Holiday Time

No article next week as I take a short break for the holidays.

I'll be back after the new year with the next installment.


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No Limit Holdem 101: My Basic Theory of Poker

This is intended to be a series of articles about playing on-line no limit holdem cash games. There will be times where I venture into live poker and times where I venture into SNGs, MTTs, Satellites, and games other than no limit holdem, but for the most part this will target no limit holdem cash games.

For the 7th installment of this series, I’m going to cover the basis I use for my style of play – give the other guy the chance to make a mistake.

Poker is game where you try to make decisions based on incomplete information. If you had all the information possible visible, then there might still be more than one plausible play, but there would only be one OPTIMAL play. The preceding is called “game theory” by the way.

I’ve rewritten this particular article several times trying to decide exactly how deep I should get into game theory and exactly how much of my geekitude to reveal! In the end I decided to keep it fairly simple but hopefully delve enough into it that you can hopefully get the general concept.

Let me draw out a scenario for you. Imagine a poker game where all the cards were face up. Your hole cards, your opponent’s hole cards, the discarded cards, and the cards remaining in the deck were all visible. Well it really wouldn't be much of a game then would it? Everything is known and there really are no decisions to be made.

Now start hiding information. Take the discarded cards and the cards remaining in the deck and flip them over. You now know exactly what cards your opponents hold and what cards you hold, but you do not know what cards are left to come. In reality this is the situation you are striving to achieve in holdem. You try to put your opponents on hands so that you can reach this state of knowledge. From this state of knowledge all decisions can be optimized.

Now introduce the element of betting. Here is where we really get to start trying to optimize our play. Outs, odds, pot odds, implied odds, and predicting opponents behaviors all play into making an optimum decision.

In fact pot odds are an excellent example of the application of game theory. The optimal decision in the case of pot odds is governed my whether or not your odds of making the hand are outweighed by the amount of the bet you must make and the reward for making that bet. In the long term if you make the correct pot odds decision, then you are making the optimal play.

The key here is getting your opponent to make non-optimal decisions.

Some of the concepts I am going to discuss here as examples of getting your opponent to make non-optimal decisions will be concepts I will go into more detail in future articles, but I wanted to introduce them here as examples of optimal play and of getting your opponent to make non-optimal decisions.

Let’s go back to pot odds for a moment. We previously discussed using pot odds to make the decision on making a call. Another application of pots is use it to govern your betting to give opponent the wrong pot odds to make a call.

Without using a long drawn out example, let’s just say that you have a hand and you put your opponent on hand where he is 4 to 1 to make his hand on the turn. Making sure that he does not get 4 to 1 odds when you place your bet is giving your opponent an opportunity to make a mistake. If you bet such that your opponent is only getting 3 to 1 odds (1/2 pot), you are giving your opponent an opportunity to make a non-optimal play.

Another example of giving your opponent the opportunity to make a mistake is the huge over bet when you have made the nut hand. While making a huge over bet may induce your opponent to fold, your opponent may also put you on a bluff. After all, who would make a huge bet with a huge hand? While the play may not work the first time, against weaker opponents, you may be able to goad them into calling the over bet by making the over bet multiple times. Be careful here and make sure your have a truly big hand before using this play.

The two above examples should serve to illustrate the concept of game theory and giving your opponent the opportunity to make a mistake.

In the next installment we will talk about position in poker – what is it?

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No Limit Holdem 101: Holdem Math Part 5 (Putting It All Together)

This is intended to be a series of articles about playing on-line no limit holdem cash games. There will be times where I venture into live poker and times where I venture into SNGs, MTTs, Satellites, and games other than no limit holdem, but for the most part this will target no limit holdem cash games.

For the sixth installment of this series, I am going to tackle one of the most important aspects of poker: math.

When I first wrote this article to encompass everything I wanted to discuss about the math of holdem, it was so lengthy it was almost unreadable. So I’m going to break it into several parts.

The fifth math topic I’ll cover is putting it all together.


We are almost experts on holdem math now. We know how to count our outs, how to convert those outs into percentage or ratios, how to calculate pot odds, and how to think in terms of implied odds.
Okay, so not experts, but we are getting a good grasp of the fundamentals.
Now we need to put it all together and actually use math to help us make a decision.
Example one: A flush draw.
We are playing a cash table with $1/$2 blinds. Before the flop we were in the big blind with the Ace of spades and the six of spades (As6s). The action folds to the small blind who raises to $6. We decide to call and put another $4 in the pot bringing the total to $12. Both the blinds have stacks of about $200.
The flop is the Kc7s4s. You strongly suspect that your opponent has paired his King. He leads out with a pot sized bet of $12.

First we count our outs. There are 9 spades that we don’t know where they are and therefore could come to make our nut flush. So we have 9 outs (unless we want to discount our outs for any reason). We also have an Ace with 3 Aces unknown. That gives us 3 more outs. 12 outs times 2 is 24% of making our hand on the turn. That gives us 76 to 24 odds against making our hand. That’s right around 3.1 to 1.

Right now the pot is $24 with us having to make a call of $12. We are getting 2 to 1 to make the call.

Now we need to factor in implied outs. We are chasing a flush and an overcard. Both of these will be easy to see on the board and our opponent will likely shut down and abandon his Kings once the scare card hits the boards. We really can’t add anything to this with implied odds.

So we have 3.1 to 1 against us making the winning hand and we have 2 to 1 for pot odds. Since the odds against making our hand or less than our pot odds, we should not be making this call.

Example two: hidden straight draw with a low flush draw.
Same situation as above expect for the cards we hold. Now we have 5s6s. The action folds to the small blind who raises to $6. We decide to call and put another $5 in the pot bringing the total to $12. Again both players have around $200 stacks.
The flop is the Kc7s4s. You strongly suspect that your opponent has paired his King. He leads out with a pot sized bet of $12.

First we count our outs. There are 9 spades that we don’t know where they are and therefore could come on the turn or river to make our flush. So we have 9 outs. But do we really want to count these as this would make a very low flush. This depends on your read on your opponent. For the sake of argument, let’s say we just know that he’s playing an unsuited King. No need to discount any of our outs. We need to then add another 6 outs to make our straight draw (we’ve already counted the 3s and 8s as spades.) That gives us 15 total outs. So we have a 30% (15 x 2) chance of making our hand on the turn. So our odds are 70 to 30 against us making our hand. That’s 2 1/3 to 1 against making our hand.

Right now the pot is $24 with us having to make a call of $12. We are getting 2 to 1 to make the call.

So based strictly on the pot odds we should NOT be making this call (but it is fairly close).

But now we need to consider the implied odds and see if this makes for a good call or not. If any spade hits the board, our opponent is likely to shut down the betting. If however a non-spade 3 or 8 comes, our opponent is very likely to fire at this pot and we are now getting the right odds to make this call. We are getting no implied odds if we make the flush but high implied odds if we make the straight and that is more than enough add to the pot odds to make this an easy call.

Now you can see why in the last installment I referred to implied odds as more an art than a science. Implied odds require a high degree of predicting your opponent’s actions and that can be tricky indeed.

But wait a minute; isn’t it the rule of two and FOUR? What happened to the freaking FOUR? Good question.

The FOUR applies to your odds of making your hand on both the turn and the river and should be used in all-in situations after the flop. If the flop bet puts either you are your opponent all-in then that is where you use the FOUR as your factor to calculate your percentage of making your hand on the turn and river combined.

Example three: all-in on the flop.
We are playing a cash table with $1/$2 blinds. Before the flop we were in the big blind with the Ace of spades and the six of spades (As6s). The action folds to the small blind who raises to $6. We decide to call and put another $4 in the pot bringing the total to $12. The small blind has $36 left. You have him covered.
The flop is the Kc7s4s. You strongly suspect that your opponent has paired his King. He leads out by going all-in for $36.

First we count our outs. There are 9 spades that we don’t know where they are and therefore could come to make our nut flush. So we have 9 outs (unless we want to discount our outs for any reason). We also have an Ace with 3 Aces unknown. That gives us 3 more outs. 12 outs times 4 is 48% of making our hand on the turn. That gives us 52 to 48 odds against making our hand. That’s right around 1.1 to 1.

Right now the pot is $48 with us having to make a call of $36. We are getting 1.33 to 1 to make the call.

Our pot odds are greater than our odds of making the hands (1.33 is more than 1.1) so we should make the call.

I know some people use the rule of four for the flop regardless, but that is a mathematical error. The fact of the matter is the rule of four is your chance of making the hand on both the turn and the river. In order to use four you will have to calculate both the known bet on the flop and the unknown bet on the turn.

Now this doesn’t mean that you never use the rule of four on the flop unless there is an all-in involved. What it means is that you need to calculate the betting on the turn while you are on the flop in order to use the rule of four to justify your call on the flop. If you suspect your opponent will move all-in on the flop, then you can use those numbers to calculate your pot odds and compare those to your hand odds.

Yes. These calculations can get very tricky on the logic. Even though this about math it is based on your read on your opponent. If you don’t have a read on your opponent, then you are going to be hampered in some of the more complex aspects of holdem math.

Well, that’s it for the math of holdem (except I will be referring back to the math as we discuss further concepts in the future.)
In the next installment I’ll take a step back and talk about my basic theory behind holdem – Giving the other guy the chance to make a mistake.

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No Limit Holdem 101: Holdem Math Part 4 (Implied Odds)

This is intended to be a series of articles about playing on-line no limit holdem cash games. There will be times where I venture into live poker and times where I venture into SNGs, MTTs, Satellites, and games other than no limit holdem, but for the most part this will target no limit holdem cash games.

For the fifth installment of this series, I am going to tackle one of the most important aspects of poker: math.

When I first wrote this article to encompass everything I wanted to discuss about the math of holdem, it was so lengthy it was almost unreadable. So I’m going to break it into several parts.

The fourth math topic I’ll cover is implied odds.

In “Phil Gordon’s Little Blue Book”, Phil defines implied pot odds as “A calculation of pot odds based not on the money that’s currently in the pot but on the total money that you anticipate will be in the pot at the end of hand.”

In other words you are trying to predict the betting that will happen in future rounds should you hit your draw and should you miss your draw.

Implied odds are complicated and imperfect. You don’t really know how your opponent will react in future rounds of betting, but you must do your best to incorporate your predictions into your calculations.

One key guideline to remember here is that the harder your hand is for opponent to read, the higher your implied odds will be. If your opponent doesn’t think he’s beat, then he’s more likely to put more chips into the pot.

So, what hands have high implied odds and what hands have low implied odds? Sets generally have high implied odds. You hold the pair and the third card is on the board. A set is one of the hardest hands to put an opponent on. Conversely trips are not a high implied odds hand. You hold one card and the other two are on the board. Your opponent will be wary of your bets since he can easily see the pair on the board.

Straights using connected cards from your hand that form the middle of a straight are higher in implied odds that straights using connected cards from your hand that form the top end of the straight. An opponent looking at a board of 589 will not as readily put you on a straight as an opponent looking at a board of 789.

Flushes are generally the lowest implied odds of any hand. It is easy for your opponent to see the three suited cards on the board and react accordingly.

A quick note on a concept I’ve seen called reverse implied odds. The concept here is that if you hit your draw but you still don’t have the best hand, that you will put a lot of chips in the pot when you are beat. For instance if you Have a suited King and make your flush but your opponent was playing the suited Ace. You have bad reverse implied odds because you made the second nut flush and you may loose a lot if you don’t put your opponent on the nut flush.

This is really is a convoluted way of saying what will happen if I was wrong in counting my outs. Be very careful when counting your outs. It usually isn’t wise to chase 2nd best draws.

Well, that’s it for implied odds.

In the next installment, we will talk about putting it all together and making a decision based on math.

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No Limit Holdem 101: Holdem Math Part 3 (Pot Odds)

This is intended to be a series of articles about playing on-line no limit holdem cash games. There will be times where I venture into live poker and times where I venture into SNGs, MTTs, Satellites, and games other than no limit holdem, but for the most part this will target no limit holdem cash games.

For the fourth installment of this series, I am going to tackle one of the most important aspects of poker: math.

When I first wrote this article to encompass everything I wanted to discuss about the math of holdem, it was so lengthy it was almost unreadable. So I’m going to break it into several parts.

The third math topic I’ll cover is pot odds.

In “The Poker Players Bible”, Lou Krieger defines pot odds as “The ratio of the size of the pot compared to the size of the bet the player must call to continue the hand.”
And it really is that simple to calculate simple pot odds. Let’s look at one quick example to illustrate. You are playing a ring table with blinds of $0.05 and $0.10. You are the big blind. The action folds around to the small blind who raises to $0.30. You call the raise. There is now $0.60 in the pot. After the flop the small blinds bets ½ pot ($0.30). The total pot is now $0.90. You have to make a call of $0.30. So you are being asked to put $0.30 into a pot current containing $0.90. Your pot odds are “the ratio of the size of the pot” ($0.90) “compared to the size of the bet the player must call” ($0.30). That’s 90 to 30 or 9 to 3 or 3 to 1.

That’s pretty simple, right?

Well you just know I’m not going to write that short of an article. I’m going to make it more complicated than that just so you have the pleasure of reading more of my meticulously written words. (For the humor impaired, that was an attempt at humor.)

In reality, it is that simple. All I’m really going to add here is that you need to consider all possible betting when you make your decisions. For instance in a three player pot with you being the second player to act, don’t overlook that fact that there is another player to act and his actions can change the landscape. You can’t count on his actions enough to add his call or raise into your mathematical calculations, but you should be aware that the way that player acts could effect the way the hands plays out as well as the size of the pot.

The other important fact to consider is future rounds of betting. Don’t overlook that if you are making this decision after the flop and you make the call that may well be faced with another decision after the turn should your draw fail to hit.

Okay. That’s enough on pot odds or at least this aspect of pot odds.
In the next installment, we will talk about the basics of the next mathematical concept, implied odds.

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No Limit Holdem 101: Holdem Math Part 2 (Converting Outs to Odds)

This is intended to be a series of articles about playing on-line no limit holdem cash games. There will be times where I venture into live poker and times where I venture into SNGs, MTTs, Satellites, and games other than no limit holdem, but for the most part this will target no limit holdem cash games.

For the third installment of this series, I am going to tackle one of the most important aspects of poker: math.

When I first wrote this article to encompass everything I wanted to discuss about the math of holdem, it was so lengthy it was almost unreadable. So I’m going to break it into several parts.

The second math topic I’ll cover is making the numbers mean something by converting your outs into percentages or odds.

Now before all of those who got a “C” in algebra start heading for the door, let me tell you that Holdem Math is actually very easy. Holdem Math is as simple as 5th grade math. If you know your times tables, you can do the math needed for Holdem.
In the last installment we focused on how to count outs. Once we know the outs, we need to convert the outs to a number that gives a means of comparison to other numbers. I personally prefer to use percentages instead of odds, but some poker players (being gamblers) prefer expressing this in terms of odds.

The important thing is that you can produce a number that you are comfortable with in order to compare it to your pot odds (discussed in the next two articles.)

We will use a standard flush draw as our example. Lets say you have the Ace of Clubs and the two of clubs (Ac2c) and the flop is the six of clubs, the seven of clubs, and the King of spades. By counting outs we know that we have nine outs to make the nut flush.

But how do we express this in a way that has some meaning? We will use something called the rule of 2 and 4. This rule provides us with an APPROXIMATION of the percentage chance you have of making your hand. If you are trying to calculate the percentage of making your hand after the flop (with both the turn and river to come), multiply your outs by the number 4. If you are trying to calculate the percentage of making your hand on one street (after the flop to make it on just the turn or after the turn with just the river to come), multiply your outs by the number 2.

So in our nine out example above, we would have a 36% (9 x 4) chance of making our flush on the turn and river combined. We would have an 18% (9 x 2) chance of making the flush on the turn by itself and should the spade not come on the turn, we would again have an 18% (9 x 2) of making the nut flush on the river.

A true mathematician will point out that this is an APPROXIMATION. And that is correct the actual mathematically derived percentage based of the number of desired outcomes and the number of remaining unknown cards is 35% to make the nut flush on the turn and river combined, 19.2% to make the nut flush on the turn by itself, and 19.6%. We are trying to use the approximation as a tool so that we can actually do the math in our head on the fly, so we need to be comfortable with the differences.
Since we are working in a very limited universe (remember there are only 169 starting hand combinations) I highly recommend just finding and printing out an outs and odds chart and getting a general feel for the numbers behind the outs and how they compare to the approximations and whether or not you think you need to adjust the approximations.

True gamblers will want to express this percentage as odds (and there is come justification in this as you will need to compare this number to your pot odds, which we will cover in the next part of this series, to help with our decision making.)

So how do we express this as odds? To me this is more complicated math, but here it is and, as always, I’ll try to keep it simple.
Since we are talking percentages, we are always working with a base of 100% and dividing that 100% up in two parts to compare those parts to each other. If we have a 36% chance of making our hand, that means we have a 64% chance of NOT making our hand (100-36=64).

The way to express this in odds is to compare the ratio of the two numbers. The ratio here is 64 to 36 against you making your flush. You’ll need to reduce that down to something versus 1 to have a usable number to compare to pot odds. You can keep dividing each number by 2 until you get close and then you can estimate to have a usable number. 64 to 36 is 32 to 18 is 16 to 9. If this were 16 to 10 then it would be 1.6 to 1 against. It’s a little more than that against so add .2 to make it 1.8 to 1 against. Note here that the actual mathematical computation is 1.77 to 1. Please be careful when estimating as that can produce a number further off than you expect.

That is how to covert your outs into percentages (and odds). Don’t be intimidated by the math of this. The best thing to do is print out a chart and use that until you are comfortable with doing this math in your head.
In the next installment, we will talk about the basics of the next mathematical concept, pot odds.

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No Limit Holdem 101: Holdem Math Part 1 (Counting Outs)

One of the most critical concepts to master in poker is math. We will start out discussion of the math of holdem poker with the basic bulding block of counting outs.


This is intended to be a series of articles about playing on-line no limit holdem cash games. There will be times where I venture into live poker and times where I venture into SNGs, MTTs, Satellites, and games other than no limit holdem, but for the most part this will target no limit holdem cash games.

For the second installment of this series, I am going to tackle one of the most important aspects of poker: math.

When I first wrote this article to encompass everything I wanted to discuss about the math of holdem, it was so lengthy it was almost unreadable. So I’m going to break it into several parts.

The first math topic I’ll cover is the starting point for all holdem math: counting outs.

There are 169 starting card combinations in Holdem (if suits are discounted). It is important to know the general value of these combinations of hands. There are many decent starting hands chart that will give you a guide on which hands you should be playing. I’m not going into that in this installment, but I will go into that in a future installment. For this installment, I’m going to stick with the concept of outs.

You will be making your pre-flop decisions based on expected value of starting hands, reads on your opponents, position, etc., but one of the most critical factors in decision making after the flop is outs.
For a simple definition, an out is a card that can come in the community cards that will improve your hand.

As a simple example, if you hold the Ace of hearts and the two of hearts (Ah2h) and the flop is the seven of hearts, six of hearts, and King of spades (7h6hKs) then you have missed your hand (at least slightly) but you need to know what cards might come on the turn and the river to make you a winner. In this example, any heart will give you the nut flush. Since there are 13 hearts in the deck, 2 hearts in your hand, and 2 hearts in the community cards, there are 9 hearts (13-2-2=9) that you don’t know where they are that will make the nut flush for you.

Pretty simple so far, right? 13-2-2=9. Not hard math at all.

Just make sure the outs you are counting are actually outs. The real idea here isn’t to count outs to make just any hand, but rather to count your outs to make the winning hand. If you hold the King of clubs and the three of clubs (Kc3c) and your opponent holds the Ace of clubs and the 2 of clubs (Ac2c), then you can make your flush and still loose the hand. The point of this is to make sure that you are counting outs to a winning hand.

It is also important to understand the concept of discounting outs. There are a couple of different categories that this falls into.

The first is an out that will make you a hand, but will make your opponent a bigger hand. For example, you hold a pair of Queens and your opponent holds a pair of Aces. The flop is King, Jack, Ten. Now obviously if the turn or river is a Queen you will make a set of Queens but your opponent will make a straight (and the bigger hand.)

The important concept here is that you must always consider your opponent’s hand when counting your outs. Ignoring your opponent’s hand will over inflate your calculations and lead to making poor decisions.

The second is a concept that I have not seen expressed very often, but I think it important none-the-less. This is the concept of discounting outs that your opponents may hold in their hand. I think this concept applies almost exclusively to flush draws. If you are counting odds towards a flush draw, you need to consider the very real possibility that one or more of the players at the table was dealt cards in that suit as well. If you are at a 9 handed table (meaning your have 8 opponents) and have suited cards in your hand, then each of your opponents has somewhat less than a 50% chance of holding a card of the same suit as your cards. Against 8 opponents that means the odds say they will hold between 3 and 4 of the outs you need to make your hand. That means the 9 outs you thought you had have suddenly shrunken to 5 or 6 outs after the flop and is not as nearly attractive as the 9 outs.

There are 4 suits in the deck of cards, but there are 13 different ranks. The math gets much murkier if you are trying to deal with the rank of the cards dealt and is really much too complicated to even consider the mathematical possibilities trying to discount outs based on rank.

Some out there may well not agree with the concept of discounting your flush draw based on probabilities that someone holds a card of your suit, but I think that if you are going to use probabilities, then you had best consider all the probabilities (or at least those you can get a handle on).

That’s it for this installment. Count your outs correctly and you are on your way to making holdem math work for you.

In the next installment I’ll deal with calculating the percentages of making a hand and converting those percentages into odds.

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No Limit Holdem 101: Poker is a Situational Game

This is intended to be a series of articles about playing on-line no limit holdem cash games. There will be times where I venture into live poker and times where I venture into SNGs, MTTs, Satellites, and games other than no limit holdem, but for the most part this will target no limt holdem cash games.

For the first installment, I am going to cover a subject that applies to all poker not just no limit holdem and not just cash games.

The first topic is simply situational poker.


I see questions asked all the time along the nature of “How do you play pocket Jacks pre-flop?” and the answer is, “It depends on the situation.”

While there are some general statements that can be made about pre-flop play versus your hand holdings, the single most important aspect of poker is the situation.

The situation is the sum total of the picture at that moment in time. You must take into consideration all possible elements:
• Is this a cash game, a Sit N Go, a Tournament, or a Satellite?
• What is my position at the table?
• What actions have been taken before me in this hand?
• What actions are the players yet to act likely to take based on my action and the actions already taken?
• What are the relative stack sizes?
• What are my opponents’ motivators right now?
• Where am I versus the bubble?
• Where are my opponents versus the bubble?

And there are many, many more that contribute to the current situation.

The point of all of this is that you should spend as much time analyzing the situation as you do the cards in your hands.

Paying attention to the way your opponents act is the key to being able to take advantage of any situation.

Give this a try:
• Depending on your bankroll, go to a cheap SNG or a play chip SNG. Take a sticky note or a piece of tape and piece of paper and put it over your cards.
• Do not look at your cards for the entire SNG.
• Watch your opponents’ play and how it changes over the course of the SNG.
• Try to find situations to make your opponent fold by betting.

This little exercise is something everyone should do from time-to-time just to sharpen their skills in this aspect of the game.

Improve your abilities to read (and take advantage) of the situation and you’ll find yourself benefiting in the long term.

Installment number two will be up to you. I do have an outline with 23 topics, but I’d like to know what topic you would like to see me write on next. Drop me a message, comment on this blog, tweet me, or send up smoke signals. Just let me know what you’d like to see next.

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Change of Direction

I apologize for getting behind on the updates on my play.

I decided to take this blog in a different direction and concentrate on organizing my thoughts on poker into more of an instructions bent.

Starting next week I'll begin post a series I'll be called "No Limit Holdem 101"

Type rest of the post here
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October Full Tilt Goals Update through Sunday, October 4

The first four days of October I’ve been a roll in the $5 SNGs. I’ve played 33 $5 SNGs with the following stats:

$5 SNGs: 33
ITM: 17 (51.5%)
1st: 8 (24.2%)
2nd: 5 (15.2%)
3rd: 4 (12.1%)
ROI: 56.2%

This good start has me on verge of moving up to the $10 SNGs.

• Thursday, October 1 – Up $22.83 and earned 15 FTP.
• Friday, October 2 – Up $11.06 and earned 9 FTP.
• Saturday, October 3 – Up $26.99 and earned 51 FTP.
• Sunday, October 4 – Up $37.60 and earned 51 FTP.



1) Ironman One-A-Day – Earn a minimum of one FTP each day to qualify for the Ironman One-A-Day promotion.
• I have earned a minimum of 1 FTP 4 of 4 days in October.


2) Full Tilt Academy Credits – Get to 13,000 Full Tilt Academy credits.
• I am currently at 11,864 Academy credits



Bankroll Updates:
Since End of Project Freeroll: Up $243.42
The Month of October: Up $98.48

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October Full Tilt Goals

For the month of October I am going to simplify my goals and not concentrate so much on accomplishing targeted items instead concentrating on just playing poker.

I’ll play a limited amount of 5NL in the mornings as I have about 30 minutes to play in the morning. I’ll play enough 5NL to get 1 base FTP and that way I can reach the Ironman One-A-Day. In the evening, I’m going to concentrate on playing SNGs and I want to try to get to where I’m more comfortable (and profitable) playing more than 2 SNGs simultaneously.

1) Ironman One-A-Day – Earn a minimum of one FTP each day to qualify for the Ironman One-A-Day promotion.

2) Full Tilt Academy Credits – Get to 13,000 Full Tilt Academy credits.



Bankroll Updates:
Since End of Project Freeroll: Up $94.94 (will be $154.94 once Take2 bonus is paid)
The Month of October: Just Underway

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September Goals Wrap Up

I apologize for the lack of updates. I had a really nasty sinus infection and really struggled through it. Best advice I can give is to never play when you aren't feeling well. The day-by-day results below illustrate extremely well why that principle should be adhered to.

I’ve decided to go to weekly updates (like I did during Project Freeroll) instead of trying to keep up with daily updates.

I’ll get everything caught up for the end of September in this one and then do weekly and end of Month updates starting with October.

• Thursday, September 10 – Down $5.19 and earned 18 base FTP.
• Friday, September 11 – Down $29.02 and earned 55 base FTP.
• Saturday, September 12 – Up $9.75 and earned 7 base FTP.
• Sunday, September 13 – Down $14.30 and earned 52 base FTP.
• Monday, September 14 – Up $5.63 and earned 11 base FTP.
• Tuesday, September 15 – Down $9.28 and earned 54 base FTP.
• Wednesday, September 16 – Up $33.82 and earned 55 base FTP.
• Thursday, September 17 – Up $29.34 and earned 53 base FTP.
• Friday, September 18 – Up $3.38 and earned 76 base FTP.
• Saturday, September 19 – Down $24.65 and earned 60 base FTP.
• Sunday, September 20 – Down $32.26 and earned 75 base FTP.
• Monday, September 21 – Down $14.53 and earned 50 base FTP.
• Tuesday, September 22 – Down $2.02 and earned 50 base FTP.
• Wednesday, September 23 – Up $4.08 and earned 53 base FTP.
• Thursday, September 24 – Up $4.11 and earned 15 base FTP.
• Friday, September 25 – Up $8.24 and earned 54 base FTP.
• Saturday, September 26 – Up $23.06 and earned 15 base FTP.
• Sunday, September 27 – Up $28.75 and earned 51 base FTP.
• Monday, September 28 – Up $22.47 and earned 15 base FTP.
• Tuesday, September 29 – Down $6.17 and earned 12 base FTP.
• Wednesday, September 30 – Up $29.95 and earned 9 base FTP.

1) Ironman One-A-Day – Earn a minimum of one FTP each day to qualify for the Ironman One-A-Day promotion.
• I earned at least one FTP 30 of 30 days in September and qualified for the Ironman One-A-Day promotion.

2) Take 2 – Earn a minimum one FTP each day for 25 days by double tabling cash games to earn the $50 maximum for the Take 2 promotion.
• I earned at least one FTP double tabling cash games 29 of 30 days in September. I cleared all $50 of the Take 2 promotion.

3) Ironman Bronze – Earn a minimum of 50 FTP a day for 20 days to qualify for Ironman Bronze status.
• I earned at least 50 FTP 20 of 30 days in September and reached Ironman Bronze status.

4) Full Tilt Academy Credits – Get to 10,000 Full Tilt Academy credits.
• Current Full Tilt Academy Credits: 11,284


Bankroll Updates:
Since End of Project Freeroll: Up $94.94 (will be $154.94 once Take2 bonus is paid)
The Month of September: Up $45.49 (will be $95.49 once Take2 bonus is paid)

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September Goals Update Through September 9

Up $0.91 in limited play where I also earned 8 base FTP.

1) Ironman One-A-Day – Earn a minimum of one FTP each day to qualify for the Ironman One-A-Day promotion.
• I earned 8 FTP today and have earned at least one FTP 9 of 9 days in September.

2) Take 2 – Earn of minimum one FTP each day for 25 days by double tabling cash games to earn the $50 maximum for the Take 2 promotion.
• I earned 8 FTP today and have earned at least one FTP double tabling cash games 9 of 9 days in September. $5 cleared so far.

3) Ironman Bronze – Earn a minimum of 50 FTP a day for 20 days to qualify for Ironman Bronze status.
• I earned 8 FTP today and have earned at least 50 FTP 7 of 9 days in September.

4) Full Tilt Academy Credits – Get to 10,000 Full Tilt Academy credits.
• Current Full Tilt Academy Credits: 8,855


Bankroll Updates:
Since End of Project Freeroll: Up $24.26
The Month of September: Down $25.19

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September Goals Update Through September 8

Down $28.18 today. I earned 75 base FTP.

1) Ironman One-A-Day – Earn a minimum of one FTP each day to qualify for the Ironman One-A-Day promotion.
• I earned 75 FTP today and have earned at least one FTP 8 of 8 days in September.

2) Take 2 – Earn of minimum one FTP each day for 25 days by double tabling cash games to earn the $50 maximum for the Take 2 promotion.
• I earned 75 FTP today and have earned at least one FTP double tabling cash games 8 of 8 days in September. $5 cleared so far.

3) Ironman Bronze – Earn a minimum of 50 FTP a day for 20 days to qualify for Ironman Bronze status.
• I earned 75 FTP today and have earned at least 50 FTP 7 of 8 days in September.

4) Full Tilt Academy Credits – Get to 10,000 Full Tilt Academy credits.
• Current Full Tilt Academy Credits: 8,855


Bankroll Updates:
Since End of Project Freeroll: Up $23.35
The Month of September: Down $26.10
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September Goals Update Through September 7

Down $9.53 on the day playing short-stacked 25NL and some $2.25 SNGs. I earned 55 base FTP today.


1) Ironman One-A-Day – Earn a minimum of one FTP each day to qualify for the Ironman One-A-Day promotion.
• I earned 55 FTP today and have earned at least one FTP 7 of 7 days in September.

2) Take 2 – Earn of minimum one FTP each day for 25 days by double tabling cash games to earn the $50 maximum for the Take 2 promotion.
• I earned 55 FTP today and have earned at least one FTP double tabling cash games 7 of 7 days in September. $5 cleared so far.

3) Ironman Bronze – Earn a minimum of 50 FTP a day for 20 days to qualify for Ironman Bronze status.
• I earned 55 FTP today and have earned at least 50 FTP 6 of 7 days in September.

4) Full Tilt Academy Credits – Get to 10,000 Full Tilt Academy credits.
• Current Full Tilt Academy Credits: 8,485


Bankroll Updates:
Since End of Project Freeroll: Up $51.53
The Month of September: Up $2.08
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September Goals Update Through September 6

Up $11.25 playing short-stacked 25NL and full-stacked 2NL. 77 base FTP today. And I will certainly change my Academy credit goal to be 10,000 credits by the end of September.

1) Ironman One-A-Day – Earn a minimum of one FTP each day to qualify for the Ironman One-A-Day promotion.
• I earned 77 FTP today and have earned at least one FTP 6 of 6 days in September.

2) Take 2 – Earn of minimum one FTP each day for 25 days by double tabling cash games to earn the $50 maximum for the Take 2 promotion.
• I earned 77 FTP today and have earned at least one FTP double tabling cash games 6 of 6 days in September. $5 cleared so far.

3) Ironman Bronze – Earn a minimum of 50 FTP a day for 20 days to qualify for Ironman Bronze status.
• I earned 77 FTP today and have earned at least 50 FTP 5 of 6 days in September.

4) Full Tilt Academy Credits – Get to 10,000 Full Tilt Academy credits.
• Current Full Tilt Academy Credits: 8,201


Bankroll Updates:
Since End of Project Freeroll: Up $61.06
The Month of September: Up $11.61

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September Goals Update Through September 5

Another up and down day that winds up down. Down $13.17. I did lock up the first $5 of the Take 2 promotion. I also complete the Full Tilt Academy “Pre-Flop Play” challenge for the 8th, 9th , and 10th times. I may need to increase my goal on the Academy credit in order to make it challenging (although I expect the progress to slow significantly now.)


1) Ironman One-A-Day – Earn a minimum of one FTP each day to qualify for the Ironman One-A-Day promotion.
• I earned 93 FTP today and have earned at least one FTP 5 of 5 days in September.

2) Take 2 – Earn of minimum one FTP each day for 25 days by double tabling cash games to earn the $50 maximum for the Take 2 promotion.
• I earned 93 FTP today and have earned at least one FTP double tabling cash games 5 of 5 days in September. 5 days guarantees at least $5 of the Take 2 bonus.

3) Ironman Bronze – Earn a minimum of 50 FTP a day for 20 days to qualify for Ironman Bronze status.
• I earned 93 FTP today and have earned at least 50 FTP 4 of 5 days in September.

4) Full Tilt Academy Credits – Get to 8,000 Full Tilt Academy credits.
• Current Full Tilt Academy Credits: 7,736

Bankroll Updates:
Since End of Project Freeroll: Up $49.81
The Month of September: Up $0.36
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September Goals Update Through September 4

Woo! Hoo! Up $33.28 playing 467 hands of 25NL.

1) Ironman One-A-Day – Earn a minimum of one FTP each day to qualify for the Ironman One-A-Day promotion.
• I earned 58 FTP today and have earned at least one FTP 4 of 4 days in September.

2) Take 2 – Earn of minimum one FTP each day for 25 days by double tabling cash games to earn the $50 maximum for the Take 2 promotion.
• I earned 58 FTP today and have earned at least one FTP double tabling cash games 4 of 4 days in September.

3) Ironman Bronze – Earn a minimum of 50 FTP a day for 20 days to qualify for Ironman Bronze status.
• I earned 58FTP today and have earned at least 50 FTP 3of 4days in September.

4) Full Tilt Academy Credits – Get to 8,000 Full Tilt Academy credits.
• Current Full Tilt Academy Credits: 6,401


Bankroll Updates:
Since End of Project Freeroll: Up $62.98
The Month of September: Up $13.53

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September Goals Update Through September 3

Yucky day. I was down $26.32 and I discover I was looking at the wrong counter yesterday for FTP. I didn’t get 57 base FTP. Today I did get 51 base FTP.

1) Ironman One-A-Day – Earn a minimum of one FTP each day to qualify for the Ironman One-A-Day promotion.
• I earned 59 FTP today and have earned at least one FTP 3 of 3 days in September.

2) Take 2 – Earn of minimum one FTP each day for 25 days by double tabling cash games to earn the $50 maximum for the Take 2 promotion.
• I earned 59 FTP today and have earned at least one FTP double tabling cash games 3 of 3 days in September.

3) Ironman Bronze – Earn a minimum of 50 FTP a day for 20 days to qualify for Ironman Bronze status.
• I earned 59 FTP today and have earned at least 50 FTP 2 of 3 days in September.

4) Full Tilt Academy Credits – Get to 8,000 Full Tilt Academy credits.
• Current Full Tilt Academy Credits: 6,256


Bankroll Updates:
Since End of Project Freeroll: Up $29.70
The Month of September: Down $19.75
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September Goals Update Through September 2

I played 256 hands of 25NL and was up $6.95.

1) Ironman One-A-Day – Earn a minimum of one FTP each day to qualify for the Ironman One-A-Day promotion.
• I earned 57 FTPs today and have earned at least one FTP every day in September.

2) Take 2 – Earn of minimum one FTP each day for 25 days by double tabling cash games to earn the $50 maximum for the Take 2 promotion.
• I earned 57 FTP today and have earned at least one FTP double tabling cash games every day in September.

3) Ironman Bronze – Earn a minimum of 50 FTP a day for 20 days to qualify for Ironman Bronze status.
• I earned 57 FTP today and have earned at least 50 FTP every day in September.

4) Full Tilt Academy Credits – Get to 8,000 Full Tilt Academy credits.
• Current Full Tilt Academy Credits: 6,028


Bankroll Updates:
Since End of Project Freeroll: Up $56.02
The Month of September: Up $6.57

Read More......

September Goals Update Through September 1

I earned 52 base FTP today mixing it up between 2NL, 25NL, 50NL and some $2.25 SNGs. Overall I was down $0.38 on the day.

1) Ironman One-A-Day – Earn a minimum of one FTP each day to qualify for the Ironman One-A-Day promotion.
I earned 52 FTPs today and have earned at least one FTP every day in September.

2) Take 2 – Earn of minimum one FTP each day for 25 days by double tabling cash games to earn the $50 maximum for the Take 2 promotion.I earned 52 FTP today and have earned at least one FTP double tabling cash games every day in September.

3) Ironman Bronze – Earn a minimum of 50 FTP a day for 20 days to qualify for Ironman Bronze status.I earned 52 FTP today and have earned at least 50 FTP every day in September.

4) Full Tilt Academy Credits – Get to 8,000 Full Tilt Academy credits.Current Full Tilt Academy Credits: 6,001


Bankroll Updates:
Since End of Project Freeroll: Up $49.07
The Month of September: Down $0.38


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My September Goals on Full Tilt

I will have a little less time to play than I had in August. In fact September should be more along the line of a typical month for me. By the end of the month, I should have a fairly good idea of what kind of Ironman status I should be striving for in future months.

1) Ironman One-A-Day – Earn a minimum of one FTP each day to qualify for the Ironman One-A-Day promotion.
2) Take 2 – Earn of minimum one FTP each day for 25 day by double tabling cash games to earn the $50 maximum for the Take 2 promotion.
3) Ironman Bronze – Earn a minimum of 50 FTP a day for 20 days to qualify for Ironman Bronze status.
4) Full Tilt Academy Credits – Get to 8,000 Full Tilt Academy credits.

Note that if I accomplish goal number 3 I will certainly do it at least double-tabling cash games and will accomplish 20 of the 30 days needed for goal number 1 and 20 of the 25 days needed for goal number 3.
Note that if I accomplish goal number 1 by double-tabling cash tables I will accomplish goal number 2 by accomplishing goal number 1.

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Why I Am Not Playing MTTs exclusively

I've been asked the question of why I am playing ring games since I built my freeroll winnings through MTTs. I'll try to answer that questions and give my overall thoughts in this post.

One of my blog followers (Jason) said "I read your free roll challenge and kept up with it Tony. But I have to ask why you are playing ring games when you made your money playing mtt."

Well this really has a multifaceted answer to it.

First of all, there are no freeroll SNG or ring games on Full Tilt so the only way I could build a freeroll bankroll was by playing the MTTs.

Second, while most my reporting during Project Freeroll was oriented to my real dollar winnings (and therefore the freeroll MTTs), I built my play chips that I used to enter the $40 500K daily tournament almost exclusively through play chip SNGs and play chip ring games. Playing play chip SNGs and play chip ring games was an integral part of my overall strategy.

Next, I will be playing MTTs. I think part of being an overall well-rounded poker player is being able to play all varieties of poker. I'll be concentrating on NLHE holdem but I'll also be trying to work in others varieties (Omaha, Stud, Razz, etc.) as time goes by.

Next, MTTs take a major time commitment. While it might be possible to cash a freeroll MTT in 2-3 hours, a buy-in MTT takes more of a time commitment. The current week is an exception since I'm on vacation all week, but most week days I only have 2 - 3 hours a day to play without disrupting my schedule. It is much easier to play SNGs or ring games in a limited time frame.

Next, the key to making money in buy-in MTTs is to go deep in them. Over the course of Project Freeroll I cashed around 30% of the freerolls I played. But, the vast majority of those cashes were in the first 2 or 3 pay out levels. If my exact finishes were applied to buy-in MTTs, I probably would have been right around break even (as opposed to being up $310). I need to work on my bubble and post-bubble play to be a winning buy-in MTT player.

Next, I really believe that one of the keys to being profitable in the long term is take advantage of bonuses and special promotions by the poker rooms. This generally means earning frequent players points. You can earn frequent player points much more quickly play ring games than you can any other way. Right now I am really working on trying to earn some of the bonuses and rewards on Full Tilt. The Biggest Bonus ever is basically a free $100 if I can play break even poker over the course of 30 days. With the experiments I've been conducting I think I can earn 50 FTP almost every day of the month with some effort. 50 points per day times 30 days would mean 1,500 points and I need 1,667 to clear this $100 bonus. If I earn the bonus while playing even marginally profitable poker, then it will be a major bankroll boost.

One final point, I'm a bit burned out on MTTs with the quantity of them I played over the last year. I will get back to playing MTTs soon, but I'm enjoying the break from them and enjoying the variety of play right now.

Believe it or not, prior to Project Freeroll, I really used to consider myself a SNG specialist. Now, I want to be an all around good poker player and that means playing more than MTTs.

Thanks for the question Jason.

Keep the questions coming and I'll do my best to answer them as honestly and fully as I can.

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Weekly Bankroll Update

This week I've really started trying to do a lot of things in on-line poker. This is my play this week and the impact on my bankroll.

Starting Balances (as of Monday 7/27/09)

Full Tilt Poker
Real Money: $322.53
Tournament Dollars: $0.00
Total: $322.53
FTP: 110.05

Pokers Stars
Real Money: $22.52
Tournament Dollars: $0.00
Total: $22.52
FPP: 54

Walker Poker
Real Money: $42.33
VIP: 91.31

Total Bankroll: $387.38


My Play This Week
• Walker Poker (Up $1.51)
o 10NL – Up $2.61
o 4NL – Down $1.10

• Poker Stars (Even)
o No Play This Week

• Full Tilt (Down $6.61)
o $0.30 turbo Satellites to the Daily Dollar – Down $0.95
o $1.25 6 seat SNGs – Down $1.25
o $1.25 9 seat SNG s– Down $0.25
o 10NL – Down $6.90
o 10NLCap – Up $3.17
o 10PL – Down $4.67
o 2PL – Up $0.19
o 2NL – Up $2.64
o 2NLCap – Up $1.41


Ending Balances (as of Sunday 8/2/09)

Full Tilt Poker
Real Money: $315.92
Tournament Dollars: $0.00
Total: $315.92
FTP: 371.72

Pokers Stars
Real Money: $22.52
Tournament Dollars: $0.00
Total: $22.52
FPP: 54

Walker Poker
Real Money: $43.84
VIP: 97.67

Total Bankroll: $382.28


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August Full Tilt Challenges

The purpose of this blog is to keep track of the challenges I have set for my self of the month of August on Full Tilt Poker. I'm not going to call them goals because some of them are a little too open ended to be called goals. Some of these I started late in July and I am carrying them forward into August.

1) Full Tilt's "Biggest Bonus Ever" - I don't think I can gain 1,667 Full Tilt Points (base points not modified by happy hour), mantain good bankroll management, and maintain my low multi-table comfort level all at the same time. But, I will be playing a lot (particularly in the first week of month while I'm on vacation.) I'll be tracking the FTP I've earned toward this promotion and the amount of the $100 bonus cleared as well as the impact on my bankroll.

2) Full Tilt Poker Academy Challenges - I'll try to clear at least 3 of the challenges (meaning complete them 10 times) as well as make progress toward several of the others (meaning complete tasks related to them.) I'll be tracking my challenge clearance, Academy Credits earned, and the impact on my bankroll.

3) Ironman One-A-Day - Earn a minimum of one Full Tilt Point (base not modified by happy hour) per day to qualify for the one-a-day challenge. I'll be tracking daily progress as well as the impact on my bankroll.

4) Ironman Bronze Status - Earning 50 Full Tilt Points (base not modified by happy hour) a day for 20 days may be beyond my reach given that on days I work, I can only play for a couple of hours maximum. Earning 100 Full Tilt Points a day for 15 days may simply be beyond my bankroll. However, I am off work on vacation for the first 9 days of the month and plan to play a lot on those 9 days. I'll be keeping an eye to my daily points earned and then trying to determine if it is possible to take a shot a Bronze Iron Man Status.

5) Overall Full Tilt Point Count - Not really a clear goal on this, but I would like to take this total and run it up a good deal this month. After all, I need to get started on earning the 6 million points for the Mini-Cooper!

Note that the bankroll progress calculations may well overlap and my play in a single session may count toward several different categories. I will try to keep all calculation accuarate to the challange so I can know the impact of that challenge on my bankroll.


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Testing Out a Short Stack Strategy - Day 5

Day 5 of testing out a short stack cash strategy. Multi-tabling on Full Tilt

I ran across this Beginner strategy for No-Limit Texas Hold'em. This was compiled by one of my twitter followers. I also follow them.
This is basically a short stack strategy and can be applied to cash, SNG, or MTT play.
Day 1 was single table on Walker Poker 10NL - Down $2.50
Day 2 was single table on Walker Poker 10NL - Up $5.23
Day 3 was double-table on Walker Poker 10NL and 4 NL mixed - Down $1.22
Day 4 was double-table on Full Tilt 10NL - Down $3.87
So, after 4 days I'm down $2.36.
For Day 5 I'm going to try to do a couple of things to the cards on Full Tilt to see if I can get more comfortable going beyond 2 tables.
I jumped in with about 20 minutes left in early morning happy hour. I decided to 4 table and try to maximize the double Full Tilt points. Total I saw 138 hands, earned 12.53 Full Tilt points and was up $1.00.
In this first session I was up $1.40 on one table, even on another table, down $0.10 on one table, and down $0.30 on the last table.
I misread cards on the board once and it cost me $.60. I would have folded the hand had a read the board correctly.
So now I am off to research some card skins to see if I can make the boards clearer to me when I am multi-tabling.
I downloaded a card mod and I think it helps a lot, but it's not perfect. The black for clubs to tend into my limit color vision. I might have to take a shot at making something of my own.
So back to 4-tabling NL on Full Tilt for the last 1:15 of Happy Hour.
And down on all 4 tables. Went broke on two pair versus set on one table minutes before the end end of happy hour. On the other tables I was down $0.89, $0.59, and $0.23.
That's down $3.64 for this sesson versus up $1.00 in the morning session.
As of right now I'm down $5 overall using this srtategy. I'll probably give this strategy one more session and see where it goes, then I'll look at some modifications to it or using a different strategy.

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Testing Out a Short Stack Strategy - Day 4

Day 4 of testing out a short stack cash strategy. Switching over to Full Tilt and multi-tabling 10NL

I ran across this Beginner strategy for No-Limit Texas Hold'em. This was compiled by one of my twitter followers. I also follow them.
This is basically a short stack strategy and can be applied to cash, SNG, or MTT play.
Days 1, 2 and 3 were on Walker Poker.
On day one I was down $2.50 due to some horrible beats and not really catching any cards classified as playable hands in the system.
On day two I was up $5.23.
On day three I was down $1.22 for the day.
Up $1.51 after three days.
On day four I decided to switch over to playing on Full Tilt. It's a lot easier to find multiple 10NL tables are basically full and trying to earn some Full Tilt Points toward the Full Tilt Biggest Bonus Ever promotion.
Multi-tabled 2 tables at a time.

Table 1 - Bought in with $2.00 (20BB)
Played 90 or so hands and went broke when my AKs from the BB was outflopped by A6o.

Table 2 - Bought in with $2.00 (20BB)
Played 110ish hands and went broke when my AK flopped 2 pair versus 66 with a flopped set.

Table 3 - Bought in with $2.00 (20BB)
This table went down to 5 handed and I left up $0.78.

Table 4 - Bought in with $2.00 (20BB)
Starting pushing my bedtime and I played one more orbit and then left Down $0.65.

Overall I played 276 hands and was down $3.87.
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Testing Out a Short Stack Strategy - Day 3

Here's my results of day three of playing a short stack strategy in 10NL and 4NL on Walker Poker

I ran across this Beginner strategy for No-Limit Texas Hold'em. This was compiled by one of my twitter followers. I also follow them.
This is basically a short stack strategy and can be applied to cash, SNG, or MTT play.
On day one I was down $2.50 due to some horrible beats and not really catching any cards classified as playable hands in the system.
On day two I was up $5.23.
One of the difficulties in using Walker Poker for this is that their is seldom more than one full 10NL table. I'm going to try to multi-table this tonight using one 10NL table and one 4 NL table.
Bought into a 4NL table for 80 cents (20BB) and quickly went broke when my JJ was beaten by AJ. In reviewing the hand and the system, I should ahve folded the hand when I was reraised re-flop.
Bought into a second 4 NL table for 80 cents. No real significant action. Left with $0.50.
Bought into a 10NL table for $2.00 (20BB). No real significant action. Left wih $1.88.
Overall down $1.22 for the day.
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Testing Out a Short Stack Strategy - Day 2

Here's my results of day two of playing a short stack strategy in 10NL on Walker Poker

I ran across this Beginner strategy for No-Limit Texas Hold'em. This was compiled by one of my twitter followers. I also follow them.
This is basically a short stack strategy and can be applied to cash, SNG, or MTT play.
On day one I was down $2.50 due to some horrible beats and not really catching any cards classified as playable hands in the system.
I'll be buying in with 20 BB ($2.00) as this puts me in the "Short Stack" category of this system which allows a little play than the "Tiny Stack" category of 12BB and still keeps the play somewhat limit as opposed the 25 BB category "Medium Stack."
Played for 108 minutes and left up $5.23.
That's a gain of 52 Big Blinds in less than 2 hours from a 20 BB buy-in.
I would say that should be considered a success.
Let's see how this plays out over the next few days (and I may start double-tabling if I can find enough full tables on Walker.)
Read More......

Testing Out a Short Stack Strategy

Here's my results of day one of playing a short stack strategy in 10NL on Walker Poker

I ran across this Beginner strategy for No-Limit Texas Hold'em. This was compiled by one of my twitter followers. I also follow them.
This is basically a short stack strategy and can be applied to cash, SNG, or MTT play.
I decided to sit in with 20BB (defined as a short stack in this system.)
I sit in and wait for the big blind to be posted. I get KK on my first hand. There is a middle position limper and everyone else folds to me. I raise to $0.45 (3.5 BB to 1 BB for the limper.) The middle position limper calls the raise. The pot is now at $0.95 and I have $1.55 in my stack.
The flop is 279 rainbow. My opponent checks. Betting pot would be well over half my stack, so I push all-in. My opponent insta-calls and shows AA. The turn and river are blanks and I'm felted.
I rebuy for $2.00 and sit out until the BB again. The same player is being fairly wreckless with a late of raises and basically bullying the table.
My first BB is Q8s. There are 3 limpers (including Mr. Crazy agressive.) The flop is GIN! QQ2. Since I expect Mr. Agressive to raise this pot (he'll be last to act) I check the pot. Play checks around to Mr. Agressive who bets pot. I reraise all-in. The 2 early position limpers fold and Mr. Agressive calls and shows Q6o. The turn is a 9 and the river is a J and we split the pot! ARG!
Rereading the strategy, I should have raised pot on the flop, but I don't think it would have changed the way the hand played out. I just think Mr. Agressive would have reraised me and would have went all-in or called all-in.
I then played for another 37 minutes (38 total) without seeing a playable hand.
Well, the point was to get comfortable withe the system and the system can't be held responsible for the cold deck hands.
I wound up down $2.50 overall. I'll be back trying this system in the days to come as I get time.
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Bankroll Progress - July 26, 2009

Hopefully this will be a weekly blog to keep track of my bankroll progress on the 3 sites I am playing on (Full Tilt, Poker Stars, and Walker Poker).

Starting Balances (as of Thursday 7/16/09)

Full Tilt Poker
Real Money: $311.48
Tournament Dollars: $2.00
Total: $311.98
FTP: 0.00

Pokers Stars
Real Money: $21.22
Tournament Dollars: $0.00
Total: $21.22
FPP: 43

Walker Poker
Real Money: $43.58
VIP: 82.13

Total Bankroll: $376.78


My Play This Week

Thursday 7/16/09 (up $3.05)
• Poker Stars - $1.10 DON SNG – Cashed for $2.00
• Poker Stars - $1.10 DON SNG – Cashed for $2.00
• Poker Stars - $1.10 DON SNG – Cashed for $2.00
• Full Tilt - $0.75 – MTT Satellite to Record Breaker – Did not cash
• Full Tilt - $1.25 turbo 9 seat SNG – Finished 3rd for $1.80
• Full Tilt - $1.25 turbo 9 seat SNG – Finished 3rd for $1.80

Friday 7/17/09 (up $2.05)
• Poker Stars - $1.20 9 seat SNG – Finished 4th
• Full Tilt – 5 FTP $5,000 MTT – Finished 6058th
• Full Tilt - $1.25 turbo 9 seat SNG – Finished 1st for $4.50
• Full Tilt - $1.25 turbo 9 seat SNG – Finished 4th
• Full Tilt - $1.25 turbo 9 seat SNG – Finished 6th
• Full Tilt - $1.25 turbo 9 seat SNG – Finished 2nd for $2.70
• Full Tilt - $1.25 turbo 9 seat SNG – Finished 3rd for $1.80
• Full Tilt – 5 FTP $5,000 MTT – Finished 1385th for $0.50
• Full Tilt – Blackmoonpoker.com freeroll – Finished 190th for $0.07

Saturday 7/18/09 (up $13.98)
• Full Tilt - $2.50 private tournament with 50 cent bounties – Finished 5th of 53 for $8.48
o Collected 5 bounties for $2.50 plus 1 private bounty for $2.00 on Poker Stars
• Full Tilt - $1.50 private tournament – finished 42nd of 190 for $5.00
• Full Tilt – PPA Petition Freeroll – finished 2,556th for $0.21

Sunday 7/19/09 (down $7.60)
• Full Tilt - $1.50 private tournament – finished 4th
• Full Tilt - $1.50 private tournament – finished 4th
• Full Tilt - $1.50 private tournament – finished 3rd
• Full Tilt - $1.50 private tournament – finished 2nd for $2.40
• Full Tilt - $1.50 private tournament – finished 4th
• Pokers Stars - $1.00 100K Guaranteed Record Breaker – finished 50,471st

Monday 7/20/09 (up $0.70)
• Poker Stars - $1.10 DON SNG – Cashed for $2.00
• Poker Stars - $1.10 DON SNG – Did Not Cash
• Poker Stars - $1.10 DON SNG – Cashed for $2.00

Tuesday 7/21/09 (Up $0.70)
• Poker Stars - $1.10 DON SNG – Cashed for $2.00
• Poker Stars - $1.10 DON SNG – Did Not Cash
• Poker Stars - $1.10 DON SNG – Cashed for $2.00

Wednesday 7/22/09 (Down $2.60)
• Poker Stars - $1.10 DON SNG – Did Not Cash
• Poker Stars - $1.10 DON SNG – Cashed for $2.00
• Poker Stars - $1.10 DON SNG – Cashed for $2.00
• Poker Stars - $1.10 DON SNG – Did Not Cash
• Poker Stars - $1.10 DON SNG – Did Not Cash
• Poker Stars - $1.10 DON SNG – Did Not Cash

Thursday 7/23/09
No poker played

Friday 7/24/09
No poker played

Saturday 7/25/09 (Down $1.76)
• Walker Poker – 10NL – Played 92 minutes – Down $3.14
• Walker Poker – 10 NL – Played x minutes – Up $1.89
• Full Tilt - $1 private tournament ($150 added) – Finished 45th of 174
• Full Tilt - $1.50 private tournament ($50 added) – Finished 54th of 58
• Full Tilt - $3.5K PPA Petition Freeroll – Finished 1562nd of 9857 for $0.35
• Full Tilt - $1.50 private tournament ($100 added) – Finished 10th of 109 for $3.14

Sunday 7/26/09 (Up $2.20)
• Full Tilt - $.30 satellite to Daily Dollar – Finished 1st for $1.00
• Full Tilt - $1.25 9 seat SNG – Finished 5th
• Full Tilt - $.30 satellite to Daily Dollar – Finished 6th
• Full Tilt - $1.25 9 seat SNG – Finished 2nd for $2.75
• Full Tilt - $.30 satellite to Daily Dollar – Finished 1st for $1.00
• Full Tilt - $1.25 9 seat SNG – Finished 2nd for $2.75
• Full Tilt - $.30 satellite to Daily Dollar – Finished 7th
• Full Tilt - $1.25 9 seat SNG – Finished 4th
• Full Tilt - $.30 satellite to Daily Dollar – Finished 4th
• Full Tilt - $1.25 9 seat SNG – Finished 6th
• Full Tilt - $.30 satellite to Daily Dollar – Finished 4th
• Full Tilt - $1.25 9 seat SNG – Finished 2nd for $2.75




Ending Balances (as of Sunday 7/26/09)

Full Tilt Poker
Real Money: $322.53 (+$11.05)
Tournament Dollars: $0.00
Total: $322.53 (+$11.05)
FTP: 110.05 (+110.05)

Pokers Stars
Real Money: $22.52 (+$1.30)
Tournament Dollars: $0.00
Total: $22.52 (+$1.30)
FPP: 54 (+11)

Walker Poker
Real Money: $42.33 (-$1.25)
VIP: 91.31 (+9.8)

Total Bankroll: $387.38 (+$10.60)

Read More......

Guest Book

Hi All. This post is going to serve as my "Guest Book".
Post a comment and let me know that you stopped by. Read More......

Coming Soon

As I wind down my freeroll project on Full Tilt (clik here for details), it is time to turn my attention to more general bankroll building not only on Full Tilt, but also on the other sites I play on (Poker Stars and Walker Poker.)

The purpose of this blog is to provide a more generic blogging envirnoment for me to discuss poker bankroll building, poker in general, and anything else I wish to share.

Look for this blog to be ramped up a little bit as I get closer to the end of Project Freeroll and even more after that. Read More......

Poker Quote #14

The winner is not the player who wins the most pots. The winner is the player who wins the most money.
--Anthony Holden Read More......

Poker Quote #13

Honey! Honey! I was supposed to go broke on that hand, honey, except they forgot one thing: I can dodge bullets, baby.
--Phil Helmuth Read More......

Poker Quote #12

Try to decide how good your hand is at a given moment. Nothing else matters. Nothing!
--Doyle Brunson Read More......

Poker Quote #11

Hold’Em - like life itself has its defining moment. It's the flop. When you see the flop, you're looking at 71 percent of your hand, and the cost is only a single round of betting.
--Lou Krieger Read More......

Poker Quote #10

If you re-raise a raiser and he doesn't raise you back, you know he has kicker problems.
--Crandall Addington Read More......

Poker Quote #9

Trust everyone, but always cut the cards.
--Benny Binion Read More......

Poker Quote #8

You cannot survive without that intangible quality we call heart. The mark of a top player is not how much he wins when he is winning but how he handles his losses.
--Bobby Baldwon Read More......

Poker Quote #7

A faint heart never filled a spade flush.
--Unknown Read More......

Poker Quote #6

Poker is generally reckoned to be America's second most popular after-dark activity. Sex is good, they say, but poker lasts longer.
--Alfred Alvarez Read More......

Poker Quote #5

Poker may be a branch of psychological warfare, an art form or indeed a way of life – but it is also merely a game, in which money is simply the means of keeping score.
--Anthony Holden Read More......

Poker Quote #4

Omaha is a game that was invented by a Sadist and is played by Masochists.
--Shane Smith Read More......

Poker Quote #3

I think that we are all in the right place at the right time almost every day. It's the people who are prepared to be lucky who can take advantage of being there.
--Phil Helmuth
Read More......

Poker Quote #2

Even today it's hard for me to realize the "celebrity" status and everything because I don't think of myself that way. It's flattering but I'm not an entertainer. I'm a poker player.
--Doyle Brunson
Read More......

Poker Quote #1

I believe in poker the way I believe in the American Dream. Poker is good for you. It enriches the soul, sharpens the intellect, heals the spirit, and when played well, nourishes the wallet.
--Lou Krieger
Read More......

Poker Quote #21

You have it in your power to turn a bad-beat around simply by realizing this simple truth: The more bad beats you encounter, the luckier you are. It's a sign that you are playing against opponents who continually take the worst of it, and if you can't beat someone who always takes the worst of it, you can't beat anyone.
--Lou Krieger Read More......

Poker Quote #20

The most difficult aspects of playing poker professionally are coping emotionally with the losses and coping with the recurring idea that you're not doing anything worthwhile.
--Mike Caro Read More......

Poker Quote #18

When we play, we must realize, before anything else, that we are out to make money.
--David Sklansky Read More......

Poker Quote #19

The strong point in poker is never to loose your temper, either with those you are playing with or, more particularly, with the cards.
--William J. Florence Read More......

Poker Quote #17

A king can do no wrong unless it runs into an ace.
--Unknown Read More......

Poker Quote #16

It is easy to smile at an insult and pretend it's funny when the person insulting you is hosing you with money.
--Alfred Alvarez Read More......

Poker Quote #15

It's hard work. Don’t let anyone tell you different. Think about what it's like sitting at a poker table with people whose only goal is to cut your throat, take your money, and leave you out back talking to yourself about what went wrong inside.
--Stu Ungar Read More......