Weekly Bankroll Update 1/6 - 1/12

I was down a bit last week, but my results are not indicative of how the week actually went. I had quite a few deep runs and near misses. This could have been a monster week. On Sunday I was one elimination away in the Daily Hundo from $100. Instead I made $10 for finishing 4th. 1-3 got $100. Then on Friday night in the $750 guarantee, I finished 10th but really had a great chance at taking it down for the $234 up top. Here is the hand that crushed me: I'm in the big blind with A-9 of diamonds. Blinds are 1250/2500 and I have 55,000 in chips. Again, 10 left and I'm running 4th. Folds around to the small blind who had been raising my big blind literally every chance he got. I had played back at him once and he backed right down. This time I wanted to trap him. He raised and made it 7500 to go. I called. Flop came 3-5-8 with two diamonds. He led out for 10,000 and again I called. Turn came a 9 giving me top pair with top kicker and a nut flush draw. He goes all in and I snap call. I had him covered by about 5,000 chips. He had 4-9 offsuit. A dream situation until the river which came 4 of spades giving him two pair and leaving me virtually done for the tournament. Had I just gone all in pre-flop or even post-flop, he would have folded and I'd have taken the hand. It was a good learning experience for next time. Aside from that I got crushed in sit n gos going 0/5 which was basically all my losses for the week. MTTs I actually broke even. Here is where I'm at:

Gold Coins: 16,444,000 Up 503,000

Real Money: 1,417.40 Down $30.47

Target for next MTT level: $1,650 ($33)

Target for next Cash Game level: $2,000 ($100)

Target for next SnG level: $2,200 ($110)

I'm still not sure if I should drop my SnG level from $6.60 to $3.30 this week. Something tells me to hold the line and see what happens. I only played five of them and just need to give variance a chance to kick in. I also am thinking of doing a run to MGM on Saturday. If I have similar results this week and lose again, then I'll drop down, but I just don't think I have enough of a sample size yet. I was encouraged by my deep runs in MTTs too and I think I'm really just a favorable river card away from blowing this thing wide open. Let's wait and see...

Weekly Bankroll Update 12/30-1/5

Well, 2019 is finally upon us and my first week of the new year was... drumroll please... meh. I was up but just a tiny bit, but had a lot of fun with the SnG and MTT mix. I need to make one minor adjustment this week which will hopefully result in higher profits (assuming things go well). I did virtually nothing in the MTTs last week, but did take down a couple of 9-man SnGs. In fact, according to Sharkscope, I'm ranked 36th out of 2,530 players in profit at the $3.30 9-man level for 2019 so far. Unfortunately, I probably won't be moving up too much higher since I am increasing the buy in to the $6.60 level this week. I also had a lot of fun watching @thegoldenblazer's epic 24-hour poker stream on Twitch last week. I even got to play him heads up on-stream in a Gold Coin SnG, but he crushed me in like five hands denying me a free T-shirt. If you like poker (which if you're reading this blog I assume you do), then definitely check him out on Twitch. You'll learn a lot and be wildly entertained. Plus, there is a shot at free money at the end of every stream as well as a raffle each Sunday for 5% of his action in Global Poker's Sunday Scrimmage tournament. Anyhoo, my numbers:

Gold Coins: 15,941,000 Up 1,121,000

Real Money: $1,447.87 Up $2.42

Target for next MTT level: $1,650 ($33)

Target for next Cash Game level: $2,000 ($100)

Target for next SnG level: $2,200 ($110)

So here's my strategy for this week: Play the $0.11 Daily Bonanza, the $3.30 rebuy $750 guarantee, and the $1 Daily Hundo. If I bust the $750 before the re-buy period ends, I'm done. If I make it, I'll pay the $3 for the add-on. That means I'm spending a maximum of $7.41 per night on MTTs. If I end up with a loss, I will play a $6.60 9-man SnG. I was playing $3.30, but I feel like that buy in was too low. I needed to win just to turn a profit, and by playing the $6.60, a first OR second place finish turns me a profit. I'll be spending a maximum of $14.01 per day, or $98.07 per week. So that means if I go 0/28 on the week, (which I can PROMISE you will NOT happen), assuming I add on the $3 in the $750 guarantee all seven nights, I would lose less than $100. If I can turn a nice profit over the next couple of weeks, I'll revamp this strategy and up all my buy ins and play bigger MTTs. Let's see how this week goes.

Weekly Bankroll Update 12/22-12/29

Well, this is my last blog post of 2018 and it's nice to be able to report good news. Not only is the bankroll at an all-time high, I also had my best week since I started this crazy quest in May of 2017. Let's begin with online. I changed my strategy last week to include a mix of MTTs and SnGs and it worked rather well. I played four SnGs winning three of them, and had a couple of deep runs in the MTTs. On Saturday I went to MGM Springfield to play some $1/$2 No-Limit. I played for around five hours or so, and only won maybe four or five pots, but they happened to be pretty good sized ones. First, about an hour in I picked up KK under the gun. I made a healthy raise and got one caller. I spiked a King on the flop and filled up on the river and took down a nice pot. Next, I picked up pocket Aces and got all-in pre-flop against KK. The aces held. Finally, I limped in with 33 along with five other players. The flop cam 9-9-4. Everyone checked and a 3 hit the turn giving me a full house. I was able to get one of the fish at the table to come with me till the river where he made a good sized bet. I came over the top of him and he folded (wisely). As I said, I had my best week so far. Here's where I'm at:

Play Money: 14,820,000 Up 787,000

Real Money: $1,445.45 Up $165.37

Target for next MTT level: $1,650 ($33)

Target for next Cash Game level: $2,000 ($100)

Target for next SnG level: $2,200 ($110)

This week I have no plans to make any changes to my strategy. I need to see if this is truly a profitable mix and I figure two more weeks should be enough time. If all goes well, I will increase the amounts and play bigger tourneys. 2018 was a good year for me. I profited around $900, had three successful casino trips, and lots of wins in home games. I'm poised for success in 2019 and am going into the new year playing the best I ever have. Hope you all have a great New Year and thanks so much for all your support!

Weekly Bankroll Update 12/16-12/22

Losing $10 cash and going 0/10 in Sit N Gos is not how I wanted the week to go, but a $10 promotional win from Global kept a bad week from being a REALLY bad week. I literally lost everything I played up until Saturday night when I cashed the Daily Bonanza for $1.05 and took down one of the play money Christmas tourneys. Those were really the only highlights in an otherwise dismal week of poker. Here's where I ended up:

Play Money: 14,033,000 Up 419,000

Real Money: $1,280.08 Down $32.53

Target for next MTT level: $1,650 ($33)

Target for next Cash Game level: $2,000 ($100)

Target for next SnG level: $2,200 ($110)

This week I'm going back to playing MTTs. I'll sprinkle in some SnGs to try and keep myself afloat, but playing straight cash just isn't working as well as I'd like, and obviously playing just SnGs is not a profitable venture. So I'll mix in SnGs with my MTTs to try and balance things out and hit the casino on the 29th. I'm really hoping to finish off 2018 on a high note so stay tuned for what will hopefully be some good news next week! Happy Holidays everyone!

Weekly Bankroll Update 12/9-12/15

Finally had a good week last week and was able to boost the bankroll a bit thanks to a 7th place finish in the $3 re-buy MTT. It was a 6-handed tournament and I ran really well, but bubbled the final table (and a nice pay boost) when this hand happened: I was in the BB with 8-9 and 40k in chips running 5th. The SB with 160k chips called and I checked. The flop came K-8-9. He min-bet for 2500 and I shoved all in. He snap-called with K-3 and rivered the 3 for a higher two-pair. Heartbreaking, but I was happy to pull out some profit. I pretty much broke even the rest of the week playing $10 and $20 cash games, and $3 and $6 SnGs. Here's how I finished my week:

Play Money: 13,614,000 Up 682,000

Real Money: $1,312.61 Up $19.56

Target for next MTT level: $1,650 ($33)

Target for next Cash Game level: $2,000 ($100)

Target for next SnG level: $2,200 ($110)

I hadn't played a MTT in a while and it was nice to have a good run. Especially since I had to deal with a miracle hook-and-ladder by the Dolphins to knock me out of my survivor pool on Sunday. I was stunned for a good hour after that game. I made plans to hit the casino on the 29th and I'm hoping I can finish the year on a positive note. This week will be more of the same as last week. School is not a distraction right now and I'm able to put all my focus on poker. It showed last week as I had probably one of my best online weeks in the past two months. Let's hope I can keep this thing going!

Weekly Bankroll Update 12/2 - 12/8

I was up and down last week as SnGs played a dominant role in my game selection. I started out well cashing in the Weekly Bonanza, but tapered off as the week went on. I still ended at a record-high though. Sit N Go's can be tough sometimes especially if you're used to playing cash games. It's a very different pace and strategy. I also have an uncanny ability to finish 4th when 3 are paid. Anyway, take a bite of these numbers:

Play Money: 12,932,000 Up 174,000

Real Money: $1,293.05 Up $2.67

Target for next MTT level: $1,650 ($33)

Target for next Cash Game level: $2,000 ($100)

Target for next SnG level: $2,200 ($110)


School is over until Feb 2nd so I will be vamping up my play over the next two months. I'd like to focus mainly on the $20 cash game and $6 SnGs going forward. It does mean I'll probably have to undergo some swings, but I feel like my bankroll is healthy enough to withstand them. In order for it to grow, I have to be playing at an optimal level and $10 cash games and $3 SnGs just aren't cutting it anymore. It's hard to believe, but there are just three of us left in my football survivor pool. I have New England this week, and they have Denver and the LA Chargers respectively. Go Pats!

Weekly Bankroll Update 11/25 - 12/1

Well it's back to the peak for me. I didn't make as much as I wanted to last week, but I didn't play as much as I wanted to either. A couple of small wins in the $10 cash game and a 3rd place in a $3 SnG was all that went down. I also played in a "home" game last week with 9 players. Buy in was $40 and I was down $10. No harm no foul though because the buy in was made from personal funds not the bankroll. My cards were atrocious. I lost with trip J's to a full house, a full house to a higher full house, and then with just three hands to go, I picked up As Jc and here's how it went down. First let me say that somehow I was actually ahead $6 when this hand came and I was just trying to get the hell outta there with SOME profit so I really didn't want to play this hand. I was on the button and eight players were in the hand. Flop comes all clubs so I'm sitting on a Jack high flush draw. Everyone checked and the turn was a blank. Everyone checked AGAIN and the river brought a club making me a flush. Incredibly, everyone checked around to me and I bet $1.50 into a $4.00 pot. Small blind raised to $10 and it folded around to me. It made no sense. I was very familiar with the small blind's play and I really didn't think he would check-raise the river with a made flush so I called. Sure enough he turns over Ac 10s. I was livid (not at him of course, well ok maybe a little). Dude, you checked the nuts on the river?!? Sorry Benny, he says. I checked and actually forgot what I had so I looked down and was like Oh! I have the Ace! He accidentally made a very good play in my opinion. Checking the nuts on the river is gutsy but can be extremely profitable if someone has the second best hand. Especially in an 8-handed pot. To me it looked like a bluff. Plus they'd been bluffing me all night and I picked them off several times so this seemed like more of the same. Oh well. Here's where I ended last week:

Play Money: 12,758,000 Down 591,000

Real Money: $1,290.38 Up $4.92

Target for next MTT level: $1,650 ($33)

Target for next Cash Game level: $2,000 ($100)

Target for next SnG level: $2,200 ($110)

This week will be short due to homework for my class that ends Saturday. Just 7 more Saturdays to go until I finish school and I can't wait. The MBA is in my sights now and I'm getting anxious. I'll get some playing time in this week though so I'm hoping to at least break $1,300.

As a side note, I just wanted to talk a bit about poker players that stream their online sessions. I just joined Twitch last week so I could participate in chat rooms of some of the players I like to watch. There are two in particular I follow: thegoldenblazer and SpaceMexican1. If you're on Twitch definitely check them out. A lot of people have asked me if I'll ever stream my sessions, and I just tell them flatly No. I think it would give other players too much insight into my game allowing them to exploit me somewhere down the road. Now this doesn't mean I'm totally against those that do stream, I just think personally it's not really my thing. I think if I were to use Twitch for anything other then following poker players, it would be to live stream myself playing video games. That would be a lot of fun. I actually like to watch other people play games sometimes especially if I'm thinking about buying one and I just want to see what it's like. For now though, I'll just stick to watching poker streams.