Microlimits Progress Quest: Post plans/updates/setbacks here.

[B Dids]

Swing, Swing, Swing.

Currently at 472BB for 1/2. I made that in about the first two weeks of playing 1/2 6 max and have swung back at forth about 40BBs (as low as 450ish as hihg as 516). I hope/think that's just the variance of playing SH games, but I haven't been playing optimal poker. I cleared the empire500 bonus yesterday, so I'm taking at least the next week off from limit poker to read SSHE and play some tournaments.

[sfer]

Hey B-Dogg, are you full time shorthanded now?

[B Dids]

Pretty much, unless I just find the varriance too painful. Full ring just isn't as fun for me.

[flair1239]

I have been playing for about 4-months, had good luck early. Turned $300 into $700 playing 1/2, 2/4, and multi-table tourneies.

Gave $600 back because I was "addicted" to tournies and started running bad and stopped playing ring games, (and after doing serious studying the last (2) months, I have realized that I got very lucky early on.).

Two weeks ago I decided to get serious, I had just won a tournie and got my bankroll back up to $400, and did not want to hand it back in entry fees. I stopped playing tournies and decided (with advice from this forum to play within my bankroll.

Here are my intial early results:

PP .5/1
Hands: 983
Hours: 18.31
Winnings: $74.25
bb/100: 7.55
$ per hour: 4.06

I am going to spend $60 out of my bankroll for Poker Tracker; as I am in no hurry to move up. Because I have discovered numerous leaks in my game and would like to take the time to patch them at this level.

[Bill Smith]

Well, this will be my first official progress report. I owe a lot of thanks to a lot of people on this forum for even getting to the point where I can set this kind of goal only 2 months after my first (busted) online poker experience.

Goal: Profit at 3+ tables of 3/6 by Jan 1, 2005
Current limit: 4 tables of .5/1

Stats (beginning Jun 30, 2004)

Hands: 7,453 @ .5/1 limit
VP$IP: 18.78%
Average profit/loss: +6.14 BB/100

I lost my exact lifetime stats when I reinstalled Windows, but I estimate I had about 11,000 hands under my belt prior to keeping HH's in lieu of buying PokerTracker, and I was making about 2-2.5 BB/100. I have the BR to move to 1/2 at this point, but with the complaints I've heard from bison and others about the 1/2 tables at Party, and from my own dabbling at 2/4 (see below) I think I'll skip 1/2.

After a roller coaster .5/1 session (was up over 100 BB at one point, finished 45 BB ahead) I decided to change pace and play a table of NL$25 along with a table of 2/4. I seem to have no trouble holding my own playing a single table of 2/4, but on this particular day I was sucked out repeatedly by a maniac who was check-raising with hands as low as bottom pair 3 kicker, then catching the 5 outer on the turn or river. However, despite that and a VP$IP under 14% (my standards did not change) I finished down only 11BB, so definitely nothing to get upset over.

Fortunately, I made up the difference on the NL table. I had previously been very successful at freebie NL tourneys at PokerPages, and so far my limited NL$25 experience has proven to be quite profitable. I've started watching the Pot/NL forum more and I think I'm going to continue to play it occasionally. It's nice to get away from the rigors of playing four crazy tables once in a while.

EDIT: grammar

[josh1122]

Here is my online poker story.

I was just an average person looking to have some fun playing poker online and get into the Hold'em craze. I deposited $100 into party and lost it in a matter of weeks. This continued for about 3 months every other week or so until I was net -$900. I wasn't too phased by it, as it was "just for fun".

On my next deposit, I placed fifth in a $5+$1 MTT on party for about $350 and was thrilled. I had recently read Lou Krieger's book which was a gift from my gf and I thought I could own the poker world.(Not to say the book is bad it's just not enough on its own) I said to myself, "No more of this low-limit crap, now I can play some decent level games." I went on a huge rush playing $2/$4 and $20+$2 Sit-and-Goes and was looking at a roll of about $900. Up up and away we go again, now to $5/$10 and $50+$5 Sngs. (I had no clue of the term "risk of ruin" at this point btw) Another huge rush put my roll up to over $2500 and boy was I feeling good. I cashed out $900 to let me play with all profit. Things were well, so let the good times roll right?

Well, needless to say, my not-so-great play, constantly moving up in limits and violating the risk of ruin policy, and a little bad luck caused me to lose the entire $1600 I was ahead. I went on vacation about two days later and tried to think things through and clear my head of the anger and frustration of losing all that money. "It wasn't my fault," I thought,"Those damn bad beats are what are to blame." I was only slightly correct in that assumption, as I now realize bad play contributed mostly to my downfall.

I began to deposit the money I had cashed out back into Party $100 at a time, still not knowing about risk of ruin I kept playing at $2/$4 hoping to score big. It never happened and I ran -$900 again. I realized that maybe I was doing something wrong and then it hit me. I wasn't very good at this game. It was at this point I decided to get serious and stop screwing around. I went out and bought 4 or 5 well recommended poker books and read and reread them all. I then deposited $50 into party(money was tough at this time) and havent looked back since. It has turned into $350 now at $.50/$1 and thanks to a little education and help from these forums (and maybe some luck) I have never felt better about my poker skills. I will invest in pokertracker soon and will continue to find every way possible (namely the help on this site) to hone my skills and regain my lost funds and eventually make a lot of $$$$$$.

[dfscott]

Great post, Josh. I'm sorry you had to lose so much to get on the right track, but don't think of it as lost, think of it as leant to the fish. Stick to it and the fish will repay it soon enough.

[bisonbison]

Operation Boondoggle is finished. Mission accomplished.

Some background: At the beginning of this year I was a slightly profitable .5/1 player. In 2003, with 5000 hands in .5/1, I was winning 1.5BB/100. Okay, but not anywhere near the kind of rates people were posting for the party micros. I wanted those kind of inflated rates, and setting some concrete goals let me measure my progress and stay motivated throughout the micro grind.

I started this thread before I figured out how to play winning low-limit hold'em, before I created the converter, before I started posting so much, before many of you joined the boards. In short, a long time ago. Here's what I've done since the first of the year, mostly 4-tabling:

Operation Boondoggle
Goal: .5/1 to 3/6 in 2004.
Milestones: 300BB @ each level.

Limit: Party .5/1
Hands: 17,407
Earnings: +636BB
Rate: 3.66BB/100

Limit: Party 1/2
Hands: 8,880
Earnings: +410BB
Rate: 4.62BB/100

Limit: Party 2/4
Hands: 37,042
Earnings: +622BB
Rate: 1.68BB/100

Limit: Party 3/6
Hands: 15,286
Earnings: +302BB
Rate: 1.97BB/100

Overall:
Hands: 78,615
Rate: 2.51BB/100


So it's 8 months later, I'm playing 3/6 and doing well. I had some bumpy variance at 2/4, but I think I went through a period of bad play and bad luck, and the fact that I'm making it in the 3/6 game leads me to believe I'd do fine if I moved back down.

What's next? I don't know. I have some job interviews coming up next week, and if I can get a steady source of income I can start really building my roll again. If that's the case, I'd like to make the 15/30 game by the end of 2005. It's a long road and I still have a lot to learn, but Boondoggle was fun, and it's more fun and frustrating and exciting and scary the higher I go.

[Greg J]

Awesome man! I'm happy for your success. I think you have made a useful guide to success for new players with this thread, and the idea of concrete goals. I need to start getting my ass in gear and doing something like this myself. (Maybe 1/2 by the end of the year.)

[detruncate]

here's to endings and beginnings

and the bitter/sweet moments in between

congratulations sir