A Confession

So I don't think I've actually posted specific details of my results here. This is how things stand at the moment for SNGs (played over the last 4 - 5 weeks).

(5+1) Ten-handed (profit/loss: +53.00)

1st: 5
2nd: 6
3rd: 6
7-10th: 20

ITM: 46%

(10+1) Ten-handed (profit/loss: +12.00)

1st: 1
2nd: 1
3rd: 1
4-7th: 5

ITM: 37.5%

(10+1) Six-handed (profit/loss: +146.00)

1st: 7
2nd: 2
3-6th: 5

ITM: 64%


Before I discuss these results - first a confession: I ground out a mildly decent bankroll from humble beginnings playing limit (1-2) and no limit (50 buy-in) hold 'em. By decent I mean I got to about 1k after starting at 100 (that's just from my winnings - I don't get rakeback or anything like that).

And then I just about blew the lot.

When I hit 1000 I switched from my bread and butter - which then was essentially NL hold 'em ring games - to playing satellites and non-hold 'em forms of poker. In the satellites I technically was ahead - I won two seats into Party's Million Dollar Guaranteed (640 a piece). But as I didn't cash either time, I really had nothing to show for it. As to the cash games, I played Omaha Hi/Lo, 7 Card Stud and 7 Card Hi/Lo. I thought it a good opportunity to exercise some different poker muscles (for example, memory for 7-card, and the various calculations (odds and outs) consistently required for Omaha). I hadn't really read up on high/lo versions of the game, so I basically learnt from experience. I think when I started I was playing about 80% of hands in Omaha hi/lo ('so many combinations for this hand - I can't possibly lose!'); I ended up playing about 30%.

Anyway, I don't have poker tracker and I went through a period of one or two months where I didn't record my win/loss record. Which was pretty dumb. But while probably broke even playing Omaha Hi/Lo, I was likely a losing player in 7-card and dropped a lot on satellites.

Now, I regret my ill-discipline during this period, but I don't regret trying out new forms of the game. I didn't mind that I lost my roll, as I felt I became a better player during that time. However, I probably could have learnt the same lessons at half the price had I showed some fucking discipline (you know the old 'tilt' tale about losing at a certain level, and then deciding that going UP a level is a good idea - I did that more than a few times).

But anyway, I got busted down to 50 bucks - which I felt was a pretty good reason to switch to 5+1 SNGs and reassert some discipline. It was hard, I have to say, sticking to low buy-in SNGs and staying away from the viscitudes of tournament play. But I've pretty much stuck to it thus far.

But I figured out one thing for sure during this period - for good or ill, I'm a tournament player. I love them, and cash games pale in comparison. I love the extra layer of strategy involved in tournament play. Constantly having to think about both your table and your broader tournament tactics, adjusting your play as the blinds increase, as tables get shorter, as the bubble approaches. The feeling of accomplishment when making it to a final table after wading through a sea of competitors has no parallel in a cash game. Through grit, patience, courage, discipline, endurance, through solid strategic thinking, tournament play can be immensely rewarding (and conversely heart-breaking when you put all these elements together and STILL get busted by a horrible play). The thing is, there's a dimension to tournament play that simply doesn't exist in cash games. Sure, I want to win money when I play - what else can be a mark of your ability over the long term? But I want to do more than just win money, which is where tournament play - in all its complexity - enters the picture.

(Granted, unless I get a big score in a tournament, I will need to play SNGs online to help ride out the inevitable lows, and I'll play 5-10 live for the same reason)

Now, back to my SNG results: as you may be able to tell from the stats I've listed above - I went on fucking TEAR playing 6-handed SNGs, winning 5 in a row at one point. Sure, I won my fair share of coin-flips - but the key factor in my success thus far has being ultra-aggressiveness. Really taking it to the limits (oh, and winning coinflips). I was pretty much a rock when I started playing (about 18 months ago), but in my online play (less so my live play) I've developed some decent skills at playing short-handed.

Having said that, I have been making appalling errors on a consistent basis, but I'm trying to learn from them. I'm trying to figure out the intelligent limits of super-aggressive play and trying to sense the subtleties that quality aggressive players employ (subtleties I am far from being able to appreciate). This is not to say I've re-invented my game. I figure I'm still going to be tight/aggressive (I think it's just my instinct to play this way), but if I ever want to be able to employ the much vaunted 'changing gears' tactic effectively, well, I figured it may be a good idea to learn HOW to play once I've changed gears.

And there's so much other shit that needs to be learnt. The subtleties of flop texture and interpreting bets and learning when to trust your head or go with gut instinct, and all that other stuff: poker can be a damn fascinating game.

So, I'm back to about 200 bucks. I'm going to keep at the SNGs and try to build my bankroll a bit, blow a little on satellites, then repeat.

Oh, and a final thing: my goal is to win a WSOP seat this year. "You and everyone else, dingleberry," I hear you cry. Well, you're right of course (but did you have to call me 'dingleberry'?). Anyway that's the goal, and I'm going to give it a good shot.

Maybe I'll see you there.