A new adventure.
I have played Full Tilt Poker with mixed success. I have won nearly $1700 in tournaments. I get in the money about 23% of the time. It's not a bad average. But, then I lose money playing other games and I withdraw money. Lately, my winning has been outpacing my loses. I have been withdrawing money, but usually in small increments. When I lose my stakes at FTP, I will invest $50 and play again. This has been going on for about a month. Well, after about a month, I have withdrawn more than I have put in. So, I am ahead. In fact, I usually withdraw after I break a certain amount of money.
There's a phenomenon called "The Cashout Curse". When you cash out, the theory goes, you will receive lots of bad beats to punish you for removing your money. Well, in contrast to that curse, I have been withdrawing small amounts of money for a few weeks without the curse coming to haunt me. Now, don't get me wrong, I do get bad beats but they aren't any worse than I was getting before I started withdrawing money.
With a number of withdrawals from the site, I have decided to keep my money online. I am going to start pushing higher limits to see if I can grow that amount to something larger that I have ever withdrawn.
Here's my goal:
1. I am going to play mainly heads up matches.
They start at $2, then $5, $10, $20, $30, $50, $100, $200 on up. I will be focusing my efforts on the $10+. I will vary the amount based upon my mood, my bankroll and previous wins and losses.
2. I will play the occasional multi-table tournament.
I will play them, depending on my mood and bankroll. I will not play them for more than 10% of my bankroll. I will try to limit them to no more than 5% of my bankroll. The strategy is to win a satellite to get into a bigger tournament.
3. I will play cash games with up to 20% of my bankroll.
Again, if you listen to the Pros, I should limit my games to 10% of my bankroll. 20% is the upper limit, 10% is the goal. Starting out, it may be hard to play 10%, which puts me into the micro limits. At those stakes, the play can be extremely loose and crazy. I would rather play for slightly larger amounts.
I will not be playing many Sit and Go tournaments. They can be very volatile. And my semi-recent experience leads me to avoiding it for the time being.
Here's a breakdown of my recent play:
Starting on Jan 14th, here's information broken out:
| 21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 52.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
5.25
|
2
|
1
|
$100
|
|
10.75 Heads Up
Shootout
|
10.75
|
4
|
2
|
--
|
| 21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
$33 + $1.50 Heads
Up Sit & Go
|
34.5
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| $33 + $1.50
Heads Up Sit & Go
|
34.5
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 31.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
31.5
|
2
|
1
|
$60
|
|
31.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
3.15
|
2
|
1
|
$60
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
$10 + $1 KO Sit
& Go
|
11
|
90
|
81
|
--
|
| 3.30 KO Sit
& Go
|
3.3
|
90
|
60
|
--
|
| 21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 52.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
52.5
|
2
|
1
|
$100
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 52.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
52.5
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 31.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
31.5
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 31.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
31.5
|
2
|
1
|
$60
|
|
31.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
31.5
|
2
|
1
|
$60
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
31.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
31.5
|
2
|
1
|
$60
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 31.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
31.5
|
2
|
1
|
$60
|
|
10.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
10.5
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 10.75 Heads Up
Shootout
|
10.75
|
4
|
3
|
--
|
| 10.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
10.5
|
2
|
1
|
$20
|
|
10.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
10.5
|
2
|
1
|
$20
|
|
52.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
52.5
|
2
|
1
|
$100
|
|
10.75 Heads Up
Shootout
|
10.75
|
4
|
1
|
$40
|
|
31.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
31.5
|
2
|
1
|
$60
|
|
$26 Token Frenzy
|
6.5
|
177
|
131
|
--
|
| 10.75 Heads Up
Shootout
|
10.75
|
4
|
2
|
--
|
| 21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
10.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
10.5
|
2
|
1
|
$20
|
|
10.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
10.5
|
2
|
1
|
$20
|
|
31.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
31.5
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 31.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
31.5
|
2
|
1
|
$60
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 5.50 Sit &
Go
|
5.5
|
9
|
5
|
--
|
| 21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
31.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
31.5
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
31.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
31.5
|
2
|
1
|
$60
|
|
31.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
31.5
|
2
|
1
|
$60
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
10.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
10.5
|
2
|
1
|
$20
|
|
10.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
10.5
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 10.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
10.5
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 10.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
10.5
|
2
|
1
|
$20
|
|
5.25 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
5.25
|
2
|
1
|
$10
|
|
10.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
10.5
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 10.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
10.5
|
2
|
1
|
$20
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
52.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
52.5
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 31.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
31.5
|
2
|
1
|
$60
|
|
10.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
10.5
|
2
|
1
|
$20
|
|
10.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
10.5
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 10.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
10.5
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 3.30 KO Sit
& Go
|
3.3
|
90
|
42
|
--
|
| 31.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
31.5
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 21 Heads Up Sit
& Go
|
21
|
2
|
1
|
$40
|
|
10.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
10.5
|
2
|
1
|
$20
|
|
$26 Token Frenzy
|
6.5
|
160
|
131
|
--
|
| 10.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
10.5
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 10.75 Heads Up
Shootout
|
10.75
|
4
|
3
|
--
|
| 10.50 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
10.5
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 1.25 Sit &
Go (Turbo)
|
1.25
|
9
|
5
|
--
|
| 2.15 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
2.15
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 2.15 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
2.15
|
2
|
2
|
--
|
| 2.15 Heads Up
Sit & Go
|
2.15
|
2
|
1
|
$4
|
|
|
|
As you can see, I am doing better than average. I am better than break even. This also includes amounts I have put into MTT.
I will keep a tally here showing my progress.