Cardmates.net has been so excellent for me...

Returning to my blog post...

Note to self: don't forget about bankroll management!

Right now I'm much more feeling to write than play poker, which is interesting change of events.  Had I made this statement a few months ago I never would have believed it.  I feel very grateful.  I ended the September bloggers challenge on a high, in first prize again, and while I don't expect to make it a hat-trick this month, I'd still like to contribute as much as I can to this writing community.  I know there is a competitive spirit that drives us all, and that is good, but also I'd like to get back to the style of writing I was using in the first blogs I produced, where I am 'keeping it real' and not just writing to gain points.

I ended September on a high on the poker tables as well, coming in first in a $3.30 buy in Bounty Hunter $400 tournament and coming back with 13 cents to $17 in one sitting on a cash game table.  However, there was a sting in the tail as I played pretty badly and lost 3 or 4 buy ins at the 0.05c/0.10c yesterday.  I felt like I'd did that thing where you learn a load of new stuff (concepts and millions of strategy plays) conveyed in Sklansky & Malmuth's Poker novels and tried to get too tricky with my plays.  In the end, I suffered for it as I fell prey to a few players, not particularly amazing players, but who had simply been sitting and waiting for big hands and flopping monsters against me.  I played too many hands and forced it too much.

For example; I held A ♥️ 5 ♣️  from the big blind position and decided to call a small raise from late position.

The flop came 5 ♥️  8 ♥️ 9 ♥️ giving me the nutflush draw.

I played this over aggressively by check raising the flop, getting called, then betting the turn, getting called on the turn which paired the board with an 8 (this felt suspicious, but I was in a careless, even wreckless mood) and continued to the river where the player went all in when a K of ♥️  hit.  After thinking for a while, eventually I called, and although it was a foolish call seemingly, I went by the advice according to Sklansky this call is a good one in the long term as you only need to win 30% of the time (if the player is bluffing) to make a profit and that it is a devastating to fold in a big pot especially with such a strong hand as mine - he could have been bluffing!  Instead, he had been slowplaying a full house with 5 ♠️ 5 💎!

A few lines why cardmates is so good for my poker...reflection and review...

Cardmates has done wonders for my level of thinking when it comes to the game and how I approach it.  I'll admit, I've already forgotten a lot of the rules and concepts I picked up from my reading, but this month I'll be returning once again to my books to review them all.  Being able to have a look at my previous posts, even though I don't like doing this, is fantastic and I've made a promise to myself to do this and go over some of the content I've covered already.

Back to the mission statement on the 5th of September 2020

I wrote a mission statement I needed to abide by at the start of September and although this didn't work out positively during the course of the month, I did make up some of the money lost by winning the tournament on the 29th of September.  Once again, I will go back to the following mission statement and keep a track of my poker progress in October.  Let's hope it will bring more success on Pokerstars, as I have made the switch from Bwin, and can share with you the details of this.

So this means that in order to play the 0.05c/0.10c levels I will need $150 bankroll. In order to play the 0.10c/0.25c I will need a $300 bankroll and in order to play the 0.25c/0.50c I will need a $750 bankroll If I have a substantial losing session at any of the levels, say $100-$200 at the 0.10c/0.25c level I will need to move down to the 0.05c/0.10c level again in order to re-build the bankroll.

So I will need to be disciplined and have full emotional control. I'll repeat to myself; no more football bets as they hurt me in the long run! I will show total commitment to this cause, stay disciplined and not 'steam' if I lose, now that I now, and accept, that it is part of the game! I will take my time and 'watch' the tables in order to discover the way other players are playing and how best I can capitalise and take advantage of opponents with certain cards and in certain situations. I will learn, follow and re-learn the advanced pre flop strategies from the Sklansky & Miller book because it is full of the best advice, but I will also continue to refer to other books as well, dedicating at least an hour a day to this. I will play aggressively and build big pots when I have strong holdings and fold in the opposite if I think the opponent is strong. I will work on my river play. I will generally play from late position, knowing that most profits are made from there, and sometimes I will fold strong hands if I think I am behind. Altogether I will play strong, tight and aggressive poker and will be feared by opponents. If I feel I am straying from this path or find myself 'steaming' after a bad beat or simply getting unlucky despite playing well I will take a break, and a long sustained one if required!

QUICK TIP

- Raise with A ♥️ J ♥️ in a multi way pot versus five other callers pre flop?  Yes raise!  This is a strong hand and you should be prepared to gamble with it even if you don't flop well.

"Visualise success but be realistic, realise other players are doing their best too...a bit of a sting in the tail at the end of last month after winning a tournament :) but hey ho!"

Thanks for reading today...take care!

Maroonfish.