Busto to Robusto

4th in the $22 HU MTT

2007-05-28T00:45:00.000-06:00

Ship it crucial. $365 closer to the goal. Also +$80 in 6max NL. It might be time for me to move up to $50NL. I still don't think my 6max game is that great, but I'm probably at least +EV in the 50 game.

Been a Good Week

2007-05-25T08:15:00.000-06:00

So I've been moving around looking for a game to stick with. Heads up sngs were getting a bit boring. I decided to grind 1/2 limit during pokerstars big double VPP promotion. Because of that I was able to make platinum star. I have earned 13,552 VPPs this month. If I can keep up this pace I will make supernova pretty easily. But I earned most of those at double VPPs.

I played a few tourneys too, cashed in a few to cover buyins. Got a 4th in a HORSE tourney for $141. I used my FPPs to play 5400FPP 10man satellites to the Sunday million. Top 4 get a $215 ticket. I have won 3/8 of these so far. I think I should average 50%, but I haven't been running good in them. I decided to use one of the tickets to play the Sunday mil. I didn't cash.

After the VPP promotion ended I started playing NL cash. I grinded full ring a bit and decided I should be playing 6max. Here is my graph where the last one leaves off.

At this point I want to keep grinding the NL cash. Perhaps move up to $50NL 6max soon. I also like to play a few tourneys on the weekends. I played a satellite to the weekly $50k freeroll and I got a ticket. So tomorrow I will be playing freerolls with prize pools of $20k, $50k, and $100k. The $50k will have a lot less players in it. If I get lucky in any of these I could make a few grand. That is pretty good for freerolls.

I also should mention that I cashed out $400 to pay my bills. I will need to do this every month. I was up to $1701.91 before cashing out, so I now have $1301.91. I also have 5621FPPs which is worth about $100.

So things are going good. My goals are to make platinum star every month, and put in a few more VPPs some months so I can make supernova by the end of the year. Yup, I am going for supernova. If I run good and am able to move up supernova will be easy. If I run bad and have to keep grinding, well it will be a grind. Either way I will make supernova.

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BR:$1301.91

Update

2007-05-19T06:14:00.000-06:00

I guess I can be pretty strange sometimes. I have started playing limit holdem cash games. I have been playing them for the last 4 days. most of the time 12 tabling. I have already made platinum star for the month.
Here is a graph.
I haven't been running too well the past 2 days, but no worries. There are some leaks in my game, but overall I believe I am profitable at this limit and amount of tables.

Fixing Leaks

2007-05-09T04:57:00.000-06:00

So I played around 30 games today, even though I should be playing double time.

I did have a long talk with CWar from the 2+2 HU forums about my leaks. He thinks I am calling too many hands out of position preflop. This is probably the case. I can't overcome the disadvantage of playing out of position with a crappy hand. So I will make an effort to just let them go.

We also looked at what I could be doing wrong at the 50/100 blind level, since I have been losing chips at that level. The biggest difference between our games is how little I limp on the button. I fold too much when i should be limping. But to make sure my opponents don't attack my limps I will also limp AA, KK, and QQ. This will allow me to see more flops with positional advantage, and hopefully add to my winrate a bit.

If I can fix my leaks I will start getting some more $$$ and quicker. So hopefully I find more and patch my game up.

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BR:$780.04

Took a few days off

2007-05-05T02:54:00.000-06:00

Since it is the end of the semester, I have been hanging out with friends before they leave for the summer.

This means I will have to play 60 games a day for a few days. No problem though.

I Made Silverstar

2007-05-02T03:11:00.000-06:00

I did make it to silverstar, hopefully gold star will happen for me this month. In fact if I don't make gold star I haven't played enough to complete this challenge either.

My BR has gone down a bit. But I am still rocking the 33s. One day I will win some races. Oh wait, that day already happened. Anyway, I am on a very standard downswing, so I really shouldn't be as bothered about it as I am. Yet I still am.

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BR:$617.58

Took it Easy Today

2007-04-30T00:09:00.000-06:00

Well I didn't play too many games today, but of the few I did, I played well. Sometimes it is good for your poker development to just 1 table and take small breaks in between each game. This is how I imagine I will play if I make it to the high stakes games.

Even with this bit of a slowdown I am sure I can make silverstar. I am within 8 or so games of it.

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BR:$750.08
VPPs to Silverstar:53

18 Game Winning Streak

2007-04-29T09:13:00.000-06:00

Your fearless hero dominated the tables yesterday. I reached the BR needed for 33s without losing a single $22 tourney. I played 14 22s with a 100% winrate. I had won my last 4 $11s before moving up, making that an 18 game winning streak. Then I played a few 33s and ended my session. I went 1 - 3 playing the 33s. Can't win them all.

I am still planing on moving up to the 55s on my normal schedule but I probably wont be hitting the 110s for awhile.

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BR:$627.08
VPPs to Silverstar:101

Today was a Good Day

2007-04-27T18:28:00.000-06:00

Well I finally ran like god again. And made it to the amount needed to move up to $22s. Since starting the $22s I haven't lost one yet. My mind was really sharp during the whole time, and I was making really good plays, staying out of trouble with marginal hands, and just getting paid off.

If I have one day like this a week, this challenge will be dominated.

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BR:$531.08
VPPs to Silverstar:173

Side Goal Time!

2007-04-26T13:20:00.000-06:00

Well, I have decided that I should at least get to silverstar so I get start getting some decent frequent player points on pokerstars. I have earned 1130 VPP's this month already, and must earn 370 more by April 30th to by promoted to silverstar. I get 3 VPP's per $11 HU tourney. Meaning I have to play 124 tourneys by the end of the month. I can do this, but it means I might have to choose some times to 2-table. I will probably 2-table at primetime, which would be around 9pm to 12am central time. The fishier players are out so variance should be increased too much.

Also I will be posting my VPP's needed at the end of each post until the goal is met or the end of the month.

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BR:$317.58
VPPs to Silverstar:370

It's been a trying couple of days

2007-04-25T11:05:00.000-06:00

Well I have had the first struggle in my climb up the HU poker mountain. That's right, a downswing. Not a big deal. Downswings are standard, but I think it has told me something. Maybe I am not so great at 2tabling HU. Normally downswings are fairly rare for good HU sng players. The variance in HU sngs for a 65% winner is very low. If you play 30 HU sngs a day as a 65% winner you have something like a 98% chance at a winning session. (rough estimate, I have done the calculation but don't have it in front of me).

But a 55% winner (aka me while 2tabling and probably making a few tilt-based plays) will not have such a great chance. The chance for a winning session under those circumstances are closer to around 68% (another estimation). So as you can see, 32% is a likely event.

For more information on winrates affecting variance, check out this thread on the 2+2 HU forums.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=9878395&an=0&page=1#Post9878395

As a result of this knowledge, I think it is best for my small bankroll that I 1 table for most of this challenge. Technically I make more money per hour 2 tabling, but because it does decrease my winrate, the variance will be a lot crazier. Basically I have concluded that a 20 buyin bankroll is not sufficient for 2tabling, but plenty sufficient for 1tabling.

So I will try 1tabling for a few days and see how it goes. Once I get up to a level I am comfortable grinding, I will likely stay for awhile and let my bankroll grow, which should allow me to 2table again and earn more $$$/hour.

Downswings hurt, but most of the time you learn something, so consider yourself paying for the knowledge and experience.

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BR:$311.08

Tilted

2007-04-22T21:45:00.000-06:00

For some reason I feel tilted. It is probably due to being tired. I can't think properly so I wont play anymore tonight. Made about $10 though. It is important to recognize when you shouldn't be playing and stop before you give up a bunch of EV.

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BR:$389.57

Bankroll Rules

2007-04-22T02:34:00.000-06:00

Ok, this is a very important part of success in poker. Due to the lower variance of headsup sngs, The buyins needed to have a very low risk of ruin is a lot lower than 9man sngs or cash games.

So here are the rules I will be rigidly following while I am playing these games.

I will move up to a limit once I have 20 buyins for that limit. If I drop down to where I have 10 buyins or less at a limit, I will move down. Once I am playing 55s it will take 30 buyins for the next level to move up. I will move down at 20 buyins.

Basically If I lose 10 buyins from the starting point of a level I move down. Here is the table I will be using.

While playing $11s

Once BR hits $460
move up to $22s.

If BR hits $115
move down to $6s.

While playing $22s

Once BR hits $690
move up to $33s.

If BR hits $230
move down to $11s.

While playing $33s

Once BR hits $1150
move up to $55s.

If BR hits $345
move down to $22s.

While playing $55s

Once BR hits $3450
move up to $110s

If BR hits $575
move down to $33s.

While playing $110s

Once BR hits $6900
consider playing $220s.

If BR hits $2300
move down to $55s.

As for after that, I will decide.

Comments about this strategy are welcome.

As for the play, I didn't get many games in, but I almost broke even. I spent too much time watching dutch music videos on youtube.

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BR:$378.57

A Streak of Luck

2007-04-20T15:51:00.000-06:00

I hit it pretty big today. Only played for a total of 3.3 hours, but I was rocking my opponents. 69% winrate over 39 games for a total of +$145.50. I will probably be moving to the $22s soon. Not much else to say other than I ran really good.

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BR:$388.82

Quick Update

2007-04-20T01:33:00.000-06:00

Well, tonight is starting off really good. So far I am up ~7 buyins. Playing at night works really well. I am crushing the 11s. It also helps to run really good, outdraw people, and have my hands hold up.

Some thoughts I have on heads up sngs;

I think it is important that I get as many tourneys in as possible while I am playing and running well. When I am running bad, it is simply harder for me to play as well. I am looking into why this is, and I hope to eventually not have such a problem with it, but right now, when it happens, I usually stop playing for that session. I believe this is why I have had the most success at HU sngs compared to other forms of poker. The variance is simply lower.

The problem with HU poker is that you are playing and thinking about nearly every hand. Even if you fold a lot preflop, you get dealt the next hand instantly. I think it is reasonable to argue that you do as much thinking playing 2 tables of HU as someone playing 8 tables of 9man sngs or full ring cash games. Since the HU games finish much faster than 9man sngs, the hourly rate for HU sngs is pretty good.

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BR:$243.32

The First Day

2007-04-19T22:15:00.000-06:00

Well my first day was pretty productive. I started out well and then the profits started to taper off. Playing the 11s is a lot different than playing the 55s. I find the opponents start getting really frustrated if they lose half of their stack. One guy lost an allin and sat out because he was down to 500 chips. These guys bleed EV and I am happy to pick up the slack.

Towards the end of the day I was probably playing a little worse, making bad reads, and paying off a few times when I shouldn't have. I really need to work on keeping my mind sharp near the end of sessions. The more games I can get in, the better.

That said I played 34 games yesterday. I won 19, putting me at 55.88% winrate for the day. 52.50% is breakeven because of the rake. I know I can win at a larger rate, but that number doesn't mean anything about my play since it isn't over enough games to be meaningful. I do know that I did better and was playing better at the start of my session.

I played for 3 hours making $7.98 an hour. I was 2tabling during most of the 3 hours. The more I get used to playing a lot, the longer I will be able to play. I am going to try to keep up the same pace for the next few weeks, and then hopefully increase the amount I am playing.

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BR:$165.32

Zomg First Post

2007-04-18T02:48:00.000-06:00

This blog will be covering my play of heads up sitngos as I try to earn $10,000 playing them. I am hoping to be able to do this in 3 months. I shall post about the trials and tribulations of getting there as I play. I will also post my history with HU sngs, and with poker in general.

I currently have no "real" job. I will inevitably have to withdraw bits of bankroll to pay for expenses.

As of right now my return on investment playing HU sngs has been 9% over 755 games. I have tilted quite a bit, but I still managed to profit. Due to burnout I let my bankroll get quite low, as I was simply withdrawing, and playing very little. Well now I have to play, or get a job. That is a pretty easy choice for me.

I am starting out again at the $11 level of HU sngs. I have $138.32 in my pokerstars account. My plan is to play 2 tables at a time for at least 20 hours a week. Hopefully I can light a fire under my ass and play 40 hours a week, but we shall see. I will set my daily sng goal at 30 a day. I wont be playing everyday, but I will try to play at least 5 days a week. I will state my BR at the bottom of every post.

Wish me luck!

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BR:$138.32