It's all about the roll.

We always say that, but yesterday i realized how important that statement is to a serious player. I just realized how i busted mine through total mismanagement and improper use. It was not the bad beats, not the downswing, but really improper bankroll management. how? When i started off playing with the roll, i would buy the full (or at least 100X bb) and play with that. After starting off with two losing sessions, I started to became afraid to buy the full amount, thinking that if the downswing continues, i would bust this roll faster than you can say "nice hand moron!".

So i started to buy less than the max, sometimes even starting short-stacked. I started to play scared. And scared money is dead money. Buying in for less than the full amount is just inviting bad beats and suckouts. I would push with great hands, ahead all the way, but get sucked out, simply because my all-in bet was too small and was easy to call.

I've started a small upswing recently, winning several games in a row and playing a solid SnG game. My confidence is up and i see the game in a new light once again. Too bad that i dont have much of a bankroll now to maneouver with. Lesson learned, although the hard way. I've come out of this experience learning a lot, and improving a lot of aspects of my game. Everyone's probably tired of hearing about my laments and whining (hey, it is still MY blog, so i can write whatever i want hehe), but at least i'm honest. A lot of people dont wanna talk about losing, and always brag about how much they've won. I approach my experiences as a way to self-disovery and to becoming better, whether it be losing or winning.

The old Zen adage comes to mind. "The harder you try, the more difficult it becomes." If you want to become a better player, forget about winning or losing. A quote from Bruce Lee says it best. "The great mistake is to anticipate the outcome of the engagement. Do not be concerned whether it ends in victory or defeat. Let nature take its course, and your tools will strike at the right moment."

Just use the edge, and when all is said and done, your results will speak for itself.

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Great game the other day, a 2-table SnG full of seasoned players with just the right mix of "unknowns" to make it interesting. The structure was a perfect turbo game, with 20 minute blinds but incremental increases that made room for some great poker and not just the usual all-in or fold game.

I personally am really happy with how i played that game, although i didnt make it ITM. First off, i won the buy-in playing a couple of hours in a ring game the day before. I made the final table with an above average stack, without having once going all-in, and without ever being in danger of elimination. I started off the game winning a big pot with a 6-5 offsuit that i raised on the button, hit absolutely nothing all the way to the river, but making the two callers fold to my constant betting. I was picking small pots left and right, no big hands or monsters, just plain solid poker. I managed to get some great cards too early on, but during the mid levels i had a really dry spell but still managed to take advantage of certain situations and certain players. Sadly, at the final table i got J-J on the BB with two callers, raised it to about 5X the BB (the blinds were big at that level), then got re-raised all-in by one of the limpers with A-K, which i naturally called. King on the turn and it was bye bye for me. My first coin toss and it had to be with the chip leader hehe. Amazingly, i had no reaction whatsoever when that King fell on the turn. It was well played and there was no reason for me to feel bad about it. What a great game!

I have to give props to the way this game was structured. Yes the levels were fast, but it was well compensated by the fact that the blinds dont just jump to double the last level. It also proved that smaller increments in the increase of the blinds dont necessarily slow down the action, as the game lasted almost the same as other regular super turbo games. There was room to raise, re-raise, make a play, but not feel pot commited. There was more post-flop play, and less showdowns and all-ins. This time, your all-in actually meant something, not just that the blinds were going to catch up on you and force you to push. I hope this becomes more of the norm rather than the exception, because it will make the games more interesting and fun to play.