After a couple years away from online poker entirely, I've decided to give grinding a shot. I work full time, I have a family, etc., so I'm not expecting to be able to put in any significant volume, but I'm looking to play disciplined poker. One advantage of having a normal job, etc., is that I have the ability to reload, if necessary. I'll be posting here regularly as a way to review interesting hands and have an account of my attempt at playing again.

I'll also be working to save up a bankroll for live poker, but I'm not sure whether I'll be including those efforts in this thread.

$1000 Starting Bankroll

$0.25/0.50 6-Max NLHE until total bankroll reaches $2,000. If I get below $500, I will move down to $0.10/0.25 6-Max NLHE.

$0.50/1.00 6-Max NLHE until total bankroll reaches $4,000. If I get down to below $1500, I will move back down to $0.25/0.50 6-Max NLHE.

$1.00/2.00 6-Max NLHE until total bankroll reaches $10,000. If I get down to below $3000, I will move back down to $0.50/1.00 6-Max NLHE.

Once the bankroll hits $10,000, it'll be time to reevaluate, but I'm expecting that a transition to more frequent live play might be in order at that time. We'll see.

I will allow MTT's up to 1/50th of my total bankroll. Rebuy tournaments may be played, but base buy-in must be less than 1/100th of my total bankroll.

Any multi score may only increase my bankroll by 100%. So, if my bankroll is $1500, and I cash for $6000, I can increase my roll to $3000 total, and cash out the rest.

Goals for April

[ ] Play 15,000 Hands
[ ] Adhere to 5 buyin stop loss
[ ] No casino wagering (blackjack, etc.)

Here's the starting point. Here goes nothing...

April 8, 2015 - The First Session

Welp, I just finished my first session. In general, I was surprised by how little the games seem to have changed over the past couple of years. I found myself spewing in a few spots, but in general I felt pretty comfortable back at it. I played 5-6 tables for most of the session, which was manageable, but I might bring it down to 4 tables for a few thousand hands until I get my groove back.

I played a few interesting hands, which I'll post up tomorrow. Heading to bed. The 7:00 AM train into the city comes whether I'm ready for it or not!

Today's Session
+$66.41
1378 Hands

Bankroll = $1066.41

April 9, 2015 - On the Grind

I was able to put in quite a few hours today, which felt weird after so long away from playing online. Having last played in the days of PokerStars being available in the US, I was surprised by how difficult it is to find a game during the day. I ended up playing $0.10/0.25 since that was all that was running early in the day, with a little $0.25/0.50 heads up. Finished the day in my normal $0.25/0.50 6-max games.

Stats for today are below, but I'll be posting a few interesting hands momentarily.

Today's Session
+$54.42
2339 Hands

Month to Date
+$120.83
3717 Hands

Bankroll = $1120.83

Here's a hand from today that I could use some feedback on...

BB is solid, and appears to be playing a bunch of tables. Is this a standard fold here on the turn? I can't imagine just bet-folding the flop, but it feels like spew as played if I'm dumping the turn.

Winning Poker Network (Yatahay) - $0.50 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: $62.95 (VPIP: 20.25, PFR: 17.36, 3Bet Preflop: 4.40, Hands: 500)
UTG: $50.75 (VPIP: 26.53, PFR: 21.68, 3Bet Preflop: 6.99, Hands: 401)
Hero (CO): $79.58
BTN: $50.00 (VPIP: 24.15, PFR: 20.77, 3Bet Preflop: 7.59, Hands: 212)
SB: $56.47 (VPIP: 23.10, PFR: 18.21, 3Bet Preflop: 5.04, Hands: 376)

SB posts SB $0.25, BB posts BB $0.50

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.75) Hero has A K

fold, Hero raises to $1.50, BTN calls $1.50, fold, BB calls $1.00

Flop: ($4.75, 3 players) 3 A 8
BB checks, Hero bets $3.01, fold, BB raises to $10.00, Hero calls $6.99

Turn: ($24.75, 2 players) Q
BB bets $15.68, Hero....

Bankroll Update

I have some rakeback and bonus that I'm adding to my account now in preparation for my session tonight.

$1120.83 Previous Bankroll
$62.17 Rakeback
$35.00 Deposit Bonus ($214.95 remaining to clear)

$1218.00 Total Bankroll

Blocking Kd sucks. He's repping probably only 33, A3 and A8, maaaaybe 88 but not necessarily depending on pre. Also I think people in position here on try boards tend to flat more with flush draws so I'd fold ye.

April 10, 2015 - Stop Loss Shuffle

Tonight's session was an interesting one. When I first started playing, I found myself missing every flop, running big hands into bigger ones, etc. Just running gross. At one point, I was down just over 4 buy-ins for the session, and was keeping my eye on my balance because of the 5 buy-in stop loss I have in place. Fortunately, things turned around, and I was able to book a pretty big winner on the day.

Today's Session
+$373.15
2455 Hands

Month to Date
+$493.98
6172 Hands
$62.17 Rakeback
$35.00 Deposit Bonus ($214.95 remaining to clear)

Bankroll = $1591.15

A couple interesting hands...

Hand 1

Can I find a raise here?

Winning Poker Network (Yatahay) - $0.50 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

CO: $8.75 (VPIP: 26.58, PFR: 8.86, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 80)
Hero (BTN): $51.75
SB: $21.50 (VPIP: 14.59, PFR: 12.97, 3Bet Preflop: 4.48, Hands: 194)
BB: $59.07 (VPIP: 36.49, PFR: 5.41, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 78)
UTG: $101.77 (VPIP: 26.85, PFR: 23.55, 3Bet Preflop: 7.58, Hands: 1,291)

SB posts SB $0.25, BB posts BB $0.50

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.75) Hero has Q K

fold, fold, Hero raises to $1.50, fold, BB calls $1.00

Flop: ($3.25, 2 players) 3 K A
BB bets $1.54, Hero calls $1.54

Turn: ($6.33, 2 players) K
BB checks, Hero bets $3.01, BB calls $3.01

River: ($12.35, 2 players) 9
BB bets $15.00, Hero...

Hand 2

I can see reasons to call, fold, or raise here. What's your standard line here?

Winning Poker Network (Yatahay) - $0.50 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

SB: $42.77 (VPIP: 18.06, PFR: 15.86, 3Bet Preflop: 4.94, Hands: 236)
BB: $50.00 (VPIP: 13.93, PFR: 11.56, 3Bet Preflop: 5.00, Hands: 698)
Hero (UTG): $148.53
CO: $91.15 (VPIP: 27.19, PFR: 19.18, 3Bet Preflop: 7.02, Hands: 555)
BTN: $59.60 (VPIP: 38.57, PFR: 10.00, 3Bet Preflop: 2.70, Hands: 73)

SB posts SB $0.25, BB posts BB $0.50

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.75) Hero has 9 6

Hero raises to $1.50, CO calls $1.50, fold, fold, fold

Flop: ($3.75, 2 players) 6 7 8
Hero bets $2.38, CO raises to $8.17, Hero calls $5.79

Turn: ($20.09, 2 players) 3
Hero checks, CO bets $15.07, Hero...

Hand 3

I checked behind on the river here, but is anyone betting 1/2 pot or something?

Winning Poker Network (Yatahay) - $0.50 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: $25.00
UTG: $20.00 (VPIP: 15.04, PFR: 13.29, 3Bet Preflop: 4.38, Hands: 1,180)
MP: $39.31 (VPIP: 30.33, PFR: 16.59, 3Bet Preflop: 5.13, Hands: 218)
Hero (CO): $114.43
BTN: $85.78 (VPIP: 27.27, PFR: 15.45, 3Bet Preflop: 1.95, Hands: 802)
SB: $68.14 (VPIP: 26.67, PFR: 16.67, 3Bet Preflop: 6.32, Hands: 219)

SB posts SB $0.25, BB posts BB $0.50

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.75) Hero has Q A

fold, fold, Hero raises to $1.50, fold, SB raises to $5.25, fold, Hero calls $3.75

Flop: ($11.00, 2 players) 3 2 A
SB bets $5.22, Hero calls $5.22

Turn: ($21.44, 2 players) K
SB bets $13.58, Hero calls $13.58

River: ($48.60, 2 players) 9
SB checks, Hero checks

April 11, 2015 - The Grind Continues

Today was kind of interesting. I was able to put in a bunch of short sessions throughout the day, with a longer session later in the day. I started off running really well, making hands, etc., and it kind of crapped out over the course of the session. I only ended up stuck around 1.5 buy-ins for the day, but it was a pretty severe drop from my high point. No big deal.

As a funny note, I always see people on here posting about smoking weed as a way to stay focused while they're grinding. I tried it, and let's just say, that **** doesn't work for me. I get way, way too weird and relaxed.



Results below. Hands coming later today.

Today's Session
-$72.80
2222 Hands

Month to Date
+$421.18
8384 Hands
$96.66 Rakeback
$54.00 Deposit Bonus ($214.95 remaining to clear)

Bankroll = $1571.84

April 12, 2015 - Chip Hemorrhage

Tonight's session didn't last long. In general, I was finding cooler after cooler, and then the spew began. On a positive note, I adhered to the stop loss I set at the beginning of this thread. This side of poker blows, but I'm feeling good about my discipline and bankroll management, which were my primary pitfalls when I was playing so much online years ago. On to tomorrow...

Today's Session
-$270.41
805 Hands

Month to Date
+$150.77
9189 Hands
$96.66 Rakeback
$71.00 Deposit Bonus

Bankroll = $1318.43

April 13, 2015 - I'm Baaaack! I'm Back Where I Started Again

I find myself in an interesting position after tonight's session. After playing a few MTTs (all within my initial BRM specs), and losing a couple buy-ins at my normal $0.25/0.50 6-Max games, I am officially back to where I started. Actually, I'm stuck $1.93. Bonus and rakeback have me up above my original starting bankroll, but it still doesn't feel good.

Anyway, I'm going to add in a couple rules for the next 10K hands, and see how things go.

[ ] No more than 4 tables at a time
[ ] Post at least three hands per session in µNL

I'd also be interested in finding a coach. I'm not seeing anything totally out of line from when I was playing online 2-3 years ago, but I was also playing at 4-5x the stakes I'm currently playing. If anyone can make a recommendation, I'd appreciate it.

Today's Session
-$103.20 - 2021 Hands
-$49.50 - 4 MTTs

Month to Date
+$47.57 - 11210 Hands
-$49.50 - 4 MTTs
$96.66 Rakeback
$71.00 Deposit Bonus

Bankroll = $1165.73

Some Hands from Last Night's Session

$50NL - Line Check - AA, Villain Check-Called Flop and Turn

$50NL - Line Check - Raised on River with Trips

$50NL - Line Check - Check-Min'd on Turn w/ TPTK