West
05-05-2004, 05:31 PM
I'm sorry, maybe this is the type of post a lot of you hate seeing, but typing it out is cathartic, so please accept my apologies in advance. I've been attempting to make poker my sole source of income, and as I am single and my bills aren't exhorbitant, I don't need to make a ton to get by right now, although I would of course like to build a bankroll and improve to the point where I can be confident in my income.
I'm playing $50 SnGs. At first I was doing better, but after a below average April, I'm under 25% ROI. Still, even if I could just stay around 25%, I'd take it. I'd like to think that I am learning and improving over the months, so when I read the testimonies of those of you earning significantly higher ROIs, it on the one hand frustrates me that I'm not doing better myself, but on the other hand makes me optimistic that if I get better, I can possibly achieve even better results than I've gotten so far.
Like I said, April was below average, though I feel I've improved, so I was optimistic going in to May. First day I played in May, I got up $400 bucks after ten tourneys, great start, maybe this will be my month. Been vowing to focus just on recognizing my own mistakes and correcting them, and having the discipline to sit down and play the amount of poker I need to play (one of the underrated abilities you have to have to make an income at poker is simply the ability and the will to play the number of hours you need to play, through both the good streaks and bad, when both can give you the motivation to slack).
Eight straight no cashes later, I'm down for the week now. Streak started with tourney that was down to 5 players, blinds 100/200, I have just under 1000 chips and go all in from button with 33, guy in BB has just barely fewer chips than me, but somehow calls me with 76o, and of course he hits.
Another tourney, down to 4, blinds 100/200, guy with about 2300 chips limps utg...I'm BB with A9o, have only about 1400 chips...this guy has not been sir limp a lot so far, so suspecting a possible trap, I check it. Flop comes 943. I bet 400, he calls. You know what he called 400 with? Q5s (hearts, no hearts on flop). Naturally the next card is a Q, he winds up soaking me for 200 more I think, I can't remember now, I was so disgusted when he turned over his hand. I've been trying oh so hard to stop myself from going off on other players, and I even started today with a nice serene walk around a lake to try and get myself in the frame of mind to ignore results and concentrate on my own play, but I still haven't mastered the self control to say "nh" or "gg" to calls like these two. (Although on Monday I did manage to stay calm after an a guy dropped all in on tilt with J7s and beat my QQ). Unfortunately I lose it again, and the guy responds by taunting me and tells me that calling 400 with Q5 is a good play in that situation at a four man table. Anyway, what can you do.
My next tourney I'm doing well when it gets down to 6, but then it's one of those where the small stacks are winning every single confrontation, one guy comes back from 25 chips, beating AK twice with trash, and next thing you know the guy has 1000+ chips. Blinds actually get huge and I'm getting no cards, and just like that I'm blinded down to under 1000 chips. Finally get my money in with 77 against a stack of 380 chips, I have 860 chips, BB is in for 500, and decides to call 360 with 82o...short stack has AJ and hits, but only when the BB hits trip twos am I out. Next tourney, blinds are 25/50, guy raises to 100 in EP with A7o. Very short stack goes all in for 100+, then another player raises to 200 I think. A short stack of 440 then goes all in. So A7 should know he is fried at this point, but he calls to 440, and the other non short stack then goes all in for 1100...he calls that, and is against AK, 99, and AJs. So he loses and immediately goes on tilt, raising and dumping all in. Few hands later he goes all in for 440, I call with AT, lose to his 76o. I'm not done yet, but I am after getting my money all in with A9 vs. KJs. Next tourney I had over 2000 chips, but lost 66 to AQ and 44 to AT to finish 6th. Maybe got a bit on tilt to be in with those hands, although I was raiser with 66 (blinds 100/200), and had to call all in to 1100, and had I won that I would have folded the 44 without a second thought. Anyway, thanks for letting me vent, maybe if I go walk around the lake again I'll be able to play some more tonight.
I'm playing $50 SnGs. At first I was doing better, but after a below average April, I'm under 25% ROI. Still, even if I could just stay around 25%, I'd take it. I'd like to think that I am learning and improving over the months, so when I read the testimonies of those of you earning significantly higher ROIs, it on the one hand frustrates me that I'm not doing better myself, but on the other hand makes me optimistic that if I get better, I can possibly achieve even better results than I've gotten so far.
Like I said, April was below average, though I feel I've improved, so I was optimistic going in to May. First day I played in May, I got up $400 bucks after ten tourneys, great start, maybe this will be my month. Been vowing to focus just on recognizing my own mistakes and correcting them, and having the discipline to sit down and play the amount of poker I need to play (one of the underrated abilities you have to have to make an income at poker is simply the ability and the will to play the number of hours you need to play, through both the good streaks and bad, when both can give you the motivation to slack).
Eight straight no cashes later, I'm down for the week now. Streak started with tourney that was down to 5 players, blinds 100/200, I have just under 1000 chips and go all in from button with 33, guy in BB has just barely fewer chips than me, but somehow calls me with 76o, and of course he hits.
Another tourney, down to 4, blinds 100/200, guy with about 2300 chips limps utg...I'm BB with A9o, have only about 1400 chips...this guy has not been sir limp a lot so far, so suspecting a possible trap, I check it. Flop comes 943. I bet 400, he calls. You know what he called 400 with? Q5s (hearts, no hearts on flop). Naturally the next card is a Q, he winds up soaking me for 200 more I think, I can't remember now, I was so disgusted when he turned over his hand. I've been trying oh so hard to stop myself from going off on other players, and I even started today with a nice serene walk around a lake to try and get myself in the frame of mind to ignore results and concentrate on my own play, but I still haven't mastered the self control to say "nh" or "gg" to calls like these two. (Although on Monday I did manage to stay calm after an a guy dropped all in on tilt with J7s and beat my QQ). Unfortunately I lose it again, and the guy responds by taunting me and tells me that calling 400 with Q5 is a good play in that situation at a four man table. Anyway, what can you do.
My next tourney I'm doing well when it gets down to 6, but then it's one of those where the small stacks are winning every single confrontation, one guy comes back from 25 chips, beating AK twice with trash, and next thing you know the guy has 1000+ chips. Blinds actually get huge and I'm getting no cards, and just like that I'm blinded down to under 1000 chips. Finally get my money in with 77 against a stack of 380 chips, I have 860 chips, BB is in for 500, and decides to call 360 with 82o...short stack has AJ and hits, but only when the BB hits trip twos am I out. Next tourney, blinds are 25/50, guy raises to 100 in EP with A7o. Very short stack goes all in for 100+, then another player raises to 200 I think. A short stack of 440 then goes all in. So A7 should know he is fried at this point, but he calls to 440, and the other non short stack then goes all in for 1100...he calls that, and is against AK, 99, and AJs. So he loses and immediately goes on tilt, raising and dumping all in. Few hands later he goes all in for 440, I call with AT, lose to his 76o. I'm not done yet, but I am after getting my money all in with A9 vs. KJs. Next tourney I had over 2000 chips, but lost 66 to AQ and 44 to AT to finish 6th. Maybe got a bit on tilt to be in with those hands, although I was raiser with 66 (blinds 100/200), and had to call all in to 1100, and had I won that I would have folded the 44 without a second thought. Anyway, thanks for letting me vent, maybe if I go walk around the lake again I'll be able to play some more tonight.