Hella Hold'em

I've been donking around on Full Tilt with my last twenty bucks, trying my damnedest to clear my bonus before I run out of money. It has not been a profitable $100 deposit for me. No sir, it has not. I've been down to my last $3 three separate times this week. I'm sitting at $14.35 right now.

I'd sit down and analyze my play, but at the $.05/.10 NL tables, where the average VPIP is around 48%, there just isn't much analysis to be done. I'm playing at a shockingly loose 27-29% VPIP at these tables (that's supposed to be funny - the fact that that's loose for me). I switched from limit to NL when I got under the $10 mark, hoping for the big double-up score.

Why did I switch back to limit, anyway? I was doing well at the NL ring games. Ahh yes, it was the WPBT Vegas trip. Playing limit in the casinos made me want to play limit online. Is there such a thing as a person who prefers limit live, but NL online? 'Cuz I think that might be me. How is that possible? However, if I plan to move up in limits (which I do), I see myself playing limit in the future. Does that mean I should quit playing all things NL? Or can I reasonably be decent at both but specialize in one?

Aren't I just a basket of questions today?

I'm really enjoying Sklansky/Malmuth's "Small Stakes Hold'em" book. It isn't rocket science, and all of the stuff about calculating odds and outs and whatnot is already familiar to me, but the application of those concepts to small stakes limit games is - fascinating? Or dead-on true? I'm not sure - but it all "fits." What I'm most enthralled with is the discussion of how to play draws and how to loosen up starting hand requirements but in a way that gives a positive expected value - and not just +EV according to the books for the "pro's" but in a way that has +EV when playing against opponents who play too many hands and hold on to those hands for too long. It's a very specific book for specific circumstances - the circumstances I play in right now. I'm really enjoying it.

Another thing that has been flailing around in my brain today... speaking specifically of limit poker, what sort of rules of thumb exist for maintaining a bankroll appropriate for the limit you play at? And, somewhat related, using just your bankroll and play limits as guides, when should you move up? I've read in a few places that you should have 200 big bets in your bankroll to play at any level. So let's say I start at $.50/1.00. If the 200 big bet rule is in force, I should keep $200 in my bankroll at all times. If I want to move up to $1/2, I'd need $400 in my bankroll. $2/4 = $800. Is that right? Too conservative? Too much? What's a good ballpark? For NL, I've read that 20 buy in's is a comfortable minimum bankroll for a limit. So, at $100NL, you'd want $2,000 in your bankroll. At $25NL, you'd want at least $500. Are these numbers about right? What's your experience?

Of course, there's the issue of being skilled enough to play at higher levels, yada yada yada. I'm not thinking along those lines - I'm just thinking in terms of bankroll management.

(Not that I'm moving anywhere with the $14.35 in my online bankroll....)

My sweet win at Potawatomi ended up paying my car insurance bill this month. Not quite as fun as reinvesting it into poker, but kick ass considering I paid a bill with other people's money.

I'm still itching to play more live poker. Randy and I have got to get out to Trump soon. Baz is having all the fun without us!

In other news, I sold my first couple t-shirts! LOL! I don't know who bought them, but it was my favorite - the F*cking River t-shirt. I bought one for myself the other day - the baseball jersey style. That's why I started making those things in the first place. I amuse myself. :)

Elsewhere in the blogsphere... you should definitely go read Otis' latest post. Holy shit. Just go read it.