So I had lost my entire bankroll, once again, playing NL on Full Tilt.

I find that hour after hour after hour of playing patient poker, and slowly turning $100 into $130, or more usually into $70, just becomes extremely difficult after a while. Somehow I just get sucked into these hands where I'm mostly all-in with a missed flush draw, so I just go all-in, and lose. Another problem with NL I have is that I don't have that much control over my winnings - they seem primarily to depend on whether a maniac will decide to sit at my table and whether I can get a hand in with him before he busts out. I do not find "table selection" all that helpful because loose tables have such long waiting lists. Nearly everyone else is playing 20/15, or even 17/15, and I just cannot make money against a table of people playing AK and pocket pairs. Maybe a tiny amount in steals, but it's hardly worthwhile at .5/1. I really find it hard to believe people can consistently make money at .5/1 on Full Tilt, I mean, against a cautious 17 VPIP player, I just don't think you're making enough in steals to make up for the rake, and against a decent player you can't really make much in steals because they just reraise you.

Another way to say this, is Ferguson, for example, advocates that in a cash game a player should have no more than 4% of his bankroll in play. And a bankroll is what a player can comfortably lose. So on a typical blind steal or flop steal, a player might win say 1/1000th of his bankroll. It's just not worth the time, basically. Even waiting around for 4 hours on the hope you might make 4% of your roll if you double out (and even that's very optimistic), it just seems painfully boring.

Anyway, so I'm down to zero, but with 600 ftp points. So I play a sit-n-go with that. Which I win, for a $26 token.

Now, I don't like the risk in tournaments so I email support and ask if I can cash it out. They so no, so I resignedly play in a 90-person sit-n-go, all I could find. Here is the final hand:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 4,000/8,000 Blinds, 1,000 Ante, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): 191,612
SB: 78,388

Pre-Flop: (14,000) K Q dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to 24,000, Hero calls 16,000

Flop: (50,000) 4 T 9 (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB bets 53,388 and is All-In, Hero calls 53,388

Turn: (156,776) J (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: (156,776) 5 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: 156,776 Pot
Hero showed K Q (a straight, King high) and WON 156,776 (+78,388 NET)
SB showed T Q (a pair of Tens) and LOST (-78,388 NET)

So I'm up $571!

Then I lose another $100 at NL 100 after a hand even I concede was not played that well, and cash out $450, up money. Here's my last hand before I cashed out, not sure what wrong. The calls before the river seemed ok, and who knows at the river, he might have been bluffing, why not toss in 50 to see?

Full Tilt Poker, $0.50/$1 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG: $98.50
MP: $22.40
Hero (CO): $81.95
BTN: $220.50
SB: $161.35
BB: $137.70

Pre-Flop: T J dealt to Hero (CO)
2 folds, Hero calls $1, BTN raises to $5, 2 folds, Hero calls $4

Flop: ($11.50) 6 Q 4 (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $8.50, Hero calls $8.50

Turn: ($28.50) 8 (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $20, Hero calls $20

River: ($68.50) J (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $49, Hero calls $48.45 and is All-In

Results: $165.40 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero mucked T J (a pair of Jacks) and LOST (-$81.95 NET)
BTN showed Q Q (three of a kind, Queens) and WON $162.40 (+$80.45 NET)

lol

that is all

hand 2 fold river thanks.

fold turn as well

I find that hour after hour after hour of playing patient poker, and slowly turning $100 into $130, or more usually into $70, just becomes extremely difficult after a while.

Hmmm....Maybe poker isnt your game?

I was gonna say raise flop until I saw villain's hand.

Fold river thanks.

OP- why not switch to 'Connect 4'

You seem to be very passive. I mean, lol @ not shoving preflop with the KQ hand. You say you are a "cautious" 17 vpip. What's your PFR? It should be at least 14-15 but I would guess it is much lower.

Raising preflop isn't just about winning the $1.50 that's out there. It should be part of an aggressive overall gameplan. It builds pots to be stolen or to stack someone, frustrates your opponents so they do dumb ****, and a bunch of other stuff.

Believe it. I once made ~9k in a month in that game.

sweet post

Sell the chair and you have a new bankroll. (Of course, you will have to play standing up for a while.)