I started this challenge for myself a week or two ago. I have been a winning home game player and online losing player for years (low stakes off an on). I took a stab at getting better last year but fractured my back and had to deal with the death of a loved one so poker took a back seat. I'm on the mend now and want to get back into poker.

So I deposited $107 (the way the exchange worked out) on Stars and do not want to redeposit of course. I bought the Grinders manual and am going through it every day. Taking my time and really trying to solidly grasp the concepts before I move on.

The low point of my graph is when I started this challenge. My plan was to move up to 5NL when I had 25 buy ins ($125) and drop back down if I dropped below $100. I ran well and played ok and have the roll to move up. I'll also be playing the odd tournament here and there for small bi's but mostly the focus is cash.

My poker goals:

1. Play 10,000 hands per month.
2. Study 2-5 hours per week. (hh's, book, podcasts, posting on hands etc.)
3. Move up to 25NL by Jan 1st 2019 (requires 25bi to move up to next level, occasional shot is allowed. If I drop 5 bi's below starting requirement I move back down).

Life goals:

1. Make 90K this year at my sales job.
2. Save 20K to invest.
3. Lose 20lbs by July 1st and another 20 by Jan 1st (current weight is 238lbs).


My graph. The low point is exactly where I started this challenge so things are going well so far. I've moved up to 5nl but am still playing some 2NL for some reason. Comfort zone I guess. (that is some sad sheeet haha).




Current Roll is $148.75

Me and my lady.

And down 4 bi tonight. Was down 4 bi early on and ground my way back up over a few hours to even again and then lost a massive pot when I got KK all in pre vs AA. Then I went on tilt and donked off some more.

Current Roll: 127.03

Tough day. Got in some good volume, played so-so I think but ran 4bi below ev. Had some brutal suckouts and ran into a bunch of sets with big pairs. I'm back to 2NL for now.

Bankroll: $96.79

good luck! I'm also on the same challenge

are you in a study group?

GL to you too. I'm not in a study group no, just studying books etc. and my own play. I'm going to start posting some hands in the forum as well.

Well some good news in that I already hit my goal of 10K hands for January. My biggest day was just over 3K hands so that helped. Working weekends sucks so I have to grind on my days off during the week.

Off today so gonna grind. Let's work.

Good luck

Thanks man. So yesterday I played an embarrassing amount of hands to profit a little over $2. I was down around $8 but refused to stop until I won it back. played 5K hands! 4 tabled zoom which was a bad idea. I'm going down to 1 or 2 until I can beat it solidly.


So worked today, went to the casino and got it all in for my full stack with AQ in bb(I had $135, it was raised to $10 by the button and called by 2 other people. I went all in in the bb.) The button snap called and I think I'm dead. Flop has a Q (yes!yes!) turn - , no king! Yes! Yes! River- No king! Yes, yes!!!

He flips over Q,10 for a boat. fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff..........etc etc.....



So came home and played 1000 hands. Ran 2 bi under EV but made a small profit of $2.00.

Current roll: 104.87

What is rakeback on stars now like 5% or so? Why play there?

Software is the main reason, I've played there before so habit too. Rake at 2nl is less than 4% I think but its not good. Was thinking tonight I may look into other sites. You have some rec's of other sites? I can't get rake on Party cause I signed up years ago when I knew nothing.

where do you think I should play?

Bankroll $110.20


So I'm making slow progress it seems. I have some major holes in my poker game and in my mental game. In my poker game I call too much on the river. I think "there's no way they could have that hand. I have to be good. Call." and sure enough they flip over the backdoor flush or some weird straight. I'm learning that they almost always have it. I think part of my problem is having a premium hand like a set and because it's such a strong hand refusing to let it go. Its dumb as hell and I'm writing it here to embarrass myself into not doing it again.

My other big problem is mental. For instance I was watching the UFC card and playing at the same time tonight. Last night I had like 5 drinks playing and was watching a video at the same time. Again writing this to hold myself accountable. I know its stupid.

Bankroll: $114.10

Played a bit this morning and had a good session. I'm doing better folding marginal turn and especially river situations. My play up until the last day or two has gone like this. Grind up a buy in or two and then donk off most or all of it making some dumb call without thinking about it enough. I've mentioned it but want to keep it in mind so I don't fall back.

On my goals I just am crushing the 10K hands I had set but I've dropped down to 1 table of zoom instead of 2 or 3. It is helping. I have to go pick up this as I think I'm getting carpel tunnel from my mouse. Hopefully this solves my issue.

Ah man. Came home tired from work and blew off a few bi being stupid.

Bankroll: $109.30

Worked a full day, got home late and put in a good session. Got in over 1600 hands of 2nl zoom. Best session in awhile. Up $11. I'm still in a tournament too. Won a 0.55 sat into the $3.30 bounty builder. This cash game work has really helped my tournament game. A lot. Just so tired doh...ah well day off so I can sleep in. Gonna be very agressive. I want chips or bust.

Current Roll: $122.14

That means I'm only a few dollars away from taking a shot at 5NL again. This time though if I lose 3 bi I'm going to drop back down to 2nl. It took a lot of hands to grind back up from under $100. On that note I've played over 23000 hands, crushing my goal of 10K. I'm just really enjoying this challenge.

I am really learning a lot although still making some dumb mistakes. Just trying to lean from them.

Graff:

1600 hands today, was down 3 bi at one point but battled back up.

Current

=$130.04



That means next session is at 5NL. I dl table ninja trial today to see if I like it. I switched off zoom the last two session and was able to play 7-8 tables with Ninja no problem. I have a game pad I paired with it too. I'll probably start with just 2 tables at 5nl and take it from there. If I fall to $110 which I hope will not be the case, I drop back to 2NL.

FFs. Ran bad today and played some hands bad. Down to

Banroll: $111.13

There are several issues I need to address.

#1. not having a big enough roll to move up without a care.

This seems ******ed to me as i make pretty good money and a few $100 is not a big deal. It's more the goal i set for myself which is pretty dumb when i look at it. I need 50 bi I think to be comfortable and play right.

#2. I am not setting a schedule for studying or playing. I'm just flying by whatever I feel like doing.

#3. I still have not played one session without a distraction. I play poker videos or a podcast or something.

#4. I still am drinking a bit when I play some times.

#5. I expect this to come easy. Lots of things have come easy in my life and I'm realizing that with poker it won't be like that. I need to put the work in or realize I'm not going to succeed. This is a theme that is repeating in my life in other areas.


Ok that is so ****ed up. I need to make some real decisions. Either I take this seriously or I don't but no more bull****ting. I will decide by end of weekend.

Subbed Good Luck!

Thanks man, appreciated!

Ok so I took a few more days to think. I played poker, but hadn't made any "decisions". To be honest I had information overload. Podcasts, forums, videos, books etc. etc. I was overwhelmed and with no clue where to go or how to proceed. I continued playing with distractions and my graph went up and down. Played a few tournaments, made a little cash, played zoom 5nl, lost some etc. etc.

Anyway I have made some decisions. I bought a book called "How to Study Poker". It's a good thing I did. Today I sat down and read the first chapters, made notes and basically followed almost everything he suggested with the exception of playing only 2 tables. I find it too boring. I did however play non zoom 2nl. I cut out all distractions, was sober (no weed or booze) and focused on 3 leaks I have for the session. Oh I also finally set up my HUD and am working on using it more. It helped.

Leaks:

- Calling too much on turn and river with marginal hands.
- Bluffing too much.
- Checking my running balance during the session over and over.

So I did all of this and man, what a difference. It was the best session I've ever had. Not in winnings but in how I played. I only played 2 hands really badly out of 1400. My good hands held up which was very nice but results aside I felt I did what I set out to do. Then I reviewed several losing hands after the session as well.

Today's graph:




Entire graph:


(red circle marks the beginning)


I plan on continuing this path. Just working on my game and focusing on what I'm doing. Cheers all

Time for some eats.

Current balance: $124.30

Hey man! I’m also playing the same stakes, actually I just moved to NL5 for the past 3 days, but I started with a bigger roll so I won’t really feel small downswings. I managed to beat NL2 just by taking some tips from “w34z3l’s microstakes walkthrough” although I listened to like 30% of what he says there (wish it was 100% but hey, learning is harder than playing) I managed to beat the “huge rake pool infested with fish that dont respect my raises” . Ofc it’s more rewarding to jump to NL5 but I suggest playing some good k hands at NL2, just as a discipline exercise and then move up when you’re fully comfortable. Good luck!!


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That's great man, I hope to move up to 5nl soon. I may just deposit another $100 or more. I'm kinda stubborn though so we'll see.

Glad to you too. What site do you play on?

Well worked today and then went to the Casino with a buddy who plays high limit black jack. He was going to play poker with me but I never saw him all night. Another friend dropped in the poker room and told me he was down 10K. Eeesh.

I played 1/2 and it's pretty crazy how much this last few weeks has improved my game. Not saying that because I won but I was so much more disciplined than when I last played there. I was putting people on hands and ranges and was right most of the time. It was fun. I won $500 but about $200 was in one hand. I had AA and another guy had KK and yep another guy had QQ.

Action went

UTG (QQ) raised $15
UTG+1 (Me AA) raised to $50
BU (KK) raises all in for $80
UTG goes all in for another $110
I call.

Flop A57 2 spades
Turn 10 Diamonds
River 9 of hearts

First time in a live game I've been in that spot, couldn't believe it held up.

Was a fun night for me, not so fun for my buddy. I went to find him after I was done playing and he was gonnnnnnnnnnnne. Probably lost more.

I’m playing on Pokestars


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