Baby Steps

Baby Steps
Originally uploaded by Waldo#4

I feel a bit like this... taking some unsure steps on wobbly legs. I had kind of gotten out of the habit of playing online poker. A bit stagnant, not much in the way of money online anymore, aside from the fact that free time was non-existent. But two things influenced me to put in some time and see how I would do online again.

First, the August 5, 2008 issue of Card Player had an article by Roy West entitled "Some Call it Heart - I Call it Courage, A requirement for becoming a winner." A number of things spoke to me through the article, as if Roy was pointing a finger at me and reading me the riot act. He wrote, " A lack of courage is most often mixed in with a fear of losing money. Just breaking even is no big thing -- as you were even when you walked into the poker room." Fear of loss can be an absolutely crippling thing at the poker table. A lousy run of cards and a few bad sessions can further fuel it, and you can fall into the rut of just trying to conserve or preserve the existing bankroll, rather than trying to make it grow. But there's no point in being fool-hardy either, as you'll find yourself broke, right quickly. Mr. West then added a line which got me thinking, "For those players who are concerned about going off for too much money... set aside a specific amount that they can lose and not have it affect their lifestyle, and play that bankroll as if it were an unlimited supply." So, now about the bankroll... Well I took a look around my measly online accounts and was "almost" ready to make a fateful redeposit when in an unrelated blog I came across something that gave me another idea.

That brings me to the second influence... I came across this blog post http://blinderspoker.blogspot.com/2008/09/bodog-roll-growing-beginner-s-still.html by blogger "Blinders," in which he talked about his recent experiences in the Bodog Beginner SNG's. He had grown his bankroll in a rather short order back to a level which allowed him some maneuvering room in my mind. He did so, without much in the way of risk, due to the flattened nature of the payout structure in these beginner sng's. Here was an idea. I lacked a sufficient online bankroll to tackle the game and work on my game and my courage level as Roy West was suggesting but here Blinders was pointing to a bit of a no-brainer method to accumulate some needed cash, to help create a respectable bankroll. I had been donking around a little in the Bodog Beginner SNG's before, but at the lowest possible limits. But here on one hand was one blogger telling me that the play was soft at the higher limits, and on the other hand Roy West is telling me I need to have courage. I was beginning to feel a bit like the cowardly lion... But Yellow Brick Road or not, a path seemed to be laying itself out before me. I'd give the higher limit Bodog Beginner SNG's a try and see if I couldn't put together a roll.

Now, I'm still limited on available time between my kids and their schedules, work, my wife, and trying to get back in shape (running, walking and lifting weights again) so I'm not grinding out hour after hour at the tables. But here's what I've done in a very brief span of time. I had been treading water with about $150 on Bodog and was playing the minimal SNG's. It was VERY SLOW going and making little progress. I was getting more frustrated than anything else. So, I took a couple of shots, at higher levels and was successful. So, I decided to give these a a try for a while in the style that Blinders did. Playing at the $16 SNG's, I've been firing up 2 of these at a time, at night after the kids go to bed and my wife and I are just watching some TV. I've only played maybe 3 sessions for a total of 6 SNG's at the $16 level, so far, but I've already accelerated and grown the Bodog account to $290. I've cashed in every single one of them. Granted had I been playing at a standard SNG there would have been a time or two, that I would have walked away empty handed, but with the payout structure paying 5 spots, I've managed to break even on the one table, while making money on the other. Am I displaying courage right now? Well no... but I'm building a roll that will give me some breathing room first, and avoiding a re-deposit. Besides, I'm making some money and having some fun at the same time. The structure is also allowing me to experiment more with position and it is working well. Also, I'm learning that a lot of players do NOT change gears well at all, or respond well to other players (like me) who are. I have observed the players who are trying to fold their way to the cashout and when I'm finding myself beginning to slip into a shortstack I can apply some well-timed aggression with "air" in my hand and steal some pots to bolster myself. Then later, these players think I'm pulling a fast one on them when I've really got the goods and I'm getting paid. The times when I've gone out at the bottom of the cashout I've run A-Q into A-K and also my KQs ran into rockets on the other occasion.

So, in closing I'm very pleased with the recent (albeit limited) success so far. I'm trying to be realistic about this and not getting overly confident in my abilities but I'm going to continue to ride this gravy train out for a while and see what happens. When you find me busted out and all sad and dejected, be a pal and buy a poor sap a beer!

Regards,

cheer_dad