Well, it finally happened. I had a negative session, and it was pretty depressing. There was one point that I had AA, KK, QQ, and TT all at different tables, and ALL of them lost to random hands like 4-8os that called for an extra 50 cents in a bad position. Wow. Went on tilt, here are the results:
Starting PokerStars Account: $86.59
Ending PokerStars Account: $65.24
Total Gain/Loss from Session: -$21.35
painful. I didn't copy/paste it, but I did see that I was seeing less than 15% of hands. Just wasn't my session. I'll outplay 'em soon. Just not right now.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
A bit better
Well, played a few more hands at 5cent/10cent. I actually got a few cards, nobody was really as crazy as they have been known to be, and I'm feeling more and more comfortable with this level and my ability to play against its 'pros'. Here are the stats:
Starting PokerStars Account: $71.79
Ending PokerStars Account: $86.59
Total Gain/Loss from Session: $14.80
Total Hand Seen: 426
Percentage Played: 22%
[a total of 96 out of 426 (22%)]
As you can see, the total number of flops I saw went up, since I got a few playable hands, and I decided to be more aggressive and stop letting them push me around. I'll need around $150 to go up to 10cent/25cent, so I'll likely be at this level for a while longer. It'll be good though, since there are enough better players here to help sharpen my rustiness.
Alright, outro.
Starting PokerStars Account: $71.79
Ending PokerStars Account: $86.59
Total Gain/Loss from Session: $14.80
Total Hand Seen: 426
Percentage Played: 22%
[a total of 96 out of 426 (22%)]
As you can see, the total number of flops I saw went up, since I got a few playable hands, and I decided to be more aggressive and stop letting them push me around. I'll need around $150 to go up to 10cent/25cent, so I'll likely be at this level for a while longer. It'll be good though, since there are enough better players here to help sharpen my rustiness.
Alright, outro.
Ut oh.
Well, I played for a few hours tonight at the 5cent/10cent level and... I barely made any money at all. It was somewhat ridiculous, I couldn't catch a card for the life of me, until at the end, when I was stuck like $6, I got my KK all in vs. someone's AK, and though they caught an A, I somehow spiked a K on the river and got my money back. I hope I can beat this level- I used to be able to easily. Hopefully I'm just rusty right now... I'm tired so here are the stats:
Starting PokerStars Account: $69.59
Ending PokerStars Account: $71.79
Total Gain/Loss from Session: $2.20
Total Hand Seen: 1683
Percentage Played: 13%
[a total of 235 out of 1683 (13%)]
So... after hours of play... not much to show for it. Gotta keep grinding away at it, I suppose. Gotta get back into 'poker shape'. Alright, I'm tired. Good night.
Starting PokerStars Account: $69.59
Ending PokerStars Account: $71.79
Total Gain/Loss from Session: $2.20
Total Hand Seen: 1683
Percentage Played: 13%
[a total of 235 out of 1683 (13%)]
So... after hours of play... not much to show for it. Gotta keep grinding away at it, I suppose. Gotta get back into 'poker shape'. Alright, I'm tired. Good night.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Leveling up
Well, I poked my nose into the 5cent/10cent game today. And... it was a bit ridiculous. Lots and lots and lots of raising for 5x the BB preflop, lots and lots and lots of all-in betting pre-flop. It was way more off the hook than 2cent/5cent. Here's the stats:
Starting PokerStars Account: $63.34
Ending PokerStars Account: $69.59
Total Gain/Loss from Session: $6.25
Total Hand Seen: 370
Percentage Played: 10%
[a total of 39 out of 370 (10%)]
I'm not sure if I just didn't get any hands this time, or the number of raises preflop made me unable to play much. I'm guessing it was a mix of both. Time will tell.
Starting PokerStars Account: $63.34
Ending PokerStars Account: $69.59
Total Gain/Loss from Session: $6.25
Total Hand Seen: 370
Percentage Played: 10%
[a total of 39 out of 370 (10%)]
I'm not sure if I just didn't get any hands this time, or the number of raises preflop made me unable to play much. I'm guessing it was a mix of both. Time will tell.
Getting better
Well, I've been sick for the past few days with a pretty nasty flu- I got up to 103 yesterday, which is never a good thing, I think. I was pretty sick this morning too, but my fever randomly decided to break, leaving me with the ability to think well once again. And so, I decided to play poker.
My very first hand I picked up was AA, and I got into a raising war with a guy w/ $7. I only buy in for $4 at the 2cent/5cent level, so I was pretty excited when we got all in preflop, my AA vs. his... KTd. Flop: 3 diamonds, and I didn't have the Ad. So, I started the day off having lost nearly 1/10 of my total bankroll in one hand. heh, ah well. I did better after that. Here are the stats:
Starting PokerStars Account: $49.34
Ending PokerStars Account: $63.34
Total Gain/Loss from Session: $14.00
Total Hands Seen: 847
Percentage Played: 20%
[a total of 175 out of 847 (20%)]
Wow, I'm sort of killing the 2cent/5cent. It shouldn't be that hard to do- I've killed at higher limits than this before, but it's somewhat exciting that I now have over 10x the amount of money in my account as when I first started, playing 1cent/2cent.
I think next time I play, I'm moving up to 5cent/10cent though. The max buyin is $10 (which ironically is the same as in the 2cent/5cent game) so I figure if I buy in for $6 at each table, I'll be risking less than 10% of my total bankroll. We'll see how the 5cent/10cent works out for me. If it's too crazy, I might go back down, but hopefully more people will have more money there, and will make the game somewhat more lucrative.
Alright, I'm outta here. Maybe later tonight I'll play again. We'll see.
My very first hand I picked up was AA, and I got into a raising war with a guy w/ $7. I only buy in for $4 at the 2cent/5cent level, so I was pretty excited when we got all in preflop, my AA vs. his... KTd. Flop: 3 diamonds, and I didn't have the Ad. So, I started the day off having lost nearly 1/10 of my total bankroll in one hand. heh, ah well. I did better after that. Here are the stats:
Starting PokerStars Account: $49.34
Ending PokerStars Account: $63.34
Total Gain/Loss from Session: $14.00
Total Hands Seen: 847
Percentage Played: 20%
[a total of 175 out of 847 (20%)]
Wow, I'm sort of killing the 2cent/5cent. It shouldn't be that hard to do- I've killed at higher limits than this before, but it's somewhat exciting that I now have over 10x the amount of money in my account as when I first started, playing 1cent/2cent.
I think next time I play, I'm moving up to 5cent/10cent though. The max buyin is $10 (which ironically is the same as in the 2cent/5cent game) so I figure if I buy in for $6 at each table, I'll be risking less than 10% of my total bankroll. We'll see how the 5cent/10cent works out for me. If it's too crazy, I might go back down, but hopefully more people will have more money there, and will make the game somewhat more lucrative.
Alright, I'm outta here. Maybe later tonight I'll play again. We'll see.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Night of playing
Well, played again tonight for a while, and was actually losing for a while. There was a player playing the absolute worst hands, calling with NOTHING for as much as I bet (which kept being a lot) and then on the river catch his random 3-outer card and win. It happened like 6 times, til I finally had to switch tables because I could feel him putting me on tilt.
I played break-even poker then, for a few hours, with almost no hands worth mentioning. After a while, I started making my money back slowly, when this hand came up:
PokerStars Game #33931551512: Hold'em No Limit ($0.02/$0.05 USD) - 2009/10/12 2:36:03 ET
Table 'Oppavia VI' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 2: Hugo-1303 ($2.50 in chips)
Seat 3: mmg2009 ($4.70 in chips)
Seat 5: Xaereth ($7.48 in chips)
Seat 6: gbb4653 ($8.96 in chips)
Seat 7: NiteSkyy ($4.46 in chips)
Seat 8: NoobStore ($12.38 in chips)
Seat 9: kristiano772 ($9.34 in chips)
vlass763 will be allowed to play after the button
Hugo-1303: posts small blind $0.02
mmg2009: posts big blind $0.05
heuschrecker: sits out
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Xaereth [4c 4s]
Xaereth: calls $0.05
gbb4653: folds
NiteSkyy: raises $0.10 to $0.15
NoobStore: folds
kristiano772: raises $0.15 to $0.30
Hugo-1303: calls $0.28
mmg2009: calls $0.25
Xaereth: calls $0.25
NiteSkyy: calls $0.15
*** FLOP *** [3h 4d Qc]
Hugo-1303: checks
mmg2009: checks
Xaereth: checks
NiteSkyy: checks
kristiano772: checks
*** TURN *** [3h 4d Qc] [Kc]
Hugo-1303: checks
mmg2009: checks
Xaereth: bets $0.50
NiteSkyy has timed out
NiteSkyy: folds
NiteSkyy is sitting out
kristiano772: raises $0.50 to $1
NiteSkyy has returned
Hugo-1303: calls $1
mmg2009: calls $1
Xaereth: calls $0.50
*** RIVER *** [3h 4d Qc Kc] [Ah]
Hugo-1303: checks
mmg2009: checks
Xaereth: checks
kristiano772: bets $3
Hugo-1303: folds
mmg2009: folds
Xaereth: calls $3
*** SHOW DOWN ***
kristiano772: shows [Kh Ks] (three of a kind, Kings)
Xaereth: mucks hand
kristiano772 collected $10.95 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $11.50 Rake $0.55
Board [3h 4d Qc Kc Ah]
Seat 2: Hugo-1303 (small blind) folded on the River
Seat 3: mmg2009 (big blind) folded on the River
Seat 5: Xaereth mucked [4c 4s]
Seat 6: gbb4653 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: NiteSkyy folded on the Turn
Seat 8: NoobStore folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: kristiano772 (button) showed [Kh Ks] and won ($10.95) with three of a kind, Kings
Now, you may ask why I limped with the pocket pair under the gun, and my response would be that I'd raised the past 4 hands, and decided to vary my play, because people were starting to re-raise me a lot. So I limped in, and caught the hand I wanted, and expected the original raiser to bet, so I could re-pop him, and if he had KK or AA, I could take all his money. He obviously checked, and the K came out, and suddenly I got real cautious. I was actually pretty proud of my play though. To not go broke on a hand like that shows at least discipline, even if I might have been able to play it better.
Here are the stats:
Starting PokerStars Account: $36.46
Ending PokerStars Account: $49.34
Total Gain/Loss from Session: $12.88
Total Hands Seen: 720
Percentage Played: 20%
[a total of 144 out of 720 (20%)]
I'm happy enough with my play tonight. I was glad I could beat back the tilt. Only another $25 or so until I can go up another level. 2cent/5cent feels big to me still, and I'm sure 5cent/10cent will feel a whole lot bigger. Sort of strange to feel like these low limits are 'big' but... I guess thats how it goes when you don't have a 'big' bankroll and are trying to work your way up from nothing.
Alright, I'm outro.
I played break-even poker then, for a few hours, with almost no hands worth mentioning. After a while, I started making my money back slowly, when this hand came up:
PokerStars Game #33931551512: Hold'em No Limit ($0.02/$0.05 USD) - 2009/10/12 2:36:03 ET
Table 'Oppavia VI' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 2: Hugo-1303 ($2.50 in chips)
Seat 3: mmg2009 ($4.70 in chips)
Seat 5: Xaereth ($7.48 in chips)
Seat 6: gbb4653 ($8.96 in chips)
Seat 7: NiteSkyy ($4.46 in chips)
Seat 8: NoobStore ($12.38 in chips)
Seat 9: kristiano772 ($9.34 in chips)
vlass763 will be allowed to play after the button
Hugo-1303: posts small blind $0.02
mmg2009: posts big blind $0.05
heuschrecker: sits out
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Xaereth [4c 4s]
Xaereth: calls $0.05
gbb4653: folds
NiteSkyy: raises $0.10 to $0.15
NoobStore: folds
kristiano772: raises $0.15 to $0.30
Hugo-1303: calls $0.28
mmg2009: calls $0.25
Xaereth: calls $0.25
NiteSkyy: calls $0.15
*** FLOP *** [3h 4d Qc]
Hugo-1303: checks
mmg2009: checks
Xaereth: checks
NiteSkyy: checks
kristiano772: checks
*** TURN *** [3h 4d Qc] [Kc]
Hugo-1303: checks
mmg2009: checks
Xaereth: bets $0.50
NiteSkyy has timed out
NiteSkyy: folds
NiteSkyy is sitting out
kristiano772: raises $0.50 to $1
NiteSkyy has returned
Hugo-1303: calls $1
mmg2009: calls $1
Xaereth: calls $0.50
*** RIVER *** [3h 4d Qc Kc] [Ah]
Hugo-1303: checks
mmg2009: checks
Xaereth: checks
kristiano772: bets $3
Hugo-1303: folds
mmg2009: folds
Xaereth: calls $3
*** SHOW DOWN ***
kristiano772: shows [Kh Ks] (three of a kind, Kings)
Xaereth: mucks hand
kristiano772 collected $10.95 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $11.50 Rake $0.55
Board [3h 4d Qc Kc Ah]
Seat 2: Hugo-1303 (small blind) folded on the River
Seat 3: mmg2009 (big blind) folded on the River
Seat 5: Xaereth mucked [4c 4s]
Seat 6: gbb4653 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: NiteSkyy folded on the Turn
Seat 8: NoobStore folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: kristiano772 (button) showed [Kh Ks] and won ($10.95) with three of a kind, Kings
Now, you may ask why I limped with the pocket pair under the gun, and my response would be that I'd raised the past 4 hands, and decided to vary my play, because people were starting to re-raise me a lot. So I limped in, and caught the hand I wanted, and expected the original raiser to bet, so I could re-pop him, and if he had KK or AA, I could take all his money. He obviously checked, and the K came out, and suddenly I got real cautious. I was actually pretty proud of my play though. To not go broke on a hand like that shows at least discipline, even if I might have been able to play it better.
Here are the stats:
Starting PokerStars Account: $36.46
Ending PokerStars Account: $49.34
Total Gain/Loss from Session: $12.88
Total Hands Seen: 720
Percentage Played: 20%
[a total of 144 out of 720 (20%)]
I'm happy enough with my play tonight. I was glad I could beat back the tilt. Only another $25 or so until I can go up another level. 2cent/5cent feels big to me still, and I'm sure 5cent/10cent will feel a whole lot bigger. Sort of strange to feel like these low limits are 'big' but... I guess thats how it goes when you don't have a 'big' bankroll and are trying to work your way up from nothing.
Alright, I'm outro.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
A rise in Levels
Well, I played for about 1.5 hours on the 2cent/5cent tables today, and it went pretty well. I'm happy with my play for that amount of time, though I have to say that as usual, it's sort of scary to jump up in levels. Instead of making 10 cent bets, you're making 25 cent bets at this level.
While this might seem laughable, it's somewhat intimidating at first, since at the 1cent/2cent tables a 25 cent bet was a somewhat large percentage of your stack.
Here's the statistics:
Starting PokerStars Account: $23.95
Ending PokerStars Account: $36.46
Total Gain/Loss from this session: $12.51
Number of hands played: 331
Percentage of flops seen: 16%
I'd say that overall the amount of flops I'm seeing are about what they need to be- I enjoy playing pots and mixing it up, but I've realized just how big of a leak in my game limping in w/ suited connectors and pocket pairs really is. You don't really have any momentum starting the hand off, and if you don't have position, it's just not a great situation to win the pot.
This level should be great for me- I feel that I'm the best player at most of the tables I play, but everyone who's playing this level has a slightly more complex approach, but not TOO complex. It means they're easier to read (instead of playing vs. Q4o raising in starting position) and I can exploit it a little bit better.
Maybe I just got lucky- I'm sure I DID get a little bit lucky, since I doubt I could have made this much in such little time, even with the jump in level. I figure if I can get to about $60-$75, I'll make the jump to 5cent/10cent. We'll have to see: I'm just not that sure even $75 is enough for multi-table play at that level.
Alright, I'm out.
While this might seem laughable, it's somewhat intimidating at first, since at the 1cent/2cent tables a 25 cent bet was a somewhat large percentage of your stack.
Here's the statistics:
Starting PokerStars Account: $23.95
Ending PokerStars Account: $36.46
Total Gain/Loss from this session: $12.51
Number of hands played: 331
Percentage of flops seen: 16%
I'd say that overall the amount of flops I'm seeing are about what they need to be- I enjoy playing pots and mixing it up, but I've realized just how big of a leak in my game limping in w/ suited connectors and pocket pairs really is. You don't really have any momentum starting the hand off, and if you don't have position, it's just not a great situation to win the pot.
This level should be great for me- I feel that I'm the best player at most of the tables I play, but everyone who's playing this level has a slightly more complex approach, but not TOO complex. It means they're easier to read (instead of playing vs. Q4o raising in starting position) and I can exploit it a little bit better.
Maybe I just got lucky- I'm sure I DID get a little bit lucky, since I doubt I could have made this much in such little time, even with the jump in level. I figure if I can get to about $60-$75, I'll make the jump to 5cent/10cent. We'll have to see: I'm just not that sure even $75 is enough for multi-table play at that level.
Alright, I'm out.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
