Maiden Voyage
Before I get started, let me say I had no idea how hard this would be and how much I need to have a solid bankroll management strategy.
That's right folks. I busted out.
I'm chaulking it up to falling prey to impatience and not knowing when to quit. So there I am, with my dollar looking for a $0.01-$0.02 table (man, this is going to be real riveting journalism). I hate playing short-handed so I tried to find a mostly-full table. I found one with 8 players and an average pot size of around $0.30-0.40 and sat down. The average stack size was around $1.80 with stacks ranging from $0.30 to $3.50. Almost anyone at the table could put me all in at any point so I was careful with my starting hands.
After about half an hour, I was up about $0.50. Doesn't sound like much, but it did constitute a 50% increase in my bankroll. Had I been smart, I would have stood up and hit the sack. Unfortunately, I didn't know when to quit. After a string of cold cards punctuated with good hands that led to some bad beats, I was down to about two bits. Now I'm playing with scared money. And it shows. The bigger stacks are looking at my quarter hungrily and isolating me at every opportunity. I decide to be patient and wait for a hand to push in with.
After a string of rags, I find KQh in the big blind. Not exactly a monster, but I'll take it. I push in and get 2 callers. King-rag-rag comes on the flop. I'm actually sweating at this point (hey, you try having your whole bankroll riding on a single hand). Thankfully (and uncharacteristically), the turn and river are kind to me and I scoop the $0.75 pot that the other two callers have checked down. Phew!
Once again, I should have packed it in, but I wanted to quit winners on my first night out. Half an hour of bad calls that I won't even get into and I'm busted out. Oh the shame!
A huge lesson learned: especially in the begining when I'm always so close to busting out, disciplined bankroll management is a must. Conventional wisdom states that to play at any level, your bankroll should be at least 300 big bets. Considering I'm starting with a sixth of that, I need a strategy. Chris Fergusson suggests only buying in for 5% of your bankroll (or the minimum buy-in) and always quiting once you've won 10% of your bankroll. Sounds good to me. Had I followed that advice, I'd be writing about a 10% profit instead of a humilating bust-out.
So, armed with this lesson, I'm going back to the drawing board with another dollar (hey, even Fergusson busted out on his first dollar). Stay tuned for my hopefully triumphant return.
Before I get started, let me say I had no idea how hard this would be and how much I need to have a solid bankroll management strategy.
That's right folks. I busted out.
I'm chaulking it up to falling prey to impatience and not knowing when to quit. So there I am, with my dollar looking for a $0.01-$0.02 table (man, this is going to be real riveting journalism). I hate playing short-handed so I tried to find a mostly-full table. I found one with 8 players and an average pot size of around $0.30-0.40 and sat down. The average stack size was around $1.80 with stacks ranging from $0.30 to $3.50. Almost anyone at the table could put me all in at any point so I was careful with my starting hands.
After about half an hour, I was up about $0.50. Doesn't sound like much, but it did constitute a 50% increase in my bankroll. Had I been smart, I would have stood up and hit the sack. Unfortunately, I didn't know when to quit. After a string of cold cards punctuated with good hands that led to some bad beats, I was down to about two bits. Now I'm playing with scared money. And it shows. The bigger stacks are looking at my quarter hungrily and isolating me at every opportunity. I decide to be patient and wait for a hand to push in with.
After a string of rags, I find KQh in the big blind. Not exactly a monster, but I'll take it. I push in and get 2 callers. King-rag-rag comes on the flop. I'm actually sweating at this point (hey, you try having your whole bankroll riding on a single hand). Thankfully (and uncharacteristically), the turn and river are kind to me and I scoop the $0.75 pot that the other two callers have checked down. Phew!
Once again, I should have packed it in, but I wanted to quit winners on my first night out. Half an hour of bad calls that I won't even get into and I'm busted out. Oh the shame!
A huge lesson learned: especially in the begining when I'm always so close to busting out, disciplined bankroll management is a must. Conventional wisdom states that to play at any level, your bankroll should be at least 300 big bets. Considering I'm starting with a sixth of that, I need a strategy. Chris Fergusson suggests only buying in for 5% of your bankroll (or the minimum buy-in) and always quiting once you've won 10% of your bankroll. Sounds good to me. Had I followed that advice, I'd be writing about a 10% profit instead of a humilating bust-out.
So, armed with this lesson, I'm going back to the drawing board with another dollar (hey, even Fergusson busted out on his first dollar). Stay tuned for my hopefully triumphant return.
posted by Bottom Dollar at 8:10 AM
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