A hard earned dollar

I've reached something of a milestone in $0.50/$1.00 limit hold'em. Eleven months and over 1300 hands in and I've now made slightly over $1 of profit.

It's been a journey. I ran really well in the micro stakes levels, including $0.25/$0.50 which I beat for 7 BB/100. I started out pretty well at $0.50/$1.00, winning 17 BB in the first 50 hands. Then last spring/summer a downswing hit. It was a 50 BB downswing over around 1000 hands and 4 months. The downswing was caused by the usual combination of card dead, bad beats, and some bad play on my part.

Discouraged and not properly bankrolled to continue, I was glad to give up on $0.50/$1.00. I hardly played any poker at all, just freeroll and $1 or lower MTTs for over 2 months. When I returned to playing regularly I focused more on 2 table turbo sit 'n go where I ran well. I also played sub $5 MTTs around break even with a few small cashes. I played $2 NL successfully and made an unsuccessful attempt at $5 NL which I gave up on.

After quitting $5 NL and reading Theory of Poker I felt enthusiastic about playing limit hold'em again. I restarted at my favorite level $0.25/$0.50 and it was as good as ever. I ran well against poor opponents and chipped up nicely. Thanks to sng profits my bankroll was good to play $0.50/$1.00 again.

I've been feeling good since my return to $0.50/$1.00. More relaxed, not pressing as much, folding more. I'm not worried about the stakes, the opponents, or how well I ran at lower levels.

I've been more diligent about table selection, waiting for good tables with position on bad opponents. Since Stars regularly has well over 100,000 people playing at the same time now I've found the $0.50/$1.00 game better than I remember it last summer. It seems easier now to find $0.50/$1.00 tables that play like $0.25/$0.50. Now if I don't see a $0.50/$1.00 game I like I just play $0.25/$0.50 where the games are always good instead.

Of course there's nothing like running well to restore confidence. Since my return to $0.50/$1.00 I've managed to take down my first $20 and $25 LHE pots. I've won over 30 BB in around 350 hands, obviously running very hot.

So I'm not discouraged by 1300 hands of break even over 11 months. The sample size is not very large. Many multi tablers play well over 1300 hands in a single session. Downswings happen. I had a 50 BB downswing back at $0.02/$0.04, but I knew I could beat that level at the time. I just had to work through it and I did. Hopefully the break even period is just something that I had to get out of the way before I could start winning.

Recent events have been very encouraging. I feel now like I belong here and I can be a winner. There are fish around and beatable tables.

First ever straight flush

I've been playing Texas hold'em online for around 3 years now. I recently made a straight flush for the first time. I've had quads many times over the years and this is my first straight flush.

PokerStars 0.50/1.00 Hold'em (10 handed)

Preflop: Hero is CO with Kh, Jh.
1 fold, UTG+1 calls, 3 folds, MP3 calls, Hero calls, 1 fold, SB completes, BB checks.

-> I like to limp in late position with suited high cards in multiway pots. With 2 limpers and the button playing tight I limp in.


Flop: (5 SB) Qs, Qh, Th (5 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG+1 checks, MP3 checks, Hero bets, SB calls, BB calls, UTG+1 folds, MP3 folds.

-> On the flop I have good equity with a couple of draws. Although the board is paired I bet to get some money in.


Turn: (4 BB) 9h (3 players)
SB bets, BB calls, Hero raises, SB calls, BB calls.

-> The turn is the magical 9h giving me the straight flush.


River: (10 BB) Ac (3 players)
SB bets, BB calls, Hero raises, SB calls, BB calls.

-> I was hoping someone would hit a full house or the Ace high flush. Still lots of bets go in on the turn and river and I win a nice $16 pot for my really big hand.


Final Pot: 16 BB

Results:
SB mucked [Qd 5d] (three of a kind, queens)
BB mucked [Js 8h] (straight, eight to queen)
Hero shows Kh Jh (straight flush, king high).

Outcome: Hero wins 16 BB.