Well the month is almost over and I am interested to see some results as i've kept track to a "T"! The $5.50 SnG's are full of absolute morons and it sure helps to have that to build a 'roll on. I am still staying within my bankroll in the SnG's, but I HAVE been playing some .25/.50 and .50/1.00 Triple Draw 2-7. I am a little sick about it, and although i've been winning, I know that it will take a couple bad nights to put me on tilt. But, I have been pretty good about staying pretty emotionless with the bad beats and the premium draws that just do not get there. That being said, I just do not understand the low limit TD players sometimes. I sat for about 2.5 hours the other night, and watched as the guy to my right repeatedly limped UTG and cold called raises with 2 and 3 draws. Now usually this is a tell-tale sign of a weak to moderate hand something like 345xx or just a 23xxx. The thing is, by just limping with these hands he is giving odds for other players to limp into the hand as well and take available cards. It's not like there is an endless supply of 23456 and 7's?!?!! The part that is really screwy is that this guy had won over 50BB's, and quite a few of them were from me! For example: I am in 2nd position with 248xx and moron UTG limps, I raise and BB calls and UTG moron calls. BB draws 2, moron takes 3! and I take 2. I catch 2348x, BB checks, moron bets, I raise (to drive out BB), BB folds, moron caps, and I call. Now he draws 3 again! I take one and blank out. Moron checks I bet, and he calls and stands pat! Now, I had seen this guy do the same type of thing with anything as bad as a rough Q, so I am feeling pretty good that I can beat him with any 5679, and I can't really snow him because he calls anything. I take 1 and catch #5 (23458), Gin i'm thinking! So he comes out betting (which again i'd seen him do and show down said rough Q high type hands), and I raise expecting him to fold or just call, sure enough he 3-bets, and just before I cap, i'm thinking he couldn't have made #1 right! Sure enough, we showdown his wheel vs my #5. The thing is, it's hands like these that make people use the term "luck" in reference to this game, but this guys play is sooo wrong on so many levels its almost unexplainable (at least until third street). Sure, he played the hand great once he had the lock perfect! But what about the play in the early streets? Unbelievable!
So, I will continue the SnG adventures and the bankroll rebuild. Personally, things have gotten a little better with the passing of my long-time friend. Deep down I know that he did not want us to morn for long and that he wanted us to get on with our lives. It's just hard sometimes. Things like using your cell-phone and calling people with names that start with "D" and realizing that you still have his phone numbers locked in your cell. And, emails, and UBuddy aliases, etc, etc. But it gets easier everyday. I'm sure that soon I will go a couple days without thinking about David, but that is just the way life is. He sure is looking down on all of us and smiling and "getting our back", I know this.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Memories of Blue Shark
My first memory of Dave goes all the way back to second grade. You see, my parents and I lived in the White Oak apartments from 1975-1982. From kindergarten through first grade I went to Jackson Road. David, along with Phil and Mike G were in both of my classes. Then, Montgomery County decided that the boundaries for the school system needed to be changed and I was "on the wrong side of the tracks". So, I had to go to Cresthaven Elementary for the beginning of my second grade schooling. We later moved to Eden Road in the winter. I can remember actually moving in and seeing David and some of the other kids playing up the street and my mom asking them where they lived and basically "hooking me up with friends". Later that week, I went down to Davids house and re-introduced myself. I think I basically said something like, "hey remember me? I was in your first grade class and I need someone to play with..." or something to that effect. Thus began our many adventures on Kathryn/Eden Rd.
Many of the following events actually took place, but because they happened so long ago, I know that they are probably not in chronological order, but they're close:
The Falcons Weekly: This was our neighborhood paper. I think it was more about setting up some kind of office in Davids basement, where I wouldn't be surprised to still see a paper sign that reads Falcons Weekly Office. I remember actually going around and knocking on doors asking people for a subscription. Our first (and only) issue, which probably still exists somewhere at the Holts, was about a page and a half long, and our lead story had something to do with Kevin Carter building a new bike jump at the basketball court where many of the neighborhood kids would convene.
Baseball Cards: David and I had an obsession (for me the first of many) for collecting baseball cards. My favorite player was Cal (obviously), Dave's favorite was Eddie Murray. We loved to trade our collections back and forth. David was always so much more knowledgable about the players and the cards than I was, probably because of his older brothers (mainly Bruce), who already had extensive collections. Basically David probably ripped me off a couple times. I remember getting really angry one time, and probably a little jealous, so I took one of my Eddie Murray cards and forged his signature on the card, in hopes of getting a real good trade or just to rub it in that I had such a valuable card. Also, one of the weird role playing "games" that we used to do, was to set up my basement with all of our cards and baseball memorabilia and pretend that we owned a baseball card shop, reminiscent of "The House of Cards" in Wheaton.
Kerry Flagg and the Spikes: This was one of our first of many combinations of a band. I believe that Andre Gary was the drummer and Dave and I were the singers, I don't think we ever actually had Kerry "in" the band, but we just used his name. Actual song titles: Skinny Boys (They can fit through closed doors), and Tommorrow is Today (The only lyrics being Dave singing Tomorrow is today tomorrow is today ehh-yay-eee-yay-eee-yayyy - also completely improvised). There were MANY more songs actually, possibly as many as 8-10 and they WERE recorded and MAY still exist. I know we had given the "master copy" to Cindy. Later, we had heard that Q-107 was having a "battle of the bands" in which bands had to send in recordings to the radio station in hopes of getting a record contract. Yeah, we did that as well, but no recording contract!
Redman and Blue Shark: At some point we had shifted our television watching to mostly "You can't do that on television" and old "Batman & Robin" re-runs. I guess we had it in our minds that the neighborhood needed some homegrown heros to save all of the kids from bullies and pranksters. We came up with the names Redman (my alter-ego and the name I thought of), and Blue Shark (Dave's much cooler name). My mom was our "Alfred" and the only one who knew our true identity. Our "cave" was my bombshelter in my parents house. So one day we get all dressed up in our costumes. Now picture this, me in my red sweatsuit, red wool-knit hat and swimming goggles, and David in an all Blue sweatsuit with a blue wool hat and sunglasses in 95+degree summer heat. We march down the street to Andre Gary's house to collect for past due "club fees". Yes, we had a number of clubs and forts along the way as well, all of which had "dues", but none of which were ever paid by Andre. So we get to his house sweating profusely in our costumes, knock on the door, only to find Andre's sister Lisa answer the door cracking up. We say "Is Andre here?", "No!", "well, tell him that Redman and Blue Shark are looking for him!", and we walk away. As we are about to turn onto my street, we see Andre's parents Volvo coming toward us and we say to eachother "don't even wave at him". We look over to the car as he is passing us and we can tell that, 1. he knows its us, and 2. he is excitedly, and proudly holding his brand new "Purple Rain" album in the window so that we can see as the car passes.
Jackson Road Talent Shows: These took place every year and it was a major assembly of students showing there wares in song, dance and various skits. We took part in two shows. The first was simply titled "Painter Comedians", where we wore overalls and those old "Duron" paint hats that you got free when you bought paint at the local hardware store. We stood on small step ladders and mimed painting (i'm pretty sure we actually had paint brushes and paint cans) while telling really stupid jokes we got out of an old "Highlights Magazine". For our second year, we simply showcased our singing skills with the classic "Best Friends", accompanied my Ms. Barbara Strang.
The Amusment Park: This was another one of those, lets get rich schemes that just never really panned out. We had the idea that we could make some kind of ride in Dave's backyard that we could sell tickets for to all of the local kids. I think we may have spent two days on this, and the most we came up with was a red "radio flyer" wagon that we would push people around in and ultimately down a very small hill that we lined with plywood for a smooth ride. Also, we had a sprinkler that the kids could run and play through, as well as Dave and Steves super cool playhouse that I can still remember Mr. Holt building in there backyard.
The "Infamous" St. Johns Dance: Going from sixth grade to seventh grade is usually a pretty big transition period for many kids. Luckily we had Sunji, who was one year ahead of us already there, so we didn't really have to worry much. I remember the night before school started for us at White Oak, getting a call from Dave. He questioned "So what are you going to be like this year?" "HUH??" I replied! Later that year we started going to St. Johns dances which were every other Friday night I believe. On one particular night David, Shannon, and I got a ride from Mrs. Holt to the dance. I don't remember much about the dance, as they were all pretty much the same. Didn't they ALWAYS end with "Stairway to Heaven" and a bunch of the older kids making out? So we are on our way out the door, when Shannon makes a comment about Daves hair. Ever since I can remember, Dave just did not get regular haircuts (at least until high school or thereabouts). His hair would grow out over his ears and he would just look a little more shaggy than most. So Shannon says something about this, and Dave gets fired up and starts chasing after us. This was one of those "two's company, three's a crowd" type things, where Shannon or I would make fun of Dave and the other would in-turn pile on. Classic middle-school stuff. Anyway, Dave picks up this huge tree-branch and starts swinging it around and with every swing he yells "OWWWHHH". We heard this and Shannon (I swear it was Shannon) starts yelling "OXXXX" after every swing/yell from Dave. This went on for basically the whole mile home, most of the time it was me running from Dave.
As I think back to most of Bruce's eulogy on Monday, I keep coming back to those glorious days on the baseball field playing in High School. A couple months ago, my Mom gave me a huge scrapbook with tons of pictures and old school papers dating all the way back to pre-school. Something that I found tonight that had me laughing out loud was the Springbrook Baseball 1992 stats. I went right to Davids Pitching stats for that year. Heres basically what it reads: Holt: 1 game, .66 innings pitched, 5 runs 1 earned, 1 base on balls, 10.61 ERA, 2 HitByPitch!!!! Now that is hilarious! Luckily for the rest of Montgomery County baseball, he improved on those stats senior year!
Finally, just to show how sincere and heartfelt David was in his final days/months/years, I have to share this story that had me really choked up when Bruce was doing the eulogy. As he said, one of Dave's favorite pastimes was too look up baseball stats in his Baseball Encyclopedia. It usually would happen when we were just chatting about a player and he would say something like "well lets see how many actual games so and so played". And, he would pull out his 1995 Total Baseball book that was never to far from reach. MANY times I would say to Dave, "man, I really need to get one of those books", and I would always tell him when I would find a used one and never buy it because it was too old. So one day I get a call from Dave and he's like "dude come over, I got something for you, your gonna LOVE it!". I get over to his house and sure enough, he pulls out a BRAND NEW Total Baseball Encyclopedia and hands it to me. I'm like "what's this?", and he says, "it's yours, I was down at the museums today and I saw it and thought you might like it...". And, I am absolutely STUNNED. He could've just given me his old one and kept the new book and I would've been ecstatic. What a friend!
There are so many other stories about Dave, but i'll leave those up to everyone else. I'll miss you Blue Shark!
Many of the following events actually took place, but because they happened so long ago, I know that they are probably not in chronological order, but they're close:
The Falcons Weekly: This was our neighborhood paper. I think it was more about setting up some kind of office in Davids basement, where I wouldn't be surprised to still see a paper sign that reads Falcons Weekly Office. I remember actually going around and knocking on doors asking people for a subscription. Our first (and only) issue, which probably still exists somewhere at the Holts, was about a page and a half long, and our lead story had something to do with Kevin Carter building a new bike jump at the basketball court where many of the neighborhood kids would convene.
Baseball Cards: David and I had an obsession (for me the first of many) for collecting baseball cards. My favorite player was Cal (obviously), Dave's favorite was Eddie Murray. We loved to trade our collections back and forth. David was always so much more knowledgable about the players and the cards than I was, probably because of his older brothers (mainly Bruce), who already had extensive collections. Basically David probably ripped me off a couple times. I remember getting really angry one time, and probably a little jealous, so I took one of my Eddie Murray cards and forged his signature on the card, in hopes of getting a real good trade or just to rub it in that I had such a valuable card. Also, one of the weird role playing "games" that we used to do, was to set up my basement with all of our cards and baseball memorabilia and pretend that we owned a baseball card shop, reminiscent of "The House of Cards" in Wheaton.
Kerry Flagg and the Spikes: This was one of our first of many combinations of a band. I believe that Andre Gary was the drummer and Dave and I were the singers, I don't think we ever actually had Kerry "in" the band, but we just used his name. Actual song titles: Skinny Boys (They can fit through closed doors), and Tommorrow is Today (The only lyrics being Dave singing Tomorrow is today tomorrow is today ehh-yay-eee-yay-eee-yayyy - also completely improvised). There were MANY more songs actually, possibly as many as 8-10 and they WERE recorded and MAY still exist. I know we had given the "master copy" to Cindy. Later, we had heard that Q-107 was having a "battle of the bands" in which bands had to send in recordings to the radio station in hopes of getting a record contract. Yeah, we did that as well, but no recording contract!
Redman and Blue Shark: At some point we had shifted our television watching to mostly "You can't do that on television" and old "Batman & Robin" re-runs. I guess we had it in our minds that the neighborhood needed some homegrown heros to save all of the kids from bullies and pranksters. We came up with the names Redman (my alter-ego and the name I thought of), and Blue Shark (Dave's much cooler name). My mom was our "Alfred" and the only one who knew our true identity. Our "cave" was my bombshelter in my parents house. So one day we get all dressed up in our costumes. Now picture this, me in my red sweatsuit, red wool-knit hat and swimming goggles, and David in an all Blue sweatsuit with a blue wool hat and sunglasses in 95+degree summer heat. We march down the street to Andre Gary's house to collect for past due "club fees". Yes, we had a number of clubs and forts along the way as well, all of which had "dues", but none of which were ever paid by Andre. So we get to his house sweating profusely in our costumes, knock on the door, only to find Andre's sister Lisa answer the door cracking up. We say "Is Andre here?", "No!", "well, tell him that Redman and Blue Shark are looking for him!", and we walk away. As we are about to turn onto my street, we see Andre's parents Volvo coming toward us and we say to eachother "don't even wave at him". We look over to the car as he is passing us and we can tell that, 1. he knows its us, and 2. he is excitedly, and proudly holding his brand new "Purple Rain" album in the window so that we can see as the car passes.
Jackson Road Talent Shows: These took place every year and it was a major assembly of students showing there wares in song, dance and various skits. We took part in two shows. The first was simply titled "Painter Comedians", where we wore overalls and those old "Duron" paint hats that you got free when you bought paint at the local hardware store. We stood on small step ladders and mimed painting (i'm pretty sure we actually had paint brushes and paint cans) while telling really stupid jokes we got out of an old "Highlights Magazine". For our second year, we simply showcased our singing skills with the classic "Best Friends", accompanied my Ms. Barbara Strang.
The Amusment Park: This was another one of those, lets get rich schemes that just never really panned out. We had the idea that we could make some kind of ride in Dave's backyard that we could sell tickets for to all of the local kids. I think we may have spent two days on this, and the most we came up with was a red "radio flyer" wagon that we would push people around in and ultimately down a very small hill that we lined with plywood for a smooth ride. Also, we had a sprinkler that the kids could run and play through, as well as Dave and Steves super cool playhouse that I can still remember Mr. Holt building in there backyard.
The "Infamous" St. Johns Dance: Going from sixth grade to seventh grade is usually a pretty big transition period for many kids. Luckily we had Sunji, who was one year ahead of us already there, so we didn't really have to worry much. I remember the night before school started for us at White Oak, getting a call from Dave. He questioned "So what are you going to be like this year?" "HUH??" I replied! Later that year we started going to St. Johns dances which were every other Friday night I believe. On one particular night David, Shannon, and I got a ride from Mrs. Holt to the dance. I don't remember much about the dance, as they were all pretty much the same. Didn't they ALWAYS end with "Stairway to Heaven" and a bunch of the older kids making out? So we are on our way out the door, when Shannon makes a comment about Daves hair. Ever since I can remember, Dave just did not get regular haircuts (at least until high school or thereabouts). His hair would grow out over his ears and he would just look a little more shaggy than most. So Shannon says something about this, and Dave gets fired up and starts chasing after us. This was one of those "two's company, three's a crowd" type things, where Shannon or I would make fun of Dave and the other would in-turn pile on. Classic middle-school stuff. Anyway, Dave picks up this huge tree-branch and starts swinging it around and with every swing he yells "OWWWHHH". We heard this and Shannon (I swear it was Shannon) starts yelling "OXXXX" after every swing/yell from Dave. This went on for basically the whole mile home, most of the time it was me running from Dave.
As I think back to most of Bruce's eulogy on Monday, I keep coming back to those glorious days on the baseball field playing in High School. A couple months ago, my Mom gave me a huge scrapbook with tons of pictures and old school papers dating all the way back to pre-school. Something that I found tonight that had me laughing out loud was the Springbrook Baseball 1992 stats. I went right to Davids Pitching stats for that year. Heres basically what it reads: Holt: 1 game, .66 innings pitched, 5 runs 1 earned, 1 base on balls, 10.61 ERA, 2 HitByPitch!!!! Now that is hilarious! Luckily for the rest of Montgomery County baseball, he improved on those stats senior year!
Finally, just to show how sincere and heartfelt David was in his final days/months/years, I have to share this story that had me really choked up when Bruce was doing the eulogy. As he said, one of Dave's favorite pastimes was too look up baseball stats in his Baseball Encyclopedia. It usually would happen when we were just chatting about a player and he would say something like "well lets see how many actual games so and so played". And, he would pull out his 1995 Total Baseball book that was never to far from reach. MANY times I would say to Dave, "man, I really need to get one of those books", and I would always tell him when I would find a used one and never buy it because it was too old. So one day I get a call from Dave and he's like "dude come over, I got something for you, your gonna LOVE it!". I get over to his house and sure enough, he pulls out a BRAND NEW Total Baseball Encyclopedia and hands it to me. I'm like "what's this?", and he says, "it's yours, I was down at the museums today and I saw it and thought you might like it...". And, I am absolutely STUNNED. He could've just given me his old one and kept the new book and I would've been ecstatic. What a friend!
There are so many other stories about Dave, but i'll leave those up to everyone else. I'll miss you Blue Shark!
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Let Him Rest
The latest sun is sinking fast, my race is nearly run
My strongest trials now are past, my triumph is begun
O come Angel Band, come & around me stand
O bear me away on your snowy wings to my immortal home
O bear me away on your snowy wings to my immortal home
I know I'm near the holy ranks of friends & kindred dear
I've brushed the dew on Jordan's banks, the crossing must be near
I've almost gained my Heavenly home, my spirit loudly sings
The Holy ones, behold they come, I hear the noise of wings
O bear my longing heart to Him who bled & died for me
Whose blood now cleanses from all sin & gives me victory
Artist: The Stanley Brothers
Song: Angel Band
I'll miss you David
My strongest trials now are past, my triumph is begun
O come Angel Band, come & around me stand
O bear me away on your snowy wings to my immortal home
O bear me away on your snowy wings to my immortal home
I know I'm near the holy ranks of friends & kindred dear
I've brushed the dew on Jordan's banks, the crossing must be near
I've almost gained my Heavenly home, my spirit loudly sings
The Holy ones, behold they come, I hear the noise of wings
O bear my longing heart to Him who bled & died for me
Whose blood now cleanses from all sin & gives me victory
Artist: The Stanley Brothers
Song: Angel Band
I'll miss you David
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Week One, Year Two
I didn't really play that much this week as I have been dealing with some personal issues. I have played about 6 SnG's and about 1.75 hours of ring games. Ok, I played Triple Draw (LOL, guess my will is no good). Actually, I did very well in the 1.75 hours that I played, and I guess the time off from that game was much needed. The $5.50 SnG's are a real joke, and I am actually having a lot of fun with them. In the 6 that I have played i've been ITM (in the money) 4/6, with one 1st place, one 2nd place, and two 3rd place. The last one I played last night where I ended up in 3rd, I was trying out a jam or fold strategy when it got down to 3, and I was slightly on the shortstack. The BB had me covered 3/1 or more, and the SB was much closer but still had me covered. I get 88 on the button and jam w/ blinds at 100/200, both players called; AQo and KK from the chip leader. A crazy flop and i'm out.
Anyway, Snadly hooked me up big time with a sweet spread sheet to track my play. I LOVE it! So, at least after a week, I have been up-to-date with my record keeping. I have doubled my stake in the first week, but that is probably only because I have not received my last withdrawal from UB, so I still have quite a bit of $$ on there. I really should be pretending it isn't there, and I have to a certain extent as I haven't played anything higher than the $5.50's or the .50/$1 TD games (which are certainly above my 'roll, but much lower bankroll risk). But, I haven't played anything like the $22 SnG's or even the 1/2 and 2/4 games. No more of that!!
All in all I think the small break I have taken has gotten me focused on more important matters in life and hopefully will revitalize my passion for poker and keep me away from tilt!
Anyway, Snadly hooked me up big time with a sweet spread sheet to track my play. I LOVE it! So, at least after a week, I have been up-to-date with my record keeping. I have doubled my stake in the first week, but that is probably only because I have not received my last withdrawal from UB, so I still have quite a bit of $$ on there. I really should be pretending it isn't there, and I have to a certain extent as I haven't played anything higher than the $5.50's or the .50/$1 TD games (which are certainly above my 'roll, but much lower bankroll risk). But, I haven't played anything like the $22 SnG's or even the 1/2 and 2/4 games. No more of that!!
All in all I think the small break I have taken has gotten me focused on more important matters in life and hopefully will revitalize my passion for poker and keep me away from tilt!
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
One Year Anniversary (For Online Poker!)
So much has gone on with me personally since my last update it's not even funny. So I will just stick with my original intention to talk about my first year playing online poker. A little over one year ago on March 31st, I made my first (and only)deposit on Ultimate Bet. Many withdraws later, i'm still playing and have learned a ton. So, while in the last few months I have seen my bankroll swing up and down, I have made a big decision. I'm going to start all over again!
Here are some things that I have learned this past year:
1. I am a winning SnG player. Ok, I didn't trak my ROI, but I know I am in the money in one table tourneys about 40% of the time.
2. I can win a large online tournament. A combination of excellent cards holding up, patience and a little skill mixed in, rewarded me with a nice new and improved bankroll.
3. I am a pretty good Triple Draw player. I feel like I understand this game and could play this every day with the right bankroll.
4. Bankroll Management. I started off extremely patient with my bankroll. But, once I hit certain points in my 'roll, I put a little too much on the table at one time.
5. You need a much larger bankroll for Triple Draw, at least the $2/4 games and up. I am probably break even at this level and I think it mostly has to do with having "scared money". For some, it might not matter. For instance, lets say you have $1500 in your bankroll and you buy in to the $10/20 Triple Draw game. Well, yeah, you can buy in for $500, but it may or may not hurt if you have a 10-20 BB swing, which happens all the time in this game (at least for me).
6. Sometimes you win and give it right back. Perfect example here. Played a $20 SnG and took 1st place for $100. Seconds after the tourney window closes, I take it all to a tough $2/4 TD game that was also shorthanded and lose all my profits for the day and end up stuck. That blows.
7. I need to stay away from the Blackjack tables on 'Party. That site is sooooooo soft, but I put too much of my winnings on that damn BJ table. Sure, I won a lot, but that was a fluke, and it will never happen again!!
So what is this all telling me?
Quit TD! This is going to be a real test of my will. I LOVE that game so much. It has the perfect amount of action, skill and luck. But, the swings (as i've said before) are horrendous, for me at least. I value my bankroll way too much to let it effect my emotional state.
How am I going to quit the game?
Well, for one, I won't have the $$ anymore. At some point I may go back to it. But that won't be for a long time.
What's the plan?
Like I stated earlier, I originally deposited $50 on UB, but I had $100 in reserve, in case I went broke with my initial $50. So I am going to try it again. But this time I want to diversify a little and either open up another account on Full Tilt or 'Stars (mayyyyyyyyybeeee 'Party). I will focus on $5 SnG's until I hit $200 on that given site. I will then move to $10 SnG's until I reach $500. At any time that I hit $500 or more, I am giving myself the option to withdraw $100 or more and drop down a level or "let it ride". At $1,000 I will step up to $30 SnG's and move up a level for every $1,000 or more. My plan for cash games will be to use the 5% rule of bankroll management. Never putting more than 5% of my 'roll on a table at any time.
What about TD?
I think i'll eventually go back to that game, who knows how strong my will is? I'd like to have about $2K to play the $2/4 and $3/6 games regularly. But only time will tell.
Finally, I keep coming back to the fact that I need to do a better job of record keeping. Thankfully, my good buddy "Snadly" hooked me up with a nice little excel spreadsheet that I have already used. I guess I have to face the music; and, my piano teacher in 4th grade said it best: "I am the worlds worst procrastinator" (or would it be "best"?). So I guess it's try and try again.
I plan on updating this blog at least every week or so to keep track of things.
Wish me LUCK!!
Here are some things that I have learned this past year:
1. I am a winning SnG player. Ok, I didn't trak my ROI, but I know I am in the money in one table tourneys about 40% of the time.
2. I can win a large online tournament. A combination of excellent cards holding up, patience and a little skill mixed in, rewarded me with a nice new and improved bankroll.
3. I am a pretty good Triple Draw player. I feel like I understand this game and could play this every day with the right bankroll.
4. Bankroll Management. I started off extremely patient with my bankroll. But, once I hit certain points in my 'roll, I put a little too much on the table at one time.
5. You need a much larger bankroll for Triple Draw, at least the $2/4 games and up. I am probably break even at this level and I think it mostly has to do with having "scared money". For some, it might not matter. For instance, lets say you have $1500 in your bankroll and you buy in to the $10/20 Triple Draw game. Well, yeah, you can buy in for $500, but it may or may not hurt if you have a 10-20 BB swing, which happens all the time in this game (at least for me).
6. Sometimes you win and give it right back. Perfect example here. Played a $20 SnG and took 1st place for $100. Seconds after the tourney window closes, I take it all to a tough $2/4 TD game that was also shorthanded and lose all my profits for the day and end up stuck. That blows.
7. I need to stay away from the Blackjack tables on 'Party. That site is sooooooo soft, but I put too much of my winnings on that damn BJ table. Sure, I won a lot, but that was a fluke, and it will never happen again!!
So what is this all telling me?
Quit TD! This is going to be a real test of my will. I LOVE that game so much. It has the perfect amount of action, skill and luck. But, the swings (as i've said before) are horrendous, for me at least. I value my bankroll way too much to let it effect my emotional state.
How am I going to quit the game?
Well, for one, I won't have the $$ anymore. At some point I may go back to it. But that won't be for a long time.
What's the plan?
Like I stated earlier, I originally deposited $50 on UB, but I had $100 in reserve, in case I went broke with my initial $50. So I am going to try it again. But this time I want to diversify a little and either open up another account on Full Tilt or 'Stars (mayyyyyyyyybeeee 'Party). I will focus on $5 SnG's until I hit $200 on that given site. I will then move to $10 SnG's until I reach $500. At any time that I hit $500 or more, I am giving myself the option to withdraw $100 or more and drop down a level or "let it ride". At $1,000 I will step up to $30 SnG's and move up a level for every $1,000 or more. My plan for cash games will be to use the 5% rule of bankroll management. Never putting more than 5% of my 'roll on a table at any time.
What about TD?
I think i'll eventually go back to that game, who knows how strong my will is? I'd like to have about $2K to play the $2/4 and $3/6 games regularly. But only time will tell.
Finally, I keep coming back to the fact that I need to do a better job of record keeping. Thankfully, my good buddy "Snadly" hooked me up with a nice little excel spreadsheet that I have already used. I guess I have to face the music; and, my piano teacher in 4th grade said it best: "I am the worlds worst procrastinator" (or would it be "best"?). So I guess it's try and try again.
I plan on updating this blog at least every week or so to keep track of things.
Wish me LUCK!!
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