Ok so here's my plan.

I have $50 on FT. My rules are as follows:

1) I will never play at a single table with more than 10% of my total roll.
In the case of 10NL, I will buy in for 2.50 and cash out at 5, then move to a new table, and so on until my roll gets bigger. IE) When it is as $60 total, I will buy in for 3 and cash out at 6, and so on.

2) I will only ever wager a MAXIMUM of 3% of my roll on any single tournament.

3) I will play until I have 20 buy ins at the next level, and continue playing as above. For instance, I will play 10NL until I have 20 x 25NL or $550. When I do, I will play with $25 per table and cash out at $55 until I reach $600, then $25 til I reach $70, and so on until I have 20 buy-ins at the next level.

4) If I drop down to HALF the roll needed to play at the higher limit, I will move down limits until I am up again. IE) When I make it to $550, if I take a bad run and get down to $225, I will move back to 10NL.

5) I will never stone cold BLUFF. That is, reraising in position with nothing special, and following up on the flop or turn with a bet. I realize I lost a LOT of money doing this my last time around.

6) I will play extremely tight looking to get all my money in with two pair, set, straight of flush at first, until my roll warrants playing with a higher effective stack. People never take the 1/4 stack guy seriously, and I can get away will a PF all-in SO much easier with A's or K's than a big stack guy.

7) I will punish the limpers and play from position at every opportunity when my effective stack is higher than 3/4.

I realize I'm gonna have to do some serious grinding, but I learned a whole lot from my last time around and I think I'll have better results this time. One problem I do have is playing TPTK or TPGK. Can someone point me in the direction to some tips on how to play these hands???

good call.
I have altered my bankroll building strategy. I can relatively OWN the 1 and 2$ stngos so I will build my bankroll up to 200 playing those first, then move into the actual games with full stacks.

With very little success is how I would describe my short stack strategy. When your effective stack is $2.50, its hard for anyone to not call you with anything.

Thanks for the tip.



CURRENT BANKROLL: $55

NEEDED FOR NEXT LIMIT: $445[/i]

10% up to what maximum?

Ok, update time.

I am positively convinced FT is rigged. I know I know.....

Seriously though, I am an EXCELLENT player, but I have lost an insane amount of money at FT. I tried doing the $200 BR and playing 10NL at first, when that didnt work because of absolutely insane suckouts happening absolutely ten times more than they should happen I tried BR of $400 at 25NL. I had better success for quite a while then more and more suckouts, usually right after I cleared a bonus frag... This is not BS. I am not making excuses.I tried everything. Alter strategies.

First I tried tight aggressive but realized that didnt work. I couldnt make any money on my hands since everyone would fold to my MINRAISE PF (yes....20 cents).

Now and then I would go weak tight, slowplaying with the blinds in. Every single time they would catch 2 pair+ and I would be destroyed.

So I went loose aggro, no luck. Everyone called and I lost big pots with middle pair to Ace 4 kicker or some stupid shit.

So I went loose weak. Get in cheap and flop monsters. This was the most sound strategy of all, but eventually what happened was I just went tilty and donked off stacks playing aggressive again.

Some examples.

Over 10k hands I had hit my sets 3.8% of the time and 75% with Aces (no joke).
I tried everything to get paid. I'd slowplay and get runner runner flushed. I'd fast play and get no action. It was literally like everyone at the table could see my cards. And for a 10k hand run too.

It was so disheartening. I stopped for a month. I studied. I reread Sklansky and Gordon, watched a shitload of old videos and strategy DVDs and was convinced my play was better.

I went back at it, convinced I would increase my winrate. Nope.

It went DOWN. I was winning more money in the blinds than anywhere else and losing an insane amount on the button. So I tried tightening up the button. No luck, still losing money. So I played top 10% from every position and I still lost money. How the hell?

So I became convinced that I was just too good a player to play at these limits. And I am still convinced of that. I am also convinced FT is rigged in some way for action, or a flaw in their system alows cheating or something. There is no way in hell that a player of my calibre should be losing money to total f-ing donkeys (and though there are some decent players at these levels, they are easy to spot...the majority are very very bad). I thought it could be a really bad run, but no way. Not over 20k hands. Not possible to run that bad right off the bat. Something about FT just doesnt FEEL like poker. It feels like something else entirely.

The final straw wil remain the last five hands I ever play at FTP. (all happened in a 30 hand span)

1) AA in the CO. 2 limpers + SB BB. I raise to .50 and everyone folds.

Very next hand:

2) AA in CO+1. I limp and blinds call. Flop comes queen high (1 spade) and I get felted with runner runner 7 high flush after it all goes in on flop. (buddy had 72)

3) 5s6s in the BB. Family pot. flop comes 4s7d8h. I bet out and get reraised by the button, everyone folds I reraise it all goes in. He shows J,7. Runner runner 7 8 for the full house to beat me.

4) I minraise with 2c7s UTG. Button raises, I reraise, he calls. Flop comes K29rainbow. I push. Button calls and shows AK. 7 on the river.

5)Analyzing his betting paterns all night I made a brilliant all in call with an A high flush draw (had A7h) after he moved in on the turn (wasnt even a scare card). He flipped K7.

K on the river.

So I cashed out and put my BR on Cake. ANd for the first time ever I felt like I was playing poker online. 80% of the time I had best hand it held up (like it frickin should!!!!) I made over 6 buy-ins in 5 hours playing straight up, weak tight nit poker. I even got a one outer against me, (hit quads on the river to beat my nut flush all in on the turn) and it didnt effect me. You know why? Cause thats poker! But you know what else? That only happened ONCE. If I had been at FT I guarantee I would have seen at least TWENTY TO THIRTY 2 and three outers hit to beat me all in along with a few one outers and runner runners thrown in for good measure. It just doesnt happen that often. It just DOESNT. There is something wrong with the software, I am positively convinced of it. I would say, conservatively, that I got beat by inferior hands AT LEAST 40% of the time on FT. And that shouldnt happen.

What I think is funny is how people say that because you see more hands you see more bad beats. Yes. That is true. But you should see an equal increase in the amount of times the best hand holds up, and you positively don't. Seriously. And this is HEADS UP PLAY. I mean I could see it if it was multiway pots bt 90% of the time its all in PF or on te flop with one player. Sick.

Thats my rant for today.


CURRENT BANKROLL: $111.60
NEEDED TO MOVE UP: $398.40

Update

So I pulled about a 14 hours session yesterday and broke even

Seriously I was being a moron. Making calls when I knew I was beat, etc. I went as high as $170 and as low as $40.

All in a days work.

So I quit even after clearing two $10 bonus frags, and I was not happy with my play. I was on tilt most of the day.

Today was much better. Making the right laydowns, and pushing with the best hand and getting called all help to make you win more. Had a couple big hands that won me a buy-in, and a lot of bad bluffs I called from donkeys to win me a little over 7 buy-ins in 300 hands.

CURRENT BANKROLL: $175.67

NEEDED TO MOVE: $324.33

So I got bored and went back and tried to clear a $10 bonus frag. It took like FOREVER to frikin do. I ended up winning another bunchobuyins in the process. I won about 5 buy-ins in less than 500 hands.

I could have been up at least 2 more but I made two idiotic bluff pushes to lose a buy-in each. I gues I was bored.

Anyway, I won some more and cleared my bonus frag, then left.

I'm playing great poker recently and most of my hands are holding up. I got sucked out on a couple times to two outers and even a one outer, but when they hold up 80% of the itme thats a little easier to take. Boy, I can't wait for the inevitable downswing. I know my nerves will take it, I am a man of steel.

Now I sleep.




CURRENT BR: $231.78

NEEDED TO MOVE UP: $268.22

gogogogogogogo

I ran like fucking ass today. I started out playing well, and took a few really horrible beats.

#1 AQ vs. A4

BOARD

A3Q25

All in on the turn

#2
AQ vs. Q9

BOARD

Q34J9

All in on the flop

#3
A9 vs. 97

BOARD

294 --->3-->7

All in on the flop

So there goes three buy-ins, and Im on tilt, and I tilt off a bunch more.

I got some back, but I was running like ass. I saw K5 about 12 dozen times in a row and all my decent hands were UTG or in the blinds, so when I won I won little.

Im gonna go back after I watch borat, but it sucked today. I figured I better leave and take a nice long break before I lost anymore. I already lost too much. I think Im gonna set my stop loss goal at 3 buy-ins per session. If I lose three, I take a big break and come back cooled off. Cause I played solid for the beginning, those beats threw me off.

Also, if I take a bad bad beat, like those above, I think a nice hour break to cool off would do me good.



CURRENT BANKROLL: $160.31

NEEDED TO MOVE UP: $339.69

OMFG what a horrible run of cards.

It's just not my night. I get it all in with the best hand and I get sucked out on. Goddamn it I am on fucking tilt now.

Im done for the night, I cant take it anymore. I lost 10 buy-ins today.



CURRENT BANKROLL: $138.17

NEEDED TO MOVE UP: $361.83

Not being one to give up too easily (and being completely f-ing addicted to this game) I went back and played solid for about 4 hours.

I cleared one $10 bonus frag. I have $12 left in bonus.






CURRENT BANKROLL: $220.37

NEEDED TO MOVE: $289.63


I realized at Cake the next limit is NL20 so I only need 400 to move but Im gonna play safe and shoot for 25.

I have never experienced this before, I guess its what you call a bad run????

My bankroll is decimated, Im down below $50.

Im playing well, and making god decisions, but I just cannot win.

Some examples:

1)KK OTB, raise, loose guy calls with A6o

FLOP
A72

Of course I make a continuation bet and lose 2$, but obv fold the turn

2) I have AA UTG, I raise, same guy calls with 810, all in on the turn, rivers two pair.

3) I flop a set, all in on the flop, the board makes a straight

4)AK, AQ, flop nothing 80 hands in a row. 1st time I get TPTK, I run into a set. Next time, same thing.

Sigh. I'm so discouraged.

Ok, thats it. My bankroll is gone. I thought I was runing bad yesterday!!:roll:

Im playing just fine poker. Just fine. Playing well. Just look what I come up against....


#1

[5s] in the SB

Multiway pot

LAG button raises to .40. I call. 3 behind me call. We are even stacked at about $13 each.

FLOP
[9h][Ks]

MP bets .95. Button calls. I raise to $3. MP folds. Button pushes. I snap call.

Turns over pocket kings. :O

That is the third time Ive stacked off with set s. overset in the last 24 hours. THE THIRD TIME!!!!!

So basically I dont flop a set more than 1in 20 and when I do its against another fucking overset. Jesus.

#2
[Qc] on the button. I raise to .6 SB TAG calls. Stacks are even at about $12

FLOP
[Qs][Qh]

I bet .4. He raises to 1.5. I put him on KQ. I reraise to 5. He pushes. I call.

I say to myself 'show me pocket fives!'....He does.

#3
[Kh] on the button

I raise to .4 and maniac reraise to .8. I instapush. He oes into think mode and calls with [9s]. LOL!!!

FLOP
[6c][8h]

TURN
[10d]

I say out loud....SEVEN!

RIVER


And I'm spent.