Over the last couple of months i have moved to increase the volume of online MTTs i play quite considerably.
In doing so i have found myself gravitating away from Ongame a little as on the whole their structures are a little too quick, and there are better and equally as soft games to be found elsewhere.
I've upped my daily volume to about 12 tournies on average, with an average buy in of about $110. I have always aimed for an ROI of 100%, but appreciate that in moving up stakes a little and playing more tournies at once this will not be easily attainable. However, even if it drops as low as 50%, I'm still looking at making $130-$150k this calendar year, so i would suggest a goal of $200k is reasonable.
I am still enjoying my new schedule, and i haven't yet begun to feel like it is a grind yet, which can only help my bottom line, but having said that - it is never enough.
I feel like there's so much more money out there to be won, the last couple of days I've been railing a friend of mine playing 5/10 NL, and he's been crushing. I have another guy on messenger who has made $400k the last two years and is aiming to double that this year, 8 tabling 3/6.
Their successes make me jealous - which is a little ridiculous considering my projections from MTTs. But i guess that's just the nature of my character. I really want to get in to these cash games, but i also know that if i want to be successful i have to bide my time. I don't want to jump into cash games and lose my hard earned money before I'm ready. I've flirted with cash games in the past, and always after good starts i have hit a wall. I've never lost a fortune, merely one or two buy ins playing nothing higher than 2/4 (and usually lower). But there is still something about cash games that scares me.
I could write off any of these losses as variance, and I'm sure that is true to some extent, but i think there is a problem with my mentality that needs fixed before i can make a real run at the games. Even if i were to attribute it totally to variance, I still wouldn't be ready to jump in, as i want to start at 2/4 and while my roll is big enough if i were an experienced player, I'd like to secure my MTT roll and have an exclusively cash roll.
My problems with cash games are complex and a lot of these problems stem from similar mental issues.
1) I can't stomach losing a couple of buy ins
- whereas i don't mind losing a grand a day in MTTs.
2) There is no end in sight.
- someone was talking about a cash game session recently, and the answer they got was that in cash games it is all one big session.
In MTTs the end point is rather obvious, there is more than one aspect of an MTT that shows that: Blinds go up, players get knocked out and can't get back, there are prizes for the top finishers, with 1st getting the lion's share.
This is all very obvious, but it is a huge thing for me. Whenever i enter a tournament, my goal is clear - to win it.
When i sit at a cash table, there is no obvious goal. I don't believe in setting monetary goals like aiming to make 1 buy in etc, because you cannot control this, and you may end up forcing the action to try and reach your goal. And if you reach your goal quickly, then often it is because of factors like the standard of your opposition and you should really hang around instead of leaving - now what's your goal?
Cash games to me, just seem like so much more of a grind, because the only thing that matters is your bottom line.
After a day of tournaments, i can look at my bottom line, but understand it can mean little due to the tremendous amount of variance involved in MTT poker. But there is more to it. How many final tables did i make? Did i win a tourny? Both of these things add to the enjoyment factor so much, and just make my day easier.
The answer is pretty obvious - I need to learn how to enjoy cash games more, so that i can avoid blowing up in them. The method however, is a little trickier.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Pokah Profile
I began playing poker in February 2005, I bled hundreds of dollars in cash games before I discovered tournaments existed. With the guidance of the Godfather I read numerous books to improve my tournament play.
By Summer 2005, I was a winning player - albeit only slightly.
By Winter 2005, I was making enough to consider quitting my job.
By Spring 2006 I decided I was good enough to go pro.
- I wasn’t.
I had no idea what it took. I didn’t have the game, and I certainly didn’t have the attitude.
Spring 2006 saw me make my inaugural annual Vegas trip with the Godfather. Partly by osmosis, and largely through Mr Brunson’s Super System I began to piece things together.
By Summer 2006 I was a Grand Prix Champion, I “owned” Pokerroom and I was a very proud Ace of Ace Champion. But I was far from the complete player. The St Andrews Mob was born, the Godfather was proud.
By Winter 2006/2007 I understood what it took to succeed in the game, there was no eureka moment in regard to strategies, it was more a realisation of the commitment needed. Playing a game for a living is a risky business, and if the American Safe Port Act taught us anything, it is that the game we love - while old in its origins, is far from stable. At any point, my government could choose to tax my income, and while it is unlikely that they would follow their American friends and attempt to ban the game, other like minded governments may follow Uncle Sam’s lead, and attempt to drive our beloved game underground. Even if politicians were to keep their noses out, it may be the case that in two years time, NLHE is no longer a beatable game. Somehow, all the losing players may have realised that Online Poker while being cruel is not rigged and they are in fact just automated teller machines there for the sole purpose to pad the winning players’ wallets. Or maybe a new fad will come along, one where people can slake their gambling thirst in a more fulfilling manner – perhaps they will be able to interact in a greater way than sitting behind a computer screen for hours while still satisfying their brain’s search for that dopamine hit.
While the above suggestions are perhaps a little farfetched, they are far from being impossible. My point is vaguely related to these examples – we don’t know what the future holds. In two years time for one reason or another, I may not be able to make enough money at this game any longer. If that day ever comes, I want to look back at my time as a poker pro safe in the knowledge that while still having a life, I extracted as much money out of this game as possible, and have some money to build a future.
This understanding motivated me to continue to be a student of the game, and to put in more regular hours.
By Summer 2007 – I had taken my game to a new level, and was grinding a good profit from the game.
What is in store for me this Winter? I aim to continue to put in the hours whilst not forgetting that I have yet to make it. I still have a long way to go, sure I’m a good player, sure I make a decent living out of it, but that is not enough. I want to be great, do I need to be the best? No, but it wouldn’t hurt.
By Summer 2005, I was a winning player - albeit only slightly.
By Winter 2005, I was making enough to consider quitting my job.
By Spring 2006 I decided I was good enough to go pro.
- I wasn’t.
I had no idea what it took. I didn’t have the game, and I certainly didn’t have the attitude.
Spring 2006 saw me make my inaugural annual Vegas trip with the Godfather. Partly by osmosis, and largely through Mr Brunson’s Super System I began to piece things together.
By Summer 2006 I was a Grand Prix Champion, I “owned” Pokerroom and I was a very proud Ace of Ace Champion. But I was far from the complete player. The St Andrews Mob was born, the Godfather was proud.
By Winter 2006/2007 I understood what it took to succeed in the game, there was no eureka moment in regard to strategies, it was more a realisation of the commitment needed. Playing a game for a living is a risky business, and if the American Safe Port Act taught us anything, it is that the game we love - while old in its origins, is far from stable. At any point, my government could choose to tax my income, and while it is unlikely that they would follow their American friends and attempt to ban the game, other like minded governments may follow Uncle Sam’s lead, and attempt to drive our beloved game underground. Even if politicians were to keep their noses out, it may be the case that in two years time, NLHE is no longer a beatable game. Somehow, all the losing players may have realised that Online Poker while being cruel is not rigged and they are in fact just automated teller machines there for the sole purpose to pad the winning players’ wallets. Or maybe a new fad will come along, one where people can slake their gambling thirst in a more fulfilling manner – perhaps they will be able to interact in a greater way than sitting behind a computer screen for hours while still satisfying their brain’s search for that dopamine hit.
While the above suggestions are perhaps a little farfetched, they are far from being impossible. My point is vaguely related to these examples – we don’t know what the future holds. In two years time for one reason or another, I may not be able to make enough money at this game any longer. If that day ever comes, I want to look back at my time as a poker pro safe in the knowledge that while still having a life, I extracted as much money out of this game as possible, and have some money to build a future.
This understanding motivated me to continue to be a student of the game, and to put in more regular hours.
By Summer 2007 – I had taken my game to a new level, and was grinding a good profit from the game.
What is in store for me this Winter? I aim to continue to put in the hours whilst not forgetting that I have yet to make it. I still have a long way to go, sure I’m a good player, sure I make a decent living out of it, but that is not enough. I want to be great, do I need to be the best? No, but it wouldn’t hurt.
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