My Ignition poker goal

[River_Phoenix]

Ok so I’ve been playing since about 2016 on this site and have built many a bankroll and lost it due to learning what it takes to actually become a winning player. In 2017 I hit the royal flush with bonus money on video poker and had a bankroll of about 1800 dollars when I completed rollover that I quickly lost because I was still new to poker and did not understand that I could not play 100 dollar zoom games at my skill level (aiyee aiyeee ayiee!). Fast forward four years of studying and playing the game.

I put in 50 last week and have bust several times due to a rough start (being rusty) some bad beats and tilt. After a few more deposits I’m now for the first time in the positive a good amount so I’m going to track my progress and how I do things. This is mostly for myself but if it helps anyone else good.

The Strategy:

I’ll be mostly 4 tabling cash games at something like 1/15th of the bankroll with a few tournaments added in. This was the strategy I used last year when I successfully ran 25 dollars into 800. It works because cash games have much weaker players than zone.

The WORST thing that can happen will be moving up in stakes before I reach the correct amount of buy-ins. (due to boredom or playing too much). This leads to going on tilt and donking off bank rolls. This is the kryptonite to our process.

That being said it’s pretty much just a grind to reach the goal:
To have a large enough bankroll to play 50NL, which should be around 1000 dollars.
Our goal in reality is only to win about 11 dollars a day! Sounds easy right?

SO HERES OUR LIST

1. Only play with 1/15th of the money, moving BACK down if reach 1/13th after moving up.

2. Stay away from ZONE poker for the time being.

3. Quit playing when I am sick of playing, I don’t need to be in a rush. When you spend 7 or 8 hours winning 300bbs and then you lose them to people sucking out on you 3 times in a row (happens quiet frequently) You are break even and you don’t feel like playing for pennies anymore. It’s so easy to move up stakes here. I will quit playing when I’m tempted to move up stakes too soon.

4. Keep track of each section and when possible analyze hands (I probably won’t do much of this or use the HUD until 25NL.) I am downloading all of my hands and importing them into drive HUD.

5. Not going to share preflop charts or strategies or just yet but I will in the future if I do well so that other people may benefit.

I will be honest about wins and losses and if I go bust well then I will just put that down and that will be that. The main focus will be discipline.

Anyway. Let’s begin.

DAY 1 - 05/16/2020

4 tables 5nl Cash 6 Max Texas Hold Em.

Start: $50
End: $83

Buy Ins: 16

Move to 10NL @: $150

---

This was a small session I played today and I quickly within about an hour or two increased the bankroll by 30 dollars. No hands really stand out as interesting was just running good. Not finished playing but I will update tomorrow. First time I am confident I have enough leverage to not bust and make this post. Don’t plan on losing 16 buy ins at 5nl so I think we’re good! From here on out it is smooth sailing. I am completely convinced that as long as I don’t play above the bankroll we will reach the goal easily.

[player1]

right on man will be watching
i play those tables so i am sure we will be bumping heads

dont stack me ok?
let me stack u ok?

[River_Phoenix]

I’m warning you I’m a monster but if you see someone with a 500bb stack just believe me when I got all in and you’ll be good ;p jkjk.

[River_Phoenix]

DAY 2
5 nl ZONE
Start: $80
End: $96
Move to 10NL: $150

Still playing but this is where I am now.

Ok so I woke up this morning and broke one of my own rules which is don’t play zone but I was in a hurry so I decided since I’m well in buy ins at 17 and ITS SATURDAY I would go ahead and go for it.

Well the first hand I ran into aces vs AQs and got stacked. Idk why I called the all in I guess I was in a gambling mood. But luckily for me I just waited a few hours later and the MANIACS came on. First hand I had 98s in the BB. Flop comes 989. Not a bad flop for 98. So I checked to the raiser and he came with a c-bet which I flat called. A heart on the turn putting a flush on the board so I check again hoping he’s got a flush. He puts in a second strong bet (wee) I flat and the turn is… A NINE!!! So I’m like wow and I check again since he’s showing strength he has something I suppose and he goes all in. So I’m up 100bb and then these kept coming from people playing spew game.

I played about 50 or 60 hands more and was at 26 dollars, mostly due to people betting into me when I had something like aces or two pair. Saturdays are the best days for building bank rolls! People really just bet bet bet whether they have it or not, so the strategy is to just play ABC poker. Bet when you have it fold when you don’t. Sometimes I’m folding top pair to all ins because even if they are bluffing me off my AK with A. It doesn’t matter because when I have something like two pair, they are going to get stacked because they’re betting their stacks into me regardless. Anyway I won’t ramble about strategy I’m sure ya’ll know these basics.

Here’s a hand where I 3-bet a bad hand J5s due to being in position with deep stacks. I really should be suited to the ace here if I want his whole stack but if I play carefully I pick up a lot of these hands. This is where I start playing real poker. I missed completely and decided that since he only has to fold to an all in 1/3 of the time for me to break even and there’s possible flushes and full houses, I went all in as a bluff, and picked up an almost 100bb pot.

Here I am putting in a 3 bet against the cut-off due to being deep stacked with a suited hand that’s not good enough to call. He folded. Stay tuned! Getting close to the 100 mark. Last time I did this when I got to 25NL the money started shooting up to 1000 very quickly. I don’t expect to take 90 days but I just gave myself that time limit to take pressure off myself.

[huskerpoker]

Do you give poker lessons?

[player1]

so i moved up stakes to hide from you tell me when you move up so i can go back down to 5nl.

[River_Phoenix]

I wouldn’t mind giving you some help if you need it. You can email me john.brandon.hunter1986@gmail.com

Bankroll at $122. Still only day 2.
Thanks for listening guys.

I am running phenomenal right now, haven’t gotten sucked out on once today. But I think a lot of the reason it is going so quickly is the lack of folding and bluffing that the 5NL players are doing. If the hand you’re playing doesn’t match the board and the person is showing aggression, you just have to give it up, regardless if you think they are bullying you. I think the mentality is “Oh well I’m not going to let you push me around or bluff me” But you just have to let yourself be bluffed sometimes or you’re gonna lose stacks. Sometimes I will put in a raise with nothing if the person is just getting out of control but usually I am just letting it go because eventually I’m going to actually have it when they try this and they’re gonna get stacked where I’ve only been losing a few BB from having to fold flop.

I feel sorry for this guy, I don’t think he could get away from this cause but he shouldn’t be in a 3 bet pot with 87 anyway.

Screenshot (1)|690x388

Here is an example of a small blind squeeze which is hugely profitable from BB and SB. From the small blind I have no bluffs but from the big blind there are some suited marginals I’m doing it with as well. I bet pot + 1bb for every player in the pot + 1bb if I’m in the small blind. I’m not afraid to share this because there’s really no way to exploit me. Everyone folded and I pick up 10bb or so.

[River_Phoenix]

Okay I have to post about this guy because it is hilarious. So I was sitting at a table and this guy keeps stacking everyone like he’s at 500bb just stacking people with ridiculous garbage hands. Like he makes ridiculous open sizes and as far as folding to a three or four bet preflop forget about it cause he doesn’t do that. The flop will come something like A32 with the turn another 3 he’ll call all the way down 3 streets and flip over like 63 off. Anyway I decided to close my other tables and focus on stacking him because he’s up to 25$ and I need it LOL.

I waited patiently until I got a good hand. I didn’t need aces or anything I’m planning on trying to get him all in preflop with 99+ or top pair top kicker because he’s just going ape shit. (he’ll put his entire stack into a .50 cent pot which is never a good play under any circumstances that can naturally happen in poker I’m pretty sure.)

Anyway I ended up getting him twice all in and he left the table broke. I didn’t get ALL of it because a couple other people got him for 100bb but I got like 400bb off him which is great for the bankroll.

?!?!?!? I was expecting at least an ace.
So I got a double up and now we have the same stack size so I only need to stack him once more. We’re both at about 250bb now.

Then about 5 minutes later he donkshoves the flop… I have to call even with weak kicker.

?!?!?!? AGAIN ?!?!?!??!

LOL I guess T8 off is just this guys favorite hand or something. Anyway he left the table and we’re at $130 only 20 dollars away from moving up stakes I think this is going to be a cakewalk up until 25NL. 25NL gets a little more difficult but you will see people doing things like this up until like 200NL which they may even do it at higher stakes idk I havent played higher than 200NL yet but I imagine that they do. Which is why we have to be patient and conserve our stacks!

When that 10 came out on the turn though… I was just like don’t you do it to me. I mean I would probably have had to laugh/cry if that other 8 hit the river.

[player1]

nothing scarier for me than having a super donk on a heater immediately on the left

[River_Phoenix]

Lol bro I almost gave up the mission cause I was card dead and I’m like man he’s on the left of me. But after seeing him just shove his whole stack into .50 cent pots I was like nah what am I playing for if I don’t play against this guy.

The T8 is hilarious. “Hmm no draw…no overs either…wait hold on am I holding T8 off???
ALL IN. Suck it loser.”

[player1]

he shoved $14.00 into .50 and you called with ace7?

[River_Phoenix]

Nah he was doing that in other pots in that one I had squeezed a bunch of limpers and he flat called. Then I C-bet and he shoved on me.

No other circumstances would I call with A7, I’m usually throwing away AK to a shove from a solid player on the flop.

[player1]

i like all the screen shots of the action
a word has a 1000 pictures in it or something

[player1]

yeah 6max cash tables are so much softer than zone

you can just see it by the number of limpers between them.

anyway enjoying the story
gl

[River_Phoenix]

Lol so I think this same guy is on another table and basically the same thing is happening. He’s on another heater up to like 30 dollars, going all in with like j4 off. He’s making all his opens 10bb.
I stack him once then I go all in with AJ against him and then

This happens.!

SUPER DONK HEATER MODE
Lol @ 125$ still playing him.

[player1]

i remember this one guy just kept shoving preflop started the table with 1.50 and kept doubling up.

he wouldnt fold all in every single hands and he got up to like 30 bucks

won hand after hand was so sick

but by the end of it he lost his 1.50

lol

[River_Phoenix]

I kept playing I ended up breaking even against him but someone else stacked him for everything and he left. I know it was the same guy.

Anyway it’s like 5:30 AM so I’m out end of day two. Tomorrow will be good Sundays are pretty much like Saturday.

UPDATE: Bankroll is $153 and I’m about to pass out on myself so I’m going to bed.
Now moving up to 10NL, I already opened a table and it’s pretty much the same game so, hasta manana.

At like $132

[River_Phoenix]

I accidently put the wrong picture up. He stacked me for 200bb all in preflop with 34 off.

[River_Phoenix]

DAY 3
Begin $150
End $73
NL10 Hold Em

Moved up to 10NL. Took a major hit. It’s very difficult to play these stakes due to the wide variety of players. It’s very hard to know who is shoving garbage and who isn’t. I was wrong 2 times and then 2 or 3 times I got it in with a high pair and ran into a higher pair. So I’m moving back to 5NL. Still at 20 buy ins so no worries there. It is just very boring but that’s what I expected. I hate microstakes to be honest with you. It’s the most frustrating and unchallenging part of the game but I gotta get through it. Will update in the morning.

I am just going on tilt really hard because it’s so ridiculous when on like four tables you’re putting in HUGE bets with the best hand and they’re just flat call flat calling all the way down and hitting 2 pair and flushes with trash offsuit hands. You literally cannot do anything but get your money in good. I wanna shoot these people sometimes. I need to chill, because I can’t be paying them off like this when they’re on their little donk heaters. Another thing that is annoying is when people have one dollar in the game, and they keep using their time banks and making stupid min check raises for no reason. Why are you wasting everyones time? Put some money in the game or get the xxws out. Then you finally stack them and what’s your reward? ONE DOLLAR. Please just leave the game and go play play money if you’re only going to play with 1 dollar. I mean I know it’s microstakes but come on be reasonable.

What are your thoughts. Do I just play the top 7% hands or what? It feels stupid. I mean if they don’t care what hands they play, why should I care? Lol. Jk.

This is where the discipline will come in. :[
Run bad not helping. I’ve lost 2 full all ins preflop with QQ vs AK. This is not abnormal but nothing is going good tonight. not hurting the bankroll badly yet because it’s 5nl. Had I stayed at 10NL I would have went on tilt and went bust for sure. Maybe it is best to play Zone because of the fact that you’re playing a little more solid players you don’t go on tilt as much?

[player1]

most the time i 4x 5nl micro cash games

took a break from grinding for a day or so

figured i would try some zone

4x zone tables 5nl and 10nl

grinded about 4.5 hours anddddddd

lost 30 bucks : (

yeah zone is super hard and fastttt super stresssss
but i like it hard and fast sometimes
but i think i have to go back down to slow and easy

some of my highlights
ako in the bb vs button with AA all in preflop lost $12.00
ako utg vs co with AA all in preflop board turns to full heart flush split pot(looks great for ev)

my AA’s never found ak preflop all in but they did find KK and win
then my KK found AA and lost

my jj found aa but my aa didnt find jj preflop all in
jj also found set of 2’s on over pair board

my tt found aa mid vs btn all in preflop
my aa never found tt all in preflop

maybe i will try 1 more round and rip a 100 bucks see if i can hold my ground on these zone tables