[Session results: The after session]

So, I played another 3 tours after the end of my regular session. The reason why it was important to mention them is because I cashed in a $5.50 tournament, the Sunday Stack, and $5.50s are the new tournaments I will be playing from now on. This was my second $5.50 tour in a very long time (many years) - the first one was a $5.50 Bounty builder I played last session. I didn't make a big cash in the Sunday Stack, but finishing ITM is a big step forward for me. I am looking forward to more ITM finishes in $5.50 tournaments, and why not winning one?

[Bankroll update: Betsson's free bet offer is a rip-off]

So, as I wrote a couple of days ago, I won €326.30 from a bet at Betsson. The bet was a free bet worth €40. I was planning to use that money for my poker bankroll. So, I made a cashout to that amount, and was waiting for the money to come into my bank account so I could deposit it to Pokerstars. However, today I found out that my withdrawal at Betsson was cancelled, and they left €100 in my account ie they took away the other €226.30 (almost $250)!!! I contacted support and they showed me the rules, and apparently you cannot withdraw more than €100 from winnings of a free bet! That is absurd! I will be left with $250 less. This is a major blow to my bankroll!

thats sucks. I guess 100 is still - better than nothing - does betsson have poker?

Hi amatola! Yes, it is better than nothing, although they banned me from future offers, as if I did it on purpose to win!! They do have poker. I checked it out but they didn't have as many good tours as I expected (not as many micros, and not as much guaranteed money as on Pokerstars).

[Bankroll update]

Here is all my winnings from betting sites:

€65 Sportingbet (free spins, free bet)
€35 Stoiximan (free spins, free bet)
€122 Novibet (free spins, roulette)
€74 Aircash (deposit cash)
€16 Vistabet (free spins, free bet)
€100 Betsson (free bet)
€39.58 Fonbet (free spins, roulette)

Total €451.8 = $483.3

I have now received all of this money, and I will soon be depositing it to Pokerstars!

[Session results]

This session I wagered a total of $27.83, played 13 tours from $1.10 to $4.40, and had a loss of $11.35. The good news is I cashed in a $4.40 tournament, to which I usually lose. This is another cash in a $4.40, so things are getting optimistic. I look forward to cashing in deeper in these tournaments.

[Bankroll update]

I got more free cash. I signed up to Bwin Greece, and got their intro bonus, from which I gained a net profit of €215.78!!! This amount will be added to my new bankroll. My new bankroll is therefore €451.8 + €215.78 = €667.58 = $714.18 ! Yay!

[A quick check on my stats]

I just checked my winnings' graph on Sharkscope. It has 2 errors. It considers me playing the $109 Sunday Million, and the $215 Sunday Million as expenses, when I used tickets which I had won from satellites to play those tours. Therefore, my true winnings are $109 + $215 + €433 = €101.45 + €200.12 + €433 = €734.57.

Other than that, it has been a while since I made a good cash, so things need to change!

[Session results: Finally, a 3rd place]

This session I played 36 tournaments, and wagered a total of $67.26. I did some cashes in a few tours, but my best was that I won 3rd place in the Bounty builder $2.20, cashing in $196.18! Finally, a return to big victories. I've now made back my last losses, and some more. One bad move in the end (calling an all-in with AJo vs 33) costed me the 2nd place, with $100 more!! I regret it, but I still did well!

[News update: Moving out of Microstakes]

Since I have a new, bigger bankroll, I am moving out of Micro stakes to Low stakes!! This is a great moment in my poker player career. It is a new for me, after 20 years of playing! Hurray! This is a moment to party!!

All I needed was a bigger bankroll! Of course, I am not making this move only because of that. I am ready to play the Low stakes, as I have already proven my skills in Micro stakes TTs, scoring 1st places, final tables and deep runs in tours a few times before.

This means that my Game selection is changing. Aside of the Micro tournaments, I will be also playing $4.40, $5.50 and occasionally $11 tournaments. I am still sticking to Bounty builders, as I get some compensation for losses.

Wish me good luck!

GJ OP

Good Luck

Hi swerbs! Thanks for checking me out and your kind words. I will do my best!

[Session results: First day at the Low stakes]

This session I wagered approximately $80, and I played approximately 30 games, ranging from $0.55 to $11, and which included 3 x $11 Bounty builders.

I played the $11 Mini Daily Cooldown (Turbo, PKO). This was the 2nd time I ever played this tour (the first one was yesterday). I was feeling nervous, and made a bad call early on ( pair vs a straight), hopefully without ruining me. Frankly, I lost in an all in AK vs JJ. at least it was a fair fight. I also played the $11 Mini Saturday KO. Unfortunately I busted out in a stupid way, when villain made quad 5s, against my pocket AA, and I called his all in.

I finished 7th in a $4.40 PKO. The last hand was ridiculous, as the chip leader tried to bluff me while I was ahead, bet with nothing and hit a miracle pair of Ks on the river! What a suckout! This really disturbed my session, but hopefully it was towards the end of it.

I also finished 11th in the $1.10 NLHE tour when I accidentally called an all in, so I cashed only about $7. It was a coinflip but I would fold. Damn it!

All in all, it was a low losing day. The good news is I am starting to do well in $3.30 and $4.40 tournaments, and that keeps me happy to go on!

[Session results]

This session I wagered $62.66, and played 17 games, ranging from $1.10 to $16.50. Overall I had a net loss of $14.17. Nothing seemed to work, aside of making some small cashes in a couple of tours.

What's new is I played my first $16.50 Bounty builder, which I qualified to through a satellite. I lost when I was dealt QQ vs the chip leader's KK, going all-in on a low card flop. I felt devastated, and I am still finding my ways in such bigger tours.

[News update: Trying out Novibet poker]

In an attempt to find smaller tours, and easy players to play against, I tried Novibet Poker (www.novibet.gr). Novibet is primarily a sports betting and casino site, but they also offer poker games.

Novibet is an established GameTech company operating in Europe (Greece, Ireland, Italy, Cyprus, Finland), the Americas (Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, Canada), and New Zealand, with tech hubs in Greece and Malta and over 900 employees across countries.

Apparently, they are part of the iPoker poker network. Hand2Note could recognize the interface, and the Hand history is stored in C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Novibet Poker\data\<Poker username>\History\Data - mine was in C:\Users\simon\AppData\Local\Novibet Poker\data\Tilted9043\History\Data

First impressions



The first thing to say is, the Novibet client interface is very different from Pokerstars, and felt alien to me. It was when I used it that I realised how much used to Pokerstars I am.

General observations
- The client contains an in-built HUD, which shows VPIP, AF, 3BET and some more stats. However, these may be only for the current tournament, ie it probably doesn't save a history of them for you.

Good things
- The graphics are ok.
- The breaks happen at the same time as Pokerstars, which is convenient if you multi-site between the two sites.

Problems
- The first time I deposited, my balance was not updated immediately afterwards. I shut down the client and restart it, and then it was updated.
- At first I couldn't find where on the play screen you see your rank in the tournament. It turns out it is right at the bottom.
- It doesn't show the countries of the players in the game, like Pokerstars does.
- The time for next break is hidden in the lobby, under the tab "Stats"


The first tours I played were a €3 Micro warm up, a €0.50 Rebuy Turbo, and a €1 Micro Hunter (PKO). All happened to be 6-max, so not much fun for me, as I haven't been playing 6-maxes and I am not used to them. I played impatiently, and busted out of those realtively quickly.

I then signed up for a €5 Micro HIghroller, to which I lasted a little longer than the first 3 tours, but still ended up busting out before ITM, and that was the end of my exploration at Novibet.

[Session results]

This session I wagered a total of $39.43, and played a total of 22 games, ranging from $0.33 satellites to a $7.50 Bounty builder. Overall, I had a net win of about $21.

How it went: I had a lot of bad luck!... I busted out of 2 tours with suckouts (KK vs ATo, AK vs A4), a sign that I was playing at the top of my game, yet giving a bad feeling. I lost a huge pot in a suckout on the $0.55 bounty builder, holding QQ vs 93s on a 2-flush board, when villain hit trip 9s on the turn after an all-in on flop, which was a real bummer considering I was ITM and big stacked. That pot ended up costing me the match, as I was crippled afterwards.

In the $5.50 Bounty builder, I had my flop set of 3s cracked by a backdoor flush draw, when I went all-in on the flop against villain's A9o. That gave a huge blow to my stack, and I busted out soon after without cashing.

In the $2.20 Micro Battle Royale, I managed to become the tournament chip leader early on, with an amazing stack of 665xBB! However, I was struck by the "curse of the early chip leaders", which is that although I gain a huge stack, I end up card dead and with an average stack soon after. I finished the tour ITM, but in 504rd place with a min cash of $2.76, when my AA got cracked by a KJo in a preflop all-in!



I also was unlucky in the $3.30 Bounty builder, as my flush didn't hit in a 3-way all-in, and I ended up rebuying 3 times, yet only made a in cash of $2.95, finishing in 367th place.

My best run was at a $2.20 Bounty builder. I lost a critical hand ITM when down to the last 5 tables. I went all-in with KK on a J-high flop and the opponent called with QJo, hitting 2 Qs on the turn and river. I was then 6th, and would have moved up probably to the top 3 if I had won it. I ended up losing from very bad luck, when I was holding JJ and went all-in on a lower flop, and opponent called with AK to hit a K on the turn! That really ruined my day! I cashed $30.16 in total.

My second best run was at a $7.50 Bounty builder, where I finished 358th, and cashed $14.51.

The battle of the Low stakes goes on!...

[The after session]

I played 5 more games, and made deep runs in 2, while managed to cash in 4. Unfortunately, I didn't make any wins nor final tables, but my bankroll went up another $15. The great news is I made it to the last 3 tables in a $4.40 tournament for the first time. That means that the win is coming soon!!

[My net profit graph, corrected - 03/05/2024]

So, I corrected my net profit graph from Sharkscope, as it was showing me having lost money from tournaments which I hadn't lost ($109, and $215, for the Sunday Million). I had won tickets for those through satellites, so I didn't pay to enter them. Here it is below. Also, effectively, my net profit is not €516, but €880.

[Session results]

This session I wagered $51.23 and played 12 games, ranging from $0.33 to $11. Nothing worked, and I had a net loss of $41.

I took a shot at the Micro Thursday Thrill $11 PKO, applying Splitsuit's 15/2 Bankroll strategy. I chose this tournament because it pays a total of 35K, which is huge! I was very nervous, and also hadn't had any warm-up before it. Unfortunately, my tour ended soon, when my AK came across villain's AA.

I gotta live to fight another day!

[A crack at Zoom cash: No good!]

I played a little bit of Zoom cash NL2 and NL5. I won at NL2, then lost at NL5, a total of about $10. It's not my game, and I don't know it. I am a tourneyman!! I haven't trained for cash games.

My plan was to "crack Aces and catch somebody bluffing, make big hands, play suited connectors, pairs and suited Aces". I did crack someone's Aces, and got paid off big, but it takes such a long time for such opportunities to appear that I don't know whether my plan is viable (or, it is, but I am simply too impatient).

[Session results: My first cash in an $11 tour]

This session I wagered $31.18 and played 10 games, ranging from $0.33 to $11. I had a net profit of $10.82.

I just had my first cash in an $11 tour, the $11 Micro Saturday KO. I am really excited and can't wait for more!

[Session results: 2 cashes in $11 tours]

This session I wagered a total of $105.25, and played 30 games. That is the second biggest number of games I have ever played in a session (the first was 10 days ago). I broke even.

However, the good news is I cashed again in an $11 Bounty builder, finishing 266 of 4664, and cashing $27.61! I also cashed $21.13 in the Sunday Storm, finishing in 1308th place. Finally, Things are going good.

getting some nice results - will be nice to see you get a top 3 +$5 MTT - will happen shortly I am sure!