GG Poker let's play 200 Spin n Golds

Good news is I managed to finish first 52.
Down 3 buyins, but it's a nice victory for me to have just played the 1$'s and not veered off onto anything else etc.
So I'm fairly pleased even though lost 3 buy ins.

Here's results of first 52

Focus for the next batch which will complete half of this challenge, is to cut the inner dialogue down so I'm not swearing inside my head when I don't win a hand

Halfway through the challenge now and will stop for today.
Played 104 in total. Am 8 buyins down, but released $4.50 in buffet fish bonuses which is included in the graph, so I ended up finishing $3 down, which considering how much of a bad loser I am, and how bad I felt towards the end of the session I'm pretty happy with.

This little thread kept me focused. Usually I'd have just moved up when I was down to $18 and likely lost the bankroll

End bankroll for day 1:

Highest multiplier that happened today was 5x.

Here is the distribution of multipliers:

Goals for tomorrow:
Be completely detached from the results.
Stop the internal talk "oh of course he hits that..." etc..

Good luck with your new blog:gl:
Start is swingy, but that's always the case with Spin & Go kind of formats.

Got to do some work today so won't be able to play until tonight, but I discovered the GG Poker App last night. Wow kind of blew me away, by far and away best poker app I've used. So responsive and everything you need is just there (e.g. switch stack size to big blinds, all the betting buttons you could want etc.). Well at least for the spin and golds just perfect I think

Was a little put off by what I read in the thread here about GG being a bit scammy was looking to make this my regular site, so I hope that's not the case!

Anyway back to my poker game...

So after I finished my session last night... the usual thing that happened when I play online poker... I moved up in stakes

When I play live I play 200nl, and I think I have a decent edge. When I play online I always play with small deposits up to max about $50. The issue I have online is that when I start to lose I go into the gamblers mentality, I feel a need to win buyins back to get the bankroll back to where it started before the start of the session.

Doesn't matter if I start with $10 and it goes down I want to get it back to $10 ! Or If I start with $50, and it goes down I want to get it back to $50! Obviously completely the opposite view to what you need to be a successful poker player.

I used to sports bet and wasted a fair bit of money there, I don't do that often anymore, but something I read is the key distinction of someone with a gambling problem is when you gamble because you feel you need to win the money.

I like to think I'm a fairly intelligent person, and I know that poker is a long term game with swings etc. That it's all one long game, and one session is nothing in the scheme of things. But none the less, when my bankroll takes a hit this thinking part of my mind is often overridden I become more impulsive, and turn into that bad type of gambler that wants to win buyins back to recover the bankroll

This doesn't happen live, but there's something about the abstract nature of sitting in front of a computer screen that creates a completely different experience.

Anyway... having given you that little insight into my mind while playing. I played some more last night, including some $3 spin and golds, and also even a $20 spin and gold (with a $40 prize pool), when I had about $42 bankroll! I profited in the 3's and I also won the 20, but will need to have a think tonight about how I continue.

Options are:

Try to pick a limit and just stick to it again (3's most likely), or
Try some challenge like run it up with very aggressive bankroll management. I still remember Jason Somerville's run it up years ago, really enjoyed watching that.

Anyway....

Here is an update of where things are at

Buyin's Played

Graph

Balance:

Do you see that ticket?

That's because after the play in the 1's yesterday, I finished in the top 25 of the 10k leaderboard for $1 spin and golds , so won a $5 WSOP ticket, nicely encouraging!

I'm edging towards having another go at sticking at one limit tonight instead of a 'run it up' challenge. But we'll see.

What do you guys think about what will be the best next steps?

Originally posted by SDK1987
Good luck with your new blog:gl:
Start is swingy, but that's always the case with Spin & Go kind of formats.

Thanks SDK, nice to know I'm not talking to myself here

So I decided to go the less degen route of trying to play consistently winning poker instead of the 'run it up' route.

So the $3's it was. Just played 104 of them. I ran really quite bad (until last game!).
But am pleased to say I stuck to my goal and managed (just about) not to lose my head at the tables.

I also started reading a book I haven't read in a long time earlier today before the session:

All the great mystics of the world chose the middle path, the one between endless joy and endless suffering. - Rex Jones.

Nice quote the book referenced in the book. So I was reminded to focus on the process of playing not the aspect of winning money. Anyone can win money. Only the dedicated can master the process and themselves at the table.

So played 104 3$'s , at one point was down to $32 ! I said to myself if I hit $20 I'll have to move down to the $1's, basically if I have 20 buyins for level below then I need to move down is my plan now going forward.

I hit a $6 gold fish reward:

And then after perservering through my games, fire up the last 4 games of the 104 games set...

To hit a 120x multiplier!

Then I went on to finish second in that, for a nice $90 boost to the bankroll!

So bankroll currently:

Will up to 5's next, if I hit 20 buyins for buyin below will move down.

Concentrating on process of become emotionally strong at the tables

The man. The myth. The legend.
The one who defied bankroll management math.
GZ!
Or as GGPoker says it - "Congratulation"

Originally posted by iSoOwnYou
Was a little put off by what I read in the thread here about GG being a bit scammy was looking to make this my regular site, so I hope that's not the case!

Hi iSoOwnYou,
Don't be worried.
GGPoker is trying to make a name for itself, and isn't likely to poison the well it draws from.
As I write this, GGPoker has more players online than PokerStars

 Be sure to read -- and follow -- the Terms and Conditions.

Also, be aware that most rooms have similar T&C clauses -- some are more easily understood that others.
GGPoker, for example forbids "bumhunting" but doesn't define it.

All the best,
VS

Originally posted by nsavov
The man. The myth. The legend.
The one who defied bankroll management math.
GZ!
Or as GGPoker says it - "Congratulation"

haha thank you unfortunately the laws of poker remain unchanged, and I have bust.
It was a fun ride. I learned I still completely lack discipline at online poker!

May have another go next weekend

#iSoOwnMyself

Ok so I was having a think over the weekend and I am going to rededicate some effort to becoming a winning online poker player.

I don't think I've ever had the same bankroll for more than about 4 days in the 8-10 years since I found poker, although for last 5 years or so I've played very occasionally.

My problem has always been emotional management. When my bankroll gets smaller in a session it tilts me. Many things tilt me at the table in fact.

That's where the true challenge lies for me at the table. In mastering myself. It's kind of a life ambition to become a good online poker player, one that I had almost given up on, but I think it's time to have another go at this.

Vorpal's thread was inspiring , to take 20c and slowly grind it up over two years! That's exactly the skillset I lack at the moment, patience, calm and consistency.

I told a friend who has been a pro online poker player for years yesterday I am going to have another go at being disciplined at online poker, and he made a good point, which is that it's not discipline I lack it's emotional control. Discipline is doing something you should and can do, but I lack emotional control at the tables, once a tilt trigger hits me and they are plentiful! So I will need to learn this skill.

So that's plan over next however long it takes learn emotional control at the table.

Will update when I deposit again.

Goals)
- be at peace, and calm, when playing.
- have the same bankroll for one week.
- then have same bankroll for one month.

Originally posted by iSoOwnYou
My problem has always been emotional management. When my bankroll gets smaller in a session it tilts me. Many things tilt me at the table in fact.

I highly recommend "The Mental Game of Poker" by Jared Tendler and Barry Carter.
It helped immensely with my own tilt issues.

The book is not the kind that you read and suddenly know stuff.
It is the kind of book that you work through step by step.

In it you identify the different forms of tilt, and you'll soon identify the form that affects you the most.
For each form of tilt there are exercises that help you overcome it.

The first part of my blog "Mind Games" is a journal of my walk through the book.

All the best,
VS

The issue I have online is that when I start to lose I go into the gamblers mentality, I feel a need to win buyins back to get the bankroll back to where it started before the start of the session.

Doesn't matter if I start with $10 and it goes down I want to get it back to $10 ! Or If I start with $50, and it goes down I want to get it back to $50! Obviously completely the opposite view to what you need to be a successful poker player.

I can completely relate to this! I have a very similar feeling when the buy ins start slipping away! Keeping control emotionally is probably the hardest thing to do at the poker table. "The Mental Game of Poker" is a good book, one that i have read but haven't been able to put into practice! I've also just restarted playing online again after a couple of years away (At GG Poker), started with $20 currently at $35. I'm not a big fan of the Spin n Gos/Golds but have done ok with my free tickets. Maybe i'll start a challenge up on here! ♦

Originally posted by sdsbates

The issue I have online is that when I start to lose I go into the gamblers mentality, I feel a need to win buyins back to get the bankroll back to where it started before the start of the session.

Doesn't matter if I start with $10 and it goes down I want to get it back to $10 ! Or If I start with $50, and it goes down I want to get it back to $50! Obviously completely the opposite view to what you need to be a successful poker player.

I can completely relate to this! I have a very similar feeling when the buy ins start slipping away! Keeping control emotionally is probably the hardest thing to do at the poker table. "The Mental Game of Poker" is a good book, one that i have read but haven't been able to put into practice! I've also just restarted playing online again after a couple of years away (At GG Poker), started with $20 currently at $35. I'm not a big fan of the Spin n Gos/Golds but have done ok with my free tickets. Maybe i'll start a challenge up on here! ♦

I completely agree that "The Mental Game of Poker" is a great help at overcoming tilt, and all other forms of poker mental quirks.
You can't just read it though. You must go through it slowly, and practice the different steps it describes.

Cheers,
VS