thegreatdon's SNG/MTT Quest for Poker Stardom ($500 starting bankroll)

Introduction

Hey there and welcome to my poker quest started 24th November 2014. I attempted this challenge last month which can be found here. The reason for the new thread is because all the graphs and results are starting from scratch from now so this challenge is being treated as a restart. An improvement to the last thread will be the inputting of results into an online spreadsheet instead of a standalone excel file. Link to Online Spreadsheet Results.

The Challenge



The objective is to transform $500 (actually $506) into a well padded bankroll which will enable myself to play mtt's across a variety of poker sites including Full Tilt, PKR, Titan, 888 etc. My thrill for mtt's hindered the previous challenge so I am determined to keep disciplined this time out.

So with a $506 bankroll start, I am going to be concentrating on mainly non turbo SNG's with a few mtt's. The long term goal is as the bankroll gets larger, the more mtt's incorporated possibly including turbo sng's to add volume.

The SNG's Grinding
$4.50 180 Man SNG's
$3.50 45 Man SNG's
$2.50 90 Man SNG's
$6.00 45 Man SNG's

The Tournaments
$3.30 Saturday Micro
The Big $5.50
The Big $8.80
100FPP free roll for silverstar players (7.30pm GMT on Saturdays)

Possible Inclusions
The Sunday Storm
The Bigger $11
$2.50 180 Man Turbo Sngs
$3.50 45 Man Turbo Sngs

The inclusion of the Sunday Storm and the Bigger $11 is dependent on the size of the bankroll and if I get any returns from the above mtt's. In terms of the turbo sng's probably will be added once bankroll is over $1000.

Further Information
The objective of this challenge is to help showcase non poker players just how much money can be made grinding poker sensibly. I also want to improve as a poker player and take my game to a higher level. By doing this thread and showing screenshots/stats I will have that platform to prove this.

Should this thread be of interest to you, feel free to follow me on
Twitter @ www.twitter.com/thegreatdon29
Instagram @ http://instagram.com/thegreatdonny
My screename on pokerstars is thegreatdon

GL man!

Great to see this! Eagerly awaiting the first session. GL!

GL man have similar goals myself Will be fun to follow!

Initial Bankroll = $506.89
Bankroll Before Session 2 = $754.67
Bankroll After Session 2 = $923.75
Total Profit for Session 2 = $169.08
All Time Profit = $416.86

SNG's Profit Session 2 = $194.38
SNG's All Time Profit = $380.10
MTT Profit Session 2 = $-25.30
MTT All Time Profit = $32.26
Bonuses Earned Session 2 = $0
All Bonuses Earned = $4.50





SNG Results Breakdown

$4.50 180 Man SNGs
Total Played = 33
Session 2 Profit = $232.75
All Time Profit = $405.58



$3.50 45 Man SNGs
Total Played = 21
Session 2 Profit = $-42.65
All Time Profit = $-20.58



$6.00 45 Man SNGs
Total Played = 4
Session 2 Profit = $60.78
All Time Profit = $71.60




$2.50 90 Man SNGs
Total Played = 10
Session 2 Profit = $-20.39
All Time Profit = $-40.39



$2.50 180 Man Turbo SNG's
Total Played = 16
Session 2 Profit = $-36.11




MTT Results

The Big $5.50
2213/7278
Profit = $-5.50

The Big $8.80
2841/7384
Profit = $-8.80

The Big $11
3383/10212
Profit = $-11.00

Summary
Poker is always great when on a winning streak and I am definitely pleased to see my bankroll has reached just over $900 after 2 sessions! . However there is room for improvement. Although poker is a never ending process of trying to master, I have spotted some areas I wasn't content with.

Firstly, I tried to add in some turbo 180's to get the day going as the non turbos take some time to add up. However whilst in the middle of playing them, I struggle to see where my edge are in these. So unfortunately, I will never be attempting these again in the future. Glad I tried it out however but do feel i threw money down the drain lol

There is something definitely lacking in the $3.50 45's and the $2.50 90's. I think my losses are down to the following three factors.
1 - Sacrificing bothering to observe the tables to concentrate on the $4.50's
2 - Not playing to my best in these almost not minding if i get knocked out to free up tables
3 - My playing style not adapting to these
In terms of my bankroll profit, I definitely agree with my plan of action by giving the $4.50 180's final tables the greater attention so factor one will never change.
Factor 2 is in regards to non final tables. Any final table is profit time so I do respect and play my best. However the same can't be said in the mid stages and I think that's where I am going wrong.
I think factor 3 is the most important to sort out as I do feel I keep making misplays. The lower buy in entrants are either geniuses, I am losing to bad luck or I am the fish! lol Only way I can confirm is to analyse my tournaments in these as the true reason is probably the fact I have yet to study my performance in these.

My next session will be this Sunday so doubt I will have enough time to can study the hands in time as I have to do my database certifications studies tomorrow. I think I will keep the $3.50's 45's and $2.50 90's in the grind for now but will keep an eye to see if they truly are hindering my bankroll rather than helping.

I really do appreciate feedback and comments so please do let me know your thoughts etc.

Thanks for reading
thegreatdon

The 3.50 45s can be worth playing to lower variance, although ROI will be low relative to the other SNGs you're playing. I gave up with the 2.50 90s a year or two ago since they load so slowly that you can't multitable them well and the variance is huge in terms of only being able to fit in 4-5 per session (for example) - so you're relying heavily on running well in those few games, which won't happen often.

Initial Bankroll = $506.89
Bankroll Before Session 3 = $923.75
Bankroll After Session 3 = $944.74
Total Profit for Session 3 = $20.99
Total Profit for November = $437.85
All Time Profit = $437.85

SNG's Profit Session 3 = $57.29
SNG's All Time Profit = $437.39
MTT Profit Session 3 = $-36.30
MTT All Time Profit = $-4.04
Bonuses Earned Session 3 = $0
All Bonuses Earned = $4.50



Will look into proving the label axis for horizontal games played. Some reason unable to do it in google graphs so will have to provide this graph in excel for future. Total played is 236.


SNG Results Breakdown

$4.50 180 Man SNGs
Played Session 3 = 38
Session 3 Profit = $147.89
All Time Profit = $553.47



$3.50 45 Man SNGs
Played Session 3 = 20
Session 3 Profit = $-37.71
All Time Profit = $-58.29



$6.00 45 Man SNGs
Played Session 3 = 5
Session 3 Profit = $-30.00
All Time Profit = $41.60



$2.50 90 Man SNGs
Played Session 3 = 11
Session 3 Profit = $-22.89
All Time Profit = $-63.28




MTT Results

The Big $5.50
6127/15434
Profit = $-5.50

The Big $8.80
9692/17718
Profit = $-8.80

The Big $11
14475/24380
Profit = $-11.00

The Sunday Storm
24498/40021
Profit = $-11.00

Summary

A third straight profitable session which leaves my bankroll just over $56 away from reaching over the $1000 mark. I am very pleased with my performance in the $4.50's as I have won one a session so far.

Next week Tuesday I have a MTA exam so preparation for it takes priority this week. However I most probably have a session this Sunday so will be playing just the $4.50's 180's and the mtts. Will be leaving out the 45's and the 2.5 90's as I need to analyse them before adding them back into the mix.

For all the grinders out there, keep with it!

Enough with the freaking graphs? You seem to be too much result oriented. Don't see anything coming out of this quest unless you change that. Gl, you'll need it.

Was thinking along the lines of over the duration of 6 months to a year I would build up enough sample to get some return from them. For now will leave them out though and re-evaluate.


lol well I definitely intend to keep on improving so keeping a close eye on results every session is a good thing in my eyes. Only improvement needed is to keep analyzing consistently; I refuse to become complacent.

Week 2 Update

No session grinds for last week due to time being spent focussing on my MTA. This was the result from the test earlier ...



PASSED . Although was just the first stage of my Microsoft certifications and just fundamental it is still a nice feeling to know I have the understanding needed to get on with the MCSA's.

Back to poker, so last week I tried a few $1+R turbo mtts on the side. Unfortunately no big score or a screenshot lol.

Bankroll is on $931.31 so I expect to get a few session grinds in before new years with a session starting today. Let the challenge resume!

glgl! really good start!

Nice work! How long were you playing to register 38 4.50 180s in the same session? I absolutely love these but they fill quite slowly!

Cheers, sure has been eh lol. Good luck at the tables also buddy!


Usually I register all sng's from 2pm until 9pm (GMT time).

maybe you already mentionned it, but im loading tables and im too lazy to re-read all the posts...

how many tables do you play?
do you reg eeevveery sng from 2-9 or just every 4.5/180 (until you have enough tables obv)?

lol no worries aircrag99

The maximum is 24 tables as that's the limit of tiles possible for my resolution.
Definitely every 4.50 but very rarely screen is maxed out so register every non speed sng.
Last session I played just $4.50's only but will be adding back the other sng's.
If got 18 sng's going on and a few final tables etc then I will slow down registering to the $3.50 45's.

I have played two sessions this week so far and will be playing tomorrow and Sunday. I will be posting a detailed weekly report analysis every Monday from now on.

A very disgusting week of poker in the third week of this challenge which saw myself record 4 straight losing sessions! Part of the reason for this late summary report was to cool off poker for a few days. I can't help but feel some sort of disappointment with the result of this week's action however this challenge must go on and I am confident I will be capable to get this bankroll moving back into the correct direction!

Initial Bankroll = $506.89
Bankroll Before Week 3 = $931.34
Bankroll After Week 3 = $420.48
Total Profit for Week 3 = $-510.86
Total Profit for December = $-524.26
All Time Profit = $-86.41

SNG's Profit Week 3 = $-375.66
SNG's All Time Profit = $61.73
MTT Profit Week 3 = $-135.20
MTT All Time Profit = $-185.64
Bonuses Earned Week 3 = $33 (3 sunday storm tickets with fpp)
All Bonuses Ever Earned = $37.50





Session Summaries

Session 4 - 09/12/2014

$4.50 SNG Profit = $-135.00
Total SNG Profit = $-135.00
Total MTT Profit = $-28.40
Total Profit = $-163.40

Session 5 - 11/12/2014

$4.50 SNG Profit = $-95.69
$3.50 SNG Profit = $5.65
$2.50 SNG Profit = $-20.00
$6.00 SNG Profit = $-12.00
Total SNG Profit = $-122.04
Total MTT Profit = $-35.40
Total Profit = $-157.44

Session 6 - 13/12/2014

$4.50 SNG Profit = $-111.69
$3.50 SNG Profit = $101.07
$2.50 SNG Profit = $-22.89
$6.00 SNG Profit = $-3.26
Total SNG Profit = $-36.77
Total MTT Profit = $-30.70
Total Profit = $-67.47

Session 7 -14/12/2014

$4.50 SNG Profit = $-131.46
$3.50 SNG Profit = $95.89
$2.50 SNG Profit = $-28.28
$6.00 SNG Profit = $-18.00
Total SNG Profit = $-81.85
Total MTT Profit = $-40.70
Total Profit = $-122.55



SNG Results Breakdown

$4.50 180 Man SNGs
Total Played Week 3 = 123
Week 3 Profit = $-473.84
All Time Profit = $79.63



$3.50 45 Man SNGs
Total Played Week 3 = 74
Total Profit Week 3 = $202.61
All Time Profit = $144.32



$6.00 45 Man SNGs
Total Played Week 3 = 8
Week 3 Profit = $-33.26
All Time Profit = $8.34




$2.50 90 Man SNGs
Total Played = 34
Week 3 Profit = $-71.17
All Time Profit = $-134.45





MTT Results

Session 4
The Big $5.50
2174/5461
Profit = $-5.50
The Big $8.80
1868/5525
Profit = $-8.80
The Big $11
2897/7478
Profit = $-11.00
$1.10 3x Rebuy
3356/7688
Profit = $-3.1

Session 5
The Big $5.50
1006/5197
Profit = $-5.50
The Big $8.80
2074/5315
Profit = $-8.80
The Big $11
3515/7189
Profit = $-11.00
$1.10 + R3x
5826/7588
Profit = $-10.10

Session 6
The Saturday Micro
8826/9245
Profit = $-3.30
The Big $5.50
5481/6162
Profit = $-5.50
The Big $8.80
4753/5991
Profit = $-8.80
100 FPP Weekly
6443/6948
Profit = $0
The Big $11
8309/8892
Profit = $-11.00
$1.10 + R3x
7391/8658
Profit = $-2.10

Session 7
The Hotter $4.40
4609/5952
Profit = $-4.40
The Big $5.50
5588/10743
Profit = $-5.50
The Big $8.80
2310/11410
Profit = $-8.80
The Sunday Storm
8320/34007
Profit = $-11.00
The Big $11
15072/15494
Profit = $-11.00


Conclusion

The bad results in the $4.50 SNG's as well as not a single cash in MTT's has seen the sudden decline in my bankroll. Although I can definitely say I wasn't lucky in certain situations, some frustration must have crept in. However I will take it as an encouragement to see my turn around in the $3.50's where I went from a negative $58.29 loss in November to $202.61 profit made in week 3 alone. I don't think tilt alone has caused the losses in the other sng's as my form in the $3.50's was great but I will be able to identify my weaknesses that must have been exposed and work on them before the next session.

Anyway, I will next be playing this week both the Saturday and Sunday. Despite the now reduced bankroll, I will still be playing the planned mtt's but leaving out the turbo 3x tournament. However after this weekend, I will have to re-evaluate.

Hopefully, I will look back and see this week as one horrendous week out of 52 I very much doubt I will experience such bad form in the near future but none the less I will be preparing myself as good as possible for the future sessions in store.

I am pleased to report my downswing is over at long last and I recorded my most profitable session yesterday in a single session with $384.96. As you can tell from my bankroll graph below, spirits have been raised and I now intend to push on with my quest

Initial Bankroll = $506.89
Bankroll Before Week 4 = $420.48
Bankroll After Week 4 = $731.09
Total Profit for Week 4 = $310.02
Total Profit for December = $-211.24
All Time Profit = $224.20

SNG's Profit Week 4 = $405.64
SNG's All Time Profit = $467.37
MTT Profit Week 4 = $-96.10
MTT All Time Profit = $-281.74
All Bonuses Ever Earned = $37.50




Session Summaries

Session 8 -20/12/2014

$4.50 SNG Profit = $-44.62
$3.50 SNG Profit = $40.76
$2.50 SNG Profit = $-11.26
$6.00 SNG Profit = $-24.00
Total SNG Profit = $-39.12
Total MTT Profit = $-36.30
Total Profit = $-75.42

Session 9 -21/12/2014

$4.50 SNG Profit = $408.64
$3.50 SNG Profit = $35.92
$2.50 SNG Profit = $21.61
$6.00 SNG Profit = $-21.41
Total SNG Profit = $444.76
Total MTT Profit = $-59.80
Total Profit = $384.96


SNG Results Breakdown

$4.50 180 Man SNGs
Total Played Week 4 = 61
Week 4 Profit = $364.02
All Time Profit = $443.65



$3.50 45 Man SNGs
Total Played Week 4 = 54
Total Profit Week 3 = $76.88
All Time Profit = $221.00




$6.00 45 Man SNGs
Total Played Week 4 = 9
Week 4 Profit = $-45.51
All Time Profit = $-37.07




$2.50 90 Man SNGs
Total Played = 24
Week 4 Profit = $10.35
All Time Profit = $-124.10




MTT Results

Session 8
The Hotter $3.30
3069/3983
Profit = $-3.30
The Hotter $4.40
1386/4053
Profit = $-4.40
The Big $5.50
4806/6054
Profit = $-5.50
The Big $8.80
4194/5830
Profit = $-8.80
The Big $11
6892/9112
Profit = $-11.00
100FPP Weekly
5450/6913
Profit = $0

Session 9
The Hotter $3.30
3795/5390
Profit = $-3.30
The Hotter $4.40
940/5835
Profit = $-4.40
The Big $5.50
2844/10722
Profit = $-5.50
The Big $8.80
5398/11419
Profit = $-8.80
The Big $11
5188/15990
Profit = $-11.00
The Big $4.40
2750/6203
$1.10 + R3x
3689/4167
Profit = $-8.10


Bankroll Adjustment

In recent weeks, far too much dollars are being spent on mtt tournaments. I am down $281 dollars in mtt's after 25 attempts. With my dollars earned calculation I have overspent 92 dollars on shot taking so therefore an adjustment is needed. My plan for the short term is as follows ...

Any Session
-The Big $5.50
-The Saturday Micro ($3.30)
-100VPP Freeroll

Sundays
-The Big $5.50
-The Sunday Storm

Conclusion

I managed to get the bankroll healthy again and feeling comfortable despite that horrible losing streak I encountered. It has taught me there is quite a gap in my play on my good days and bad which I think is why my mtt record is so poor as I seem to not pick my spots well when I go card dead. I will be sticking to my proposed plan above and nit up with mtt spending and I expect my bankroll to carry on growing.

GL OP, nice results so far!

GL buddy

I am treating yesterday as the end of the 2014 Poker Calendar year as I view Sunday as the last day of the poker week. I am very pleased to be going into 2015 with a bankroll over $1000! I actually reached the $1000 mark on Xmas eve but thought it was best to report at the end of the week.



Initial Bankroll = $506.89
Bankroll Before Week 5 = $731.09
Bankroll After Week 5 = $1396.57
Total Profit for Week 5 = $665.48
Total Profit for December = $454.24
Total Profit for 2014 (Challenge Onwards) = $889.68
All Time Profit = $889.68

SNG's Profit Week 5 = $748.44
SNG's All Time Profit = $1215.81
MTT Profit Week 5 = $-48.91
MTT All Time Profit = $-330.65
All Bonuses Ever Earned = $59.50




Session Summaries

Session 10 -23/12/2014

$4.50 SNG Profit = $299.58
$3.50 SNG Profit = $-80.06
$2.50 SNG Profit = $88.86
$6.00 SNG Profit = $-24.00
Total SNG Profit = $284.38
Total MTT Profit = $15.64
Total Profit = $299.84

Session 11 -27/12/2014

$4.50 SNG Profit = $-96.49
$3.50 SNG Profit = $-27.12
$2.50 SNG Profit = $40.20
$6.00 SNG Profit = $76.90
Total SNG Profit = $-6.51
Total MTT Profit = $-6.72
Total Profit = $-13.23

Session 12 -28/12/2014

$4.50 SNG Profit = $377.55
$3.50 SNG Profit = $-8.12
$2.50 SNG Profit = $137.14
$6.00 SNG Profit = $-36.00
Total SNG Profit = $470.57
Total MTT Profit = $-31.66
Total Profit = $438.91


SNG Results Breakdown

$4.50 180 Man SNGs
Total Played Week 5 = 86
Week 5 Profit = $580.64
All Time Profit = $1024.29




$3.50 45 Man SNGs
Total Played Week 5 = 68
Total Profit Week 3 = $-115.30
All Time Profit = $105.70



$6.00 45 Man SNGs
Total Played Week 5 = 15
Week 4 Profit = $16.90
All Time Profit = $-20.17




$2.50 90 Man SNGs
Total Played = 35
Week 5 Profit = $266.20
All Time Profit = $84.60




MTT Results

Session 10
The Big $5.50
4420/5685
Profit = $-5.50
The Big $11
596/8595
Profit = $13.92

Session 11
The Saturday Micro
6178/10461
Profit = $-3.30
The Big $5.50
6017/7064
Profit = $-5.50
The Big $11
5968/10317
Profit = $-11.00
100VPP Weekly
6621/8889
Profit = $0

Session 12
The Hotter $3.30
2489/5549
Profit = $-3.30
The Hotter $4.40
1206/5973
Profit = $-4.40
The Big $5.50
815/10737
Profit = $6.84
The Big $11
11372/20578
Profit = $-11.00
The Sunday Storm
38072/41491
Profit = $-11.00


2015 Poker Goals

1. Include more non turbo mtt's
This will be the first inclusion when the bankroll grows a bit more is to include non turbo mtt's with cap or not. Won't be buying into mtt's over $5.50 for now.

2. Include turbo mtt's
I reckon when reach $2000, I will include turbo mtt's up to maximum $5.50 stake.

3. Spread the bankroll across multiple sites to include other mtt's e.g 888 Poker $12 Dirty Dozen
This goal is much longer down the line, ideally I want to be playing mtt's on multiple sites.


2015 Life Goals

1. Be consistent with gym and healthy eating
I definitely do find exercise has a good impact on my results and so I will be looking to get into a regular consistent pattern in 2015. I have had stretches this past year where I go for a month solid then don't go gym for a fortnight. I want to avoid that in 2015.

2. Pass Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate Exams in SQL Server
3 exams to pass to become a MCSA in SQL Server. I will be studying this Monday to Friday leaving Poker to be played on weekend's. Good bye social weekends for the start of the year lol

3. Get a data job paying £25k+
I am hoping upon completion of goal 2, my CV will be boosted enough to get a job I feel pays my effort. I do feel I have some necessary experience already so we shall see just how long it will take.


2014 Final Thoughts

For those who saw my previous challenge attempt saw I had to restart due to shot taking with profits on mtt's in MicroMillions week. I am pleased to have stuck with the challenge as I think this thread is proof I am a profitable poker player.

I managed to get through the worst downswing I have probably ever encountered during week's 3 and 4 but I think my recent profitable weeks since is due to spotting leaks in my game during that spell.

2015, I will be looking to further improve in poker and hopefully transition to becoming a mtt regular player on weekends with a full time job. Or the best scenario poker blows up for me and I land some massive scores I didn't anticipate e.g the sunday million! lol

Last and not least, I hope everyone had a great Christmas holiday's and may everyone have a great new years!

Great to see the profit rolling in! I'm planning to start from a similar bankroll in the new year. Are you sticking to playing exclusively on weekends? Are you still playing live at all?

Cheers mate, past few weeks because of Xmas and that been able to add a few more sessions in so been playing a few weekdays. However come upcoming Monday will be back to weekends only.

Not been to my local poker club lately, but will look to play a mtt there once a month so I'm not completely lacking live experience.

I look forward to hearing about your bankroll challenge; I definitely recommend doing a thread!

I've got a blog but not on here, can PM you the link if interested!

I was in quite a few 180s with you yesterday and railed quite a bit of your session - looking forward to the write-up!

I've got a few suggestions for MTTs you should definitely be adding into your sessions, can also PM you those if you like, rather than taking up space in the thread!