Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Up and down in poker

I've been grinding my bankroll up little by little. But to be honest, it gets soooooooo boring. I've been playing at the .25/.50 level (no limit) and can consistently make money in the ring games.



So Sunday night, I stepped up to the .50/1 level. I was two-tabling and within the first 15 minutes, I was up a buy in. Hey, I might as well jump right up to 1/2 or even 2/4. Why bother with these "micro" levels. I'm so good that I can broaden my range of cards I play. I will just outplay opponents after the flop. I am so good that...... OOPS, lost a big pot. OOPS lost another one. I'll just make it back with a $33 SNG. OK, that sucked. How about another? Lost that one too. At the end of the night, I am down 2 buy ins at the .50/1 level.



Moral of the story: Stay patient. Move up slowly. I should have focused on one table and made sure to read the betting patterns at the table. Although not much different, there is a difference between the play at the .50/1 level and the .25/.50 level. I have a very good feel for the .25/.50 level, but obviously I don't know the .50/1 level yet. I will get it.



So last night, I donked out of the MATH early. I was actually playing like an idiot. I think I was still sipping my own kool-aid, believing I was better than everyone. And, I'm glad it happened. I took about a half hour off and then went back to the tables. And this is what happened:


The smiley face is me getting my token for the Big Game on November 18th (I used a $26 token so I am in the Big Game for $6.60). And the circled donkeys are me getting another $26 token and winning 2 buyins at the .25/.50 NLHE level (although in the picture I am only up just over half a buy in).


Poker sure is a lot more fun when you are winning. And I have a lot to learn. Most importantly though (at least for me) is to stay patient. I don't need to play sooooooted connectors from any position on the table regardless if I have a maniac behind me. I can fold KK when an Ace comes on the flop. I don't need to automatically go all in with JJ or QQ.

I am only a few pages from completing Harrington on Hold'em Volume I. I will post my review in the next week or two. I have also started the FTP Tournament Strategy Guide. I've heard great things about it.


Don't forget about the Mookie tomorrow night. I am 50/50 to play since I'll have 3 kiddies on sugar highs and a teenager out roaming the streets looking for mischief.


Check out Miamidon's Blog and congratulate him on a deep run in the Sunday $750K on FTP. And there is a great story here about Jordan's big Cash that he got the seat from kajagugu.

Stay patient...

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