http://www.stoxpoker.com/node/1430 That is a link to the lengthy blog I wrote out about 6 months ago that tells "my story" in detail for anyone interested.

If you play 100k hands and are a sizeable winner then it is pretty safe to say you are a winner in that game.

I'm glad you found that video to be very helpful. Good luck to you.

dang... one of the important chapters must of fell out of my copy...

what section did you find the most helpful in SSHE? i managed to work my way up to 5/10FRLHE before crashing hard which is how i ended up in micro 6maxNL

xclent material in both SSHE and your vids.

what kind of bankroll do you recommend if i want to 4 table 6max 100NL??

3-5k depending on your risk tolerance.

EDIT: Sorry, Im not leatherass :P

yeah... me too... well at least the mad poker skillz part!

Dreams are free

I like this reccomendation and would like to add that this should be poker BR and not life BR. The bottom line is that you shouldn't move up imo unless you are a proven winner at the limit you are at. Some people just use BR as a guideline and I think it should be your skill set that ultimately determines whether or not you are ready. I have the BR for the nosebleeds, but it would be pretty silly of me to just play nosebleeds just because I have the money. I am not sure I can beat the nosebleed guys therefore I prefer to play people I know I can beat.

Here are some numbers on this. Assume 6-max $100 game with an ev of 2ptbbs/100 and an sd of 31 ptbbs/100. Now if you're going to 4 table assume 400 rounds/hr. To find your ev/sd multiply your ev times 4 and your sd by the square root of 4. In dollars this comes to $16/$124 per hour. Here's a table for bank needed. These numbers will change if your ev is larger or smaller than what I've listed but this should give you an idea.
-GeoC

I think a more realistic std. deviation would be closer to 40. I don't know anyone with a std dv. of 31 unless it is a super nit. Most LAGs are in the 50s.

Yes I should have quantified my answer. This is definitely for a TAG style of play.

-GeoC

I have another question

1)Best advice on life you have ever recieved/given/heard?

2)Whats the 3 worst things about being a poker pro?

IN my experience even TAG's are around 40.

im having trouble interpreting what you're saying... does this mean if i have a bankroll of 4k i have only a .01% of going bust? assuming im a winning playeR?

From AZ: (im having trouble interpreting what you're saying... does this mean if i have a bankroll of 4k i have only a .01% of going bust? assuming im a winning playeR?)

Yes except the dollar number is almost $4500.

From LA: (IN my experience even TAG's are around 40.)

The numbers came from a friend of mine. I might have heard him wrong but I don't think so. He's a 16/14/6 CR classic style player who has close to 30K hands under his belt. As you know sd converges much quicker than actual ev and 30K hands is quite sufficient. Next time I speak to him I'll ask him again.
BTW it's my goal to play the 5/10 NL games but not as a TAG as I don't think that method will cut it. I'm probably going to join Stox very soon and watch your vids. I'm assuming you play these games and higher as a LAG.

In another post you recommended Small Stakes Hold 'em by Miller. Isn't that book geared for limit play?

-GeoC

Yes that is for limit play, but I was a limit pro for the first half of my poker career.

As far as your thought that being a TAG doesn't cut it at 5/10 I would have to disagree. If you ask almost any player I play with they would put me in the category of a TAG. I play LAG at lower limit games but TAG at 5/10+. I am not positive, but post UIGEA I am 99%+ sure that I have the best WR of any 5/10 player on Stars and Tiltt as it is over 5bb/100. So maybe TAG is best!...hehe. Where the money comes when playing good opposition is you being able to cause them to misjudge what your actions mean. Most people think that I am just a std. TAG at these limits and they have an impeccable read on me. I have hear it a thousand times. But mixing up your play in a few timely spots and being able to hand read very well is really where the money is at in the bigger games. People wayyyyy over value the psuedo deception facotr in raising with a wide range of hands preflop. Imo it is all about making crucial later street decisions and being able to be cool and calm in these situations. Most 5/10 and 10/20 pros (and even a lot of the good ones) fail miserably at this imo. THere is no doubt that I get dominated by LAG's in the preflop and on the flop category. They definitely win a TAG's money in these situations. But turn and river play thankfully count the most and I really feel that is where I make a good chunk of my money.

That was sort of a long answer to your one TAG comment, but hopefully that explains it. If you want me to elaborate further I can try.

Still thinking about this one and will get back to it when I come up with some good answers.

Hey Leatherass,

I would just like to congratulate you on your success at the game. Keep up the good work.

Here are my questions:

1. How large was your bankroll when you decided to start playing 25/50 nl games, what about 50/100 nl games?

2. What sort of changes did you have to do to your game when jumping from the 10/20 and below levels to the 25/50+ levels?

3. What stats do you run at in full ring? What do you think are optimal stats to run at for FR?

4. What is your cbet percentage as shown in PT?

1.Eclipse You've asked some very good questions that I'd like some answers to.
2. Thanks LA, my friend informes me that his sd/100 is $79 or rounded up to 40 ptbbs/100. This changes the RoR numbers to the following:
3. For LA, what vids of yours do you recommend that I watch first. I'll eventually get around to watching them all.

1. Over $500k
2. I just started playing better Not quite sure how to quantify it really. I guess the more you practice the better you become at exploiting opponents.
3. Mine are around a 16/12 and I am not sure there is an optimal number. I know guys that are way looser and some that are tighter that are big winners.
4. I don't know and that is a stat I may just want to keep to myself anyway.

haha, alright, fair enough.

Did you ever take shots at the 25/50 game when u were just a 5-10/10-20 reg?
Or did you just keep grinding those stakes till you reached a 500k bankroll, then started adding in good 25/50 tables and continued grinding?

Dude you've been in this well longer than Baby Jessica McLure.

leatherass,

Could you expand on the 50k hand bad runs you posted about earlier. Are you referring to 50k hand break even? I have experienced what appears to be two 20BI downswings in a row over 50K hands. First at about -22BI 200NL, then I dropped down and got stuck 17BI at 100NL.

I definitely have lots to improve in my game, but I was beating 100NL and 200NL for 3pt/100 over 100K hands prior. As expected I am constantly questioning my ability.

Thoughts? Advice?

Dusty comes across very well in this manner... willing to share just about all he knows about the game and a tad too much about politics at times... (he knows what i'm talking about )

the rest of the coaches are very similar at stoxpoker and i would think they would return time and time again if in the well. very nice job here Dusty... thanks...

Your screen name says it all. Poker IS hard. Downswings happen to everyone and unfortunately there is no way arounf that. The 50k hand stretches were break even to slightly losing. I have had lots of 30k stretches where I lost something lke $1 a hand. Dealing with variance is a must if you are to make it as a pro so I would advise to try and figure out what works for you when those things happen and deal with it as best you know. For adivse on that look for more videos by our mental game coach at Stoxpoker, Jared Tendler.

NP. And you wouldn't think I shared a tad too much about politics if you agreed with me jk, bud but in all seriousness I just write or say what is on my mind and deal with the consequences later That may not be the best policy at time, but I'm not interviewing to be a the head of PR anywhere either..lol. Man that is sure one job I could never get.