Really Bad Start: Down -$600 (6.6.2010)

Just how bad?

Hours: 16

Tables:  12-16

Net Loss:  -$613

I have been getting absolutely hammered on the tables so far this weekend.  The only good news I have is that I'm ahead of pace for my VPP target for the week.  I played about 10 hours today, and nothing really changed.  I think I'm pushing myself way to hard, and just nothing is going right for me.

I'm also still to tight, I'm not 3-betting enough.  Whenever I do make a move I run into domination, and it makes me want to tighten up even more.  I have to keep aggressively playing ranges.

As stupid as it sounds, I really haven't been playing this terribly.  It's just that ever monster sport where I really need to hold I'm losing miserably.  Today I was down - $240 in 10 hours of 12-16 tabling.  That's really not an out of this world number for playing over 6,000 hands.  Here are some big hands from the last session:

KK < A8s all in on the flop (-$60)

He sucks out the straight against my over-pair.  There is nothing I can do there, except pray he doesn't hit, which he of course does.

AJ < AQ all in on the flop (-$70)

Ok, I could have slowed down some here, but based on his range I played this correctly.  I was bum hunting a calling station and he happened to get lucky so whatever.  This is the downside to mixing in a full stack strategy and going after people.  When things go bad, they REALLY go bad.

AJ < QKs all in pre (-$50)

The mother fucker of course hits.  It's one of those spots where you have to push based on his range, it's a leak not to.  And as soon as I make that tough push I get completely screwed.  So there it is whatever.  The dude has a 45% VPIP and 27% PFR, if theres a time to get aggressive it was here.

KK < JQs all in pre ( -$45)

I have it in bold because I'm 82% to win.  I'm need to hold here in this big spot, but can't find a way.  The fool cold calls my $20 4-bet shove all in pre with JQs.  By the turn he somehow has two pair.  At the end he types:  "Thank you".  If there was a way I could have jumped through the moniter matrix style and beat the shit out of this guy I would have.  If only there was a way............

AA < J3s all in on the flop (-$50)

He calls preflop with J3s and flops a flush.  I flop the overpair and nut flush draw, but flushes never hit for me, that only happens for the opponents.  What a stupid hand.

QQ < JJ all in pre (-$40)

Yeah I'm 80% to win there.  Or on pokerstars like 20%.

AK < ATo all in pre (-$40)

73% to win there, can't hold.

KK < AK all in pre (-$40)

Auto-ace flop, o really?

AK < KK all in pre (-$40)

Wait where's my ace?  Oh that only works the other way around right.  I forgot.  No I didn't actually forget, but fuck you.

AA < ATo all in on the flop (-$40)

He's on an OE straight draw on the flop all in.  I'm 70% to hold and fail miserably.  Just like when I hit on that girl at the bar and she turned out to be a 21 year old ex stripper who had a kid.  That bitch still has my jacket.

These pots alone add up to around $470 total.  $470 lost, that I can't really play any differently, so that's life.  I didn't include the 10 coin-flips lost. 

Some thoughts going forward:

Break up your Sessions more.

I have trouble sticking to this rule, but my last session tonight was 6.5 hours straight.  I took two 15 minute breaks inbetween, but I never actually logged off all the tables.

Going forward I think I should log after 3.5 hours max, analyze some hands, chill out, and maybe even put up a blog post.  It might keep me sane and focused.

Emotional Control.

Somehow I feel like I've been in pretty good control through this down-swing.  Yeah I've been really pissed off, but I haven't screamed or thrown anything across the room.  I've gotten over things pretty fast.  I did throw my gel-pad elbow rest once.  But it's a fucking pad of jello I mean who cares.

Stay Confident and Focused.

Downswings happen.  You are playing 12-16 tables at once, which is a massive amount of volume.  10 buy in swings can happen all the time.  Just remember you could just as easily go on an upswing.  I've really stumbled out of the gates here, but it's a very long week ahead.

If you get all in with dominating equity and lose you did your job.

It's all about making the correct decisions.  So be it if I lose to every two outer.

After-thoughts.

I will try to break my sessions into 3- 3.5 hour max tommorow and put posts up as they conclude perhaps, especially the first session.  I'm hating life right now, but I have to keep pushing and hoping things will get better.  I really don't want to invest more than $1200 this month, so if I hit that mark I'm taking a break.  It sucks because I have 80,000 FPPs just sitting in my account.  They would be worth around $1,000 even if I spent them at Platinum Star status.  However, I need to hold off from spending them until I hit Supernova.  If I spend them now it's just burning money.

Bankroll.

Keeping in mind that I'm doing this all with a seriously low bank-roll.  My checking account is really part of my bankroll right now.  I talked to a regular who short-stacks these stakes and he said that he has a $10,000 online bankroll for 24 tables, and the swings are still pretty crazy.  So for 12 tables $5,000 sounds about right.  Right now my online bankroll is only $2,1340. 

So I should basically consider $3,000 not invested yet as part of my bankroll in case things continue to go really badly for me.  Hopefully I won't have to invest $3,000 more to hit Supernova, I can't imagine this bull-shit keeps up forever.  Then again this is going to take some serious sacrifice.  I want this to be a self-sustaining full time job.  It's going to take some investment at first.  I really didn't think it would take this much, but yeah life sucks.  If I end up in the red I can always regroup at my day job and build up for a few more months.  Whatever I end up down, as soon as I hit Supernova I'm immediately going to clear back around $2,500 so we will see.

Mood:  Exhausted and disapointed

-bag