April Monthly Review

April was a bittersweet month: I found the motivation to start putting in the grind again, and then Black Friday occurred.  In any case, I now have a balance on Carbon Poker in the amount of $126 and will be using this roll to begin grinding the $6 games for the month of May.

May Goals:

[ ] HUSNG Membership through Carbon ($1 rake, lol 4 games)
[ ] 400 games
[ ] 25 Up / 17 Down BRM
[ ] Get quality review time in (sweats, HH reviews, etc)

Here are my overall results for April:

Live Poker Begins

Quick update:

Finally got about 1.5 hours of live pokering in last night.  More or less broke even (down $25 in a 1/2 game, net).  I was playing against too many solid regs at a local card room and figured out pretty quickly that it was not my game.  Not one to shy away too much, I knitted it up for a few orbits before I had to go (got involved in some largeish pots, but broke even obv).

This weekend I think I'm going to try to make it to the casino and get a session in against all the old folks and see how I do :)

Live BR: $300 - 25 = $275.00

In the online front, I've setup a UseMyWallet account and have cashed out my $50 roll on Cake along with depositing another $60 to boot.  As soon as the Cake cashout clears and I have the $110 I'll be depositing it at Carbon and begin grinding the $5.75+.25 turbo HUSNGs.  It's a bit short rolled for them but not by much, just hoping to run well and I'll be off to the races.

After $1 rake paid I'll have a HUSNG membership (4 games, easy enough!) and after $100 rake paid I'll have a Premium membership.  The $100 has to be paid within a month, so it likely won't happen until May.  And 400 games played is no super small feat for me so I'll have to be on my grind for sure.  That premium membership is definitely worth it, not to mention I'll be getting 35% rakeback on top of that.

Hoping to begin the HUSNG grind again here shortly!

Only a few games in yesterday and didn't run well again.  It's all good I'm still pretty up on the month overall, just sucks to do poorly when starting short rolled on a new site.

Speaking of which, I'm trying to deposit ~$100 on Carbon to take advantage of the new HUSNG.com promotion.  My Visa has been declined (I'm guessing due to their processor, which is odd since it's never been declined before).  Likewise I've tried direct debit of my checking account and it too has been declined.  If anyone has any suggestions for getting money on to Carbon from the U.S. please shoot me a PM.

In any case,  here is a graph of the month overall (all sites):

Cake Update

Well the Cake software is definitely different than FT/PS, but I'm getting used to it just fine.  Though I must say the traffic is pretty darn low, I think there were 2500 people online today at prime tourney time.  I'm starting to think I may have to throw some money on Carbon poker and grind there as well, though I don't know that their limits/structures are quite as nice as Cake, I'll have to look into it.

In any case, I haven't played that many games (only 8).  I lost 2 of them as I was multitabling unexpectedly and was trying arrange and setup my tables while playing 2 unknowns.  I've since updated my PlaceMint to handle the Cake tables I play so everything should be gravy going forward.  I may end up multitabling on Cake a bit more than I did on tilt/stars primarily due to the fact that there is such low volume anyways, so open sitting while grinding one game seems to make more sense.  My main issue so far with multitabling is that I like to take a lot of notes about players, and it's hard to do that while playing 2 or more tables.  I think I may grind some play money games on Stars to get more practice at it cheaply.

In any case, I think my BR is $62.40 in 8 games, think I'm like 5-3 (stupid rake).  Here's an updated graph of my month so far (all sites):

Black Friday

Well yesterday will always be known as "Black Friday" in the poker community.  Basically the DOJ has, for all intents and purposes, shut down Full Tilt and PokerStars to U.S. players for the time being.

Not one to be deterred by such things, I've created an account on Cake Poker and deposited $60 to see where I can go with it.  I'll be grinding the HUSNGs still so wish me luck!  I've also started a 2p2 thread to follow progress, it can be found here: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/174/poker-goals-challenges/bankroll-building-husng-cake-poker-1021517/#post26077494

BR: $60

Cheers

Another Quick Update

Well the run-good (and low volume) continue for another day.  I'm considering making a last half April challenge to try and grind out my first stellar $10 bonus by starting at the $2.20 HUSNGs on Stars.  However, this would take 589 games played and it's already halfway through the month.  If these were turbos I might stand more of a chance, but being that they're reg speed games it becomes much more difficult.

I've toyed around with the idea of multi-tabling to get the volume in, but being that I'm not familiar with multi-tabling HUSNGs I'm not sure how wise that would be.

In any case, I'm going to think it over for a bit today and come to a decision, maybe try to get a solid session in tonight/tomorrow morning and see where I stand.  With a 10 BI roll for the $2.20's currently I stand a decent chance of going busto still, but then I could always redeposit (but who wants to do that?!).

Updated monthly graph overall (Tilt & Stars):

Consolidated Database

I finally got to consolidate my desktop & laptop databases so I can provide a graph of my overall year thus far.  Going forward I'm probably going to largely just be playing on my laptop so hopefully everything will remain consolidated.

You'll notice the big downswing in the middle, this was my shot attempt at the $6.25 turbo which I definitely ran bad at (about 5BI's under EV in ~30 games).  It's not that ridiculous under EV, however when you're shot taking with only roughly 20 BI's (probably a little less at the time) then it's pretty disastrous to the BR.  That's OK though, that's how I gotta roll to grow the roll quickly.

Hoping to get a solid session in tonight and update afterwards.

Quick Update

Solid day today...  Not much else to say other than I hope to get a lot more volume in tomorrow.  Here's an updated overall graph:

Evolution of a HU Grinder

I definitely feel confident that Heads Up Poker is my game.  I played another (short) session of 45 mans last night and was bored out of my mind.  Push botting 12 tables at a time is not mentally stimulating in the slightest so I'm pretty confident that I am done with it (though I will state that the micro MTTs on pokerstars are a great way to deposit practically no money and run it up to a roll sizeable enough to at least be grinding something reasonable).

Going forward I will be playing HUSNGs almost exclusively until I have a sufficient roll to start experimenting with some cash games.  My initial thoughts is something along the lines of grinding a $5K roll and start playing around with some $100HUNL games, but we'll see what happens.

This entry has been short, but below is a graph for my current month's HUSNG results.  I've been breakeven on Pokerstars $2.20s (50% win - so down in rake) but I have been doing well in FT's turbos.  For now I'll keep grinding both (pokerstars when I have a bit more time as the games are considerably longer, and Full Tilt when I'm a bit more time crunched and just want to get some games in).  If I go bust on Stars (which is certainly a possibility) I will likely not re-deposit and just focus on Full Tilt.

In any case.... graph:

April 2011 - HUSNG

Early April Update

It's been a while since my last post, primarily due to the fact that I haven't been putting in any volume.  There are a number of reasons for this, primarily it's due to the fact that I went on a downswing and just didn't feel motivated to grind at all.

In any case, my brother has now moved in with me here in Phoenix and is picking up his grinding again (hopefully he'll stick with it!).  I'm going to be getting started back up again as well and I'm a bit torn on what to be grinding.  I really enjoy the HUSNGs I've been grinding lately, but I don't have the roll on Pokerstars for them (and I won't deposit).  I'm inclined to go back to the 45s and grind it up to $100+ so that I can begin shot taking the HUSNGs, I just don't really look forward to the idea of grinding the 45s up to that point.

I suppose there's no time like the present and I may as well get into it.  Once at $100+ I hopefully can stick just to the HUSNGs and won't have to go back to 45s, but maybe I'll find they're not for me and want to go back anyways.  We'll see, and I look forward to the journey!

BR:

Pokerstars: $19.16  (still from the initial $10 deposit on 1/1/11)
VPP: 76 (lol)

Mid Feb Update

Greetings again.  Wanted to give a quick update on the month so far.

Basically I've been doing pretty well at the $2.15 games, that or variance has just been on my side.  At the $5s and $6s however variance has punched me in the face.  Albeit a very small sample, I know that it will turn around soon (hopefully the next shot I take!)

$5.25 & $6.25s

$2.15 HUSNG Turbos

I've attached a few graphs for reference purposes (all are full year 2011, not just Feb).  I should be meeting with my coach for the Coaching Tree soon, and after that I may attempt to get some simple HH review coaching from some high stakes players to begin to gradually improve my game.  I have admittedly not done any HUSNG reviewing of my game, or leakfinding.  So I'm sure there are many ways I can improve.

2011 Overall HUSNG

Until then, BR: $94.09

PS - I apologize for how ugly this blog entry is, the editor just wasn't cooperating.

Short Update

So I ended up going to Vegas this past weekend for a spontaneous / impromptu bachelor party for one of my best friends.  It was a great time!  I was hoping to get a few hands in at a $1/2 table but given the nature of the trip along with how short it had to be there just wasn't any time to hit the tables, which is fine.

I got notification last week that I was accepting in the HUSNG "Coaching Tree" this month.  Basically it is a community-organized event that allows for free coaching from micro stakes to high stakes players.  I've already spoke on Skype with my coach a bit and I will be recording some of my sessions and picking out some spots for him to watch and review and then for us to discuss together.  I have high hopes that it will go well.

Additionally, I will be taking shots at the $6.25 games.  If I drop to $100 I will drop back down to the $2 games but other than that I will stay at the $6 games while I can.  Hopefully with taking these shots variance will be on my side.  Upon hitting $225-250 I will take shots at the $11 games which will be quite exciting.  And then again at the $450-500 range I will begin shot taking the $22 games.

As mentioned, just a short update.  Very busy couple days at work as I am taking Thursday and Friday off.  Hopefully I will be able to get some solid volume in on those two days and hopefully variance is on my side. Would love to be in the $11 games by the end of the month.

Feb 9th Update

I didn't quite get the volume in over the weekend that I had wanted and have felt like crap this week so my volume has been pretty low.  That said it should be picking up again here shortly and I have already planned out some vacation days from work next week where I will be making up a lot of volume as well.

Another key factor with my volume is that on Friday of last week I started mixing in some reg speed games, including some of the $2.20s on Pokerstars.  Pokerstars reg speed games feel like they take a year and a half, and they severely cripple the volume goal I set out for myself.  That said, I'm staying focused while playing and play when I'm in the right frame of mind.

Here is my graph overall from this month (including Pokerstars games played).  I'm still shot taking at the $5 reg speed games and will be moving up to the $6 turbos at $150 BR.

BR:
FT: 136.52
PS: 17.36

February 2nd Update

Still on pace for games this month, which is good since it's only the 2nd.  I'm actually slightly ahead of pace for the 600 games, but this is what I wanted since it will afford me some rest days or review days or whatever.

Also, I finally made my first wheel flush, well, I would have, but I actually have a 6 high flush.


Full Tilt Poker No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t25.00/t50.00 Blinds - 2 players - View hand 1154073

DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter



Hero (BTN/SB): t2015.00 40.30 BBs

BB: t985.00 19.70 BBs



Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BTN/SB with 4 3

Hero raises to t100, BB raises to t150, Hero calls t50



Flop: (t300) 6 5 8 (2 players)

BB bets t150.00, Hero calls t150



Turn: (t600) A (2 players)

BB bets t600.00, Hero calls t600



River: (t1800) 2 (2 players)

BB bets t85.00, Hero calls t85



Final Pot: t1970

Hero shows 4 3

BB shows 9 9

Hero wins t1970.00


And last but not least... graph of the month so far...

BR: $133.41

February Goals

Just a quick goals post:

[ ] 600 HUSNGs (or there abouts, may shoot for a bit more like 630 if possible).  I'll be using fairly aggressive BRM and will be moving up with 25-30 BI's, so hope to find myself at the $5 games before the weekend if I can hold up and run a bit better than today.

Graph so far:

Quick Update

I wanted to give a quick update as the end of January is quickly drawing near.  I haven't put in a solid session at Pokerstars in the last 2 weeks due to a few reasons.  The week following my last big session I had family come in town which left little time to put in a solid session, the following week after that I got really busy with work (which will likely continue this next week) which prevented me from getting any solid sessions in.

One thing I have been doing lately is playing HUSNGs as they are much more convenient for my semi-chaotic schedule.  It's easy to get a few games in here and there between doing things around my apartment; basically makes the grind a bit more manageable instead of having to set aside larger blocks of time to multitable.

I had originally started the year with only about $3 or so in my FT account, I ran this up pretty quickly but then hit a downswing that kind of wiped it out.  Well, I hit a downswing and then decided to redeposit a much larger amount if I actually bottomed out, so I moved up to the $2.15 games to reduce the rake %; naturally downswing continued and I ended up with $0.25 in the account.

I deposited $100, originally with the intent of using $50 of it on a volume prop bet but now I'm thinking that I will not do that as I don't want to set myself up for failure immediately.  Instead I will use this and keep grinding the $2.15 games up to around $150 where I will move up to the $5 games.

The overall game plan will be to build my roll up on full tilt until I'm comfortably rolled for the $11 pokerstars games, at which point I will transfer part of my roll over and begin grinding the $6-$11 turbos.  I have been playing a few of the $2.20s but would rather stick to the turbo format for now, and I've been running bad on PS so that motivation helps me :).

As an update on the challenge with my brother, we've had some set backs as he had to move and no longer has internet access.  He's anticipating a move out to Phoenix with me in a few months at which point he will resume the grind.  This will make the $50K challenge quite difficult, but if I can get myself in gear with these HUSNGs we might be in decent shape for a late year push.

To end, here's a graph of my Full Tilt HUSNGs for 2011 thus far, hoping to get in way more volume this week :)

45 Turbos

Volume this week has blown to be frank.  I desperately need to change that as I'd like to be in the $1 games this weekend at some point.  That said, I said screw the BRM tonight and loaded only the $0.55 45 turbos.  I only played 21 as I didn't want to do my usual 30+ tabling on a new and relatively unfamiliar format.

45 Turbos

Thoughts? I love the turbos.  Mainly due to the length of time they take (essentially half that of the reg speeds obviously).  I don't like to discuss strat too much for a few different reasons, but I will say that players are definitely too tight given that it's a turbo.  I remember looking at one of my last tables thinking to myself "I'm 6/16 and I have 7 BBs... wtf?"

Results were encouraging.  I know that upon hitting my target 80 BIs I will be doing nothing but mass tabling these bad boys, until then I may continue to do a 50/50 split between these and the reg speed games, I hope this isn't -EV but I think I can handle the diff structure types simultaneously.

OK, enough talking time for the results.

Overall

BR: 32.45

Stars Is Awesome

It appears that Stars has added $0.55 45 and 90 man turbos with no rake.  This is the perfect stepping stone from the $0.25 45s to the $1.10 45s.  Much Kudos to Stars.  After a bit more BR growth I will begin grinding these much more prevalently; for the time being still crushing the $0.25 45s.

BR: 28.50

Still Disappointed

Still disappointed in my volume.  I'm keeping this short but will do a full update later on this evening most likely.

Most recent graph:

First Update

Hello peeps,

So my brother and I launched into it at exactly 12:00am EST on 1/1/11 and started off with a solid 7 hour grind session.  I was a bit underwhelmed by the amount of tables I could get going, however; just not that many people playing at that time.  I'd guess that on average I was around the 15-17 table mark.

One thing I was forced to do a bit differently with this challenge at the onset that I believe will aid me while grinding is to actually keep my cashier open and keep an eye on it.  I agree that results aren't necessarily what's important and that making the correct decisions during play is what is striven for; however when you're trying to mass table with an extremely short bankroll it's important to know where you stand.

The first session I was having OK results, I saw my roll dip under $5 a few times which was definitely disconcerting at first.  My thought process on it was "screw it, I'm going to keep loading" mainly because it was only $10 and I knew that I could reload if I busted my roll initially.  Low and behold I went on a hot run at the end of the session to put me up around the $16.50 mark.

I got a few hours of sleep and then woke up and started up another session.  I probably shouldn't have started up this session because I was so tired but I wanted to get some volume in.  In point of fact I believe it's my first actual losing session in a very long time, so I just tell myself I was due.  My BR at the end of it was $12ish which was definitely better than it could have been.  I took the remainder of the first off and opted to get some studying in as I had already played around 140 games and definitely had a decent sample to review some spots in my newly purchased SNG Wiz.

The next morning, after 12 hours of sleep (the longest I've slept in recent memory), I decided to focus on the 360s.  I had changed a few strategic points of my approach towards these SNGs as they are very different than the 45s I was playing.  I made a point to not count my tables and not pay attention to any results, I literally just made sure that I regged every single 360 for over an hour (upon review I discovered I had up to around 35 tables going, per HEM).  I thought it was going to be a losing session until I ended up getting 3rd in 2 of my final games, cashing for $4.00 in each.  This brought me up to the $16.01 that I'm at now.

I was hoping to get a large session in tonight after work but a few things came up that prevented me, so I opted to take the opportunity to update my blog instead.  Additionally I'm going to get some more studying in so that I can hit the tables hard tomorrow.

BR $16.01.