Just a Short Note

Been mixing FTP $24s, $36s and Stars $16s. Doing well in all 3, though my ROI for the $16s, at single digits, is the lowest! Sample size and variance I guess. Noticed the grinders at Stars are better and less donkish than FTP, less willing to stack off QK on a K high flop. Definitely more comfortable at FTP though the software at stars is much better; more stable, efficient, suitable for multi-tabling.

Running well this month, up by a decent amount. Will not reveal how much till end of this month, for fear of jinxing it.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all, yeah.

Hey Jason, good luck with the grind. I'm sure both of us have been so many downswings that we will learn how to cope with it. 2 words, "bankroll management"

Till next time..

professor76

FTP: Singaporeans are taking over the leaderboard!

Check out: http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/leaderboards-gateway

asiangravy and choymunfye are currently making a run for 1st on the FTP Leaderboard. asiangravy aka Jason, a sick high-stakes grinder. choymunfye, student who's on holiday, a fellow $24s Turbo-er and gunning for 2K sngs this month.

This month started well, I'm >10% ROI at the Turbo $24s for the first few days..not to jinx my hot run so far, better than the shitty last month.

Hoping to get a big fat ironman bonus next Jan '09 and also clear my BOP bonus at stars by end Jan '09.

Enough talking, Back to the tables!

professor76

October Results - Freakin' Sem-Rakeback Pro

Moved up to the FTP $24s Turbos. Was up USD$1K initially but that soon went down...and down...and posted a small profit for Oct '08.

Put in quite a bit of volume (for a part-time player!) and managed to get 10th for the FTP Leaderboard Low Limit..so that's free 6 buy-ins. :-)

No of SNGs: 1111
Profit: USD$115.39
Rakeback: USD$599.94
FTP Leaderboard bonus: USD$132 (6 x US$22)

Net Profit: US$D$847.33

Here's hoping for a more profitable November...

October - Brag Set

Moved up to the FTP $24s and doing relatively okay. The difficulty of the players between the $12s and $24s is pretty marginal and definitely beatable. Used to do badly when I moved up in the past but currently, I'm running at >10% ROI over 150 SNGs

Brag Set of 10

1st
1st
1st
1st
1st
2nd
3rd

invested: $240
returns: $594
profit: $394

Sustainable obviously, lol. :-)

Sep Results --- Miniscule ROI, miniscule profits

Aargh, was running at >10% ROI after about 300SNGs but it soon came crashing down.

FTP $12s
Total Games: 659
ROI: +2.51%
Total Profit: US$203.60
Rakeback: US$177.93

FTP $24s
Total Games: 53 (just dabbling!)
ROI: -5.32%
Total Profit: -US$64.20
Rakeback: US$28.62

Net Profit/Loss: +USD$345.95

Let's hope for a better October

professor76

Brag: Great set of 12 SNGs

No of SNGs: 12
Positions:

5 x 1st, 1 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd

invested: $144
returns: $316.80
profit: $172.80
ROI: 120%

Played about 250 SNGs for Sep. So far so good, was down about 20 buy-ins but now in the black. Let's hope the upswing continues.

August '08 Results

Poker
No of SNGs played: 1053
Profit: USD$392.40
Rakeback: USD$275 (estimated)
ROI: 3.02%

A summary of August

Profit from SNGs: USD$392.40
RakebacK: USD$275 (estimated)
SNG Madness prize: USD$12.50
SNG Madness Raffles prize: USD$535.00 (Entry to FTOPS main event)
Full Tilt Leaderboard bonus: USD$22 (2 buy-ins)
Casino bonus whoring: USD$122.65
Poker Tournament Staking: -USD$160.00

Nett: +USD$1199.55

Probably one of my best month in profit ever.

The ROI is miserable but better than last month's breakeven streak.

Aiming for >1000 SNGs and >10% ROI for September. My rakeback affiliate has 3 weekly FTP Rake race, so it seems I'll be playing there for sometime.

professor76

Short Update

I've played approximately 840 SNGs this month and up 20 buy-ins. That's a 2.38% ROI but I'm happy cuz that's coming back from 20 buy-ins down earlier this month. Also nicer than that horrid breakeven streak last month. Moreover I still believe it's definitely possible to get a ROI >10% at the FTP $12s.

Not to mention the nice "extra" from this month's SNG Madness:
USD$12.50 - SNG Madness group prize
USD$535 - SNG Madness Raffle Lucky Draw (I got entry to main event T$535 but using the T$ to buy-in for SNGs, so essentially the same)

So a quick tally

current profits: US$240
Rakeback: US$226
SNG Madness prize: US$12.50
Madness Lucky Draw: US$535

Total: US$1013.50

I'm supposed to be clearing my 2X bonus on Stars and playing the juicy games on NoIQPoker. However I'm a stubborn man and want to make >US$1K from FTP before switching.

Not going to stop playing, there's still on good weekend left. Hope to hit profit of US$500 this month, here's hoping, hoping...

Endurance and Mental Strength for Professional SNG Poker

When I first met Jason in person, we had a brief conversation about playing SNGs. Discussing about the possiblity of making more $$$ from Poker than a regular day job. Think it went like this:

Him: Oh if you can get a 10% ROI at the $60s playing 9-10 tables, 8 hours a day with rakeback, it might be possible to make more $$$ than a regular day job.
Me: Yeah
Him: So why don't you consider doing this full time.
Me: (Silent...contemplation).

Whatever has been discussed on 2+2 is true,

Poker as a part-time hobby/job = +EV.
Poker as full time job==> Needs lots of endurance and mental strength.

It's easy to read a lot, understand the theory that SNGs are high variance creatures, getting through a 20-30 or even 50 buy-in downswing is almost inevitable when you put in high volume, etc etc. Getting through it unscathed, mentally and emotionally is a different matter. One needs the correct attitude and a certain level of mental strength to handle it. Just a few days ago, i went 0 for 9 on several 60/40, 70/30 coin flips and on at least 6 of the games, I was definitely ahead. How do you like it when your aces get cracked by 6-8, "River 6, 2 pair!"

Also, how many jobs do you have where you work for 7-8 hours and lose money at the end of the day despite putting in your best effort? But that's poker, highly rewarding and fulfilling when you're running good and sucks big time when bad. The losses play on your mind and you'll need to shake it away.

Most respected SNGers agree that 1000-2000 game breakeven/losses are possible even for a very good player. You're approximately 66% confident of being within your true ROI with a 1000 games sample. Also, in a regular office job, you can chill and take it easy (eg: for a few hours) before focusing again but not for poker. Else you'll get killed by other players.

Conclusion: Therefore to turn pro, one definitely needs to make much more money than a regular day job. Take away the annual leave, medical benefits, insurance, bonuses, etc and the $$$ has better be worth it.

SNG Luck Analyser

Tried Juk's luck analyser program. Apparently it analyses your all-in situations with statistical expectations. Using Independent Chip Model (ICM), it then "adjusts" your winnings and see if you're running bad. Works by processing your hand histories and puts the data in excel sheet to plot.

Below is my graph for the last 600+ SNGs. Point to note: The graph seems to be incorrect as I'm down less than $300 whereas graph says I'm down $600. If the program is correct, it seems that I'm "running bad'?

I believe the discrepancy between my true winnings/losses versus the "Actual Winnings" in graphs might be due to disconnections(duplicate hand history files?). No idea. So it's hard to put any meaningful conclusion based on this graph. However, we might reasonably say that I'm not running good at the moment. :-)

Mid-Month Update

Freaking hell, down approximately 15 buy-ins after approximately 550 SNGs. (ROI: -3%?). At one point, I was up approximiately 5 buy-ins.

Yeah it's probably within normal variance but it still sucks. I'm still trying to hit 1000 SNGs for this month. Notice that after 3-4 sessions within the day, one tends to tire and decisions might be sub-optimal. Most importantly I feel, to maintain a healthy outlook and not let the swings affect one's emotions. Probably the most important quality of a SNG grinder.

Minimal target is at least break-even, then it's a nice FTP mid-year ironman bonus + rakeback ~= $500.
All-in!

May Results

Noiqpoker
No of SNGs played: 167 x $5.50s
profit/loss: -$33.50
ROI: -3.65%
Bonus cleared: +$10.50
VIP loyalty: +$16.40

Pokerstars
No of SNGs played: 369 x $16s
profit/loss +$117
ROI: +1.98%

Full Tilt Poker
No of SNGs played: 51 x $12s
profit/loss +$229.50
ROI: +37.5% (sustainable?)
Rakeback: +$13.77

Nett Profit from Poker (May): +$353.67
Poker-staking: -$140.80



So I played a total of 587 SNGs, not the 1K Sngs I would like. Certain events in personal life took up some time and cut back my playing time.

Overall, I'm actually quite nonchalant and okay with the results, despite the poor ROI for stars and NoIQ. Small sample size and some variance. Dropping 10 buy-ins towards the end of the month for stars, aargh.

Do think I'm a better player than previous months and getting rid of the desktop as my gaming machine helps. Laptop 15.4 inch rules!

Okay some goals for June
1)Play >= 1K SNGs for June
2)Clear the BOP USD$120 bonus on Pokerstars
3)Clear the remaining USD$590 bonus on Noiqpoker
4)Qualify for min bronze level on Full Tilt, to get the mid-year ironman bonus.

professor76poker

Why I play SNGs instead of cash / What to do with Profits

No doubt cash is probably more profitable, so I play SNGs...just because I can!

Seriously, it's more fun. That's the main reason, +EV to enjoyment and long sessions sustainability. Simply can't put in the hours (>2-3) at a cash table, maybe that'll change in the future.

If I win a decent amount from SNGs, I'd do the following:

1)Long Gold
2)Long Oil
3)Short STI (or SiMSI)
4)Short DJIA

Anyway for next month, I'll be mostly at Pokerstars clearing the BOP $120 bonus via the $6.50s and $16s and then Noiqpoker clearing the $600 deposit bonus, thanks to Jason for the recommendation. (Are you there?)

professor76poker

Poker - SNGs

Poker. SNGs. A simple game, mathematically solvable and yet unpredictable. The swings can be so demoralising at times. I do envy other SNG players who are able to grind out consistent profits, eg: manilagrind and Jason (check out their blog for details)

I have been running bad for the last 2000 SNGs. And yet ironically, I feel that I am a better player than say, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months ago. Have fixed 2 major leaks in the past few months

1)The "major" leak-disconnections
This probably cost me 3-5% ROI for a long, long time. My 5 year old desktop has been shit! The fan has been noisy and affecting my concentration. The system hangs for about 30 secs periodically, about once every 8-10 tabling session. This has clearly cost me dearly.

After switching to playing with laptop, I have been astonished at the results, hwo many impt hands I might have missed pushing due to disconnection. Even it's only been about 500 SNGs since then...I FEEL the difference.

2)The "minor" leak - ITM call
Probably I have been calling/pushing too light with Ace-Rag where Rag<5. Tightening up helps.

Though it's sick, sick, sick that I have been gettign so many 3rd places lately. Probably due to my tight game in the early-mid stage, but I still think I am a winner at the $24 FTPs. Definitely beatable.

Anyway, I really need to improve on

1)Hand Reading skill of opponents: What do they push with? When to call with A-9 on the bubble?
2)Pushing: Pushing with Ace or King Rag is probably right with BB<5 but when do I push light?

My ICM is not perfect, room for improvement but I do think I'm on the right track.

Going to finish up at least 1K SNGs this month, down about $250 at the moment with RB $380. Was down $600+ish last month, but up $150 in RB. I'll attempt to at least breakeven or even get a small profit in. As it stands

After approx 920 games (mixture of $12s and $24s)
FTP SNG Madness: +$7.50
RB: +$380 (est)
Profit/loss: -$250
FTP Leaderboard: Currently 31st, either 2-3 buy-ins profit.

Hopefully the numbers won't look so bad after this midweek. On leave on Wed, so going to grind, grind, grind!

Got to keep reminding myself, after fixing "1)", it's only been about 500 SNGs. Still lots of variance to come and hopefully run good...

professor76poker

Introduction

Hi all,

I am a part-time poker player from the Far East. Learnt about Poker from the ladbrokes web-site, started off with ladbrokes and then later Full Tilt Poker. Started off with cash, now grinding almost exclusively SNGs.

Follow me as I type my joys and frustrations with poker.