Some Fresh Air

After a week of some busy schedule outside poker tables, some work issues and family duties, I finally toke time to play 2 SNG this weekend, quality instead of quantity, right?

I ended a few minutes a go a $3.25 6 Max. Turbo SNG on pokerstars. I try for the first time this new buy in level and it was ok for the first game. This SNG was a kind of fresh air on my game.
Here it is the final result:



There was this hand were I was having only 7 BB on the button. The opponent at my right was also shortstacked like me, (we were only 5 players at the table this time), he goes all-in and I also pushed with my medium pair 44, he was having a conector of 56. He paired with 6 on the river and I was in last place down to 1.9BB !

On the next hand I pushed with any two cards, I pushed with a conector 78. Only the small blind folded. There were $1235 on the pot, and the flop cames with: A79.
I have a bottom pair but when the opponent to my right raises to almost half the pot I feel that he has an ace. The others players folded to his raise so it was just me against him and he shows me ATo.
The Turn brings 8, I made two pair and the opponent makes a straight draw. The river brings a 3 and I win the main pot and return alive to some more action.

Statistics say that medium pairs have more values against less opponents and specially when blinds are higher.
Well I had another hand that shows this, blinds were at 75/150. I was having only 9 BB with a pocket eights on the small blind. UTG folds, CO and button limps and I decided to shove here.
The CO was playing very agressive and it was some kind of loose player, and he was the only who called my push. He has an J4s but did not improved.

Less Volume, More Study

Hi, dear readers.

After a positive ROI until the middle of the month I hit my biggest stretch of poor results at SNG. I had 21 SNG OOM (Out Of Money), then I made a second place on a 9 players SNG. I played 71 SNG's by now, mixing the field of number of players.

I stopped playing for a few days due to some personal issues, but most important, I am taking more time to study SNG strategy. That downswing stretch came with a meaning, and I guess I was receiveing some feedback from my less than optimal performance. So I decided to take a break and refresh my poker thinking process.

SNG Statistics

We are half month and i have been playing the micro stakes SNG's, so far with a positive ROI of 12%. Here are the results so far for each SNG, the data is displayed it this format:

SNG Number of players: Number of times ITM/Total Number of games
(ITM: In The Money)

90: 3/5
45: 2/4
18: 4/14
9: 7/19

This week i will play more the 45s and 90s and see what results i get. The field of 90s are being a positive suprise for me because the field is very soft.
I will start to have a shoot on 1 or 2 MTT 's on the weekend. It will be the micro buy in but I think I have an edge over the soft field that these MTT's have.

I am still analysing some poker pro sng players and i have two or three that i can say that could be a role model to me. SNG is all about volume and solid poker play.

Becoming a SNG Grinder

I am seriously thinking in becoming in a near future, a SNG grinder.
No doubt that i like to play more SNG's or MTT's than cash games, that is for sure. I want to take my SNG game to the next level.

Last month i grinded a lot of cash games, sometimes not rolled for some stakes. I did not break even, losing some buy ins. I was just chasing the silverstar status and i made it.
This month i have been really soft about the grindind, not poker, i am always committed to study and play. I am not grinding this month but i have some late nights by playing and studing Holdem.

I am still analysing the SNG's structures, wich one should i play more the turbos or the regulars? Wich players field, the 9s, the 18s, the 27s, the 45s, the 90s, the 180s? Heads up?
Still searching for answers and still analysing some professional poker SNG's grinders.

In the challenge to turn $100 in $10.000 Boku87 started playing the $1.10 turbos of 18s and 45s players.
Then after playing more than 600 of these he played the $2.20 180s and $3.25 45s SNG's turbos. Then after 120 games of these he mixed with the $3.40 18s SNG's.
Only after 340 games he started to play the $6.50 18s/45s SNG's and also the $12 45s SNG's. When playing this ones he also maintained the $2.20 180s SNG's.
After 360 games he started playing the $27 18s/45s SNG's mixing with the $12 45s and also including the $7.70 180s SNG's.

So you can see how many games he first played before moving up in stakes, usually only after 350 games. This is what i call bankroll management, only go up in stakes when properlly rolled for that level.
Besides Boku87 I am also analysing other guys and taking some conclusions, i play a lot better at SNG's than cash games, just defining my structure to play at. Btw, Boku87 plays only Turbos. The Turbos gives you a faster hourly win rate but also decreases your ROI. Posflop skills are for regular SNG's, Preflop and push or fold skills are for Turbos.

Another SNG session

I played 3 sessions of SNG's tonight, two 18 players and one of 27 players. I lost two and ended up in first place in one of them.
I must review my sessions tomorrow and check out were i made mistakes. Here is a final picture from one of the winning SNG of 18 players.

I do not know if i will play many tomorrow. I have one video to finish and sessions review to do.

WCOOP - Event #6 NLH Video

September is a great month to play poker at pokerstars, because the WCOOP is running right now.
WCOOP is the World Championship of Online Poker and this year has $40.000.000 combined prize pool. Thw WCOOP runs 45 events (or tournaments) every day and the last event, on the 20 September, will be the main event with a prize pool of $10.000.000.

I left here a video of the event #6 NLH with a prize pool of $1.000.000.
Enjoy it!

The final Heads up hand is an amazing hand: a full house against a Quads!! A must see hand for poker players!

Week Review

This week i played 20 SNG's, most of them 9 players and today i played one 45 players.
I have placed today 2nd on the 45s so it was nice result. The 9 players i am making ITM 40% of the time. Sincerely i tought the 9 players SNG's were more softer than they are.

By now i have a positive 24% ROI and made (only) $5.80 profit this week. Still early to take conclusions let's see how is it going to be the next week.

On the Vpp's and Fpp's i made very few points. This is the bad side of not playing cash games.
September Vpp's: 35.94 (!!)
September Fpp's: 2359.54

On the education side, i saw more 2 episodes of the serie: Real Life of a Micro SNG Grinder.
Great Video series!

September Goals

For surprise to some, not so surprising to others, i will not grind all the month to maintain silver.
You read it right. Silverstar should come naturally and not forced. I grinded a lot last month and i lost some money on that process.

I did not burned out, in fact there were nights that i was capable of grinding more but i was having the good sense to go to bed and sleep.

I will concentrate this month in 2 poker fields: Sit aNd Go tournaments (SNG's) and poker education. I could play some cash games during the month to keep up the pace, but i will not grind to make FPP's like crazy.
Here are the goals for September:

1. Play minimum 75 SNG's this month (i played 44 last month). Could be 9/18/27/45/90/180 players. (I will try to play more than 100).
2. Positive ROI and positive profit on SNG's.
3. Increase my bankroll in 25% (at least and deposits do not count).
4. Reach 2500 Fpp's ( i have 1.5 Fpp for each fpp base and that is only more 200).
5. Watch / Study the video series: "Last standing man" and "The + evolution of a poker player"

This month will be more educational and tournament directed. Hope to be very positive on the end. The SNG's stakes that i will play will be $1.20.