Diary of a fledgling player

Jac35

Been following this from the start.

I really like the discipline you're showing and eagerness to listen to people and improve your game.

You're a great addition to the forum.

Keep going and good luck with moving up the stakes.

Lambert180

You're right, variance can work both ways. It essentially just means you'll experience bigger swings, for instance it's not abnormal to be a VERY good HU player and lose 10 x Hypers in a row, play 10x Turbos and that's less likely, play 10 x Speeds and that's less likely again, play 10x regulars and that's less likely again and getting to the point of very unlikely.

You just have to be aware when you have a small bankroll, that in very high variance games, you could play perfectly and still go bust.

peter27

Day 7

A moderate amount of poker today, and another day of profit! That's 6 days of profit and 1 losing day in my first week - not bad :-)

Played 5 x 50p Turbo DYM's with the following results:

1st x 1
2nd x 1
3rd x 2
4th x 1
5th x 0
6th x 0

Played 9 x 30p Turbo DYM's with the following results:

1st x 0
2nd x 2
3rd x 2
4th x 2
5th x 2
6th x 1

Didn't do particularly well in those 30p DYM's, but a good record at the 50p DYM's. If you were wondering why I'm still playing the 30p games, it's purely because they seem to attract more players. The 50p DYM's don't seem as popular for some reason. Also, I'm not sure why I don't include the rake for the 50p (50p + 10p) games but I do for the 30p games (25p + 5p) when writing this diary. Should I be including the rake or not? How would you describe these games?

Anyway, I also played in the £500 Free Cash FR and won £1.23 taking my balance for the day to £16.54! Will update the first post now.

P.S. I didn't cash in the Turbo Tuesday main event if you were wondering, but the buy-in for that event doesn't count towards this diary.

peter27

In Response to Re: Diary of a fledgling player:

Been following this from the start. I really like the discipline you're showing and eagerness to listen to people and improve your game. You're a great addition to the forum. Keep going and good luck with moving up the stakes.
Posted by Jac35

What a lovely comment, thank you very much - It's comments like this that keep me motivated :-)

In Response to Re: Diary of a fledgling player:

You're right, variance can work both ways. It essentially just means you'll experience bigger swings, for instance it's not abnormal to be a VERY good HU player and lose 10 x Hypers in a row, play 10x Turbos and that's less likely, play 10 x Speeds and that's less likely again, play 10x regulars and that's less likely again and getting to the point of very unlikely. You just have to be aware when you have a small bankroll, that in very high variance games, you could play perfectly and still go bust.
Posted by Lambert180

Yeah, I knew it was a risk. I am a little shocked that you say "a VERY good HU player" could lose 10 hypers in a row - didn't realise it was that extreme! As you know, I've been playing DYM's mostly - usually turbos, sometimes regulars ... have to say I prefer the Turbos MUCH more - the regulars seem too slow for me, although maybe that's because I'm single tabling.

Would be interested to know your thoughts on variance with relation to starting stack size. When I was playing MTT's I didn't really have a preferance on starting stack size, but I did always do better in the deepstack tournaments (even took down a few)!- I imagine there is less variation in deepstack tournaments, as you have more chips to play with?

Jack3010

Facinating read. How long do you think until you start playing MTT?

gazza127

Its unusual reading a diary with such positivity... well certainly in my case anyway

Real discipline to this task - quite impressive really.

Following with interest.  Wish you all the best.

truly56

Hi Peter, Theres a 35p bounty hunter at 5.15 today,I hope this boosts your balance and if not you have"nt lost a lot . be lucky today . From truly56

peter27

In Response to Re: Diary of a fledgling player:

Facinating read. How long do you think until you start playing MTT?
Posted by Jack3010

Well currently I'm only entering 50/60p events (and lower), will probably move up to £1 events when I reach a balance of £30. For £1.10 there are £25 Gtd MTT's so it may be a few weeks before I enter those :-)

In Response to Re: Diary of a fledgling player:

Its unusual reading a diary with such positivity... well certainly in my case anyway Real discipline to this task - quite impressive really. Following with interest.  Wish you all the best.
Posted by gazza127

Haha! I do my best! Thanks for the kind words :-)

In Response to Re: Diary of a fledgling player:

Hi Peter, Theres a 35p bounty hunter at 5.15 today,I hope this boosts your balance and if not you have"nt lost a lot . be lucky today . From truly56
Posted by truly56

Ooh, i had not seen this tournament before - will probably enter it, thanks for the heads up! It has been nice talking to you on the tables also. Should mention desrick609 too who has provided some nice discussion during the DYM's.

stuarty117

Desrick is the 30p dym king

FCHD

Just played you in a 30p DYM, you certainly have a very differnent style to most of the regulars at that level. Several notes made!

peter27

In Response to Re: Diary of a fledgling player:

Just played you in a 30p DYM, you certainly have a very differnent style to most of the regulars at that level. Several notes made!
Posted by FCHD

Haha, yes I agree, my playing style does seem quite unique at this level

peter27

Day 8

Okay guys, this will be a quick post as I'm shattered!

Played 6 x 50p Turbo DYM's with the following results:

1st x 1
2nd x 1
3rd x 1
4th x 2
5th x 1
6th x 0

Three wins, three losses - means I lose 30p in rake .. :-(

Played 14 x 25p Turbo DYM's with the following results:

1st x 3
2nd x 3
3rd x 4
4th x 1
5th x 2
6th x 1

A much better cash/no cash ratio in the 25p DYM's today! And yes, I am using the tournament names without including the rake :-)

Ended the day on £16.74, a small profit once again! Will update the first post now.

peter27

Day 9

Didn't play that many tournaments today, but the tournaments I did play were quite varied.

Played 3 x 50p DYM's (results: 2nd, 3rd, 2nd) - cashed in all three! :-)
Played 4 x 50p Turbo DYM's (results: 5th, 4th, 5th, 4th) - didn't cash in any >.<
Played 4 x 25p Turbo DYM's (results: 2nd, 3rd, 1st, 3rd) - cashed in all!

And I also played the £500 Free Cash FR where I managed to double up on the first hand and then take a big hit on the 3rd to last hand - ended up taking 95p though!

I must say, for the first time ever I felt like I fully knew what I was doing today. It's a bit hard to explain, but one hand I played made me realise I need to tweak my game slightly (with regards to post-flop play) and when I did, I felt very confident. All my decisions were coming naturally and I wasn't having to think too much - I think this is a sign of progression!

This is the hand I am referring to:

Player	Action	Cards	Amount	Pot	Balance
lancey11	Small blind		25.00	25.00	2210.00
Dtfx	Big blind		50.00	75.00	1375.00
	Your hole cards	9 9
peter27	Raise		150.00	225.00	2000.00
BIPS	Fold
ek-scott	Call		150.00	375.00	3840.00
lancey11	Fold
Dtfx	Call		100.00	475.00	1275.00
Flop
		K 4 3
Dtfx	Check
peter27	Bet		237.50	712.50	1762.50
ek-scott	Fold
Dtfx	Call		237.50	950.00	1037.50
Turn
		7
Dtfx	Check
peter27	Bet		475.00	1425.00	1287.50
Dtfx	Fold
peter27	Muck
peter27	Win		950.00		2237.50
peter27	Return		475.00	0.00	2712.50

Like I said, it made me realise that I had a side of my game that was deficient, and upon adjustment in other tournaments, I did well and was playing confidently. I felt in control of the table in a manner of speaking. If you have any comments about this hand, feel free to post them, positive or negative! :-)

Anyhow, ended the day with a profit, up to £17.29! Will update the first post now.

hhyftrftdr

Could possibly bet a little smaller on the turn, bearing in mind the stack sizes involved. Villain, generally, either has a K or doesn't in this spot. So we're either comfortably ahead with 99 or way behind top pair. It's quite a draw free board (turn brings/completes the odd one, granted) too. If he checked jammed the turn I think we'd have to call given our odds but we know we are often drawing to 2 outs.

Depending on villain/reads, I might sometimes check back this turn card for deception. Potentially risky, but we have position, and can make ourselves appear weak whilst also handing villain the opportunity to bluff the river. Like I said though, risky, and perhaps not suitable for the micro stakes dym's!

seppe

In Response to Re: Diary of a fledgling player:

Could possibly bet a little smaller on the turn, bearing in mind the stack sizes involved. Villain, generally, either has a K or doesn't in this spot. So we're either comfortably ahead with 99 or way behind top pair. It's quite a draw free board (turn brings/completes the odd one, granted) too. If he checked jammed the turn I think we'd have to call given our odds but we know we are often drawing to 2 outs. Depending on villain/reads, I might sometimes check back this turn card for deception. Potentially risky, but we have position, and can make ourselves appear weak whilst also handing villain the opportunity to bluff the river. Like I said though, risky, and perhaps not suitable for the micro stakes dym's!
Posted by hhyftrftdr

Brilliant judgement call

hhyftrftdr

In Response to Re: Diary of a fledgling player:

In Response to Re: Diary of a fledgling player : Brilliant judgement call
Posted by seppe

Sigh

peter27

Day 10

My play was all over the place today!

Played in the £500 Free Cash FR and finished with a healthy chipstack, netting £1.57! :-)
Played 3 x 50p DYM's (results: 4th, 5th, 4th) - very disappointing ...
Played 3 x 50p New Turbo DYM's (results: 6th, 5th, 2nd) - again, disappointing ...
Played 4 x 25p Turbo DYM's (results: 1st, 3rd, 4th, 3rd) - okay I guess!

Thought I would be in profit after the freeroll result, but just had a terrible day on the 50p tables! A combination of bad luck at first, and dumb decisions by me later on />.<

Balance is now £16.56 a loss since yesterday. First post will be updated now.

peter27

In Response to Re: Diary of a fledgling player:

Could possibly bet a little smaller on the turn, bearing in mind the stack sizes involved. Villain, generally, either has a K or doesn't in this spot. So we're either comfortably ahead with 99 or way behind top pair. It's quite a draw free board (turn brings/completes the odd one, granted) too. If he checked jammed the turn I think we'd have to call given our odds but we know we are often drawing to 2 outs. Depending on villain/reads, I might sometimes check back this turn card for deception. Potentially risky, but we have position, and can make ourselves appear weak whilst also handing villain the opportunity to bluff the river. Like I said though, risky, and perhaps not suitable for the micro stakes dym's!
Posted by hhyftrftdr

I guess the line between value bet and bluff bet on that one was a little blurred. I suspected I was ahead though, he had been pretty aggressive with betting/calling during the whole tournament. If I did bet a little smaller on the turn though, maybe he would have called? Although I doubt it was a K he folded on the turn, so maybe not.

peter27

In Response to Re: Diary of a fledgling player:

In Response to Re: Diary of a fledgling player : Brilliant judgement call
Posted by seppe

Haha, that's very funny

peter27

Day 11

Didn't play that much today - but did enter a wide range of tournaments. I wasn't having much success at the DYM's so I decided to play some heads-up games, turned out to be a profitable decision! Also played some £1 games today as I was a bit annoyed at my failure in the DYM's early on, and felt like gambling a little. Still used BRM though, I did want to enter the mini MTT tonight, but restrained myself!

Played 2 x 25p Turbo DYM's (results: 5th, 4th)
Played 2 x 50p DYM's (results: 4th, 5th)
Played 4 x 50p Turbo DYM's (results: 4th, 2nd, 4th, 3rd)
Played 2 x 50p Heads-Up (Hyper) (results: 1st, 1st)
Played 4 x £1 Heads-Up (results: 1st, 1st, 2nd, 1st)
Played 1 x £1 Heads-Up (Turbo) (result: 1st)

With all those wins heads-up, I was able to end the day in profit, now up to £18.01! Curious to know what you guys think my bankroll should be before permanently moving up to £1 tournaments? I was thinking £25-£30?

Will update the first post now!

peter27

You guys will see me playing in the Primo tonight! Felt like some MTT action, entered a £2.60 satellite, got through that tournament, and then the semi to qualify for the event.

You know what, I've never entered a satellite and not qualified for an event - I think that's a pretty good record! :-)

Anyways, the £2.60 buy-in will not effect this diary as I have deposited the £2.60 separately!

IDONKCALLU

good luck in the primo 

peter27

In Response to Re: Diary of a fledgling player:

good luck in the primo 
Posted by IDONKCALLU

Thanks, got knocked on the last hand before the first tournament break :-(

peter27

Day 12

Had an eventful day today!!

Started off playing £1 HU (Hyper) tournaments after doing well in them yesterday, played three and came 2nd, 1st, 1st.

The next tournament I played (excluding Primo satellites which don't count towards this diary) was the £2500 Sunday FR - not sure what this random tournament was for, but I took down £6.04, a massive boost to my bankroll!!

Then, as requested by BorinLoner on another thread, I played some £1 Six-Max (Speed) tournaments - I was definately right to do so!! Played four and cashed in all four: 1st, 1st, 2nd, 2nd!!

£32.50 in the balance now! Was on £18.01 this time yesterday, so that's a massive increase which gives me more flexibility on which tournaments I can enter :-)

I have a bit of a dilema though. I've been at this for 12 days now, playing mainly STT's, and I believe this is my strongest form of poker. The problem is that it often doesn't particularly interest me - I find MTT's MUCH more exciting, maybe it's the attraction of the big prize pools? Has anyone been in a simmilar situation before?

While I am carrying on with this diary (I've very stubborn by nature) - I still do have the desire to play big MTT's which is why I played the Primo (albeit via a satellite) and the mini today. Sadly, I didn't cash in either.

Note: Just to clarify, I deposited to enter the Primo and mini Primo today, but I have completely seperated that money from the balance of this diary. This diary is using sensible BRM only.

Will update the first post now!

stuarty117

Hi peter i have been following from the start you are going very well. The rake is tough to beat when playing 25 and 50 dyms. The only thing is i dont see the point you depositing extra cash everytime you wanna play a big tourney. You said at the start you wanted to learn/use brm wats the point if you keep excluding these results. So in reality u are back to near ur 10 quid cause u have entered 3 bigger events.

I built my roll up to close to 200 all the way down to 20 after taking shots i am building again playing micros and up to 43 stick with the micros mate it can be done just takes a little longer.

peter27

In Response to Re: Diary of a fledgling player:

Hi peter i have been following from the start you are going very well. The rake is tough to beat when playing 25 and 50 dyms. The only thing is i dont see the point you depositing extra cash everytime you wanna play a big tourney. You said at the start you wanted to learn/use brm wats the point if you keep excluding these results. So in reality u are back to near ur 10 quid cause u have entered 3 bigger events. I built my roll up to close to 200 all the way down to 20 after taking shots i am building again playing micros and up to 43 stick with the micros mate it can be done just takes a little longer.
Posted by stuarty117

I see what you're saying, but I'm excluding the big tournament results because that would not be following BRM rules. The crucial thing is that I know I can follow BRM - as I have been with this diary. Also, this diary was to understand if I was good, but getting unlucky or if I just sucked, so I wanted to test my ability to grind up the levels - and I've proven that I can do that so far :-) If I'd been including my MTT play, it wouldn't be a fair representation, especially if I had of cashed (which sadly, I didn't!)

The other thing is, the two main events I entered were via satellites - so actually I have only spent around £10 on MTT's. I do see what you're saying though - I will try avoid entering MTT's for a while unless I have the bankroll in this diary, or there is a mega cheap satellite.

What level do you guys think I should be playing at with my current balance?

Phantom66

In Response to Re: Diary of a fledgling player:

In Response to Re: Diary of a fledgling player : What level do you guys think I should be playing at with my current balance?
Posted by peter27

I'd stick to £1 STTs for now - maybe see you on the tables as I am grinding up myself.

I'll be sticking to £1 until I have played 200 of them - but that's not for BRM but because I have set myself a challenge.

Maybe switch to £2 at £50 and see how you get on - standard not much different - starts to get a bit tougher but still beatable at £3 and £5.

If you like MTTs there are some £2.20 deepstacks that give you plenty of play for your money and you already know about the FRs.

stuarty117

In Response to Re: Diary of a fledgling player:

In Response to Re: Diary of a fledgling player : I see what you're saying, but I'm excluding the big tournament results because that would not be following BRM rules. The crucial thing is that I know I can follow BRM - as I have been with this diary. Also, this diary was to understand if I was good, but getting unlucky or if I just sucked, so I wanted to test my ability to grind up the levels - and I've proven that I can do that so far :-) If I'd been including my MTT play, it wouldn't be a fair representation, especially if I had of cashed (which sadly, I didn't!) The other thing is, the two main events I entered were via satellites - so actually I have only spent around £10 on MTT's. I do see what you're saying though - I will try avoid entering MTT's for a while unless I have the bankroll in this diary, or there is a mega cheap satellite. What level do you guys think I should be playing at with my current balance?
Posted by peter27

I would play deepstacks my first 3 or 4 months i wss entering everything my results were bad now sticking to micros and 2pounds games i have made a little and enjoying i use tuesdays to take a shot when i have a little say 50 or 60 quid. Try the freezeout tonite good fun for a quid 3 min blinds.

I dont play deep stacks anymore just take too long.

peter27

In Response to Re: Diary of a fledgling player:

In Response to Re: Diary of a fledgling player : I'd stick to £1 STTs for now - maybe see you on the tables as I am grinding up myself. I'll be sticking to £1 until I have played 200 of them - but that's not for BRM but because I have set myself a challenge. Maybe switch to £2 at £50 and see how you get on - standard not much different - starts to get a bit tougher but still beatable at £3 and £5. If you like MTTs there are some £2.20 deepstacks that give you plenty of play for your money and you already know about the FRs.
Posted by Phantom66

In Response to Re: Diary of a fledgling player:

In Response to Re: Diary of a fledgling player : I would play deepstacks my first 3 or 4 months i wss entering everything my results were bad now sticking to micros and 2pounds games i have made a little and enjoying i use tuesdays to take a shot when i have a little say 50 or 60 quid. Try the freezeout tonite good fun for a quid 3 min blinds. I dont play deep stacks anymore just take too long.
Posted by stuarty117

Yes, I think I'll stick to £1 STT's with the occasional £2 Deepstack :-)

FlyingDagg

I have to agree with Stuarty on this BRM thing. It doesn't make sense to do a thread where you are concentrating on BRM then exclude a £2-60 Sat. Have an odd punt at a Sat by all means but include the cost.
 Personally with your BR I would stick to the £1 deepie till you build it up a bit more.