So I haven't updated the site for 5 months. Why?
Basically I got bored of poker and sick of the downswings.
It started with me running super bad / playing super bad at 200NL. In my last post back in March I was feeling very optimistic about making $10k very soon, but things didn't go according to plan. ...read more
It's been a rocky few weeks since moving up to 200NL but I'm finally... halfway through my challenge.
I flew past the $5k mark today after a steady few days at the tables. I expect to further increase my profits during the rest of this month, and then perhaps reach $10k in April if everything goes smoothly.
The past couple of weeks haven't been easy. It's been a steep learning curve and a big test of my emotional control. I was perhaps a little under-rolled when first moving up stakes, which led to lots of stress and tilt. But I'm learning more and more from each new day playing. ...read more
I've been grinding away at NL200 for about 3 weeks now, and have a loss of $300 to show for it. This new level, as expected, is tougher and more demanding than anything I've played before. ...read more
Following my good run I'm now bankrolled for 25NL. I actually have around $800 with my initial $40 plus PokerStars VIP bonuses of $100.
Lets hope I can continue playing well at the next stake and really get this challenge moving! ...read more
After my big downswing I decided to take a look at my game. I took some time off and played around with my Poker Tracker stats, with the aim of identifying ways to improve.
I also wanted to get away from my negative mind set and start fresh.
Well it's early days yet, but things have definitely improved! Over the last 17k hands (8 days) I've been running at 9.1 BB/100 and made $306.83 profit. ...read more
I'm feeling quite sick at the moment. After almost reaching $500 and getting ready to move up stakes again to 25NL, I've had the worst ever run of luck since starting the challenge and I'm now back down to around $300.
I don't like to moan about bad beats or suck outs. They happen and are a part of poker. Every player knows you can't win every pot you're supposed to. But I think it's just the shock of so much sickness happening at once. ...read more
After one month away from the tables I'm back! This was mainly due to the fact I was moving house, plus I had some other commitments to attend.
I wasn't sure how I would do after so long away from the game, my first session back I had a record loss of $32! Perhaps I'd forgotten how to play poker? ...read more
I'm feeling unmotivated to play poker. In the last couple of days I've experienced a bad run, I'd say half my losses were down to coolers, and the rest was tilted away in frustration.
Yesterday I had two horrible hands, almost back to back. I raise pre-flop with my pocket aces and get 1 caller. Flop comes Ad Td 6d. I hit trips so raise to protect my hand on that flop, my (loose) opponent shoves. I don't think I can get away from this. I call and lose a stack to Jd Qd.
Then almost straight after, I hit trips again on the flop, this time tens, and my opponent flops a straight.
Then I tilt away another $10 before calling it quits.
Today my pocket kings ran into aces, so lost another stack. Pffff... I'm taking a few days off. ...read more
After building my bankroll to over $250 by running hot at 5NL for the past couple of days, I decided it's time to give 10NL a shot.
Although I've only played about 1.5k hands, I can immediately see a difference at the new stake level. Lots more aggression, bluffing and 3betting is going on.
I have therefore adjusted my own game and tighten up my opening range a little. I'm also calling softer when faced with an aggressive bluffer and 3betting more myself when in position pre-flop. ...read more
Apologies for not updating my progress sooner, but I've been busy grinding away at 5NL for the past month.
Things got a little hairy for a while, but I've finally managed to break through the $200 mark today. ...read more
I've decided to take a step back and look at my game. Over the past three days I've lost $42.13 which can't all be blamed on variance.
Sick things have been happening which has caused me to lose, but then I've gone into gamble mode and tilted off even more. ...read more
Yesterday I arrived back from my holidays and couldn't wait to hit the tables again. I thought my game might be a bit rusty having had one week off, but concluded poker is like riding a bike. After a cautious start I was soon back into the swing of things.
So much so, that I actually appeared in the
PokerTableRatings.com top winners list for the $0.02/0.05 stake level. ...read more
Things have been running well since I last updated my progress about two weeks ago. The end of May also brought an end to the variance I was experiencing, and I was able to reach $100 profit faster than planned.
I've also now moved up to the $0.02/$0.05 stake level and hope to move up again before the end of June. ...read more
After a strong start, the week ended with my first loss. Today I just didn't catch any cards and became a little frustrated towards the end. I decided it's time to stop and start fresh tomorrow.
I did consider moving up to the next stake level, however thought I'd continue to build my bankroll at the current stake as things were going so well. ...read more
It has come as somewhat of a surprise, but I'm crushing the $0.01/$0.02 stake level. At the current rate I should reach my target bankroll of $100 very soon, and move up to $0.02/$0.05.
I'm not sure whether I just forgot how soft the most micro of all micro limits are, or I'm on a hot streak. A little bit of both no doubt. I do feel like I've been playing well, and making the most from the situations I've been in, with only a few mistakes to note. ...read more
No red carpet or glamorous celebrities, but nevertheless, we are underway! I grinded out around a thousand hands this morning and had a roller coaster of a session.
I'm not so familiar with the $0.01/$0.02 stake level so I had to make a few early adjustments but found my rhythm towards the end. ...read more