Can we do it live? Bankroll Challenge
I have been playing online poker for the past 20 years or so with decent success. I've also dabled in live cash whenever I get the chance which was usually about 1 or 2 times a year. Recently I decided to sell my house in one of the highest taxed states in the union and move to the sunny state of Florida. Best decision I've made in a long time, but it also came with the fact I now have a plethora of live poker venues within minutes of my house.
I want to start playing live poker a lot more and decided instead of just messing about, I would start from the bottom and build a bankroll the old fashioned way, even though I don't need to. I have a really good high paying full time job and a family, so my play time is still limited, but seeing as I have a poker room 12 minutes away, I should be able to get a couple sessions a week in.
I don't need the money, so I'm in no rush, and just want the satisfaction of building a roll and grinding up the stakes. My plan is to start at 1/2 and 1/3 whatever is running in the room I'm at for the day, and take some shots at big tournaments that happen throughout the year. Depending where the bankroll is, I will take shots at tournaments outside of the bankroll until the roll is established enough that it's not 10% of my roll for a buyin.
I've played 2 losing sessions at 1/2 since getting down here, where I just took a couple coolers. I lost to a maniac w/ AA in a 3b pot where he rolls over 85o for a flopped 2p, and punted against an OMC with top top when I'd already seen him limp call down w/ AA. Lost about $600 in those two sessions, but the games are REALLY good. I just need to adjust to 1/2 play.
Most of the time when I play for fun it's either 2/5 or 5/10. Coming back down to 1/2 I need to adjust my game quite a bit. I feel like I just need to relax and value bet made hands. They love to try and be a hero so trying to run big bluffs seems very -EV. If I get raised I can probably just fold unless I have the nuts or close to it.
I topped off the bankroll and we're going to start fresh with the challenge, the goal is to play 2 days a week.
This weekend we are having a dad weekend and heading to Tampa for the Hard Rock series that started this week to fire a couple bullets and grind cash the rest of the time. Will be flying solo with all focus on the grind. I will be playing Event #1 $250k and Event #2 Omaha 8 or better. I prefer mixed games these days, but they NEVER run in Florida so will mostly still be playing NL cash.
I will be playing tournaments outside of the bankroll otherwise I couldn't play $900 worth of buyins. Will try and satty in and then fire 1 bullet for the $250k. If we bink something we'll juice the bankroll and put some in the bank to make the wifey happy. When the bankroll reaches $10k we'll remove our starting capital and freeroll the rest of the way. I don't expect this to be a quick journey, but it should be fun!
Lifetime I'm up some 10's of thousands at 2/5 and 5/10, I've never really kept track, but have def had more winning sessions than losing. I'm pretty good about keeping loses small. When I feel myself getting frustrated, I just walk away for the day rather than keep chasing. It's how I've managed tilt over the years, because when I first started playing I use to tilt HARD.
Will keep this thread updated after each session. I'm starting this thread to stay accountable, honest with myself and motivated.
Will move up as follows:
- 1/2|1/3 - $5000
- 2/5 - $15000(Move down if less than $10k)
- 5/10 - $30000(Move down if less than $20k)
Starting Bankroll: $5, 000
Goal: $50, 000
