Need Advice on Reaching Targets

Hi, I am James, just returning to cardschat after a long hiatus. I play on pokerstars and I have set myself some targets, to be mentioned below. I have a bankroll of (currently) $71.03 and play $0.01/$0.02 cash games, 6-max, with 6 tables (8 is the maximum on my screen, but I do not play well with this volume at 6-max) and a 100 BB buy-in on each. I want to achieve the following targets but need some advice on how to do so.

*Reach Silverstar status by the end of the month (currently only Chromestar, with a total of 48.33 VPP, requiring 451.67 more)
*Earn the $10 Stellar award of $10 (621 out of 750 VPPs achieved so far) as soon as possible
*Satellite into a live event or large online buy-in event for a small amount of FPPs
***HAVE A BANKROLL LARGE ENOUGH TO BUY INTO THE 2014 wsop MAIN EVENT OR QUALIFY FOR IT***

I am not sure about how achievable these targets are, certainly the last one is a long shot, but oh well. Any feedback is welcome. Particularly any insight on ZOOM poker.

personally $73.00 I would hit and run i'd potentially scrap the multi tables solely focus on 2 tabling, (I could make 500 in a week to 2 weeks. 2 tabling 50NL with say $125.00
with this tactic.

its upto you whether you prefer to go back to multi tabling once you get your cash goal

Im not sure 6 tabling lower stakes if I would do aswell as you will do I've never tried.

most importantly are you profiting? dailly or is it up and down,

I would hit up 2 tables 8c/16c

one 6 max and one 9 max -
stick to a low variance style tight and in position,
think of yourself as a hunter seek out the weak 6max tables and take the cash thats of offer when you hit your hands, and if their are passive players potentially, grind the extra pots.
with your 9 max table your basically just waiting for big hands or good spots for an exploit.

with regards to hitting y to big scores, you can sit n go to the storm for 2.75 I never pay $11.00 for it as its pretty easy to get a ticket within 2 attempts,

I would focus on reaching a secure bankroll before going for live sats but the sunday million you could attempt once or twice a week for 1 or 2 dollars.

and the nightly $1dollar 60k you can win 15k, I've almost won it back in march this year.

the thing you have to remember is you only really need 8-10 buy ins if your 2tabling and you go broke with a low variance strategy that shouldnt be happening, its easily avoidable

Don't listen to Cotta. His advice is awful.

Realistically, you have a super slim to none chance at the third and fourth goal. I'd say don't worry about goals. Just keep grinding 2nl and working on your game.

cotta777 said:

personally $73.00 I would hit and run i'd potentially scrap the multi tables solely focus on 2 tabling, (I could make 500 in a week to 2 weeks. 2 tabling 50NL with say $125.00
with this tactic.

its upto you whether you prefer to go back to multi tabling once you get your cash goal

Im not sure 6 tabling lower stakes if I would do aswell as you will do I've never tried.

most importantly are you profiting? dailly or is it up and down,

I would hit up 2 tables 8c/16c

one 6 max and one 9 max -
stick to a low variance style tight and in position,
think of yourself as a hunter seek out the weak 6max tables and take the cash thats of offer when you hit your hands, and if their are passive players potentially, grind the extra pots.
with your 9 max table your basically just waiting for big hands or good spots for an exploit.

with regards to hitting y to big scores, you can sit n go to the storm for 2.75 I never pay $11.00 for it as its pretty easy to get a ticket within 2 attempts,

I would focus on reaching a secure bankroll before going for live sats but the sunday million you could attempt once or twice a week for 1 or 2 dollars.

and the nightly $1dollar 60k you can win 15k, I've almost won it back in march this year.

the thing you have to remember is you only really need 8-10 buy ins if your 2tabling and you go broke with a low variance strategy that shouldnt be happening, its easily avoidable

Click to expand...

:laugh:

I'll be honest with you. Your Main Event 2014 goal is likely unattainable. Even if it was, you'd need about a $400k bankroll to make buying in to it sensible, unless you plan on spending a large chunk of your bankroll taking a shot. You should just keep this as a long-term goal with no expectation of doing it in 2014.

Set some short term goals for yourself. The most important goal you should have right now is achieving a sufficient sample size of hands while maintaining your status as a winning player. Once you can do that, the rest will come to you as you move up in stakes.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

Imo, a serious poker player doesn't need a $400k BR to justify playing the ME once, but I certainly find it unlikely that anyone, even an extremely solid player playing good volume, could go from < 100 to anything that would feel comfortable parting with 10 grand.

But as for moving up and working on each thing one at a time, a few tips:
- Bankroll management: BRM is a must, however, there is no magic number. Do what you're comfortable with as long as you always have enough so that you're within risk-of-ruin constraints
- Improve your game: Don't passively watch videos or passively grind. Treat each session as a focused, effortful step toward improving your game. Take notes on books/articles, pause videos and explain new concepts aloud in your own words when you come across them, and try to start each grind session with a particular concept or application in mind (cbetting good board textures, paying attention to stack sizes, whatever)
- Make peace with variance: This is a tough one for almost everyone, and I don't pretend to be one of the few who've accomplished it completely. Poker is a game played in the long run. Understand that there will be ups and downs, and start wrapping your head around what those downs could realistically look like, and why they happen.
- Remove your ego: This one is even harder for most people. One of the biggest steps you can make toward becoming a stronger poker player (or a stronger anything, for that matter) is realizing how little you understand. This will allow you to open up to others' advice, think critically about your own play, and ultimately take your next step down the path.

These are just a few things off the top of my head. Books could be and have been written about some of this stuff, so expect it to be incomplete. But it should get you started. I wish you play-good at the tables.

Scourrge said:

Imo, a serious poker player doesn't need a $400k BR to justify playing the ME once

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May be true, but OP said he wanted a bankroll large enough to do so. It might be a more reasonable and financially sensible goal to have a bankroll large enough to play in live satellites into the Main Event. I've played in some as low as $125 that awarded more than one seat.

Forget about 3rd and fourth goal, it is virtually impossible for you to achieve it, and setting that as a goal will make you play with pressure and that's not good. Just focus on the first 2 goals, and if it becomes difficult, reduce the number of tables to 1 or 2. Good luck

I agree with Scrourrge. Some people want to play the main event just to say they played the main event. However I don't think that anyone should risk their whole bankroll to do so. I am sure it is a great experience and you can tell stories about it or whatever. It is not worth throwing 10k at just for stories or saying you were there. If you are serious about the game you play to win. I don't think the OP would be ready to take on that level of competition from a year of grinding .01/.02 games. No to mention that tournament poker is a different mindset from cash games.

I am glad to know the 3rd and 4th goals are extremely unlikely, now I will be able to concentrate on using my FPPs for VIP freerolls instead of mega path satellites. Thanks for all the advice. However, my main question is what should I be playing and where, really?

No Limit Hold 'em is the game, but I am wondering about different online cardrooms, any deposit/reload bonuses worth taking advantage of, etc. Also if I stay on Stars, I had made myself a target to win the Mercury Division High and Low Orbit sit and go leagues. If someone could give me an insight on how hard this is to do and whether playing 9-man SNGs will get me enough points or if I need to play 27 man SNGs or if I'm better off playing cash.

IN SUMMARY

*Stay on Pokerstars or go elsewhere, take advantage of weaker player pools and good deposit/reload bonuses.
*Stick with Cash or try MTT or SNG.

I would play Stars and FullTilt. They are the biggest sites. You wont have any problems with them. As far as weak players those sites are big enough that there are enough weak players everywhere. If you are at a table that you feel you are getting bullied just leave and go to another one. From what I remember there are enough tables at every limit on those sites. As far as game selection I believe you should play what you are most comfortable at. If you want to try something different just make sure you can pay it at a level that is comfortable for you.

Blobweird123 said:

Don't listen to Cotta. His advice is awful.

Realistically, you have a super slim to none chance at the third and fourth goal. I'd say don't worry about goals. Just keep grinding 2nl and working on your game.

Click to expand...

Im not saying he'l succeed but if he took the time to learn the low variance strategy and discipline.
it is possible.

Im not claiming to be one of the best players out there but I know for a fact I can turn a smal bankroll into a large one at say 50NL and so could alot of players
at pokerstars due to having so many tables their will always be a suitable game in which the run of play benifits your low variance style.

im not saying go and sit down at a table with your bankroll night after night, selection is key.

I should also of stated this is a highly unorthadox strategy and their probably is not many books/write ups other than hit and run etc that relate to it.
so I apologise for that

cotta777 said:

Im not saying he'l succeed but if he took the time to learn the low variance strategy and discipline.
it is possible.

Im not claiming to be one of the best players out there but I know for a fact I can turn a smal bankroll into a large one at say 50NL and so could alot of players
at pokerstars due to having so many tables their will always be a suitable game in which the run of play benifits your low variance style.

im not saying go and sit down at a table with your bankroll night after night, selection is key.

I should also of stated this is a highly unorthadox strategy and their probably is not many books/write ups other than hit and run etc that relate to it.
so I apologise for that

Click to expand...

Unorthodox? You shouldve mentioned its a good way to go broke in one session.

Blobweird123 said:

Unorthodox? You shouldve mentioned its a good way to go broke in one session.

Click to expand...

^ What he said.