Micro MTTSNG Grinder

Slight surprise is that I have actually stuck with the plan of playing Full Ring NL holdem

February was a bit like the Grand old Duke of York (an english children's rhyme) - I marched my bankroll up to the top of the hill and I marched it down again!

Overall 4,200 hands with a slight loss of $2.66, but bonus clearing means my Full Tilt account at the end of Feb was $78.30 (at one point it was as high as $95)

March plans, another week or so Full Ring NL on Full Tilt then hope to play some of the Micro Millions on Pokerstars which run March 14 to 24

Karl

Where was I?

Just re-read my blog posts and I do seem to dabble in 1 thing after another before losing interest, well this time I treated myself to Verneer's Building a Bankroll book and determined to have a bash at Full Ring NL as I was struggling to find enough time to play tournaments. I transfered $50 from Pokerstars to FullTilt and off I went.

Started off badly at 2NL. Losing the big pots so decided to play the cap tables, which went better. Struggled at times against maniacs with vpip's of 75.

Then Rush week arrived. The lowest level is 5NL and it's a blast. The play is a lot tighter (17% see flop compared with 30%+ at non rush) which seems to suit me as I get to open raise from Button, Cut off and Hijack.

January Overall

Bankroll $65.28

Hands 4,200

Confession - made $14 from freerolls (you can't lose!) well Sunday night is tournament night

Hello DC,

The good news is that my 10 game losing streak on the 90mans finished.

The 9mans on Pokerstars remain a problem, I've never really beat the lowest stakes so I decided to play a little on PartyPoker and Titan with initial success. The players seem a lot worse, so I'm going to spread my 9man playing around going forward to make my bankroll last longer and maybe even make a bit of pocket money.

Does anyone else find the games softer on Party and iPoker?

Karl

I've been meaning to right a blog entry about my style of play in the 90 mans for some time, with the hope that I might get a few pointers from the DC community

Let's start from the bottom and work my way up

Less than 12BB's - I am looking for a situation to push all-in.Late position is good, Good cards would be nice but I'm definitely not messing about with any min raising or trying to see a flop with a short stack.

Less than 20BB's - I am looking to 3 Bet all-in over the top of a raise. If the raiser is playing lots of hands that's good. I will also try and pick up the blinds with this stack size

Deep Stacked- Here's where we have a problem. I don't play enough hands to build a stack and I often find myself getting blinded down and not playing a hand for long periods of a tournament. I have been working on this with the help of Jonathan Little's book but I think I went too far the other way in November and December. It's obviously not going to happen over night but I want to play more hands with position after someone has already limped or raised, I need to start 3 betting, I want to steal blinds more often and generally find a way to build a chip stack for later in the tournament. I need to work on continuation betting, knowing which flops are good for me and I might like to bluff once in a blue moon.

Appreciate any help you can give me with my deep stacked play

Karl

Hello,

Quick roundup of December:

Played 8 9mans with a win a second and a third, cleared 10th anniversary bonus on Pokerstars

Just a couple of 90mans where I didn't cash, spent a lot of time with SNGWiz improving my push fold game.

Aims for 2012

With my busy life I think realistic aims would be - 1 90man night each week and 1 9man night each week. Anything on top would be a bonus. Also need to watch videos, SNGWiz, blog

Take care

Karl

The bad news - it went pear shaped in November.

I played 5 90mans and didn't cash and 1 9man and didn't cash.

Basically, real life got in the way of my poker in November, which is OK for a recreational player I guess.

The good news. I managed to sell a house, which is no mean feat in the current climate. I organised and survived my daughter's birthday party (15 5 year olds). I have downloaded SNGWizard which I am working hard with to improve my push/fold game.

In Summary, November was very poor but there is hope for December. Looking forward to a bit of 10th Anniversary stuff on Pokerstars and I have a bonus to work off there too.

Let's get back to it.

Karl

This post doesn't refer to my likeness to Harry Potter (it's the glasses not the facial scar) but to the fact I have downloaded SNGWiz to help with my push/fold game.

I mentioned previously that my main game is the 90mans but I don't always have enough time to play them, so the 9mans look like becoming my other game. My history with the 9mans has been a bit "break even", so to do the job properly in future SNGWiz has been downloaded.

Early days with SNGWiz, but it appears there are some holes in my push/fold game, particularly calling all-ins. Big holes that you could drive a double decker bus through. Looks like I've got some work to do.

Keep grinding

Karl

October results

90mans - Played 12 - 1 win, 2 6th's, 2 8th's and a tenth for a 50% ITM rate and +$6.92

45mans - Played 2 didn't cash -$0.50

Pleased to have played 14 tournaments in October (now 25 this year) and the 25c 90 mans are clearly beatable, hoping the slightly higher buy-in 90 mans will be similarly beatable in future. The downside to the 90mans is the time they take to complete, so I will probably need to have a 2nd game for when time is short. This could be NL cash or the 9mans? NL cash would help with my deep stack play, 9mans would help my push/fold play.

For some reason I never seem to do as well in the 45mans, I think the structure leads to shorter stacks further out from the money than the 90 mans and less time for the villains to do something stupid

I will admit to losing a little bit of motivation after winning a 90man which was a key goal for this year, also half-term holidays meant a break from Poker.

November to do list - Play more 90mans, maybe 3 table rather than 2 table, blog post about my style of play (for feedback), maybe look into SNG wizard free trial if I am to do 9mans as my 2nd game.

Keep grinding

Karl

I'll come straight out and say it - I just won a 90man for the first time.

I know I'm only playing 25c games on Pokerstars, but it's still an undeniable thrill to prevail at a final table. My main recollections are being shortstacked 4 handed before snapping off a bluff to get some chips and then just dominating proceedings from then on.

I've made a couple of changes which I think have clarified the way I play.

1. I've added BB (Big Blinds) to my HUD stats, so I can tell instantly everyones stack size and play according to effective stacks

2. I've added Bet Slider Shortcut Buttons - using 2.25BB/2.5BB/2.75BB preflop and 50%/65%/75% post flops. This should give me solid consistent bet sizing and remove those pathetic weak flop bets from my arsenal.

I'll try and squeeze in a blog post about my style of play before the monthly update

Let's keep at it

Karl

I love Poker.

I love reading books about Poker

I love watching videos about Poker ( especially here at DC)

I love reading forums for news about Poker

But, I have a confession, for some reason I don't seem to play much poker. I have only played 11 tournaments so far in 2011

So this is why I'm starting a blog, to make sure I actually play, to be held to account by complete strangers who share my love of Poker.

My game of choice is the 90man SNG's on Pokerstars. I don't know why, maybe they suit my playing style, maybe it's because they are an evenings entertainment. Maybe I think they are like a proper big MTT that can be completed after my daughter has gone to bed. The 45man SNG's are fine if I am short on time.

I've dabbled in other stuff. Limit 6Max, 9 man SNG's, NL 6Max, PLO (ouch) but I want to focus on my main game now.

I'm aiming to update this blog once a month with details of how much poker I have played, plus random thoughts I have had about Poker, stuff I think I have learnt.

I hope the DC community will feel free to berate me for not playing enough, encourage me with advice and suggestions for improving my game or just read my blog and think "what a fish"

Let's begin

Karl