A simple May challenge

I'm participating again in a cash challenge on a training site I joined in December.
Same challenge as last time: play at least 2 days a week and at least 500 hands/week. Post all session results and at least one HH per session.

At the end of the month, we'll determine the winner based on total BB/100.

So all stakes and all games can play (Hold'em, PLO). And since I play around my full--time job and full-time family, I can put in multiple small sessions each week and still be able to play along.

I thought I'd cross-post here to give me even more incentive to avoid spew.

[old links, removedd ~tb]

That is great what you are doing. Nothing like a challenge to make you work on your game and make some money at the same tinme. What training site are you on and how is it working for you. Maybe I can join it also.

Challenge accepted

Since I am doing the Bovada bonus this month, I am down for this challenge. I'll post my weekly session information and some hands up here when I can. It is Bovada so I might be a day or two late each week, because I will need to wait for the hand histories to be downloadable.

My results so far

To improve as players, our winnings per session are NOT what we should be looking at. Posting hand histories and reviewing the quality of our play (sadly, not always correlated with profits) is how to improve. Studying (books, videos, posts by players that have proven to be winning players over the long run) and being in a conversation with an open mind towards improving your play is how we grow as players.

This challenge, however, was set up by that other site to inspire play and friendly competition. It goes by the honor system that you'll post accurately and not leave out any negative results. The challenge guidelines posted there ask us to post daily or weekly summaries that include stake, number of hands played, bb/100, and profit/lose.

The true learning happens in another thread where we post hands and discuss strategy.

All this to cover why I'm posting daily profit/loss from my sessions--I am aware that this doesn't necessarily mean I'm playing well or poorly.

So, here are my results so far.

RegHC23 said:

That is great what you are doing. Nothing like a challenge to make you work on your game and make some money at the same tinme. What training site are you on and how is it working for you. Maybe I can join it also.

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I've been listening to Grinderschool (free) podcasts for a while. They were having a Christmas-time special deal on memberships and I was given a subscription as a present. I have, in the past, also subscribed to Drag the Bar (using my own funds and often winning months of membership here on CC via the league).

You can't go wrong with either site and the quality of their instructors and videos. My frustration with training sites is that the forum discussion is obviously tied to the videos so you won't get much of a long-term forum relationship unless you are a regular subscriber. And I don't always feel that I can allow myself the luxury (as a recreational player this is a luxury) of a regular subscription.

So Cardschat is my "home" and where I spend most of my time discussing poker. The training sites are like a book that you buy, read avidly for a while, put down for a while, and then pick back up again from time to time.

dresturn2 said:

Challenge accepted

Click to expand...

vinnie said:

Since I am doing the Bovada bonus this month, I am down for this challenge. I'll post my weekly session information and some hands up here when I can. It is Bovada so I might be a day or two late each week, because I will need to wait for the hand histories to be downloadable.

Click to expand...

It's funny because I hadn't intended to start the same challenge here. I had just meant to post a summary of how I'm doing with the challenge. But it would be great to have the same event here.

Important to always post hand histories from your games (otherwise we won't be learning anything from the challenge as I soapboxed before).

I agree with you on your post earlier about it is truly are you making the right decisions when the time comes. This ultimately would lead to a profit and that part pretty much takes care of itself. At the moment I am on a 10000 hand challenge at 4 NL. How do you take a picture and post results on this website like you did earlier.

RegHC23 said:

I agree with you on your post earlier about it is truly are you making the right decisions when the time comes. This ultimately would lead to a profit and that part pretty much takes care of itself. At the moment I am on a 10000 hand challenge at 4 NL. How do you take a picture and post results on this website like you did earlier.

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Hi Reg.
Have you started a thread here on Cardschat about that challenge? If not, you should!

I don't know if this is the best way, but what I do is the following (on a Windows laptop):
I use the Print Screen functionality on my computer to copy the active window on my laptop. Then I paste the image into Paint (free program on Windows).
I cut the image to capture the part I want and save it as a jpeg file.

Then, when you use the Reply function here, you have an option to upload images. Click the little paper clip icon on the Cardschat reply box and find the saved image on your hard drive. Click Upload and then close the window.

Back in the Reply box, you can select that paper clip icon again and you'll see the file that you just uploaded. Click that and it will embed the image into your reply.

Hope this helps!

Yesterday afternoon I found some time to play some more 10NL. It was a bouncy session (a combination of me having some bad beats and trying to push marginal hands and bluff the other player off the pot*), and at the time I intended to end I was down a few dollars. I did the often dangerous thing (I plead guilty of this) of then continuing to play so that I could end my session with a positive balance.

Fortunately it worked this time (I don't think I was tilted so that helped). Daily record below.

*I do not indiscriminately try and bluff hands. Player type of the villain is crucial to understand. There are opponents who will never be pushed off a hand, no matter how wet the board gets. Never bluff these guys because they'll continue to call with their middle pair and you will lose.

But when you are up against a player who seems to pay attention to board texture, and will fold a medium-strength hand when the board and action imply that you have the nuts... That's another story. Have to pick your spots. And have a good read on that opponents tendencies. That is correct poker theory, I believe.

But do these players exist at 10NL? Based on my HUD and notes they seem to be there. Sometimes I have been able to push players off their hands when I don't have the goods. BUT FOR THE MOST PART, THESE PLAYS ARE NOT PROFITABLE for me AT 10NL. And I shouldn't be trying these moves because I don't think they help me at all. They are just hard to resist.... I guess I'm a semi-gambler...

Here's where I am so far...