Hi everyone,
this presentation post is going to be a little bit long,
sorry for my English I just learned it as a self-taught
and I think writing here I will improve a lot.
I'm Emanuele, I'm Italian (Naples) and decide to open this blogging thread because I'd like to share my experience and confront with LLSNL players.
I'll use this "blog" to keep track of my sessions, make some post-session hand review, talk about strategy, mindset, bankroll mgmt, but mostly to make friend with everyone will follow me during this adventure.
MY POKER STORY
My poker background is not so small, I play since 2004 when NLH was totally unknown here, because I had the luck (?) to be friend with some of the best italian players even before they started to play as a pro. Than for some years I owned a little cardroom (mostly a private club than a real cardroom with just one cash game running 3 times a week) and after that in 2013 I almost give up poker in any form.
Lack of time and even lack of money pulled me away from this world (I NEVER asked anyone for playing money that i couldn't afford or pay) but I always silently kept following, studing some free stuffs and since 1 years I started playing again more and more.
I didn't use to keep track of my results but I think I was a little ahead between losses and wins, I used to pay all travel expenses everytime I went around for holydays.
I've played live cash game in Barcelona (twice), Lanzarote, London (5 times), Prague, Budapest, Berlin (twice), Cannes, Nice, Sanremo and I always won some money in order to freeroll the hole vacation.
I've never been a good online player, I had some little random results in MTTs and I played seriously NL50 for some months but I never considered myself as a "PRO" while some friends of mine, started from ZERO, reached the highest allowed stakes in Italy earning 100k or more/year.
I was sincerely happy for them, they worked hard for it but it was also frustratig admitting to myself that I could have do it but I "lost the train" when i decided wisely to focus on my university and sport commitments but in my heart I always wanted to be like them.
By the way, coming back to the present, I've started grindind the live cash games here in my area (mostly the single big club around here) and I started tracking my sessions every day.
My first goal was to rise my little bankroll from 1k euros to 5k and I did it just last month with a decent run and a lot of grinding nights playing 1-2 for 3-4 nights per week.
POKER IN ITALY
Situation here in Italy is not so easy for poker players.
Poker has been persecuted for some here and nowadays only tournaments are "almost" legal (only if played under 30$ buy-in) while cash game is totally illegal, but you can always find a private cash game running if you know the right people.
Police seems to "tolerate" private clubs because there's a hole in our legislation that lasts from 2010 due to our political instability so I have to play this barely legal games and pray not to be involved in a round-up.
I don't think this is gonna ever happen, private clubs in Italy are freely sponsored on facebook and everyone knows where they are so no big deal about it, but I wanted you to undestarstand that is not the same thing to step inside a regular casino and play knowing that you are guaranteed but some laws and not just the common-sense of the club owners.
Closing this long intro, let's talk about what will be my goal now.
I've booked a Flight for VEGAS
for June (15 days of pure grinding) and now my bankroll is 5,5k euros.
I would like to leave with another 2k so 7,5k total more or less and than try to improve it until 10k by the end of 2018.
I've planned to play 4 times/week:
monday, tuesday, thursday, sunday and if possibile even friday
playing the only game I have here available that is
1-1, straddle allowed to 4 (so it becomes a 1-1-2-4),
full ring games,
min buy in 100 / max buy in 800
rake 5%, cap 50.
Yes. You read it well my friends.
The action is crazy because you can enter with 800 BB (actually 200 when the games become though with double straddle) and the rake is very hard.
I've spoken several times to the host to explain (as an ex-club owner) that this rake is too heavy but as they have a full ring table everynight (sometimes 2 table running togheter) and as long they have the "monopoly" in the whole area, they are not changing anything of their commercial offer.
[continues ]