Hi, I'm a previous rec player and rec sports bettor, a complete noob to sports and do it only for the degen sweat. I was tired of my BTC sitting dormant so decided on utilizing Bovada's 50% match for BTC deposits for sports betting. I deposited $400 thru BTC gaining a $200 bonus with a 5x rollover. I bet some NBA playoffs with mixed results and essentially took every MLB under bet each day for $10-$30 until I met the rollover requirement. I faired pretty well until the last day where something like 10 out of 12 games went over. That was the day I met my rollover requirement and I was looking at a roll worth $370.

From there I decided to take another stab at Bovada's poker tables, where I have had some success at MTT and SNG a few years ago, micro stakes. I started my poker haul again at the .05 Zone tables, mostly in class and between class to close out my last semester. I saw some success, and with my recent graduation have had a bit more time to sit the tables. SNG's are what I've always considered a specialty, so I really honed in on the $5 and $10 Double-Ups.

It's been a week and a half or so and I've done well at them, keeping records on Post-Its which give the win-loss rate of any given date. I started on May 17th (I graduated on the 19th), and have recorded each game since. I have done a very small amount of Zone poker since then, with mostly positive results. However my time at the tables has been about 95% DUSNG.

On 5/17 my record was 13-7.
On 5/18 my record was 7-6.
On 5/20 my record was 9-5.
On 5/22 my record was 14-5.
On 5/24 my record was 14-8.
On 5/26 my record was 9-10.
On 5/27 my record was 12-1.
On 5/28 my record was 11-4.
On 5/29 (today) my record was 7-4.

My current record overall (about 25% $5SNG, 70% $10SNG, and 5% $20SNG) is 111-63.

My current bankroll is at $735.50.

I'd like to use this thread as a platform to track my progress digitally rather than through Post-Its, and if anyone is interested in it I would like to hear advice and feedback. I'd also welcome suggestions on whether I should plan to make withdrawals, I have a job that pays the bills and am seeking a more "career" oriented position at the moment, and my initial BTC investments were entirely discretionary. Also, I'm not really technologically literate but would love to know how to post pics and hand histories as I've seen elsewhere.

Cool thanks

During tonight's grind I ate six Otter Pops, the last of which was coconut, so that's a win right off the bat. I decided to finally up my percentage of $20 games which I've been rolled for during the last four sessions or so (following a DUSNG BRM of 25 buy-ins) but was holding off of due to fear. I played a total of 14 games and ended with a record of 8-6. Approximately 10 of these games were at the $20 stake level and the remaining were $10 games. Don't have much to blame for the average showing tonight, could have been more focused perhaps. I also 4-tabled tonight which is a first since this DUSNG challenge/tracking/grind thing kicked off.

Haven't noticed a ton of difference in the skill level between the $5, $10, and $20 dollar games besides maybe slightly tighter play as stakes rise. As of now, I'm going to mix the $10 and $20 games (maybe closer to 50% of each).

Non-poker related, gotta be up in 5 hours for a nephew's 8th-grade graduation. Then we're going for a celebratory meal. Hopefully the roof of my mouth won't be too shredded from the Otter Pops tonight so I can really enjoy the food. Then I'm picking up some patio furniture from my grandparents. Just in time for summer. Had a phone interview set-up for tomorrow afternoon but they completely cucked me early today with a phone call announcing that they have put a hold on recruitments.

Also, I used a chunk of my grad money to purchase a new computer, desk, and chair. Should be all arrived and set-up next week. This will further my motivation to put in some serious hours at the tables and report my progress here. Going to look into getting Sharkscope going again.

5/30: 8-6
Profit +/-: $19.50

Overall: 119-69 (.633)
BR: $755.00

You can buy a bag of Otter Pops for something like $3 and there's gotta be about 50 of those bad boys in there.

Just realized Sharkscope is based off username and therefore likely incompatible with Bovada. Might consider a SNG grind elsewhere in the near future.

I had an opportunity to gift my previous desk to my brother today, so I did that as well as setting up my new desk and chair. That was the first sentence I typed while sitting in it. I already gave it my first fart, an otherwise uneventful one that let me know I may be constipated. Short and hot. The desk sat unassembled in the living room for about five days, but given the opportunity to clear out the ol' desk today (ol' man Jim offered his help and truck to haul the patio furniture today) I decided I'd set the bad boy up. Coincidentally, as I turned the final screw on the desk, ol' Mr. Amazon came knockin with the chair. So here I sit on a new desk and chair (same ol' boy comp, give it a week until ol' new boy makes a presence). They are comfortable and I feel like I splurged despite the opposite being true. Ol'.

It was a long, eventful day with little sleep. Wife's cousin visited and I made no-bean turkey chili because that's the best way to make chili. She's gone home, wife's asleep, and I'm breaking in the new amenities.

I'm tired and grinding is ill-advised and I hope I am able to scoff at this sentence in a couple of hours. I'm taking a different approach to the pokerz tonight, instead of loading up the DU SNG I'm going to sit some $0.25 Zone. This was I won't face any time constraints if I decide my willingness to give a **** leaves me. So here we go.

I am unable to scoff at the sentence posted a couple of hours ago and I misspelled the word "way" so I sucked in the past and I suck in the present. I hope I don't suck in the future.

I took several notes during my short-lived cash game session so I will try to keep this concise. I played for 1.5 hours and stopped because I suck in the present and because playing cash games doesn't require time constraints. So at least I can say I had the discipline to utilize the pull-out method for the not first time.

I am running these tables on an ol' boy of a computer on his last leg and as a result I experienced significant lag and freezing. With a restart to boot, a considerable amount of time during this grind was spent facing not only the other idiot grambols' but battling my computer as well.

My first observation was that for the first time the Zone tables didn't read 50+ players. It was at 47 when I loaded up the client, and 42 when I finally sat. By the end of the session there were only 35 active players at the $0.25 stake. Found that strange for a Friday night but it coincided with my idea that the DU SNG's had less volume in my last two sessions.

I started off feeling good about my play, I chipped up through many small pots but eventually gave away a full buy-in with an open-ended straight draw plus four hearts to a flush vs. top pair, which held. I led on this flop, was raised, and made the shove. This player called and held. Don't recall chip stacks fully but felt that it was appropriate given bet sizing.

I won an interesting hand which I'd like to recollect on. Raised QQ pre and faced a single caller. Flop came AJ10xxx, check to me, I c-bet, called. Turn 2x. Villain checks, I check. River 3x, villain checks, I check. I win. Is there value betting that river? Bet the turn? Writing it out it looks like I lost some value. Yeah definitely lost some value. Did I mention I'm sleep deprived?

I approached this session adamant about keeping a TAG style of play but true to form I was opening 8-10s and ugly Ace-rags from MP in due time. Just seems to be my default approach to cash games. The occasional sesh at cash helps me appreciate SNG even more. I like having to consider ICM and CSI and the elevated need to consider other players style of play at SNG. This brought me to a question regarding Zone, is simple ABC fundamental poker the way to go? It has to be. Zero reads. Nit up or aggro in position? I aggro'd in position. I lost.

On the plus side, my chair and desk are comfy AF. I don't have any right shoulder-blade burning sensations going on. I also hooked up a new wireless Jelly Comb mouse which feels like melted butter in my hand minus the fat in a good way man. I changed my desktop background to a portrait of The Great One, Steve Brule. Previously, it was a scripted quote reading "Rise and Grind." I realized I don't own a pair of Nike's and have never used the acronym SWAG in a non-sarcastic context so it had to go.

This entire post has been a mental BARFfest and you're welcome. I'm not proofreading

My bankroll is at $724.90 and I'm back to the late-night DU SNG grind tomorrow.

It's late-night tomorrow now and I've just sat down to prepare for some grind time. I took small wagers on both the Rockies and the Dodgers so that I'd have a small sweat while at work. They were both pretty square choices, each being considerably juiced home team favorites. Fortunately they both came through and as a result I recouped last night's cash game loss.

After loading Bovada I realized under the profile options and besides "Bonuses" there is an "Offers" tab. I clicked this and discovered they offer tickets to various tournaments for different point totals. I have accumulated about 11,500 points and a ticket to their new $2 Jackpot SNG's cost 5,500 points. These games are lottery style in that you don't know the total amount of the prize pool you will be playing for beforehand but have a small, small, small, small chance of playing for a very hefty payday. Totally -EV and I'd never pay to play, but given the opportunity for free entry I may try one out.

So off to the grind we go. Current BR: $756.12

The $2 Jackpot SNG thing was a bust. Once you load it, it displays a slot-machine style wheel thing which determines the prize amount. Got the minimum as expected, $4. The game is 3 players and I busted the first. Had a commanding chip lead going into heads-up but because it was a freeroll, the stake was insignificant, and I found the whole thing mostly degenerate I spewed and lost.

It was nice to be back to the DU SNG grind. I mixed an even amount of $10 and $20 games. I started slow and will say today I ran poorly to begin the session. Struggled to win flips and ran into some ugly spots. I was breakeven/slightly losing for the first half of the session. Eventually got the ball rolling and so I'm able to record another winning session tonight. Would have liked to break the $800 mark tonight bankroll wise, came down to my final game which was a $10 but got it in early in a No Bueno situation.

I should mention these are all turbo tourneys, with 5-minute blind levels and 1500 starting chips. This increases variance but I prefer them because they are more fun and allow higher volume. I did more 4-tabling tonight.

Non-poker related, again missing NBA finals tomorrow (game 2, Warriors/Raptors, Raptors up 1-0) because I have a serious case of the night shifts. I may place a small bet on the game, leaning toward the under as both teams shot insanely well from the field including over a 40% 3-pt percentage for each in game 1. I feel this may skew the line as each team looks to answer this defensively.

The chair and desk are still awesome. The computer should be here in the next three days. Alright I think that's it.

6/2: 13-9
Profit +/-: +$33.50

Overall: 132-78 (.629)
BR: $789.62

Home from another night shift and preparing to grind. I took the under in the Red Sox/Yankees game tonight. It looked promising at one point but the two teams collectively put up 5 runs in the 8th inning, sending it over. I had the NBA game read correctly as it stayed under the total. Unfortunately I didn't get a bet in on time and because of a slow offensive start the live line quickly dropped 10 points. I didn't find a decent place to get my money in so ended up passing. Warriors picked up a road win as slight dogs and tied the series at 1-1, headed to Oracle.

Now the DU SNG grind continues. Current roll: $778.62

I think your article mentioned a certain aspect of the problem. I think it has a lot more to study than that. fnaf

???????

Just cashed all 4 games I had loaded in short succession and had a short time of zero games loaded. Low traffic and slow load times. Playing more $10s just because they are filling more quickly. Off to a pretty good start.

Just wrapped up the session. A pretty brutal outing where I ran significantly under EV. Couldn't win a coin toss and got the chips in as a favorite and lost on multiple occasions. I ended with an even win/loss ratio but am recording a profit loss.

To make things really awesome, I discovered I had a $20 game somehow minimized and had a single BB remaining on the bubble. I managed a couple of double-ups before busting to end the game despite getting it in well ahead. Yikes.

Upon hearing I have a new computer on the way a few friends have tried to persuade me to get into gaming with them. I somewhat dismiss these invites in a joking manner by saying that I do my own style of gaming. I grinned to myself while playing late in the session which was a moment of self-awareness and a pretty cool realization while chugging through the tough grind. I'm playing a game. I'm playing it with an arbitrary amount of money and it brings me joy. There is a strong likelihood that the money I put into the game will actually show a positive return. The same can't be said when you're buying skins or advanced artillery in a different gaming format. This has been a cheap hobby.

I read somewhere on an article about playing DU SNG's something about the farmer and the fox. It was a cool analogy that I continue to ponder. The farmer wants to consistently tend to his work, and consistently make his money. The fox is looking for the lone kill. I'm still unwrapping it mentally, but understand that to succeed in DU SNG, be the farmer. Reminding myself of this in-game has helped me tighten up, especially in the early stages of a game.

Another night shift tonight followed by a probable short session. Up at a decent time the following day for a rare first-edition holographic day shift followed by a couple of days off (minus a morning meeting). I will use this time to get life stuff done, hang out with wife, watch game 3 of the NBA finals, and semi-regulate my absurd sleep schedule. If time permits, I may give an earlier in the evening session a run for the (my) money.

6/3: 11-11
Profit +/-: -$23.50

Overall: 143-89 (.616)
BR: $755.12

Home from work at a decent time, spent time with my wife and watched Always Be Your Maybe. It was a good movie. About to put in a short session now. I feel good mentally and am ready to play.

A pretty wild night of cards. Shortly after getting my first four games loaded, my computer decided it was time for a major crash. This ultimately required a full restart which is not a speedy process on this geriatric machine. I tried to rotate through each game on mobile in an attempt to keep my blinds afloat. This was not fully successful and by the time I had everything up and running again I lost about 1/3 of my starting stacks. I was able to salvage two of the games, starting the night 2-2.

The fifth game saw a 3-way AIPF on the very first hand and QQ held. This presented a positive EV situation right off the bat but I was ultimately the bubble boy.

Shortly after, I busted on a bloated flop with two pair (A10hh) and a flush draw to a higher two pair (AQ). Ouch.

Something I know to work on is tightening my calling range. I feel confident in my ability to apply aggression given the right opportunities but felt that I was calling while behind at least twice tonight. Be the farmer.

Lost an especially painful one late in the session where a player shoved Q10o for about ~6bb into my KK from the bb. Flop was a safe, small paired board. Turn and river presented running queens for the cooler.

Somehow able to book a small win. Wish time allowed for a longer session as I felt I was really beginning to settle in and I have the proper mindset for grinding tonight. Up for work in five hours though so gg.

Computer is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. Pretty exciting. With my approaching days off I will look to increase volume and break that bad boy in. Discovered the Red Chip Poker Podcast, played an episode tonight during the session and will likely play another during tomorrow's commute.

6/4: 9-7
Profit: +$18.50

Overall: 152-96 (.613)
BR: $773.62

Home from work and logged in for a short session before hanging with some family a little later. Going to focus on tightening calling range and slowing down my decision making process.

I have the Brewers, Red Sox, and Dodgers tonight. Brewers getting smoked early.

Computer now looks like it will arrive tomorrow. Bust

In this short session I lost AK to A8 on running cards to complete a straight, busting. I lost A high to K high, busting. I lost overpair to overpair, busting. AA<88 AIPF thanks to a river 8. AJ<A2 AIPF. Brutal. Taking a break, possible late night session later.

6/4 (again): 5-5
Profit: -$17.50

Overall: 157-101 (.609)

The late night session was again an average showing. After the baseball games wrapped up (Brewers were completely humiliated, Red Sox and Dodgers each came through). I was looking at a roll worth $747.47. It was a fairly uneventful session, struggled again to win races and had AA<Q10 for the first bust.

6/4 (third session): 10-8
Profit: +$28.47

Overall: 167-109 (.605) <-- win rate has steadily declined since beginning to record progress here. Hoping for an increase tomorrow.

BR: $775.47

niceeee

Had a really productive day away from the tables. My computer came this morning and it's all setup and running flawlessly so far. I just watched game 3 of the NBA Finals. I was leaning toward the over before the game. 10 minutes before tip-off, it was announced that Klay Thompson would not be playing. This instantly dropped the o/u total by two points. I grabbed it at Over 212. This would be one of those rare no-sweat wagers where I was ahead the whole time and stayed there. Nice to have those and nice to remember them on the less fortunate nights.

I took an hour or so nap midday and experienced the most vivid dream I've had in a while. As soon as I woke up I decided to write it down. I've thought to do this in the past but never carried through with it. I also thought that beginning a writing session with so much outrageous material (dream stuff) would help my mind get into the writing mode and motivate me to finish writing wedding thank you cards. It did, and this contributed to my productive day. My wife read my dream narrative this evening and was amused. Won't get too into the details but it was an entire hodge-podge blend of relative things in my life, it took place in a grocery store, and Kevin Durant made a cameo (well, his name did, he didn't get any screen-time). Interestingly, there was no poker in my dream.

Starting a session now with a roll of $795.47 thanks to a monetary boost from the basketball wager. Hope all goes well as I'm getting an early start and decent volume is a possibility tonight. Oh **** I have to download the pokerz.

I have a lot of notes on tonight but I'm tired and will save the recap for when I can better commentate it.

The new computer ran like a champ. Ran better than I did at least.

This post will be another BARFfest of information that lacks structure. I'm simply transcribing my notes from last night's session.

I had a royal flush, diamonds. The 10 of diamonds on the river completed it. To make it even sweeter, I was bet into, I shoved, got called, and that ended the tournament.

I lost the next two games with AA<AQ and JJ<1010.

I then won a race, 33>A8. I noted it because, like the basketball win, I want to remember that these things do come in my favor on occasion. I also don't want this thread to devolve into a platform for only complaining about bad beats.

I was proud of a really good read I made. Player to my right made a 5x preflop raise twice in a row at the 25/50 blind levels. On the second hand, I called on the button with 99. The flop came Q83 and he lead for 350. I expected to be ahead a large majority of the time and exploited his aggression by moving all-in. He quickly folded.

Then I lost a game with QQ<AQ. Then I won a game with 44>AA.

I reminded myself again to tighten my calling range and to play deliberately, focusing solely on the game and not allowing myself to settle into a passive style of play (turned the podcast off). I felt again that I applied aggression at the right times but my calling range was too wide.

I then lost a game with JJ<JQ.

I then won the quickest, easiest game I've had since this grind kicked off. We were on the button early, with one player holding over 5k in chips at the 25/50 blind level. He then got his flush draw all-in against top set on the flop, completing his flush on the turn. I don't think I played a single hand in this game. Easy money.

I'm realizing now that I started this grind (before making this thread) on a massive heater. I am still slightly beating it at this stake, but the win-rate I began with may be mostly a result of rungood. I'm going to continue to play and record my results. I think I'll give a really introspective look at the process at the 500 game mark.

I lost my last game with KK<A high. I got the volume in that I wanted but was disappointed by breaking even over such a lengthy session.

6/5: 17-17
Profit: -$16.5

Overall: 184-126 (.594)
BR: $778.97

Just put in a short session. Played smokin' hot poker and focused on tightness. Everyone loves a tight squeeze. Went 5-1 for a profit of $60. Taking a break to eat some smokin' hot corn dogs, hang out with my smokin' hot wife when she gets home from work, and watch some Stanley Cup Finals. It's game 5 between the Bruins and Blues, tied 2-2. This game is in Boston.

I have the Yankees and the Rangers, each ML wagers. The Yankees are looking smokin' hot, up 5-0 in the 4th. The Rangers are down 1-0 in the 2nd. I may make a live in-game wager on the hockey contest if I can spot any smokin' hot value.

I will likely put in another late night session so I will wait to update records and BR info.

Had a great start to the day, with the awesome afternoon grind and with both the Yankees and Rangers coming through. Ended up staying off the hockey game, but it was an entertaining watch. Blues scored on a questionable no-call play that enticed the fans to throw things onto the ice. They went on to win 2-1, taking a series lead at 3-2 and heading toward game 6 at home. The Stanley Cup will be there in the event of their win. I find myself rooting for Boston as I had bet them a couple times in earlier playoff rounds and did well.

I broke the $800 mark in my BR when the baseball games were decided. Unfortunately, I just wrapped up my worst session yet and am back under that mark. I essentially gave back all of today's poker and sports winnings in a brutal stretch of runbad. I know it's lame to hear, but man I could NOT win a flip, or even an all-in race in which I was ahead. Despite it being early, I've decided to take the rest of the night off.

After starting off 5-1, I am recording a record of 9-11 on the day, meaning this session I went 4-10. Ouch.

In the time since I started this thread (with a record of 111-63), I have gone 82-74. I guess that indicates I am still a winning player, however slightly. These DU SNG's certainly reduce variance, which has its positive and negatives consequences. It makes for a more stable grind with smaller swings, but it also makes for an often mundane grind that could show little progress over long periods.

I made it a personal goal today to reach 500 games at the $10 and $20 blind levels. From there, I will reevaluate my plan of action and goals pertaining to this grind.

6/6: 9-11
Profit: -$30.00

Overall: 193-137 (.585 over 330 total games)
BR: $775.36

Just wrapped a short session. Prior to playing I read an article on SNG strategy which really emphasized playing a tight game. I decided that tonight, rather than focusing on playing tighter I was going to play TIGHT, period. I figured I've been playing a break-even game so I need to try something new. It worked well and I started off 2-0.

I continued to run bad. I lost 4 games tonight. Of those 4, 2 were to 3-outers (AQ<A9 and Q10<Q9). In each of the 4 instances, I lost while getting it in ahead. I'm not complaining, just stating what happened. It's reassuring to know I made the right decisions and will continue the TIGHT play.

No sports bets today but happy that Raptors took a 3-1 series lead with another road win.

6/8: 3-4
Profit: -$15.50

Overall: 196-141 (.582 over 337 total games)
BR: 759.86