raise more, and try to take pots away. I think playing position/nitty/smart can work at that level because people still pay you off because the play is pretty awful for the most part and people are willing to go all the way with top pair mediocre kicker. Anyways, we'll see how it goes.

My best hand from today's session...the river shove is pretty bad in hindsight. Oh well.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1142960

Good luck to all of you at the tables!

Pete

June update #1...

Playing very well now. Very confident in my game. Making good decisions most of the time. One thing I have REALLY improved upon in the last few months is getting away from marginal hands post flop, especially OOP. I just played for two hours and only won $7 at 25NL which was frustrating because one big beat for a buyin kept it from being more (I flopped set vs his top pair, he hit runner runner straight).

Still, I'm very confident in my game and I know I could beat 100NL if I had the bankroll...sucks to have to grind it up again but that's life...sooner or later I'll get my shot and I'll do very well.

Pete