Ship 3rd in $5k Guarantee...

Well finally I got a decent cash to shout about. I managed to donk my way to 3rd out of around 400 runners for just under $700 in a $22 buy in freezeout.

Although I was among the short stackers when I reached the final table, and therefore I am pleased with the result, I am a little bit haunted by my bust out hand.

3 handed I picked up A 8 off suit in the BB, the button folded and the SB (huge stack) raises. I somehow misclicked and instead of shoving all in, I min raised. He called, and flopped a flush draw with his 9 4 of spades. I had like 12k left behind and there was like over 100k in the middle, I got the rest of my chips in. He made the flush on the turn, good game me. Meh.

I am still running half decent on the cash tables, since the last update (between Monday and so far today) I am up just under 3 buy ins. I am maintaining a very satisfactory win rate over 12,000 hands on $0.50-$1.00 of around 7BBs/100.

So, I am through yet another $1k profit barrier. I have harvested a profit of around $2.5k since my initial deposit on Party Poker (two weeks ago!).

Here are some more celebratory pictures...(these are really motivating me!).

Poor cat...

Susanne picked this one...Poker in Sweden, talk about cold calling!

So the plan is to complete 20,000 hands at $0.50-$1.00, and then step up. Finally beginning to enjoy my poker again!

One time please...

Very quick post in the hope of getting some poker god help! I am chip leader with 42 left in a $5K guarantee (over $3k for 1st).

Let me close this one out, just one time!



I got over 75k in chips, with average being 30k. Please one time!

I will post the result, along with today's and yesterday's cash game progress later.

Getting closer to a decent score...

I had a pretty constructive day on Sunday cashing in a profit of over $350 through both cash games, and a nice run in a $5k guarantee rebuy tournament.

I busted out in 16th (out of around 800 runners) for over $100. I am obviously disappointed as let again I managed to get myself in a very good position but lacked the ability to close. I am getting closer though!

I also had a couple of very productive cash game sessions, recording a very strong win rate of over 15BB/100 hands. Sweet!

I am building a decent bankroll, and genuinely beginning to feel better!

Tilt free...thank god!

I had a real horrible start to my session last night. First hand I stack off on the turn with the nut straight, and a draw to the nut flush versus my opponent's set, only to be beaten when he quads up on the river.

Then 2 hands later on the same table, I get my money in on the flop with top pair top kicker, versus some donk's middle pair, only to be runner runner rivered by a straight.

So after about 60 seconds I was down $200.

I managed to stay tilt free and finished that particular session down $90. I then followed up with nice back to back winning sessions to finish the day on a profit of just under $200.

I am very happy with my control and discipline but am slightly concerned I may be playing too tight. I plan to open up a little bit today (maybe!).

$1,000 in 10 days! Weeee...

After a very productive Friday evening I managed to break through my $1,000 profit barrier on PartyPoker. I have just about got my confidence back, and feeling pretty positive about my game.

I tightened up last night, and switched back over to the full ring (9 handed) games. Multi tabling 6 games I came out with a win of just under two and half buy ins.

I am very hard on myself at times, and set real high standards which often gets me down when things don't go so well. But I am very satisfied at my current win rate, and breaking through the $1,000 profit barrier in 9 days is very encouraging.

I plan to continue grinding away at the $100 games for at least another 20,000 hands, at which point I will evaluate my win rate and take a decision on whether or not to move up.

Here are some celebratory photos (which either make me smile or motivate me)...

This is me at work...

All time best bad guy in a movie...

Happy Yigit hitting the tables.

Slow progress...

I didn't get a chance to blog yesterday (for the previous day's results) because I got home pretty late from playing some live poker! I took a social trip to The Gutshot to play the £20 Deepstack tournament with EJ. Ended up busting early on, but I did make £150 in cash games killing time before the tournament started.

Anyway, on Wednesday I had an awful second session to put in the negative for the day for just under a buy in. I played bad, and some guys sucked out on me.

I managed to pull myself together yesterday, and had a session with huge swings but came out the other end with a decent win rate. The games are playing very aggressive, and so many players are 3 betting light that I am having to adjust my 4 betting range accordingly which is resulting in some sick swings.

Fingers crossed for a good day.

Back on track...

I grinded my way to a winning session of over a buy in last night, I was pretty satisfied with that return rate for under 2 hours of table time.



Let again I cashed in a tournament. I am really beginning to get frustrated with my end play. Although to be fair I lost 2 coin flips within 5 minutes which pretty much crippled me. I need to get more aggressive and definitely open up my range late on.

But for sure the smaller fields and softer opponents are offering me a good edge to be able to continue pursuing a small volume of tournaments in the hope of a decent win.



I went to the gym earlier and ran for 20 minutes, I feel fresh. Hopefully it will have a positive influence on my session.

Frustrating session...

I had a high variance 3 hour session last night and came out the other end with a loss of $70.

I was down nearly 2 buy ins but managed to keep my cool, and recover. I found myself running into several short stackers who were simply 3 bet shoving on me.

I lost 3 pots against short stackers which really crippled my session. I managed to run KK into AA, and JJ into AA. To top my frustrations off I ran JJ into 1010 only to be outdrawn, these hands cost me over $150.

I don't mind taking my chances against these guys though. Although there are some sharp, skilled short stackers out there, most are complete donks who donate small chunks of cash frequently.

There were a couple hands I have been dwelling up over and was considering posting about, but I have decided to keep this blog more of a progress check until I get up to at least $1.00-$2.00 ($200) when certainly there will be hands of interest to discuss.

I covered my loses for the day because my deposit bonus cleared, and I also managed another small cash in a $11 tournament.

Need a less frustrating day today please!

Building confidence...

I had a very constructive Sunday, and managed to keep the positive progress moving. I got in about 6 hours table time on PartyPoker and came out with a profit of just under $200. This was a nice recovery after two bad early sessions.

I have decided to abandon my challenge on PokerStars, simply because I have been recording a very nice win rate on PartyPoker and need to invest my efforts there (plus I suck big time...and have no patience to complete a challenge!).

I have also decided to revert back to the 6 max tables rather than full ring, I feel I have a bigger edge over the weaker players over on Party. I have over 20,000 hands experience at $0.50-$1.00 6 max from Stars, which is for sure a tougher field of players. However I have to accept the higher variance to my bankroll.

Also on another positive note I managed to cash in a $5,000 guarantee tournament. I went pretty deep into a field eventually busting out in 15th place for just under $90.

I am very encouraged with my recent tournament runs, and just need to sharpen up my end game. I can fee it coming together!

5 hours of poker later...

After 3 sessions and 5 hours of poker I came out on the other end with a modest profit, but slightly tilted.

Let me get the negativity out the way first. I was deep into a field of over 4,000 in a $20,000 Freeroll on Stars, and managed to get my chips in pre flop with over 70% equity, and was set up for a nice double up...

With under 200 runners left, I would of really made a push to the final table. But l swear I run so fucking bad that I actually know I am going to be dealt a bad beat before the cards are dealt, they always manage to find a create way of cracking my hands...

I just feel so disappointed. I so desperately want to win a deep field tournament, or have a decent cash. I have a pretty good record, and tend to make the money often but I just cant close the deal. Meh..at least I am cashing I suppose...(awful attitude!)...

So I got $20...great! My bad form continued on Stars through onto the cash games, and I dropped several buy ins. However I am hitting some good form on Party Poker and playing well.

In the end I recorded a decent profit of around $160 for the night (inclusive of the tournament winnings!).

Although the $200 into $1,000 challenge is not going very well, I am more than satisfied with my win rate on Party Poker. I am hoping to remain consistent and progress onto the $1-$2 tables next week.

On my way back to confidence!

Small continued progress...

I got in a couple of short sessions on Thursday, and kept my progress moving in the right direction.

I was pretty much card dead, and there is not much to report. But I really feel these updates are keeping me motivated!



I am planning to play through the night tonight, so I will report back on my progress tomorrow.

Nice welcome to Party Poker...

So I managed to get some money on to Party Poker last night and got off to a pretty good start.

As I had hoped the cash games were playing pretty loose, and the standard of play definetely appears to be worse than on Stars.

I recorded a profit of around a buy in on $0.50-$1.00, which I am pleased about during this period of low confidence. I also cashed in around $25 over on Stars (on my way to the $1,000 goal!).

I then backed this up with a little bit of tournament success. I final tabled a $11 buy in with a field of nearly 500 for a cash of around $70. There was a power cut in London with 2 tables left, I missed 10 minutes of action which for sure cost me a higher placing!

Feeling a little bit more positive about my game today, need to put together a run!

At last a winning session...

Had a nice solid session last night on the $0.25-$0.50 tables winning just over $70. I have accepted I can no longer manage to play any lower than these stakes, simply because I suck!



For a second night running I made a huge error at The Vic. These two mistakes, I suppose I can call them blow ups have cost me nearly £1,000.

In both sessions I was playing very well, adopting my solid loose aggressive (in position) style and accumulating a stack. Then in one hand I decide to shove / stack off, in spots which simply sicken me to think about again.

I have decided to take a complete break from live play, and re focus my efforts online. I will be depositing on Party Poker tonight and begin to work my way through the stakes.

I will pursue this particular challenge of turning my $200 into $1,000 on PokerStarts, but I will also report my progress on Party Poker via this blog too.

Good luck to me (I need it, I am really beginning to think I suck at poker!).

I suck at poker...

Well I had another losing day! Weeee....I don't think I can beat the $0.10-$0.25 game. I simply suck at poker, and I have the patience level of a monkey on ecstasy.

To make matters worse, I am having an awful January at The Vic. I am losing about £500, and playing awfully. Last night I made this river shove which I am still feeling sick about. I wont go into detail about the hand, but I will say that it made no sense and cost me £300.

I hate losing money. It makes me want to quit. Seriously. But I know I am a winning player and have the huge support of my girlfriend. I can get through this, and get back to my winning ways.

The problem is when I am spewing chips at the casino, it makes this particular challenge very insignificant, and I feel like I am wasting my time (when I could be multi tabling $1-$2...rather than 2 tables the micro stakes).

But it is a goal / challenge I set myself, and I will pursue it for the time being.

I also got in a short losing session 2 tabling $0.25-$0.50 last night (playing on tilt!):

Well I did shave my head yesterday to help me!

Bad session...

So I managed to get in a quick session last night before I headed off to the casino. I am really trying to remain focused and get in at least 1,000 hands a day (otherwise this is going to take forever!).

I don't think I did much wrong but still managed to lose nearly two buy ins.

Here is a fun hand:

I turn the flush. I wish someone could of told me my opponent made a straight flush before I got my chips in the middle!

This was a nice flop, and a beautiful turn:

It really is hard enough playing at these micro limits, and having to deal with hands like these are trying my patience.

I keep telling myself this is a conditioning exercise and my success in the long haul as a poker play may be dependent on this simple challenge.

Tournament winnings boosts bankroll...

I had a small success in a 180 man tournament last night. After 4 hours of play I managed to cash in 2nd place for $144.

That was a much needed profit of $139.60.

I ran pretty bad on the cash tables, losing around $18 over 2,000 hands.

I am already beginning to struggle with my discipline!

Wow...great start to my challenge!

Managed to record a profit of just under $10 after 2 hours of play last night.

So not a massive leap towards the $1,000 but never less a start.

Staying focused is the key.

Simple

I need to re new my focus and confidence in my game. It is as simple as that.

I will do this by setting myself a simple challenge.

$200 into $1,000 on PokerStars.

I will blog my results to keep me motivated. No bullshit, no life stories, just results.

So here we go.