Nightshopper's MTT & SNG Challenge

[nightshopper]

That is 100% correct. I take it way too seriously. At the same time I don't have the mental energy to really study the game. So that doesn't make any sense. The thing is that if I don't take it serious at all, I play without proper BRM. That's also not the way to go. So I see it as a challenge with BRM, but then I always end up putting too much pressure on myself. I find it hard to find the balance.

[FreedoM]

24 minutes ago, nightshopper said:

That is 100% correct. I take it way too seriously. At the same time I don't have the mental energy to really study the game. So that doesn't make any sense. The thing is that if I don't take it serious at all, I play without proper BRM. That's also not the way to go. So I see it as a challenge with BRM, but then I always end up putting too much pressure on myself. I find it hard to find the balance.

Just have one rule that you don't break ever, BRM. (100-200 Buy-ins for MTTs) And everything will be OK, even if you don't study and play really bad half of the time. To eliminate pressure understand you play a high variance game and you don't really need to win or cash every MTT you play. It's fine to lose, in fact, this is how the game goes no matter the format you play. Up and down like a carousel. You don't depend on this money, but if you do really well, treat it as a bonus, not a need. Your biggest focus should be to play the best you can and whatever happens, you must accept it and move on. The reality is we are the masters of our own destiny and at the same time we are our own kryptonite. We look at failure as a bad thing, but it isn't, it's a necessary step before we ascend to a greater self.

Edited January 9, 2022 by FreedoM
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[nightshopper]

Hey guys, I'm back with a new challenge! Two days ago I started with two separate bankrolls: €100 for MTT's and some SNG's with a €2 max. buy-in. Only exception is the €5 Stratosphere on Saturday cause it feels a bit like a homegame during the Twitch stream of my friend @elron66. The second €100 is for qualifiers only. When my MTT bankroll grows a bit I will put some of that money in the satty bankroll cause otherwise it will go to zero, eventually. I don't have any rules set for this, I will see how I'll do this in a logic way. Maybe I will notice this approach with two bankrolls won't work but it's worth  a try. It's a way to keep discipline on the one hand and to be able to play some MTT's with higher buy-ins on the other hand.

After two evenings these are my bankrolls:

MTT & SNG BR   96,83

SATELLITE BR    93,20

TICKET BR             6,00

 

TOTAL BR          190,03   (MTT & SNG BR + SATELLITE BR)

VIRTUAL BR      196,03   (TOTAL BR + TICKET BR)

[AbvUrPlayGrd]

Hi nightshopper

I'm new to the forum and by no means an expert. I've been trying to catch up with other peoples blogs because, well i'm nosey and find them interesting. I started reading yours on page 1 thinking that was posted this year and as I was about to reply I noticed that I was a bit late to the party.😊

I have only read page 1 and skimmed the rest until the last couple of pages because I cant read for too long, so some of what I say may no longer be relevant or helpful or whatever, so apologies in advance if that's the case or i'm crossing any lines.

When I started reading your challenge and seeing the results I was very impressed. In no time you had pretty much doubled your BR and shown great discipline. Somewhere between then and now it looks like you lost some discipline for various reasons and have had a difficult time.

What I would say is that the way you started your initial challenge was an inspiration and a stellar success. Many people could and do go months without binking a tournament of any value (if ever), let alone 3 in such a short time.

It looks like you took some shots that didn't work out and I know how that goes. I did the very same thing when I first played online and soon burnt my way through a previously good win. That was enough for me to stop playing online for years. That still doesn't stop me wanting to take shots even now, the only difference is that now i recognise it's a mistake and so I have the choice to either remain disciplined or give in to temptation. Neither will kill you but the discipline will serve you well and the temptation will lead you down the path of eventual disappointment, unless you are one of the 000000.1% that gets lucky and continues to carry that luck to a huge bink. but even some of those people will eventually blow it all.

Looking at your current challenge it seems you are maybe going to  start playing a bit high but it's not horrendous so long as you realise that its more likely that you could run out of funds before you ever win a tourney and don't beat yourself up if that happens.

With going on tilt. What I think helps more than anything is stopping when things aren't going well (guaranteed it will happen) and write about it in your blog. Even if you don't get any replies it will help you identify it and give you the time to make the right decision, especially if it takes you ages to type like me 😊 . Also as has been mentioned, playing like a robot without emotion is a great help. I struggled with that the other day because I experienced something new but when I played live that is exactly how I did it. What I noticed when I did that in live games is that it often tilted the luckbox who sucked out when I just behaved like it had never happened. It doesn't stop you feeling it inside but the fact that you can portray it on the outside reduces the effect it has on you.

The other thing I felt when reading was that you seem to approach the game much as I do. I have never been a technical player. I'm in awe of some players that are technical wizards and will always defer to their advice on that side of things. I know enough to make mathematical decisions when required but I have always and will always be a player that goes on instinct and reads before anything else. I didn't even know about the "Pluribus" experiment until I read a post about it. I only ever read a poker book to find out how others played and what I am "supposed" to do to use that to my advantage. It served me well playing live but now I need to adapt again for online and for the way poker is changing. I think your approach serves you well too and only your discipline lets you down.

I wish you well in your challenge and may even try one like yours myself soon. Whatever happens, just remember that the only pressure on you is the pressure you put on yourself. Stop and write about it if you feel you are going to slip.

Good luck!

[nightshopper]

@AbvUrPlayGrdFirst of all: thanks for your interest in my blog, thanks for reading a part of it and thanks for your reply. It's this kind of interaction that makes it worth writing. You mention that you were impressed by the first challenge and how quickly I managed to increase my BR, also showing some discipline. To be honest, when I recently checked the first part of my blog again, I was impressed too 😁 All I can think now is, how did I manage this? Probably I played well, but I also must have been on a lucky streak. That's important to realize, cause it's tempting to expect the same great results whenever I start a new challenge, like now. Expectations are enemy number one when it comes to poker, for me and for many players I believe. Expectations mean pressure, pressure means worse decisions at the table, worse decisions mean worse results.

Playing like a robot without emotion would be the key, you are right. But while live you can try to act as if taking a bad beat for much money doesn't hurt you, online there isn't this social boundary. It's much easier to allow all of these emotions when playing online. Maybe I should start my sessions with telling myself it's just a game, winning doesn't mean the world and neither does losing means the end of the world, stuff like that. I always think: why should I do that, I already know this stuff so why bother? But it's the same with going to a therapist: they often say stuff you already know, but the fact that someone else says it makes a difference. Repeating this kind of stuff for yourself might work the same way 🙂

Anyway, here are my current bankrolls. I played 5 sessions since I started July 29th, I haven't played the last 4 days cause I was on a music festival. The start wasn't great results wise, but I managed to not chase losses in any way. Keeping discipline means much to me, as you can tell from my blog, so I'm happy with that 😊

 

MTT & SNG BR   93,12 (- 3,71)

SATELLITE BR    82,80 (-10,40)

TICKET BR             5,00 ( -1,00)

 

TOTAL BR          175,92   (MTT & SNG BR + SATELLITE BR)

VIRTUAL BR      180,92   (TOTAL BR + TICKET BR)

[AbvUrPlayGrd]

Not the worst start believe me.

You know what is needed now and just need to try and stick to it. Easier said than done but you can be 100% of what happens if you don't.

Maybe just reminding yourself of that fact will be enough when it gets tough, and it will.

GL

 

[nightshopper]

Yesterday I finally had my first winning session of this challenge. I made small winnings in the MTT's thanks to a 3rd place in the Galaxy Nano, I won some tickets and also made a small profit in the SNG's. I also registered again for the 0,04 Supermoon flips and won 4 X 0,40 tickets.

I'm still not sure how I will deal with the satellite BR. If I book a big win I  could divide the winnings between the MTT/SNG and the satty BR. I don't know if I need some kind of rule for this, maybe not. Suggestions are welcome, as usual!

MTT & SNG BR 100,15 (+7,03)

SATELLITE BR    80,56 ( - 2,24)

TICKET BR             9,60 ( +4,60)

 

TOTAL BR          182,35   (MTT & SNG BR + SATELLITE BR)

VIRTUAL BR      191,95   (TOTAL BR + TICKET BR)

 

[GR1ZZL3R]

A steady start @nightshopper at least no big losses yet. 👍  It's a little awkward juggling two bankrolls especially one being for qualifiers only, but if you're interested in keeping seperate ones I'd make it more complicated 😄 and set up a spread sheet with three headings, Mtt, Sng and Qualifiers. My ticket bankroll didn't need topping up as I only tried for the live events and tickets could be broken down, but as you can't do this and need to top up the Qua roll, keep a seperate column in either or both of your other rolls to indicate withdrawals. This can be used when you top up your Qua roll or indeed with an actual withdrawal, so looking at an Mtt bankroll of €50 doesn't look as bad if you've used €60 as a top up or actual profit.😄 Keep it going. 😁

 

Edited August 9, 2022 by GR1ZZL3R

[nightshopper]

Sounds like an interesting advice, thanks @GR1ZZL3R! I added two extra columns, one to make clear that money from the MTT/SNG BR was transferred and one to make clear that money has been added to the Satty BR. But now I'm thinking it will be harder to know my actual winnings or losses in the two bankrolls. For instance when I transfer €20 from BR1 to BR2, BR1 goes down but it's gonna look like I made €20 less. I probably didn't do it in the most efficient way 😄

[GR1ZZL3R]

@nightshopper I can see the appeal of seperate bank rolls, I used to do it myself, but I find the easiest way is to have an overall br and just keep a  profit or loss in however many different projects you're running. 

 

Colour coding them gives an immediate visual wether they're in profit or loss and the details of each br can be as elaborate or simple as you choose. I record every horse I back, date, time, stake, w/l, profit or loss individually and overall, % strike rate and so on, (I have a lot of spare time) or you can simply record total profit or loss only. This also helps with the total as poker is in € and betting in £, so I only need to know the cumulative total in £. Transfers aren't really needed then.  

[FreedoM]

On 8/9/2022 at 9:10 PM, nightshopper said:

Suggestions are welcome, as usual!

I think you should merge the two Bankrolls, quit SNGs and focus on MTTs/Qualifiers.

You could go with using a 100/-25 Bankroll for MTTs and 200/-50 for Qualifiers and this is because the fields on Unibet are small and your not a noobie.

Now if you want to be more safe and practice Discipline you should probably double that.

Also maybe you shouldn't have exceptions if you truly seek Discipline. 🤔

Edited August 11, 2022 by FreedoM
Best of luck!

[nightshopper]

First of all thanks for the advice @GR1ZZL3R@FreedoM@AbvUrPlayGrdI really appreciate it. The separate bankrolls didn't really work, as you guys probably predicted 😏 So I merged the two rolls, but in my spreadsheet I  can immediately see how much I win or lose with MTT's and SNG's and how much I spend on qualifiers. 

The bad news is that I made some bad discipline decisions, caused by some bad beats, bad results and I probably had too many drinks too. As for the bad results, I got frustrated cause I bubbled my 'high roller' some days ago. I managed to win a €10 ticket, played the Dark Matter with it and bubbling this one really hurt. And I know, it's just recreational poker, it's just one tourney, it's a long term game and so on 🙂 And still I get frustrated by this stuff with discipline mistakes as a result. I should accept the fact that sometimes I make these mistakes and all I can do is move on.

The good news is that I'm making profit, thanks to some good results I had yesterday. I got 3rd in the Galaxy Omaha and I binked the 2€ Wormhole. And I got another €10 ticket, so I get a new chance in the Dark Matter. Let's go!

MTT & SNG       +67,24

SATELLITES       -42,60

 

BANKROLL        224,64

TICKET BR           11,20 

 

 

 

[GR1ZZL3R]

3 hours ago, nightshopper said:

First of all thanks for the advice @GR1ZZL3R@FreedoM@AbvUrPlayGrdI really appreciate it. The separate bankrolls didn't really work, as you guys probably predicted 😏 So I merged the two rolls, but in my spreadsheet I  can immediately see how much I win or lose with MTT's and SNG's and how much I spend on qualifiers. 

✔️ Keep on doing that. 

3 hours ago, nightshopper said:

The bad news is that I made some bad discipline decisions, caused by some bad beats, bad results and I probably had too many drinks too.

 I do the same, a lot of players do. I can go along with the decisions, beats and results, the drinking is a non negotiable no-no. Gambling and alcohol do not mix.

 ✖️ Don't do it.

3 hours ago, nightshopper said:

The good news is that I'm making profit,

✔️Keep on doing that.

[nightshopper]

I know you're right of course @GR1ZZL3R, but I like to have a drink when playing poker. Which shouldn't be a problem when it's not too much, but that particular evening  it influenced my decision making too much. The best thing would be to play my 'high rollers' during sober poker evenings and play smaller buy-ins when I drink.

The last days have been ok, with more profit and no mistakes against discipline. Yesterday I got 4th in the €5 Stratosphere, which I played with a ticket. I also was chipleading the €5 Shooting Star Bounty, I had some booties too, but due to personal circumstances I couldn't play for much longer so I shoved twice (with good hands) and suddenly I was out. Rather frustrating, but it happens. Two days ago I had a nice profit in two singularities and I also did well twice in the Sputnik Omaha Nano.

MTT & SNG      +115,69

SATELLITES        -58,92

 

BANKROLL        256,77

TICKET BR             5,20 

 

[giesahaun]

I am also a regular viewer of the Unibet poker streams on Twitch. Great entertainment.