Weekly Bankroll Update 5/20-5/26

I didn't play very much last week, but I was still able to pull out a nice profit. I played the Weekly Bonanza with no success, a $1.10 SnG with no success, a $3.30 SnG where I finished 2nd, and the Daily Bonanza four times with two cashes, one of them a 7th place finish. This week might be a little light as well with homework starting to ramp up, but I'm hoping to get $40 off of the two pictures I shared with Global Poker as part of their Hometown Heroes promotion. My trophy finally came in the mail the other day, along with the hat and T-shirt, and is proudly being displayed on my bookshelf at home before making its way to my office later this week. And now some numbers:

Play Money: 6,357,000 Down 185,000

Real Money: $719.97 Up $19.86

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)

I was quite surprised how well last week went despite taking most of the week off to decompress from the Rattlesnake tourneys. Saturday's final table run in the Daily Bonanza was a great way to cap things off. This could be a monster week if I can get on a good run in my home game Wednesday night and get the $40 for my pics. There is also one more Berkshire Poker tourney on Saturday night that I'll probably try and play. I'm getting closer and closer to that $1,000 target and this week could get me there if I play my cards right.

Weekly Bankroll Update 5/13-5/19

Last week was kind of an up and down week for me. I am in the beginning stages of a slump, but my home game bailed me out Wednesday night. I have slipped out of the top 10 on the leaderboard with one night to go, but I feel like the win a couple of weeks ago was what really mattered. I'm kind of glad that the Rattlesnake Open is over as I could use a break. Here are some numerical figures:


Play Money: 6,542,000 Down 633,000

Real Money: $700.11 Up $22.01

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)


I have no real interesting hands to report from my home game the other night. I pretty much had a slow grind and we only played two hours because three players went broke rather quickly. I was happy to take the small profit of $23 out of a short session. This week it's back to the normal grind of playing the Daily Bonanza and racking up enough hands to play the Weekly Bonanza. I may play some $4 cash games depending on how I'm feeling. It's been a rough go over the past six or seven days, and I don't like to play too much when I feel a slump coming on. It's not just bad beats that contribute to it, but bad play as well. I'm just $300 away from my next bump up, and it's clear that I can't just rely on the home game to get me there so I'll be looking to maybe play in another Berkshire Poker tourney in a couple of weeks. It's the last one for a few months so probably not a bad idea to take the opportunity to play if everything lines up right. I'm getting really excited for the MGM Springfield to open on August 24th. It's only 45 minutes away from my house, and I'm guessing they'll have a nice poker room there. That could be just what I need to help accelerate my bankroll building process. Until that time comes, I will continue to be conservative and protect what I've earned so far.

Weekly Bankroll Update 5/6-5/12

Well, I finally achieved one of my goals for the Rattlesnake Open tournament series. I got my first win on Monday night taking down the 2x Chance Event. The win nets me a Global Poker hat and T-shirt, as well as a customized snake avatar and a trophy which I'm assuming is of a giant snake. It was one of my goals to win one of these, and if I can finish 8th or better on the leaderboard, I will have accomplished everything I set out to do. I didn't play any real money games last week, but was still up $5 thanks to a promotion Global offered me. By depositing $10, they gave me $15. I'll take it. Here are some numerical digits:

Play Money: 7,175,000 Up 508,000

Real Money: $678.10 Up $5.00

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)

I'm currently 10th on the leaderboard with one week to go. This week I have a home game on Wednesday, and will be playing as many Rattlesnake tourneys as I can in order to move up. I'll try and play the Daily Bonanza as well to try and bump up the bankroll a little. Stay tuned...

Weekly Bankroll Update 4/29-5/5

I got a bit slowed down this week with homework and being sick, but still managed to pull off a small profit and some deep runs in the Rattlesnake Open tourneys. There are still a couple of weeks to go and my goals are still within reach. The home game was at my place once again, but I was unable to use my home felt advantage to keep from losing. Here are a few hands that ultimately led to my demise:

Hand 1- I'm on the button and limp in with J-9 offsuit. Flop is 10-8-4 with two diamonds. Turn is a diamond and river is 4 of diamonds. I have the Jack of diamonds for a Jack-high flush and lose to 8-4 who rivered a full house.

Hand 2- J-9 off suit again. Flop comes Q-10-8. I flop a straight. Turn is an 8 and river is a Q. Lose to another full house to the same guy who was holding a Q.

Hand 3- A-6 of hearts. Flop is K-J-5. King was a heart. Turn is a heart, and river is Jack of hearts. Lose to K-J who once again rivered a boat. It was the same guy.He hit three full houses on the river to beat me each time. I ended down $40.

These things happen if you play long enough. Although rare, you have to expect bad luck can catch up with you. I've run pretty well in the home game and I don't let one bad night define me. Anyhoo, here are my tallies:

Play Money: 6,667,000 Up 387,000

Real Money: $673.10 Up $2.87

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)

I will continue playing conservative and try and work my way up the leaderboard of the Rattlesnake Open this week. I might not even play for real money this week in order to focus on the play tourneys. If I do, I'll just play the Daily Bonanza to try and turn a small profit. Stay tuned to my Twitter @BenRagusa for daily results.

Weekly Bankroll Update 4/22-4/28

It was a pretty good week for me considering I didn't play much. I didn't have much luck in the live tourney, but a couple of really good cash game sessions online and my home game winnings from last time contributed to a highly profitable week as the bankroll hits a new high. Take a look:

Play Money: 6,280,000 Up 230,000

Real Money: $670.23 Up $80.86

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)

Today the Rattlesnake Open begins on Global Poker with a $5,000 guaranteed freeroll and another $2,000 guaranteed freeroll on Tuesday night which I've already qualified for and will be playing in. Then tomorrow begins a 3-week series of play and real money tourneys complete with leaderboards and a trophy to tournament winners. My goals are to win a trophy and finish higher than 9th on the play money leaderboard. There are a couple of real money tourneys I might try as well. My game is sharp right now, and I feel poised for a big boost. Hopefully this Wednesday we can get enough players for another home game too. It's gonna be a very exciting three weeks of poker and as always I will be posting any nightly news on my Twitter feed so stay tuned!

Weekly Bankroll Update 4/15-4/21

For those of you who follow my Twitter feed, you probably know that I was up in the home game last week, but I will not be including those winnings in the weekly tally because it takes about a week for me to get the funds into my account. So, I basically had a slow week online, but I really didn't play that much as I focused on homework. Here are some numbers:

Play Money: 6,050,000 Up 114,000

Real Money: $589.37 Up $1.11

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)

There are some exciting, and potentially profitable, poker events coming up over the next couple of weeks. The home game is at my house now, and I put out the invitation for it to be a weekly game instead of a bi-weekly game. We'll see if that catches on, but either way, it's nice to be able to play in my own home. Today I will be playing in a local tournament that is put on by Berkshire Poker, and will benefit the Cheshire Lions Club. Stay tuned to my Twitter and Instagram feeds as I will be live tweeting throughout the day. I will post the payouts, my chip counts at each break, and my results. Finally, Global Poker is running another tournament series starting on April 29th with a $5,000 guarantee. The tourney is free to enter, and the series, lasting three weeks,  will have a few $3.30 and $5.50 tourneys worth playing. I will be playing all the play money tourneys too as I try and improve on my two previous 9th place finishes on the leaderboard. They are calling the series "The Rattlesnake Open." It's going to be an exciting few weeks so stay tuned!

Weekly Bankroll Update 4/8-4/14

Things went fairly slow for me on Global last week as I tried to continue climbing out of the losses I incurred. I played the daily Bonanza six times cashing in two of them. I also kept my game sharp in play money actually taking down the 500k guarantee on Friday following it up with a 4th place finish on Saturday. I feel like I'm on top of my game right now and will be using the home game this week to try and capitalize on my good frame of mind. Here's where I'm livin':

Play Money: 5,936,000 Up 480,000

Real Money: $588.26 Up $2.54

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)

There are a couple of cool events coming up this week for my poker bankroll. For starters, I will try and play in the Weekly Bonanza tonight. We switched our home game from Sunday nights to Wednesday nights, and the game is at my place for the foreseeable future so I get a little "home felt advantage" there. Then, next Sunday the 22nd, I plan to play in Berkshire Poker's charity tournament, so there will be a good shot at some money there too. Until then, I will stay on the conservative path as school work begins to mount its ugly head once again. I know I may catch some heat from poker players that think I'm playing way too conservatively considering how much I have in the bankroll, but I don't have a lot of options, and I'm not really in much of a hurry. Global really doesn't run any quality $1 and $2 tourneys in my time slot which is the level at which I'd prefer to be playing. The only viable $3 tournament is a 6-handed re-buy which I've had little to no success in. I'm geared more for 9-handed single bullet tourneys, and there just aren't many of those running on Global these days. I'm counting more on my live success to help me build right now, and with the home game being at my actual home, I might try and see if I can make it a weekly thing. If I can pull that off, it's game on.