SKLANSKY BUCKS

Well first off after a rough go with the bankroll challenge, well not too bad really, I've decided trying to do it on PokerStars is too difficult because that's where my bankroll is and where I play to make money. Also sorting the challenge games from my regular games on Stars using PokerTracker just proved extremely difficult once I moved up to the $3.40 games. So I have put it on hold for now and I will start it back up on Full Tilt the first of February. I don't have a bankroll to speak of on FTP, only about $75 and I need to start winning on there just to prove that I can and build a bankroll on there so moving the challenge to FTP just makes sense. I made around $50 in the challenge on Stars by the way.

So now for the topic of this blog, Sklansky bucks and of course variance. This has been my worst online poker month in like.... forever! No, this isn't a whine post! It happens, no one can run good all the time and it was just my turn. If you don't understand variance and learn to cope with it you'll never make it in poker.

Sklansky bucks is a really interesting way to think about variance.

The official definition of Sklansky Bucks is as follows:

"Sklansky bucks are theoretical money won or lost based on the Fundamental Theorem of Poker. The FTOP is discussed in The Theory of Poker. Basically, if you lose a hand but your opponent made mistakes, such as drawing to a flush without proper pot odds, you may lose the pot but you have earned Sklansky bucks by causing your opponent to make a mistake. On the flip side. If you are drawing without odds but you get lucky and draw out on your opponent, you win the pot, but you lose Sklansky bucks."

from: http://www.sklanskybucks.com/

So that said I am due for some serious cash out in Sklansky bucks and I will hopefully collect this weekend and improve my outcome for January. I will be playing in the Turbo Takedown on Sunday after winning my seat this month in the first satellite I played for 500 FPPS. I am working on a Sunday Million seat and this time if I win one I will be playing. So here's to breaking the Sklansky bank and cashing in those bucks.

Below is my EV graph for January the blue line is net expected won in chips and the pink line is actual chips won, so as you can see I was definitely running a bit below expected value. My Sklansky bank runneth over.

The Challenge

After more contemplation and more run bad I decided to wage my own bankroll challenge on PokerStars. Starting with $100 and building to $1000.

I am now on day 6. Things are going okay but the last couple of days have been a bit rough. This was easier the first couple of times I did it than it is now. I think I have less patience with the micro stakes and the micro payouts than I did before but I'm also trying to adhere to stricter bank roll management this time.

I hope to increase my volume during this challenge and I am striving for a minimum of 30 games per day.

Here is how it goes:

I will play only:

60%*
$1 45 man sngs

15%*
$2.20 180s

10%*
.25/.50 limit cash games (can be limit holdem, 8 game or HORSE)

15%*
$1 and $2 MTTs or non turbo MTsngs

I will drop down if I lose 1/2 of my BR (original $100) by either changing to $1.75 9 man games or dropping to $.55 45s.

*I reserve the right to change the percentages as needed, as I may decide to do only the 45s :-)

Here are the results so far:

Bankroll Challenges

Grayson Physioc aka Spacegravy is working on a $100 bankroll challenge and doing videos on his journey for PokerVT. This made me curious about my own past bankroll issues so I looked back at one of my own from last year. I was curious about how I did it and what I played so went through my PT3 to find the results.

On February 1, 2010 I was totally broke on PokerStars, I had been playing on there since August 2009 and I had done nothing but lose. I was fed up and frustrated so I declared to make my last deposit and I only deposited $30. I started winning and by the end of March I had turned $30 into $1098 and I haven't deposited since.

I just looked back through my games to see what I played and I started out with a few $1 45s and quickly moved to a combination of $3.40 9 and 10 man sngs, $3.25 45s, $2.20 180s and some $3.30 27s. I played mostly these for the first month and by the end of February my bankroll on Stars was up to $372.

In March I started adding in some $5.50 27s and 18s and an occasional $4.40 180 and continued to win. On March 19 I played the $4.40 4 max 1000 cap MTT and won it for $640. This was a very nice bankroll booster and I ended March with a bankroll up to $1098. I withdrew $500 in April for a trip to Tunica for some live poker where I won about $1000.

I owe a tremedous amount of my success in poker to PokerVT and the pros there. PokerVT is hands down the best tournament training site online.

While anyone will notice I didn't practice traditional bankroll management guidelines during these two months but the way I did it worked for me. I also didn't get in a large volume of games either. At that time I typically played only 3 tables at a time.

With patience, discipline and perseverance anyone can turn $30 into $1000 in poker if you're willing to learn.

Graphs and charts of winnings below:

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011

Well my first full year of playing poker for real money has come to an end and overall I can't complain. In March I won my first (and unfortunately last for the year) big field MTT when I took down the $4.40 4 max for $640. After a slight losing month in April I continued to finish each month with a profit until last month where I finished slightly in the red.

I've learned a lot this year and my game has improved considerably. I'm certainly not where I hope to be by this time next year but hopefully I will continue to win more and more. Poker is a never ending challenge and online poker is truly challenging. I've had moments where I just wanted to quit and moments where I never wanted to quit when things were going so well. Poker is tough roller coaster to ride but hopefully the end results will make the uphill climb well worth the struggle.

I've made some truly great poker friends and found a great support network of fellow players. I can't stress more how important it is to find others to share your love of poker with and to bounce hands and plays off of. Thanks to everyone who's made this year so great with your friendship and support.

In a few days I'll post my goals for 2011 and for this month. Right now I'm taking a bit of a break to decide which game to stick with. This has been a constant battle for me and one of the biggest hindrances to my success in poker. I truly believe specialization is the best way to become a good player but I've just struggled with finding the game for me.

Good luck to everyone in 2011! May all your poker dreams come true.