On the other hand, I don’t want to get crasy and destroy my bankroll on the count of “taking a shot”.  So I wanted to figure out the quickest way to earn money and move up in limits while keeping sound bankroll management in mind. 

There are three different types of texas holdem that I know how to play, Limit, NL, and SNG’s.  I have played a fair number of hours in each and I really have not figured out which one earns me the most money the quickest. 

First, I need to consider what limits I would play with the BR I have.  I should have between 50-100 buy-ins for NL, 300-500 Big Bets for Limit, and 50-100 buy-ins for SNGS.  If I hold to these guidelines, than that means I should either play NL10, 1/2 Limit, or $11 SNG’s. 

Too may surprise, Limit poker was by far the clear winner with more than 3x as much in hourly earnings vs NL and SNG’s.  Here are my calculations.

4 Tables NL10
5ptBB/100 = $1.00/100 hands
4 Tables x $1.00 = $4/hr
RB (calculated by a spreadsheet I made) = $1.75/hr
Total hr wage = $5.75/hr

4 Tables $11 SNG’s
Estimated ROI 12% = $1.32/SNG
4 SNG per Hour = $5.28/hr
RB (calculated by a spreadsheet I made)= $1.08/hr
Total hr wage = $6.36/hr

4 Tables of 1/2 Limit
4 Big Blinds/100 = $4.00/100
4 Tables x $4.00 = $16.00
RB (calculated by a spreadsheet I made)=$7.20/hr
Total hr wage = $23.20/hr

Even if my calculations were off a little, it is clear that limit poker would be best for me at this point. Limit poker games dry up at around 5/10 and that is where I would need to switch to NL. So for now, I am going to focus on Limit poker to build my bankroll and switch to NL when I reach a BR that is suitable for NL100 or greater.

This should really be a lot of fun.  There is estimated to be 30 people buying in for $25 so the price pool is nice and the play might be really bad.  I am hoping to do well, but with any poker game you need to get a little lucky. 

Hopefully, the structure of the game will make it more than a crap shot and give us some time to actually play.  I will update this blog with how I do. 

My Goal for next week is to be under 160lbs.  I also want to put some more time on the treadmill and bike.  I worked out twice last week, so this week I am shooting for 3 or more. 

I am not sure how I am doing in relations to my oppoents, but I think I might be on top.  I still think I am a shoe-in to win the money.

I am not sure if NL10 is really all that beatable.  The rake is soooo high that it is hard to win.  I think the average player in my database loses 12.5bb/100!  That is huge amount to overcome.  To give you a perspective on how much that is, I paid over $40 in rake for 2,000 hands of NL10.  If we break that down, it would come to about $0.02 a hand.  If this rake was at the NL1000, then you would be paying $2 a hand to play (that is for every hand, not just the ones you are in).  That’s ridiculous!

I am just not sure if the players are that bad that I could overcome such a huge rake.   I might switch to Limt 1/2 until I am bankrolled for NL50 or higher.  I am going to continue to datamine the NL10 to see if there are actually any winner and what percentage of player are winners over a longer run. 

One thing to pad my weight was to drink 48oz of Gatorade and eat a sandwich and and ice sandwich before I weighted in. I think that added an extra 4lbs to my weight. Only time will tell if I can stick to my plan and lose the weight. I will probably put the winning into my poker bankroll or buy something for my camera. If I don’t win, well at least I would have gotten into shape and lost some weight.

I am going to play 2-6 tables at a time and probably play at the NL10 or NL25 tables.  I am hoping this time goes better than last time.  I am going to open up a word document with my notes from the two videos I watched as well as taking notes on how I am feeling, my play, my energy levels, and any other thoughts that pop into my brain.

I will post these notes as well as a summary of my day on Monday. 

I sat down and got bluffed into me a few times when I had the goods.  I also over bet the pot on the river with my made flush.  So in about 15mins I made $25 on the NL10 tables.  It felt good to win and feel like you are in control of the table.

One of the things I am trying to do is not get “married” to a hand.  That is really hard for me to do.  Even with my winning section, I found myself getting married to a hand when my opponent showed strength.  Lucky for me, they were bluffing every time, but I need to learn to lay the hand down more and allow myself to get bluffed off a hand.

I did not go over my notes from the two video during this short section because it was not planned.  I was planning on just watching, but these players were so bad that I felt like I needed to sit down for a few minutes and play.  My next section, I will have the notes ready and try to implement more of the strategies from it.

Pressure.  Betting at pot after pot.  So when he plays a big pot, he might be a little under dog, but he would have probably made it up with the small pots.

bb vs sb open limp.  Raise when you have position in a heads up pot.

Overbet the river with a solid made hand sometime

Squeeze play.  It has two positive effects.  If you show down then it will make it more likely to get called with your big hands.  The second benefits is when you have some random hand, you could flop something big and it is hard for your opponents to put you on a hand.

Opponents that are short stack, Ace high hands go up in value.

When three bet, Half pot size bluff c-bet three way when miss and if called, then be done with the hand in position.

I will try to focus on these situations in my upcoming session.  What I will do to try to focus on these tips is open up a word document with these tips and the one from video #005 and play only two tables at once.  I will see how that goes.

He is playing 4-tables of 6-max 200NL.  I am looking for situational advice.  This video does not have any stats showing so most of the plays are without reads.

On an A high flop, he c-bets with a little more than half pot in position.

Middle Position with AA does standard raise and gets called by CO.  Flop comes 856 rainbow.  C-bet 2/3 pot and gets min-raise.  The flop is scary, so he has a decision between re-raising or calling.  He decided to call because he has no read.  Turn comes 10 with no flush possibility.  He check because it is not a great card for him and wound call pot-size bet.  Villian checks and river comes A.  Stox bets 1/2 pot and Villian folds.  Villian probably on a 4-card straight and that flop min-raise was to see two cards for free.  Stox would have played it aggressively if he though he was on a draw. It is okay if he is someone who will bluff when he does not hit.

C-Bet dry board with position.  Fold to raise.  This should be a standard play for me.

Small pair in SB.  Get raised by the button.  Hopes to get multi-way for set value so calls with two other left to act (BB and UTG limper). Check/fold when missing the set.  Bluff goes way down multi-way and betting for value goes way up.

You can steal with any two in both blinds are tight (blind defense stat).

Okay, these are the notes that I took while watching the video.  I think these are things that I have heard before, but not really “taken note” of them.  I need to take every advantage to win at this game and if I miss value or play incorrectly, it will make it difficult for me to be a winner in the long run.