Hi,

I started online poker about 6 months ago and, although I know I have talent, I have had big issues with bankroll management and tilt/recklessness. It’s got to the point where I’ll have to give up on professional poker if a change doesn’t happen very soon. I love poker and am committed to work hard to make it to the very top. It means a lot to me that this doesn’t fail.

I’ve taken a break for the past 6 weeks or so and want to start posting here to give myself some accountability for how I play - and I thought it would be fun to get some feedback and for others to see my journey through the stakes.

I’ve deposited 75 dollars into my party poker account and am starting at 10NL. I’m going to move up buyins once I have achieved 10 buyins minimum of the next stake. I’m not sure exactly what I’ll be posting here or how often. It will probably be a review of my day/week, some hands and maybe some information on the training/mindset techniques I do. Apologies as it may be fairly haphazard.

Thank you

Day 1 - +$5, Final bankroll - $80

Just a quick one. Did about 3-4 hours broken up. Warmed up at 5NLz and lost 10 dollars. Then moved to 10 NLz and made 15 dollars. It was emotional/intense at the start having not played for a while and I lost some big pots preflop and tilted. But what I like is that I recognised these moments and took breaks when I realised it was affecting me. I also listened to some calming music during play and it relaxed/focused me. Overall it’s a small win but it’s meaningful to get positive on the first day. To start I’m going to be getting back into the groove of playing and once I have that consistent I’ll mix in some study. I like a free flowing process as when it gets too regimented I lose enjoyment.

Edit - I can’t post graphs as 2+2 isn’t working on my laptop atm but will get it sorted soon

I have the same BR management/tilt issues. Good luck sir, you got this!

Thank you! It's something I didn't even consider getting into poker but has a massive impact.

Day 2 - Profit: +$42, Bankroll - $122

Had a mixed day. Started playing 10NL and tried multitabling. This works well but when I lose concentration errors seem to compound. I spent about 4/5 hours playing 10NL, lost 20 dollars then moved to 25NL for 2 hours making $60 (bad BRM I know..). In 10NL I was overbluffing a lot but in 25NL I played generally quite well, making coherent bluffs that paid off. Slightly annoyed that I made a very loose call right at the end based on a wild assumption but I am happy that I won overall.

I've pinpointed a couple of areas I need to optimise in overcalling and overbluffing. It's not the frequency it's more that my desire to build my bankroll quickly leads me to not think logically and stretch myself. I need to take a breath and rationalise non-emotionally whether these moves make sense. I improved a lot as the day went by which I am happy about.
The other side of it is having the courage to take the bluff when it does make sense - there are times where I scare and talk myself out of a sensible bluff which then has the additional affect of tilting me when I see the money move away. It's funny how very simple techniques can have a massive effect. I'll post some hands soon maybe tomorrow morning.

Day 3 - Profit - $103, Rakeback - $5, Bankroll - $230

Had a decent day today, Sunday is definitely a good time to play - played seven hours, got a few lucky preflop all ins and overall played mixed. I can feel myself getting sharper and am starting to feel comfortable in the 25NLz pool. I still need to work on focus but didn't tilt at all. Something I find that often happens when I play poker is that, in the first hour or so I lose a couple of buyins while I get my eye in (if you will). To counter this I'm going to start having an hour warm up at a lower stake just to get out all the rustiness. It feels good to have 3 wins in a row, something that I really struggled in previous efforts was consistency. I'm also finding that I enjoy the game a lot more. I'm not forcing myself to play 10-12 hours a day or meticulously study hands. Before I used to optimise my time for poker and really didn't give myself a break I was way too hard on myself. Now I relax, have a break and game or watch tv, listen to some music while playing - I like it.

Note - I'd like to upload graphs but I don't understand how to post via image URL, can someone explain?

Below is a hand I played. The HH converter isn't working so I've uploaded like this I hope it suffices.

PartyGaming - $0.25 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players

Hero (BTN): 392.04 BB
SB: 109.56 BB
BB: 261.48 BB
UTG: 80.64 BB
MP: 100.88 BB
CO: 193.04 BB

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has Ks Qs
fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.48 BB, fold, BB calls 1.48 BB

Flop : (5.36 BB, 2 players) Kh Ts 5s
BB checks, Hero bets 4 BB, BB calls 4 BB
Size large because of the draw heavy board. I also like my hand here and want to build the pot.

Turn : (13.36 BB, 2 players) Kd
BB checks, Hero bets 8 BB, BB calls 8 BB
Golden turn for me - Fairly amicable sizing here to called by mid pairs and draws.

River : (29.36 BB, 2 players) 2h
BB checks, Hero bets 8 BB, BB raises to 75.16 BB, fold

BB wins 110.28 BB

This is where it gets interesting. I go for a blocker bet. I'm trying to get called by mid pairs and possibly raised by a weaker king or busted draw that senses weakness. He overbets the pot by 133%. I need to be right 37% of the time with the pot odds I'm getting. I don't think just a K plays this way so he has 3 combos of both 55 and kto, 1 combo k5s, k2s to make houses (8 combos overall). If I think that he plays draws this way this is a call (obviously lots of straight/fd misses). I was put off by the sheer sizing. It seems like overkill given my small river bet is repping below a K. This was at the beginning of my 25NL session, this guy was fairly deep so I assumed had some idea of what he was doing. At this level I often see regs using big spazzy bets to bait recreationals and that's how I interpreted this. There is also less bluffing of this sort here compared to higher stakes. Would he really bluff this to specifically make me fold a k? If so good play.
On looking back, I think a call is also reasonable. I think if he had kt or 55 it would make sense for him to raise flop or turn to get extra value from draws given also how deep we are. Also just so many draws miss... What do you guys think?

Focus on sticking to your bankroll management. You've had some short term luck jumping up stakes and winning but it just takes a couple bad sessions to cripple your bankroll.

If you do want to become a professional, learning bankroll management now is going to pay off long term if you do make it up the stake ladder. A lot easier to rebuild or rebuy for a $100 bankroll then a $25K one.

Good luck!

Appreciate it!

Day 4 Profit - -10, Bankroll - $220

Big swinging day. Had bad sleep the night before and, as per usual, I started quite badly and went down $80 in the first 2 hours. Was unlucky but also a bit leaky and making wrong decisions. I was pretty tilted so stopped for a while and honestly I probably would have called it a day but didn't want to post here with a big loss. Played about 3 hours at the end of the day and was much more comfortable, winning most of it back. I lost but it almost feels like a win .
I've moved up to 25NL quite fast but I'm going to stick rigidly to my BRM from now on (as Dingus recommended). I've never really been able to stick to low stakes easily but I'm recognising now how important this discipline is. In the long term it pays off. I always worry that poker will become saturated and unwinnable as players improve and so have historically been impatient to win a lot as early as possible. I can see how it hurt me.

Besides the brm approach it's going quiete well tho, $145 profit is very nice!

before you play poker you can watch videos of good players of the stake youre playing, this is a warm up!! good luck

You are cool bro don't give up just follow your goal. We have so much in common when I was a beginner I had the same problem. Tilt is a huge problem in poker. But remember that poker is not only about talent and luck it's also about theory and math! Good luck buddy!

Cheers man appreciate the support

I like this idea, I'll give it a go, thanks!

Really appreciate the kind words. I get what you're saying. For me right now, mental side is my big big leak so I'm fully focusing on fixing that. So I've put study on hold for the moment but you're right and I will do hand analysis with equity calculators, watch pro analysis and buy a training site. When I have more money I'd like to get a coach and learn to use solvers too.
I've had a briefish look into the game theory and it's really interesting. Finding Equilibrium YT is great on this. At my stakes I think exploitation dominates but it's something I look to incorporate in the future. Thank you for the advice!

Day 5 - Profit - $59, Bankroll - $279

Playtime - 7 hours. Decent day but could have potentially been better. I'm getting used to the gameflow and feeling more confident at this stake. Starting to be calmer and analysing the hands more rationally without making instant decisions. My bluffing is controlled but I'm still leaking money through over-calling. I tend to assume players are worse than they actually are or that they have higher bluffing rates than they actually do. Especially if they don't have a full stack, I often assume they are fishy but this isn't always the case. Tomorrow I'm going to clamp down on this.
I tilted in the middle of the day after a large downswing. It's funny how tilt works, for me my stack just seems to bleed and there's nothing I can do about it. And then I make a risky plays to counteract that. It's like I'm focusing really hard but too angry/stressed to make a good decision. Today I stopped in time though, took a long break and came back.

P.S Am very thankful for the comments and even that people have viewed this. It's motivating me to do well

279 Nice man keep it going!

couple questions:

How are PartyPoker cashgames compared to other sites? Soft, possible bots etc.
Are you playing ABC poker beating the stakes like that or do you also have a lot of river bluffs ,polarized strategies on some boards with value etc.
Do you (study) implement gto in the micros?

Thanks in advance

I'm not sure to be honest. I chose partypoker because they don't use HUDs. For me learning the game I think it is more helpful to rely on yourself recognising how people play than relying on software. On the other hand I'm sure HUDs would be helpful for analysing your game and understanding the different player characteristics.

I have elements of GTO but I haven't studied this to a detailed level. More I just have general principles. I don't play ABC, I try to work out what the player has an play accordingly. When there is a chance to bluff I bluff but it's player dependent. It's my impression that you need to be able to bluff as you move up the stakes. Against better players I will balance more so my play isn't obvious/ play more theoretically but there aren't a lot of these at 25NL.

Day 6 - Loss - -$152, Bankroll - $127

Played 3/4 hours. Not great. Had some bad beats, opponent rivered house over house twice. Was down about 40 Dollars for most of the day then crashed at the end. Was pretty unfocused, sometimes doing other things while playing. Massive overcalling. Didn't feel particularly tilted, more impatient and bad concentration, but I think I was tilted. My approach was also too lackadaisical, and I didn't take breaks like I usually do. Disappointed and quite angry at myself. It's starting to hit me now that I lost days of work in a very short space of time. It's silly how it happened and I'll reassess tomorrow.

It happens mate hopefully this is not gonna affect your spirit in the challenge. GL TODAY!!

Thanks

Day 7 Loss - -$12 Bankroll - $115

Played 5 hours. Much better than yesterday but lost every 5050 I was in. Given that my all in equity was a lot higher I’m not too disappointed with this. Still a couple of bad calls but the mental side improving. Feeling like with a few small tweaks can change my results a lot. Looking for a big weekend!

Day 8 - Loss - -$80, Bankroll - $35

Well this hasn't been the smooth sailing that I had hope. Tilt issues came again today along with impatience. I am especially susceptible when I begin playing I find. With the current rakeback I have what I started with at the beginning of the challenge so not the end of the world. I'm not giving up. I'm going to implement an immediate break when I lose a buyin and also not play when I'm just not feeling right or motivated. Sometime if I force myself to play I feel like I don't care about the money and go for a quick win/ play recklessly. At the end of each hour I'll assess how tilted, impatient or bored I am feeling and decide whether to continue playing. Obviously on a downswing these feelings are exacerbated so I'll be careful the next few days and probably not play long hours. Still believe in myself and not giving up.

The other thing I'll change is fully focusing while playing. So I enjoy it more, I'm often texting, maybe watching a video or music. I will listen to music still but less wordy and will cut the others out. There's a balance between being strict and also allowing myself to enjoy the game.

Gl today! hopefully you will go back to crushing! Maybe a more fundemental bankroll approach will help you but that is ofcourse all up to you