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An insight into low stakes Heads Up SNGS / Spin up from £50 playing anything...
Hey Ben,
Good to see you back.
All the best for the challenge will follow with interest, you had one of the best blogs on here.
Look forward to hearing about your successes.
Good to see you back.
All the best for the challenge will follow with interest, you had one of the best blogs on here.
Look forward to hearing about your successes.
Comments
I had a good few months of not really playing any poker, motivation completely dissapeared and i wasn't enjoying the game at all not entirely sure why, possibly due to change in life circumstances ( leaving uni, moving home etc) so my bankroll was withdrawn and pretty much wasted over the summer. Anyway fast foward a couple of months at the end of october i wanted to go out so decided to stick £25 in sky and win a few hu games to pay for it. Out of nowhere i was loving playing the game again and decided to stick with it, i went on a huge heater at first which probably helped bring the buzz back and eventually ended up grinding loads up to the end of november. My results were dissapointing, i was obviously rusty, struggling with tilt at times and generally not confident with the decisions i was making in game which i think is massively detrimental HU.
Over that time period i played 1249 games for a profit of £148, roi: 2.2% which added to rewards points ended as a £200 month which i would of snapped off when i started playing again, but in reflection the roi was very dissapointing when i know i am capable of much better. I tilted towards the end of the month and decided to exclude myself for a week chill out completely from poker except the odd bit of reading and video watching.
Anyway my exclusion ended yesterday and after some withdrawals i had £78, i decided that as soon as i span that up to £100 i would start a diary again. With the aim being for it improve my disicpline and also maybe get some input from some of the good HU players on the site, i never enjoyed having to write about losing +£100 at hypers or on cash when i used to write on here.
I'm currently working as a xmas temp 20 hours a week so have plenty of time for poker, just planning to get aload of volume in at £5.25 turbos, improve my roi and build a bankroll. Hopefully in the early stages of building a decent roll again i won't go bust.
Starting Bankroll: £102.33
Rewards: £1.36
When i update i will state as below starting from this post:
Games:
Profit:
GL spinning up Ben. Can't see any reason why you wont do well.
Will read with interest.
Good luck!
All time Heads up Graph:
I have started recording each game on a spreadsheet - whether I pushed or called at the deciding moment, whether I was favourite or under dog, what street it was and (most importantly) whether I won!
Some games have more than 1 deciding moment of course
Seems to be helping my discipline because I can clearly see if I keep making bad calls and has identified some areas for improvement which are going well (early days yet though)
Today has been a good session, got some decent volume in which i'm happy with normally aim for 50 games when i have nout to do, 1 tabling for the forseeable future not ready to be multitabling HU whilst i'm having to get used to it all again and work on my game. I am a bit tilted because i had a spreadsheet tracking all the games i had played since i started the post and some hand IDs of spots i wasnt' sure about but my pc crashed so i lost that and also d/c from a game so was doubly annoyed, so i'll have to refer to scope for the days stats rather than from when i posted, and am going to review in a bit so will hopefully find a couple of hands worth posting up.
08/12/2013 ( all 5.25 turbos, copied from scope)
Games:53
Profit: +£41.71
Roi: 15%
Bankroll: £130.33
Rewards: £4.24
Okay so this one when he jams the river our hand obviously completely shrinks up, hoping to be up against top pair turned trips but seems unlikely seeing as he checked back flopped turn that he would have rivered trips, similarly if he has a set on flop or turn would expect more money to be in, all flushes beat us. Standard fold?
This one i wasn't entirely sure what to do, my instincts said snap him off thinking he will turn up with aload of worse A's, heart draws- broadway draw? standard call pretty readless? any input would be great about either hand i am possibly overthinking some spots alot at the moment so would be interesting to hear whether people think these are both super standard decisions.
I played some games after work, and some more after i played badminton and wen't running, tiredness could possibly be affecting my game but i didn't feel tilted at any point playing today just gradually as the games went on lost confidence with what i was doing, started making mistakes, calling off when they had the nuts, bluffing when they were trapping etc. Either way i should not be having 8 bi swings up and down every session really so really hope by the end of the month i will have spotted some leaks and developed a better mindset.
Today
Games:20
Profit: -£45
Overall since 08/12/13
Games:73
Profit: £-3.32
Roi:-0.08%
Bankroll: £85.33
Rewards: £4.84
Now your roll is below £100. £5.25 games are over 5%
MAYBE you should think about dropping to £2.10 games
@Tremayne thanks for the input, i'm going to be using aggressive bankroll management, so much so that i wouldn't consider dropping to 2s untill i was around the 40 mark. I understand the risks of me going bust are high this way, but the way i see it is if i go bust i'm not down long term in the game anyway it would just be a setback, i have proven i can beat these games just need to hope variance isn't too cruel early on and i can build what would be considered a more suitable roll for playing 5s.
Morning Ben,
Just seen this - good luck!
Today was much better than yesterday, lost 4 of the firast 5 games but was comfortable that i wasn't making mistakes so grinded through and managed to turn a profit. Only managed to squeeze 18 games in today as had work then football this evening, i plan to hit about 200+ by sunday evening. I will be posting hands constantly in this thread just for self improvement purposes really, just writing about the hands i posted yesterday was good for me i think, i like to hear various perspectives about hands regardless of ability level as it gives an insight into different thinking processes.
No specific targets at the moment, just set on building a roll, would be nice to try and hit an 8%+ after 500 games but after last month and my inconsistent form that may be a bit optimistic.
Today
Games:18
Profit: +£15.50
Overall since 08/12/13
Games:91
Profit: £12.17
Roi: 2.6%
Bankroll: £100.83
Rewards: £5.38
Hand 1 when you lead with a chunky bet, would you be overbetting or just going for pot (60) in which case if they flat what do we do on the turn to what is one of the cards we don't really want to see c/f b/f bet for value etc?
Q10 didn't even think about the iso, but yeah you are right i'm kind of guessing on each street and if i had taken the initative i may have given him more credit if he had flatted a large raise and shown interest in the pot, possibly raised me on flop or turn.
Any input on the hands i just posted would be great as well, also feel free to post any interesting hands in here if you play alot of HU.
Games:29
Profit: -£22.25
Overall since 08/12/13
Games:120
Profit: -£10.03
Roi: -1.6%
Bankroll: £78.58
Rewards: £6.25
Obviously not pleased at the moment, but will reserve judgement on whether i'm doing terribly when i get to 500 games ( if i dont go bust beforehand) If anyone fancies watching some games, discussing plays made etc pm me have joinme so is simple enough.
Had many a night/day like that just part of playing HU poker, even the very best do it occasionally i would imagine, i used to play alot of hypers as well and would climb and start taking on anyone so you can imagine some of the damage i used to do. I am not worried about a 100ish game sample, it's a concern in regards to roll but i've gone hundreds of games breaking even/down before when i felt i have been playing okay just got to keep reviewing and making sure i'm not doing anything particularly bad that may be costing me an extra buy in here and there.
Have ploughed through a fair few games since my last update, had a day off yesterday and got through 50ish games, felt like i was running hurrendously was suffering massively again with confidence in regards to my own play whether i was just not good enough to beat the game and managed to get into a bit of hole, but grinded it out and ended the day even which i was really happy with. Today was much better got a few games in spread across two sessions and was running good, bluffs were not being picked off, value bets were being paid off i felt like i was consistently making good decisions which has been rare since i started to play alot of poker again funny how it can change from day to day. Have yet to review the games, got work in the morning early so going to do it when i finish then post some hands hopefully, will be interesting in reflection to see if i was running particularly bad yesterday and particulary good today. Back in profit, and a positive ROI although not as good as i would like, would be nice to be 6%+ by the 500 game point.
Anyway stats for games since i last updated:
12-13th december:
Games:91
Profit: £39.74
Overall since 08/12/13
Games:211
Profit: £29.71
Roi: 2.9%
Bankroll: £116.48
Rewards: £8.94
I have been very busy with normal life stuff so will try to explain a bit more about my background/current circumstances since i stopped the last diary, since finishing university it's been a bit of a minefield in regards to trying to get work i had been temping over christmas at Boots which i was massively grateful to be doing as it is tough to get a job locally where i am regardless of qualifications/experience.
It is easy to get carried away with how easy uni life is also to delude yourself it's all plain sailing from that point on and your almost entilted to just walk into any job, i know the career path i want to take eventually but in the meantime the spell between university and moving back home has been a wake up call. I have been on jobseekers, done a week in a resedential home and then worked at boots doing 7-12 shifts whilst also moving back home and losing a large sense of the independence that comes from moving away and living alone.
Anyway this week i managed to secure a job as a LSA at a local high school, i have done similar in a primary school, the interview process was very daunting two to one with the principal and vice principal and then in class observation for over an hour, everyone had more experience than me, 7 of us vying for 3 jobs, one of which was wrapped up by a volunteer so i had to really produce my best. I was told when i got the job my enthuiasm and ability to relate to the pupils i'd be working with was a more important factor to them than the experience other candidates had, which was great news as when applying for jobs so often i have been told experience has cost me, yet how can youngsters get work if they are constantly told they need experience without being given the oppurtunity to gain that experience.
So Back to poker, i have recently got my first proper pay for work so am financially in an okay position, i have decided to really go for it with the current funds in my account to get somewhere, bankroll management pretty much out the window in the knowledge that in the next few months i can afford to put in some deposits if i have too. I Have managed to sat into a couple of mtts with no luck and been doing alright on £10.50 turbos which has coincided with taking aload of medication for a football injury, definetly thinking there is positive correlation between diazapam intake and winrate.....lol
I will be updating here and there, hopefully as i build a bigger roll there will be more exciting stuff to discuss, the early stages are not all that exciting but if i spin up a bit more i'll be taking shots at satting into ukops maybe playing some mid stakes cash andwill still be on the lookout for hands to post.
Overall since 08/12/13 (HU)
Games:329
Profit: £112
Roi: 4.2%
Bankroll: £175.14
Rewards: £14.56
Decided to put £10 accy on today as well, very optimistic but fancied making the staturday afternoon a bit more interesting, at 95/1 it would ne a nice boost to the bankroll as well.. lol
Derby
Burnley
Leeds
Ipswich
Sunderland
Leyton Orient
Daggenham and Redbridge
Anyway i withdrew down to £50 yesterday to pay for christmas presents and so i could donk about in the live game without worrying about losing always prefer to play live with money i can afford to lose. My mate told me about Jason Somerville doing a $50-10k challenge and how he was doing something similar (obviously not as lofty targets on a different site) so i thought i would get a spreadsheet going and have a go at spinning up in similar fashion, i have absolutely no reason to withdraw now with christmas paid for, wages coming in and my new job meaning all my expenses will be covered so it's all about seeing how far i can go. I'm tracking each type of game, profit/loss and planning on playing all variants of poker so will no doubt see me donking about on cash, mtts and HU. If i bust i will reload again, but it's a bit of fun i've got the bug back for cash again so will probably one table half/all my roll at some point and just hope things go my way. Anyway i'm not finished for the day yet but will update here and there with all the details, there is alot of spin up diaries on here at the moment like idonkcallu and craigsg so a bit of motivation for myself might be to try catch them up see how i do in comparison but mainly just want to enjoy the game.
So to round up for the HU stats since i first posted
Games: 385
Profit: £102
That essentially has been withdrawn now, paid for christmas one of the bonuses of having a hobby that involves money. I'll be posting each day in regards to the £50+ challenge now and what games i've played. GL all at the tables.
Start: £50
Current: £115.51
I was chatting to my mate on skype at the time who was sweating with me, just decided to flat the 59s oop as you do when your playing with pretty much your entire roll on the table at stakes your not very comfortable at, felt i then had to call the small 3bet when the button did and the rest of the hand i quite enjoyed..