-April 30th, 2010-

Pokerstars BR: $5448.76

This month I played virtually nothing but sessions of $12/180s and things ended up going very well. Areas of my game continue to improve, and I am labeling regs with notes more and more to narrow push/call ranges, which is very necessary given that there are times when almost 1/3rd of the field are multitabling (doesn't mean they are all good). Here are my stats for the last month:

<table id="t1" border="1"><tbody id="tablerows"><tr id="JLucky34#pokerstars&3/31/2010 4/30/2010 E180-180 S10-15 NoLim Spd=T SNG Only"><td id="JLucky34#pokerstars&3/31/2010 4/30/2010 E180-180 S10-15 NoLim Spd=T SNG Only0" align="center">JLucky34<input src="http://www.sharkscope.com/images/icons/shark.gif" onclick="showpreferences();" type="image" width="16" height="16"></td><td align="center">260</td><td title="The Av. Profit is the Average Profit Per Game after rake has been subtracted." align="right">$11 </td><td title="The Av. Stake is the average tournament buy-in amount." align="right">$11 </td><td title="The Av. ROI is the Average of each game’s Return On Investment. It is the average of each (Payout-(Stake+Rake))/(Stake+Rake). This is not the same as total ROI which is (Total Payouts-(Total Rake+Total Stakes))/(Total Stakes+Total Rake)." align="center">91%</td><td title="The Total Profit is the net profit for this player (and includes rake)." align="right">$2,840 </td><td title="Super Hot=6 straight payouts. Hot=3 straight payouts. Tilt=4 straight losses. Super Tilt=8 straight losses." align="center">-</td><td title="The ability rating is a number up to 100 that shows a players ability based on combining all the statistical measures we have for that player." align="center">N/A</td><td align="center">PokerStars</td><td align="center">3/31/2010 4/30/2010 E180-180 S10-15 NoLim Spd=T SNG Only</td></tr></tbody></table>
And to start the month I went on a ~60BI downswing, so needless to say I am ecstatic to see these results. Out of 260 played, I had six wins, two 2nds, and two 3rds, with a total of 20 FTs. I was very happy to see this as well because I am platforming my stacks with <50 remaining players to be in spots to exploit the bubble, get larger stacks before the money, and control the FT. I have also done a much better job of BvB situations, early tournament decisions with position, and value betting mixed with check/calling spots.

Gotta go make dinner, but May I might have to make a shift to MTTs given the SCOOP will be in town, hope to bink a BR/Life-changing score!!!

-March 30th, 2010...

Pokerstars BR = $3018.10

Well my bankroll is still above the point that I aimed for back in September, but not by as much as I had anticipated. My path has gone through many different games - from $12/180s, to MTT's up to $22, to .5/1 NL 6 handed games, to up to $5/10 Stud H/L (which might have been the only game that I wasn't quite rolled properly for). I have learned a lot over the course of this challenge, and I will highlight some of the key positives and negatives of each path I chose.

Why is the post labeled "Facing the Afterglow"? Quite simply even with proper bankroll management, good mindset, and better than average instincts, one can fail at places that they don't feel should or will fail at. I played various games after my bankroll blossomed to an easily sustainable amount, and I found out a lot about who I am and how I will continue to succeed at this game. Below is an abridged account of what I have done for the past 3-4 months, and what I have learned on the way:

$12/180s - Though I have been running worse than I ever have in these in the past 5 weeks, this is probably the safest game which I could see myself making constant money from from a month to month basis. I have gone through ups and downs in how well I have played these, and I am finding my optimal # to play and honing in the correct mindset to maximize my hourly ROI. Regulars in these make it a little harder to win in the long run, but I know for a fact that my push/fold, ICM, and various decision making in these is getting very good.

MTT's - Torn on whether or not I would want to play these more than once in a while to try to hit a nice score. Those of you that can play these day in and day out with 10+ hr/day schedules blows my mind. Even though I work full time, I don't think I could handle a bad month because of the immense time commitment that you grinders go through. I also have a very active social life throughout the week, and I work out religiously, so the regiment and focus you guys must have is simply incredible and I commend you all.

$.5/$1 NL 6 Handed - When my bankroll hit over $5k I allowed myself to play this, and one day I ended up losing over $800 facing cooler after cooler after bad decision. Since then I haven't played a hand and don't plan on playing any NL or PL cash game online for a very long time. Although I believe I have the propensity to win at this game, the amount of regulars during the week and late night makes this game much harder than one would imagine. I ended up down 2 BI's after a sample size of around 25-30k hands, with my true EV decisions right around even (according to HEM). For some reason even though these swings equal those in the $12/180s, they affect my emotional state much more. Common sense suggests that this is probably because the immediate changes in BR can be around 10x higher than simply losing a $12/180 (which will always be just a $12 loss). Like I said, skill set and emotional variance will keep me away from playing this game anymore.

$2/$4 up to $5/10 Stud H/L - This is the game that I am focusing more on now, and I truly believe can be what I combine with $12/180s as my BR generators. I am studying percentages much more in common situations with a fellow friend that plays, and finding that there is a lot of things to this game that people simply don't focus on or overlook entirely (multi-way pots are where even regs make some incredibly $-EV decisions). I am down about $280 over a uncertain # of hands, but the combination of acheiving Supernova this year + the dead money that plays these games make this choice a no brainer ~ I will continue to play this game and need to adhere to correct BR management with these (500 Big Bets has to be the minimum one can have for a winning player to be safe, thoughts?)

Simply put, I feel that those of you who started with freerolls and ultra low limit games to build your roll, or if you are like me and have had success in the past and wanted or needed to start anew, as long as you adhere to proper BR management you should allow yourself to try different things and make sure that where you are is the optimal EV place for you to be fiscally, physically, emotionally, AND mentally. All four of those states are involved in making us who we are, to take us where we want to go in our lives, and quite simply allow us to wake up in the morning excited to play this game that we all love and enjoy our lives to the fullest. GL to all of you out there, and if you haven't learned what I have at this point I will echo it one more time...

BANKROLL MANAGEMENT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THIS GAME IF YOU WANT TO BE SERIOUS ABOUT IT, AND NEVER EVER FORGET THAT, EVEN FOR JUST ONE DAY.

-October 1st-

BACKGROUND: I have been a winning player for a long time, and just recently I found myself playing out of my stakes with a $2k bankroll and lost all but $350 multitabling stakes that I shouldn't have in a game I shouldn't have, leaving myself very disappointed. I need to get back to my disciplined ways and document a challenge to keep myself accountable, and hope this is the way to do it.

CHALLENGE - PHASE 1: Cashed out my $350 bankroll and will only use the 24k fpps on PStars to start the challenge. I will play 280fpp hyper-turbo satties into the 250k guaranteed and unregister to build up as many tournament dollars as possible. First goal is to find my expected starting $T bankroll. These are 6 seated games and pay $11T for the top 2 finishers:

([(24000/280)]/3)*11 = $314

I will report my actual $T Balance after I have used up all of my fpps and give results in both the 210fpp turbos and 280fpp hyper-turbos. I will then use the following guidelines to rebuild a roll, and phase one will be completed once i reach a BR of $1000:

0 - 100 : $1 45man sngs only (turbo and reg)

100 - 300 : add $3 45 and 90man sngs (turbo and reg)

300 - 1000: add $4.40/180s and $2.20/180 turbos, up to $5.50 MTT's

PHASE 2 AND BEYOND

1000 - 3000: add $11/180s and $7.70/180 turbos, up to $11 MTT's, AND .10/.25NL cash up to 9 tables

I was definitely influenced by the $300 to $10k post not too long ago, but i wanted to start from scratch since I had the large amount of fpps to work with. Anyone else want to join? Any feedback on plausability and my BR restrictions is greatly appreciated. Thank you all, and may the grinding begin!

-October 3rd-

After using all of my $T on the hyper-turbos, I can say that I am satisfied overall. My ending $T balance is $374, which is around $60 over expectation. Here is the breakdown of results:

Wins : 34
3rd Place (breakeven): 18
Total Played: 103

I played a few 3.30/45s since that was all I had time for, a few cashes and a small profit made today a good day. My bankroll will be broken down until my $T has been spent. Here are the details:

$ Bankroll: $57.70
$T Bankroll: $344.30

Total Bankroll: $402.00

-October 4th-

HUGE day! Played a mix of 4.40/180s and 2.20/180 turbos. My 2.20s went pretty well, had a few FT's in about 20 played, no finish higher than 6th so no noteworthy profit. My 4.40s went incredible, with only six played I made three FTs, with a 2nd, 3rd, and 6th. Should have been a 1st and a 2nd likely, but I can't complain about those finishes in such a small sample size. I feel like 4.40s were a spot that I used to dominate, and I should be able to build my roll very fast playing these again.

$ Bankroll: $352.00
$T Bankroll: $268.20

Total Bankroll: $620.20

-October 5th-

No playing today as I have to work in the afternoon, and I need to get some personal stuff done. Tomorrow after work I am going to work out, and probably fire up some 4.40s and 2.20s around 5:45 or 6:00PST.

Total Bankroll: $620.20

-October 6th-

Well a positive day without a doubt, with two 2.20 turbo outright wins in about 30 to 35 sample size. I also got a 5th place in a 4.40 (I think I played 5 total). The way I went out left me sour:

PokerStars Game #33732711123: Tournament #201531950, $4.00+$0.40 USD Hold'em No Limit - Level XIII (600/1200) - 2009/10/06 22:59:56 PT [2009/10/07 1:59:56 ET]
Table '201531950 17' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 3: POKKER PHD (143386 in chips)
Seat 4: cjersey22 (49361 in chips)
Seat 7: JLucky34 (33075 in chips)
Seat 8: dawgman75 (32398 in chips)
Seat 9: Marlboro5629 (11780 in chips)
POKKER PHD: posts the ante 125
cjersey22: posts the ante 125
JLucky34: posts the ante 125
dawgman75: posts the ante 125
Marlboro5629: posts the ante 125
POKKER PHD: posts small blind 600
cjersey22: posts big blind 1200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to JLucky34 [Jc Js]
JLucky34: raises 2150 to 3350
dawgman75: folds
Marlboro5629: folds
POKKER PHD: folds
cjersey22: calls 2150
*** FLOP *** [Kh Kd Ks]
cjersey22: checks
JLucky34: bets 5600
cjersey22: calls 5600
*** TURN *** [Kh Kd Ks] [8s]
cjersey22: checks
JLucky34: bets 12345
cjersey22: raises 12345 to 24690
JLucky34: calls 11655 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (690) returned to cjersey22
*** RIVER *** [Kh Kd Ks 8s] [Jd]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
cjersey22: shows [5s Kc] (four of a kind, Kings)
JLucky34: shows [Jc Js] (a full house, Kings full of Jacks)
cjersey22 collected 67125 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 67125 | Rake 0
Board [Kh Kd Ks 8s Jd]
Seat 3: POKKER PHD (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: cjersey22 (big blind) showed [5s Kc] and won (67125) with four of a kind, Kings
Seat 7: JLucky34 showed [Jc Js] and lost with a full house, Kings full of Jacks
Seat 8: dawgman75 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Marlboro5629 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

However, that happens and I need to deal with it. A day in the black is a great day regardless!

$ Bankroll: $638.02
$T Bankroll: $160.40

Total Bankroll: $798.42

-October 7th-

Another good day. Won a 2.20/180 and had another decent run in a 4.40 out of six played. Here are the totals:

$ Bankroll: $760.08
$T Bankroll: $118.60

Total Bankroll: $870.64

-October 9th-

THE BIGGEST DAY I HAVE HAD IN A WHILE. Got a 2nd and a 9th in 4.40s, then won another 2.20 and had a great chance to win another but i lost a 180k pot with 9 left AK<TT. Then I saw my Bankroll was up to $1025, and I took my first shot in the 8.80 NL turbo MTT w/ $12k guaranteed, and needless to say I will be changing the challenge soon cause I binked one:

*PokerStars Tournament #200031015, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $8.00/$0.80 USD
2754 players
Total Prize Pool: $22032.00 USD
Tournament started 2009/10/09 17:40:00 PT [2009/10/09 20:40:00 ET]

Dear JLucky34,

You finished the tournament in 3rd place. A USD 1,806.63 award has been credited to your Real Money account.

You earned 580.66 tournament leader points in this tournament. For information about our tournament leader board, see our web site at http://www.pokerstars.com/<wbr>poker/tournaments/leader-<wbr>board/

Congratulations!

Thank you for participating.
Bankroll: $2831.97

WOOOOOOOT!!!! I'll post again later today with my new outline and game selection (if any)

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-November 2nd-

Long hiatus from posting, but I am still being very strict with the BR. I cashed out $300 to take care of this month's debt payment and I have worked with the remaining balance to play in a mix of $12/180 burbos, $12 and $6 45man turbos, and varying mtts up to $16. I have just fallen short of a few nice cashes in the 180s and mtts so my br is not as high as I would like it to be right now, but I don't have a ton of time to focus on it right now. I have put the last few days interest into Steps to the PCA, since my girlfriend might as well had begged me to do that so we can take a trip together. I think that's fair, and after starting by one 9-table batch of Step 1's I have the following:

1 Ticket - Step 4
3 Tickets - Step 3
3 Tickets - Step 2

I will probably do another 9 table batch of Step 1's and see how many Step 4's I can get before proceeding since they are not turbos, and the competition will be getting tougher in those (I might add I have been blown away with how bad the play is in Step 3's). Here is the bankroll stats now on PS:

Bankroll: $1861.91

-January 3rd, 2010-

Been playing a lot of short handed omaha cash games with mixed results. Yesterday I went on the cooler of all coolers and lost over 10 buyins in two different sessions at the $50 level. Mix of very unlucky hands and sub-optimal play by me, so I am disappointed that I let that happen after I grinded my roll back up to $3k. My fpp cumulation was through the roof though, and that is pretty nice if I want to get myself a treat (PS3 would be pretty sweet, we will see what I do or what I can save up for).

I am going to continue grinding omaha despite the bad swing the past few days. This game has much worse swings that Holdem, so I will put my head down, review some hands and power through. On days off I will fire up 12/180s again and hope to continue to see the same successes I have been.

Bankroll: $2312.55