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!

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!