If you have a job you don't really need to be "rolled" for 1/2 so long as you can cover your expenses.

You don't need anywhere near a 30 buyin BR for 1/2 if you're a good player, if you can reload your bankroll if you bust, and if you're taking shots and playing for fun but not playing professionally.

I've re-read the sections from Tendler (pp. 20-28) to clarify the difference between A, B and C games. Tendler uses a Bell Curve to illustrate the difference between your worst and best games. I can't draw a bell curve here, but if you imagine a bell shape, you'll see: C game on the left hand side, B in the middle, and A on the right. So, in other words, to quote Tendler "the right or positive side represents your best decisions and the left or negative side represents your worst decisions" (p. 21). Importantly A and C are always equally distributed and B contains the largest amount of your overall play.

What is important to remember, as well, is that "the definition of perfection, even just solid play, is a moving target" (21). In other words, what is A, B and C is changing as your game develops over time. So, if you improve, what was C disappears, what was B becomes C and what was A becomes B and so on.

He says that it's crucial to work on your C and A games in equal measures. You improve your A game by gaining "new information" from places likes 2+2, talking with other players, videos, books etc, as well your "own insights" from playing (22). On the other hand, C game play represents "all the mistakes you know you shouldn't be making, but still do" (ibid). Generally C game mistakes "are directly connected to mental game problems, such as your mind going blank in a huge pot and folding the best hand; misreading an opponent because you're bored and your terrible bluff gets called; or tilting and playing too many hands way too aggressively" (ibid). By lopping off your C game "you'll also play closer to your mental peak more frequently" (ibid).

So, getting back to the original discussion, if you realize that you're playing "C" game and making obvious mistakes, you shouldn't necessarily stop playing for the night. It's a matter of admitting that you made a mistake, working out why (e.g. boredom, fatigue or variance-related tilt), and adjusting while you're at the table, if you can. In this way, you're less likely to make these mistakes again, and what was B will soon become C. By shifting your B game to C, you also can devote more mental energy to developing a better A, so you can really begin to crush the limits at which you play

+!

The only thing I'd add is that even if you're playing 2 hour sessions you can still make C (or A-, whatever you call it) mistakes. If you get coolered AA to KK or vice versa the 2nd hand you play, there's a good chance your head isn't going to be right for a little while.

It doesn't mean you're playing bad the entire session, but even over 4 hours there's going to be points/sections where you just play bad for whatever reason.

I mess around the University game and I make maybe $1-$2 an hour. The stakes are so low that I kinda just have fun and make calls that I wouldn't normally make.

As for 1/2, I probably make around $25+/hour. I think $10/hr is low. I usually hit the 1/2 games at later hours when the games are lighter (i.e. 10PM-4AM).

lol at this...love it when someone says "I probably make..." Strong record keeping there.

Well, I've recorded it so far this summer, and right now I've been on a heater as of late and I'm making well over $100/hr. I don't think that'll last, I'm viewing it as a statistical anomaly.

On average, for the past 2 years, I've been at a little under $21/hr. That being said, I know I'm a much better player now, so I'm guessing it's gone up, but the past two years has been right under $21/hr.

$25/hour is probably the maximum possible you can make at 1/2. You'd have to be the best 1/2 player in your casino and probably one of the best 1/2 players in the country to earn that kind of rate.

It doesn't matter how good you are. There are limits to how much you can make at 1/2. Phil Ivey couldn't make $100/hour at 1/2 because there just aren't enough good spots, there's rake, BBJ, tips etc.

$21/hour at 1/2 is still really good though. Congrats. How many hours have you got in? You should think about moving up to 2/5 if you're winning that much and there's a decent 2/5 game.

I was at $80 an hour at 1-2 over my first 100 hours then hit a downswing plus tilt (lost almost my whole roll which was 9k at blackjack) and have am now at 22$ an hour over 215 hours.

I'm currently taking a break until i have 10k saved up and can't wait to start playing again in about 5 months. I plan on working and using 5k of student loan money so hopefully by the end of the beginning of next semester I will get yet another loan and have 10k.

After that I plan so shot take at 2-5 with any money I have over 10k.

Tilt proof after that? Let me know what you guys think.

You are never ever tilt proof.

If you tilt and play blackjack, you really, REALLY need to work on your mental game/tilt control.

You also should work on recognizing that when you're on an upswing (and $80/hour is running ridiculously hot no matter how good you actually are) it's not really your money. You're essentially holding it for the rest of the table until you eventually give some of it back (which you will eventually).

Using your student loan money is VERY dangerous if you can't afford to pay it back, because if you go on monkey tilt and start playing blackjack again you'll put yourself in a hole you won't be able to get out of.

GL though.

Pit leak is result of a lot of players' tilt.

I'm on my iPhone posting this but thanks for replies so far. I hopefully put the horrible blackjack table behind me for good after this break.

What happened was I was staying at the casino for the whole weekend but I got there on thurs night and the cash games died that night. I was wide awake and couldn't sleep so I thought I would play some bj. U preceded to lose 3k that night Ouch I know. In the morning I thought it would be a good idea to drive home (2 hours away) and grab 6k. I lost all that too (including spazzing out hard in cash games. When your betting $200-800 per hand
All in with an open ender for $400 sounds like a good idea :0) and my life was miserable. Btw all my poker records are honest to the minute since ive been tracking. Over the course of the next month or so I only had like 1k to my name and basically broke even over my next 115 hours.

After that I decided a break was in order. Just thought I'd share. The reason why I feel like I was breakeven with my last 1k or so was because I was scared money plus running below EV. I also realize that $80 an hour isn't sustainable I was just stating how things were going at the time.

About the student loan, when I get it I'm going to start a goal thread and use it for poker. I feel like 50 buyins will let me forget about chasing losses and hopefully this will be my fresh start to playing disciplined poker that I used to play. Lost post on my iPhone lol. I would love to hear any more words of wisdom from you guys though.

Good luck dude. I really hope it works out.

Chasing losses isn't really all bankroll though. It's also mental game stuff.

I forget if you said you have Mental Game of Poker, but I highly recommend it. There's a lot of stuff you can keep working on to improve your mentality so even when you get upset you don't go on crazy tilt and blow a ton of money.

I never played blackjack, but I would start raising like 94s utg and trying to 3b T6s b/c I was like screw it, I'm going to LAG it up. Then I would get owned and it would really suck.

When I read the concept that mistakes are good, and I can never play totally mistake free it blew my mind. But now when I do something stupid I can stop and go back and hopefully learn something. The little "injecting logic" phrases help a ton too.

What I usually say to myself is "When I'm running this bad, this is when I make my money. Lets tighten up and lose as little as possible."

I haven't read/ bought mental game yet. I have been listening to tommy Angelo and also Bart Hanson like clockwork. Thanks for your advice and I agree with everything you said. I think if/ when I can master the mental side of poker I will have a better win rate which is the thing that persuades me to not work a 9-5 at the moment. I'm only 25 with no degree yet (close) so I need all the motivation I can get during this break. And by the way I am not worried about the loans, I need the money more now than when I start paying them back if that makes sense. And the government can go **** themselves if I never decide to pay them back which I'm just sayin, I would like to pay them back.

How many months of living expenses do you guys like to keep separate from your bankroll?

Assuming we are putting money from our bankroll into that "safety bin" every month.

I hear a lot of people say 6 months, and I know it's a subjective answer, but I'm curious where people get their answer.

did you troll me 24/7 in the PG&C threads? glad to see my advice was so wrong and ******ed

LOL

if you deal with tilt, nothing wrong with the student loan

My average hourly at 1/2 is pretty steady at 50 dollars. I wasn't planning on moving up to 2/5 until I have a 25k roll, is this too nitty? My style of play does have fairly large swings even in single sessions of multiple BIs (4+/-2).

I've played 2/5 several times before when a friend of mine who is a very good MTT player and 5/10 player has partially staked me for 40%. I've had similar success at 2/5 albeit a smaller sample size.

What size roll do you think I should wait before moving up? 25k? 20k? 15k? 10k?

LOL, if you're crushing 1/2 at 25bb/hr, you could move up with 5 BIs and shouldn't have any concern.

Didn't mean to troll I'm just opinionated.

Thanks, I'm getting a 5k loan in August then I will probably get another one for 5k 4 months later when the next semester starts. After that I plan to play 2-5 with any full buyins over 10k. I think it will be a good break. Pretty much 5 months.

I just hope the game hasn't evolved by then, but I do hope online is up and running.

over how many hours? Id like to think 500 is a good sample, 1k a very good.

I like 15k for 2/5, and 40k for 5/10

glglgl

What's the biggest plus month you guys had in 2/5 or 1/2?

10k month in 2/5 is my record.

15k is too much for 2/5

I moved up at 6k and didn't look back.

Good discussion in here that motivated me to move up sooner.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/17...kroll-1160302/

please use hours cause a month can be anything


+9840 in 133hrs seems to be my peak

weeeeeee 74/hr. very nice

**** my biggest is +5400 for 125hrs. I average between +2500-+3500

I think this is a terrible idea.

move up to 2/5 when you have 25bi.