A major milestone for my bankroll - topping $1000 for the first time ever after a good day at the office. Played very well all day today in the 10Player rooms - a couple of wins helping the balance along nicely.
Was in a real rhythm today - no problem maintaining my discipline, making very few costly mistakes, and going up through the gears very effectively as the blinds increased / players got knocked out.
RESULTS
Games Played
3 x $22 SNG (6 Seater)
3 x $22 SNG (10 Seater)
1 x $22 SNG (10 Seater, Speed)
Wins
4 money finishes, 3 non-money finishes
2 x Win (10 Seater), 1 x Win (10 Seater Speed), 1 x 2nd (6 Seater)
Bankroll
SNG Cost of play $154, Winnings $332, Net Gain of $178
- $2 lost in a micro limit Cash Game
Bankroll up from $830 to $1006
So for at least 1 game, I have a four-digit bankroll. I actually can't believe it - I have come on massively since starting writing this blog.
My previous highest bankroll was just over $700 after I won a decent size MTT a couple of months back. That win went to my head a little, convincing me I was something special. It only took me a couple of days to lose the money again after going on tilt in quite spectacular fashion.
After winning the MTT, the next 10-15 games I played afterwards I had the worst run of cards I have had to date in my 9 months of poker. From memory, there were about 10-15 games of abject bad luck and bad beats where nothing, absolutely nothing was working - nothing holding up, missing every draw.. you know the score. My head was completely shot to pieces, and by about the 8th or 9th game in the streak, my game had degenerated horribly. By the end, I was throwing the money away, as I just couldnt bear to weigh up the right decisions, because I just KNEW whatever I did, I would get outdrawn, so why work it out.
After blowing those winnings, I took a couple of months off the game, swearing to myself that I wouldn't play again until I improved my knowledge and skills in a more systematic way. A fter a few months/books/online articles, I returned to the fray in April 2007 - and so far so good.
I think a major influence in my improved play is actually this blog. It forces me to confront and put into words my weaknesses and flaws. I think beforehand I never really thought about why I was losing/winning games, but now I do. Also, the potential humiliation of having to let you all know that I have blown my whole bankroll with horribly bad play is often enough to keep my standards up when the cards are not running for me.
So $1000 bankroll, at least for one day, is great. 12 days ago I started with $165 , and the possibilty of growing that to $1000 through gaining over many games (as opposed to one-off tourneys) would have seemed unthinkable to me.
To be honest, I have to admit to being slightly bewildered. Reading my new books (Sklansky, Gordon, etc) the main thing I am conscious of is how very very little I understand of this game. I probably have less than 5% of the knowledge I would need to be a geniunely good player, and yet the level I am at now allows me to make slow but steady gains in $22 SNG tables.
I am curious just how much more lucrative this could become if I really committed to gaining the knowledge that proper players are armed with. Over the last 12 days, my average daily gain has been about $70, a nice amount, but it has involved a LOT of hours play. If I could transfer my current ITM ratio from the $22 rooms to the $55 rooms, I would be able to make a reasonable living at this.
I am nowhere near ready to move up to that level, which I assume is shark-infested, and I would get eaten for breakfast. My aim, though, is to develop into a break-even player at the $55 level within 1 year. We shall see :-)
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