Barry needs to do a well now =)

Ok, here is my lifetime graph of cash:



The graph looks sharper toward the end because a big part of the early graph is all sub-50NL with a ton of random stuff thrown in (.25/.50 - .5/1 limit, 2-25NL)

My FR Results:

100NL/PL - 37,000 hands - 2.41 ptbb/100
50NL/PL - 98,000 hands - 3.07ptbb/100

As you can see, my winrates are nothing stellar, but decently solid.

I'm up about $3000 from SNGs and MTTs so I guess that puts me at a total profit of around $9200 or so...still a little while to go and some more work to do before I hit that big 10k plateau.

It looks like my biggest downswong is actually more like $1300!

Well thanks again for posting! I really appreciate it! Ahh...if what I play is too much poker, then most of 2+2 has a massive gambling problem

Sidenote: I've played 2,299 hands of cash since May 1st...yikes.

Another slow day at work...

If anyone has any more questions and wants to humor me, feel free. Otherwise I will let this thing fade into the realm of page 2 and beyond...

Assuming 100BB relative stacks, 100NL tables, what are your swing thoughts when playing a big pocket pair out of the blinds?

When you look down at your cards PF, what are you most likely to think FIRST? :

"Garbage, toss"
"Who's in already?"
"This hand could ..go...all...the...way..."
"Small pot; station up..."
"?????????__________"

Is there more value in:
1.sweating your game, post session
2.sweating specfic villains at your level
3.sweating winners from a level or two above

Best piece of poker advice you ever got? ...that you ever gave?

Depends, but I'm usually raising, but sometimes calling against aggro villians who raised in LP. "It depends" is a weak answer, but it does really depend on the situation. But most of the time I'm raising it up. I've been working on raising a little wider out of the blinds. If you only raise here with big hands you aren't going to get any action when you do. The downside to opening wider is that you are going to play a few more pots OOP that are already big preflop. Another positive is you pick up a lot more pots without showdown...I go back and forth.

My thought process:
1) What position am I in?
2) Who has entered the pot, who is behind me and what is their playing style?

I picked this tip up from MT2R: The cards matter a lot more when you are in EP because you have a ton of people left to act behind you and you are going to be OOP for the hand. When you are in LP it doesn't really matter what you have, it's the type of players still in the hand. Cards are overvalued - it's more about playing styles and tendancies. This didn't really start to click for me until I was sick of people folding when I would raise in LP with a big hand and they would c/f a lot of flops. Then I realized, "wait, I can do this profitably with any cards...these guys will fold unless they have something really good..."

I think 1 and 2 kind of go hand-in hand. A lot of your actions are based on the opponent you are playing, so reads/playing styles/tendancies are all important of the other people at the table. I think through reviewing your own game, you get an idea about how others play - remember, you can take notes on players when reviewing them later...it's easy to notice interesting plays like someone only c/r flops with the nuts or this person. It's good to look at regulars stats, but I have the "important" ones on PAHUD so I don't need to study them, I just pull them up It's always nice to watch a video of a good player at a higher level or who drops down to play yours. These players are good for a reason - they think out their actions and verbalize how they do so in the videos. This is great for habit forming and critically thinking through each hand. I'd rank them 1/3/2 as you listed them in order of importance.

Best advice I have come across are posts on good bankroll management. Like I stated earlier in this thread - you NEED to have good bankroll management to be a long term winner at this game. You can be great and beat 1000NL, but if you can't control your banrkoll you will go busto. Variance affects everyone, the ones who can sustain the highs and lows will be long term winners.

I don't know if there is one instance of me giving awesome advice that made me feel like a god or something, but I guess just reminding people that this is a game and play within your limits would be the best thing I could offer.

I think I'm relatively tilt-averse compared to other players because I am nitty with my bankroll and I am willing to move down/cash out if I get to a certain level or am playing bad. If you get angry when you lose a few buy-ins on coolers, you might want to consider stepping down your play for a little while. Yes, bad beats suck...hardcore, especially in crucial situations (late in tournaments, in HUGE pots). Instead of wondering what could have been, take consolation in the fact that you either already have or will bad beat someone in a similar situation down the road. Some old corny poker saying goes something like "if you are a good player, you will take bad beats more than bad players because you will be getting your money in ahead more often than they do." It makes sense...if you keep getting bad beat, you must be doing something right

Also, if you are too emotionally involved, the money still means something to you - which means you might not be able to afford to lose it...always play within your bankroll and comfort level.

What's your favorite part of history? Are you tired of American history like me since it has been beaten in my head since 3rd grade?

I guess I like history because it is interesting to see what in our past has set on us the path to where we are now. So many things had to happen for us to arrive at our current society.

i.e. if Germany/Japan had won WWII (read Man in the High Castle - good book).

It's interesting to hear people's reactions about history too. Generally, most Americans feel that we have a civilized society, although future generations might look at us as barbaric.

There are a lot of downfalls with history as only bits and pieces of things get reported, so a lot of the time we aren't getting the whole story of what really went on. Also, authors and historians try to connect events together in cause-and-effect relationships when there might be more to the picture than meets the eye.

Yes, I am sick of popular US History. It's funny how perceptions change when you look past the patriotic BS that is drilled into your brain as a kid. Abe Lincoln is a perfect example (may have been bi-polar, gay, and is on the record as disliking blacks while he is considered the "Great Emancipator"). What is preached to children in the classroom is usually only one side of the story - the mainstream one that makes everyone feel good, safe, and secure. So, yes, I am sick of that stuff

At UofI you don't have to specialize in any certain type of history, so I've taken classes all over the spectrum (military history - US - Chinese - Race and Science - Latin America, etc.)

I'm a big fan of the skill set being a histroy major gives you. I know how to analyze something and prepare an argument for one side or the other. I think reading comprehension, critical thinking, and writing are all very helpful skills regardless of what profession you are planning to go into. I'd like to think that I would be better at most non-scientific based jobs than many people who are in school to pursue that particular career (i.e. I think I could pwn people in the business world - but maybe that is just me being arrogant).

bump

So much for not wanting to play poker full time. Would love to see some updates since things have drastically changed for you! Very cool to see your perspective before all the success though.

How is someone with a 6k lifetime cash earnings graph making a well?

It was a small stakes NL well and he now has millions of dollars in online cashes. http://www.pocketfives.com/profiles/illini213/

FYI, any one can make a well. He just won 241k in sept. and has over 3.5 million in cashes life time.

im pretty sure pocket fives only registers cashes. so he probably won 3.5 million but "lost" 3.2 millions

Yes, it is only cashes. Regardless, the guy is an absolute beast now and one of the best MTT players online. I didn't take the time to SS his other names, but he has over half a mill profit on just Stars.

http://www.sharkscope.com/#Player-St...yers/Illini213

Not sure why people are hating on him.....

and you're basing that on....?

preeeetty much nothin

mcnitt, sorry for the shocking news, but you are ******ed.

haha i've known that for years man

hah i feel bad for being rude to you now man

thing is i didnt mean he was down or anything, just said that i think (not 100% sure) that pocket fives only counts cashes, they dont discount buy ins

They don't track losses. They most certainly subtract your buy in from your winnings.

lol it's cool dude, ur post just came across rly douchey good to know that's not how u meant it