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
Congrats for the blog! I also go time to time to MGMNH as a fish what concrete sites/software/books would you recommend to start studying NLH in 2025? What domain to start with, preflop ranges? Postflop? Etc. Thanks!
I'm actually 2/3rds though One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at the moment. It's astonishing to think the novel was published in 1962 (film was 1975). I just read a scene the other night where McMurphy (the Jack Nicholson character) is told that the majority of his fellow "inmates" are voluntary---largely because they believe they won't be able to cope/be safe in non-asylum life. It's been a revelation reading the Ken Kesey novel, given how pervasive the movie was in our culture when I was growing
Yeah the treatment can be horrifying. You’re right about stigma. Stigmatization made me wonder whether I could hold down a full time job and second guess my abilities.
Congrats for the blog! I also go time to time to MGMNH as a fish �� what concrete sites/software/books would you recommend to start studying NLH in 2025? What domain to start with, preflop ranges? Postflop? Etc. Thanks!
Yeah start with preflop get your opening ranges down by position. Then postflop. Get comfortable with mixing overbets into your game too, they are a thing now. A lot of people use gto wizard.
I don't know if I've asked this before, but as someone whose played his fair share of live poker, it is SHOCKING how many altercations you get into. Are you seeing other regs in your room getting into the same volume of altercations as you?
No I doubt anyone calls out the scum I see as much as I do. I also voice my displeasure with others’ negativity directed towards me much more assertively. It’s part of my nature as a lawyer who is paid to argue for a living.
I was so fixated on my poor client this week but I did everything I could for her including talking to her parents and filing a complaint with the healthcare quality agency overseeing the hospitals. I feel awful for her. There’s a point at which the treatment becomes torture and it’s no longer therapeutic especially when forced on someone.
I tried to take my mind off it by playing the mix last night and having some laughs with the guys. Two of them got into an argument about whether a non-nut wrap was really a wrap, it was a hoot. “It’s a Romanian wrap, ” I told one of them, a jovial Eastern European who I banter with often.
Played the big mix today again, just felt like it, the game wasn’t even good it was all good regs but I felt more confident having gotten more experience over the past few months. I was up $4,000 at my high point but lost a couple pots and quit still up around $1500. Scooped AA876ds in plo5 and chopped AKJ82 in big o versus AA and won a few smaller pots in 2-7 and stud8. Lost 752, 4 versus another two card draw that made an 86 after the first draw in triple draw and called it shortly after this hand pretty happy to have booked a modest win in a tough field.
Hey DumbosTrunk, I recently found and have really enjoyed reading this thread. It’s really cool to see someone go from 1/3 NLHM to playing mixed games and Omaha at such a high level. The personal journey has been very interesting as well, congrats on the new job and the impact you’ve made already!
Hey DumbosTrunk, I recently found and have really enjoyed reading this thread. It’s really cool to see someone go from 1/3 NLHM to playing mixed games and Omaha at such a high level. The personal journey has been very interesting as well, congrats on the new job and the impact you’ve made already!
Thanks a lot! I appreciate the kind words. 😀 Be well.
Wrapped up the month on a small loss, but overall did phenomenally, winning over $200 an hour. Seems like much less volume and balance in life is helping me play better poker too!
Dumbo has been targeted :(
I hope not, my friend thinks I just don’t disengage fast enough from negative encounters. My Mama taught me not to be a doormat for other people though.
All those stats about mentally ill people not being able to work regular jobs are a much of hooey. I wish we were encouraged more to do whatever we wanted instead of being led to believe we are not as capable as everyone else. We have special gifts like empathy that can be very useful in various professions as I have found, especially those in mental health.
I was talking about all the spam posts 😉
I got a solid 10 hours of sleep and I feel amazing! The rest of the day goes so much better if I just get plenty of zzz's. Client interviews this morning then prep for Friday's court docket. And then it's the weekend again. Lattes now then gotta hit the road, in the office a few times a week. The commute is a bummer but I'm getting used to it n
I learned from my boss that when I'm done training in civil commitment work I will be helping clients committed after NGRI pleas, which is right up my alley. The intersection of criminal law and mental health has always been a keen interest of mine. I have strong feelings about detaining people due to mental disabilities and actions they took due to symptoms of a mental illness.
The nice thing is in most of these cases the hospital is in agreement with the patient's release who has been rehabilitated and stabilized and it's just a matter of convincing the judge that they no longer pose a danger to society.
Had a dream the market crashed 50%, bleh.
It’s Friday! Interviews yesterday went well. It’s a light day in court, just postponements no hearings. I started prepping for a Tuesday morning hearing yesterday. Looking forward to that one, apparently the doctor is squirrelly and does not like giving a straight answer.
Played so so session, unfortunately the games at mdl are not as good at mgm. Lost at plo and 2/5. Got A9hh in a 3! pot spr 1.2 on 578scc against a perceived maniac, he had a good hand this time though in 76cc. Every other time he bet big he would fold to a raise, once he had 22 on J7943. Even so it’s a pretty loose call with A9s.
Looking forward to the weekend.
Played a longer than normal session, first at MDL where I wasn’t feeling it so I left for traffic and mgm. The rake went up $1 at mgm which was a bummer but the room was much nicer as usual. Did really well at 5/5 plo but lost in nonstop $400 drawmaha flips at 10/10 towards the end of the night. Wound up losing a few hundo on the night, not bad all things considered. Beats what I lost in the market the past week!
Played a sorta sick hand at 5/5, I open AQJJ4ds ddcc three callers KJ8ddc flop. (A King was exposed preflop.) I x/c. Turn Kc. I x/c. River Tc. I x he bets large I tank call he has KT. Sorta a set up with all draws bricking and the k exposed but after playing more with this guy might not have been the type of triple barrel.
Having a good weekend, got to play 10/10/50/(100) plo5 last night and game was really good. I think joining them for $400 waterfall dramaha the night before helped me get into the game. Would have played as long as I could but needed to be mindful of work schedule during the week. Ran really hot and made $10,000 in a few hours, putting my monthly profit way in the green again after a dull start to April. Very happy about this, I needed a boost after a couple lackluster sessions.