August 2, 2006
July 2006 Poker Results
Wow that month went quick and I barely updated the blog at all… sorry about that. Time is just flying!
Results wise July started well, was good in the middle but a big (50+ BB) downswing in the last two days brought what should have been close to 3BB/100 hands profit down to around 1.5BB/100.
The annoying thing was this downswing came entirely at a single site, Absolute Poker, where I had just signed up so I could play in their cheap SNG tournaments (I’m trying to get as much tournament practice as possible, as cheaply as possible). I had planned to play tournaments exclusively there but as I’d got a little bit of a deposit bonus I decided to at least try and clear it, going to have to work hard to make a profit out of that one!
So, let see how did with my three goals from last month:
- Keep the solid cash game going at my new limit.
- Keep playing the low-level NL hold’em tournaments, aim for a positive return for the month.
- Read “Harrington on Hold’em” volumes 1 and 2 (on order from Amazon, due to arrive middle of the month – darn international shipping).
Well, I’m going to say that I achieved number 1 even if my BB/100 is well down from where it should be. Since I only played 6000 hands in July and these are (for all practical purposes) my first 6000 at this level (also 3000 of these were 6Max tables – it’s my first time in these waters and I’m still adjusting) I’m not too worried about the drop in BB/100. For some reason I can’t quite put my finger on this has happened every time I’ve moved up a level and seems to return to normal after about 10000 hands or so.
Number 2? well, umm… the less said about number 2 the better. I played in 25 tournaments (range of styles/buy-ins) in July and produced a ROI of -58%. Not good. There is still work to be done here, I’ll post about that later.
That leaves number 3, my books have arrived and I’ve read volume 1. These books will warrant some reading and re-reading, but I can already notice an improvement in my game just by applying some of the thinking that Harrington teaches. I’m looking forward to getting stuck into volume 2.
So, my goals for August:
- Break out of my downswing (early signs are looking promising, but I won’t speak too soon) and clear the bonus at Absolute Poker. Improve my BB/100 for $0.50/$1.00.
- Study the 6Max game.
- Read Harrington volume 2, re-read volume 1.
- Return a positive figure in NL hold’em tournaments.
- Play at least 500 hands in a game other than hold’em, I’m thinking maybe some Omaha 8 or better.
Stay tuned.
P.S. No graph this month, having trouble finding some graphing software that wants to work with my new Postgre Poker Tracker database. I need to get in touch with the Poker Grapher or Poker Patterns authors and see if I’m doing something wrong. Has anyone reading successfully graphed a Postgre PT database? Let me know.
August 3rd, 2006 at 1:07 pm
Sounds like a good month, all things considered.
One thing to consider as you analyze how yr doing is how w/6-max games you usually encounter greater variance than w/10-handed.
Yes, playing another game now and then is a good thing, if only to keep from getting weary of HE. I’ve been trying Razz lately (with mixed results).
Best of luck as you move forward.
August 5th, 2006 at 1:02 am
Hello. Was just browsing some of the poker blogs and saw yours. Just wanted to let you and anyone else you know who is interested that I’m starting a poker blog (www.theredbaronblog.blogspot.com). I’d like to get a bunch of players to read, no matter what limit they play or whatever, so that I can post some hands and get some discussion/feedback going. Feel free to stop by.
August 8th, 2006 at 11:36 pm
What’s Postgre? There’s PostgreSQL, pronounced “Post gres cue ell”, which is often abbreviated by dropping off the last two syllables to “Post gres”, and therefore “Postgres”. Never “postgre”.
August 8th, 2006 at 11:53 pm
Thanks Shamus, I’m certainly noticing the higher variance at 6Max but the looser, crazier players have so far made up for it.
Randal, Poker Tracker only supports two databases (MS Access and PostgreSQL) so it should be fairly obvious what I’m referring to when I say “Postgre”. Was worth picking me up for though to get a cheap link to your website ;)
August 11th, 2006 at 2:58 pm
But “postgre” isn’t a term. “postgres” is. that’s like calling English “Engl”.
August 11th, 2006 at 6:11 pm
The DB is irrelevant now anyway, turns out the graphing software does support PostgreSQL. The problem I’m seeing is a known issue with dates, working on getting it fixed so I can get the graphs back next month.
September 5th, 2006 at 9:54 pm
[...] One other thing got in the way of my poker playing this month – real life! Annoying as it meant I didn’t really get a good run at most of my poker goals for August, so they carry forward to September: [...]