Stickdude's blog

After my last blog post, it struck me that blogging about my wins/losses every day was affecting my play – if I was down in a session, I was more focused on how much I was down tnan making correct decisions. So, I decided to make some changes -

1. Use tiltblocker to cover my stack at the table – I always buy in for 50 BB and have it set to reload if I ever get down to 12BB, so there’s no reason to ever see my stack.

2. No more HUD. I only play 2 tables, and if I can’t keep track of what’s happening on two tables without a HUD, I need to take up tiddlywinks instead.

3. No looking at the cashier or importing hands into HEM until Saturday night. I have 500+ BB, so there’s no danger of losing it all in a single week.

That means that tonight was the first time in a week that I’ve looked at the Stars cashier – I expected to be up a little because yesterday and today have gone pretty well – much better than earlier in the week (fish can only hit 2-outers so often).

By the time the dust cleared, I was up $9.69 for the week. It’s good that I wasn’t paying attention to my results during the week, because my low point of the week was -$16.00, meaning I was almost down to my starting point. I’m sure that would have affected my play had I known that.

Total won: $32.46
Total VPPs for the month: 369.23

Chalk one up for the fish. I’m not one to complain about bad results or beats, so we’ll just leave it at that. :)

Total won: $26.26
VPPs: 98.77

Note to self – don’t set the “Close table” hotkey right next to the “Sit out next big blind” hotkey when using TableNinja…

Poker Stars $0.10/$0.20 Limit Hold’em – 5 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Pre Flop: (1.5 SB) Hero is SB with A K
4 folds

Final Pot: 0.75 BB
BB wins 0.5 BB
(Rake: $0.05)

This was my last orbit, so I wanted to be sure I sat out the next big blind as soon as I posted my small blind – well, thanks to hitting the wrong key, I didn’t make it that far. :(

Other than that, the night went well – 471 hands and $7.31 profit.

Total won: $33.16
VPPs: 46.49

Another good day at the tables. In addition to playing another 445 hands (again, 2 tables), I watched Episode 2 of Real-life Microlimit Grinder since I am, in fact, a real-life microlimit grinder. :) I’ve tried watching the series in the past, but never go very far – I was too eager to get back to the tables. This time, not only did I shut down Stars and turn off the TV, I even took notes! It’s always good to get a reminder on the importance of position.

Here’s a 2.5BB pot that I took down solely because I had the button -

Poker Stars $0.10/$0.20 Limit Hold’em – 6 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Pre Flop: (1.5 SB) Hero is BTN with Q T
1 fold, MP calls, CO calls, Hero calls, SB calls, BB checks

Flop: (5 SB) 7 8 A (5 players)
SB checks, BB checks, MP checks, CO checks, Hero bets, SB folds, BB folds, MP folds, CO folds

Final Pot: 2.5 BB
Hero mucks Q T
Hero wins 2.4 BB
(Rake: $0.02)

And my run-good hand of the day -

Poker Stars $0.10/$0.20 Limit Hold’em – 6 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Pre Flop: (1.5 SB) Hero is BTN with 8 Q
UTG calls, 2 folds, Hero raises, SB calls, BB calls, UTG calls

Flop: (8 SB) K J Q (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG bets, Hero raises, SB calls, BB folds, UTG 3-bets, Hero calls, SB calls

Turn: (8.5 BB) Q (3 players)
SB checks, UTG bets, Hero calls, SB calls

River: (11.5 BB) 8 (3 players)
SB checks, UTG bets, Hero raises, SB 3-bets, UTG caps!, Hero calls, SB calls

Final Pot: 23.5 BB
Hero shows 8 Q (a full house, Queens full of Eights)
SB mucks A 9
UTG shows 3 K (two pair, Kings and Queens)
Hero wins 22.5 BB
(Rake: $0.20)

Total won: $25.85
VPPs: 26.06

Ok, that was fun – this was my 3rd hand at the table:

Poker Stars $0.10/$0.20 Limit Hold’em – 6 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Pre Flop: (1.5 SB) Hero is BTN with T T
UTG calls, MP calls, CO calls, Hero calls, SB calls, BB checks

Flop: (6 SB) Q 3 6 (6 players)
SB checks, BB bets, UTG folds, MP folds, CO folds, Hero calls, SB calls

Turn: (4.5 BB) T (3 players)
SB checks, BB bets, Hero raises, SB folds, BB calls

River: (8.5 BB) 6 (2 players)
BB bets, Hero raises, BB 3-bets, Hero caps!, BB calls

Final Pot: 16.5 BB
Hero shows T T (a full house, Tens full of Sixes)
BB shows 3 6 (a full house, Sixes full of Threes)
Hero wins 15.7 BB
(Rake: $0.16)

and it only got better from there. :) Only 163 hands (I usually only play 2 tables) with a 70% W$SD. Obviously that’s not sustainable, but it’s still fun when you’re running white hot.

Total won: $11.42
VPPs: 6.16

Chips: $80.00
FPPs: 3042.87

The challenge begins. Rather than set any hand or money goals for myself, I’m simply trying to make as much money as possible by 9/1/10 – one year from today. If I make big money by then, I’ll let everyone know so they can read this from the beginning. If not, no big deal.

The plan is to start at .10/.20 LHE (400 BB) and stick to LHE until at least 5/10 – gradually increasing the BB needed for each level -

$80 – .10/.20 (400 BB)
$250 – .25/.50 (500 BB)
$600 – .50/1 (600 BB)
$1400 – 1/2 (700 BB)
$3200 – 2/4 (800 BB)
$5400 – 3/6 (900 BB)
$10000 – 5/10 (1000 BB)

Once I hit $20,000 I’ll re-evaluate and decide whether to keep moving up in LHE or move back to PLO.