Going into 2009 I wasn't sure if I wanted to play poker or not. I gave online a shot a few times depositing into Full Tilt 50 on a couple of occasions. Problem was I would play in 24+2 tournies mostly and bust out after a tourney or two. I did manage to win a 10 dollar 45 man sng on full tilt fpr 170 dollars, but quickly gave the money back by entering big tournaments. I really felt that I could do well, but my bankroll management was terrible. I was left on the rail after a few tries.
I managed to save up some money and decided to give Ultimate Bet a try as I had rakeback on there. I started with 50 bucks and began to play the lowest game on there .01/.02 NL holdem. I did well and managed to work my way up to around 200 dollars. From there I began to play .05/.10 NL holdem, which on UB is a 20 max buyin. I did ok, then started getting coolered one hand after another. I remember one hand I had KK and the flop came AKx, we got allin on the flop and of course my opponent held AA. My bankroll quickly dipped to under 100 dollars.
At this point I thought about things and decided in my glory days I had done best at limit holdem. I redosited another 100 and began to play .25/.50 limit 6 max. To put it mildly I got killed, I couldnt believe what was happening. Every hand I'd get in with better starters and lose to some junk hand that made 2 pair or something. I was crushed. I took my remaining 50 of the site and began to rethink things.
My brother had been playing on pokerstars with some good results so I put my 50 on there. I was gonna grind .02/.04 limit. This lasted maybe 2 days as I couldnt bring myself to play that low. My brother had been playing PLO and I decided to give that a shot. At first I played so bad because I didnt know the game, but managed a few wins. I think I worked my bankroll up to around 150 bucks. I decided that PLO was for me so I took advantage of deposit bonuses (one Im still working off) and made deposits of 50, 100, 250. So I was now 450 invested into pokerstars. I did well on .01/.02 PLO so I moved up to .05/.10. I did well at first, but I soon found out the high rake at this level plus my bad play took me down. I reached 750 in account at one time, but cashed out at 550 for 100 profit. I left 6 dollars in my account which I'll get to later. So between UB and Pokerstars I was down 50 bucks.
I also played on fulltilt in 2009. I deposited 100 and worked of a 100 bonus and came out 50 ahead as well playing nothing but .01/.02 PLO. I had the account up to 400 at one point, but I cashed out at 300, for a 200 profit. Fulltilt offerred another bonus and I put 250 back into account to try and work off bonus. I was playing .25/.50 limit holdem and did well for awhile but then started getting killed again. I cashed out for 100, so down 150 for that deposit. Meaning I was up 50 for the year on fulltilt (this included bonuses and rakeback so in the games i actually lost). So +50 on fulltilt and -50 on UB + Pokerstars; has me even for the year.
Back to that 6 dollars I left on Pokerstars, I entered a 5.50 tourney with 20k guaranteed in prized money for basically all of my account. I finished 179th out of 5409 good for 27 dollars. The next day I played in an 11 dollar tourney and 16th out of 1204 good for 98 dollars. So I now had over 100 in my account. I started playing .01/.02 PLO again and won some more. I then entered a sattelite to the Sunday Million which I won and traded the tournament cash in for cash. I now had around 400 in my bankroll. This bankroll is still what I'm playing with today.
Basically it was a trial and error year for me online, I figured out which games were beatable by me and which ones werent. Alot of the factor in playing so low is the impact of the rake. Even games in which I mentioned I got killed, I beat without a rake. The following is a breakdown of game I played and my won/loss and I also noted rake paid:
Full Tilt
Game: .25/.50 Limit Holdem
Hands: 16,700
Won/Loss: -50
Rake Paid: 312
Game: .02/.05 PLO
Hands: 7,800
Won/Loss -89
Rake Paid: 160
Game: .01/.02 PLO
Hands: 24,700
Won/Loss +11
Rake Paid: 176
As can be seen the games I played at Full Tilt the rake had a huge impact.
Poker Stars
Game: .01/.02 PLO
Hands: 70,300
Won/Loss +251
Rake Paid: 251
Game: .05/.10 PLO
Hands: 14,770
Won/Loss: -65
Rake Paid: 298
Game: .01/.02 NL
Hands: 4,300
Won/Loss: +31
Rake Paid: 10
So really the only game that I 'beat' was .01/.02 PLO on stars. This is for a few reasons I think but the biggest one is the rake. The rake on stars doesnt start until the pot reaches 1 dollar. Stars takes 5 cent for every 1 dollar in the pot. Since most pots dont reach 1 dollar in .01/.02 the rake doesnt 'kick in' that often. As can be seen the rake 'kick in' much more on .05/.10 PLO as I paid more in rake there then in .01/.02 PLO with alot less hands.
So in review i made about 400 dollars in the year 2009 online, but I have new plans for 2010. I'll go into detail on my next post.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
My Poker Career
The first time I can remember playing poker was in middle school. I lost like 5 or 10 dollars which was alot of money for me at the time, so I think I decided to never play again. I didnt for a long time.
While living in Portland, OR my friend Scott and I then saw Rounders sometime around in 1999 I think. We started playing heads up against each other for fun. We also took a trip sometime around that time frame and played some 7 card stud against his Dad and some friends. I didn't really understand alot about the game at that point but I did win one big hand. I was dealt JJ in the hole with a J as my hole card I believe. I caught the fourth J on sixth street. Me and another guy started raising each other back and forth. Eventually I just called on 6th and the reaising insued on 7th until it was maxed. I proudly flipped over my hand and he mucked a full house.
Eventually I moved back home to Minnesota in the fall of 2001 and soon after found myself looking into playing poker. I worked with a guy that played in tournaments at Foxwoods and he told me about pokerpages (I think that was it), were I could play tournaments online for free. I started playing in these and despite the huge fields I did very well, in fact I was on the top 20 leaderboard. This was good and all but I wanted to start and play for money.
I did some searching on the internet and found out there was a card room about 30 minutes from me. I also read on the internet about books to read on the game. I picked up a copy of Lee Jones' Winning Low Limit Texas Holdem and began to study. I memorized almost everything in that book before going to the card room. Luckily the book also included some tips on how to play in a card room. When I felt I was ready I headed to the card room (Canterbury Park) and began to play.
I got to the room and asked to get on the list of the lowest Hold'em game. There was a seat open and I sat down at a 2-4 limit table. It was truly amazing that first time I played. I was a very tight player from the get go and lost my first few sessions. It wasnt a big deal at the time as I had a good job and could support my poker habit. I suffered some beats for sure, but I was sure what I was taught in Lee Jones' book was correct and I would eventually start to win.
Around this time I also found you could play on the internet for money. So I looked around and found Ultimate Bet. I deposited 100 dollars and I started playing 1-2 limit. The game was slightly tighter then playing at Canterbury but I managed better results. Unfourtounately this was before tracking software and I didnt keep track of results (I wasnt relying for poker as an income so I didnt keep track). But overall I did well.
Soon I found other sites that offerred poker and I started to play at Pokerroom.com. They had 5 max limit games and I started at 1-2 there. I quickly built up a bankroll and became a regular at 5/10 limit. I would occassionally take shots higher and one day while drinking heavily at a bar I won 2k playing 10/20 limit (this was before most people multi-tabled so I was playing 1 table). I soon found out that Party Poker was the softest site so I began to play 10/20 and 15/30 limit there.
On the live side I started to have more positive results. My bankroll management at the time was to keep all my live money in a shoe box. I started with maybe like 200 and soon had 2 thousand in there. I began to play higher, with my prefferred game being 8/16 limit. One night after drinking heavily I gave the biggest game in the room a shot 30/60. I was so wasted that I flopped a set against 2 players and didnt see 3 to a flush on the flop. The board didnt pair and I lost alot as they both had flopped a flush. I walked out 2k in the hole that night.
In 2004 I changed jobs and moved to Marshall, MN. I moved in with a buddy and we began to have No Limit home games. I think it was .50/1 with 100 max buyin. The game was so easy and I always seemed to crush it. The first night I beat my bosses boss out of a couple hundred and had to explain myself the next day. The job didnt last long as my life was in turmoil at that point from the use of drugs and alcohol.
Upon losing the job I decided I'd give playing poker a shot. I had always done well and thought I could make it work. But once again partying got in the way and I did alot more of that then playing. When I did play I played terrible, and this was around the time when the games were very soft. I started to multi table playing 4 games of 25 NL on the Prima network at the time. I can tell you my exact results, but Im sure they weren't good.
Around 2005 I moved to Topeka, Kansas for a change of scene. Problem was I brought me with me and keep using drugs. I did find some time for poker though. There was a Harrah's about 20 minutes from town that spread 2/5 NL. I played in a few tournies cashing a couple times and winning 2 of them. I also played in a home game of 1/2 NL once a week and did very well in it. I ran pretty good at the casino as well, but I was using drugs to often to play alot. One hand Ill never forget happend while playing at Harrah's. I flopped a set of 9's on a 9 5 4 board. Guy to my right checked, I checked, and a kid bet 75 into the pot of about the same size. The guy to my right shoved all in for about 200. I had a stack a little above 500, so I shove as well before thinking. The kid to my left goes into the tank forever (I'd beat him in a few big pots before), and says set of 5's no good? I just said Im all in, call if you want. He had a stack about the same size as me. He folded the 5's face up and I was left all in against the guy on the rights AA. The moral of the story was think before u shove all in.
Over the next few years I didnt play much if any poker. I had gone to treatment for my drug and alcohol problems and the people in my live at the time didnt think playing poker was a good idea, so I didnt. I would return though.
Spring of 2008, I had just relapsed after 2 years of sobriety and decided to give poker another shot. I had never actually deposited on full tilt, so I decided to give their bonus a try. I played 10 or 25 NL and found the game to be very tough, much tougher then I remembered. For some reason I decided to give tournies a try. I tried them and did very well, cashing in a few. I then went on to win a tourney for 4200 and cash another for 700 in the same week. I thought I was invincable, nothing could take me out. Problem was that between my drug use, bad play, and very poor bankroll management skills I gave it all back, and then some. I got stuck for 2k that year and gave up playing again.
This bring me to 2009, a year I was sober the whole year and began to play with some more sense despit not having much of a bankroll. I'll cover that in my next post.
While living in Portland, OR my friend Scott and I then saw Rounders sometime around in 1999 I think. We started playing heads up against each other for fun. We also took a trip sometime around that time frame and played some 7 card stud against his Dad and some friends. I didn't really understand alot about the game at that point but I did win one big hand. I was dealt JJ in the hole with a J as my hole card I believe. I caught the fourth J on sixth street. Me and another guy started raising each other back and forth. Eventually I just called on 6th and the reaising insued on 7th until it was maxed. I proudly flipped over my hand and he mucked a full house.
Eventually I moved back home to Minnesota in the fall of 2001 and soon after found myself looking into playing poker. I worked with a guy that played in tournaments at Foxwoods and he told me about pokerpages (I think that was it), were I could play tournaments online for free. I started playing in these and despite the huge fields I did very well, in fact I was on the top 20 leaderboard. This was good and all but I wanted to start and play for money.
I did some searching on the internet and found out there was a card room about 30 minutes from me. I also read on the internet about books to read on the game. I picked up a copy of Lee Jones' Winning Low Limit Texas Holdem and began to study. I memorized almost everything in that book before going to the card room. Luckily the book also included some tips on how to play in a card room. When I felt I was ready I headed to the card room (Canterbury Park) and began to play.
I got to the room and asked to get on the list of the lowest Hold'em game. There was a seat open and I sat down at a 2-4 limit table. It was truly amazing that first time I played. I was a very tight player from the get go and lost my first few sessions. It wasnt a big deal at the time as I had a good job and could support my poker habit. I suffered some beats for sure, but I was sure what I was taught in Lee Jones' book was correct and I would eventually start to win.
Around this time I also found you could play on the internet for money. So I looked around and found Ultimate Bet. I deposited 100 dollars and I started playing 1-2 limit. The game was slightly tighter then playing at Canterbury but I managed better results. Unfourtounately this was before tracking software and I didnt keep track of results (I wasnt relying for poker as an income so I didnt keep track). But overall I did well.
Soon I found other sites that offerred poker and I started to play at Pokerroom.com. They had 5 max limit games and I started at 1-2 there. I quickly built up a bankroll and became a regular at 5/10 limit. I would occassionally take shots higher and one day while drinking heavily at a bar I won 2k playing 10/20 limit (this was before most people multi-tabled so I was playing 1 table). I soon found out that Party Poker was the softest site so I began to play 10/20 and 15/30 limit there.
On the live side I started to have more positive results. My bankroll management at the time was to keep all my live money in a shoe box. I started with maybe like 200 and soon had 2 thousand in there. I began to play higher, with my prefferred game being 8/16 limit. One night after drinking heavily I gave the biggest game in the room a shot 30/60. I was so wasted that I flopped a set against 2 players and didnt see 3 to a flush on the flop. The board didnt pair and I lost alot as they both had flopped a flush. I walked out 2k in the hole that night.
In 2004 I changed jobs and moved to Marshall, MN. I moved in with a buddy and we began to have No Limit home games. I think it was .50/1 with 100 max buyin. The game was so easy and I always seemed to crush it. The first night I beat my bosses boss out of a couple hundred and had to explain myself the next day. The job didnt last long as my life was in turmoil at that point from the use of drugs and alcohol.
Upon losing the job I decided I'd give playing poker a shot. I had always done well and thought I could make it work. But once again partying got in the way and I did alot more of that then playing. When I did play I played terrible, and this was around the time when the games were very soft. I started to multi table playing 4 games of 25 NL on the Prima network at the time. I can tell you my exact results, but Im sure they weren't good.
Around 2005 I moved to Topeka, Kansas for a change of scene. Problem was I brought me with me and keep using drugs. I did find some time for poker though. There was a Harrah's about 20 minutes from town that spread 2/5 NL. I played in a few tournies cashing a couple times and winning 2 of them. I also played in a home game of 1/2 NL once a week and did very well in it. I ran pretty good at the casino as well, but I was using drugs to often to play alot. One hand Ill never forget happend while playing at Harrah's. I flopped a set of 9's on a 9 5 4 board. Guy to my right checked, I checked, and a kid bet 75 into the pot of about the same size. The guy to my right shoved all in for about 200. I had a stack a little above 500, so I shove as well before thinking. The kid to my left goes into the tank forever (I'd beat him in a few big pots before), and says set of 5's no good? I just said Im all in, call if you want. He had a stack about the same size as me. He folded the 5's face up and I was left all in against the guy on the rights AA. The moral of the story was think before u shove all in.
Over the next few years I didnt play much if any poker. I had gone to treatment for my drug and alcohol problems and the people in my live at the time didnt think playing poker was a good idea, so I didnt. I would return though.
Spring of 2008, I had just relapsed after 2 years of sobriety and decided to give poker another shot. I had never actually deposited on full tilt, so I decided to give their bonus a try. I played 10 or 25 NL and found the game to be very tough, much tougher then I remembered. For some reason I decided to give tournies a try. I tried them and did very well, cashing in a few. I then went on to win a tourney for 4200 and cash another for 700 in the same week. I thought I was invincable, nothing could take me out. Problem was that between my drug use, bad play, and very poor bankroll management skills I gave it all back, and then some. I got stuck for 2k that year and gave up playing again.
This bring me to 2009, a year I was sober the whole year and began to play with some more sense despit not having much of a bankroll. I'll cover that in my next post.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Welcome to MNPuck's poker blog
Hello... I'm starting this blog to keep anyone interested in my poker results updated. I'm not sure how much demand there is for this right now, but I figure I'll do this anyway. Part of the purpose of me having to post my results is that I have to be open and honest about them. I'll post soon my current bankroll, current games im playing, and how I got to where I'm at.
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