Things are going well at $0.05/$0.10 limit. I've reached my goal of winning 100 BB. My win rate was a brisk 13.3 BB/100 hands. That's likely not sustainable, and the sample size is too small to be meaningful.
Still I have the bankroll to take a 100 BB shot at the next level up $0.10/$0.20. Given my success at the lower levels I feel I should be able to at least be break even at this level.
Over on 2+2, the 2c/4c and 5c/10c levels are considered pretty much joke levels, not much different than play money. From playing in them I won't argue with that. There are a lot of bad players, varying from loose passive, to loose aggressive, to weak tight. It's not hard to find a soft table.
Maybe people at these levels don't care because the stakes are so low. Maybe they're just playing for fun with no real desire to win. Maybe they just don't have a clue about how to play well.
Now 10c/20c is considered the first "real money" level. The thing about 2c/4c and 5c/10c is that the minimum $50 deposit on PokerStars gives you an enormous bankroll where you can play badly pretty much indefinitely (certainly for several months single tabling a few hours a week) and lose money very slowly if at all. At 10c/20c a minimum $50 deposit is only 250 BB, so you have to play well or go bust or move down.
So hopefully the next level will be more challenging, but still beatable. I don't want to have to go back to 5c/10c.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Didn't quite quit
Well I meant to quit but I didn't quite. I did get that other project started so I'll continue to try to advance that while playing as little poker as I can take, which is tough.
I took my free shot at that ridiculous Moneymaker Millionaire freeroll. I finised around 1100 out of 6500 in the first round qualifier. The top 50 advanced to the next round. I was actually pretty happy with how my first MTT turned out. I'll want to do some more in the future when time permits.
5c/10c limit is going pretty well. A recent upswing with my first $2 winning session (LOL) leaves me at around +10BB/100 through around 650 hands, as usual a too small sample size, sigh. I've been lucky to get paid off very well off some monster hands like these.
Flopped Full House
PokerStars 0.05/0.10 Hold'em (9 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from http://www.flopturnriver.comFlopTurnRiver.com (Format: Plain Text)
Preflop: Hero is CO with Td, Ts. Hero posts a blind of $0.05.
4 folds, MP3 calls, Hero (poster) raises, 1 fold, SB 3-bets, 1 fold, MP3 calls, Hero calls.
Flop: (10 SB) 8s, 8h, Tc (3 players)
SB bets, MP3 calls, Hero calls.
Turn: (6.50 BB) [8s, 8h, Tc] Jd (3 players)
SB bets, MP3 calls, Hero raises, SB 3-bets, MP3 calls, Hero caps, SB calls, MP3 calls.
River: (18.50 BB) [8s, 8h, Tc, Jd] 9d (3 players)
SB bets, MP3 calls, Hero raises, SB 3-bets, MP3 folds, Hero caps, SB calls.
Final Pot: 27.50 BB
Results below:
SB has 9s Qs (straight, queen high).
Hero has Td Ts (full house, tens full of eights).
Outcome: Hero wins 27.50 BB.
Flopped Quads
PokerStars 0.05/0.10 Hold'em (9 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from http://www.flopturnriver.comFlopTurnRiver.com (Format: Plain Text)
Preflop: Hero is CO with 9d, 9h.
UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, 2 folds, MP3 calls, Hero raises, Button calls, 1 fold, BB calls, UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, MP3 calls.
Flop: (12.40 SB) 9c, 8s, 9s (6 players)
BB bets, UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, MP3 calls, Hero calls, Button raises, BB calls, UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, MP3 calls, Hero 3-bets, Button calls, BB calls, UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, MP3 calls.
Turn: (15.20 BB) [9c, 8s, 9s] Jc (6 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, UTG+1 checks, MP3 checks, Hero bets, Button calls, BB folds, UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, MP3 folds.
River: (19.20 BB) [9c, 8s, 9s Jc] Ts (4 players)
UTG checks, UTG+1 bets, Hero raises, Button 3-bets, UTG folds, UTG+1 calls, Hero caps, Button calls, UTG+1 calls.
Final Pot: 29.20 BB
Results below:
UTG+1 has Qh 3d (straight, queen high).
Hero has 9d 9h (four of a kind, nines).
Button has 4s As (flush, ace high).
Outcome: Hero wins 29.20 BB.
I took my free shot at that ridiculous Moneymaker Millionaire freeroll. I finised around 1100 out of 6500 in the first round qualifier. The top 50 advanced to the next round. I was actually pretty happy with how my first MTT turned out. I'll want to do some more in the future when time permits.
5c/10c limit is going pretty well. A recent upswing with my first $2 winning session (LOL) leaves me at around +10BB/100 through around 650 hands, as usual a too small sample size, sigh. I've been lucky to get paid off very well off some monster hands like these.
Flopped Full House
PokerStars 0.05/0.10 Hold'em (9 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from http://www.flopturnriver.comFlopTurnRiver.com (Format: Plain Text)
Preflop: Hero is CO with Td, Ts. Hero posts a blind of $0.05.
4 folds, MP3 calls, Hero (poster) raises, 1 fold, SB 3-bets, 1 fold, MP3 calls, Hero calls.
Flop: (10 SB) 8s, 8h, Tc (3 players)
SB bets, MP3 calls, Hero calls.
Turn: (6.50 BB) [8s, 8h, Tc] Jd (3 players)
SB bets, MP3 calls, Hero raises, SB 3-bets, MP3 calls, Hero caps, SB calls, MP3 calls.
River: (18.50 BB) [8s, 8h, Tc, Jd] 9d (3 players)
SB bets, MP3 calls, Hero raises, SB 3-bets, MP3 folds, Hero caps, SB calls.
Final Pot: 27.50 BB
Results below:
SB has 9s Qs (straight, queen high).
Hero has Td Ts (full house, tens full of eights).
Outcome: Hero wins 27.50 BB.
Flopped Quads
PokerStars 0.05/0.10 Hold'em (9 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from http://www.flopturnriver.comFlopTurnRiver.com (Format: Plain Text)
Preflop: Hero is CO with 9d, 9h.
UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, 2 folds, MP3 calls, Hero raises, Button calls, 1 fold, BB calls, UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, MP3 calls.
Flop: (12.40 SB) 9c, 8s, 9s (6 players)
BB bets, UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, MP3 calls, Hero calls, Button raises, BB calls, UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, MP3 calls, Hero 3-bets, Button calls, BB calls, UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, MP3 calls.
Turn: (15.20 BB) [9c, 8s, 9s] Jc (6 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, UTG+1 checks, MP3 checks, Hero bets, Button calls, BB folds, UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, MP3 folds.
River: (19.20 BB) [9c, 8s, 9s Jc] Ts (4 players)
UTG checks, UTG+1 bets, Hero raises, Button 3-bets, UTG folds, UTG+1 calls, Hero caps, Button calls, UTG+1 calls.
Final Pot: 29.20 BB
Results below:
UTG+1 has Qh 3d (straight, queen high).
Hero has 9d 9h (four of a kind, nines).
Button has 4s As (flush, ace high).
Outcome: Hero wins 29.20 BB.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Taking a break
I've come to a decision about poker. I am resolving to quit playing for a while. The reason is not because of losing or not enjoying it. I'm winning at limit hold'em, and I enjoy playing, reading poker blogs and the 2+2 forums, and writing about poker.
The reasons are basically non poker related. I find I'm often tired at work, more tired than in previous years it seems. If I spend less time around poker then I can get some more rest which I feel I badly need.
The other thing is that there is this other project that I really should be doing that I've been procrastinating getting started. The problem is that poker is too compelling and if I have free time then I can't motivate myself to get that other project going. So I think by quitting poker that will force me to start and finish the other project, if only so I can get back to the tables. The other project will take a few months I estimate.
It's not a bad time for a break. I've been playing for a little over a year. I've gone from not knowing if a flush beats a straight to winning at real money. I'm pleased with my progress; I didn't get to spend as much time on it as I would have really liked to. The next phase would be to invest the time and money in books to get better, and bankroll to take shots at higher levels in limit and give tournaments a proper chance to be successful.
So the break plan. Starting well, now, just stop playing until the end of this year. Get that other project off the ground and really going. I guess it's OK to just log in once a month to keep my account active and my crummy 18 FPPs around. But otherwise no playing, also no poker reading or writing. Reevaluate in January my progress and status.
The reasons are basically non poker related. I find I'm often tired at work, more tired than in previous years it seems. If I spend less time around poker then I can get some more rest which I feel I badly need.
The other thing is that there is this other project that I really should be doing that I've been procrastinating getting started. The problem is that poker is too compelling and if I have free time then I can't motivate myself to get that other project going. So I think by quitting poker that will force me to start and finish the other project, if only so I can get back to the tables. The other project will take a few months I estimate.
It's not a bad time for a break. I've been playing for a little over a year. I've gone from not knowing if a flush beats a straight to winning at real money. I'm pleased with my progress; I didn't get to spend as much time on it as I would have really liked to. The next phase would be to invest the time and money in books to get better, and bankroll to take shots at higher levels in limit and give tournaments a proper chance to be successful.
So the break plan. Starting well, now, just stop playing until the end of this year. Get that other project off the ground and really going. I guess it's OK to just log in once a month to keep my account active and my crummy 18 FPPs around. But otherwise no playing, also no poker reading or writing. Reevaluate in January my progress and status.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Moneymaker Millionaire
So PokerStars is sponsoring a huge $2.5 million freeroll called the Moneymaker Millionaire. The first round qualifying tournaments had like 10,000 people at the start. Last I checked it was down to around 6500. Only the top 50 from the first round qualies advance to the weekly 2nd round events. So better to wait to take the shot at it.
I get a free entry but I don't think I'm going to bother with it. What's the chance of finishing in the top one half of 1% in the first round, followed by doing it again in the second round, to get yet another longshot chance in the monthly round three. Good luck to whoever tries it out. I guess someone has to win it.
When I first saw it I thought how totally appropriate to use Chris Moneymaker. He seems like a likeable guy, but what has he accomplished since his 2003 WSOP win? His WSOP success is widely viewed as a fantastic fluke, combining pretty good (not necessarily world class) poker skill with an incredible run of good fortune to win. That's about what it will take for someone to emerge from this truly massive field to win a big prize. Above average tournament poker skills, plus an unimaginable run of good luck.
I get a free entry but I don't think I'm going to bother with it. What's the chance of finishing in the top one half of 1% in the first round, followed by doing it again in the second round, to get yet another longshot chance in the monthly round three. Good luck to whoever tries it out. I guess someone has to win it.
When I first saw it I thought how totally appropriate to use Chris Moneymaker. He seems like a likeable guy, but what has he accomplished since his 2003 WSOP win? His WSOP success is widely viewed as a fantastic fluke, combining pretty good (not necessarily world class) poker skill with an incredible run of good fortune to win. That's about what it will take for someone to emerge from this truly massive field to win a big prize. Above average tournament poker skills, plus an unimaginable run of good luck.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Harrington on Hold'em II
I finished reading HOH II. That was a very enlightening book. I basically had it all wrong with tournaments. I didn't apply pot odds properly, I was too weak/tight. I didn't calculate M properly and waited way too long to get busy and start trying to make plays.
I was too focused on finishing position. In a multi table tournament you need to focus all of your actions towards finishing in the top three. The payouts for any other finishing position are not worth playing for and will not make enough profit for the many times you don't make the money at all.
In a 5 table tournament on Stars whether you finish 8th or 45th the payout is the same: $0. So get busy and try to build a stack. Doubling up early is great, however that won't carry you anywhere, you need to put that new money to work and be prepared to lose it. So "lasting", finishing in the top half, reaching the final table, etc. for its own sake is not profitable so don't bother with it. You have to play to finish in the final three.
Finishing in the money isn't worth playing for on its own. These are the payouts in the $1.20 5 table Stars micro SNG.
1: $14
2: $10
3: $7
4: $5
5: $4
6: $3
7: $2
8-45: $0
More than half goes to the top two, and 69% to the top three. So you need to play to finish in the top three to make any real profit in tournaments. If you go bust in 38th, 8th, 6th, 4th playing to win with a good stack that you could have just folded your way to a higher finish then that's OK.
I calculated how often you need to be in the top three to break even in the $1.20, 5 table tournaments. I'll average $10.20 prize over the top three. That's $9 profit after buy in.
Let X be how often you finish in the top 3. So your expected winnings are
E = $9.00(x) + -$1.20(1-x)
Setting E to 0 yields the break even point x =~ .12. So you need to be in the top 3 around 1 in 8 times to break even. If you can do that then you'll get enough incidental profit from finishing 4-7 to make it profitable. Still that means this tournament is tough and lumpy to make profit. If I finish in the top 3 12% of the time, I would expect to finish 4-7 around 12% of the time. I'd then expect to wash out like 75% of the time, all that losing is tough psychologically. So I'll just play them occasionally for fun because they are fun to play.
In HOH II, the theme is to play to win. There are statements like loosely quoting "not afraid to lose", "you have to make this play to be successful in tournaments", "play to win", "steep dropoff in payout after third place".
Since I read HOH II, I had to take a shot at a couple of $1.20 5 table SNGs. I finished 33rd and 29th. Yet I feel a lot better about them then I did when I was finishing higher (but still outta the money) earlier in SNGs. I played more hands and had more fun.
The first one I went bust when my flush was beaten by a full house where villian limped with 23s in EP. Nice play, fish. No matter, I'll win off players like that over time. The next one my M was around 7, blinds t75/150. I was in the BB with A2o. 3 limpers before. I decided to push, hoping to steal it. Unfortunately 2 callers. I was hoping to see Kx, but not so. SB slow played AQs by limping, the fish. I should have waited a little bit longer to push, that wasn't a great spot and I wasn't under extreme M pressure yet. Oh well, pick a better spot to push next time, no worries.
Tournaments are fun but likely not to be profitable for me. So in the future I'll have to read HOH I, reread HOH II, bankroll it with 50 buyins and give it another try.
I was too focused on finishing position. In a multi table tournament you need to focus all of your actions towards finishing in the top three. The payouts for any other finishing position are not worth playing for and will not make enough profit for the many times you don't make the money at all.
In a 5 table tournament on Stars whether you finish 8th or 45th the payout is the same: $0. So get busy and try to build a stack. Doubling up early is great, however that won't carry you anywhere, you need to put that new money to work and be prepared to lose it. So "lasting", finishing in the top half, reaching the final table, etc. for its own sake is not profitable so don't bother with it. You have to play to finish in the final three.
Finishing in the money isn't worth playing for on its own. These are the payouts in the $1.20 5 table Stars micro SNG.
1: $14
2: $10
3: $7
4: $5
5: $4
6: $3
7: $2
8-45: $0
More than half goes to the top two, and 69% to the top three. So you need to play to finish in the top three to make any real profit in tournaments. If you go bust in 38th, 8th, 6th, 4th playing to win with a good stack that you could have just folded your way to a higher finish then that's OK.
I calculated how often you need to be in the top three to break even in the $1.20, 5 table tournaments. I'll average $10.20 prize over the top three. That's $9 profit after buy in.
Let X be how often you finish in the top 3. So your expected winnings are
E = $9.00(x) + -$1.20(1-x)
Setting E to 0 yields the break even point x =~ .12. So you need to be in the top 3 around 1 in 8 times to break even. If you can do that then you'll get enough incidental profit from finishing 4-7 to make it profitable. Still that means this tournament is tough and lumpy to make profit. If I finish in the top 3 12% of the time, I would expect to finish 4-7 around 12% of the time. I'd then expect to wash out like 75% of the time, all that losing is tough psychologically. So I'll just play them occasionally for fun because they are fun to play.
In HOH II, the theme is to play to win. There are statements like loosely quoting "not afraid to lose", "you have to make this play to be successful in tournaments", "play to win", "steep dropoff in payout after third place".
Since I read HOH II, I had to take a shot at a couple of $1.20 5 table SNGs. I finished 33rd and 29th. Yet I feel a lot better about them then I did when I was finishing higher (but still outta the money) earlier in SNGs. I played more hands and had more fun.
The first one I went bust when my flush was beaten by a full house where villian limped with 23s in EP. Nice play, fish. No matter, I'll win off players like that over time. The next one my M was around 7, blinds t75/150. I was in the BB with A2o. 3 limpers before. I decided to push, hoping to steal it. Unfortunately 2 callers. I was hoping to see Kx, but not so. SB slow played AQs by limping, the fish. I should have waited a little bit longer to push, that wasn't a great spot and I wasn't under extreme M pressure yet. Oh well, pick a better spot to push next time, no worries.
Tournaments are fun but likely not to be profitable for me. So in the future I'll have to read HOH I, reread HOH II, bankroll it with 50 buyins and give it another try.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
site rename
I've renamed the site to better reflect the levels I actually play. Down in the micros. I started out in low stakes sit n'go, but I've been in micro stakes limit for a while now. It can be a goal for me to win my way up and graduate to low stakes and then I'll get to rename the site again.
Things are going OK at 5c/10c limit hold'em. I'm running break even after around 300 hands, a small sample as usual. The level seems to be fish filled and very beatable. I feel I'm playing OK. I've made a couple of loose calls and been possibly a bit too aggressive at times, so always some adjustments to make. I recently had my largest winning session $1.76, LOL. I'm hoping to take down a $2 hand eventually, I'll post it if I manage to. I hope I can look back at these numbers some day and laugh. Gotta start somewhere. Everyone sucked at one time.
Hopefully I'll start beating this level soon and get to +100 BB. If I can get to +100 I'll take a shot at the next level up. I'll have to take another try at multi tabling as well.
Things are going OK at 5c/10c limit hold'em. I'm running break even after around 300 hands, a small sample as usual. The level seems to be fish filled and very beatable. I feel I'm playing OK. I've made a couple of loose calls and been possibly a bit too aggressive at times, so always some adjustments to make. I recently had my largest winning session $1.76, LOL. I'm hoping to take down a $2 hand eventually, I'll post it if I manage to. I hope I can look back at these numbers some day and laugh. Gotta start somewhere. Everyone sucked at one time.
Hopefully I'll start beating this level soon and get to +100 BB. If I can get to +100 I'll take a shot at the next level up. I'll have to take another try at multi tabling as well.
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