February review

So as you can see below, I only won for the month because of the nice run at the end of the month. It was only 23K hands, and I ran very poorly at the beginning and middle of the month, so overall I can't complain too much.





So for some reason I wasn't able to download my limit by limit stats, so here's the written form:

Limit Hands Amt. Won BB/100

50NL 13,662 -104.50 -0.76
100NL 9,907 730.25 3.69

I finished about 400 below AIEV for the month, which is actually not as bad as I thought it would be, thanks to a nice run at the end.

The end result:

$622.37 table winnings
+163.85(5120.34 VPPs*2FPP/VPP (as a gold star only!)*1.6c/FPP)
-------
786.22 total profit

As for why I didn't do so well at 50NL:





I came up short of my goal to have a 4 figure profit month, but overall I did achieve a number of worthwhile things that will enable me to increase my earnings in the future:

1. I've learned to comfortably 12 table. My wife is having a hard enough time dealing with the kitchen table looking like a techie zone, so a second monitor will have to wait until we move. But I am looking forward to being able to go up to 16-20tables in the not so distant future.

2. I've learned to keep my tilt under control. When I was running poorly, it was difficult to keep my head on straight. But I simply got used to it and accepted it as part of the game.

3. I've tried to stay out of the way of the good regs. Most of my income will come from players who I have a clear edge in skill over. So it's better to target those tables where the fish are, and to not get into too many reg wars.

So onto March. This is my first full month with the new hardware, I hope to have my best month ever. Some goals:

1. Achieve platinum star- that'll come with a 2.5 multiplier.
2. Have a 2K month- why not?
3. Put in more volume- I have no idea how much...

Non-poker stuff: spent the day watching the gold medal hockey game. Even though the Americans lost, I was glad Sid was able to come through with the winner. Since I am moving to Canada, I wasn't really cheering too hard one way or the other. I guess I'm not too patriotic, because if it were a pittsburgh team I would always root for them, no matter where I live.

That's it for now... lots of stuff going on in march!

one day best

So yesterday I booked my highest one day win, earning just under 750. I finally ran relatively well, and my hands held up for once! Having the doomswitch lifted made playing so much fun... Yesterday I played a mix of 50NL and 100NL 12 tabling. I'm getting much more comfortable at making stats based reads, so I'm really tempted to add another monitor and take this seriously. Still, I'm only up a modest amount for the month due to the nasty variance i've been experiencing.

During yesterday's session I was especially proud of one particular hand where I flopped top set on a somewhat wet board and was able to stack a megadonk by checking back on the flop, and better the turn when he picked up a gutshot straight draw with an overcard and he tried a bluff raise. Typically, I would cbet about 2/3 of the pot on the flop, but I was able to realize a spot where villian most likely only had air, and would have folded to the cbet... it's spots like these where I feel like i'm able to take lines away from my typical bet when you can mentality to get value on later streets.

Poker is fun again...

Non-poker stuff is very busy right now... i'm buying a house and there's so many little (and big) things that need done. I will be happy when this whole process is over.

I'm really looking forward to the US Canada hockey game tomorrow. Being from Pittsburgh, it's hard to root against Sidney Crosby...

ready for another monitor?

So my friday session I again ran poorly, finishing about 120 below AIEV. I got it in several times against opponents prefop having pair over pair, and three times in a row I just yelled out the card they needed and it came right on cue.

I did book a 1BI win thanks to my AA holding up against KK.

I feel pretty comfortable 12 tabling right now, and am considering adding another 23 inch monitor to increase my volume.

So far I'm down for the month, but am happy with the way i'm playing. Though I did spazz out two days ago making a 3bet bluff on my opponents cbet after his raise from the BB preflop. My AKs failed to catch against his KK.

So I'm going away for the weekend, and hope to 9 table on my laptop and put in some good sessions.

gotta pick it up

ok so it's a third of the way thru feb, and i've gotta pick up my game... need to put in more volume, and most importantly I need to RUN WELL for a change!

overall, i'm happy with my decision making. I do think I need to make few adjustments:
-table select more often
-bet size better to enable villian to call more often with worse
-get better at assigning ranges to the type of villian so I can know when I need to check monsters, or value bet smaller

non-poker stuff is going well. I enjoyed the super bowl, but didn't really get too into it bc I was playing a friendly NLHE tourney at my friend's home. even there I got it in wit AA and of course KJ flopped top two...

Personally, I've been trying to put more emphasis on keeping in touch with family and friends... i've been slacking off in that area, and it's been a somewhat of a void in my life. Hopefully, things will change in my day job to give me a little more freedom and time to have more balance in my life.

running bad

so I'm 12 tabling a mix of 100 and 50 NL, and I feel i'm playing well, making good decisions, but have been running awful. it seems like everytime since the end of december, each time stacks go in and villian has 1 out, 2 outs, 5 outs, whatever, they hit. I know I can't do anything about this, except remain focused. yesterday's session ended down about 1 BI, and I was about 300 below AIEV. Oh well...

on the other hand, I feel like I am getting a better grasp with my new style. I'm playing at about a 13/10 style, and feel like I am a winner at these stakes. but only a marginal winner right now.

first post

So i'm starting this blog to chronicle my journey towards becoming an online poker pro. i'd also like to use this as a tool to review some hands and go over concepts that i've been working on.

At this point in my poker career, i'm currently about a 2ptBB winner at 100NL, although i've been stuck in a breakeven stretch since last september. i'm currently trying to transition my game from a LAG playing 4 tables into a TAG playing 12 tables and up. This is relatively new to me, but I think it a more practical way of making money at poker.

Hopefully by the end of the year I will be able to get to the point where I am making enough money and have enough confidence in my game that I will be able to consider becoming a full time pro.

I play on pokerstars, and hope to achieve supernova status this year. I have just bought a new computer, and a 23 inch monitor, in which i am able to comfortably 12 table, up from my current standard of 6 on my laptop.

So we'll see where this month goes. My goals for Feb.:

-play 30,000 hands
-play no higher than a 12/10 style, with ATS of 20-25, preferably a 10/8 style with ATS of 25
-have a 4 figure month-i've only done this once, so a tall order for me!

Let it begin...