A (52-year-old) Kid With A Dream
February 28, 2025
I’ve been toying with the idea of blogging for a while, and I’m just beginning a new chapter in my poker career, so I figured now would be a good time to start. I enjoy writing, and I think it will be helpful to me to chronicle my journey as I go. Hopefully some of you will follow along with my adventures.
The journey is this: I play on CoinPoker and ACR, and I currently have a bankroll of $123.31 between the two sites. The majority of that ($103.43, to be exact) is on CoinPoker, and that’s where I will spending most of my time. The idea is to turn this $123.31 bankroll into a $15,000 bankroll for live cash games, starting with 1-3NL and working up to 2-5NL, which is the biggest game generally found in my area (the Mississippi Gulf Coast). I want at least 50 buyins for 1-3NL to feel comfortable, hence the goal of $15,000. Once I reach that level, the majority of my play will (probably) switch from online to live.
Now, while my ultimate goal is to beat a 2-5NL cash game, I am going to be playing MTTs online to get there. I just don’t like the online cash scene. If live tournaments weren’t so expensive and didn’t have ridiculous vig, I would play those instead of live cash, but that’s not really an option right now. Maybe someday I’ll be comfortable plopping down a grand for a tournament buy-in, but that’s a long ways off. So, for now, my plan is to grind online MTTs, with the hope to transition to live cash when my bankroll gets above $15k. I am ahead on MTTs lifetime, although I don't have a big sample size. But I think I am (or can become) a winning MTT player. I am also ahead at 1-3 live cash over my lifetime.
Here’s my situation: I am a (divorced, no kids, one cat) 52-year-old man living with and caring for my 88-year-old mother. Yes, I’m a loser, but at least I don’t live in a basement. I am on a fixed income, and as long as my mother and I are splitting the bills, it’s enough to get by on. But when my mother eventually passes (she’s in good health now), I won’t be able to support myself on what I get each month. I need something to augment my income, and due to some limitations that I have, getting a job isn’t really an option. I basically have two ideas on how to keep myself afloat once my mother is gone: writing or playing poker. And of the two, poker seems like the best option. So I’m going to give it a go.
The plan is to start with the satellites on CoinPoker—the centrolls and small-stakes satellites with buy-ins of up to $2. This $123.31 is not an irreplaceable bankroll, so if the satellites bust me, I can reload another $100 every so often. But ideally I won’t have to.
I’m starting with these satellites on Coin for a few reasons. First, and most important, I’m a pretty good satellite player. Satellites are a strength of mine. Second, the satellites on Coin often have significant overlay, which should help me along. Third, I think Coin is a good site in terms of population strength. The games there seem to be a little softer than on ACR, from my experience. Fourth, I like that the tournaments on Coin don’t end up with hundreds of players like on ACR, because that will help keep my variance down as I build my roll.
So I’m starting at the bottom, and I’m going to try to work my way up. I don’t have a target ABI in mind, really, but I’d like to be able to manage a range of buy-ins from $10 to $100, possibly taking some shots above that in the right circumstances, and using satellites to keep my entry fees down.
Like I said, my mother is in good health now, but she’s 88. It’s not like I have forever to accomplish this and keep myself housed and fed when she’s gone. The clock is ticking. In my ideal scenario, before my mom passes I will have established myself as a solid winner at the 2-5NL level live and will have a bankroll over $50k. That seems pretty pie-in-the-sky right now, as I sit here with my $123.31, but you have to start somewhere. I don’t really have any other options. I have to make this work.
I’m going to be studying and playing A LOT. I’m not a big video person, so I’m going to build my foundation with books. I have crafted a study plan that includes 26 books all told, spread amongst different categories like NLHE theory, MTT theory, live cash theory, mental game, etc. I even have a couple books on PLO, because eventually I would like to be able to play live PLO also, when it’s an option.
I’m aiming to post here 2-3 times per week, but it may be more or less depending on what I have going on and what’s happening in my journey. I won’t be dispensing much poker advice, because I’m not that good of a player yet, but I do have some thoughts on theoretical concepts and tournament strategy that I will discuss eventually. For the most part, though, this will be a record of my journey—what worked, what didn’t, what I learned, and how I (hopefully) pulled this off. While this blog is primarily just for me to have a place to express my thoughts, I enjoy writing, and I will try to make it an interesting read in case anybody wants to follow along. Hopefully this first post wasn’t too boring.
Today (February 28, 2025) was to be my first day playing, but Coin had technical issues, so I’m going to begin in earnest tomorrow, March 1st. I’ll post after the weekend with my initial thoughts and observations. Wish me luck, and thanks for reading.
wish you gl and appreciate the honesty, if you put the work in there's no reason poker can't be a profitable path
GL OP!
March 2, 2025
Well, I find myself awake in the middle of the night with no action, so I figure I’ll blog about my study plan.
As I said in my previous post, I’m not much of a video guy. I prefer to do my learning through books. I take voluminous notes, and I find that the act of rephrasing what the book is saying into my own shorthand, and writing it down, helps a lot with retention. I have been on a couple training sites in the past, but I just don’t retain information from videos very well. I might invest in specific courses in the future—maybe a live cash course—but for now, I have a pretty good library to utilize, so that’s gonna be my focus.
I have ADD and bipolar disorder of the ultra-rapid-cycling kind, so it’s hard for me to stick to schedules—when I’m “up” I barely sleep and I can work like crazy, but when I’m “down” I sleep 12-16 hours a day and don’t have the energy or focus to do much useful work. Luckily, I am up much more than I am down. I don’t get full-on manic, usually, but I’m hypomanic a lot, which is actually pretty cool because I’m in a good mood and have a lot of energy. My “down” periods usually only last for 2-3 days before I cycle out. But it’s still difficult to adhere to a rigid schedule, because a down period can strike at any time out of the blue.
That being said, my goal is to study for 20 hours per week. I’m aiming for 4 hours a day, Monday through Friday. I have divided my study plan into six topics: NLHE theory, MTT theory, live cash theory, mental game topics, workbooks, and a practicum where I do off-table work. I’m just getting started with this, so I may reweight these categories, but right now here’s what my ideal weekly lineup looks like:
Monday: Workbook, NLHE, MTTs, Mental Game (1 hour each)
Tuesday: Workbook, NLHE, MTTs, Live Cash
Wednesday: Workboook, NLHE, Practicum (2 hours)
Thursday: Workbook, NLHE, MTTs, Mental Game
Friday: Workbook, NLHE, MTTs, Live Cash
Here is my booklist, in the order I intend to study it:
NLHE Theory:
The Grinder’s Manual
NLHE Theory and Practice
Applications of NLHE
NLHE for Advanced Players
GTO Poker Simplified
Beyond GTO: Poker Exploits Simplified
Modern Poker Theory
Play Optimal Poker Vol. 1-2
MTT Theory:
Poker Satellite Strategy
Endgame Poker Strategy: The ICM Book
PKO Poker Strategy
Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time Vol. 1-3
Live Cash:
Playing the Player
How to Read Hands at NLHE
The Course
Poker’s 1%
Workbooks:
All 4 Splitsuit workbooks (Math/Preflop, Postflop, Live Cash, Advanced)
Modern Poker Theory tournament workbook when I’m ready for it
Mental Game:
A-Game Poker
The Mental Game of Poker Vol. 1-2
It’s a lot, and I don’t have a timeline for finishing it. I will probably need to go through a lot of these books more than once, so it’s hard to say how long it will take me. I’m basically going to keep plugging away until I feel like I’ve internalized everything. If I get “done” in less than two years, I’ll be pleasantly surprised.
As far as playing time goes, I don’t have a set schedule for that, but I am generally aiming to get in 40 hours a week, possibly more depending on the week. So I’m looking at a 2:1 play-to-study ratio, which feels about right to me. I have a lot of free time, so as long as I don’t hit a depressive episode, putting in 60-hour weeks isn’t really that big a deal for me. I’m pretty gentle on myself, so if I miss the mark from time to time I’m not gonna beat myself up about it. With my bipolar, I have learned to be flexible.
The “practicum” is going to consist of things like working with Flopzilla and Equilab, doing hand reviews, and working on various processes like thought process, warmup/cooldown routines, etc. I’m going to get a lot of off-table type study from the Splitsuit workbooks also, but if I find I need more practical time, I’ll readjust. I’m just getting started, so everything is a work in progress at this point.
So that’s the study plan. If I can actually follow through on all of this, I should be in pretty good shape, I think. But there’s a lot of work to be done. I’m approaching all of this as a lifetime learning project—when I finish the material I’ve listed here, I will move on to other stuff. I may not always study for 20 hours a week, but I’m always gonna be working on something for as long as I’m playing poker.
I think it’s a good plan, but I’m open to comments or suggestions if anybody has any. I’m always willing to re-evaluate and revise if I need to.
Hopefully CoinPoker will be back online today, but since it’s Sunday, there are several good tournaments on ACR also. Gonna try to put in some volume today, and then hit the books starting tomorrow morning. I’m eager to get started.
Thanks for reading, and good luck to everybody today.
glglgl!!
March 3, 2025
Bankroll: $161.51 ($121.09 CoinPoker, $40.42 ACR including $22 ticket)
Had a good day with satellites yesterday on ACR. Won an $1 satellite to a satellite and almost turned it into a $109 tournament entry. I also turned $2.20 into a $22 ticket that I haven’t decided how to use yet. Coin’s problems seem to be fixed, so I’m looking forward to a full satellite schedule today. They deposited $21 into my account—I can only assume it’s a “we’re sorry for the inconvenience” thing; I didn’t complain or ask them for anything at all—so with that and the $22 ticket, my bankroll has made a little leap forward. I’ll take whatever I can get.
I’m wrestling with a bit of a conundrum today. I had a little chat with my poker consigliere yesterday, about whether I should focus on finding a profitable GRIND, or whether I should be aiming to make SCORES. He said he thought a grind was the way to go, and that if he were in my situation he would focus on cash games—start at 5NL and work my way up.
I have given this some thought, and there is wisdom there. Grinding cash games might be more reliable. However, for the time being anyway, I think I’m going to stick with my strategy of focusing primarily on satellites and MTTs. A couple reasons: I feel like I currently have an advantage playing satellites/MTTs, and I’m not as confident in my online cash game edge. Also, the satellites I play on Coin (when it’s up) frequently have a fair amount of overlay. So it’s kind of a tough call. Yes, in that I am satelliting into MTTs, my plan is based on making scores; but in that I am playing things that are often +EV from overlay without even considering my (perceived) skill edge, I feel there is kind of a grind component at work, as well. I look at it like I am grinding out an edge due to my satellite skills and the overlay. Of course, I have to translate that into actual MTT cashes in order to turn a profit, so it does require making scores. To be honest, I’m not sure what the right path is. My consigliere might be right, and maybe I should focus on cash games. But I don’t feel confident with online cash games right now, and I feel like my edge is greater in the satellite/MTT world. I kinda wish I didn’t feel that way, because cash games are much easier in terms of scheduling and in how much stamina is required.
Perhaps I should take a dual-pronged approach and do both things. I could keep a cash game up and running while I play the satellites and MTTs—just kind of dip my toe in the water, for now. I’m not a very adept multitabler at this point, but it’s a part of my game I need to work on, so having an extra table running might actually be a good thing in the long run, even if it costs me a little EV in the beginning. And given how erratic my sleep schedule can be, it would be good to have an option, like cash games, that is available 24/7. Also, if my ultimate goal is to beat live cash games, learning to beat online cash games could only be beneficial. I do think, though, that instead of starting at 5NL, I am going to start at the very bottom at 2NL and work my way up the old-fashioned way. I’ll move up to 5NL after my bankroll grows a bit and I feel comfortable with my results at 2NL.
Yes, I think I have talked myself into this. Long-term, my consigliere is probably right, and cash games are probably the way to go, but I need to build my confidence and my bankroll, so I think a two-pronged approach is best for now. Plus, I just hate to leave that overlay laying out there, uncollected. Seems like a crime. And making scores certainly isn’t all bad. I can only make so big a score on Coin, but I almost qualified to a $300k tournament for $1.05 on ACR yesterday, and if I can satellite my way into larger tournaments like that and pull off a deep run, I could make a REAL score. It certainly wouldn’t hurt my chances of success if I managed to pull off a 4-figure MTT run somehow.
So, for now, I am going to adopt a hybrid approach. I can always change gears later if I decide I need to go full cash. But I haven’t really even had a chance to test out the satellite strategy, and I want to see how it performs with a decent sample size. I’m pretty confident that I can turn a profit, it’s just a question of how much.
Thanks for reading, and good luck out there.
Don't play satties. stick with mtts or cash. Ideally play 90% cash and 10% mtts. if ya play 50 hours of cash then go and play a mtt. play a $22 or whatever. mtts are very silly games.
cash games are much easier in terms of scheduling and in how much stamina is required
ya can put in 20 hour sessions playing cash or 2 hour sessions.
long term its -ev. Lower ROI. There's less varience in sattys. sattys ya just get ya chips in early and be patient until you get into the money. not super hard to beat.
I would play cash and try and focus on playing 100-200BB or more deep. You can play the odd satty or higher buy-in mtt if you want but just be aware you are gambling.
Food for thought. Thanks! =)
March 4, 2025
Bankroll: $184.67 ($136.55 CoinPoker, $48.12 ACR including $11 and $22 tickets)
After the advice I have been given by my consigliere, I have decided to focus on cash games for now. I decided to start off at 5NL—on CoinPoker—and I had a good session yesterday and won 3 buyins, so that was a nice way to start. I was at tables full of multitabling regs, and they seemed very weak-tight to me. Things seemed a little TOO easy. I was running pretty hot. I’m sure the players will seem better when variance evens out for me.
Since I’m focusing on cash for now, I have been putting some thought into bankroll management. I decided I’m not going to drop below 5NL. If I go bust at 5NL I will reload with another $100 and try again. As long as that doesn’t happen too often, I’ll be OK.
Here’s the plan I came up with:
$0-100: 5NL (move up at $130, down at $100)
$100-300: 10NL (move up at $375, down at $300)
$300-1250: 25NL (move up at $1400, down at $1250)
$1250-2500: 50NL (move up at $2800, down at $2500)
$2500-5000: 100NL (move up at $5600, down at $5000)
$5000+: 200NL
I feel a little grandiose assuming I’m ever going to make it to 200NL, but this is just for reference. At each level, I am requiring a certain number of buyins then +3 buyins for the next level before I take shots at moving up. I’m only requiring 20 buyins at 5NL before moving to 10NL, since I can reload if needed, but I’m requiring 30 before I move up from 10NL and 50 beyond that. I don’t have a problem dropping down in stakes when needed, so I think this is reasonable. I doubt I will go higher than 200NL online (assuming I ever make it there), but I guess it depends on how things are going. If I can make comparable money online by multitabling compared to what I can make playing live poker, I would prefer to stay home and play in my pajamas.
I’m going to be playing all my cash on CoinPoker for now, so I am considering only that bankroll when making move up/move down decisions. With the money I have on ACR (which I will eventually add to), I am considering another possibility: SNGs.
I used to play SNGs a long time ago, before Black Friday, and I did pretty well. I’m sure they are much tougher now, and I will need to study a lot. I have some SNG books and if I get to playing them I will invest in an ICMIZER subscription and start working with it.
What got me interested in SNGs was that ACR has this program called “Sit & Crush” where you get rewards for putting in high SNG volume. The top players get $500 a week, plus a $95 satellite ticket, and from what I can see the highest buyin is only $33. These are multi-table SNGs, usually ending up with around 30-50 players, so if I assume I needed 150 buyins or so, at the $33 level that would be about five grand. If I could put in enough volume to score the $500 a week and just break even at the tables, that would be a 10% return on my bankroll every week. Even if I can only get a lesser prize, say $250, that’s still 5% a week, and that’s assuming I can’t do better than breaking even. If I actually have a positive ROI, that’s even better. I am hard-pressed to think of another way to make 5-10% of my bankroll every week, and if I can put in the volume, it would be like getting a steady paycheck, so I’m very intrigued by the idea. I have replaced MTT study with SNG study in my study plan. I’m not playing any SNGs until I have booked up a fair bit. My primary focus is on cash, for now, but if I can eventually develop the SNGs into a steady income stream, I could see me becoming an SNG specialist long-term.
I know I probably sound like I’m all over the map, and I guess I am, but I’m still in my exploration phase of trying to figure out how to make this work, and I want to consider all my options. I am a simple man, as they say, and pretty frugal. I’m not out to get rich. If I can make a couple grand a month, I would be ecstatic. Even a grand a month would be enough to keep me afloat, along with the income I already have. So I don’t have to go out and beat the best players in the world. I just need to find a profitable niche somewhere. Right now online cash is my immediate focus, but I’m gonna be booking up on SNGs with an eye towards giving that a shot in the future. As for the long-term plan…well, I was initially focused on graduating to live cash, but I’m keeping an open mind. If I can make a living online, I’d rather do that. Less hassle.
That’s all for today. Thanks for reading, and good luck out there.
Good luck at the tables
Good luck OP!!!
I know I probably sound like I’m all over the map, and I guess I am, but I’m still in my exploration phase of trying to figure out how to make this work, and I want to consider all my options. I am a simple man, as they say, and pretty frugal. I’m not out to get rich. If I can make a couple grand a month, I would be ecstatic. Even a grand a month would be enough to keep me afloat, along with the income I already have. So I don’t have to go out and beat the best players in the world. I just need
In the last 3 days, your long term goal went from being a live cash grinder, to an online mtt grinder, to an online cash grinder, and now an online SNG grinder. I get it, we've all been there, but if your goal is to be as profitable as you can be, your best bet right now is to find the one thing that interests you the most, and study/grind that until you are proficient enough to earn enough income to be happy with. Then branch out to other disciplines if you feel the need.
In the last 3 days, your long term goal went from being a live cash grinder, to an online mtt grinder, to an online cash grinder, and now an online SNG grinder. I get it, we've all been there, but if your goal is to be as profitable as you can be, your best bet right now is to find the one thing that interests you the most, and study/grind that until you are proficient enough to earn enough income to be happy with. Then branch out to other disciplines if you feel the need.
I know, I've been wishy-washy and you're right. I *do* need to pick something, and I think the something should be cash games. Online for now, later transitioning to live if needed/desired.
It occurred to me that I probably shouldn't get into an endurance competition trying to grind a million SNGs a week, and only being able to/being forced to play during the times that the SNGs are actually running. Plus, I don't know if I will be able to handle as many tables as I might need to. Cash games offer a lot more flexibility and won't be as demanding as trying to cash in a rake race every week.
So, thanks for the advice. I agree with you and am going to focus on cash games.
March 4, 2025
$0-100: 5NL (move up at $130, down at $100)
$100-300: 10NL (move up at $375, down at $300)
$300-1250: 25NL (move up at $1400, down at $1250)
$1250-2500: 50NL (move up at $2800, down at $2500)
$2500-5000: 100NL (move up at $5600, down at $5000)
$5000+: 200NL
At each level, I am requiring a certain number of buyins then +3 buyins for the next level before I take shots at moving up. I’m only requiring 20 buyins at 5NL before moving to 10NL, since I can reload if needed, but I’m requiring 30
Your above sentence here doesnt match your above plan? Im guessing what you are saying is that you achieve 30 buy ins for 10nl +£75 then move to 25nl rather than achieve 30 buy ins FOR 25NL before moving up. Even if so - thats VERY aggressive BRM and your numbers are still slightly askew anyway (though good chance im misunderstanding also). Not saying this to sound a dick though - just pointing out and hope whatever you choose is a success for you. GL.
Hi, Nice Thread!
I dont think that you have to be able to beat either 100 or 200 NL to be a winning 2/5 reg (live) . So my suggestion is that you try to get up to 50 nl and try to become a decent winner there. If you suceed with this you will probably be a big winner at low stakes live (1/2 & 2/5).
Good Luck! 😀
Your above sentence here doesnt match your above plan? Im guessing what you are saying is that you achieve 30 buy ins for 10nl +£75 then move to 25nl rather than achieve 30 buy ins FOR 25NL before moving up. Even if so - thats VERY aggressive BRM and your numbers are still slightly askew anyway (though good chance im misunderstanding also). Not saying this to sound a dick though - just pointing out and hope whatever you choose is a success for you. GL.
Yes, sorry, I meant X buyins at the current level, then +3 buyins of the next level. So for instance, 30 buyins at 10NL + 3 buyins at 25NL = $375, 50 buyins at 25NL + 3 buyins at 50NL = $1400 and so on.
I didn't realize it would be that aggressive, since I would move up or down levels as necessary--I figured I would be able to stay in action of some sort or another. What kinds of thresholds would you recommend for taking shots at the next level?
Hi, Nice Thread!
I dont think that you have to be able to beat either 100 or 200 NL to be a winning 2/5 reg (live) . So my suggestion is that you try to get up to 50 nl and try to become a decent winner there. If you suceed with this you will probably be a big winner at low stakes live (1/2 & 2/5).
Good Luck! 😀
Thanks! Good to know! =)
how many tables you playing?
March 10, 2025
Bankroll: $229.11 ($87.62 CoinPoker, $141.49 ACR +$11/$22 tourney tickets)
I had a nasty depressive episode with my bipolar last week, and didn’t get much accomplished. I started feeling better over the weekend, and I diverted a little money from Coin to ACR so I could play some Sunday MTTs, kinda just dink around—didn’t feel up to doing anything too serious. As luck would have it, I final-tabled one of the MTTs, so my bankroll made a nice little jump.
My friend and poker consigliere, who is a long-time lurker here, sent me a bit of money to go try my hand out at live cash, and is talking about staking me down the road when I’m booked up and ready to roll. I have revamped my study plan to have more of a cash-game focus, and I’m getting back to the books as soon as I finish writing this. I’m planning on heading down to the Beau Rivage on the Coast next weekend to play a little 1-3. It’s been about 11-12 years since I played any live cash, so it will take me a little while to get my feet under me. I’m planning on buying in for the minimum and shortstacking at first, until I settle in and feel comfortable at the table, then I will top up to a 100BB stack.
Other than playing a couple MTTs on the weekends, or hitting a few when a big series rolls through on ACR, my focus is going to be entirely on cash games. I decided I don’t want to test my endurance with the SNG rake race on ACR. Too much pressure. Right now my focus is on studying and learning. I have a very ambitious study schedule planned, and my playtime is going to be structured and focused on certain elements of my game. I’m not going to worry too much about results for the time being. I want to get my cash-game skills to the point that I can be a consistent winner live, and then my consigliere and I can discuss a possible staking arrangement. He wants me to get my feet wet and see if live cash is something I can see myself doing on the regular.
My weekday study schedule is going to include a dose of a Splitsuit workbook, some NLHE theory, some Ed Miller for live cash advice, work on my mental game, and some time with software tools mostly focused on studying ranges and developing my hand-reading skills. My hand-reading is very nebulous at this point, and it’s something I really need to improve. I have the Ed Miller hand-reading book, and I’m gonna work with Equilab and Flopzilla to improve my range-based thinking. My birthday is three months away, and I’m gonna spend the time from now til then more focused on study than play. I’m gonna re-evaluate on my birthday and decide on next steps then. I will probably take a little study break at that point and start reviewing the material I’ve gone over while also playing more and trying to internalize what I’ve learned. I will probably play a lot over the summer before hitting the books again come fall. That’s my vision right now, anyway. Things may change.
I’m starting off my NLHE studies by working through “The Grinder’s Manual” by Peter Clarke. It’s very dense, but it’s very good material and I like the way he writes and explains things. I’m gonna follow that up with the Sklansky/Miller green book, and go from there. I have no shortage of study materials. What I have on hand will keep me busy for a long, long time. I have 19 books and 4 workbooks in my study plan. Not sure how much of that I can cover in 3 months, we’ll see. I’m not in a hurry. I want to absorb the material fully.
I decided that for the time being, when I do play online cash, I’m just going to play 2NL. I’m going to be playing with an eye towards implementing what I’ve learned, step by step, and not worry too much about the results, so I figure I might as well keep my “tuition” as cheap as possible. I don’t feel as much pressure to grind up a bankroll, knowing that my friend is potentially willing to stake me to live cash down the road. I have realized that live cash is really my only sensible option, long-term, to make the kind of money I’d like to make. In theory, I could do it online, but in practice that will be very difficult. If I can get to the point where I can solidly beat 2-5 games, that’s really all I need. That’s a much gentler hill to climb then trying to learn to beat 200NL online for a couple grand a month. To be honest, there seem to be some pretty solid players even at the 2NL/5NL level. There are certainly fish too, but there are a lot of multitabling regs who seem to play pretty well, as far as I can tell. I can only imagine what a 200NL table would look like. I’m not a poker savant, and I probably don’t have the highest ceiling in the world, especially at my age. I don’t need something where I have to grind 50,000 hands a month and endure huge downswings because I have such a tiny edge. I’m not saying it’s impossible that somewhere down the road I might put more emphasis on online play, particularly if it ever gets legalized and starts to boom again, but for the foreseeable future I think live cash is my best bet to make the kind of money I need to make. So that’s gonna be my sole focus for the time being.
Thanks for reading, and good luck out there.
March 12, 2025
Bankroll: $228.31 ($86.82 CoinPoker, $141.49 ACR +$11/$22 tourney tickets)
I haven’t played much in the past couple days, just a few short sessions of 2NL, so there hasn’t been any movement in the bankroll. I have been focusing on study this week. I decided to emphasize live cash this week, since I will likely go to the Coast sometime this weekend and play some 1-3. I’m currently working on Miller’s “Playing the Player”. I’m sure some of the advice is outdated, but I’m focusing on the process of assessing your opponents, figuring out how to exploit them, and then pulling the trigger and readjusting as needed. The couple of sessions I’ve played this week I have been locked in on my opponents and trying to figure them out. I’m aiming to finish the Miller book this week before moving back to “The Grinder’s Manual” next week.
I am also working through “The Mental Game of Poker”, and developing a preflop strategy for 9-handed live cash, since it’s been so long since I played. I’m making flashcards on Anki to help me internalize my ranges. If you have never used Anki, I highly recommend it. It’s very intuitive and user-friendly, and much easier than dealing with a stack of index cards.
Here’s the study schedule I am going by Monday-Friday:
Flashcards (10 min)
Splitsuit workbook (1 hr)
Live cash study/NLHE theory (2 hrs, alternating weeks)
Break/flashcards (1 hr)
Mental game (1 hr)
Practicum (1 hr)
I also had a conversation with ChatGPT about how to improve my retention working with books, and how to make it a more interactive experience. I took what I got from Chat and developed a study process I really like. Here’s what I’m doing:
1.) Summarize previous session’s key points from memory, then check notes.
2.) Type up handwritten notes from previous session.
3.) Pre-Read: Skim chapter headings, bolded terms, and key examples.
4.) Write down 3-5 questions you expect the chapter to answer.
5.) Read: Take notes in your own words. Highlight the “why” behind new concepts. After each section, try to summarize it from memory. Repeat as needed.
6.) Post-Reading: Quiz yourself on key points. Create a quick reference sheet with key takeaways.
7.) Summarize what you learned out loud, as if teaching a beginner.
I’ve been using this process this week, and I really feel like it’s improving my retention a lot. It’s slower than just reading and typing notes as you go, but it should save me time in the long run by reducing the number of times I have to go through a book to get it.
I have also developed a warm-up/cool-down process for my play sessions, based on the template in “The Mental Game of Poker”. Here’s what I’m doing in that regard:
WARM-UP:
1.) Remove all distractions.
2.) Decide on session length.
3.) Meditation/visualization (10 min).
4.) Review long-term goals.
5.) Review technical skills you’re working on.
6.) Review mental game strategies.
7.) Take some deep breaths to focus before beginning play.
8.) Play only one table for the first 30 minutes.
COOL-DOWN:
1.) Estimate session variance.
2.) Evaluate how you played.
3.) Take gameflow notes about any marked hands.
4.) Note any new details of mental game problems.
5.) Take notes about what you did well and areas for improvement.
6.) Take notes about how the regulars played.
7.) Vent on paper (if necessary—luckily I haven’t needed to do this yet).
8.) Refine your next warm-up based on this session.
I’m still getting used to this, and it’s a work in progress, but I am definitely entering play sessions more focused than I was, so I think it’s helping in that regard.
As far as long-term goals, what I’ve decided I’m aiming for is just the ability to sustain myself and my cat from what I earn playing poker, even in the absence of any other income. Eventually, after my mother passes, I would like to relocate to a place where online poker has been legalized, and where there is also a thriving live poker scene. I lived in Vegas briefly, and I loved it there, but I’m also interested in Reno, and I’m open to other places as well. I want to be able to have and maintain my own place (it can be an efficiency apartment or whatever, I don’t need much) and to be able to basically do what I want within reason, like being able to afford a nice meal when I want one, keeping a decent car, things like that. I don’t have luxurious tastes, and I don’t care about being “rich”. I just want to live comfortably in my own space. My focus for the indefinite future is to get to the point that I am a consistent winner at 2-5 live games, maybe 5-10 if possible, but eventually I may branch out into learning PLO or even re-entering the MTT scene, live or online or both. But I want to get stabilized as a solid winner at live NLHE cash first, and that’s my sole focus at this point. I’m looking forward to my first session of 1-3 this weekend. The weather may push it back a week, though—I’m an old fart, and I don’t like driving in the rain, especially at night.
I’ve also started a new diet and exercise program this week. I could stand to lose some weight, and I want to get healthier in general, for obvious reasons, but also because I know it will help my focus and endurance at the tables. I’m trying to get more sleep, too, but that’s kind of contingent on how my bipolar is acting at any given time—sometimes I sleep a lot, sometimes I can only sleep 3-4 hours a night. I’m trying to maintain a consistent schedule to give myself the best CHANCE of getting good sleep.
I’m happy about the way things are going with my study plan and my play sessions, as well as my lifestyle changes. Feeling optimistic about the future, which doesn’t always come easily for me, so I’ll take it.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading, and good luck out there.
I seriously think that if I could prep and study a quarter the amount you are doing I would be a lot better at the game.
Unfortunately I have the concentration span of a newt and the memory of a gold fish. I do like poker banks stuff, so do try watch the odd 10 minutes here and there.
All the best, looks like you'll do it, unless you go on monkey tilt at the drop of a hat.
I seriously think that if I could prep and study a quarter the amount you are doing I would be a lot better at the game.
Unfortunately I have the concentration span of a newt and the memory of a gold fish. I do like poker banks stuff, so do try watch the odd 10 minutes here and there.
All the best, looks like you'll do it, unless you go on monkey tilt at the drop of a hat.
Thanks! I'm a "quitting" tilter, an "f this" and shut everything down when I get too frustrated kinda guy. Luckily I'm not a big tilter in general.
I used to have a great memory when I was younger, but I really have to work for it these days. Hence all this regimented study.
Good luck to you! =)
