Going Well

Have to work on my blog titles, didn't know what to call this.  It is an update, but that is to broad of a title.  "Going Well" is accurate and will have to do.

Made the first complete pass through the Upswing lab and put it into practice.  The bankroll went all the way down to $50 dollar, maybe less, before I started to turn it around.  Per the previous post, I dropped down to 20nl but I felt like that level wasn't sustainable.  There weren't enough games, rake was very high, and I felt like the players, including myself, didn't care enough about the stakes to play correctly.  So I redeposited to take advantage of the sites' matching deposit bonus and allow myself to play 50nl without fear of going broke each session.  This turned out to be a good decision because they reduced the deposit bonus the next month and it did give me the comfort level to play 50nl.  Disregarding the redeposit, I built the bankroll back up to ~$425.  Proud of myself for not actually needing the new funds except for mental comfort.  Still in the hole but digging out. 

I strayed from my core plan of cash games and lost money on tournaments and even took a ill-advised shot at 100nl.  I played some free and $1 tournaments without much luck.  I bubbled on 2 tournaments that actually paid some money but almost doesn't count.  The play and my mental state for these cheap tournaments was the same when I played 20nl.  All in to build a stack and I got bored so I punted off my stack half way through the tournament.  To make myself care about the tournament, I played a more expensive one with bigger payouts.  I have to say it worked.  I tried harder and was running an average stack most of the time.  As we got closer to the money I lost AK against AQ when he flopped and turned a Q.  Had I won the hand, I most likely would have made the money.  My 100nl shot is much the same.  AK against 53.  He turned 2 pair on a A high board and I called him down for half my stack.  Without these expensive learning experiences I would be doing even better.

After thinking about my goals, I decided to play only 50nl cash games until I get back to break even.  A free tournament is fine but not even a $1 tournament and no shots at 100nl until then.  I will also start my second pass of the Upswing Lab.  Reinforcing what I learned and picking up any information I missed or didn't absorb the first time.  I want to keep the momentum going and stay focused.  I am seeing improvement in my game but I am not even back to break even  Now is not the time to slack off.