April Review (-ve)

Surprising after huge losses I still have some equity left.. I guess it is due to the bonuses I have received this month. Apart from the April 1st Special, where I used my FPP to redeem $80, I also hit my 5th stellar for $50.. but were all in the drain lol. 

There's a slight improvement with my tourneys/sng but serious downfall for my cash games. I think it is due to zoom poker + tilt. I told myself beside playing cash game for VPP (to maintain my silverstar status), I should refrain from it. But sometimes you only got time to sit for awhile and you want to play a lot of hands in a short time you turn to zoom poker. My normal tabling cash games are still up a little, when I don't multi-table that much. 

Should stay away from zoom poker at all cost. Stay away from cash games on tilt.

As for tourneys, it isn't all the way down like it used to.. but ranging profit and loss. Had my deepest run in a $2.20 NLHE tourney getting 17th out of 650+ entrants. I was hoping for my first ever final table in a tourney but too bad. 

I'm getting the hang of 9-SNG and playing a slower pace at maximum two tables. Will continue this pace until my equity is good enough to up stakes.

I grind just nice of slightly more than 750 vpp for the month just to maintain that silverstar. 

And I'm still waiting for that Silver Money Clip in the VIP store on PokerStars.

Short Updates

Been a while from updates. Just gonna do a short one becuz im currently sitting down at starbucks using iPad safari to do the updates, kinda pain.

Anyway after last week I took a break from poker n trading until wednesday. I came back n grinded some cash games n was doin okay. Didnt play that much though, booked a win.Yesterday was not so ok after someone floated the flop n hit his trips on turn. Then revenge tilt kicks in as I 4bet all in him with AK only to find him turning over aces, yikes.

Today was smooth. I would say today is the day I was playing almost in the zone. I sat to full ring table nw instead for slower actions. I also multi tabled along with some sit n gos n tourneys. I was up in cash games, went over to play zoom ar 10nl, was up almost one buy in, only to have dealt aces thrice on my last ten hands, two cracked n one no one called. I admit the second aces that was cracked was die to my itchy ass slow play. Oh well.

Play total 7 tourneys and none cashed, except my last tourney where I got first. Headsup was about 3k+ vs 9k+.

Almost there to be maintain my silverstar, 150 vpps more to go!

Taking A Different Route

Barely remember the winnings day in February. Seems like I spend every single day in frustration. I've forgotten all about the mental game either and still experiencing massive injustice tilt. Having a winning hand and getting called down by fishes and get outdrawn with 3 outer etc. I still get frustrated with these, I think I need to re-read the mental game of poker.

It is different trading the market, market is unpredictable, you control your risk by risk management and discipline. Poker is similar in the sense that you need discipline (not like tilt and spew stacks in cash games), you need to calculate risk, pot odds, and your position and then your opponents. But there are donks (including myself?) who call you down with anything and win you, but there is no such thing in the market.

Trading the forex market for two years and slowly learning my personality. No one winning trader's strategy works for some one else with a completely different personality. No scalping in the market for me I know myself. Now I realize I am also living in the edge playing cash games.

In trading, when I lost I go tilt and I enter tons of trades trying to win it back. In cash games, I gamble pre-flop/flop on tilt. Very very dangerous.

And the next moment, I shall find my bankroll torn down like hell. And I realize my highest net winning days never exceed highest loss days. Anyway, I think cash games are not for me. So I am at the same time working my SNG from micro-stakes, one to two tabling as when there are beats, I would not lose more than the SNG buy-in and I can't simply re-register another tourney out of anger. But Heads-up SNG I can, the registration and waiting is fast, so HU-SNG another NO NO for me.

SNG does not mean it is easier, there are many difference way to play, strategies to adopt which are different from cash games. Not that it is easier for cash game, but it is a safer alternative for my personality. So I work start working from the bottom and then move up using the default bankroll management (50 buy-ins). 

Which means, I may have to give up my SilverStar status from next month. This month is halfway there. And I think I can do it. It would be a pity though, unless I am able to multi-table like the sharks in these STT SNGs. But bankroll is always more important than the VIP status, not as if I'm a supernova. Anyway, if I am able to grind lovely profits some day, VIP status wouldn't have been a problem by then. 

Enough of rantings and we'll see how it goes. Good luck guys! (Stop looking for me at the tables and win my money~)

Y U NO FOLD?

I have finally port my hand histories (for past 2weeks) from the PokerTracker in my gf's laptop into my main iMac database. During March I was actually about how much I lost in the last two weeks, meaning break-even before I went to grind using her laptop. The thing I noticed was this, most major drawdown days were trying to move up stakes. My bankroll is still healthy now, but could have look more cool if I had stick to my usual stakes.

Anyway, I been doing well with my STT Sit N' Go. Only cashed out 3rd once in the normal speed $7, out of 3 games. Then I tried $7 Turbo two-tabling and cashed out first for both back to back, so happy. What are the chance of me doing that ! Then I had a game last night $3.50 taking first place too. Earlier I 3-tabling my usual 6-max cash game stakes at the same time two-tabling $3.50 STT SNG, lol. I felt I could use some screen space moving from her 13" MacBook to my 21.5" iMac. Both cashed out 3rd which I thought I could do better if I wasn't occupied with the cash game tables. I am still weak multi-tabler.

Talking about cash game, I was down a little. But it could have been a green day if not for the pot I encountered very start of the session. After that pot, I grind my way back but still down a bit. Here is the hand:


PokerStars - $0.16 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3: http://www.pokertracker.com

BB: $10.40
UTG: $16.00
Hero (MP): $18.68
CO: $17.77
BTN: $3.60
SB: $10.70

SB posts SB $0.08, BB posts BB $0.16

Pre Flop: ($0.24) Hero has Ac Ah

fold, Hero raises to $0.48, CO calls $0.48, fold, SB calls $0.40, fold

Flop: ($1.60, 3 players) 2d 3s 7c
SB checks, Hero bets $0.80, CO raises to $2.36, fold, Hero calls $1.56

Turn: ($6.32, 2 players) Qc
Hero checks, CO bets $4.83, Hero calls $4.83

River: ($15.98, 2 players) 6c
Hero checks, CO bets $10.10 and is all-in, Hero calls $10.10

CO shows 7h 7d (Three of a Kind, Sevens) (Pre 20%, Flop 90%, Turn 95%)
Hero shows Ac Ah (One Pair, Aces) (Pre 80%, Flop 10%, Turn 5%)
CO wins $34.68

I think any of you would have folded on the turn at least? I have already put him on a set since flop on the dry board. If an high card came on turn and he doesn't slow down he must have had it. Indeed, a Q drop on the turn and he snap raised, as if no threat at all. The only possible hand I could have beat was KK.

But Black....

Bad Pot Odds I Called

Yesterday I won my Sit & Go's key hand with JJ. Today in cash game, I lost all my JJ. Started the day (as always), drawing down big time, and then fought my way back, up about 1 buy-in close to 800 hands and then I stopped. About 70 over VPP and I think that is good enough to maintain my silverstar for the month since I am not going for the gold star.

Started the day about 60 hands and had my AK < KJ pre-flop all-in, followed by the hand below.. which I think it is a very, very bad call by me. He checked twice, both on the turn and river, and then re-raised me all-in (since I had overpaid), I called, and he showed the quads.


PokerStars - $0.16 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3: http://www.pokertracker.com

CO: $16.00
Hero (BTN): $18.63
SB: $34.70
BB: $14.82
UTG: $15.51

SB posts SB $0.08, BB posts BB $0.16

Pre Flop: ($0.24) Hero has Jh Jd

fold, fold, Hero raises to $0.48, SB calls $0.40, fold

Flop: ($1.12, 2 players) 2d 4s 6c
SB bets $0.16, Hero raises to $0.64, SB raises to $2.72, Hero calls $2.08 <--- obv set here..

Turn: ($6.56, 2 players) 4h
SB checks, Hero checks

River: ($6.56, 2 players) 9s
SB checks, Hero bets $3.12, SB raises to $17.92, Hero calls $12.31 and is all-in

SB shows 4d 4c (Four of a Kind, Fours) (Pre 19%, Flop 90%, Turn 100%)
Hero shows Jh Jd (Two Pair, Jacks and Fours) (Pre 81%, Flop 10%, Turn 0%)
SB wins $35.92

-----------------

I studied those marked for review hands and notice the hand below, I studied and found out it was a bad call. To experience player this should be an easy calculation, but I'm fascinated at learning this, I guess my fundamentals are still weak... partly the reason I called on the flop.


PokerStars - $0.16 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3: http://www.pokertracker.com

Hero (BB): $15.04
UTG: $15.37
MP: $18.39
CO: $36.27
BTN: $30.95
SB: $4.66

SB posts SB $0.08, Hero posts BB $0.16

Pre Flop: ($0.24) Hero has Ts Jc

fold, fold, fold, fold, SB raises to $0.40, Hero raises to $0.96, SB calls $0.56

Flop: ($1.92, 2 players) 8s 9h 5h
SB bets $3.70 and is all-in, Hero calls $3.70

Turn: ($9.32, 2 players) 4c

River: ($9.32, 2 players) 4d

SB shows Kc 9s (Two Pair, Nines and Fours) (Pre 57%, Flop 50%, Turn 68%)
Hero shows Ts Jc (One Pair, Fours) (Pre 43%, Flop 50%, Turn 32%)
SB wins $8.90

Well, I knew I had 14 outs to beat him before I call.. but I overlooked the part where my pot odds was only about 1.5:1. Meaning? After some research and calculation, 14 outs has roughly 50% chance to win (with two more cards to come). You can do this by 14 x 4 = 56% (for two cards to come), or 14 x 2 = 28% (for one card to come). So if I were to call this pot in the long run, my chance of winning is half, but the pot odds given to me whenever I need to call to win this hand is only less than half (about 40%).

It takes me quite a bit to digest this but it is really exciting, learning an additional insights to these information. I think I need to practice on these calculation more and get it into my head.

March Review & PokerStars April 1st Special

I logged in stars today and saw there was a new section in the store April 1st Special. I went in to look and there were four items, quite unique, and admittedly, I thought they were real! Then I saw the last part of the description, that if you purchase you will receive a certain amount of cash.... plus the item? I thought. Too good to be true.

So I went on to google the forum and found a thread in 2+2 forum where it was something that was going on since 2 years back? The items were actually fake and you could just en-cash your FPP (only for SilverStar and above). The rates are good, 1fpp to 0.016cents, which means it is equal to Supernova's cash reward rate, the best. I went on to purchase all of them, took up a huge portion of my FPP, but it was a good boost to my bankroll. Nice move by stars I would say.

I had a good session on the last day of March, where I hit 3 nuts and my all-in were called by my opponents. One was hitting a full-house on the river, opponent hit flush on turn but was giving me free cards by betting only 1 bb. Board was super wet, I think we both put one another one a straight.

2nd was hitting a straight at turn, top pair guy also gave me a free card by not betting the flop.

3rd was another full house where opponent hit his trips in the river (my full house was made in the river too).

Above were all 0.08/0.16 6-max stakes.

This month is my 1st red month of the year. I could not get the exact amount of my loss because past two weeks I have using gf's laptop (where I use a fresh new PokerTracker installed), and I haven't got the chance to manually import my hands in this machine to my main one at home. But I would say I am down about slightly more than 100usd in cash games. Things wouldn't be that awful if I hadn't tried moving up to the 0.10/0.25 6-max stakes, where there are more floating on the flop and then 3-betting on turn, 3-bet c-bet etc.

I move up and got beaten badly there. I think my running good in February made me overconfidence and thought I could go up, but I think I need more time and experience to be ascertain that I could maintain there. I went up stake, crushed, moved down and build my roll, went up, crushed, came down and build my roll - basically what I have been doing this month.

I guess I will stick to my current stake, at the same time also learning the 9 Sit & Go, which I have been doing moderately well. Earlier had two games, one cashing out third, the other first, which I am happy.

Before that, I was playing SilverStar satellite match (130fpp) for VIP monthly $100k free roll, where I got knocked out with KK vs AQ vs 99.

If you played more than 5 MicroMillion events you get a free roll ticket earlier today for a $50k guaranteed tourney. Omg, got knocked out with AQ vs A4. We both slow play on a AAx flop but he hit the 4 on the damn river.

Both tourney played less than 20 minutes.

Ok my plan for April..

..look for a job.

For cash game I would stay at the stakes, maintain my SilverStar and then hit my first $50 stellar.

I will focus too, on my 9 Sit & Go, and then hope it helps in some of my MTTs.

Hope to bring my bankroll to the next level.