That’s life. I’ve lost it all, all $12.15 in one night. This post is going to be short because I’m demoralized and don’t particularly feel thrilled with letting everyone know my folly. There are definitely things to be learned, though.

I let my pride get to me. I bought in to a cash game for $2 and quickly went up to $6. I should have quit there. That’s lesson #1. I need to decide when I am going to stand up from a table before I sit down. In the early stages of this journey, if I ever get a few bucks again, I will stand up from a table if I triple my buy-in before having a bankroll of $30. If you think this is too much or too little, comment and let me know.

I ended up getting knocked out… my first time getting knocked out in a cash game on Full Tilt Poker. I think that bruised my pride a bit so I bought in again, and then again… and you know the story. That’s lesson #2. Until I have $30 in my bankroll, I will only buy in to one $2 cash game per day. At least that will draw out my chances and keep me patient.

Lastly, I made a lot of stupid calls, really stupid calls. Lesson #3. Play smart and relatively tight, especially on a Friday night when it seems more people play loose. I tried to push people out when I shouldn’t have and I stayed in on hands that were obviously not good enough. Why? Probably because I thought that $12.15 was a big enough buffer to recover even if I made a few risky moves. The problem is I was so careless that, before I knew it, I was down to my last few dollars and then it was nerve racking all over again. Sure, I went up and down and probably should have stood up from the table once I recovered some of my money, but there it is again, lesson #1.

I’m pissed… at myself.

Now that I’ve finally won $2 in a freeroll tournament, I must say that I was deathly afraid when I found out the minimum buy-in for the $0.05/$0.10 tables is $2. The prospect of going back to fighting through a five hour long tournament, especially when I’m only really available to play the one starting at 10:40 PM, makes me cringe. Playing at the continuous running cash games at my leisure is a privilege I don’t want to lose. That’s why I was more nervous playing my first $0.05/$0.10 table than when I play $20 buy-in tournaments with my friends. My hands got cold and I got fidgety. I knew that once I put in the big blind to start playing, I was obligated to play until I broke even or better. Otherwise, back to the 5 hour hell I’ve been trying to get out of for the past month.

I played exactly 2 hands. The first I was dealt a Q5 offsuit. The river was J4J and everyone checked. The turn came up a 5 and someone bet out $0.20 in front of me. I raised it to $0.65 and everyone folded after me. The second I was dealt A7 offsuit, not a particularly strong hand. 3 people called the $0.10 and the flop came 9T9. Everyone checked and the turn came up a J, with no matching suits on the board. Someone bet out $0.20 and I called, along with the other player. The river came up an 8, giving me a straight. Everyone stayed in after a bet and raise to $1.50. I ended up splitting the pot with another player who also had A7 in the hole. I stood up from the table with $3.60 and celebrated my first step forward.

Tonight, I bought in for $2 and played with the intention not to lose more than $1.60 so that I would be able sit down at one more table in the future if I wasn’t doing well. Fortunately, I ended up winning several decent hands and one big one for $11.10. This was my second step forward. Now I have a little breathing room.

Here’s how that big hand played out.

Full Tilt Poker Game #8629331474: Table Glen – $0.05/$0.10 – Pot Limit Hold’em – 21:12:31 ET – 2008/10/23
Seat 1: JohnnyJ0811 ($2.60)
Seat 2: Lovethislife ($12.10)
Seat 3: villain77 ($7.40)
Seat 4: JohnnyWalker133 ($10)
Seat 5: girish133 ($4.70)
Seat 6: paranlbm ($1.70)
Seat 7: Andre Tat2 ($3.15)
Seat 8: shelle529 ($0), is sitting out
Seat 9: pippy8 ($8.75)
Andre Tat2 posts the small blind of $0.05
pippy8 posts the big blind of $0.10
JohnnyWalker133 posts $0.10
The button is in seat #6
shelle529 stands up
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to girish133 [Ad Qc]
JohnnyJ0811 folds
Lovethislife folds
villain77 folds
JohnnyWalker133 raises to $0.20
girish133 calls $0.20
paranlbm folds
Andre Tat2 calls $0.15
pippy8 folds
*** FLOP *** [6d Td Ac]
Andre Tat2 has 15 seconds left to act
Andre Tat2 checks
JohnnyWalker133 bets $0.70
girish133 calls $0.70
Andre Tat2 calls $0.70
*** TURN *** [6d Td Ac] [Tc]
Andre Tat2 has 15 seconds left to act
Andre Tat2 checks
gadamer1 sits down
gadamer1 adds $10
JohnnyWalker133 has 15 seconds left to act
JohnnyWalker133 bets $0.10
girish133 has 15 seconds left to act
girish133 raises to $1
Andre Tat2 calls $1
JohnnyWalker133 raises to $1.90
girish133 calls $0.90
Andre Tat2 calls $0.90
*** RIVER *** [6d Td Ac Tc] [8h]
Andre Tat2 has 15 seconds left to act
Andre Tat2 checks
JohnnyWalker133 bets $7.20, and is all in
girish133 calls $1.90, and is all in
Andre Tat2 folds
Uncalled bet of $5.30 returned to JohnnyWalker133
*** SHOW DOWN ***
JohnnyWalker133 shows [2c Ah] two pair, Aces and Tens
girish133 shows [Ad Qc] two pair, Aces and Tens
girish133 wins the pot ($11.10) with two pair, Aces and Tens
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $12.30 | Rake $1.20
Board: [6d Td Ac Tc 8h]
Seat 1: JohnnyJ0811 didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 2: Lovethislife didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 3: villain77 didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 4: JohnnyWalker133 showed [2c Ah] and lost with two pair, Aces and Tens
Seat 5: girish133 showed [Ad Qc] and won ($11.10) with two pair, Aces and Tens
Seat 6: paranlbm (button) didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 7: Andre Tat2 (small blind) folded on the River
Seat 8: shelle529 is sitting out
Seat 9: pippy8 (big blind) folded before the Flop

On Monday morning… very early morning, I placed 10th in a Full Tilt Poker No Limit Hold’em Freeroll Tournament and won $2. It only took 5 hours to win $2. That’s $0.40/hr. But I must say, it was worth it.

First of all, any early tournament strategy I entertained before was irrelavant considering the fact that I dozed off several times during the first 2 hours of play. I don’t know how many hands I played, but I do remember getting lucky on a few. Then I perked up. I think it was after I won some larger pots, which made me think this could be it. I ended up winning some really big pots after that and jumped my standing to 3rd out of approximately 200 players. I had just over $100,000 in chips. Once I was in this position, I figured I must really suck if I couldn’t place in the money.

I played conservatively at this point, but still lost a relatively large pot to bring my chip total down to approximately $80,000. Once we thinned out to about 50 players, things really slowed to a crawl. Everyone was just trying to get into the final 27.

There was one guy who sat next to me all the way to the very end who survived simply by waiting out his timer and folding almost every hand. He went all in on a very few hands, which replenished his stack enough to stay alive. People at our table caught on and also ran out their timers for each hand in order to slow our table’s games. Fortunately, there wasn’t anyone who got pissed or annoyed at this strategy. In fact, the chip leaders joined in to help out the short stacks at our table. In the end, everyone actually placed in the money. One guy placed 27th with approximately $1,500 in chips left and one spot away from the big blind. All because everyone at our table helped by slowing game play. The guy who sat next to me who started the whole thing ended up lasting longer than me, which means he made more than $2 and placed within the top 9. Amazing.

The only regret I have is my last hand, not because of the calls I made but because I was being greedy. I was thinking about how I could get in position to compete for first place, while I should have been thinking about how much more than $2 I could win so as to create a bigger starting buffer for myself. The size of my stack indicated that I was most likely not going to be able to compete for 1st place. I should have waited patiently so I could squeeze a few dollars more from the tournament by finishing in the top 9. Instead, I went all in on an A7 against an A8 and finished in 10th place. Oh well.

Here is the last hand I played.

Full Tilt Poker Game #8572449044: $100 Freeroll (65195985), Table 172 – 10000/20000 Ante 2500 – No Limit Hold’em – 4:48:31 ET – 2008/10/20
tattoo764 has returned
Seat 1: CyberSleuth (609,850)
Seat 4: tattoo764 (52,216), is sitting out
Seat 5: girish133 (142,926)
Seat 6: djSiCkDoG (44,488)
Seat 8: Monsters4 (374,338)
CyberSleuth antes 2,500
tattoo764 antes 2,500
girish133 antes 2,500
djSiCkDoG antes 2,500
Monsters4 antes 2,500
tattoo764 posts the small blind of 10,000
girish133 posts the big blind of 20,000
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to girish133 [7s Ah]
djSiCkDoG has 15 seconds left to act
djSiCkDoG has requested TIME
djSiCkDoG is sitting out
djSiCkDoG has timed out
djSiCkDoG folds
Monsters4 folds
djSiCkDoG has returned
CyberSleuth raises to 40,000
tattoo764 has 15 seconds left to act
tattoo764 folds
girish133 calls 20,000
*** FLOP *** [3s 9h 3d]
girish133 bets 100,426, and is all in
CyberSleuth calls 100,426
girish133 shows [7s Ah]
CyberSleuth shows [8d As]
*** TURN *** [3s 9h 3d] [8c]
*** RIVER *** [3s 9h 3d 8c] [7d]
girish133 shows two pair, Sevens and Threes
CyberSleuth shows two pair, Eights and Threes
CyberSleuth wins the pot (303,352) with two pair, Eights and Threes
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 303,352 | Rake 0
Board: [3s 9h 3d 8c 7d]
Seat 1: CyberSleuth showed [8d As] and won (303,352) with two pair, Eights and Threes
Seat 4: tattoo764 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: girish133 (big blind) showed [7s Ah] and lost with two pair, Sevens and Threes
Seat 6: djSiCkDoG folded before the Flop
Seat 8: Monsters4 folded before the Flop

So I played two tournaments this weekend and felt like either one could have been the one. I’ve made an adjustment to my earlier stated strategy in that I decided not to take many risks in the early stages of the tournament. They just don’t pay off.

I still play a lot of hands in the early game while the blinds are small and I’m still learning how to capitalize on big hands. When my hand seems overwhelmingly stronger than an opponent’s hand, it is very difficult to get as much from them as I can.

On Friday, I ended up in 56th place. On Sunday, I ended up in 205th place.

Here’s a brief recap of Friday’s tournament. Basically, I had an average to low stack throughout and fought tooth and nail until the end. It was quite fun trying to stay alive. Normally I hate being in that position, but I think it was a good learning experience on being patient even when backed into a corner.

198/387 $7,235
209/355 $6,440
205/313 $6,715
179/266 $8,040
178/223 $6,790
137/212 $10,740
136/180 $10,660
135/165 $9,010
115/143 $10,210
65/139 $24,120 (won this with AJ top pair vs QJ all in)
73/108 $18,495
60/95 $24,995
62/77 $14,295
54/69 $17,095
56/59 $5,845 (blinds were very large so I went all in on KQ)
56

On Sunday, I got ahead in chips but lost on what I thought were reasonable hands. Perhaps if someone wants to comment on them to let me know how you think I should have played them differently.

145/461 $11,025
77/346 $17,230
145/219 $10,134 (lost several thousand after betting the pot after the river with KK55 and lost to 10-A straight)
(Then lost the remainder of my stack AAQQ to a flush draw on the river)
205

Here’s the two big losing hands from Sunday.

Full Tilt Poker Game #8368935845: $100 Freeroll (63559025), Table 9 – 200/400 Ante 50 – No Limit Hold’em – 1:39:09 ET – 2008/10/06
Seat 1: gleidsonds (59,852)
Seat 2: splash it (59,033)
Seat 3: Brian50 (24,851)
Seat 4: girish133 (15,140)
Seat 5: mvpmike1973 (4,520)
Seat 6: radishes (26,356)
Seat 7: kjfootball5 (5,128)
Seat 8: foxynana (13,000)
Seat 9: trum1172 (8,897)
gleidsonds antes 50
splash it antes 50
Brian50 antes 50
girish133 antes 50
mvpmike1973 antes 50
radishes antes 50
kjfootball5 antes 50
foxynana antes 50
trum1172 antes 50
Brian50 posts the small blind of 200
girish133 posts the big blind of 400
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to girish133 [5h Kc]
mvpmike1973 folds
radishes folds
kjfootball5 calls 400
foxynana calls 400
trum1172 has 15 seconds left to act
trum1172 folds
gleidsonds calls 400
splash it calls 400
Brian50 folds
girish133 checks
*** FLOP *** [Jh 5c 3s]
girish133 checks
kjfootball5 checks
foxynana checks
gleidsonds checks
splash it checks
*** TURN *** [Jh 5c 3s] [Th]
girish133 has 15 seconds left to act
girish133 bets 400
kjfootball5 calls 400
foxynana calls 400
gleidsonds calls 400
splash it calls 400
*** RIVER *** [Jh 5c 3s Th] [Kd]
girish133 has 15 seconds left to act
girish133 bets 4,650
kjfootball5 calls 4,278, and is all in
foxynana folds
gleidsonds calls 4,650
splash it folds
*** SHOW DOWN ***
girish133 shows [5h Kc] two pair, Kings and Fives
gleidsonds mucks
girish133 wins the side pot (744) with two pair, Kings and Fives
kjfootball5 shows [Qd Ah] a straight, Ace high
kjfootball5 wins the main pot (17,484) with a straight, Ace high
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 18,228 Main pot 17,484. Side pot 744. | Rake 0
Board: [Jh 5c 3s Th Kd]
Seat 1: gleidsonds mucked [9d Kh] – a pair of Kings
Seat 2: splash it (button) folded on the River
Seat 3: Brian50 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: girish133 (big blind) showed [5h Kc] and won (744) with two pair, Kings and Fives
Seat 5: mvpmike1973 folded before the Flop
Seat 6: radishes folded before the Flop
Seat 7: kjfootball5 showed [Qd Ah] and won (17,484) with
Seat 8: foxynana folded on the River
Seat 9: trum1172 folded before the Flop

Full Tilt Poker Game #8368991278: $100 Freeroll (63559025), Table 9 – 200/400 Ante 50 – No Limit Hold’em – 1:45:25 ET – 2008/10/06
Seat 1: gleidsonds (52,552)
Seat 2: splash it (60,783)
Seat 3: Brian50 (14,804)
Seat 4: girish133 (10,584)
Seat 5: ufo-research (9,716)
Seat 6: radishes (24,906)
Seat 7: kjfootball5 (16,684)
Seat 8: JimJen (40,736)
Seat 9: trum1172 (24,564)
gleidsonds antes 50
splash it antes 50
Brian50 antes 50
girish133 antes 50
ufo-research antes 50
radishes antes 50
kjfootball5 antes 50
trum1172 antes 50
trum1172 posts the small blind of 200
gleidsonds posts the big blind of 400
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to girish133 [Qh As]
splash it folds
Brian50 has 15 seconds left to act
Brian50 calls 400
girish133 calls 400
ufo-research folds
radishes raises to 1,600
kjfootball5 folds
trum1172 folds
gleidsonds folds
Brian50 calls 1,200
girish133 calls 1,200
*** FLOP *** [Qc 7c Ac]
Brian50 has 15 seconds left to act
Brian50 bets 2,800
girish133 raises to 8,934, and is all in
radishes folds
Brian50 calls 6,134
girish133 shows [Qh As]
Brian50 shows [Tc Ad]
*** TURN *** [Qc 7c Ac] [8s]
*** RIVER *** [Qc 7c Ac 8s] [2c]
girish133 shows two pair, Aces and Queens
Brian50 shows a flush, Ace high
Brian50 wins the pot (23,668) with a flush, Ace high
girish133 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 23,668 | Rake 0
Board: [Qc 7c Ac 8s 2c]
Seat 1: gleidsonds (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: splash it folded before the Flop
Seat 3: Brian50 showed [Tc Ad] and won (23,668) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 4: girish133 showed [Qh As] and lost with two pair, Aces and Queens
Seat 5: ufo-research folded before the Flop
Seat 6: radishes folded on the Flop
Seat 7: kjfootball5 (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 8: JimJen is sitting out
Seat 9: trum1172 (small blind) folded before the Flop

It is quite difficult to find the time to get in enough Full Tilt Poker freeroll tournaments for a chance to win a few bucks to get the ball rolling on this long road ahead of me. I was on vacation last weekend I’ve settled into trying to play two freeroll poker tournaments each day. If you get the chance, and you have a Full Tilt Poker account, drop by one of the following daily tournaments and say hello. I use the same alias, girish133.

Pot Limit Omaha Hi @ 10:40 PM EST
No Limit Texas Holdem @ 11:40 PM EST

I’ve been unwilling to put in the hours to give my all in these tournaments so I’ve been making impatient bets and calls. I have to hunker down so I can at least get some momentum going on this challenge.

It’s been 5 days since we started this experiment and I’ve been trying to get off the ground. I imagine this will be the hardest part and will take the longest time. Basically, I have to place in the top 27 of a 2700 freeroll tournament or win consecutive sit & gos to get some money to work with. That is no easy task.

I will have to play often so that getting over the initial hump will not take several months. Honestly, I feel like I’m trying to start a bike going uphill in 10th gear. I’ll get a little movement in a tournament but will easily topple over because I have no momentum. It’s a long road ahead of me just looking to make a buck.

Here are the payouts for the 2700 player tournaments:

1st: $15
2nd: $12
3rd: $9
4th: $7
5th: $6
6th: $5
7th: $4
8th & 9th: $3
10th – 27th: $2

So, the first order of action is to choose the poker site we’re going to use to build our bankroll. We’ve decided to use Full Tilt Poker.

Here’s why:

1. Checking it out and comparing it to the few other poker sites we’ve used, it seems to have the best freeroll options for building a poker bankroll from $0.
2. It is one of the more popular sites with a good number of professionals playing on it, ensuring its reliability and increasing the chances of crossing paths with one of the greats.
3. It runs via Wine on Linux, which is a must since one of us uses Linux exclusively.
4. It’s what Chris Ferguson used.