Re-starting - with graphs
Hi everyone,
I'm starting a bankroll challenge. My goal is to run up as high as I can (obviously, like everyone here).
I've played a bit before but never had any lasting success online due to tilt / poor brm.
I took a long break and read a few books, the main one being Jared Tendler's Mental Game of Poker.
Had a few family things happen during this time which also made me re-think my approach to the game, but that book dramatically changed a lot of my thought process.
Also read Linus's original post in 2013 and was inspired 😀
I started in September / October with the daily freerolls on GG. Got very lucky and got enough of a roll to start playing some of the cash games, then got even more lucky and binked a bunch of the thanksgg tourneys.
I moved most of my winnings over to Partypoker (personal choice - softer games and almost identical software.... also seems the runouts are more balanced than on GG but that's just me -_-)
I started playing 5nl initially but I wasn't playing optimally and I also didn't get the best in terms of variance which made me move down to some fast fold 2NL to try and reset.
This is my graph at 2NL since then:
BRM I've decided to follow is play a stake until I get to 100 buy-ins, plus 2 buy-ins at the next stake up.
Then shot take the next stake.
I.e. for 5nl I would need $210 before taking a shot.
Move down when I get back to 100 buy ins at previous stake.
I didn't follow this at my initial 5nl shot which dug me into a bit of a hole.
Luckily I've been able to climb out of that hole and am now getting close to BE at 5NL:
Don't know how often I'm going to update this but am looking forward to having somewhere I can vent frustrations (won't be too much of that I hope) and brag about running good 😃
Graph from beginning of partypoker move:
6 Replies
Quick update;
BR at $277
5NL going really well after beating the 2NL ranks.
overall winning at 5NL but only 3,544 hands played.
Unfortunately partypoker doesn't have a quick fold variant for 5NL so it's a bit of a slog right now.
Next quick fold variant is 10NL. According to current BRM strategy I wouldn't start until BR at $520. Not sure if I'm going to change that strategy yet to hit the quick fold tables sooner.
Need more hands at 5NL before making a decision.
It's been a mental struggle for me at 5NL.
Part of my issue is that I now have to sit at a regular table and watch these whales try to face off against each other by betting their entire stack with A high or bottom pair. And somehow they wind up with top set when I have bottom set or w/e.
I did figure out a compromise though; since BR is hovering around $300 usd now, according to my BRM I can move up to the next stake. Which is $210 for 5NL regular tables, or $220 for 10NL fast fold tables.
On Party there are still lots of fish at 10NL, so I'm still grinding 5NL regular tables but when 10NL quick fold is running hot I'll be checking that out.
Here's the graph so far at 5NL - from the very beginning:
Graph of the whole journey so far:
I'm keeping up with the freerolls on GG and have that up to $50 now.
That site is definitely -ev for me at microstakes. Luckily I'm only using it for freerolls and to convert the cash $ into USD. Occasionally I'll sample the spin and golds but saving my volume for party.
100 buyins before moving up in cash games is very very conservative tho i think you might have to reconsider that maybe.. glgl anyway .
Good luck with your journey! Keep update us!
Thanks everyone 😀
Agreed, 100 buyins very conservative.
I don't want to ever bust with this roll, and looking back over my sample history going -8 or -10 buyins before returning to BE seems to be a normal luck curve for me.
And I want to prove to myself that I can confidently beat a stake before moving up.
Next move up will be when BR hits $520
I've sampled the 25NL pool when it looks good but other than that I've stuck to my 5NL regular tables and 10NL quick fold.
BR currently around $350, GG bankroll hovering around 60$.
Total BR ~ $400.
10NL has been weird, feels like there are better regs but other than that same things happening at 2NL.
Only thing is I can't seem to really sink my teeth into it yet. I run it up but then get run down again, bit of a rollercoaster so far.
It is really nice to see all green here though (only red is slightly losing 8-handed 5NL table over a 200 hand sample... I'm not counting that :P)
My 10NL life so far:
Gonna try to take some time to review hands this week. I feel like I haven't changed my playstyle from my time at 2NL, but when I was thinking through some hands I felt like I may have been over-exploiting in some spots which are creating leaks as I move up. For example, betting in spots when I'm only getting called by better hands, or only seeing villain's busted draws in their range instead of value.
Most of my bad sessions were also when I'm multi-tabling like a mf on my phone. So plan going forward is to try to single table and think through spots a bit better, at least until I get my confidence back.
Only other thing I can think of is that the 10NL pool isn't always good and I haven't confined myself to only playing when it's mid or better. There are times when there are only 5-10 regs playing and no fish.
The 2NL pool was nearly always good and had easier regs.
I should have taken my own advice and slowed down.
I"ve had a few health issues crop up and it's been affecting my play. I could attribute my downswing to hands like these:
PartyGaming - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 4 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4
BTN: 117 BB (VPIP: 30.66, PFR: 17.33, 3Bet Preflop: 4.79, Hands: 27,255)
SB: 112.7 BB (VPIP: 36.40, PFR: 14.11, 3Bet Preflop: 5.71, Hands: 28,451)
Hero (BB): 104.7 BB
CO: 113 BB (VPIP: 30.87, PFR: 18.62, 3Bet Preflop: 4.09, Hands: 28,190)
SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB
Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Q♦ A♠
CO raises to 2.5 BB, fold, fold, Hero raises to 11 BB, CO calls 8.5 BB
Flop: (22.5 BB, 2 players) A♣ 9♠ 9♦
Hero bets 10.7 BB, CO calls 10.7 BB
Turn: (43.9 BB, 2 players) A♦
Hero checks, CO checks
River: (43.9 BB, 2 players) 8♥
Hero bets 13.9 BB, CO raises to 91.3 BB, Hero calls 69.1 BB
Hero shows Q♦ A♠ (Full House, Aces full of Nines)
(Pre 44%, Flop 0.1%, Turn 2%)
CO shows 9♥ 9♣ (Four of a Kind, Nines)
(Pre 56%, Flop 99.9%, Turn 98%)
CO wins 208.2 BB
But I know full well it's actually because I'm having a hard time focusing and I start making plays like these:
PartyGaming - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4
Hero (BTN): 127.1 BB
SB: 124.4 BB (VPIP: 36.60, PFR: 15.66, 3Bet Preflop: 5.98, Hands: 41,075)
BB: 209.5 BB (VPIP: 35.02, PFR: 7.85, 3Bet Preflop: 6.68, Hands: 41,043)
UTG: 92.6 BB (VPIP: 30.72, PFR: 19.61, 3Bet Preflop: 4.01, Hands: 39,829)
CO: 252.9 BB (VPIP: 30.76, PFR: 18.26, 3Bet Preflop: 5.19, Hands: 38,623)
SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB
Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has K♣ T♣
fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.5 BB, fold, BB raises to 8 BB, Hero calls 5.5 BB
Flop: (16.5 BB, 2 players) 6♥ T♠ 6♣
BB bets 15.7 BB, Hero calls 15.7 BB
Turn: (47.9 BB, 2 players) 6♠
BB bets 45.6 BB, Hero calls 45.6 BB
River: (139.1 BB, 2 players) Q♠
BB bets 132.2 BB, Hero calls 57.8 BB
Hero shows K♣ T♣ (Full House, Sixes full of Tens)
(Pre 32%, Flop 24%, Turn 14%)
BB shows Q♣ Q♦ (Full House, Queens full of Sixes)
(Pre 68%, Flop 76%, Turn 86%)
BB wins 319.1 BB
----------------------
PartyGaming - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 4 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4
BTN: 88 BB (VPIP: 30.61, PFR: 17.69, 3Bet Preflop: 5.06, Hands: 31,187)
SB: 147.2 BB (VPIP: 36.18, PFR: 14.38, 3Bet Preflop: 5.82, Hands: 32,474)
Hero (BB): 129.4 BB
CO: 111.7 BB (VPIP: 30.76, PFR: 19.06, 3Bet Preflop: 3.94, Hands: 32,207)
SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB
Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 8♥ J♥
CO raises to 3 BB, fold, fold, Hero calls 2 BB
Flop: (6.5 BB, 2 players) 8♣ 3♦ 4♣
Hero checks, CO bets 3.1 BB, Hero calls 3.1 BB
Turn: (12.7 BB, 2 players) J♦
Hero checks, CO bets 6 BB, Hero raises to 24 BB, CO calls 18 BB
River: (60.7 BB, 2 players) 7♣
Hero checks, CO bets 81.6 BB, Hero calls 81.6 BB
Hero shows 8♥ J♥ (Two Pair, Jacks and Eights)
(Pre 44%, Flop 53%, Turn 82%)
CO shows A♣ 6♣ (Flush, Ace High)
(Pre 56%, Flop 47%, Turn 18%)
CO wins 213.9 BB
Overall, I have decided to take a small break to try and clear some of my personal issues up. Among these issues is pre-carpal tunnel and some actual work-involved mental stress that I have to sort through.
Also decided to move my entire roll (currently ~$300 USD) from GG and Party to Pokerstars. It has more traffic than Party and was the starting point for a lot of pros.
If I'm as good as I think I am, I should be able to figure it out from there. Or at the very least I'll learn something.
Worst case scenario I don't cut it, I can move back to PP and grind out 2NL at a winning rate and earn some extra $$ each month. But I'm hoping I stay dedicated enough to keep moving up.
Here are the current graphs at Party. Currently 10NL quick fold is where I've made all my shitty plays. but my 5NL is looking better. Little wins.
