1/3 Grinding and Bankroll
Hi all,
First post in this specific forum. Normally post in NL Strategy. Hoping for some feedback about bankroll management.
I started playing 4-5 times a week at MGM National Harbor in March after a few months off. Previously I had been playing at MD Live and lost most of what I had won (around $1,200). Anyway, I took $200 to the casino and tried my luck. No bankroll to start really.
I had a great March (+$3,000) but a terrible April (-$3,000) after trying 2/5 and losing $1k and a horrific 24-hour session where I dumped $1,800 in just cooler after cooler (set over set, AK into AA, nut flush v. boat, etc.). This month I'm up around $1,000 so far. Any tips about bankroll management that can keep me from losing it all again? Do you set some of your winnings aside for example?
I have a somewhat steady income outside of poker but my goal is to make poker a supplement to that income and not just a break-even hobby.
Appreciate the feedback.
Thanks,
DT
Games not great, going to take care of myself and get a good workout in soon, watch the sun rise, and come back later when the games are hopefully better.
Really took care of my body this morning, a nice exercise and jog and walk, very happy to do that. Extremely slow morning in the poker room…grinding 1/3 trying not to lose my mind until I get a plo seat. It’s fun to bluff here…J8 4! river all in Q5673 got queens up to fold.
Really took care of my body this morning, a nice exercise and jog and walk, very happy to do that. Extremely slow morning in the poker room…grinding 1/3 trying not to lose my mind until I get a plo seat. It’s fun to bluff here…J8 4! river all in Q5673 got queens up to fold.
4! Pre right or river? That's a bizarre hand all around. Queens up means two pair right? He calls with crappy queen to fold once he hits two pair , make it make sense 🤣
Pulled off a nice play today…have crap queens and flop mid set KQ3, checks through. Turn 8 x through (I was going for c/r). River T no flush. I x, preflop raiser bets 1/2 pot, someone calls, I c/r and they both fold. I was extremely confident from a live read that the bettor had nothing and the caller probably wasn’t super strong, maybe J9, so even without A/J blockers I went for it. It worked! I may have had the best hand who knows, but I thought raising here was better than calling in case the caller had the second nut straight.
Ended up $2,300, from plo, hold 'em, and mix, lost with top set nfd to whale with a wrap in one big pot, started getting fed up with plo losing with such a strong hand again so quit for the mixed game where I scooped with 75(432) in badeucy among others. $78,970 to go on the challenge. Played a long session and woke up after a good night's sleep a little drowsy/hungover from playing all day. Lattes will help with that. Good exercise the past couple days which has been great.
Good poker friend told me he is having his best month and year ever in poker, one of my first "students," he uses my guide and got advice from me along the way, really gratifying to know I've helped someone achieve financial and personal freedom through PLO - even though it's making my games tougher! I got help along the way too and I am happy to pay it forward.
Leaving my mark on PLO5 with the guide and teaching is sorta a legacy in a way as my dad said yesterday. If I never have kids I at least have done something to change the world (hopefully for the better). That and my law review articles. Writing is a lasting skill.
Limped Pot headed up, I bet repping straight on turn I bet river he min raised I jammed.
Ah so actually a 3 bet on the river? I was confused and thought it must be preflop because 4 betting that river seems suicidal (unless you actually think you can get someone to fold a 4 which seems optimistic, maybe possible though if super deep and you have tight rep)
Lost set over set in 3! pot at low spr, lost nut straight to two sets, left for 5/T where I am biding my time. Getting pretty tired of how bleh plo has been treating me this month.
card dead at hold 'em, went back to plo as game was not great, lost two dsAA all in pre, made a little comeback towards the end and finished down a couple grand. $80,970 to go or so.
Went to bed reasonably early, got a solid 10 hours of sleep, lattericanos now and music, then will hop into a decent mid-afternoon game which hopefully should be better than the early morning games.
Went to bed reasonably early, got a solid 10 hours of sleep, lattericanos now and music, then will hop into a decent mid-afternoon game which hopefully should be better than the early morning games.
What's your average session length? It seems like you're living in the poker room, but that might just be an error in my perception.
What are your long term goals with poker? Is it a spot where you feel like you need to make as much as you can right now to set yourself up for later in life, or do you feel like some % of your income will always come from poker in the future?
What's your average session length? It seems like you're living in the poker room, but that might just be an error in my perception.
What are your long term goals with poker? Is it a spot where you feel like you need to make as much as you can right now to set yourself up for later in life, or do you feel like some % of your income will always come from poker in the future?
Probably 10 hours on average per session. I want to make a bundle of money and set myself up for a comfortable retirement which will allow me to fund legal projects too.
I imagine I will keep playing for a while while the games are still reasonably soft or until I can’t stand it anymore, which may be never. Hard to predict the future.
Really annoying day, lost with rolled up kings to runner runner aces full in stud 8, I made a boat too, lost pat 97 in single draw to a two card draw, at plo lost double flush draw ott against two straights, then got into an argument with this dude who didn’t want me to go north after I got stacked. What a crappy day. I’m so ready for July to be over.
Ended down a manageable $1,500 on the session after a late session come back thanks to AKJ86ds and AKQJ6ds, challenge: $82,470 to go. Here's to better runngood in August! Getting some good reviews of the guidebook now, sweet.
Really annoying day, lost with rolled up kings to runner runner aces full in stud 8, I made a boat too, lost pat 97 in single draw to a two card draw, at plo lost double flush draw ott against two straights, then got into an argument with this dude who didn’t want me to go north after I got stacked. What a crappy day. I’m so ready for July to be over.
You tried to buy in over the max and got into an argument with someone who objected?
On rare occasions I try to buy in a little more than max when I am losing big to try to get unstuck, usually no one minds the losing player to put more money on the table but this nit grinder piped up this time and I was really annoyed. Having a $700 max buy in for a game where people regularly run it up to over $10,000 is really unfair to the short stacks imo, it gives way too much leverage to the deep stack.
Ran bad and played a little aggro at 10/10, got a couple hands in pre that I didn’t have to but I was short with an overlay or against an action player so it was whatever. Lost set and open ender to naked nfd too. At least got a double with dsAA, but still a bad start to the month. Back at 1/2 for a little longer in a good game.
On rare occasions I try to buy in a little more than max when I am losing big to try to get unstuck, usually no one minds the losing player to put more money on the table but this nit grinder piped up this time and I was really annoyed. Having a $700 max buy in for a game where people regularly run it up to over $10,000 is really unfair to the short stacks imo, it gives way too much leverage to the deep stack.
What game and blind level? Don't think I've ever played a game where it wasn't an advantage to be shortstacked. (Ofc its more + ev to be deeper if the deeper players are average or bad)
On rare occasions I try to buy in a little more than max when I am losing big to try to get unstuck, usually no one minds the losing player to put more money on the table but this nit grinder piped up this time and I was really annoyed. Having a $700 max buy in for a game where people regularly run it up to over $10,000 is really unfair to the short stacks imo, it gives way too much leverage to the deep stack.
In a tournament yes but in cash no. It does limit your ability to bluff but also makes you very hard to bluff given SPR considerations so you need change your style.
On rare occasions I try to buy in a little more than max when I am losing big to try to get unstuck, usually no one minds the losing player to put more money on the table but this nit grinder piped up this time and I was really annoyed. Having a $700 max buy in for a game where people regularly run it up to over $10,000 is really unfair to the short stacks imo, it gives way too much leverage to the deep stack.
People usually don’t mind the fish putting more money at the table, not the pro who is running bad.
But alas, rules for thee, not for me…
Got hammered last night again, lost set over set at 10/10, lost set+open ender to naked nfd, won a dsAA, lost JJ988ds 3! the action player ran into third player's AKK. Played 1/2 with maniac getting it in with K9762 for over $1,000 pre, folded dsQQ once and it backfired as other reg iso'd super wide and I would have flopped very well (unsure if would have gotten it in pre this time), action was close to quitting and I went with a raggedy KK against him and he woke up with AA and I lost. Down around $6,000. Oh brother!
Getting a little demoralized going on several weeks of the same, waiting for it to turn around as it usually does, taking a longer than usual this time. $88,470 to go.
Booked a nice win at 5/5, over $5k, took a break but not before toxic pro started cursing at me again and giving me a hard time even after we made up and I gave him my seat at 10/10 one night a while ago…but I was ready for this moment and I served him with a cease and desist letter I drafted months ago demanding he stop harassing me and threatening legal action if he doesn’t. Don’t mess with a lawyer bro. Hopefully the stick works when the carrot did not and he finally leaves me alone. Felt very empowering to hand him the letter.
Ended up $5.8k after a little more winning at 1/2 plo, so back to even on the month, nice rebound. $82,670 left. Got good sleep, woke up with the sun shining, music and lattes with creamer from MGM (my store-bought milk spoiled soon after I bought it). Feels like another good day in the making! Another couple good reviews of the book too, one guy said he was losing thousands every weekend and now he's winning that much every weekend!
Ran meh at 1/2 losing when ahead in a couple spots, lost my cool and realized I get way more upset playing low stakes than high and it's not good for my mental game, unfortunately the big games don't run that often. At 25/25, lost AAnfd oesd wheel gutshot to two pair open ender, KQT98 lost to AA in 4! pot on Q-high flop (these are all running it twice...!), won a freeroll, but at the end lost oesd nfd and pair and bdfd to nut straight worse fd and the game broke. Thankfully, 10/10 was running and the game was very good, lost AKQT5ds all in pre on 554dd my nfd, lost AAJT9ds three ways all in pre (this was a really bad one), made a comeback and was too tired to play well so I quit, started playing too passively which is my biggest leak when I start getting too tired, ended down around $2k on the day. Given how poorly I ran this is a small loss, it could have been much worse but I made it back in enough spots that the runbad didn't hurt as much. $84,870 to go.
Made around $1,900, thanks to some rungood at plo, QQ+sfd won versus straight was the biggest one, nice to beat the fish for a change after they've been beating me up lately.
$82,970 to go.
