June 2010 summary

Hmm what can I say. Ended up being my worst month on the tables ever results wise. Could have been even worse except I picked up a couple hundred in my Cake affiliate freeroll.

The last few sessions ended the month just as they began, with my final session on the $5/10 tables including a hand capped preflop with my JJ v TT v AK. Flop JT4r which gets capped. Turn obviously has to be a Q which makes me feel a little sick, followed by a blank river and I lose a 25BB pot.

Actually played a ton of hours - over triple my usual monthly amount, but given I was always on call for bubs, I only played one or two tables at a time, so my volume wasn't really all that much more than normal.

Overall a loss of 350BBs which equated to $900ish after bonuses and rakeback of a good $700.

I qualified for gold level on fulltilt ironman as well - although i've now decided that ironman doesn't really suit me. Being forced into playing almost every day is not something i'm looking for from Poker. I'd rather just play when I feel like it. Basically as soon as I qualified, I haven't been on the tables since which has been the better part of a week.


The LOSS of $900 for the month was made up of:

Bonuses / VIP / Rakeback: $ 600

• Bodog $100
• Cake $100
• Fulltilt $400

Poker bankroll Interest: $100

Poker losses: ($1,600) - ouch

Goals for July are:

• Clear a chunk more of the Cake reload
• Play my Fulltilt and Cake freerolls
• Make a profit

Current bankroll: $26,550
June time played: 85h
June hands played: 8,635
June profit / (loss): ($900)

April 2010 summary

April ended up being a reasonably solid month, continuing on progress from March. I've touched on completely recovering from my downswing, but am still a few BBs off again now as you can see from my graph from a few days ago.

Can't recall too many highlights from the month, but I did do a couple strategy posts on the blog about table and seat selection.

The were a couple disappointments from a couple sites this month. Firstly the announcement from Bodog that there will be no more monthly reload bonuses. Hopefully they replace it with something half decent. Secondly the drop in traffic on Cake from their loss of a couple rooms. Apparently a couple different rooms are to be added to the network shortly though.

For April the goals in order of priority were:

• Clear a chunk more of the Cake reload (done, although have more reloads queued up than I can possibly clear)
• Qualify for the Cake freeroll (yep)
• Play the March Cake and Fulltilt freerolls (slept through FT ... stupid daylight savings)
• Clear some more bodog reload bonus (cleared a fair amount for me for a month)
• Clear my Party bonus (completed whilst making a loss

The profit of $1,100 for the month was made up of:

Bonuses / VIP / Rakeback: $ 410

• Bodog $150
• Cake $200
• Party $50
• Pacific $10

Poker bankroll Interest: $90

Poker profits: $600

Goals for May are:

• Clear a chunk more of the Cake reload
• Qualify for the Cake freeroll
• Play the May Cake freerolls
• Clear most of my final bodog reload bonus (*sniff*)
• Hopefully baby #1 comes at the end of the month too ...

Current bankroll: $25,800

April time played: 24.5h
April hands played: 5,616
April profit / (loss): $1100

March 2010 summary

Coming into March I'd hit a 500BB downswing for the year. Things were looking fairly nasty.

By the end of March, i've made 180BBs of that back, plus a chunk of rakeback to actually put me in front overall for the year, and my bankroll back to an equal all time high.

Quite a relief really, albeit with the month ending with several frustrating sessions that didn't run as well as i'd have hoped. Having found some very fishy opponents, I not being able to take any of their bankroll, and often they ended up taking a chunk of mine.

For March the goals in order of priority were:

• Clear a chunk of the newest Cake reload (cleared about $70 only .. but better than nothing)
• Qualify for the Cake and Fulltilt freerolls (qualified)
• Play the February Cake and Fulltilt freerolls (played with one min cash from memory)
• Make a profit on the tables would be nice ... (solid profit, running at about 3BB/100)

The profit of $1200 for the month was made up of:

Bonuses / VIP / Rakeback: $ 310

• Bodog $100
• Cake $130
• Fulltilt $80

Poker bankroll Interest: $90

Poker profits: $800

Goals for April are:

• Clear a chunk more of the Cake reload
• Qualify for the Cake freeroll
• Play the March Cake and Fulltilt freerolls
• Clear some more bodog reload bonus
• Clear my Party bonus

Current bankroll: $24,700

March time played: 26.8h
March hands played: 5,936
March profit / (loss): $1200

January 2010 summary

Well, January turned out to be my worst month ever. I put in some high volume at the start of the month, and ran badly. And then at the end of the month with the house move I had limited internet access for over a week, so hardly got to play at all.

Ended slightly better than -400BBs for the month, but not by much ....

For January the goals in order of priority were:

• Clear my ironman Fulltilt bonus (done)
• Clear some more of my Cake reload (done)
• Qualify for the Cake and Fulltilt freerolls in January (done)
• Play the December Cake and Fulltilt freerolls (missed one. played WBCOOP though)
• Maybe do the William Hill new year bonus although ipoker has been a little tight (didnt get round to it)

The loss of ($750) for the month was made up of:

Bonuses/vip/rakeback: $ 350

• Pacific $50
• Cake $120
• Fulltilt $180

Poker bankroll Interest: $80

Poker profits: ($1,180) (ouch!)

Goals for February are:

• Clear my remaining Cake reload
• Qualify for the Cake freeroll
• Play the January Cake and Fulltilt freerolls
• Make a profit!

Current bankroll: $23,300
January time played: 38h
January hands played: 9,067
January profit / (loss): ($750)

2010 Goals

I think i'll keep my goals for this year pretty simple -

1. Be disciplined - only play on semi-loose to very loose tables with position on a fish
2. Continue to make a profit - let's aim for $10k for the year
3. Maximise my return through rakeback / bonuses
4. Continue to read forums / blogs - both for strategy and entertainment
5. Maintain my interest in the game
6. Stop using the chat box!! (my one lack of discipline which must be improved)

#1 is probably by far the most important - if you get your discipline right with all facets of your game - table selection, bankroll management, tilt then you're maximising your chances of being a successful player.

#2 I wont be too concerned if I miss this goal, but will be disappointed if I don't get at least halfway there. I am moving house shortly which is going to cut my play by a bit, but the one thing that is going to take a lot of my time away is my first baby is due at the end of May. I suspect this will significantly reduce my play on the tables ... It might help with goal #5 though if i'm playing less then the passion for the game is likely to remain high.

I think that's really about it. I'm not too fussed if I move up levels this year or not (although I will hit $5/10 tables when they are fishy), and I am probably still too lazy to learn NL properly.

I only really play a handful of freeroll tournies or points qualified SNGs so there's not much point in setting any specific goals there either.

2009 review

Highlights:

I think I can best describe 2009 as a solid year of poker for me. After a somewhat disappointing start to the year i've still made a reasonable profit of $8k.

More importantly I still have my passion for the game which I think is partly due to the fact that i'm not playing huge hours and never force myself to play when I don't feel like it, so that interest in the game is well and truly alive.

I've maintained my current bankroll theory of withdrawing $1k for every $2k that I increase my bankroll by. I'm due for another withdrawal, but am still hoping the Aussie dollar devalues a bit more sooner or later to improve my return. Bank interest on those withdrawals is now up to about $80 per month, which is starting to become significant when you look at it over a period of time. (I am someone who likes to have passive income that I don't have to work for).

My goals from the start of the year:

Maintenance goals: (a continuation of what i'm doing now)

•Results: Average approx $1k per month total return (inc rakeback). I will be more than happy with a bankroll of $26k by the end of 2009, with half of that offline in some income earning investment. Ideally it would be good to produce this result with fewer hours played at higher stakes.
Result: A profit of $8k for the year. Whilst less than what i'd hoped for, playing fewer hours limited profits most months - as well as less bonus chasing. The first half of the year only produced $3k, so I had a much better second half - mainly in the last three months.

I had five months where I actually lost money on the tables (compared to two in 2008) although only one was still a losing month after rakeback. Still - this was my first losing month although all losses were recovered in the following month which was reassuring.

•Discipline: Only play on loose tables where I have good position on either a fish or maniac. Result: 100% achieved. I still can't recall the last time i've stayed on a table where it's turned poor, or even sat in on a poor table

•Discipline: Play within my bankroll and keep tracking results.
Result: 100% achieved - and with PT3 i'm now also tracking Cake (really should have installed that a lot earlier)

•Bonus chasing: Find at least one other long term site to play on (even if it a site I currently use on an irregular basis).
Result: Cake, Bodog, Fulltilt, and Pacific somewhat regulary. Pacific has dropped off in the last month or so

•Bonus chasing: Continue to research and take up the best bonus deals to maximise my return. Result: Have been a bit slack here as i'm a bit more settled in regular rakeback deals. That being said I still take up all added bonuses and the Fulltilt bonus was a great suprise.

•Research: Continue to check 2p2 and other forums a minimum of weekly for bonuses or specific site news and play advice.
Result: 100% achieved

•Research: check out other's blogs.
Result: 100% achieved although some have tailed off posting

•Motivation: Maintain motivation through occasionally mixing it up with freerolls and double up sitngos.
Result: 100% achieved although I am finding now that playing a lower volume is resulting in me staying motivated for as many cash games as I can get into

Motivation: Do not push myself to play when I don't feel like it.
Result: 100% achieved

Specific site goals:

•Play the Bodog monthly reloads until conditions change making them not worthwhile.
Result: 100% achieved - still playing them

•Play the interpoker monthly bonuses until crypto is no longer EV+.
Result: Unfortunately crypto is basically no more

•Take up the cake reloads whenever offered.
Result: 100% achieved - still clearing although clearance rates have halved, MGR deductions have also disappeared

•Pray for a fulltilt reload bonus .. I mean come on .. once every couple years sux.
Result: Score $300

New Goals from January 2009:

•Tournaments: Finally tabling at least two freerolls (mainly for the practice). Although having this goal probably won't change whether I do or don't enter tourneys. Affiliate tourneys always appear to be good value.
Result: Fail - although haven't had too many to enter this year so volume is a problem. Not a priority

•Reading: Have a read of the harrington tourney books so that I can at least see the reasoning of why i'm making particular moves and apply it consistently.
Result: Fail - and still not a priority

•Stakes: Get back into more $3/6 tables and at least take a couple shots at $4/8 on Bodog (and with any luck stay permanently there!).
Result: Achieved. Have played a bit of $4/8 (approx 3,500 hands) on Bodog where I initially ran super cold but am slowly clawing it back. Have also played a few $5/10 when the tables look good and results have been good so far.

•Results: Improve my BB/100 by focussing more on seat selection than I did last year.
Result: In theory successful. In practice failed, although the last few months have been very solid.

•Other: Am I going to get into no limit cash games? Doubt it.
Result: Haven't

•Tracking: Get round to converting my PT database to SQL ...
Result: Completed with my PT3 upgrade. Much better than before. Should have done it earlier.

I was hoping to have another $10k+ year, but didn't achieve that, however, i'm not actually disappointed with my results. I've achieved or mostly achieved the majority of goals that are a priority to me, so am happy with that as well.

From my midyear goals:

Is there anything that I want to add for the last half of the year? Well, not really. I'm hoping that my table and seat selection will start to show through in some more positive results on the table, and would like to also play a bit more at the $5/10 level, but those goals are both really encapsulated in my goals from the start of the year.
Result: More positive results were actually achieved in the second half of the year.

Current bankroll: $24,050
2009 profit: $8,250

December 2009 summary

Between xmas eve and the 30th I hit a 120BB downswing, on average somewhere between $2/4 and $3/6. I've had a small recovery today up 55BBs on a $1/2 table, but still down from my peak for the month.

Just as well I started the month running so hot as it's still been a great month results-wise. In terms of volume, I put in 50 hours which is closer to what I was playing in some months in 2008 and by far my biggest month with a total of 11,914 hands.

Clearing a few bonuses and a chunk of rakeback has also limited the damage done.

Is it just me or is the volume of players on ipoker much smaller these days? And a lot tigher? I dropped $300 on william hill clearing a $25 bonus .... although admittedly a lot of it went to a couple huge fish on massive heaters.

For December the goals in order of priority were:

• Clear the remainder of my Fulltilt bonus (done)
• Clear some more of my Cake reload (cleared $50, a bit more still to go in Jan)
• Qualify for the Cake and Fulltilt freerolls in January (done)
• Play the December Cake and Fulltilt freerolls (done and got shafted)
• Take up as many xmas freerolls, gifts and bonuses as possible (grabbed a few)

The profit of $1,700 for the month was made up of:

Bonuses/vip/rakeback: $510

• Bodog $60
• Cake $140
• Fulltilt $280
• William Hill $30

Poker bankroll Interest: $80

Poker profits: $1,110 (less $80 PT3 licence)

Goals for January are:

• Clear my ironman Fulltilt bonus
• Clear some more of my Cake reload
• Qualify for the Cake and Fulltilt freerolls in January
• Play the December Cake and Fulltilt freerolls
• Maybe do the William Hill new year bonus although ipoker has been a little tight

Current bankroll: $24,050
December time played: 50h
December profit / (loss): $1,700

November 2009 summary

Well, the first day of November started with a $300 loss. Since then I haven't really looked back and started the month bonus clearing on Cake before switching across to the new Fulltilt holiday hundred bonus which turned out to be the holiday three hundred for me. It's going to take a fair chunk of December for me to work my way through it, and Cake also just gave me another reload so there's already another bonus to clear once Fulltilt is done.

I finally got round to registering Pokertracker 3, so i'll stick with that for my database and HUD for a while.

For November the goals in order of priority were:

• Make a profit again (tick)
• Put in some more volume than August and September and October (significantly more)
• Clear as much of my Bodog reload bonus as possible (cleared a bit, then got sidetracked with Cake and Fulltilt bonuses)
• Clear some more of my Cake reload and see if I can score a few more gold chips and qualify for the freeroll again (tick)
• Play some more Pacific or Microgaming if it seems fishy (Cake and FT took over so missed this one)
• Spend some more poker points and hopefully convert some to cash (fulltilt?) (too busy clearing bonuses. Maybe in January .....)

The profit of $1,600 for the month was made up of:

Bonuses/vip/rakeback: $380

• Bodog $80
• Cake $140
• Fulltilt $160

Poker bankroll Interest: $70

Poker profits: $1,230 (less $80 PT3 licence)

Goals for December are:

• Clear the remainder of my Fulltilt bonus
• Clear some more of my Cake reload
• Qualify for the Cake and Fulltilt freerolls in January
• Play the December Cake and Fulltilt freerolls
• Take up as many xmas freerolls, gifts and bonuses as possible

Current bankroll: $22,350
November time played: 34h30m
November profit / (loss): $1,600

October summary

All in all, a decent result for October, and my bankroll is back up to an all time high. Finally got off my ass and installed Pokertracker3 and upgraded my database as well which was one of my goals for the year.

I've also just signed up to buy a house which was a bit of a time consumer over the past month with organising all the paperwork etc etc.

For October the goals in order of priority were:

• Make a profit! (tick)
• Put in some more volume than August and September .... (same hours as September)
• Clear as much of my Bodog reload bonus as possible (haven't cleared as much as i'd like to but still going okay)
• Clear some more of my Cake reload and see if I can score a few more gold chips (played more cake this month and qualified for my freeroll again as well)
• Play some more Pacific if it seems fishy (didn't get on there as much as it wasn't as fishy as i'd thought)
• Spend some more poker points and hopefully convert some to cash (fulltilt?) (should have played at least a session or two but didn't)

The profit of $850 for the month was made up of:

Bonuses/vip/rakeback: $220

• Bodog $150
• Cake $50
• Pacific $20

Poker bankroll Interest: $60

Poker table profits: $570

Goals for November are:

• Make a profit again
• Put in some more volume than August and September and October
• Clear as much of my Bodog reload bonus as possible
• Clear some more of my Cake reload and see if I can score a few more gold chips and qualify for the freeroll again
• Play some more Pacific or Microgaming if it seems fishy
• Spend some more poker points and hopefully convert some to cash (fulltilt?)

Current bankroll: $20,750
October time played: 13h30m
October profit / (loss): $850

August 2009 summary

I thought July with only 16 hours played was light on for volume, but i've played even less in August - only 13 hours. Again i've run fairly well to have a solid result for the month.

Hit my next milestone during the month - $20k profit from poker. It's taken me a while, but does feel like a real achievement. I'm still enjoying my poker, and to me it's a great part time hobby.

Last month's goals for August:

•Clear as much of my Bodog reload bonus as possible and hopefully hit some fishy $4/8 tables (cleared a bit, but not a huge amount due to the lack of hours - and when I did play it was mainly fulltilt to clear the bonus)
•Clear some more of my Cake reload that I received at the end of May & June (cleared a little here as well)
•Play some more Pacific if it seems fishy (actually played here a bit)
•Spend some more poker points and hopefully convert some to cash (fulltilt?) (nope)

The gain of $650 for the month was made up of:

Bonuses/vip/rakeback: $150

• Bodog $10
• Cake $20
• Pacific $10
• Fulltilt $110

Poker bankroll Interest: $60

Poker profits: $440

For September the goals in order of priority are:

• Put in some more volume than August
• Clear as much of my Bodog reload bonus as possible and hopefully hit some fishy $4/8 tables
• Clear some more of my Cake reload that I received at the end of May & June
• Play some more Pacific if it seems fishy
• Spend some more poker points and hopefully convert some to cash (fulltilt?)

Hmm .. goals are pretty much the same as last month. Oh well .. if it ain't broke ...

Current bankroll: $20,350
August time played: 13h
August profit / (loss): $650

July 2009 Summary

Well, I really didn't get in a lot of volume in July with only 16 hours played, but ran pretty hot to have a quite solid result for the month. Can't even remember much happening of interest during the month, except my three quads session. Actually had very few losing sessions, so that's probably why I don't remember too much - its the losses and bad beats that tend to stick in your head.

In hindsight though, its my first $1k month for a while, so that's a bit of a relief that i'm not going too far wrong lately.

Last month's goals for July:

• Clear as much of my Bodog reload bonus as possible (cleared about $30ish)
• Clear some of my Cake reload that I received at the end of May & June (cleared about $20ish)
• Play some more Pacific if it seems fishy (played quite a few hands there from $1/2 to $3/6 - seemed fishy although not overly so this month)
• Spend some more poker points and hopefully convert some to cash (fulltilt?) (nope)

The gain of $1,150 for the month was made up of:

Bonuses/vip/rakeback: $180

• Bodog $30
• Cake $40
• Pacific $100
• Fulltilt $10

Poker bankroll Interest: $60

Poker profits: $910

For August the goals in order of priority are:

• Clear as much of my Bodog reload bonus as possible and hopefully hit some fishy $4/8 tables
• Clear some more of my Cake reload that I received at the end of May & June
• Play some more Pacific if it seems fishy
• Spend some more poker points and hopefully convert some to cash (fulltilt?)

Current bankroll: $19,700
May time played: 16h30m
May profit / (loss): $1,150

Mid 2009 review

Thought i'd better have a look back and see how i'm tracking for the year so far.

If I examine my goals from the start of the year:

Maintenance goals: (a continuation of what i'm doing now)

• Results: Average approx $1k per month total return (inc rakeback). I will be more than happy with a bankroll of $26k by the end of 2009, with half of that offline in some income earning investment. Ideally it would be good to produce this result with fewer hours played at higher stakes. Result: Not a single month has returned $1k although I am playing fairly significantly fewer hours than last year - probably 15-25 per month rather than 30-40. A relatively poor year on the tables with 4 losing months which were made profitable by rakeback/bonuses.
• Discipline: Only play on loose tables where I have good position on either a fish or maniac. Result: 100% achieved. I can't recall the last time i've stayed on a table where it's turned poor, or even sat in on a poor table
• Discipline: Play within my bankroll and keep tracking results. Result: 100% achieved - although i'm still not tracking Cake as I understand it is against their conditions
• Bonus chasing: Find at least one other long term site to play on (even if it a site I currently use on an irregular basis). Result: I probably should have recorded which regular sites I was on at the time of making this goal .... Now on Cake, Bodog, Fulltilt, and Pacific somewhat regulary. May add Microgaming to the list in the second half of the year
• Bonus chasing: Continue to research and take up the best bonus deals to maximise my return. Result: Have been a bit slack here as i'm a bit more settled in regular rakeback deals. That being said I still take up all added bonuses
• Research: Continue to check 2p2 and other forums a minimum of weekly for bonuses or specific site news and play advice. Result: 100% achieved
• Research: check out other's blogs. Result: 100% achieved
• Motivation: Maintain motivation through occasionally mixing it up with freerolls and double up sitngos. Result: 100% achieved although I am finding now that playing a lower volume is resulting in me staying motivated for as many cash games as I can get into
  Motivation: Do not push myself to play when I don't feel like it. Result: 100% achieved

Specific site reload goals:

• Play the Bodog monthly reloads until conditions change making them not worthwhile. Result: 100% achieved - still playing them
• Play the interpoker monthly bonuses until crypto is no longer EV+. Result: Unfortunately crypto is basically no more from my perspective
• Take up the cake reloads whenever offered. Result: 100% achieved - still clearing although clearance rates have halved, MGR deductions have also disappeared
• Pray for a fulltilt reload bonus .. I mean come on .. once every couple years sux. Result: My prayers go unanswered

New Goals from January 2009:

• Tournaments: Finally tabling at least two freerolls (mainly for the practice). Although having this goal probably won't change whether I do or don't enter tourneys. Affiliate tourneys always appear to be good value. Result: Fail - although haven't had too many to enter this year so volume is a problem. Not a priority
• Reading: Have a read of the harrington tourney books so that I can at least see the reasoning of why i'm making particular moves and apply it consistently. Result: Fail - and still not a priority
• Stakes: Get back into more $3/6 tables and at least take a couple shots at $4/8 on Bodog (and with any luck stay permanently there!). Result: Achieved. Have played a bit of $4/8 on Bodog where i've run super cold. However, am also playing $5/10 when the tables look good and results have been exceptional over a very small sample size
• Results: Improve my BB/100 by focussing more on seat selection than I did last year. Result: In theory successful. In practice - fail.
• Other: Am I going to get into no limit cash games? Doubt it. Result: Haven't
• Tracking: Get round to converting my PT database to SQL ... Result: oops. one day.

So ... apart from not actually having the best of results on the tables, i've still eeked out a bit of a profit every month which is somewhat reassuring. I've achieved or mostly achieved most goals that are a priority to me, so am happy with that as well.

Is there anything that I want to add for the last half of the year?

Well, not really. I'm hoping that my table and seat selection will start to show through in some more positive results on the table, and would like to also play a bit more at the $5/10 level, but those goals are both really encasulated in my goals from the start of the year.

Current bankroll: $18,950
Year to date profit/(loss): $3,150

June 2009 Summary

My poker month didn't really start until the 8th as I was off Honeymooning and had better things to do.

I still put in 15 hours though, so not too bad, and generally ran pretty well, which is a change from the last few months. After three months of losing at the tables, and only staying in the black through rakeback/bonuses, its good to clear a profit from actual play.

After complaining about no Cake reloads for a while, I actually received another two reloads here as well. I dunno who runs their promotions department, but doing two reloads in the space of a week seems a little odd. Particularly after no reloads for a few months.

The only small significance was a brief hit up of the $5/10 tables where i've never played before, and having a small success there. Haven't been able to find any super fishy tables since then, but i'll keep on the look out, as it appears new players often just go to that level even with no clue.

Not sure how much volume i'll actually get in for July. Will see how it goes, but i'm not expecting a huge amount.

Last month's goals for June:

• Clear as much of my Bodog reload bonus as possible (cleared only about $20 - accidently had full tables hidden so didn't even see all the juicy tables in the lobby!)
• Clear some of my Cake reload that I received at the end of May (cleared only about $20 here as well)
• Take advantage of the 40%+ rakeback at William Hill for June through RakeTheRake (cleared maybe $1 worth as I decided the tables weren't often fishy enough to bother with)
• Play some more Pacific if it seems fishy (actually did play a bit here - but often there's not many tables running)
• Spend some more poker points and hopefully convert some to cash (fulltilt?) (didnt get round to it .. never seem to)

The gain of $850 for the month was made up of:

Bonuses/vip/rakeback: $180

• Bodog $30
• Cake $40
• Pacific $80
• Fulltilt $30

Poker bankroll Interest: $60

Poker profits: $610

For July the goals in order of priority are again pretty similar to June:

• Clear as much of my Bodog reload bonus as possible
• Clear some of my Cake reload that I received at the end of May & June
• Play some more Pacific if it seems fishy
• Spend some more poker points and hopefully convert some to cash (fulltilt?)

Current bankroll: $18,550
May time played: 15h
May profit / (loss): $850

May summary

Better late than never ....

Just got back from my break, so time for a quick review.

From memory, May was a pretty horrible month, with a fairly large downswing of 200+BBs at one stage and I was looking at having my first ever overall losing month. Fortunately though, I was receiving 50% rakeback from William Hill for the month, and my last few sessions all booked reasonable wins of 10-20BBs to end the month booking a win.

A couple nice developments for the month though - finally received another reload from Cake, and Pacific are now doing points to cash.

Last month's goals for May

• Clear as much of my Bodog reload bonus as possible (cleared only about $60 - not as many good tables running this month)
• Take advantage of the 50%+ rakeback at William Hill for May through RakeTheRake (pulled in about $300 - plenty of tables at ipoker, but requires table selection
• Spend some more poker points and hopefully convert some to cash (fulltilt?) (didnt get round to it)
• Play some more Pacific if it seems fishy (cleared about $60 in bonus cash there. not a lot of tables running)

The gain of $300 for the month was made up of:

Bonuses/vip/rakeback: $480

• Bodog $60
• Cake $30
• Pacific $60
• Fulltilt $30
• William Hill $300

Poker bankroll Interest: $50

Poker losses: ($230)

For June the goals in order of priority are pretty much the same as May:

• Clear as much of my Bodog reload bonus as possible
• Clear some of my Cake reload that I received at the end of May
  Take advantage of the 40%+ rakeback at William Hill for June through RakeTheRake
• Play some more Pacific if it seems fishy (plus they now have points for cash, thanks pacific, so feel free to sign up with them through RakeBackStat )
• Spend some more poker points and hopefully convert some to cash (fulltilt?)

Current bankroll: $17,700
May time played: 20h
May profit / (loss): $300

April 2009 summary

That's another losing month on the tables making it two in a row. Perhaps May will be better?

I still ended up in positive territory overall though making about $150 - at an hourly rate of $6/hour. Great. Even my BB/100 at Bodog $1/2 is now back in negative territory again after a horrible run this month.

Having a quick look at my stats, i'm still playing fairly solidly so can't spot any leaks that jump out at me. I suspect i've just been running a bit cool. If I look at every time i've had AA over the past 6k hands, i've actually only won 15/42. I'm sure that's a long way below expectation.

I think the month can be best summed up in the following hand from last night. Although there were actually many worse beats.

$2/$4 Limit Holdem • 6 Players
UTG 157.65 (unknown)
UTG+1 16.02
CO 26.2 (50/10 fish)
Hero 97 (me)
SB 6.15
BB 123.05
Pre-Flop (1.5 SB, 6 players) Hero is BTN with AcAh (nice)
UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, CO raises, Hero 3-bets, 1 fold, BB calls, UTG calls, UTG+1 folds, CO 4-bets, BTN calls, BB calls, UTG calls (thanks mr CO
Flop (19.5 SB, 4 players)

9s2h6s (fairly nice flop. spades are not particularly friendly)

BB checks, UTG checks, CO bets, Hero raises, BB folds, UTG calls, CO calls
Turn (12.8 BB, 3 players)

7c (nice ... a blank)

UTG bets (umm wtf does this donk mean? how did the 7 improve him? would he donk a set - surely you'd c/r? Maybe he's on the spade draw and waited for the turn? I am confused), CO calls, Hero calls (the donk into 2 players has put me off. I will call)
River (15.8 BB, 3 players)

Qs (bah, the flush got there)

UTG bets, CO raises, Hero calls, UTG calls (i still suspect i've got enough equity in this pot. the CO raise here seems odd since he 4 bet preflop, unless he's AKs)
Final Pot: 20.0 BB
CO shows KcQh (nice river raise muppet)
UTG shows 8c5s (ummm. wtf. f me)

UTG wins 20.0 BB ( won +14.0 BB )

I'll be taking up the offer from RakeTheRake for 50%+ rakeback at William Hill in May. I'm not expecting a huge volume again in May as I'm going to be fairly busy. Hopefully I can actually make a profit though!

Last month's goals for April

• Clear as much of my Bodog reload bonus as possible (cleared about $110ish)
• Clear the remainder of my Cake reload bonus (please give me another one Cake!!) (done, but no reload unfortunately)
• Spend some more poker points and hopefully convert some to cash (fulltilt?) Spent a few and lost :(
• Play some more Pacific if it seems fishy (Played a stack and came out fairly even)
• Maybe sign up for Noiq through RakeTheRake if their race is generous enough. (race wasn't worth taking up)

The gain of $150 for the month was made up of:

Bonuses/vip: $205

Bodog $110
Cake $20
Pacific $75

Rakeback: $100

Fulltilt $10
Cake $20
William Hill $70

Poker bankroll Interest: $50

Poker losses: ($205)

For May the goals in order of priority are:

• Clear as much of my Bodog reload bonus as possible
• Take advantage of the 50%+ rakeback at William Hill for May through RakeTheRake
• Spend some more poker points and hopefully convert some to cash (fulltilt?)
• Play some more Pacific if it seems fishy

Current bankroll: $17,400
April time played: 24h

March 2009 Summary

Just when I thought it was safe to get back onto the tables after a relatively poor January followed by a half decent February, i've managed to go even worse in March for my worst monthly result to date. The shots at Bodog $4/8 left my bankroll on that site crippled, and my monthly results in tatters.

However, with a bit of luck and a super hot run on Pacific, I managed to recover some of those losses. Add in the double rakeback on Interpoker, my great reaload with Bodog (through RakeBackStat) and I still managed to end the month in the black. Just. $100 up, although i'm still about $100 short of my all time high that I reached earlier in the month - however I am very confident of getting back there in the very near future as I believe I am still playing quite well.

Interestingly enough, my BB/100 on Bodog $1/2 is still positive after finally getting out of negative territory last month. $4/8 is running at a super cold -10BB/100 over about 1,200 hands. Ugly.

Last month's goals for March

• Clear as much of my Bodog reload bonus as possible (cleared approx $200)
• Clear a chunk of my Cake reload bonus (cleared $60ish to qualify for the freeroll)
  Play a heap of Interpoker - DOUBLE rakeback month! RakeTheRake (about $120 RB)
• Spend some more poker points and hopefully convert some to cash (used my Stars points to try to get into ANZPT. Busted out.)
• Possibly purchase the Pacific hand grabber to play there (done)
• Maybe look for a new bonus to chase (haven't taken one up yet. May do Noiq through RakeTheRake if they do another generous rake race)

The gain of $100 for the month was made up of:

Bonuses/vip: $270

• Bodog $200
• Cake $40
• Pacific $30

Rakeback: $160

• Interpoker $120
• Fulltilt $10
• Cake $20
• William Hill $10

Poker bankroll Interest: $50

Poker losses: ($380)

For April the goals in order of priority are:

• Clear as much of my Bodog reload bonus as possible
• Clear the remainder of my Cake reload bonus (please give me another one Cake!!)
• Spend some more poker points and hopefully convert some to cash (fulltilt?)
• Play some more Pacific if it seems fishy
• Maybe sign up for Noiq through RakeTheRake if their race is generous enough.

Current bankroll: $17,250

February 2009 summary

Coming off my worst month to date in January, it was a pretty slow start to the month with little volume and fairly flat results. The last week or so has seen a pretty decent recovery, winning probably a couple hundred BBs at Bodog $1/2, a few BBs at Bodog $4/8, and reasonable gains on Cake from $1/2 through to $3/6.

My main achievement for the month was finally getting my Bodog $1/2 BB/100 back to positive ... after 24,000 hands. It was also good to actually win a few BBs when taking a shot at $4/8.

Overall though, fairly low volume for February, and i'm not expecting a huge volume in March either. Not really concerned though, i'm in no rush.

Last month's goals for February:

• Clear as much of my Bodog reload bonus as possible (Cleared $180ish)
• Clear a chunk of my Cake reload bonus (Cleared $40 - enough to qualify for the freeroll)
• Clear my monthly interpoker bonus (just finished it today)
• Play some William hill when interpoker runs out for the 60% February rakeback (didn't get to it as I only just finished Interpoker)
• Work out whether the Ladbrokes rake race is worth it in Feb. (it wasn't)
• Spend some more poker points and hopefully convert some to cash (fulltilt?) (didn't get round to it)
• Possibly purchase the Pacific hand grabber to play there (didn't have time)
• Work out whether to keep playing on Sun (played a little whilst i'm on 40% rakeback)

The gain of $950 for the month was made up of:

Bonuses/VIP: $300

• Bodog: $160
• Interpoker: $90
• Cake: $40
• Sun: $10

Rakeback: $100

• Fulltilt: $20
• Interpoker: $60
• Cake: $20

Poker bankroll Interest: $50

Poker winnings / (losses): $500

For March the goals in order of priority are:

• Clear as much of my Bodog reload bonus as possible
• Clear a chunk of my Cake reload bonus
• Play a heap of Interpoker - DOUBLE rakeback this month! RakeTheRake
• Spend some more poker points and hopefully convert some to cash (fulltilt?)
• Possibly purchase the Pacific hand grabber to play there
• Maybe look for a new bonus to chase

Current bankroll: $17,150

January summary

Well, that's my worst result for a month so far where the 275BB downswing on Bodog has been pretty ugly, and add a -10BB/100 run on Ladbrokes for the month, and its never going to be a record breaking performance.

That being said, i've still made a profit for the month of $400, so I am actually fairly happy still. My volume for the month was probably also pretty low and may not increase much in February either by the looks.

I'd like to say there were some highlights for the month, but there were few and they were far between. Probably the most satisfying was Cake support giving me a reload on the weekend, when I hadn't actually been included in the promotion. Thanks cake!

Last month's goals for January:

• Clear as much of my Bodog reload bonus as possible (try to get closer to taking another shot at $4/8). Cleared about $160ish, but got slaughtered at the tables
• Finish my remaining Cake reload bonus. done
• Clear my monthly interpoker bonus. done
• Spend some more poker points and hopefully convert some to cash. spent 500 stars fpps and bubbled
• Possibly purchase the Pacific hand grabber to play there. not yet
• Pray for another Cake reload ... and don’t screw it up this time. Got one thanks to support, and didn't screw it up
• Maybe sign up for another kickback bonus through PSO Signed up for ladbrokes through Boogster

The gain of $400 for the month was made up of:

Bonuses/VIP: $500

• Bodog: $160
• Interpoker: $50
• Cake: $10
• Ladbrokes: $280

Rakeback: $120 (wow that is really not much volume ...)

• Cake: $20
• Fulltilt: $40
• Interpoker: $30
• Sun: $30

Poker bankroll Interest: $60

Poker winnings / (losses): ($280)

For February the goals in order of priority are:

• Clear as much of my Bodog reload bonus as possible
• Clear a chunk of my Cake reload bonus
• Clear my monthly interpoker bonus
• Play some William hill when interpoker runs out for the 60% February rakeback
• Work out whether the Ladbrokes rake race is worth it in Feb. Probably not though as they have changed the prize structure
• Spend some more poker points and hopefully convert some to cash (fulltilt?)
• Possibly purchase the Pacific hand grabber to play there
• Work out whether to keep playing on Sun

Current bankroll: $16,200

2009 goals

Time to start thinking of some goals for the next year. I'm thinking I will put in a similar or maybe slightly lower volume next year, so around the 5,000 hands per month or so.

Overall I think i'm getting things reasonably right at the moment, so I thought i'd split my goals for next year into things that I want make sure that I keep doing and others will be on what I want to achieve.

Maintenance goals: (a continuation of what i'm doing now)

• Results: Average approx $1k per month total return (inc rakeback). I will be more than happy with a bankroll of $26k by the end of 2009, with half of that offline in some income earning investment. Ideally it would be good to produce this result with fewer hours played at higher stakes
• Discipline: Only play on loose tables where I have good position on either a fish or maniac
• Discipline: Play within my bankroll and keep tracking results
• Bonus chasing: Find at least one other long term site to play on (even if it a site I currently use on an irregular basis)
• Bonus chasing: Continue to research and take up the best bonus deals to maximise my return
• Research: Continue to check 2p2 and other forums a minimum of weekly for bonuses or specific site news and play advice
• Research: check out other's blogs
• Motivation: Maintain motivation through occasionally mixing it up with freerolls and double up sitngos.
• Motivation: Do not push myself to play when I don't feel like it.

Specific site reload goals:

• Play the Bodog monthly reloads until conditions change making them not worthwhile
• Play the interpoker monthly bonuses until crypto is no longer EV+.
• Take up the cake reloads whenever offered.
• Pray for a fulltilt reload bonus .. I mean come on .. once every couple years sux.

New Goals:

• Tournaments: Finally tabling at least two freerolls (mainly for the practice). Although having this goal probably won't change whether I do or don't enter tourneys. Affiliate tourneys always appear to be good value.
• Reading: Have a read of the harrington tourney books so that I can at least see the reasoning of why i'm making particular moves and apply it consistently
• Stakes: Get back into more $3/6 tables and at least take a couple shots at $4/8 on Bodog (and with any luck stay permanently there!)
• Results: Improve my BB/100 by focussing more on seat selection than I did last year
• Other: Am I going to get into no limit cash games? Doubt it.
• Tracking: Get round to converting my PT database to SQL ...

2008 in review

Highlights

Well, how did 2008 start? Poorly. 31 December 2007 I had been playing for almost 6 months and had built my bankroll up to $2,658 after taking off my inital deposit which was actually $800. On the 1st of January I then managed to lose 50BBs on the $1/2 tables, and then on the 2nd I lost another 50BBs, which meant i'd lost almost 10% of my bankroll in two days. January did turn around though and ended up boosting my bankroll by nearly 50%.

In February I decided to start this blog which seemed like a good idea at the time. I should actually look back through those first few posts where I talked about table selection, bankroll management, rakeback/bonuses, reading material and software.

April saw me fire up a few of the double up sitngos just for a bit of a changeup from cash. I still play them from time to time today, although obviously still play mostly cash.

May was my best month in terms of total return ($1,750) where I had a decent heater on the tables for table winnings of $1,200. Even then one third of my return was from rakeback/bonuses.

June I scored my most bonuses in thanks to a juicy Littlewoods bonus and rake race. I actually lost at the tables that month to the tune of $670, but made $1,820 in bonus cash, so it still ended up being a pretty good month. A real cooler compared to May though.

August turned out to be my worst month of the year, as my cooler continued and I dropped another $460 on the tables. Partly this was due to a shot at $4/8 on bodog where I got slaughtered. Accidently played an orbit of NL400, and ended up winning my largest ever pot at the time of $191 when my pocket 4s turned trips. Rakeback/bonuses kept my return positive for the month. I guess its easy to see why you need to have a good deal or two going.

November turned out to be a fairly ordinary month results wise again, and was again due to taking another shot at Bodog. It could have been a disaster but I won my biggest ever pot of $281 when I hit the nut flush on a paired board on the $4/8 tables. November does contain a couple of important posts for me to revisit though - attributes for a successful poker player, and long term poker goals.

December saw the WBCOOP, where I actually qualified for the final, and made it into the prizes .. just. Took another shot at Bodog $4/8, and managed to fail again, although a late turnaround averted complete disaster.

2008 also saw me implement a withdrawal strategy to make sure I do get something out of the effort I put in. At the moment i've withdrawn about $8k, and am simply withdrawing $1k for every $2k my bankroll increases. I still do keep it as bankroll but i'm unlikely to call upon it.

The year also saw me find a bunch of fellow bloggers who are a great read and often post useful comments when i've played like a muppet. Cheers guys, and good luck in 2009.

Overall Results

I finished the year with a bankroll of $15,800, so all up a gain of $13,100ish - which to me is more than I could have expected at the start of the year as a low volume casual player. About 1/3 of my winnings have come from the tables and about 2/3 from rakeback/bonuses.

Bonuses cleared

• Fulltilt iron man year end bonus from 2007 + rakeback - RakeTheRake
• Pacific sign up + more - RakeBackStat
• Interpoker sign up plus monthly no deposit plus rakeback - RakeTheRake
• Bodog monthly reloads - RakeBackStat
• Ultimate free cash kickback - PSO
• Mansion kickback - Rakeaway RakeAway
• GNUF kickback - PSO
• Sun monthly no deposit plus rakeback - RakeTheRake
• Party poker various reloads
• Littlewoods huge sign up + rake race + rakeback - RakeTheRake
• Cake reloads - Raketherake
• Pokertime kickback - rakeaway
• Pokerstars kickback - PSO
• William Hill - sign up bonus + rakeback - RakeTheRake
• Everest kickback - PSO
• Chan poker (rip) kickback - PSO
• 24 poker kickback - Rakeaway
• Pokerroom kickback - PSO

Regular sites - actively playing on now

• Cake (RakeTheRake)
• Bodog (RakeBackStat)
• Interpoker (RakeTheRake)
• Fulltilt (RakeTheRake)

Regular sites - deals that I could and do use from time to time

• Pacific (RakeBackStat)

Current bankroll: $15,800