2005 Microquests Thread -- Post Your Progress, Setbacks

[Rockfish]

Hey, thanks a lot for the report.

It really helps me deal with what I'm experiencing right now to realize that others experience the same downswings, that they do come, and that you just have to ride them out.

On the plus side (because I don't want to sound like I'm complaining) the whole thing is a lucrative hobby for me and there's no way I can ever go pro.

However, I have recently purchased a laptop computer exclusively for poker (I don't need it for anything else as I have a work laptop that is far better) and so I feel obligated to play now.

Perhaps it's that sense of obligation that is weighing on me right now. That and getting hammered at 6-max. I figured out today that I'm probably giving too much action both on the flop and beyond and not respecting opponents raises the way I do at full games.

Anyway, good luck and thanks for the report. It, as I said, has provided me with some perspective.

[Nick Royale]

Where I'm at:
When I'm not whoring I'm usually 4-6 tabling Party 2/4. Playing at WR of about 2-2.5 BB/100 depending on how many tables I'm playing. I've read SSH and HPFAP a couple of times and PE III once. I've read 1/3 of ToP but not yet finished it. I've not been reading any poker literature at all lately.

My goals (should be accomplished by new year):
- comfortably playing 8 tables 2/4 with a WR of at least 2 BB/100.
- play enough poker to make at least 1500$/month and by that being able to pay for my education (and living).
- don't play so much poker I won't be able to finish my education.
- read ToP and PoP, twice each. Also re-read SSHE and HPFAP.
- start learning playing shorthanded (6-max). This is probably one of the most important goals of mine.
- improve my english to make my points clearer at the forum. I actually think my english have improved quite alot since I started posting here, even though it might not be noticable for you guys. I would appreciate corrections when my english sounds silly.

These goals seems pretty easy to reach, but we'll see in about 7 months. I would really like to learn how to play NL and tournaments well, but I realise I haven't got the time for that and I think it would mess with my mind when playing my regular game.

Great thread BTW.

[macdaddy991]

I'll go

Stop playing retarted poker. I have a terrible tendancy to go on tilt, and when on tilt, play the way that I know better then to do. I want to get my roll up to 3000$ and then be able to actually withdraw something. My tilt kills this. Maybe some day...

[bottomset]

well I had a 200BB downswing at 1/2 6max, and another 100BB at 2/4

so it hasn't been a fun month, I have played way to much nano HU, not enough real games .. and had to resort to playing .5/1 to clear, to regain confidence and play against total idiots again

2/4 6max at stars has been pretty good so far, even with the downswing .. plan on taking a shot at 3/6 when my BR hits 3k

[Entity]

[ QUOTE ]
Well, I'm playing $5/10 6max now, so that's my first step.

Rob

[/ QUOTE ]

Setback #1: -90BB @ first 800 hands of 5/10 6max.

Rob

[gvibes]

[ QUOTE ]
I will be moving up to 1/2 in the next couple of weeks or so. Once I get to ~1300 or so, I am going to buy myself a 2001fp (or maybe the new 24" widescreen that's coming out). Then 1/2 6-max by the end of this semester.


[/ QUOTE ]

After 14k hands of .5/1, my WR was about 5.
After 14k hands of 1/2, my WR was about 2.5.
2001fp, check.
1/2, 6-max, check.
After 5k hands of 1/2 6-max, my WR is about -1.

I've used all my rakeback money to buy DVD's, books, and CD's.

[ QUOTE ]

Semi-long term goals: I should have quite a bit of time this summer while studying for the bar (assuming I keep my golf habit in check), so I'm hoping to be at the 3/6 level (maybe 5/10 6-max?) by mid-september, when I transfer my soul to the firm, and lose all free time.

[/ QUOTE ]

New goals: I can't see my golf habit being kept in check (I've probably spent ~4 hours at the range the last two days), so my 3/6 dreams may be somewhat unlikely. I should be at 2/4 in a couple of weeks, however.

I fear the possibility of cashing out my BR for a down payment on a condo.

I just need to play more. I'm going to shoot for 1500 hands per week.

[SteveL91]

I guess I'll jump into the fray as well.

Right now, I'm mostly playing .50/1.00 (full and 6-max) with some 1/2 mixed in depending on the site. If I weren't so superstitous, I'd have my roll at one site, and then I'd be close to moving to 2/4 full time. Oh well. I think I'm getting better: I'm making better reads and actually using them; I'm more willing to dump hands when the situation isn't right; my hand reading is getting better. Above all else, I think I'm actually starting to think hands through like a "poker player."

In terms of poker goals:
1) I want to be.. I will be at 5/10 6-max or possibly 10/20 by the end of the year. No excuses, no compromises.

2) Force myself to do some bonus whoring. I'm really not looking forward to the aggrevation, but I think I'm doing myself too much of a disservice by letting the bonus-potential pass me by.

3) Start devoting more time to big-bet poker, primarily pot-limit omaha. I love the game, and most of the small buy-in online games are unbelievably soft. Unfortunately, I really shot myself in the foot by trying to take this on too soon. My bankroll would be twice or three times what it is if I didn't insist on venturing into PLO under-rolled.

4) Be able to support myself with poker within the next few months. I'm already fairly close to doing so.

5) Play more regularly and train myself to be able to play longer sessions. I'd like to consistently get in 1,000 full ring hands a day at the minimum. I'm not going to set a hard goal on this because it's something I'll really need to work at.

6) Look into a poker coach. I don't think it's so much of an issue now, but I'd just feel more comfortable with one as I move up in limits.

7) Just keep improving.

Other goals:

1) Get back in school.

2) Get my life together.

[flair1239]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'm in.

Getting a new laptop next week so I can finally play at home. Have been bonus whoring the past month to recover my bankroll whic I blew by getting drunk an entering multiple $100 tournies. Went from 1100 to $150. Have whored my way back to $550, and after clearing my next bonus should have around $700. So my goals are as follows.

1. Play a minimum of 1200 hands a week of hold-em at the appropriate level.

2. Faithfully whore party, paradise, stars, and Interpoker bonuses to keep building my bankroll.

3. Limit myself to (2) tournies a week with entry fees not to exceed 3BB of the limit level that I am playing at.

4. Be playing 10/20 holdem by next January.

5. Continue to whone my O8 and 7-stud game at the penny level on stars and paradise.

6. Finally to not let Poker interfer with work and spending time with my daughter. In other words keeping it in focus as a hobby.

[/ QUOTE ]

Progress:

Got my new laptop on 1/11/05. I have 6,000 hands in since. My bankroll is now at $1200. This is higher than it has ever been.

I am going to make the Jump to 2/4. Reason being since I got "serious" last July, I have played about 30,000 hands and several tournaments. On PT (before I had to restore my HD), I was showing a 3.5 BB/100 WR at .5/1 and 1/2. Also because I know I have the discipline to back down a level if I have to. I mean at one point in December I was playing Stars .05/.10 because I did not have the bankroll for .25/.50.

I have been staying away from tournies, 3 this month so far, biggest entry fee was $3. I have been playing .01/.02 PLO8 and .05/.10 LO8 on Stars.

I have been shocked by the amount of hands that I can get in (140-160 per hour). I am playing 3-tables now. I will not be playing 4 on this CPU, because even with 3 tables I have overlap... but it does not seem to bother me.

Anyway I am willing to chance 2/4 on a minimal bankroll of 302BB, because I am anxious to move up and I think I am ready. If I am not I know I can pull the pin before serious damage is done to my bankroll.

[/ QUOTE ]

3/07/05

Had a 15K run at 2/4 where I ran at .98bb/100. This stretch included 2 individule 100BB downswings. Also I was experimenting with 4-tables, which I don't think I will do again until I have a screen to accomodate. I found myself making to many plays without thinking and I could not really relax and enjoy myself. For some reason at this point 3-tables seems to be my comfort zone and I am OK with that for now.

Anyway finished one night with $2,100 in my bankroll and decided to take a shot at 3/6. Promptly lost 50BB, but felt I played OK. So I stuck with 3/6. After last night I have 11,000 hands in at 3/6 and am running at 2.7BB/100 for this stretch.

My BR is a little over $4,000 at this point. At 5,000 I am going to 5/10, hopefully by mid-April. At 5/10 I am going to start taking out some money (depending upon results), but even so if I keep getting my hands in with even a nominal WR, I should still be able to be playing 10/20 before the end of the year.

I am pleased that I am continuing to improve, have reread HEFAP a couple times is the last month. Makes a lot more sense to me than it used too.

Bonuses have played a part in all this, I think since the beginning of February I have gotten $200 from Paradise, $400 from Party, $150 from rake back. But I have also paid out $250 to my girlfriend in her quest to become a winninng player.

Anyway having a lot of fun. I try to average about 500 hands a day for the week. This has not really been a problem. Also a let myself play longer when I am winning, but when I am stuck I quit right on time (but not sooner). This has worked well for me.

[/ QUOTE ]

3/21/05

Quick update. After my last post I entered a 7-day flat line. That was abruptly ended by 97BB night at 3/6 which incidently coincided with clearing $320 worth of bonus money from the Pokerroom and Stars, making it a $900 evening.

That put me at around $4800. So I decided to make the jump to 5/10 the next night. Logged a 15BB loss the first night, but since have scored a few small wins supplemented by bonus money from UB and Absolute; so now I am at about $5100. Over appx. 2000 hands at 5/10 I am running modestly at a little over 1BB/100. Small sample, but I am comfortable that I am not in over my head, by that I mean if I hit a 100-150BB downstreak, I will not be retreating (right away).

Also joined some new sites as I mentioned UB, Absolute, and the Pokerroom. Happy with all of them. Keep at least (2) buy-ins at each one in case I see a game. Have not played a tournie at all this month. Still meeting my hand goals with no difficulty (3500 hands a week).

Developmental focus on Blind stealing/defense and dealing with turn check-raises (which involves several different factors, one of which is learning to decide whether to continue a semi-bluff or check behind a hope to hit my outs, I think my turn play in this regard is one of my biggest leaks and one that gets exploited much more often in these games.)

As stated earlier at some point I am going to be cashing out monthly, this is for two reasons. (1) I need money. (2) to slow my bankroll growth and develope more before taking my next step (I don't want my bankroll to tempt me into making a jump I am not ready for). My plan is to build the roll up to 10-12,000 and then make the jump to 10/20 full and also at that point start playing 5/10 short. Depending how much I take out I anticipate my stay at 5/10 will be extensive, and I would not be suprised if I stayed at this level for 80,000-100,000 hands (6-8 months).

[/ QUOTE ]

5/20/05

Had my first major downswing at 5/10. At one point was down 200BB since 5/01/05. However I played through it an am back positive for the month. Made my first major withdrawl in April. I was able to pay my mortgage, so that really alleviates a lot of financial stress. I am on a system where I cash out 50% of my monthly winnings. This month will be kind of thin though.

I have had pretty good results in 5/10 6-max only 6,000 hands so far but I like the feel of it. I have 33,000 hands of 5/10 full. It has been a mixed bag, but I have really improved over the last month especially. I have made a few forays into 10/20 to get a feel for the game. Have maybe 700 hands total, where I was fortunate to run well.

I had been thinking of skipping 10/20. But after playing it a little bit, I have decided that there is much to learn there.

Anyway I am anticipating being able to make that move in October or November. By that time I should have about 80,000 hands of 5/10 full and 15,000 of 5/10 6-max.

[/ QUOTE ]

6/13/05

Still slogging away at 5/10. May was Absoloutly brtual with bookend downswings (200 and 150). But was able to withdraw a pittance which was enough to pay for a night out. In other words... broke even thanks to rake back.

This month is going well. Have made some adjustments, both to my play and my schedule. I have been playing a lot PLO8 $25. I am very pleased with the results. Gives me something to do when Holdem has me back on my heels.

Not in so big a hurry to move up to 10/20. Should still make it by the end of the year. But I will be taking in a big roll, as I play better with plenty of BB behind me.

[tiltaholic]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I never jumped in earlier, but here are my current 2005 goals (and history) in honor of my almost 1 year history on the forums.

Started about a year ago with $150 at Party. Proceeded to dump it all but $25 in 10 days. During those 10 days, discoved this fine place. Through some weird luck, I did not go broke, and the bankroll grew at .5/1, single tabling. Over the summer, began 2 tabling. September, began 4 tabling, bonusing, and moved to 1/2. Currently, the bankroll has vastly outpaced my skillz but I guess I don't have a problem with the money [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]. Last December, I was hoping to add 1k per month to the bankroll, and make 6k by the end of the spring. Now, I am resolving to:

-learn to handle winning and losing swings more productively
mm. not there yet.
-learn to play shorthanded (1/2 6max)
just started. woot.
-get comfortable at Party 2/4 and be able to hold my own at 3/6
nowhere close
-establish winning play at the 30+3 sngs
nowhere close. sngs are on the back burner
-enjoy mtts.
done!
-become better at addressing faults in my game, as opposed to:
-focusing my posting energies on hands where i can easily determine the correct play
not quite there yet
-attempt to increase bankroll growth rate to 2k per month
this was an extremely bad idea
-see for myself if the 5/10 kill game at foxwoods is as beatable as people say
must... go... to... foxwoods....
-go to vegas. pwn.
must... go... to... vegas....
-spend less time during the work day on this forum
hah.

I think all but the last one might just be possible.
Good luck to everyone this year!
-t

[/ QUOTE ]

fixed my post. only been 2 months though...so i'm not quitting the game just yet.

[/ QUOTE ]

so. i moved to 2/4 and played 12k hands of frustrating breakeven poker. if you haven't done it yet, you will. it's not the repetitive donkey kicks to the nuts that get you every time you think you've clawed your way out of the slump. those are easy to deal with. it's the insidious tenticles of self-doubt that grow and infect all your poker thought processes. it's a metric f[/i]uckton (reference anyone?) of laughs...you all should try it. in fact, you all will if you continue playing.

to increase my focus i cashed out and invested my bankroll. left myself 250 bb for 2/4. i focused. thanks to droolie and coach and bottomset, i focused more.

anyhow...so i got over that...20k hands of 2/4 in total. have just moved to 3/6 full. lucksacking with the best of them... 1000 hands this weekend. 6.6bb/100. i feel like manny. 3/6 full is the place to be! (ok where's my 20 mil a year??)

updates on old goals:
-learn to handle winning and losing swings more productively
i think i've made great strides in this department. but always room for improvement.

-learn to play shorthanded
maybe i'll do this in september. or as my full tables empty.

-get comfortable at Party 2/4 and be able to hold my own at 3/6
check.

-establish winning play at the 30+3 sngs
still on backburner...though the 18 player stars sngs are fun. and mtt's rule.

new goals:

-figure out why i hate the small stakes forum and get my sorry self there more often. (some of) those guys are wicked smaht.

-get myself overolled for 5/10 again. move there.

-finish hohv2 already. get king yao's book.

-stop picking stocks that go down.

good luck everyone!

[Rev. Good Will]

Never stated goals, good place to start

Broll right now is ~300

By the end of the spring symester next year, I want to be playing empire 2/4 with rakeback

Also, I want to be playing decent NL, looks like HEFAP is no longer the last poker book I ever purchase.

Just recovered from 1000 hand, 110BB downswing. Still getting pwned at $10 Paradise NL, I think I'm gonna stop messing around with NL until I have rakeback

EDIT - Also, become a complete 6max pimp. I <3 it when the games become shorthanded, and I get hard-ons from open raising, so I think I'll be fine

EDIT2 - Though I only play 2 tables, and that's the way it's gonna stay (unless I ever go on mindless 4 table party .5/1 binges), I want to get another monitor, my laptop screen is on its highest resolution, still has nasty overlap, want to get another monitor and become a no overlap monster

EDIT3 - Do all this while maintaining a 3+ GPA at my school