Back to school

Although i knew i was running well to start with i hadn't really planned on my graph turning ugly straight after blogging about my plans. Looks like i have plenty of learning left to do... I actually find it quite embarrassing to post my results as i'm running well above EV apparently.

The big difference in EV has come largely from two hands where i've ended up reluctantly getting overly involved pre flop and getting all in against 2 opponents both times. Then getting lucky! Once with 5678 and another pot with double suited K's. Neither pot was hugely -EV but in winning both i ran well above EV in them.

I seem to be mildly obsessed by my EV line. If i'm running below it i get frustrated but as soon as i'm running above EV i feel embarrassed about it! I'm not too sure where i'm going wrong in PLO. so far. I think i'm perhaps getting to the river and then folding too often and maybe not protecting my bigger hands well enough but i'm not too sure. Learning PLO cash is proving quite difficult as not only am i learning the intricacies of PLO but i'm learning to play cash when i'm used to sngs and mtts. I think the latter is the most difficult part to adapt to and possibly my biggest problem at the moment. Perhaps i'm approaching the games in the wrong way?

I would post my positional stats but can't figure out how to export them as an jpeg file on the mac... I really need to find a cheap coach though to offer some advice on where my leaks are as i get the feeling the videos aren't specific enough to help me in the cash games.

Perhaps i'm fussing about nothing and just need to put in more volume. I'm just finding it frustrating that i seemingly can't even beat micro stakes cash games so what hope do i have when i move up - something i want to do asap. I think i just need to get some sleep and i'll hopefully feel more positive again! Could do with winning at this game called poker 1 day soon as i'm fast heading for another losing month which is unheard of in my world of success! :)

The only real plus point of this is that i'm racking up fpps on Stars much quicker and easier in these cash games than the tourney grind and am actually enjoying myself while playing again.

On a slightly different note - I've just bought a small % of MI_Turtle in his USA COOP bid. I think he offers excellent value as he's one of the best players about at the moment in the online game and offer % at cost value and sometimes even less as he throws in extra promos and covers any additional rebuys in tourneys out his own pocket. Hopefully he can have a good series and make me some $$$ as i certainly can't make much myself recently! GL Nick!

PLO Learner

The past week has been the final round of the World Rally Championship, conveniently based in my home town of Cardiff. This means i've spent many hours away from the computer in wet Welsh forests!
As a result, i've once again not put many hours in of online pokerz (another convenient excuse i know!)

I've been dabbling in a bit of PLO for a while now, have taken down the a few small tourneys, etc but have never been confident enough with my post flop play to play cash seriously. I've decided i'm going to set out to change that over the coming months!

I seem to be constantly on the look out for sngs which are over in no time at all so i can keep a flexible schedule as i struggle to keep concentration for much over an hour or 2 long sessions. The obvious thing to do would be to play cash games but i've never felt comfortable in them. I think its just as much that i like having a set goal with sngs and mtts (i.e. winning them) whereas cash games just seemed like an endless grind. I've played a few short sessions of micro PLO the past week though and have quite enjoyed the experience so it can't hurt too much to have a crack at them, especially considering how badly the sngs have been going recently. The first few sessions have actually been fairly positive as you can see from the graph below.

Before i get everyone telling me the results mean nothing as my sample size is so small - i'm fully aware of this. Got to start somewhere though and i'd rather be feeling positive with a nice enough looking graph. Only playing $10 plo at the moment but plan on moving up once i've won 30 or so buy ins. I basically want to take my time moving up and learn the game at the low stakes. I know i can be profitable at it but am also aware that i probably have a lot of big leaks in my game at the moment! Would rather lose the minimum while learning and prove to myself that i can beat each level before moving up.

I notice the great Scotsman, Mr Daleroxxu is also in the process of making the transition from sngs to PLO cash, albeit at higher stakes no doubt and probably with more success than myself! I look forward to following his progress. On the topic of Dale - I'd like to extend a big Congrats on getting signed up to Team Pokerstars: online. Best of luck with it Sir!

Knowing me i'll come running back to the sngs in a few weeks time with my tail between my legs but i could do with a change for the time being and if it works out then it'll be great. If it doesn't, it can only serve to improve my all round game! Im not planning on abandoning sngs and mtts altogether. I just want to achieve a healthier all round balance.

Please feel free to offer words of advice if you're familiar with the PLO cash scene and if anyone fancies sharing HH's or discussing the game online let me know. Alternatively, if anyone can suggest a good PLO coach with an affordable hourly rate please point me in their direction! :)

I'll keep everyone updated with progress.

October review, November Plans, etc

As expected, October ended as only my 3rd losing month... Only -$35.64 though so hardly too damaging. Just frustrating more than anything as i seem to be treading water a lot recently.  Roll on the upswing :)

November has continued with the same downward trend though. Currently down about $75. I've reverted back to the 45 man sngs on Stars so things can turn around quite quickly in these bigger fields so $75 down is nothing. Just wish i could hurry up and start making some forward progress and build up the bankroll so i can play some bigger stakes than the $6.50s!

I feel like my break even stretch the last couple of months has been largely down to variance and generally running bad however i have no doubt that my 6 months of playing very little has probably left me a bit out of practice. As a result i decided to rejoin a poker training site to rebuild my confidence and hammer home the basics and perhaps even learn a little more.

I've chosen to go with PokerXfactor. I've always been a fan of the site, am a big Johnnybax fan and they've always been very accomodating. I emailed them to ask about rejoining and they kindly waived the signup fee for me as i was an old member so that saved me a few $. Now i've just got to find the time to sit down and watch some videos! I always find them a good thing to watch when i feel too tired or just not feeling up to grinding. Got to spend money to make money!

I'm considering having a look into trying to play some cash PLO and see how that goes. I've been considering it for a while but never stick at it so i won't set any big goals just yet but i plan on having a dabble in some low stakes PLO, watch a few training videos and hopefully give myself a shot at being able to make some $ from cash games for a change. My main reason for this is that i want to have the most flexible schedule i can so cash obviously allows this. I think should help my all round game as well though so it cant hurt!

I'll leave you on a lighter note - Pokerstars banned TV advert. Its hardly surprising why it was banned  but it still made me laugh as i didn't see where it was going until the end message