Poker: Financial Results for January 2012

I didn’t have a bad year in 2011, but still have a lot to learn and want to improve my game for sure this year.

Plan

My monthly targets are:
- Play 700 hands of cash on NLHE $0.50 Full Ring, 700 cash hands on PLO $0.50 6-max and 350 hands PLO8 $0.50 6-max, all with target of breaking even
- Play 20 STT hoping for 10% ROI (around $20 per month)

Monitor

Overall results for the month are:

Pokerstars : +$2.35
Black Belt Poker : -£131.44
Live Play : -£40.00

PokerStars I had 5x 8 game cash sessions, winning in three of them,  but still posted a loss of -$39.35   I also played 6x 8 Game STT, cashing four of them so ended with profit of +$41.70  

For Black Belt Poker, the results were:

Cash Results (-£262.61 loss overall)

NLHE HU ($0.20) 179 hands -£74.56
NLHE ($0.50) 635 hands +£24.54
PL Omaha ($0.50) 818 hands -£81.78
PL Omaha HL ($0.50) 306 hands -£130.81

For the last three months, my cash results are:
NLHE 50     +£0.110 per hand
PLO 50      -£0.046 per hand
PLO8  50    -£0.188 per hand

Tournament Results (+£131.17 profit overall)

5 MTT (4x League games) +£71.62 
15x 2 seat STT   +£14.55    (+13% ROI)
8x 10 seat STT   +£45.00   (+64% ROI)

Reflect

After watching some Deuces Cracked videos on Head Up, decided to give it a go.  I won half a buy-in first session making me think it was easy, lost a buy-in second session making me think there's a lot of variance, but dropped a whole load the third session making me finally realize this ain't such a doddle as it seems, even at this level!  Needs a whole lot more work and study before committing to a new format...  must stop having these spur of the moment diversions!     Other than that, my normal NLHE cash results are pretty OK and happy with my game. 

PLO was a little disappointing this month, but the poor results were basically down to three hands where I stacked off.   Each hand I am still happy how I played, so hopefully is just the dreaded "variance"

PLO8 is still not good... with me losing in all three sessions.  

My Heads Up tournament results are quite pleasing, although with 9 wins to 6 losses it isn't huge volume but still happy to be the right side of average.   

I also need to keep an eye on my 8 game cash, as the last four months have seen my results getting progressively worse.  My rolling three month profit is actually –$10.45 so need to turn that around as well.

Adjust

I am most disappointed with my PLO8 and definitely need to up my game in this area.  I think I will give it a rest for now and come back to it after studying more.  I'll try and beat my simulator first perhaps then come back in a month or two..

The NLHE heads up adventure was a bit of a mistake, although I did have fun it isn't +EV for me to just jump in blind to a new format !

Performance against 2012 targets

Having set objectives for 2011 in January 2011, I didn’t really think about them again until doing my year end review   so this year will actively think about my progress against years objectives every month

* Keep to my revised Poker Plan
Achieved hand targets for cash and STT numbers

* Play BBP London Live and UKIPT Brighton tournaments
Have the buy-in set aside for UKIPT already.   Should all be doable

* Aim for break even month on month on all cash tables
NLHE yes, PLO no, PLO8 definitely no ! 

* Use learning tools and resources to learn and improve my NLHE, Omaha and PLO8 cash and tournament play
Am putting in the effort to do some learning, PLO8 is the main worry at the moment but also need to improve PLO as well.

* Avoid entering any BBP grading process !
So far so good

* Win a BBP league :-)
Won a league game, but may be a little optimistic  to think I can win League XIII due to my lack of consistency

Poker–Home Tourney February 2012

The February game seemed to come around quickly, which is a good thing I guess and was looking forward to it immensely.   I even remembered to take in my own heater, as the room we play in tends to be pretty cold, but my luck turned when I got the things out the car, as my chip case burst open, scattering all the chips over the pavement !!   

I had a feeling odd things were going to be happening tonight, so for the first time, bought in the extra chips hoping fate would fall in my favour

As it turned out, I did have some good fortune in the early stages and called and light with T-9c or something and managed to river the flush so almost doubled up.    That was about my best hand and only pot win for the first level, with even K-K not looking good on a flushing flop and with Karen betting out the turn when the 3rd flush card came down… so in the muck they went!   Karen later admitted her and Sean had been watching (Poker) video’s to try and improve their games when I mentioned she seemed to be playing much more aggressively, why couldn’t she mention that before

My chips were dwindling a bit but near the end of the second level decide to take a punt from the BB against Lee and Karen’s limp  by shoving my 8-5o.     Lee folded immediately, but Karen was in agony on what to do as calling was about half her stack, but ended up calling with 6-6.  She dealt herself some good cards and was just hoping she’s take the pot when she put down an 8 on the river, giving me a decent pot.    She was clearly a bit disappointed with the result and after that we all started noticing when 8’s would win a hand (surprisingly a lot after that)   I had another couple of good hands and got to the break on 10k (avg around 7k  I think)

After the break Lee and I were the big stacks on the table, with Karen, Jon and Andy all on around 2-3k   With blinds now at 200/100 it’s starting to get interesting.        I get A-A in the button and raise.  Lee calls from BB and the flop comes Jc-Th-5c   When Lee bets out, decide to raise as both my A are red!  but Lee flats the raise.   The Td comes and Lee puts out a chunky bet of 4k, which is about 3/4 pot but only leaves him around 25k behind, so we’re obviously playing for stacks.   My first inclination was to fold as he clearly had a reasonable hand against my one pair, there were certainly holdings with a T in them in his range.    Folding would leave me around 7k which was still average, but felt flush draw or maybe  just the J were in his range as well.   I decided to play for win or bust and made the hero call, but sadly Lee had Tc-7c for trips and flush draw…. ho hum, that’s the way it goes sometimes.   To add insult to injury, the river was another club     This actually left me 800 chips, so wasn’t out just yet, but looking grim.

I was UTG next hand and seeing A-K stuck the chips in.  It folded to Jon in the BB who had to call really as I could have any two, but I double up.    On the BB next hand, my 6-4o doesn’t look so pretty but stick it in anyway and take the blinds (I think)

Can’t remember all the hands after that, but worked my way back up to around 4k when we got to the final table

Luckily for me I was on the button and had some hands before needing to get busy.   Folded about 4 hands when it had worked round to Karen’s BB.  Darren limped UTG and it folded to me.   Looking at A-7s was wondering what Darren would limp… maybe small pairs and suited connectors perhaps ?  Decided to shove and it folded round to Karen.   Karen was short stacked, so called and Darren also called….   Karen’s Q-6d was understandable, but Darren had J-J !     Although not really needing it, the J on the turn guaranteed Darren the pot and two scalps in one hit.

After that it didn’t take long for Lee to fall to Andy and Alex a couple of hands later.

With the four remaining players fairly even in chips, it could be anyone’s game, but Sean ends up being the bubble boy and Andy the beneficiary of his chips.

Despite a fine rear-guard action, Darren finds himself all in against Andy who seems to have found some form and some aggression.     The heads up only lasts a couple of hands, as Jock inevitably falls to Andy’s run of aggression and good cards.    

I never want to hear Andy moan about his bad run of cards again, as he certainly was hitting tonight… flushes, full houses… just the straight flush missing from his repertoire tonight

It was certainly a good game, and well deserved victory for Andy… his first cash for over a year, but done in style

Good game everyone, see you next month.

Poker–Home Tourney January 2012

A new year and a new Poker League, so a fresh start for everyone.   11 players shared the excitement of the start of our 2012 league, and there were suitable novice moments to give the air of no-one knowing what they were doing

On my table, Jock when dealing seemed eager to get the hands over as quick as possible, trying to deal out the board before anyone had done anything and was betting out of turn.   People kept asking how many chips they needed before being able to buy in and all sorts.   Must’ve been the Xmas booze addling everyone’s brain cells

My evening started well enough, with solid play seeing me build up my stack.    After a little while, Jock on my left raised UTG and Alex called.  Looking down from the BB at my A-A I gleefully raise it up and only Jock calls.   The flop comes down something like Q-T-6 diamonds.   Six handed, I’m more worried about a flush draw than a made flush in this spot, so decide to shove for just over the pot, but Jock insta-calls with A-K diamonds !!   The K turn gives some outs for me, but it wasn’t to be and I’ve given away all my hard earned chips…  good job it’s a rebuy tournament.

In the seconds level, there seems to be a lot of limped pots so start getting involved a bit more and manage to get through some dodgy hands, which hit part of the flop and start accumulating some chips.   I min raise a K-3 but play it badly on K-x-x flop against Alex, ending up loosing to K-8 by playing passively.   When ribbed about the min-raise said something like “well I could have had Aces” and spookily, next hand I got A-A… so min-raised again !   This time the flop was low and my cBet on the flop took down a small pot, but had to show my hand for the comedy value.

At the break I had around 5k with Alex and Darren both on around 9-10k as table chips leaders.   Soon after the break Bill gets knocked out on the other table, so I am moved to balance the tables.   Derek has around 20K and must be chip leader, Jon and Andy both have around 10k, Lee has 3.5K and I’m still on around 5k.  

With the blinds at 400/200 it is starting to get towards shove or fold for me, and Andy is limping most pots so is very tempting to get involved.   Couple of hands in, Andy limps so I also limp my 6-4s.  Lee on the SB and Derek are in as well.   The flop comes something like As-8s-2d and Lee shoves about 2500 into the 1600 pot.   Although it’s half my stack, I am seriously thinking of calling, to give me a decent stack to push for a good result, but I guess Lee has at least one pair.  In the end, decide even hitting my flush won’t necessarily win it for me, so make what was probably the right choice and fold…

A few hands later see A-x and with Andy limping into the pot, raise it up and take the pot.   This is more like what I was hoping to do, but sadly don’t get much oppertunity to exploit Andy’s limping.

Andy’s on BB and I look down at J-J    I want Andy to call,  so raise it to 1000  My plan goes awry when Derek min-raises and it folds round to me.   I’ve only got around 3.5k behind so it’s shove or fold.. and despite my misgivings about Jacks, shove.    I’m happy to see Derek with A-Kd but seems I can’t win against it for the second time tonight, as an A comes on the flop and it’s over for me in 9th place… so not even a point on the scoreboard for me

With the final table up and running and the admin done, see that Simon has got knocked out in 8th, so we go and join Bill and Steve W playing Pool for a while.   Jon soon joins us, then Jock not long after so go back to find the table down to four players.

Derek has just doubled up Darren, giving Darren chip lead with around 40k, Derek is still on around 25k, Alex has 18k and Lee 12k   Blinds are 4k/2k

Alex gains some chips and Derek looses some, as a key hand soon arose where Derek shoves UTG with T-9 and gets called by Alex with K-Q.  The board runs out something like 6-5-4-4-T leaving Alex with under one BB and is subsequently knocked out by Darren when the BB comes round.

On the last hand of normal time, Derek shoves, Darren dwells up and calls, and Lee is very short but is also all-in.   Darren has A-Qc against Derek with A-4o and Lee had something like T-8    The board runs out and no-one hits anything, so A-Q has won… Darren then notices he hit flush on the river, but didn’t need it and has taken out both the other players so has not only a well earned victory, but takes Derek’s bounty as well!

Very enjoyable evening, just hope I can improve my result next time… see you then…

Poker: 2011 - end of year results

It’s funny when you read back your own end of year musings for last year and actually remember what you had set out to achieve for the current year…. maybe this time I’ll print it out so I don’t forget

I have been trying to treat my Poker like a business this year, so have been doing monthly summaries so lets take a look at my overall financial results for 2011…..

Overall results for the year 2011 are:

• Pokerstars : -$634.98 (-£411.86)
• Black Belt Poker : -$1499.14 (-£972.37)
• Live Play : +£2974.67

Total £1590.44 profit for the year :)

The live games were obviously great for me this year.  I played 15 tournaments and 3 live cash game session.    The tournaments included UKIPT Brighton where I cashed, but also cashed in 4 other events and made profit in all 3 cash sessions.  Biggest single cash was winning a £50 rebuy at my local casino.

PokerStars results

Until the last couple of months, Pokerstars was really just being used for "fun" small stakes, mostly 8 game STT.    In September I started experimenting with 8 Game cash, but then started taking it seriously from November.  

Cash results (-$56.00 overall)

8 Game  +$153.30
NL HE   -$206.30
Razz    -$  3.00

Tournament Results (-$578.98 loss overall)

5x  MTT   -$9.80 
8x SCOOP events or Satellites  -$59.89
58x  8 Game STT   +$12.84
18x  NL HE STT  -$52.67

UKIPT Brighton Satellites   -£106.50 loss  (-$164.20)
EPT London Satellites       -£198.00 loss  (-$305.26)

The cash results are pretty pleasing, especially as I'm still a beginner at the 8 Game cash tables... Ignoring the Satellites, my tournament results are pretty OK as well.   I managed to cash in one of my SCOOP attempts as well (http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/05/poker-scoop-29-8-game-low-stakes-report.html)

Black Belt Poker results

Black Belt Poker has been my main focus this year.

Cash Results (-£1233.75 loss overall)

NLHE ($0.50) 11187 hands (143 hours)      -£331.11
PL HE ($0.50) 283 hands (3 hours)         -£ 37.62
NLHE ($1.00) 867 hands (14 hours)         -£223.48
PL Omaha ($0.20) 5685 hands (95 hours)    -£212.42
PL Omaha ($0.50) 2996 hands (46 hours)    -£ 43.61
PL Omaha HL ($0.20) 1510 hands (25 hours) -£116.34
PL Omaha HL ($0.50) 710 hands (11 hours)  -£110.94
PL Omaha HL ($1.00) 304 hands (5 hours)   -£158.23

Compared to last year there is an improvement, albeit with a lot less hours of play and different emphasis this year.  In the NLHE 50, I've gone from -£2.75 loss per hour last year to -£2.30 loss per hour this year :)  

The cash results are not really a surprise, but do feel my NLHE 50 and PLO 50 are heading in the right direction now.  PLO8 definitely needs more work but can accept the losses for longer term enjoyment of the game.

For the last three months, my cash results are:
NLHE 50  +£0.074 per hand
PLO 50       -£0.006 per hand
PLO8  50    -£0.163 per hand

Tournament Results (+£261.36 profit overall)

95x MTT         +£277.12
84x 2 seat  STT  -£88.73
98x 6 seat  STT  +£60.79
89x 10 seat STT  +£51.28
3 x other   STT  -£39.10

My tournament results are overall pleasing, but slightly surprising as I thought my 2 seat game was about break even. Checking in more detail, I found I had won 43 and lost 42 with the monetary difference being due to the different stakes I've played (i.e. I was losing more games at higher stakes and winning more at lower level)  Obviously need to review my 2 seat STT strategies and try to improve my results there.  

Its interesting that compared to last year, there is a huge difference in profit for 6 seater STT (was +£314 last year) but 10 seat STT and MTT are comparable to last year.

Here is my Sharkscope chart for BBP STT only. 

For the last three months, my tournament ROI results are:
MTT   : 45%
2 Seat STT :  72%
6 seat STT  : 138%
10 seat STT: 72%

Achieving my goals for this year

My “business” objectives for 2011 were to:
*  Keep to my Poker Plan
The plan did change, but have more or less achieved what I set out to do

*  Continue with my tournament play as is
More or less did this, although my volume was a little lower than hoped for.
 
*  Play max of two cash tables for NL HE $0.50/0.25 and aim for break even month on month
I am playing 2 tables of NLHE 50 but not yet breaking even month on month.   Having said that, the last few months have been OK so hope this is achievable
 
*  Use learning tools and other resources to learn and improve my Omaha and O8 cash games, aiming to break even by end of 2011 at $0.20/0.10 level (also max of two tables)
I am playing 2 tables PLO 50 and one table PLO8 50 as well now.  PLO is looking good the last few months, but PLO8 is not there yet.
 
*  Avoid entering any BBP grading process !
It was tempting but managed to avoid the mini-grading this year :)
 
*  Win a BBP league :-)
Came close once, but not done it yet

2012 objectives

Looking forward to Poker in 2012, what do I want to achieve ?
*  Keep to my revised Poker Plan
*  Play BBP London Live and UKIPT Brighton tournaments
*  Aim for break even month on month on all cash tables
*  Use learning tools and resources to learn and improve my NLHE, Omaha and PLO8 cash and tournament play
*  Avoid entering any BBP grading process !
*  Win a BBP league :-)

So that’s it for another Poker year, but I’m keen to get started on the next one.   Happy New Year to everyone and hope you have a good 2012.

Poker: Financial Results for December 2011

November saw an upturn in results for me which was pleasing, but wanted to continue the good work this month.

Plan

My monthly targets are:
- Play 700 hands of cash on NLHE $0.50 Full Ring, 700 cash hands on PLO $0.50 6-max and 350 hands PLO8 $0.50 6-max, all with profit target of 2 BB per hour.
- Play 20 STT hoping for 10% ROI (around $20 per month)

Monitor

Overall results for the month are:

Pokerstars : -$121.80 (£79.00)
Black Belt Poker : +$31.22 (£20.64)
Live Play : +£570.00

PokerStars I had 4x 8 game cash sessions, winning in two of them,  but still posted a loss of -$29.20   I also played 4x 8 Game STT, cashing two of them so ended with profit of +$7.40   The big loss came from a NL HE cash session where I dropped $100.  This was a special one-off where I played super aggresively and although I learned a lot, it didn't work out financially for me :)

For Black Belt Poker, the results were:

Cash Results (-£5.33 loss overall)

NLHE ($0.50) 412 hands +£54.12
PL Omaha ($0.50) 199 hands -£51.46
PL Omaha HL ($0.50) 204 hands -£7.99

Tournament Results (+£25.97 profit overall)

4x MTT -£14.09
4x 6 seat STT -£9.38
2x 10 seat STT +£49.44

Reflect

I didn't get that many sessions in December, so the volume is pretty low making it difficult to come to much of a conclusion.  

Overall (setting the $100 one off to one side) my Pokerstars and BBP worked out break-even, which is a bit disappointing overall but for a small sample isn't actually a bad result.  My live cash was fantastic and obviously very welcome.   I am putting most of the winnings to my UKIPT Brighton fund, so will be playing that in 2012 for sure :)

Adjust

December was an OK month, with only small pluses and minuses (apart from my big win) so nothing new to aim for next month.   Need to keep up my concentration on NLHE cash, get more consistancy to my PLO cash and simply just improve my PLO8 Cash game.   

I need to take stock on my overall 2011 performance and decide where to aim for 2012, so will do a seperate write up about my 2012 direction.

References

January 2011 results http://www.blackbeltpoker.com/blogs/read/259109/sceaga/Financial-results-for-January-2011
February 2011 results http://www.blackbeltpoker.com/blogs/read/294043/sceaga/Financial-Results-for-February-2011
March 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/04/poker-financial-results-for-march-2011.html
April 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/04/poker-financial-results-for-april-2011.html
May 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/06/poker-financial-results-for-may-2011.html
June 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/06/poker-financial-results-for-june-2011.html
July 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/07/poker-financial-results-for-july-2011.html
August 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/08/poker-financial-results-for-august-2011.html
September 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/09/poker-financial-results-for-september.html
October 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/11/poker-financial-results-for-october.html
November 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/12/poker-financial-results-for-november.html

Poker: Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure–the conclusion

The final 4 rounds of the PCA are running one after the other tonight, so whatever happens will know the outcome of my attempt to qualify for free soon

As with the previous rounds, this is a turbo format – with 5 minute rounds and 1000 chips – so will definitely be getting lucky or knocked out pretty quickly….

Of course each round sends through less and less of a percentage of the players, making it trickier and trickier to get anywhere.

Round 5 is sending through 1 in 3 players to the next round.   736 players started out, so just need to survive to finish in the top 245….

Had a couple of decent hands early on but flops weren’t good enough to continue.   Ended up in level 3 finding A-Th in late position and a serial limper calling before me, so shoved and he called with Q-7d   The two diamonds on the flop gave me a sense of foreboding, but the black A on the turn gave me hope, only to see my optimism smashed by the 7d river and I’m out in  668th place

Oh well, better than getting through to round 8 and getting knocked out

If was worth a pop as it was a freeroll and was surprised to get as far as I did in many ways, so although I’m not going to the Caribbean to play Poker, had some fun.

General: Fitness Review 2011

As with last year’s review, decided to take a look at how I’ve done for the year before the Xmas excesses

I have managed to get back to more regular exercising than last year, but still was a little sporadic and haven’t quite got back to normal.   On the other hand, I have managed to slightly increase some of  exercises, so am doing a little bit more work when I get into the gym.

Monday (Running)

Run at 6.5mph for 25 minutes, then 8mph for 5 mins, plus 5 minutes cool down.

My heart rate peak at 172 bpm and average 146

Tuesday (Rowing and Weights)

My rowing target is 20 minutes at 30 strokes per minute plus 2 minutes cool down

Heart rate peak at 159 bpm and average 147

I still find rowing the toughest discipline and will probably leave it at 20 mins going forward.

Then do one cycle of weights (about 7 mins)

20 x 2 reps of Chest Fly (1 weight) 
20 x 2 Chest Press (2) 
20 x 2 Lat Pull Down (4)

Heart rate peak at 140 bpm and average 116

Wednesday (Cycling)

Pedal at around 14mph at level 11 resistance for 20 minutes, then 10 minutes at 16mph at level 13. Then do 5 minutes cool down. Cover 7.5 miles

Heart rate peak at 167 bpm and average 139

Thursday (Cross Trainer and Weights)

6 minutes on the Cross Trainer at level 2 plus 3 minutes backward peddling (or whatever it is you do on a Cross Trainer!) Then 9 mins at level 4 plus 3 minutes backwards. 21 minutes in total, covering 1.8 miles

Heart rate peak at 168 bpm and average 142

Then do one cycle of weights (same as Tuesday)

Heart rate peak at 134 bpm and average 117

Friday (Running)

Same as Monday.   My heart rate peak at 176 bpm and average 152

My current body weight is 75kg (11 stone 8 pounds) so still very consistent

 

I’m still maintaining my no cakes, chocolate or biscuits from Monday-Thursday, but am still working on reducing my intake Fri-Sun.    2012 may be the year I finally break my biscuit habit but not sure I’ll ever wean of cakes and chocolate

Overall I have been feeling less fit than normal this year, but the results seem to be indicating better than last year and comparable to previous years, so looks like I’m doing OK after all.

Looking forward to 2012, I think I’m likely to keep the same regime as this year, as I am feeling like I am doing all I can in the time available now.   I will need to be more disciplined and make sure I do my exercises every day (most days anyway ) as that has been a weakness this year.    

Poker–Home Tourney December 2011

Earlier in the day it seemed the last game of the season would be 10 players, but in the end 14 turned up and was a riotous occasion, definite “end of term” feel to the game

It was tight in the top 3 spots, but realistically it was Alexs’ to lose.   The fickle hand of fate put the top three players on the same table as well (myself, Alex and Derek) so we could all keep a close eye on each other.

The game started quietly enough for me, I didn’t play many hands as wasn’t getting any cards !     Janice seemed to be getting the cards early on, but then Sean gave Derek a load of chips who was then joint table chip lead with Janice.   

After the break Sean soon got very short, so when he raised on my SB it was worth taking a gamble with A-2h but with Alex on my left had to raise it up.  Luckily Alex folded, but unlucky for me Sean showed A-8.    The gods were smiling on me though, as my 2 came on the flop and I took Sean out, putting me back to just over starting stack.

With the blinds increasing, and a couple of big stacks on our table, it seemed our table was doing all the work… 

I get T-T and raise it up. Alex 3 bets, then Jock in the BB 4 bets all-in. I dwell up but decide they both will have a legit hand and could easily be facing an over pair so decide to fold. Alex duly calls and shows A-K against Jocks' A-Q The board runs out all low cards, which was a bit annoying for me, but still think I made the right decision… but its worse news for Jock who is out.

Daniel got moved to our table, won the first pot uncontested but then Derek busted him out in a couple of hands soon after !

Seems ages since my last playable hand, but at last I find a good hand with K-Qd, and raise it up but get called by Bill and Derek.   The Kxx flop (2 spades) looks a bit iffy for me against two players  but Derek checks and I decide to shove my remaining 5k into the 3k pot.   Bill thinks for a while but decides to fold, Derek insta folds and I take the pot.  Bill rabbit hunts and would’ve hit his flush on the river, so glad I didn’t slow play that one!

A little later Alex is somehow pretty short and shoves, but gets called by both Janice and Derek.   Derek manages to take both them out, so Alex gets no points!   This is great news for both Derek and me, but more so for Derek who is chip leader now.  

I need to get busy but am just not getting the cards nor the opportunity.   An opportunity does present itself a couple of hands later, when Bill sees a flop with me.  I hit my A-x on A-Q-x flop and Bill decides to call with 5-5 (he knew I had A or Q but felt lucky)  Lucky for me Bill’s luck seems to have deserted him and the board runs out safe for me so I take out Bill and we're down to the final table !

The blinds are just going up, but I’m just over average stack but probably 2nd in chips, Derek is quite substantial chip lead, but not big enough to relax just yet.   Martin is the short stack, with everyone else had a reasonable amount of chips.

With a cash game up and running, Martin decides to commit with A-6 against Derek’s K-J but Derek hits the flop and Martin is free to join the cash game

I haven’t had any cards again for a long time, so decide to raise my 3-2h (well they are suited )  Andy calls in the SB and we see a flop of K-Q-x (2 hearts)  Andy min bets so I min raise and Andy shoves all-in !   I decide the best I can hope for is that my flush draw is good, but even that isn’t sure, so have to fold.   This distraction cost about 1/3 my stack although still have a playable stack, but is only 8 blinds.  Everyone is shallow (except Derek) at this stage.

Steve W is now the short stack and gets it in with J-J but Andy hits the flop and Steve is also gone to the cash table

The blinds are now up to 2k and I’m looking for a good spot to shove my 7k stack   Decide Karen’s big blind is the best spot, so shove Q-4 from middle position.   Sadly Andy wakes up with K-K on the button, Derek shows a Q and Andy hit’s another K on the flop… leaving me drawing dead already so I’m out in 6th!   It also means I drop to 3rd in the League as Derek will overtake me even with 5th place finish.  

From a league perspective, Derek still has to finish first this game, else Alex will take the title.   He still has a big chip lead though, so every chance.

Andy is next to fall by Lee, who now has a decent chip stack.   He keeps his work rate up though and manages to get in as slight favourite against Karen a couple of times and against Jon once, in quick succession, but got outdrawn each time and so the other three all have similar stacks as we get to the last three hands of the game.

Derek takes a shot against Jon’s short stack, but Jon doubles up.   The next hand sees Derek take a small pot, so can afford to fold the last hand to guarantee first place in the game and take the league title.   Karen ended up the bubble girl, giving Lee 2nd place,  leaving Jon (who would’ve won the last hand had he played it!) in 3rd

Congratulations to Derek for a well fought game under immense pressure.   He went for the win and played a blinder to take it down.

The whole season this year has been fantastic and have been some real ding dong battles and interesting games

Well done to everyone, have a lovely Christmas and New Year, then come back refreshed for even more Poker fun and frolics next year

Poker: Financial results for November 2011

Last month wasn’t all that great financially, and was hoping for steady progress this month.

Plan

My monthly targets are:
- Play 700 hands of cash on NLHE $0.50 Full Ring, 700 cash hands on PLO $0.50 6-max and 350 hands PLO8 $0.50 6-max, all with profit target of 2 BB per hour.
- Play 20 STT hoping for 10% ROI (around $20 per month)

Monitor

Overall results for the month are:

Pokerstars : +$50.99 (£32.46)
Black Belt Poker : +$273.22 (£173.95)
Live Play : -£40.00

PokerStars I had 4x 8 game cash sessions, winning in three of them for profit of $52.85.      I also played 6x 8 Game STT, but only cashed two of them so ended with loss of -$1.86  

For Black Belt Poker, the results were:

Cash Results (+£160.50 profit overall)

NLHE ($0.50) 619 hands +£104.27
PL Omaha ($0.50) 617 hands +£57.77
PL Omaha HL ($0.50) 236 hands –£1.54

Tournament Results (+£13.45 profit overall)

8x MTT -£37.85
10x 2 seat STT -£10.24
9x 6 seat STT +£137.64
7x 10 seat STT –£76.10

Reflect

My Pokerstars results are pretty solid, so am still content with how I’m going there.   It was a shame to post my first 8 game cash session loss in three months but can’t complain overall   Having said that, I did have one hand in NLHE cash where there was a +$160 in my favour, having got my stack in bad, but have had my fair share of bad beats in the past!

For BBP, the cash results are fantastic but more importantly I have really felt I have been playing my ‘A’ game for these sessions.   I can’t get complacent as I still need to improve and get more consistent, but overall am happy.

The MTT are a little disappointing but are always going to be a bit swingy.   The 2 and 6 seat STT are pretty OK but for some reason my 10 seat STT are not all that good.   From my notes, I haven't felt like I was playing my best game with these either, so need to re-focus and concentrate this area in particular for next month.   I’m not going to beat myself up too much though, as I’m still not getting in much volume to get representative picture.

Adjust

December will be a little interrupted with various events and activities going on, but hope to get a  good number of sessions in before Xmas at least.   I need to continue my discipline and improvement in my cash games, but also try to make sure I don’t drop the ball on my tournaments either.

References

January 2011 results http://www.blackbeltpoker.com/blogs/read/259109/sceaga/Financial-results-for-January-2011
February 2011 results http://www.blackbeltpoker.com/blogs/read/294043/sceaga/Financial-Results-for-February-2011
March 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/04/poker-financial-results-for-march-2011.html
April 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/04/poker-financial-results-for-april-2011.html
May 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/06/poker-financial-results-for-may-2011.html
June 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/06/poker-financial-results-for-june-2011.html
July 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/07/poker-financial-results-for-july-2011.html
August 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/08/poker-financial-results-for-august-2011.html
September 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/09/poker-financial-results-for-september.html
October 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/11/poker-financial-results-for-october.html

Poker: Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure–continues

After last weeks round 3, today was Round 4 of the Caribbean Adventure

This time there are 383 entries and 142 go through to the next round on December 18th

We start with 1000 chips, but with blind levels of 5 minutes you don’t have time to hang around.

My strategy is basically to play tight the first couple of rounds, then level 3 (with BB of 50 already) looking to shove/fold from there onwards.

In the early rounds, played a couple of hands and won a few chips but nothing dramatic.  After than I was soon in trouble with no cards and I’m soon down to waiting for a hand as I’ve no fold equity at all.

In the end, I’m hanging on with about 170 left in.  I’m all-in on BB but luckily get my one and only good hand KK   The SB calls but hit K on flop to give me enough chips for another circuit.    With 10 left to be knocked out, my AKs was tempting to shove but hoped to fold my way to the next round.  

Luckily for me, it worked out for me and couple of hands later, I’ve got my seat secured

Phew, that was tough… but still only halfway through.  Round 5 is the same structure but only 1 in 3 go through so will be getting tougher each round.

Poker: Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure

On a whim, last week decided to have a go at the Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure    http://www.pokerstars.co.uk/live-poker/pca/

One of the deciding factors was that it only cost 80 FPP to enter round 1.  (Basically, free as far as I’m concerned) and also the rounds are all NLHE freezeouts, so none of this stupid lottery play you get with rebuys.

I breezed through round 1 and go my entry to Round 2 the same evening.  This gave entry to Round 3 for the top 50% and was reasonably deep stacked, so was able to get through quite easy.

Today (Sunday 13th) played Round 3   There were 1060 entries, giving 353 tickets to Round 4.   With 1000 starting blinds, aggressive blind increases and blinds going up every 5 mins, it was clear I couldn’t sit back and play tight.   The avg stack count when the bubble breaks is 3000, so needed to double up a couple of times.     Luckily the table was playing tight, so took a couple of risks and accumulated chips, then got it in bad but hit my card to give me a good chance.  Tightened up and took smaller risks to get myself over the 3000 chips mark… got AA and took the the blinds/antes and luckily this was enough to get me through the bubble!

So I’ve made round 4, which is next week… again it is a NLHE Turbo with 40% of the field getting tickets to round 5…  after which I just need to get lucky in Round 6,7 and 8 to win my way to the Caribbean….

Who says I’m not optimistic

Poker: Home Tourney–November 2011

Poker is such a fickle mistress

Twelve players eagerly took their seats, with Alex, Derek and myself having the most interest in doing well this month, to give us the best chance to take down the league title and bizarrely, we all ended up on the same table !  

My game started quietly, with no decent hands and lots of aggression.     My patience paid off and managed to get a Check/raise all-in called by two players with KK, with Derek and Alex both having trash hands, but the flop was kind and my Kings held up, so off to a flyer.

Both Derek and Alex were both very active, getting it all-in as much as possible it seemed… Andy and Jock were joining in at times as well, so needed to pick my spots.   Another spot seemed to come when I picked up A-T and with Alex and Derek all-in again with non-prime hands I was ahead, until the flop at least…. with Alex taking the pot and leaving me with <2000 chips.

I got a bit busier, but my blind shove defending big blind from Derek shove and Jon all-in as well, was perhaps hoping to much.  My K-4 was dominated by Jon’s K-Ts which hit flush and I joined Derek in a double buy-in.

Soon after I got lucky when with Derek all-in and Jon calling, decided to shove my A-J on K-4-2 flop.   Sadly for me Jon did have the K, but my A turned his hand to dust and I got a huge stack.    

Derek was stoking the pot (ending up with  26 buy-in’s which must be a record!)  so at the break it was no surprise he was doing the triple buy-in with Alex having chip lead at around 18k chips and the rest of us all with around 10k chips.  

On the restart, despite a valiant fight, Derek was first man down, however it was not long after that when Jon got it all-in with his A-T, I had re-shoved my A-K but Alex woke up with A-A   He had a sweat with a T on the flop and Q turned, but my miracle card didn’t come and Alex has around 30k in chips and knocks two of us out!   I’m out in 9th, so no points for me this month

We also have our final table, as Sean had also been knocked out from the other table.   Daniel also has a huge stack, probably around 30k as well, but Karen, Janice and Lee are very short, with no-one else having much more than 10k

It wasn’t long before Alex got busy again, this time taking out Jock.  Soon after, with the blinds at 1000/500, both the girls were forced all-in against Daniel, with him taking them both out…  (Ooer missus ) leaving only 5 players

Double knock-outs seems to be in fashion, as Alex takes out both Andy and Steve W  just before the end of level 7 and we’re down to 3 already.

Alex and Daniel both have around 45-46k, with Lee under 10k.    On an innocuous looking K-8-4 flop, it is no surprise to see Lee all-in, but when Alex re-shoves all-in, I was a little surprised to see Daniel insta-shove as well !    Lee has K-8 and took pot 1, but Daniel missed hit flush draw, so was out in third…. giving Alex a huge chip lead over Lee for the battle for victory

The blinds went up to 4000/2000 but Lee doubles up and wins another big pot, so soon are about even in chips.   The battle is tense but neither player is prepared to give up and are both giving it some welly !   Someone was always going to be disappointed, so after a bit more toing and froing, all the chips fly in the middle… and Alex emerges from the dust with most of the chips and only three hands left to play.     Lee doesn’t really have the chips to do Alex any damage, but they play on… but Alex’s straight finishes off a valiant attempt by Lee to take the game.

It was a very hard fought and fascinating head-up battle, but Alex’s tenacity paid off, giving him a well earned victory.   Unlucky to Lee, who also played very well to get back into the game.    I’m exhausted just watching

We have one more game for this season, and although Alex is on pole position, he still has work to do…  there is some small adjustments due to myself and Alex being effected by the “best 8 results” rule, but in rough terms:

• Derek can take the league title if he comes first or second, Alex doesn’t score any points and I don’t finish 4th or better (think I worked that one out right…..)
• I can take the title (for the fourth year in a row ) if I score 7 points more than Alex and finish no more than 1 place behind Derek (this is gonna get complicated )
  
• The simplest consideration is for Alex, who simply needs to finish 3rd or better to guarantee the title, or just finish ahead of Derek and me

In any case, next months game will be exciting (it’s a £10 special as well of course, as well as being the first “Xmas” event of the season) but don't forget it will be December 8th (2nd Thursday of the month) this time round…..

Looking forward to it already, hope to see you there

Poker: Financial results for October 2011

September was a bit of a wake up call for me, and although variance doubtless plays some role, I really needed to do something to get out of my losing mind set.

October was my fresh start with an updated plan and new optimistic outlook on my Poker life, so how did it turn out ?

Plan

My monthly targets are:
- Play 700 hands of cash on NLHE $0.50 Full Ring,  700 cash hands on PLO $0.50 6-max and 350 hands PLO8 $0.50 6-max, all with profit target of 2 BB per hour. 
- Play 20 STT hoping for 10% ROI (around $20 per month)

Monitor

Overall results for the month are:

Pokerstars            :    +$58.40    (£36.42)
Black Belt Poker : –$473.96  (£295.56)
Live Play               :                       +£297.80

Pokerstars was quite interesting, as apart from my normal 6x 8 Game STT games which netted a profit of $12.85, I also started playing $1/$2 8 game cash as part of my normal monthly routine as well.   Three cash sessions were all in profit, adding $45.55 to my profit for the month !    I am pretty happy with my 8 game results, so will certainly be continuing STT and Cash sessions going forward.

My live game was my normal monthly visit to the £35+5 NLHE freezeout.   It was fairly poor start, but with my luck changing after the first break, played solidly to take the win and get a great return on my investment

Sadly my live win was cancelled out by my poor results with BBP, which break down as:

Cash Results (-£234.50 loss overall)

NLHE ($0.50)  939 hands -£12.93
PL Omaha ($0.50) 858 hands  -£16.37
PL Omaha HL ($0.50) 241 hands –£101.41
PL Omaha HL ($1.00) 270 hands -£103.79

Tournament Results (-£61.06 loss overall)

6x  MTT   +£0.35
10x  2 seat STT  -£43.36
11x 6 seat STT +£20.37
13x 10 seat STT –£38.42

Reflect

My NLHE and PLO cash results are fairly pleasing, in that I only dropped about 1/2 of a buy-in for each, which is a definite improvement    

The PLO8 cash games have been fairly brutal, in that I was getting rivered, making bad decisions and had a £160 swing in one hand when was all-in with 90% to scoop on the flop and  turn!   Overall my play was no more than OK and need to improve both my starting hand requirements and also my river play.   I have been playing $1 due to lack of games at$0.50 level when I wanted them,   but am not sure it’s such a good idea.  The level of play is not much different, but making a mistake costs twice as much !   Will try to curtail the $1 games going forward I think…

I’m content with my play in the STT/MTT although did have one off day where I felt I was not playing my best (so had an early finish that night!).   I was also a little disappointed to min-cash 8th place out of 51 player MTT, managing to get taken out after defending my BB against aggressive chip leader.  In hindsight, I should’ve just  shoved my Q-Ts if I was gonna play it, although he might still have called with his K-6o   (he flopped 2 pr  obv.)

Adjust

For November I will carry on as is with my tournaments and the NLHE and PLO cash games as they seem to be going in roughly the right direction.   I will play a bit less PLO8 cash though, and stick to $0.50 level for sure!

There shouldn’t be any distractions during November, so hope I will be reflecting on steady and profitable results at the end of the month

References

January 2011 results http://www.blackbeltpoker.com/blogs/read/259109/sceaga/Financial-results-for-January-2011
February 2011 results http://www.blackbeltpoker.com/blogs/read/294043/sceaga/Financial-Results-for-February-2011
March 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/04/poker-financial-results-for-march-2011.html
April 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/04/poker-financial-results-for-april-2011.html
May 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/06/poker-financial-results-for-may-2011.html
June 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/06/poker-financial-results-for-june-2011.html
July 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/07/poker-financial-results-for-july-2011.html
August 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/08/poker-financial-results-for-august-2011.html
September 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/09/poker-financial-results-for-september.html

Poker: Home Tourney–October 2011

What a way to come back after missing a month !

The first couple of hands I got good cards so raised it up and took down the pots without showdown.  Couple of hands later, I got A-To, raised but Andy had stopped believing me by now and called.    I guess we both missed the flop, but Andy decided to take a wild lunge at the pot so let him take it.    

Things went a bit downhill for me and ended up having to take a buy-in !  but soon built my stack up again by selective aggression (mostly having a decent hand).     The table dynamic was a bit weird, as we were playing 5 handed due to Sean and Karen coming late, so were lots of blinds to be stolen

Sean and Karen arrived halfway through Level 2, having taken their Rabbit to the vet, but both lost no time in making up their stacks back above starting levels.   At least we had two more active players and the chips were flying around much more now….

At the break I was just about average chips and feeling comfortable.

Things started getting a bit ugly on the restart, with Darren and Karen going head to head on an A-x-x flop.   The turn came 4 and another A on the river.   Darren led out for about 1/3 his remaining stack but Karen shoved all-in.   After dwelling up, Darren decided to call as the pot was huge, showing A-6 for trips.   Sadly this was not enough, as Karen had A-4 for the boat, knocking Darren out and getting a huge pile of chips.

My luck seemed to change for the worse,  letting Andy bluff me out a pot (again) and Lee not only bluffed me off a 4 spade board (I had made a str8 but no spade) but later he made a light call on the turn to hit his flush on the river  to reduce my stack significantly.

It got to a stage where the blinds were at 400/200 and I was left with only 1000 chips.  In the SB, it folded to Sean on the button who limped.   I was happy to get my 8-6o all-in with my remaining 800 going into the 1000 pot, expecting Andy and Sean to call.   As it turned out, only Sean called and actually had a decent hand of A-J.     The flop brought a 6, then another 6 on the turn sealed it and hitting quads on the river just rubbed it in    At least Sean lost the minimum.     

I was not out the woods yet though, as still only had 2’400, so a couple of hands later, decided to shove into Karen’s big blind (hoping everyone folded behind me) with Q-Jo   Karen quickly called, so knew I was in trouble, and sure enough her A-K was well ahead.   What she hadn’t factored in to her decision was my hot run, and hit Q on the river to double up again!

Things settled down a bit for a while, but as blinds were increased the action hotted up as well.   Despite his earlier good play and run good, Lee was the next one down on our table against Sean.    

A few hands later, Sean “accidently” raised by throwing in two chips thinking it was 600,  but was actually 1500.   With both Andy and Karen calling, Sean was in a bit of a strop, but with K-x-5 flop all three players got all-in and Sean was way ahead with 5-5 and took out both players… so it worked out alright in the end !

We were now down to the final table, although Bill had busted on the last hand as well, so were only 7 sat down.

I was just under average chips at this point, with Sean being chip leader.   Trevor and Simon were the short stacks.

It all started out cagey enough, then Derek took out Trevor and Jock in one hand to kick things off.     Couple of hands later we saw Sean take out Simon and we are down to four players.   Sean is chip lead by some margin, with myself, Alex and Derek all roughly the same.

With the blinds up to 1’000 it gets busy and the chip stacks level up.    Can’t remember much about the details as there was so much going on, but when we get to the last blind level (4’000/2’000)   I think Sean has lost a fair chunk of chips (possibly to me?), then shoves next hand with 3-2d against Derek who calls and takes Sean out.

The chips stacks are incredibly even now we’re down to the last three.  All of us are pushing equally hard, looking to get the chips in but something was always going to go wrong for someone…..  lucky for me, I raise A-7 into Derek’s BB who shoves with J-5s    The board is no help for Derek and I take 2-1 chip lead over Alex with only 2 hands left to play.  Alex decides to keep his £5 bounty rather than go for the win and the last hands are folded.

Woooohoooo, another win for me

With two games left to play, the leader board is incredibly tight at the top, with only 4 points between me, Derek and Alex… and it’s still mathematically possible for Karen, Jock and Simon to catch up and take the league title as well…. so all to play for !!

Can’t wait…..

Poker: Stop the world I want to get off!!

My September results for cash games were pretty atrocious, but is the culmination of a string of poor cash results throughout the year really

As I am trying to treat my poker like a business, as with any business facing losses in one particular area, I need to take some action to turn the results around and start moving towards making a profit

A quick bit of background.   I started playing cash games in November 2009, inspired by the desire to attempt the Grading in January 2010 (http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2010/01/poker-black-belt-poker-grading-week.html)    Despite the hiding I got at the cash tables in that process, I persevered with my cash playing and have improved (a little!), moved up a couple of levels and diversified into other games such as PLO & PLO8 and most recently 8 Game (albeit on Stars)

In the end, I don't want (and certainly can't afford) a £125 a month cash game habit, as I have over the last nine months... so what can I do to improve the situation ?

1.  Stop playing cash games completely

This is certainly an easy option, but really feel playing cash has helped my general Poker game and it would be a shame to just throw away my time and money investment made so far.

2.  Drop down levels

I'm currently playing $0.50 NLHE and PLO.   Dropping down to the $0.20 or lower levels would certainly reduce the pain.   I'm not entirely convinced playing these levels would help improve my Poker game generally, nor allow me to get into profit, but is certainly something to consider from a financial perspective

3.  Play less cash games and use the time for increasing time spent on self-education

At the moment I aim to play cash games two or three sessions a week, for around 3 hours or more each session.   I could reduce the number of sessions, number of hours or both and use the time to read articles, watch videos, review hands, general research, etc instead.  The idea being that I would try and improve my game with education, whilst continuing to play in order to keep my hand in and hopefully see my results improve.    

4.  Vary the types of games in a session

I've often struggled with boredom playing cash games, finding myself zoning out/playing automatically at times.   At the moment I am focusing on one game in a week, playing NLHE or PLO alternating every other week.   One theory of mine is that if play perhaps 1 hour of NLHE, 1 hour of PLO and 1 hour of PLO8 each session, then maybe I would be able to focus more and get better results.  

One potential problem with this approach is I also often drop a fair amount early doors then gradually claw some of it back, so only playing one hour will perhaps put undue pressure on me to perform and doesn't allow me to get to know my fellow competitors on my table.  

A variation to counter this possibility would be to play one type of game each session, so NLHE first session, then PLO next session and PLO8 the third session in a week.

5,  Move up a level

Sounds a bit bizarre but moving up a level would make each pot more significant monetary investment, so should incentives me to play better.  Nothing like making something more meaningful to focus the mind!     It isn't such an outlandish option, as my current bankroll level would easily allow me to play $1, according to accepted bankroll management constraints.   I feel I would probably learn more at this level as most players will be better than me!

6.  Specialise in one type of cash game

At the moment I regularly play NLHE 6-max and PLO 6-max, sometimes play PLO8 and occasionally dabble in Stud.   This month I also started playing 8 game cash tables as well.   Whilst I enjoy the variation in the games, maybe I would be able to become a better player by specialising in one only and really get my teeth into the theory and research.   I am a little lax on my deep thought about hands, etc.. mainly restricted to reviewing my cash sessions briefly after each session so to task myself to become a "master" of one, rather than a jack-of-all-trades would perhaps give me a objective to go for, and enthuse me to put in the work of research/reading, etc.

Conclusions

There is lots to think about, but one thing I haven't mentioned is perhaps the most important.  What is my long term objective.   Well, I don't ever see myself turning Pro, but would certainly want to be making a consistent profit.   It is important for me to continue enjoying my Poker, and not feel like its a job/chore.  I also need to bear in mind my limited time availability.

So what option(s) best fit my requirements and suits my lifestyle ?

For me, I think I can quickly eliminate options 1,2 and probably 5 for the moment.  I'm probably being obstinate/arrogant to discard option 2 so quickly, so hope I don't regret that :)  I also enjoy playing a mix of games, so option 6 also doesn't appeal very much either. 

This leaves me with options 3 & 4.  To be honest, I should probably implement both options.   I do skive a bit on my poker education, preferring to spend time playing instead....   Varying the game types will probably also help me to maintain enthusiasm and focus, so will work out a new schedule to incorporate this new regime.

You can all now look forward to reading about my new found success in my October update :)

Update: 2nd October 2011

After re-reading my thoughts, I realized  I didn’t document a couple of other significant factors I should be considering.

7.  Switch number of seats

I currently play 6-max cash only, having switched from Full Ring (10 seat) a while back.   I could consider switching back to Full Ring, which tends to play tighter (more my style) or even think about switching to Heads Up! 

8.  Don’t multi table

I switched from 4 tables to 2, to try and help my game.   Although I think I am making fewer mistakes now, they tend to be more expensive!   Maybe switch to single table at a time or going back to 4 tables, in the hope  I will be playing more straightforward/tighter

Poker: Financial results for September 2011

If I thought August was a bad month, then it was nothing compared to September :(  Even worse, I was on holiday for the first two weeks so didn’t play !!)

Oh well, writing about it is very therapeutic and hope reviewing the numbers will encourage me to do better next month.  

Being quarter end, I will also do a summary of my year to date, after the September numbers....

Plan

My monthly targets are:
- Play 1000 hands of cash on NLHE $0.50 and 1000 cash hands on PLO $0.50 (all 6-max) with profit target of 2 BB per hour.   Changed my targets slightly, but this may change again next month!
- Play 20 STT hoping for 10% ROI (around $20 per month)

Monitor

Overall results for the month:-

Pokerstars      :   +58.29 (normal play)
                            :  -£66.00 (EPT satellites)
Black Belt Poker  : -$727.28 (-£465.08)
Live play       :     0.00

My Pokerstars results consisted of 4x STT of 8 game and with only one win, dropped $25.81.  Also played three cash sessions of 8 game, doing a lot better as all three sessions were positive, giving me $84.10 profit.   Finally I had two more tries at EPT Satellite for London, getting no-where.

Live play was nothing this month, so that'll count as break even then :)

My BBP results break down as follows:

Cash results (-£366.78 loss overall)
 
NL Hold' em   ($0.50)  1390 hands   -£ 233.58
PL Omaha    ($0.50)   637 hands   -£  78.76
PL Omaha HL ($1.00)    34 hands   -£  54.44

Tournament Results (-£98.30 loss overall)

5x MTT          -£ 31.66
4x 2 seat STT   -£ 21.37
9x 6 seat STT   -£ 10.24
2x 10 seat STT  -£ 35.03

Reflect

I have been dropping far too much in NL HE cash than am comfortable with, so something has to change there.  Certainly had a couple of session where I played really poorly after getting frustrated/tilted, etc. but actually the recent sessions I am pretty happy with my play!   In the main there has been only 1 or 2 really poor reads per session, with the normal amount of bad beats, etc :)  

I switched to PLO $0.50 as was similarly frustrated at the poor play at lower levels.   Moving up has also made me think more about committing to a pot as it represents a more significant amount of money.   At just over two buy-ins, I'm disappointed but not too much with my PLO result.  Am sure I can pick up my game (and results) at this level.

The PLO8 $1 session was a mistake really, I was steaming a bit and decided to play something different rather than switch off the laptop!!   In two of the 34 hands I made terrible calls and dropped a load, so not very happy with that diversion :(  Will simply need to keep discipline to avoid this sort of thing in future.

My tournament play was low volume but overall was pretty happy with my play, if not the results :)    Bit frustrated to not get more games in.

Adjust

I used the word "frustrated" a lot in my reflection, which sums up my month and my results.   I need to get my head in gear and keep my focus for sure as need to play confidently and with positive attitude.    I am wondering what best to do about my cash losses recently, but will do a separate update about my thoughts and decision (as I haven't thought or decided yet :) )

Year to date results for Black Belt Poker

For Jan-Sep 2011, my results are:-

Total loss  : -£871.42

Cash results (-£1154.42 loss overall)
 
NL Hold' em   ($0.50)  9562 hands   -£514.19
NL Hold' em   ($1.00)   867 hands   -£223.48
PL Omaha    ($0.20)  5685 hands   -£212.42
PL Omaha    ($0.50)  1322 hands   -£ 33.55
PL Omaha HL ($0.20)  1510 hands   -£116.34
PL Omaha HL ($1.00)    34 hands   -£ 54.44

Tournament Results (+£283.00 profit overall)

77x MTT          +£328.71
64x 2 seat STT   -£ 35.13
74x 6 seat STT   -£ 87.84
3x other STT    -£ 39.10
67x 10 seat STT  +£116.36

So what does this all mean... well it tells me maybe I should stop playing Cash games :)   The last couple of months have been exceptionally bad but still do think my cash game is improving, so although I have to do something, just need to decide what to do.     My PLO $0.50 is actually a lot better than I thought it was going to be, especially compared to my $0.20 results, so maybe that's something to think about some more.

My MTT and 10 seater STT are my bread and butter, but the higher volume 2 seat and 6 seaters are not that far off the money... couple more cashes would have seen me break even.   Overall I am actually pretty content with my tournament play.

I have a few days to plan out what October and beyond will bring, but will certainly be looking for better profitability in the near future

References
January 2011 results http://www.blackbeltpoker.com/blogs/read/259109/sceaga/Financial-results-for-January-2011
February 2011 results http://www.blackbeltpoker.com/blogs/read/294043/sceaga/Financial-Results-for-February-2011
March 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/04/poker-financial-results-for-march-2011.html
April 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/04/poker-financial-results-for-april-2011.html
May 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/06/poker-financial-results-for-may-2011.html
June 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/06/poker-financial-results-for-june-2011.html
July 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/07/poker-financial-results-for-july-2011.html
August 2011 results http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2011/08/poker-financial-results-for-august-2011.html