Hi guys,

finally we have sunshine in Germany - so I start in this new week very motivated.

Last week I didn't play much poker, because I used most of my time to read...the new HOC 1. I mostly finished it, and I have to say that it is a fantastic read! I love the way he writes and thinks about this game. But the most important thing is: he lets YOU think about the game! Another interesting thing is that he sometimes gives very different advices from our cash game heroes at CR - so it is an inspiring, funny read.

There was only one little problem: the read was THAT inspiring that I sat down at 3 100NL 6-max-tables and played 2 hours - after that I lost nearly 5 BI's! Obviously I couldn't really switch from HU to 6-max without big trouble. Guess what: hand values change dramatically! :)

So yesterday evening I had a pretty nice HU session where I could build my BR back from where I started the week - it is $ 3.550,30 right now.

So I really want to mix some 6-max in - but obviously I should refresh a little bit by watching some of SBRugbys 6-max vids which I will do this week while continuing to read the great HOC books.

Have a great week, good luck at the tables

Michael

Hi guys,

I am really excited, cause today I got my copies of HOC Volumes 1&2. I loved his tournament books - and I eagerly awaited his cashgame-books. So tonight, while my fianc© has a painting course, I will use the time and start reading. I've heard a lot of good things about these books, so let's see.

I am also very proud that I got a private message from a reader of my blog - so I hope to become an even more active part of the CR community. To all the others out there: feel free to do the same! Send me a message or write a comment on an entry.

Btw: my BR right now is $ 3.544.10. Obviously I am very satisfied with this development.

Cheers,

Michael

I lost money, so how can it be that I am proud?

Simple answer: I avoided tilt and stopped playing when I was down 1,5 BI's against an incredible luckbox. I simply quit!

And guess what: it felt great!!!! Great to consciously make the right decision!!! This could hopefully be a key moment in having more success than ever.

Have a nice week

Michael

Hi guys,

during the last 4 days I proved again that the thing I should really worry about is tilt and money management - my game seems to be pretty ok, at least for these low limits.

What happened? In the last 4 days I more than doubled my BR again playing $55-SnG's and 50-100 NL HU. Now my roll is $3.218,45!!

The amazing thing is that I also had some real coolers in the last days - which means that (at least in my opinion) I am not just insanely running hot. I simply feel that I am a better player than most of the guys at these levels. That said, I may be a better player, but not a more successful player - because if I am not able to play in my limits and have good roll management my skill level means absolutely nothing.

In the fantastic book "The Poker Mindset" the authors bring up the great thought that it is much more difficult to play good poker than to practice good money management (cause there are only 1 or 2 guidelines that you have to follow) - yet this is the place where most of us struggle. And me so much included...

A promise: unless I have a roll of over $ 4.000, I wont move to higher SnG's or 200 NL HU. Instead I will keep on grinding, even if I should lose. And: my stop-loss of 2 BI's for HU-play is back in business - after I completely ruined my roll by not following my own guideline the last time (read below for interest).

While grinding I plan to go back to 6-max cash-games. So far I try to check out, whom of the new middle-stakes-teachers I like most. So I will check out vids of TannenJ, Fabian and SilentAssassin and after this I will decide which teacher to watch (any opinion about this topic is highly appreciated). But playing 6-max is not on my agenda until I have at least a little over $4.000 in my roll.

This weekend I will not be able to give away my roll, cause I will travel to Bratislava, where the godchild of my fianc© will be christened. This is gonna be very exciting, left alone cause I just speak 5 words of Slovakian. :)

Have a great time and a nice weekend

Michael

Last Friday I suffered because of a thing that I wanted to leave behind with this blog: MASSIVE TILT!!!

What happened? I played 100 NL HU against a terrible player with 85/15 stats who called me down with any kind of trash - believe me, he was really weak. Problem was: he sucked out on me every single hand, I just couldnt count anymore how often I was the favourite until the river when he hit the miracle card in a big pot.

So I was down 2 buy-ins...and you probably already guess what happened. Of course I didnt quit (remember how I proudly presented my stop-loss-rule?!), but thought that I can win back my money from this donk. 2 hours later I was down 10 buy-ins when he left the table. :-((

Of course I didnt stop playing for a walk or similar clever things - instead I played on massively tilting - and on the end of Friday I lost all my winnings and was back at my initial $1500. Will I ever learn?

So hopefully this was definitely the last time such a thing happened - I was back at square one, grinding again the $33 SnG's and 50 NL HU. Right now after playing 3 hours I am back at $1850 and can hopefully tell about some successes again the upcoming days. But neverever all my strenghts and weaknesses as a player came out that clear than in the last 2 weeks.

So, wish me the best of self control and making good decisions.

Have a nice week, cheers

Michael

Not long ago (4-5 hours) I did an entry which now has to be updated...

cause a few HU Cash-tables and 4 SnG's later my rush continues:

$ 3.573,73 !!!!!!!!!

After cherishing tonight and hoping for a miracle, as I am a great supporter of Schalke 04, who plays Barcelona tonight and needs to win there, I am talking and thinking about new playing levels.

Cheerio

Michael

BR: $ 2.725,88 !!!!

I am running especially well in the $60 SnG's - my HU-play seems a little rusty. I am much too often making my favorite mistake: I marked a player as calling station, but do nevertheless try to push this player out of a pot. Or to put it in other words: my reads are good, but I do not follow them always, which is obviously pretty stupid for my part. Yes, they are calling down much too lightly with trash, BUT I KNOW IT!!! So hopefully the way is: leak noticed -> leak stopped. We'll see...

Overall I will still keep playing the same limits, cause I want to keep grinding and NEVER EVER AGAIN play much above my roll.

It's so great to nearly double my roll in just 8 days...but I think it is simply cause I make some decisions right.

Btw: I wanna mix some other games in - so I probably try to learn some PLO and LHE - more about this in my next blog.

See you

Michael

Hi guys,

the first 3 days went pretty well overall. My BR grew up to $1987,48, which is pretty nice, cause I am only able to play about 2-3 hours/day.

Alas, the way there was pretty tough as I had a horrible first day including losing every coinflip, losing flopped set against flopped straight - simply the stuff we do all know so damn well. But I managed not to tilt, not to do some crazy things...I just kept on playing, making good decisions (at least I hope so) - and surely I had some nice winnings.

Things that I found out:

1. Most of my profit comes from SnG's - cause they are a lot of fun right now. I rewatched all videos of Jackal69 and I really do feel able to grind them.

2. It is much better for me to play only 2 tables instead of 3 or 4. This is simply a matter of concentration and my ability to read other players. I do not play like a robot but rather prefer to be able to make some good reads - and for me this is impossible playing more than 2 tables.

3. I think I will give $55 SnG's a short try. Being a consistent winner with over 30 BI's I think I can give it a shot - should my BR fall under $ 1800, I will stop this immediately.

Have a nice weekend - see you soon!

Hi everybody!

First of all a few words about me as a person and poker player:

I am a 37 years old (since March 21st) lawyer who is living in Germany. In the middle of the last year I started my own business. Since last November I do also have a fianc© which cuts my possible poker playing times even more. :)

As a poker player, I started playing LHE about 3 years ago. I am a chess player - and for a chess player this game promised to be a nice bonus income. Besides that, I always loved the mixture of logic, psychology and luck that makes this game so so great. About 18 months ago I switched to NLHE, cause everyone did. :)

I focused on tournaments first, cause I had the time and I always was a very competitive one. And the best thing: I have been a winning player, but couldnt build up a nice roll, cause I tried to support my living. However, things changed because of my new lack of time playing poker and due to CR-videos, where I could study the beauty of cash games, especially HU. Also I do still like tourneys, but had to switch to SnG's.

So - why do I start this blog? Because I want to control myself and I want to be controlled by you! There are 2 very simple reasons why I am such a better tourney than cash player: TILT and bad bankroll management! When I am on a dry spell I tend to "speed up" the winnings by moving higher without being properly rolled. I know that this is a special form of tilt, but this is my weakest point. From a theoretical point of view I could be a great player (and I probably am *lol*) - I watched so many great videos, read great books and I am an intelligent guy overall. And, guess what: because you are CR-members, I think that a lot of you are ticking the same way.

My plan:

1. Today I will really start by zero! I will transfer $1500 into my 2 accounts on PokerStars and FTP ($750 each) - then I will start playing $50 NL HU and $22-33 SnG's. I know that some of you might think that I am not properly rolled - but believe me that I can beat these games! Should my roll fall beyond $ 1200, I will move down for sure.

2. As often as I can I will share my progresses that I hopefully will make with you. I think that this can help me a lot because it will prevent me from making stupid jumps in limits. Hopefully it can also help you, cause I do believe that a lot of you out there have to deal with the exact same problem than me.

3. Should I be able to let my BR grow, I will share my thoughts with you about moving up in limits - but this does not matter now, cause - as I told you - I dont wanna make the same mistake over and over again.

Maybe, if I find some readers, I can also mix in some personal stories - but for now, this should be a blog mainly about building a roll, avoiding tilt and good BR management. Oh, by the way: for my HU cash-games I do set a stop-loss of 2 buy-in's (which is $100 now). Sad, but true: I need things like that - cause I am not the beloved Taylor Caby, who has that great emotional control.

Cheers guys and girls, until soon

Michael