Grinding the micros, Bankroll Management and my weaknesses

Hello all,

this is my first post here, so upfront I want to say that cardschat is one of the nicest and friendliest communities ever. Cheers!

I thought it is a good time to introduce myself and contribute something to this forum, so I will tell my story in poker. It might be interesting because i see many threats about building a bankroll from little or nothing. It is a long posting

Basically it all started around christmas 2006. I never really cared for poker before and didnt know much about it. But since it was (and still is) a hype, I got introduced to it through some friends of mine. So on x-mas night we played some hands without real money to understand the basics of the game. Later that night we went on to another friend for a nice dinner. Of course someone came up with the idea for a tourney and after some hours I found myself playing heads up for the win. I ended losing against the hosts wife.

I had exams around that time, so it took a little while until I started to play online for play money. Getting more and more used to the game, I finally deposited my first 20 Euro (27$ at that time) and started to play the 1/2ct cash games. Until today this was my only deposit.

My strategy was (and is) to sit down with a buck, play tight and leave the table when i doubled. I am always looking for tables with a high percentage of players seeing the flop and a low average pot. We can discuss this later, but my goal was and still is to see cheap flops and have less gambling and all in fests. Since I am buying in for the minimum, additionally I choose tables where most players have my stack size to avoid getting pushed around.

I did this for about a year and got my initial investment up to 280 $. Now for most of you this may sound like not enough or too slow in progress. But I have an disciplined approach to the game (sometimes overdisciplined, more on that later) and see it as the marathon it is told to be. Further, I see my play as a process, studying the game and getting better. For example, at about 180$ i moved up 2/5ct blind levels. I made money there, but somehow I felt I am not ready for that level and my win rate is even higher at the lower blinds, so I returned. I think I was playing too scared and could not adjust to the bet sizes of that level.

Another thing where the drawdowns at higher levels, they just hurt too much. Nevertheless I am getting used to them at my lower blinds. Of course I sometimes get angry when nothing works, you hit no pair, aces get cracked in a row etc. It might sound silly, but when that happens I try to think of some of the pros like Patrik Antonius, who always has an expression like a rock, no matter if he gets beat bad and looses a proper amount of money, or wins it (do not use Phil Hellmuth for this). Thats the way to deal with it - avoid to care about it and move on or stop.

But a far more important aspect is money management (or BRM). I would go as far as to say, that for a long term winning player, it is the most important thing. It keeps you in the game, and no matter how many buyins (or in my case $s) I went down, I still bought in for a buck and after some sessions my bankroll was on a new high. BRM also helps in a psychological way, as my goal is to reduce the volatility of swings as far as possible. This, of course, is individual as some like to see a huge swing and take more risk to achieve it.

Anyway, as I got up to 280$ and had an annoying losing streak, I cashed out 250$, just to get that feeling of having cashed out I started all over. Occasionally, e.g. when meeting with some friends to set up three computers and gamble all night, I was playing some MTTs with small buyins (max. a buck) for fun. So the next big boost came, when I made a 6th place out of 3300 for 99 bucks That got my roll up to about 150$ again.

That win fired my interest in tourneys. When I started playing poker online, I tried some SNGs, but got burned and lost interest. On a cash table I saw faster success. Most of my friends where only playing tourneys and no ring games at all, they made some decent cashes, playing MTTs with a 4$-10$ buyin. They cashed out a fair amount and lost the rest along with their steady interest for poker (although they are coming back with a different approach). To me, playing only MTTs was far too nerve wrecking, too less success on the way to a big hit and too time consuming (although I play a lot, more on that later).

But after that tourney win, I was looking what I can do. Somehow my skills must have improved. So I got back to the SNGs again to play the 3 table ones (27 entrants). At first I mixed my sessions up with playing some cash game and then moving to the SNGs. I got up to about to about 180$ in my account when some drawdown sessions hit me. I didnt lose that much, but it just annoyed me for the amount of time I played.

So I cashed out another 135$, leaving 35$ to play. That was last december, and since then im up to about 90$ again, mainly playing the SNGs. These are a step for me, as I still only risk 1.20$ (almost my buyin at the cash game), but can win a greater amount than in a regular ring session. I usually make the money more than 25% of the time and have a steady, not too swingy, progress in my bankroll. Also I strictly stick to the same games.

As I said, many of you will see my figures as pocket money. Considering the amount of time I put in, you probably are right. This is one of the weaknesses of my game. I play almost every day, coming home from work, lay down on the couch, put on the TV (yes i do) and play the whole evening. But dont worry yet, I do have a social life and get other things done as well. But I have to admit, that poker has become a major part of my life. And I absolutely believe that my approach is taylored to myself. But it takes time. My goal is to build a roll that allows me to play the 3$ SNGs with a proper BRM (not only mathematical, but a "feeling good"). This will be at around 500$, which ironically is about the amount of my lifetime winnings, but I want to work my way up again instead of cashing in.

There are many things in my play I have to work on. I will make a seperate post on this.

Regards,
Boro

Patience and good goal-setting are huge attributes for a winning poker player. Not sure if you are already, but what you will want to do as an online poker player is to learn to multitable properly.

For one (assuming you're a winning player), your winrate is increased significantly depending on how many tables you add. Multitabling also achieves more hands/hour, and that means you get more experience quicker, and you get to see the long run quicker which helps with tilt. Take it slow though - even though i'm sure you don't really need to be told this, heh.

Great first post, welcome to the forums Boro There is a ton of free advice lying around and getting posted daily, so dig in.

It sounds like you've got the basic concepts sorted and your game must be solid if you've repeatedly ground back up after cashing out. Congratulations.

I wouldn't see the amounts you're playing for as a weakness per se either. You're right with the marathon analogy: you don't want to risk everything in the opening stages and keeping a steady pace all the way through should yield better results in the long run. The best part about poker too is that if you can grind a steady game and keep increasing your bankroll, you'll reap greater rewards as you move up in stakes.

Chuck has a point about multi-tabling, it's definitely a way to speed up your progress without breaking your bankroll rules.

Welcome to CardsChat and all the best

Nice 1st post. Welcome to CardsChat.

Yo yo, great post, we have alot in common.
I started out on the 1/2c tables just like you until I grinded up to $200. As Doyle Brunson said, he had to spend years on the dirt trail learning the game until he actually hit Vegas, it does take time. Lucky for us the 1/2 cent tables aren't on a dirt trail, they're right there all the time .
Learning how to play on the 1/2c tables was my favourite part of playing poker so far, even though it takes FOREVER with such small wins.
If you've been successful at these limits, why move to SNG's and tournys?! I would recommend giving 5NL another try. I would also recommend buying in for the full amount, don't be afraid to lose it all at once - look forward to winning alot at once! As the limits move up, the winning feels even better. And I know what you're talking about with not feeling ready about the next level, I'm just coming to the end of my 10NL experience and nervous about hitting up 25NL... just gotta get used to it. Good luck man.

Thats a nice post. you should make a blog on this. ^^, My Poker Story. Lol Good luck in the tables man. We all are aspiring to be great poker players.

Good post and welcome, Boro!

I, too, am fairly new to this forum and enjoy it immensely. I find that I am learning the most by reading the experiences of others not so much in how they would play certain cards but in how they manage their bankrolls (or stacks in individual tourneys).

I have also seen many threads asking for advice on building a BR w/o actually making a cash deposit, so I am experimenting with this myself for a 7-day period so I can post for others how it turned out. I consider myself to be a pretty average player, so maybe I can help someone else out with my little trial run.

@ChuckTs

I always read your posts and blog with pleasure, so Im happy you have been the first poster on my thread!

Multitabling is on the list, but right now I dont feel ready for it. When I tried it, I got too confused. I think I need to adapt my play which will take some time. Also this will only work for the cash games, at the SnGs I pay too much attention to the opponents play and concentrate on the table, especially in the late stages.

@OzExorcist

Yeah, but sometimes it is hard. Like today, when nothing works right and you grind and grind and only make a buck or something. I will have to go through this and hope to see the rewards someday at other levels

@WVHillbilly

Thanks! I have taken good advice from some of your posts on cardschat and read your blog as well.

@Spranger

Good Job with your grind and good luck for the next level!

The reason for the SnGs is that they work very well for me and I can win more with the same risk exposure (1.20$). I still play the cash games of course and plan on giving the 5NL a shot again. Funny thing is that I got the impression that my ring game skills got worse. I know about the differences between them and tourneys, but somehow right now its not as good as it should and I do better at the SnGs (well not today, but thats another story).

@nykel88

Thanks and gl to u2. Maybe I will blog, but you know, my process is slow, so it wont be too interesting right now, hehe. But I will keep you updated.

@puppyfeet

Cardschat is a great resource and well kept forum.

I prefered to make a small deposit and work with it. When I started I wanted to play cash games and was less interested in toruneys, they just took too long and the rising blinds were making it hard for me (this has changed). GL with your experiment.

Regards,
Boro