It has been quite a month and the best thing I did was to add 5 card draw but first lets look at things since the 21st September.
So for 2c/4c I played 436 hands for a loss of $2.59 or 14.85BB/100, for 5c/10c I played 287 hands for a loss of $2.16 or 7.53BB/100 and for 5 card draw 10c/20c I played 1,774 hands for a profit of $16.05 or 4.52BB/100.
Now for the month in full for 2c/4c I played 4,936 hands for a loss of $1.69 or 0.86BB/100, for 5c/10c I played 681 hands for a profit of $1.25 or 1.84BB/100 and for 5 card draw 10c/20c I played 4,906 hands for a profit of $34.52 or 3.52BB/100. In total for the month I played 10,523 hands.
For 2c/4c I have in total played 36,389 hands for a profit of $18.35 or 1.26BB/100. I got a chest worth $3 no good in the tourney, so for the month I made $37.08 in total, which is my best month so far.
I am in profit on all 3 areas and by acceptable amounts i.e. 1.26BB,1.84BB and 3.52BB/100 which in profit terms is $18.35,$1.25 and $34.52 also chest/cashes/refunds of $22.03 which makes $76.15 after 5 months or $15.23 per month.
This month saw me almost double my profit by just playing 5 card draw and I want to get to 10k hands before thinking of moving up but I do not see many games of 25c/50c, I am thinking of adding another game such as badugi as this is similar to 5 card draw but I believe it has more variance and needs a higher bankroll (min 300BB). For the moment it is carry on as we are until the end of October my bankroll has gone up from $170 to $207 this month.
My next update will be after 7th October, if anyone has any thoughts or suggestions it would be good to hear them.
Well variance has raised its ugly head in the first 7 days of the month and I have not played any 2c/4c at all, not that matters much as I have plenty hands in for that stake and I regard that area as complete, see previous post for total hands here.
So for 5c/10c I played 135 hands for a loss of $1.61 or 11.93BB/100 and for 5 card draw I have played 1,300 hands for a loss of $4.68 or1.80BB/100.
This is only 205 hands a day and I need more action than this.
In total for 5c/10c I have played 816 hands for a loss of 36c or 0.44BB/100 which does not mean much for so few hands.
In total for 5 card draw I have played 6,206 hands for a profit of $29.84 or 2.40BB/100 which is running good and I am on track for 10k hands by end of October.
The moral of this post is to embrace variance even though we all hate it.
I am looking for more games to add so I can play more but finding the right ones to add is not easy and I am open to suggestions.
Variance is still haunting me but I am close to getting a chest either later today or tomorrow which may have as much as $5 in to ease the pain. Over the last 7 days I have played 5 card draw mainly as that is where my profitability seems to lie.
So for 2c/4c I have played only 32 hands for a profit of 37c or 28.91BB/100, for 5c/10c I have played 73 hands for a loss of $3.11 or 42.60BB/100 and for 5 card draw I have played 1,698 hands for a loss of $1.06 or 0.31BB/100.
Now for the month so far for 2c/4c it is as above, for 5c/10c I have played 208 hands for a loss of $4.72 or 22.69BB/100 and for 5 card draw I have played 2,998 hands for a loss of $5.74 or 0.96BB/100.
In total for 2c/4c I have played 36,421 hands for a profit of $18.72 or 1.28BB/100 which is very satisfactory.
In total for 5c/10c I have played 889 hands for a loss of $3.47 or 3.90BB/100 it is early days here but I am concerned that there may be no future in playing this much longer due to a lack of players/fish.
In total for 5 card draw I have played 7,904 hands for a profit of $28.78 or 1.82BB/100 which is good but would like to get this above 2 if possible, some players are learning to adjust to my play so I am having to mix it up a bit, I am also leaning towards making this my main game but the judge is still out on that one. What I like about 5 card draw is the low variance which is so good for poker players psychology, I just wish more players played but there is plenty no limit 5 card draw but I am not ready for that yet if at all. Please reply if you want to tell me something.
Next update will be after the 22nd October.
Well I got my chest but it only had $3 in it, better than a kick in the teeth I guess.
So since the last update I have only played 5 card draw I played 1,299 hands for a profit of $3.45 or 1.33BB/100.
For the month so far for 2c/4c I am up 37c and for 5c/10c I am down $4.72 and for 5 card draw I am down $2.29 which if I include my chest I am down $3.64 for the month so far and it makes it touch and go if I will make a profit this month.
For 5 card draw in total I have played 9,203 hands for a profit of $32.23 or 1.75BB/100 so steady as she goes there.
I am thinking of an experiment next month adding spin & go's something like 300 at 25c each and see what happens, in my freerolls I am hitting 42.2% ITM and ROI 31.6% that was over 174 games. It is like 10 a day I need something to replace the cash games but 5 card draw stays and I am also working on Badugi, but that's some way off yet.
The next update will be after the end of the month.
STOP PRESS Just won $20.36 cash prize in a $11 step 3 freeroll coming in 32/168 players with only 96 chips left phew!!!
Well I seem to have won $50 in the weekly raffle, I am not sure how I collect this but I will also join the bankroll challenge from today.
Just thought I would do a mini post after winning some cash in a tourney and a raffle prize, I have also joined the bankroll challenge.
Since the last update I have played 1,287 hands of 5 card draw for a profit of 38c or 0.15BB/100, so far I have played 10,490 hands for a profit of $32.61 or 1.55BB/100.
I have decided on the spin & go's to play 600 next month and ramp up to 1,000 a month from December depending on how it all works out in November, these will be 25c the lowest ones so no pressure.
I have decided against adding badugi at some point in the future as I think the skill required is too low and is more a game of chance, I will have my hands full with what I am doing I think for now anyway.
So my next update will be after this month is over.
Since the last update I have played 514 hands of 5 card draw for a profit of 42c or 0.41BB/100.
Now for the month in full, So for 2c/4c I have played only 32 hands for a profit of 37c or 28.91BB/100, for 5c/10c I have played 208 hands for a loss of $4.72 or 22.69BB/100 and for 5 card draw I have played 6,098 hands for a loss of $1.49 or 0.12BB/100. Luckily I have other gains a chest of $3 and a tourney cash of $20.36 and a $50 raffle prize. This takes my profit for the month to $17.52 plus the raffle prize of $50.
Now for the totals for each game, for 2c/4c I have played 36,421 hands for a profit of $18.72 or 1.28BB/100, for 5c/10c I have played 889 hands for a loss of $3.47 or 3.90BB/100 and for 5 card draw I have played 11,004 hands for a profit of $33.03 or 1.50BB100, cashes/chests/refunds come to $45.39 which in total come to $93.67/6mths=$15.61p.m. + $50 raffle prize. Not bad I would say and I have already exceeded the profit I was expecting to make of $65-$70 for the year.
The cash games I am now phasing out but I reserve the right to come back to 5c/10c 6 max FL hold em at a later date and I will no longer refer to them in updates. From now on I will only play limit 5 card draw 10/20c and 25c spin & go.
There are not enough games of 5 card draw 25c/50c to warrant moving up at the moment.
For November I am playing 600 25c spin & go at 20 per day and so I will make updates after each 100 of these or every 5 days, I hope this is as successful as 5 card draw has been.
I can also give guidance on what profit I hope to make for November, for 5 card draw 5,000 hands for a profit of $15 or 1.5BB/100 and for spin &go a profit of $15 or total outlay 600x25c = $150 x 10% ROI = $15 , so something around $30 profit on the month.
My bankroll increased this month from $207 to $224 and I have joined the bankroll challenge. I have not included my raffle prize into my bankroll just yet.
I appear to be at a crisis point as I am not happy with my strategy at spin & go's and I am losing not only at that game but also 5 card draw. I know variance is a big factor here especially on spin & go's, I have got some study material in the way of GTO wizard free of charge this will take me some time to go through, so I am suspending my play on spin & go's until I sort it out and reducing my play on 5 card draw while I study.
Anyway so far I have played 80 spins for a loss of $4.75 winning 24/80 or 30% ITM, this needs to be closer to 30/80.
For 5 card draw I have played 990 hands for a loss of $8.84 or 4.46BB/100 and takes my total hands to 11,994 for a profit of $24.19 or 1.01BB/100.
My next update will be after 14th November unless I have news on the above.
The first 2 weeks of November have been pretty bad so far and I am at a crucial turning point here, more on that in a bit.
Since the last update I have played 1,777 hands of 5 card draw for a loss of $7.17 and takes my total hands to 13,771 for a profit of $17.02 or 0.62BB/100.
For spins I have played only 3 all losing and takes my total loss to $5.50 for 83 spins played or 24/83 = 28.9% ITM. So how do I address these issues?
let us take spins first, the sample is very small and may be due to variance which is high for spins, I am doing ok in the power path freeroll spins which is 81/198 or 40.9% so I am hopeful I can turn this around however I am deciding to only play 100 spins this month and then only play one per day from then on to see if I can actually turn this around.
For 5 card draw this is very different I am on a downturn of 95BB in what is supposed to be a low variance game, the player pool is very low and you are playing the same players over and over, also the games are very infrequent and I am often trying to start a table. This game is now over for me I also made some rake back of about $5.90 so my total overall profit on this is around $22.90 not too shabby.
So the next question is what do I replace it with? Well I have been studying no limit FR 9 max, NL2 I think it is, the lowest limit 1c/2c or $2 but needing a bankroll of $100, the games are plentiful with games going 24/7 mostly on stars. This is a new game to me but 9 max certainly suits my tight playing style and has potential for multi tabling if I can make a success of it.
I am not sure yet how many hands a day I will play but to start with it will be about 500 a day single tabling so 8k for the rest of the month and then review. I will need to do daily study for this too!!!!
Poker stars have given me my 1m real money hands played sticker these were mostly played between 2007 and 2012. So far since I re-started I have played 51,081 hands.
Wish me luck at the tables!!!!
Well since the last post things have got a little better. For spins I played 9 losing 50c so this brings my play for the month to a loss of $6 for this winning 27/92 or 29.35% ITM.
I have started playing NL2 and its taking me time to get used to the starting hand chart and I have had to re-write it so I can understand it better. I am still ironing out mistakes here and there, this is quite normal when you start any new game, anyway you all want to know how I got on.
I played 2,981 hands or 373 hands a day for a profit of $7.35 or 12.33BB/100 and that is despite playing far from ideal, so I am happy so far but it is taking me time to adjust my play from limit to no-limit. Another thing is that I am unable to get enough points for a chest as I cannot realistically multi table and playing tight too, I also mistakenly joined a table with antes yuck. It looks like I will get in about 6k hands this month.
Next update after the end of the month.
Well I have had my first losing month it happens I guess. I have lost on 5 card draw and spins and both games have now been stopped or suspended until a later date, but I have started playing NL2.
For the month I have played 100 spins losing $7.00 winning 29/100 or 29% I would need around 36% to carry on, but would still be a bit down.
For 5 card draw I played 2,753 hands for a loss of $16.01 or 2.91BB/100. All was not lost though I started playing NL2 and played 4,802 hands for a profit of $11.15 or 11.61BB/100 and got a chest of $3.00, that all works out at a loss of $8.86 for the month. To put things in proper perspective I need to look at how I have done over the past 3 months from when I started playing 5 card draw at the start of September.
So lets start on what games I have lost money on since 1st September, these have been 2c/4c and 5c/10c FL and spins losing $1.32,$3.47 and $7.00 which totals $11.79. The games I have made a profit on are 5 card draw and NL2 making $17.02 and $11.15 which is $28.17 this gives a profit of $16.38 plus chests/cashes of $29.36 or $45.74/3 = $15.28 a month so not too bad at all.
In total I played 13,771 hands of 5 card draw at a win rate of 0.62BB/100.
So now let us take a look at how I have done since I started playing again at End April. I have lost money on 5c/10c FL and spins which is $3.47 and $7.00 which is $10.47.
I have made a profit on 2c/4c FL, 5 card draw and NL2 this is $18.72, $17.02 and $11.15 which totals $46.89 making a Gross Profit of $36.42 then we have to add chests/cashes/refunds of $48.39 for a net profit of $84.81/7 months = $12.12 approx. per month and lets not forget my raffle prize of $50 which increases this to $19.26 approx. per month. When I first started back I set a target of $65 to be made by end December so I am already ahead of target.
Now for NL2 it is very boring playing 1 table when I am folding over 85% of all hands but as I am new to the game I had no other choice while I am learning, but now I have almost 5k hands under my belt for the first week of December I am going to play 2 tables and see how I get on, if it is no good I will move back to 1 table.
More on this on next update on 8th December.
I could have made another $1.99 if I had not used the cash-out facility does anyone else have any thoughts on this area.
Well 2 tables of NL2 did not workout and after 4 days I moved back to 1 table but trying to add in more hands to play and take the stabilisers off.
So for this month I have played 2,746 hands for a loss of 71c or 1.29BB/100. In total I have played 7,548 hands for a profit of $10.44 or 6.92BB/100, so this is ok so far.
Now for the cash outs I am now in profit on these by $1.20 from a loss of $1.99 or a turnaround of $3.19, I have also noticed it can be useful to go all in if there is a flush draw present and you have a good enough made hand that you would go all in anyway such as a set or str8, this is because you can cash out if you have equity over 50% before the rest of the cards have been dealt subject to a 1% fee I think it is.
As an example I played a hand in BB 56s one person limped then 3BB raise a call and I call for 4 way pot flop is 87Q and I am open ended, flushing and str8 flushing, then on flop it is check by me check 4BB then 14BB raise, I call fold then 82BB all in we both call turn and river is 3 and J I miss they both have AQ and QJ but as I was given 53.6% equity I cashed out for a 49c profit on the hand.
I believe things are supposed to even out over time but I think you can reduce your variance a lot by using it.
Next update on 15th December.
For the last 7 days I have played 2,013 hands for a profit of $2.17 or 5.39BB/100 and brings hands I have played this month to 4,759 for a profit of $1.46 or 1.53BB/100.
In total I have played 9,561 hands for a profit of $12.61 or 6.59BB/100 which is ok so far, my average hands played for the 30 days I have been playing is 319 and I need to try and increase this daily total.
The cash outs I am benefiting from as I am now $4.45 better off from the cash outs I have taken, the last one I played is a case in point.
I had KK in the blinds early player limps button limps and I raise it up to 7BB they both call flop is 7QK with 2 spades and I go all in and the early guy calls with QJo with one spade and I cash out as I am getting 93.5% equity, the turn and river are T9 and he hits str8 so we both win.
I have not seen the run it twice thing yet so I am not sure how this will work in practice.
Next update on December 23rd.
I have had a problem which I still have and that is my eyes are hurting and strained probably from being on my pc too much and as such I have had to reduce my poker play.
Since the last update I have only played 1,384 hands for a profit of $6.09 or 22BB/100 and I also had a 4th place cash in a step 2 for $1.36 so not too bad.
For the month so far I have played 6,143 hands for a profit of $7.55 or 6.15BB/100, on the cash outs I am better off by $5.09.
In total on NL2 I have played 10,945 hands for a profit of $18.70 or 8.54BB/100 which is ok, the last 9 days until the end of the month is to consolidate my bankroll and profits and get ready to prepare and plan for 2025.
My next update will be after the end of the month when I will see how I have got on during the last 8 months since re-starting and my hopes and plans for next year poker wise.
Well happy new year everyone, this will be a long post as it is the year end and the start of yet another year of slog.
Lets see how I got on since the last update, I have played 2,971 hands for a loss of $3.42 or 5.76BB/100. For the month as a whole I have played 9,114 hands for a profit of $4.13 or 2.27BB/100. In total since I started playing NL2 I have played 13,916 hands for a profit of $15.28 or 5.49BB/100 which I think is ok. I had a small cash in the month of $1.36 so my profit for December was $5.49, small but better than losing.
Now lets look at how I have done this year. First let us look at the losses they were at 5c/10c 6max FL playing 889 hands for a loss of $3.47 and 100 spins for a loss of $7.00.
Now the profits 2c/4c 6 max FL playing 36,421 hands for a profit of $18.72, 5 card draw 10c/20c playing 13,771 hands for a profit of $17.02 and NL2 playing 13,916 hands for a profit of $15.28, next there is the cashes/chests/refunds which was $49.75.
On the cash out option I am better off by $11.39, it will be interesting to see how this plays out over time.
In total the profitability was $90.30 and a raffle prize of $50 and a currency gain too as I keep my bankroll in $.
So let us see how this compares to what I tried to do when I first started, I was looking for a profit of $65 or £50 in sterling, this was easily achieved.
I deposited £100 on poker stars and with the raffle prize this is now worth £216.69, I paid £7.17 for silver status for 1 month so making a net profit of £109.52. I played in total 64,997 hands for 8 months.
So I am very pleased to how things have gone, I am only a recreational player who wants to make a little bit of money as a hobby/side hustle, I am not looking to earn a living from poker, I am retired and financially independent. Some people pay up to £500-£1,000 to undertake hobbies I know as I played bridge for 35yrs becoming a Grandmaster. We all want to make more money though so I am now going to outline my hopes and goals for 2025.
I want to play 120,000 hands or 10k a month at NL2 and take shots at NL5 hoping to stay there at some point, bankroll allowing.
My profit goal is to end up better off by $150 give or take a little. My bankroll is currently $221.30 plus the $50 raffle prize which I will eventually move to stars, 80% of players lose money and 1-2% make life changing money, I want to be one of the 18% of recreational winning players.
Here is to 2025.
Well here is kicking off 2025, I have played 2,246 hands of NL2 for a profit of $6.98 or 15.54BB/100 which is excellent.
In total I have played 16,162 hands for a profit of $22.26 or 6.89BB/100 which is ok. On the cash outs I am better off by $8.87.
My next update will be on January 15th.
were you able to get the money from the raffle ?
" Well I seem to have won $50 in the weekly raffle, I am not sure how I collect this but I will also join the bankroll challenge from today."
The money from the raffle I will withdraw at a later stage, I will need to open a skrill account and move it there and then to stars when I am ready.
I think it takes 48hrs to withdraw the money.
Originally posted by Muscledude
Well happy new year everyone, this will be a long post as it is the year end and the start of yet another year of slog.
Happy new year! Muscledude:f_grin:
Originally posted by Muscledude
So I am very pleased to how things have gone, I am only a recreational player who wants to make a little bit of money as a hobby/side hustle, I am not looking to earn a living from poker, I am retired and financially independent. Some people pay up to £500-£1,000 to undertake hobbies I know as I played bridge for 35yrs becoming a Grandmaster. We all want to make more money though so I am now going to outline my hopes and goals for 2025.
Those are great things. Enjoy and challenges:f_thumbsup:
Are you Grandmaster of bridge? It's soooo AMAZING!!!
Originally posted by Muscledude
I want to play 120,000 hands or 10k a month at NL2 and take shots at NL5 hoping to stay there at some point, bankroll allowing.
My profit goal is to end up better off by $150 give or take a little. My bankroll is currently $221.30 plus the $50 raffle prize which I will eventually move to stars, 80% of players lose money and 1-2% make life changing money, I want to be one of the 18% of recreational winning players.
Here is to 2025.
It's nice, this year's resolution! 
GL on the tables!