Full-Time student & Part-Time straddler - Bankroll challenge blog

@R2PNZ
Hey, thanks for stopping by mate. Yeah last week was a big improvement and I think it is mostly due to my warm-ups. The hand-chart is almost not necessary when you have the focus needed for a session.
I will still stick with playing with a hand-chart for now, hopefully I have time to modify it over the weekend, and I do adjust it depending on the villain-stats.

Thanks for the tips! Much appreciated.
I have his book no crushing the micros already, will definitely read it now on your recommendation. I would like to create my own HUD, but I think it might be good to start with a preset HUD while I figure out exactly what I want.
Edit: I have tried the HUD now and I like the stats it shows, but it is probably designed for 6-max.
I play FR and the tables get a bit cluttered with this HUD. Will try to re-design or create my own over the weekend.

I still have some money at TigerGaming I use sometimes when I do not have the energy for a good session. I have also experimented with Omaha a bit there, but have come to the conclusion that I will master Texas first.

I have played less than 500 hands this week so I also have big plans for the weekend! Hopefully I can get 2k hands in but I have some social activities planned as well, so we will see.

Cheers!

Weekend Update!

This week has been really busy! I only managed to get 600 hands so far and did not study poker at all.
I had a lot of school work, one Math assignment that was due and a big Physics lab that needed some preparation.
I also started a new part-time job, as 2nd-line Technical Support. The job is a lot of fun but it will steal some time from the tables, at least in the beginning. Once we are trained properly the position will only be at 20%.

I also have some social activities planned for today, so probably will not play much today either.
Planning to grind big on Sunday. ♦

Summary of the week:
Mathematics:

• Trigonometric derivatives (Yes, more of them!)
• Differential Equations

Physics:

• Sounds- & Light- waves.
• Mass spectrometry.

Poker:

• No study.
• Low volume.
• ...and loosing.

I hope I can get a good session in on Sunday and report some positive numbers on Monday.

Enjoy your weekend!
Cheers!

Haha looks like you had a busy week! I remember a friend of mine who studied engineering her classes where
Concrete 1
Concrete 2
Always thought that was hilarious 2 different classes about just 1 product. She also had a class that revolved around the curly things that come out of a drilling hole :f_biggrin::f_biggrin:

Played only 500 hands last night, had a bit of run good and booked $7.8 win! I'll post on blog later!

Bankroll Challenge Update:

Week 3
Hands: 1642
ΔBankroll: +0,59
Current Bankroll: $92,33

Comments
You know the feeling when you throw everything you know out the window? That is the story of this week of poker. Being busy with school and starting a new job, I probably should not have played poker at all. I think I was too focused on getting some game-time, instead of some quality game-time. I should have tried to study the game instead of just clicking buttons. Oh well, you live and you learn. Next time I have a busy week I will limit playing time, try to study instead and save the juice for the weekend.

This upcoming week might be one of those. My scheduled time is insignificant, I will work 50% and only have 1 lecture. But I have some catching up to do in Physics and another assignment in Maths is due.
I will try to take some time of the tables and watch a video-series I downloaded recently.

Gameplan for week 4:
less playing! No more than 1h sessions, if any.
Complete series "10 tips to get out of the micros" by double2.

Graph:
If you did not already guess it, this aint perty.

I was probably a bit lucky to end up on top this week, because it could be much worse. Being down 3 BI and clicking buttons, could have easily gotten to 6 BI. Hopefully I will learn from my mistakes and not repeat the horror, that was week 3.

Cheers!

Originally posted by microstraddler
I was probably a bit lucky to end up on top this week, because it could be much worse. Being down 3 BI and clicking buttons, could have easily gotten to 6 BI. Hopefully I will learn from my mistakes and not repeat the horror, that was week 3.

Well in the end it's only the green line that counts right Last week I didn't play much during the week and sat down properly on the weekend! Did wonders for my green line. Probably moving up to NL5!
Good luck with the assignments and good skills at the tables:f_cool:

Originally posted by R2PNZ
Well in the end it's only the green line that counts right Last week I didn't play much during the week and sat down properly on the weekend! Did wonders for my green line. Probably moving up to NL5!
Good luck with the assignments and good skills at the tables:f_cool:

Haha! Yeah, I guess. I am thinking I should do the same, leave poker for the weekends but it is just so much fun to play and a nice break from studying. ♦
Hope you are able to beat NL5 the same way you beat NL2! I do not know if the skill level is all that different from the two?

I have quite a conservative BRM, and will only consider moving up once my green line has a steady incline.

Thanks & Best of luck to you as well!

Bankroll Challenge Update

Week 4
Hands: 1143
ΔBankroll: -10,70
Current Bankroll: $81,63

Word of the week: Tilt

Graph
Ugh...

Comments
Did not play much this week. Around 500 hands during the week and the rest(600+) on Sunday.
Had a few bad runs on Sunday and started tilting. Ran bad vs players with 70+ VPIP over a few hundred hands! Random betting patterns did not make it any better. I could not give them credit for hands and just started clicking buttons. I think the HUD makes tilting worse.

The truth is that I am probably stressed and should not force myself to play. A lot of school work to do and starting a new job, takes a lot of energy and I do not have much left when I come home. When I get more comfortable at work, I will be able to stay a bit more relaxed and maybe have some more energy over for poker. Will play mostly on the weekends for now or really assess if I have energy on weekdays before sitting down.

But most important, I need more sleep. Currently getting about 6 hours every night, which was fine when I was working full-time. But when studying, brain activity is on all day long and it drains so much more energy.
I will aim for 8 hours/day this week and allocate more time for meditation.

Started watching "10 tips to get out of the micros" by double2."
Got through 3/10 parts this week:
#1 - Steal more
#2 - Fold less on blinds
#3 - Squeezes and cold calling 3bets

I am learning a lot from these videos and looking forward to watch the rest of them. I watch them twice and summarize them to myself. I will post my complete summary and thoughts once I have finished the whole series.

Also, almost at 10k hands. Time to analyze!

Gameplan Week #5
Play less poker.
Sleep/Meditate more.
Start analyzing stats.
Start posting hands.
Continue to watch "10 tips to get out of the micros" by double2."

Even though a very bad week, I still feel motivated to study more poker and turn this frown upside down.

Cheers!

Bankroll Challenge Update:

Week 5
Hands: 1379
ΔBankroll: +7,33
Current Bankroll: $88,96

Comments:
My focus this week was not to force myself to play, when I did not have the energy or focus to play well. The few sessions I did play, felt great. No loss in focus during the sessions, not even after loosing 2-outers.
My other focus this week was to sleep and meditate more. I did not meditate more, but it was not needed. More sleep did the trick for me. Got at least 7-8 hours a night.

The only downside of this week was that I did not have a lot of time to study poker. I actually did not study at all.
I also did not post any valuable hands, so I will try to increase that for next week.
But at least I got a lot of schoolwork done.

I do not have that much school or work this week, so I am hoping to make more time for studying poker this week. Mainly to analyze my stats, now that I hit 10k hands, and review some hands.

Gameplan for week 6:
Keep focusing to sleep more and establish a better routine.
Start analyzing stats.
Posting hands.
"10 tips to get out of the micros" by double2."

Graph:

Pot of the week:

Cheers!

Bankroll Challenge Update:

Week 6
Hands: 1409
ΔBankroll: +4,01
Current Bankroll: $92,97

Comments:
Not too much to say about week 6. Still doing the same thing as last week, which is:
To not force myself to play when I do not have sufficient energy and/or time. I still think about playing every day, but I rather play less and well, than often and bad. I will stick with this plan until school calms down, which will be more or less until the summer. Focusing on Physics and Math at the moment and have exams in mid-march. Then I have 2 Biology classes until the Summer, which will be a bit lighter and hopefully allow more time for poker.

I am still getting much more sleep, due to a better routine, and I even woke up before the alarm every day last week. The downside is that I get tired very early but I am definitely more efficient when doing schoolwork or when at work.

Bankroll is slowly increasing with the new gameplan and I hope to see the same progress in the coming weeks.
My bankroll is still below my starting bankroll but my All-in adjusted is now in the green, which is something. ♦
SLOW & LOW!

Graph:

Gameplan for week 7:
Sleep!
"10 tips to get out of the micros" by double2."

Cheers!

Bankroll Challenge Update:

Week 7
Hands: 739
ΔBankroll: +4,95
Current Bankroll: $97,92

Comments:
Only 739 hands this week, which is an all time low for this challenge. The reason is that I have two exams next week and had two assignments due this week. I will be preparing for exams this week so most likely will not play much poker. Have not studied poker at all, but I always read through every NL2-10 hands posted in the hand discussion forum. I watch some poker related videos but that is more recreational and can not be called studying.

The only interesting thing about this week is that I have only played 6-max. This is basically only due to a lack of population on the Full-Ring tables, but it actually felt pretty good. Now I am actually not sure why I did not like 6-max in the first place. But I still feel more comfortable playing Full-Ring, but will definitely look into 6-max from now on.

Any tips on how to adjust the strategy from Full-Ring to 6-max?
How much can I widen my range? Should I play postflop the same still?
Any other things I should consider?

Graph:

Cheers!

Bankroll Challenge Update:

Week 8
Hands: 1254
ΔBankroll: -5,30
Current Bankroll: $92,62

Comments:
Was able to play way more poker than I thought and was much needed between studying for exams. I only played 6-max so I got more hands/time than usual. I still like Full-Ring games more but will keep playing 6-max this week. There is just more people on 6-max tables, which should also equal more fish and I seem to have some problems adopting to that. But let us see what this week will hold.

Graph:

Cheers!

Yesterday, Monday, I was bored and decided to try a Twister and won a €10 Tournament ticket.
Used the ticket to play a €3000 GTD with 124 entrants.

Bankroll Challenge Update:

Week 9
Hands: 6097 (Loss: -13,15)
Tournament: 1 (Profit: +33,85)
ΔBankroll: +20,17
Current Bankroll: $113,32

Comments:
Still sticking with 6-max only, which is why the number of hands played have increased significantly. I am also getting more comfortable with the format but starting to remember why I have been staying away from the format up until now. People seems to play a way wider range of hands and are more willing to call down draws.

Looking at this weeks graph it seems like calling draws pays off, since My C All-in Adjusted is at $16(800BB!) higher than My C Won. But I have to admit I made some mistake and got a bit tilted after some bad beats but surprised myself with some discipline and took a break and even a cooldown powerwalk.

Even though I lost a lot of money this week I am actually happy with my performance. So, I will keep doing what I do and make small adjustments along the way, if the trend persists next week I will have to make bigger adjustments.

Fortunately I did place 23rd in a €3000 GTD Tournament, so I actually had a green week and currently at my highest bankroll in this challenge. I will not make tournaments something I do regularly but aiming to play more of them in the future.

Graph:

Cheers!

great blog! congratz on breaking the 100$! keep up the work! u will chase that ev easily!

Hey BadHabit,

Thanks for stopping by and for the kind words.
I really hope so and I am currently at around 40BBs over adjusted value so I hope I can keep that trend for the rest of the week as well.

Cheers!

Bankroll Challenge Update:

Week 10
Hands: 4446 (Profit: +10,57)
Tournament: 3 (Loss: -2,69)
ΔBankroll: +7,88
Current Bankroll: $121,2

Comments:
This week was about compensating for last weeks bad runs. Which is exactly what happened and I ended up winning $5 more than adjusted value. Played some really solid poker and I feel that I can utilize the HUD in a much better way now. I feel that I can exploit some regs now that I have a larger sample on some of them and I am able to identify different types of fishes easier. Overall I am happy with my progress and hoping that this will reflect on my bankroll.

I have a lot of more to compensate for though. After 10 weeks in this challenge I am currently $18 below adjusted value. But like I said, I feel that I play solid poker and I am happy with the progress I am making. Hopefully persistence will win in the end.

Graph:

For the upcoming week I will just keep grinding 6-max and will hopefully be able to squeeze some studying in again.

Cheers!

Long time no see!

I just wanted to give you a quick update on my current situation. Still doing the bankroll challenge but I just do not have the time to play as much poker as I would want to and even less time to keep an active blog. I will try to make a quick post every week but will keep it short.

I really just need to finish school with some good grades right now, which is where my focus has been for the last couple of weeks. Only two more courses this semester, which are a bit lighter than the previous ones so I might actually be able to play some more, but we will see.

I have also been looking for jobs. Both for something just over the summer but also something that I can do during the semesters as well. My current job is okay, but requires some effort. At only 20% time, I have difficulty getting in to the grove and end up getting annoyed.

I have also been weighing my option, to not work at all next semester as I will have a bit of a different financial situation and that would increase poker time drastically.

We will see what the future will hold but I will keep grinding whenever and however much I can.

Cheers!

He there, thx for letting us know! I know how it is (from a slightly different angle - playing poker when you already work full time on Poker is also difficult)

Bankroll Challenge Update:

Week 22

Hands: 864
ΔBankroll: -8,13
Current Bankroll: $98,23

Comments:
Finally summer!

(Un)fortunately I failed to get a job for the summer break so I am taking two classes instead, more Maths and Physics! It is only part-time, which means I will have time to play and study poker.
I had som problems motivating myself to start playing again and it is definitely reflected on my results. I will try to study and play the upcoming week to get fired up again. I am also planning on going to the casino this week to help motivation, since it is so much more fun.

Feels good to be back!

Cheers!

Also having just started a new BR on William Hill myself, I look forward to reading how you get on with the starting capital and maybe see you at the tables