Never ever give up. That was the theme last week as my first round of cash games came to a close last night. I started off struggling mightily going 0/6 in the Daily Bonanzas and even losing my one $10 bullet after a five day grind when my KK lost to QQ on Thursday night. I was down over $11 going into last night, then it all turned around. I finished 8th in the Daily Bonanza winning $10 to start with. It was my first final table in that tournament in I don't know how long. Immediately after that I played a $10 cash game winning another $5 and change. It was quite the turnaround from how I was running most of the week. Every big hand I had got beat. I was losing to two-outers over and over again, but I never gave up. Sometimes when you're running bad you have to play through it if you feel like you're playing well. I wasn't losing because I made bad decisions (although I probably played too tight at times), I was losing because the cards favored my opponents. All you can do is get your money in while you're ahead. If the cards are against you, then there's nothing you can do. You just have to believe that eventually things will turn around, and last week they did. Here are my numbers:
Play Money: 10,454,000 Up 385,000
Real Money: $1,017.17 Up $4.84
Target for next SnG level: $1,100 ($55)
Target for next MTT level: $1,100 ($22)
Target for next Cash Game level: $2,000 ($100)
Although it was a small profit last week, I'm really happy to have it. Things could have been much worse, and now I can play a bit more comfortably in cash games, although I'll have to drop down if I go broke in the $10 game. The Daily Bonanza really bailed me out Saturday night, and I will continue to grind them while using the cash games to qualify. There are no immediate casino plans, but I'm confident we will have a home game on Wednesday. I anticipated July being a slow month, but it's actually been quite lucrative all things considered. As always stay tuned to my Twitter feed for home game updates and any major bankroll updates.
Sunday, July 29, 2018
Sunday, July 22, 2018
Weekly Bankroll Update 7/15-7/21
At long last I finally hit a milestone with the bankroll. I officially cracked $1,000 this week as Global credited my account $20 for my casino pic. I also had a few cashes in the Daily Bonanzas going 3/6 for a small profit. Things start to get interesting now. Here's where I stand:
Play Money: 10,069,000 Down 837,000
Real Money: $1,012.33 Up $25.39
Target for next SnG level: $1,100 ($55)
Target for next MTT level: $1,100 ($22)
Target for next Cash Game level: $2,000 ($100)
So, here's how this is gonna go. I don't have a lot of insurance above $1,000 so I can't go crazy. I will continue to get my 50 hands per day so I qualify for the Daily Bonanzas, but I'm going to play with real money to get them. Starting tonight I will buy in for $10 and play my 50 hands and see where I'm at. If I go broke (worst-case scenario), I will just go back to what I was doing before; getting 50 hands with play money and playing the Daily Bonanzas. If I'm between $1,005 and $1,010.99 I'll play $4 cash games. $1,011 and $1,020.99, I'll play for $10, and $1,021 and higher, I'll play $20. The point is not to go below $1,000. $1,100 is the next target and I don't anticipate that being too difficult. I'm hopeful this Wednesday we will have a home game and that will be a great opportunity for me to get some added cushioning.
In my last post I forgot to mention a hand that occurred during my casino trip. It was a situation I was unfamiliar with, and I'm curious if any of you have ever had this happen, and if you think it's kosher. I picked up K-Q suited in clubs in middle position. There were a couple of early limpers, and I limped in as well. It got around to the BB who checked. The flop came Q-9-4 rainbow. It checked around to me and I led out and bet $15. The BB called and everyone else folded. The turn was the 2 of diamonds putting two diamonds on the board. The BB had about $60-$70 in front of him and I put him all-in. He thought for a while and suddenly said; "this is not a call or a fold", and turned over his cards showing A-6 of diamonds. The dealer said: "that's not a call or a fold." Everyone stared at me. I didn't know what to do so I turned over my cards too and stared back at him. "That doesn't influence my decision", he said. He thought for a few minutes more and finally folded. A little while later I asked the player next to me if I was supposed to turn my cards over or not. He said no and that he didn't think you were allowed to show your cards without calling or folding. He also said he'd done that once and was told by the dealer not to. I asked why it was ok for that guy to do it, and he said "it depends on the dealer." Now I'm sorry, but that's bullshit. The rule should be universal, and quite frankly, the hand should be declared dead once you turn your cards over without calling or raising. It shouldn't be at the dealer's discretion. That's something I feel like Rivers Casino needs to address, so if you're reading this anyone at Rivers, address it!
One other poker side note: Justin Bonomo has topped the all-time tournament earnings list by winning WSOP's Big One for One Drop $1 million dollar buy-in tournament. Justin won $10 million by taking that down and now has $25 million in earnings this year alone, and $43 million lifetime! His run continues to mystify the poker community, and personally, I feel like he is a great ambassador for the game, and it's nice to see nice guys finish first for once. Well done Justin!
Play Money: 10,069,000 Down 837,000
Real Money: $1,012.33 Up $25.39
Target for next SnG level: $1,100 ($55)
Target for next MTT level: $1,100 ($22)
Target for next Cash Game level: $2,000 ($100)
So, here's how this is gonna go. I don't have a lot of insurance above $1,000 so I can't go crazy. I will continue to get my 50 hands per day so I qualify for the Daily Bonanzas, but I'm going to play with real money to get them. Starting tonight I will buy in for $10 and play my 50 hands and see where I'm at. If I go broke (worst-case scenario), I will just go back to what I was doing before; getting 50 hands with play money and playing the Daily Bonanzas. If I'm between $1,005 and $1,010.99 I'll play $4 cash games. $1,011 and $1,020.99, I'll play for $10, and $1,021 and higher, I'll play $20. The point is not to go below $1,000. $1,100 is the next target and I don't anticipate that being too difficult. I'm hopeful this Wednesday we will have a home game and that will be a great opportunity for me to get some added cushioning.
In my last post I forgot to mention a hand that occurred during my casino trip. It was a situation I was unfamiliar with, and I'm curious if any of you have ever had this happen, and if you think it's kosher. I picked up K-Q suited in clubs in middle position. There were a couple of early limpers, and I limped in as well. It got around to the BB who checked. The flop came Q-9-4 rainbow. It checked around to me and I led out and bet $15. The BB called and everyone else folded. The turn was the 2 of diamonds putting two diamonds on the board. The BB had about $60-$70 in front of him and I put him all-in. He thought for a while and suddenly said; "this is not a call or a fold", and turned over his cards showing A-6 of diamonds. The dealer said: "that's not a call or a fold." Everyone stared at me. I didn't know what to do so I turned over my cards too and stared back at him. "That doesn't influence my decision", he said. He thought for a few minutes more and finally folded. A little while later I asked the player next to me if I was supposed to turn my cards over or not. He said no and that he didn't think you were allowed to show your cards without calling or folding. He also said he'd done that once and was told by the dealer not to. I asked why it was ok for that guy to do it, and he said "it depends on the dealer." Now I'm sorry, but that's bullshit. The rule should be universal, and quite frankly, the hand should be declared dead once you turn your cards over without calling or raising. It shouldn't be at the dealer's discretion. That's something I feel like Rivers Casino needs to address, so if you're reading this anyone at Rivers, address it!
One other poker side note: Justin Bonomo has topped the all-time tournament earnings list by winning WSOP's Big One for One Drop $1 million dollar buy-in tournament. Justin won $10 million by taking that down and now has $25 million in earnings this year alone, and $43 million lifetime! His run continues to mystify the poker community, and personally, I feel like he is a great ambassador for the game, and it's nice to see nice guys finish first for once. Well done Justin!
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Weekly Bankroll Update 7/8 - 7/14
A rare casino trip last night resulted in a nice profit for the week as I spent a good five-hour session playing $1/$2 No-Limit. I went to Rivers casino in Schenectady, NY and bought in for $200 (max buy-in was $300) and won a good sized pot with KK early on. I also made some huge laydowns that not a lot of amateurs would have been able to make. First, the KK hand. Guy two seats to my right straddled for $4. I raised to $15 with KK. It folded around to the straddler who called. The flop came 2-3-6. I bet $20 and he called. Turn was a K giving me a set. Straddle boy checked again and I bet $25. He called. River was a blank and straddler goes all-in. It took me a minute to call because I wasn't sure if he had 4-5 for the straight. He certainly played the hand as though he did. I asked the dealer for a count. The bet was $90 which I had covered. I took a deep breath and called. He turned over 6-6 for a lower set and I raked the pot. Needless to say he was pissed. Mostly because I busted him, but I also don't think he was happy that I asked for a count. Most players would have insta-called, but I had to be sure he didn't have the nuts and the count gave me an extra few seconds to think.
A couple of hours later after spinning my wheels a bit, I picked up A-Q in early position. I limped in and the guy on the button raised to $16. I called and a player two seats to my left called as well. The flop came A-9-3 and I led out for $15. The guy two seats to my left called and the button made a $35 raise. I tanked for a couple of minutes before folding and the guy two seats to my left called. I sensed one of them had A-K. My instincts were right as they got all-in on the river. The guy two seats to my left was bluffing with 5-8 of spades, and the button, who had to call his all-in river bet, had A-K! After that hand I knew I'd be ok. That was a tough laydown, but when you feel like you're beat, you have to let the hand go no matter how good it may look to you. I felt like I made really good decisions the whole session and it resulted in a decent profit. I was down as much as $35, and up as much as $150 so to walk out with a $97 profit was fine with me. I also played the Daily Bonanza five times last week cashing once. Here's where I stand:
Play Money: 10,906,000 Up 437,000
Real Money: $986.94 Up $97.65
Target for next Cash Game level: $1,000 ($50)
Target for next SnG level: $1,100 ($55)
Target for next MTT level: $1,100 ($22)
So even though I'm a bit shy of $1,000, I'm happy because Global Poker will give me $20 for taking a picture of myself in front of the casino with the Global hat a T-shirt on. As soon as they credit my account, I'll be over the $1,000 marker! We didn't have enough players for the home game last week so we will try again for this week. Things are about to get very interesting now as I try to get some insurance over $1,000. I will wait until I either turn a nice home game profit, or Global credits my account before I open things up and start grinding real money again. I also have the Bonanzas to play as well to try and make up the difference. It's an exciting time for me and I encourage you to follow along on this blog and my Twitter handle @BenRagusa for updates!
A couple of hours later after spinning my wheels a bit, I picked up A-Q in early position. I limped in and the guy on the button raised to $16. I called and a player two seats to my left called as well. The flop came A-9-3 and I led out for $15. The guy two seats to my left called and the button made a $35 raise. I tanked for a couple of minutes before folding and the guy two seats to my left called. I sensed one of them had A-K. My instincts were right as they got all-in on the river. The guy two seats to my left was bluffing with 5-8 of spades, and the button, who had to call his all-in river bet, had A-K! After that hand I knew I'd be ok. That was a tough laydown, but when you feel like you're beat, you have to let the hand go no matter how good it may look to you. I felt like I made really good decisions the whole session and it resulted in a decent profit. I was down as much as $35, and up as much as $150 so to walk out with a $97 profit was fine with me. I also played the Daily Bonanza five times last week cashing once. Here's where I stand:
Play Money: 10,906,000 Up 437,000
Real Money: $986.94 Up $97.65
Target for next Cash Game level: $1,000 ($50)
Target for next SnG level: $1,100 ($55)
Target for next MTT level: $1,100 ($22)
So even though I'm a bit shy of $1,000, I'm happy because Global Poker will give me $20 for taking a picture of myself in front of the casino with the Global hat a T-shirt on. As soon as they credit my account, I'll be over the $1,000 marker! We didn't have enough players for the home game last week so we will try again for this week. Things are about to get very interesting now as I try to get some insurance over $1,000. I will wait until I either turn a nice home game profit, or Global credits my account before I open things up and start grinding real money again. I also have the Bonanzas to play as well to try and make up the difference. It's an exciting time for me and I encourage you to follow along on this blog and my Twitter handle @BenRagusa for updates!
Sunday, July 8, 2018
Weekly Bankroll Update 7/1 - 7/7
It was a hot one last week as the Northeast saw record temps with most of the week in the mid 90's and never really getting below 70 at night. The heat wave finally broke and I was able to cash the Daily Bonanza Friday and Saturday after going 0/6 to start. I think the heat really had an influence on how I played. I made poor decisions and got bad cards, but despite that I was able to pull out a small profit and had another record week in play money. Here are my amounts:
Play Money: 10,469,000 Up 1,460,000
Real Money: $889.29 Up $3.57
Target for next Cash Game level: $1,000 ($50)
Target for next SnG level: $1,100 ($55)
Target for next MTT level: $1,100 ($22)
My daughter turns four years old today so the Weekly Bonanza is not in the plans, but I'll be playing the Daily Bonanzas most of the week. Last week was a grind for sure, but I'm very pleased with how things have gone these past few weeks with no home game. I protected and increased my roll and even passed the 10 million chip mark in play money, not that it matters since 20 million is the next target. The next home game is this Wednesday and I'm pumped. I've been keeping tabs on the Main Event at the WSOP (today is Day 4 and they're in the money) and it has me pretty fired up to play some live poker. As always, check my Twitter feed for info on my home game results.
Play Money: 10,469,000 Up 1,460,000
Real Money: $889.29 Up $3.57
Target for next Cash Game level: $1,000 ($50)
Target for next SnG level: $1,100 ($55)
Target for next MTT level: $1,100 ($22)
My daughter turns four years old today so the Weekly Bonanza is not in the plans, but I'll be playing the Daily Bonanzas most of the week. Last week was a grind for sure, but I'm very pleased with how things have gone these past few weeks with no home game. I protected and increased my roll and even passed the 10 million chip mark in play money, not that it matters since 20 million is the next target. The next home game is this Wednesday and I'm pumped. I've been keeping tabs on the Main Event at the WSOP (today is Day 4 and they're in the money) and it has me pretty fired up to play some live poker. As always, check my Twitter feed for info on my home game results.
Sunday, July 1, 2018
Weekly Bankroll Update 6/24-6/30
I was on vacation last week, but that didn't stop me from playing. I was 4/7 cashing Daily Bonanzas, and I crushed the play money Rapido tourneys again. It was a little frustrating to bubble the Weekly Bonanza as I finished 202nd when 198 were paid, but I'm over it. It wasn't a huge week, but I didn't expect it to be. The next home game is in 10 days and I'm just trying to bide my time until then. Here are my integers:
Play Money: 9,009,000 Up 355,000
Real Money: $885.72 Up $2.62
Target for next Cash Game level: $1,000 ($50)
Target for next SnG level: $1,100 ($55)
Target for next MTT level: $1,100 ($22)
A lot of you might wonder why I spend so much time playing for play money. It's not because I'm trying to be a play money high roller even though I take play money just as seriously as real money. It's so I can get myself used to the idea of dropping down levels when things aren't going well. My real money bankroll is still very small, and there aren't many levels for me to drop down to if I get stuck, hence the reason I'm so ridiculously conservative. Play money keeps my game sharp, while at the same time keeping me in the right state of mind of moving up and down levels. It's like practice for bankroll building. As my real money roll gets bigger, it's going to be very important for me to be ready to drop down when my cards are bad, and to take shots when I feel like I'm running well. One of the reasons I'm so excited to get above $1,000 is because I'll have many levels to play at for cash games: $4, $10, $20, and $50. That kind of range allows me the freedom to play comfortably at multiple levels and build my roll quickly while at the same time being able to drop down if I run bad. This week it's back to work and my normal routine. I will do the usual Daily Bonanzas, but sadly, the Rapido tourneys are over. I really made a killing on those the past two weeks! The grind continues...
Play Money: 9,009,000 Up 355,000
Real Money: $885.72 Up $2.62
Target for next Cash Game level: $1,000 ($50)
Target for next SnG level: $1,100 ($55)
Target for next MTT level: $1,100 ($22)
A lot of you might wonder why I spend so much time playing for play money. It's not because I'm trying to be a play money high roller even though I take play money just as seriously as real money. It's so I can get myself used to the idea of dropping down levels when things aren't going well. My real money bankroll is still very small, and there aren't many levels for me to drop down to if I get stuck, hence the reason I'm so ridiculously conservative. Play money keeps my game sharp, while at the same time keeping me in the right state of mind of moving up and down levels. It's like practice for bankroll building. As my real money roll gets bigger, it's going to be very important for me to be ready to drop down when my cards are bad, and to take shots when I feel like I'm running well. One of the reasons I'm so excited to get above $1,000 is because I'll have many levels to play at for cash games: $4, $10, $20, and $50. That kind of range allows me the freedom to play comfortably at multiple levels and build my roll quickly while at the same time being able to drop down if I run bad. This week it's back to work and my normal routine. I will do the usual Daily Bonanzas, but sadly, the Rapido tourneys are over. I really made a killing on those the past two weeks! The grind continues...
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