New Plan: Build Bankroll from $200

I have decided to come up with a new plan: To build my bankroll from a $200 start. This plan actually came about on Saturday 3/24/07 but I haven't had a chance to write about it.

I've found that I am the type of person that excels when there is some sort of goal at hand. When things are just in limbo, I don't really work as hard as I should to make things happen. For example, before I started this blog, I wasn't too successful at poker. But once I started the blog, I wanted to post positive results, which I was able to do. Not that I was playing bad poker before on purpose, but I wasn't necessarily as focused as I should have been. I was more of a gambler and trying to be the guy that gives the bad beat instead of the guy that laughs a bad beat off.

So now I've hit another wall. I feel like I have done well in the game that I play ($200 buy-in, blinds @ $3/5). I've been profitable since I started playing it and I've learned how a majority of the players play. I'm not saying that I'm the best player at this level--I'm nowhere near it--but I do feel that I can win on a consistent basis, which means that maybe I should take a look at moving up to the next level.

Unfortunately there is a problem there for me. I have never built a poker bankroll since I started playing. I've always had bills to pay with my winnings, gone out and spent a lot of money, etc. Now I still have bills to pay but I want to build my separate poker bankroll. Earlier last week when I was (somewhat) reeling from my bad night and loss, I was thinking I would just take $40 and try to build it into a bankroll. I would start at the $40 NL table and just go up. That was my plan until Saturday when I talked myself out of it. My thinking was that if I have trained myself at the $200 table and learned a lot of the players, etc., why not start there if I have my edge in that game? I've only played the $40 a few times and I have been unsuccessful because it is a very different game than the $200 NL game. So I decided that I will take $200 and see how big I can build it. I am not restricting myself to the $200 NL game, but that is my starting amount. I will keep a running tally of it on here and see how far I can get that original $200. Who knows, I might lose it all the next time I'm at the casino.

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Day 1: $200 (starting)
Well this was Saturday, 3/24. I was going to pick my dad up at 11 am from LAX but his flight didn't end up leaving Seattle until 1045 am so I had some time to kill. I cleaned up the apartment and got some food and still had about an hour and a half until he touched down. So I headed to Hollywood Park with my $200 bankroll and decided to start the mission.

I sat down at a table around 11:45 AM, table seemed somewhat loose. I quickly went down to about $145 or so, I think I called a pre-flop raise with AK once and missed and called with a small pocket pair. I worked my way back up to like $235 with some pre-flop raising and continuation bets, then the following hand came up: I am in middle position with 55, I limp. Everyone limps. The flop comes A58 with two diamonds. I bet $15. Small blind raises me to $45 so I put him on either two pair or flush draw. The turn was another 8 and he checked to me. I really should have bet here but I checked behind him and the river was a third diamond. He bet $50 and at this point I was thinking he might have A8 so I just called and he showed 10-8. The turn was my perfect opportunity to double up and I missed it!!

Anyways my dad called and I had to leave, I came up $142 in an hour so it was a successful session.

I will start a new tally of my numbers:

Time: 1 hour
Game: $200 NL
W/L: +$142
$/HR: $142/HR.
Current Bankroll: $342