Sit N Go

I am about to start a 45 player $1.25 SNG on Full Tilt.

The first hand of the tournament I pick up 77.  I raised the pot but got 3 callers.  All over cards on the flop, so I had to ditch it.
I just picked up AA with 2 limpers in front of me and blinds at 20/40.  I raised the pot and got one caller.  I flopped top set and took down a pot of 500.
Blinds are at 20/40. I have Q9 suited and raise from middle position.  The button reraises to 960 and I have to fold.  My stack is down to 1100.  I am a middle stack at my table, but there is still plenty of play with the blinds at this level.
Blinds are now at 25/50.  I have KJ clubs in SB.  There is one limper.  I raise to 200. The big blind folds and the limper calls.  Flop is Q95.  I flopped open ended.  I bet the pot and my opponent moves all in.  I  figure that I have 11 outs and call. Opponent shows Q8 for top pair, but I hit my straight on the turn.  I double up to just over 2200.
I have 34 clubs in BB.  The cut off raises 3 times big blind and I call.  The flop misses me completely and I have to fold.
I have 8T Spades in middle position.  I raise to 175.  The button and BB both call.  The flop is AJK rainbow.  The BB bets the pot and I fold.
Blinds are now at 30/60.  I have been aggressive but this table seems to be tougher than usual. I think I am going to switch gears and tighte up.
I had Q7 diamonds on the button.  there were 4 limpers, so I called hoping to get lucky.  The flop brought 2 diamonds.  All checked to me.  I bet about 1/2 the pot.  and get one caller.  The turn is a K.  Check, Check. River is a blank.  Opponent checks and I bluff about 1/3 the pot and he folds.  I now have about 2100 in chips. 
The table is very unbalanced at the moment.  Chip leader has 6800 chips, I am 2nd with 2100 and everyone else has under 1000.  Should make for an interesting table dynamic.
The unbalanced table didnt last long.  We just got 2 new players with average stacks.  Blinds are now 40/80.
I havent picked up a playable hand for a few rounds now and my stack has been blinded down to 1900.  I am going to have to chip up soon to avoid getting too short as the blinds are now at 50/100.
I just had 66 on the button with 3 limpers ahead of me.  I limp also and the flop brings no help.  I had to fold.  Maybe I should have raised big and punished the limpers preflop.
One hand later, I pick up 89 suited in the cutoff.  I raise this time and take down the pot.  I now have 2000 in chips, I am holding steady, but need to increase my stack before the blinds get too big.  They are now at 60/120. 
I am in the BB and have QQ.  I decide that if I get raised I am just moving in.  The button raises to 500 (as he has done my last 3 BB's) and I move in.  He shows KQ.  I am in great shape to double up.  He fails to improve and I now have 4000 in chips.
I have AQ and there is one limper (the opponent from  previous hand).  I raise to 720 and he calls.  Flop is 256.  I bet the pot and he calls.  Check, check on the turn.  He moves all in on the river.  I think about calling as I am sure he is steaming from the last hand.  I finally decide to fold as he had me covered and he showed his bluff, K9.  I now have about 2400 in chips.
I just changed tables.  Maybe I will be able to push this table around a little more than the last.  I pick up K9 my first hand at this table in middle position with one limper ahead of me.  I decide to just move in and take down the pot.
Blinds are now at 100/200, so I need to chip up VERY SOON!! I have about 2700 in chips, so only about 9 rounds.  This table loves to limp, so maybe I can make some big raises in position.
I am in the cutoff with A5 suited.  one limper ahead of me.  I raise to 700 and take it down.  I am now at 3000 in chips.
I just made a move with A8 suited and was called by the BB with QQ.  He doubled up and I now have 1300 in chips.  I am in big trouble.  Blinds are at 120/240. 
Any A or any 2 face cards and I am moving in.
The last 3 hands were 25, 26, 28.  Things areen't looking too good.  I have been blinded down to 1000.
I moved in on the button with T5 and took it down.  Next hand I picked up 44.  I moved in and was called by KJ.  44 held up and I now have a little breathing room with 3100 in chips. 
Blinds are now 150/300 and players are dropping fast.   
I was in BB with T7 spades.  Button limped, SB folded.  Flop was J6K with 2 spades.  I moved in for 2700.  Button tanked and finally called with J9 for a pair of J's. I failed to improve and busted out in 15th place.  I think it was the right move to put the decision on him, it just didn't work out this time.
My account balance is now $59.63.  I am up $9.63 from my starting balance.

Lost a little, but I'm still ahead.

Last night I played in "The Ferguson" on Full Tilt.  It is a $1 tournament that usually attracts over 1200 players.   I had AA vs JJ.  We got all the money in preflop and my opponent flopped a set.  I was eliminated in 1027th place.  I also played in another 45 player $1.25 SNG.  I made the final table, but was a short stack and it didn't take long to bust out.  I wasn't able to post as many details on these 2 tournies as usual due to trying to get a 3 year old to sleep between hands.
I also played a little .01/.02 NL last night. 
My account balance is at $60.63, down a little from my prior sessions, but still up from my starting balance.

$1.25 SNG 45 Players

I am about to start a $1.25 SNG at Full Tilt. I will update my notes here as the action happens. Wish me luck!!



The table is fairly tight so far. The blinds are at 15/30. I made pot sized raises preflop with K9 and KT and been able to pick up the blinds. In the big blind I had 93 suited. The pot was limped around, I checked and I flopped bottom 2 pair with 2 spades on board. I made pot sized bets all the way and was able to pick up a nice pot.



With blinds at 20/40, I picked up JJ on the button, no callers in front of me. I made a pot sized raise and took down the blinds. I thought about slow playing it, but thought better of it. I hate JJ.

Blinds are still at 20/40 and I have 66 in middle position. No callers in front of me, so I made pot sized raise. SB and BB both called. Of course the flop brought three over cards. SB bet, BB called, and I folded.

Blinds are at 25/50 and I have been successful in taking down several small pots that nobody else seemed interested in. Hopefully the table will keep allowing me to do this. I am chip leader at the table and would like to stay that way. At the break, I have 3320 in chips. Next closest at my table has 2930.

The tables were just balanced and I had to move. I was hoping to stay at that table, but so be it. I will have to feel the new one out. Hopefully it is as weak as the last. At least I am still table chip leader, so at the moment I am comfortable.

So far, I am not dissappointed with my new table. I have managed to take down a couple of healthy pots with complete air. I think I will tighten up a bit for a couple of rounds so that they dont catch on.

The player to my immediat left just took down a huge pot and is now ahead of me in chips, appx. 4800 to 4300. I will have to be careful of her as she has position on me.

Nevermind, she just donked off her chips to another player. He has a huge chip lead on the table. I will not get involved in any big pots with him.

Blinds are 40/80. I am in the cutoff and raise with JT. The BB goes all in, I am getting 2:1, so I call. BB shows 22, the board comes 449KK. I take down the pot and eliminate a player.

I have the table pretty much under control. Everyone seems to fear when I am in a pot. I hope this continues.

Blinds just moved up to 50/100. I expect to see some desparation plays from some of the mid and low stacks.

My prediction has come true. A couple of the small stacks have doubled up with inferior hands that got lucky. It may be a lucky break for me though, as I think I can steal a lot of their new found chips when they are in the blinds.

Blinds are now at 60/120 and the table chip leader has been doing a lot of preflop min raising. I am going to try to slow him down with the first reasonable hand I get.

I just lost a sizable pot. I raised to 420 with 88 from the cutoff. The button called. Flop came K42 with 2 clubs. I moved in and the button called with AJ clubs. He hit a J on the turn and doubled up. I still have appx 3700 in chip, but I am not as comfortable as I was a few minutes ago. Most of the players at the table are close in chips except for the chip leader who is up 2:1 on everybody.

Player to my left has moved all in last 3 hands in a row for bets of 20X the BB or more. I hope to pick up a hand and take him out.

With blinds at 100/200, I just took down 2 monter pots. I had 2 full houses in a row and managed to get the money in with both of them. I eliminated a player and we are now at the final table. I am 3rd in chips with appx 13000.

Small stacks at the final table are playing scared. I am still able to steal their blinds. I think they are waiting for the 3 big stacks to hurt each other. I plan to stay out of the way of the other 2 chip leaders unless I have the nuts.

Blinds are now 150/300 and I am 2nd in chips. Play is still 9 handed.

Chip leader just gave away a bunch of chips, making me the new leader.

I am now massive chip leader. I flopped a set and got AA to move in on me. I have over 23000and next closest is 15500. Play is now 7 handed. 6 places pay, so we are on the bubble.

3 of the players have over 10000, so I will try to keep the pots small against them.

We are in the money now. Blinds are 200/400 so I think the rest of the tourney will be quick. The small stacks seem content to be blinded to death.

Play is now 4 handed and the remaining players are all tough. I may have to wait for a good hand as they are quite capable of pushing back.

All of the 4 remaining are like cockroaches. None of us will go out. We just keep swapping chips back and forth.

We have finally reached 3 handed play. It took JJ vs QQ to get here. Blinds are 400/800. We are all close in chips, so it should be interesting.

We are finally heads up. I am outchipped by 2.5:1. My opponent doesnt seem to want to play small pots, so I am going to have to take the lead in the aggression. He is moving all in about half of his buttons. Any A and I am going to call him.

Blinds are now 500/1000 and he has slowed down for the moment. I have been able to get almost even in chips with him. I picked up AK against his A7 and he shoved on me. I now have 10:1 chip lead. He shoved on me from the button. I had K9 and called. He showes K6 and doesnt improve. I win the tournament!! My account balance is now $64.12. I am up $14.12 from my starting deposit. Not bad for the 2nd day of this experiment.

Small Loss in Cash Game

I just played a short session of .01/.02 NL cash game at Full Tilt. I lost $.93. This was the first cash game I have played for these small of stakes. The players were surprisingly tight for a low stakes game. Most of the loss was making a play at a pot and I was check raised out. I look forward to playing more sessions at these limits. I am down $1.73 from my original deposit.

27 Player SNG $1.25

I just finished 7th in a 27 player SNG at Full Tilt. Payouts started at 5th place. I played very aggressive picking up a lot of orphan pots. I should have tightened up near the end though, as I believe most of the players had picked up on my aggressiveness. My account balance is now $49.20 down 80 cents from my original deposit.

45 Player SNG at Full Tilt

I am currently sitting at a 45 player $1.25 SNG at Full Tilt. I have managed to take down more than my fair share of pots. I am sitting 2 to the left of Hesler. He is wild and has been pushing in with weak hands and getting lucky. He is currently the tournament chip leader. I am currently in 5th place. I do have position on him, but he likes to make very big preflop raises. Hopefully, I can pick up a hand and take advantage of his large raises.

I just make my first donkey move in this experiment. The blinds are 40/80. Player in middle position has appx 1100 in chips and raises to 280. I am on button with 57 suited and I think I may be able to steal the pot. I reraise to 960, MP player moves all in for the rest of his chips. I am pot committed and call. MP player shows KK and I don't improve. I lose appx 1/3 of my chips. A few hands later I am in SB with 93offsuit and blinds of 50/100. A couple of players limp, and I limp. I flop 2 pair, but there are 2 clubs on board. I am in early position and check waiting to see what develops. Player in last position bets 200 into pot of 500. I raise all in to appx 1900 and other player calls. other player has nut flush draw and hits flush on turn, but I fill up on river. After this hand, I have 4200 in chips and blinds are 50/100. Blinds are now at 80/160. I have 99 in the SB. My arch nemesis Huselr raises to 640. I have not played many pots with Huselr, but I believe they perceive me as pretty tight as I have not made any moves without a hand from out of position. I reraise to 2200 and I am able to pick up the blinds, one limp and the raise from Huselr. This hand puts me in the top 5 chip stacks.

I am now at the final table of this 45 player $1.25 SNG. I am 5th in chips with 8150. Blinds are 150/300. Huselr is still chip leader with appx 15,000. So far, I have managed to get my money in good against him, I will continue to pick my spots against him. I will try not get involved in large pots with him as he is easily able to knock me out if he gets lucky. Blinds are now at 200/400 and I was able to eliminate a player. I now have 11000 in chips and am 3rd in chips out of 7. We are now on the bubble.

We are now in the money. I have appx 9400 and blinds are 250/500, so I expect the rest of the tournament to go quickly.

I am 5th in chips out of 6. The chip leaders seem to want to play big pots with each other, so I will try to either wait them out and hope they hurt each other, or hopefully pick up a big hand against one of them and double up.

My wish just came true (almost)!! I picked up QQ against Huselr and got all the money in. He had K8 and spiked a K on the flop. I am eliminated and win $2.70. Not a big win, but it's not bad for my first night at this wonderful experiment.

After this tourney my account balance is $50.45. I am up 45 cents from when I began.

Just busted out of $1 tourney

I just busted out of a $1 tourney at Full Tilt. I was in SB with 8s4s. The pot had 5 limpers, I limped, BB checked. I flopped bottom 2 pair. There were 5 players, so I bet the pot. Everyone folded to the button, who moved all in. I called. He held a straight draw and a flush draw. He hit his flush on the turn and I couldn't fill up on the river. Unlucky.

First Deposit

Tonight, I made my first deposit at Full Tilt. I am starting off with $50.00. The goal of this experiment is to take this intitial deposit and attempt to replicate the Chris Ferguson challenge. I am registered for one 45 player SNG at $1.25 and one MTT for $1.00. I will post key hands as they happen.

Rules of the Chris Ferguson Challenge

In case you are unfamiliar with the Chris Ferguson challenge, Full Tilt pro, Chris Ferguson attempted to turn $0 into $10,000. He started with freerolls and following some bankroll management rules, he was able to turn his freeroll winnings into $10,000. The total time to acheive this was about 16 months. The bankroll management rules he used are as follows:

1. He never bought into a cash game or a Sit & Go for more than 5 percent of his total bankroll; the only exception was at the lowest limits: he was allowed to buy into any game with a buy-in of $2.50 or less
2. 
   He didn’t buy into any multi-table tournaments for more than 2 percent of his total bankroll; the only exception was $1 MTTs
3. 
   If at any time during a No-Limit or Pot-Limit cash-game session the money on the table represented more than 10 percent of his total bankroll, he had to leave the game when the blinds reached him

I am going to attempt to replicate his achievement with the exception of the freerolls. With my schedule it is hard to get registered for the freerolls before they start. Instead, I will start with the minimum deposit Full Tilt allows, $50. For more details of the Chris Ferguson challenge visit Full Tilt and look at Chris Ferguson's bio.

Replicating the Chris Ferguson challenge

The main site I play on is Full Tilt. I occasionally play on Pokerstars, but I prefer the tournaments on Full Tilt. I am going to attempt to work my bankroll up from a minimum deposit to $10,000 using the rules from the Chris Ferguson challenge at Full Tilt. I will keep you updated after I finish each session. I invite you to follow along as I either fail miserably or take my first step to poker greatness.

Introduction

The goal of this blog is to chronicle my progress in the poker world from Donkey to Poker Master(hopefully). This will serve as my poker diary and contain notes from each session. Through this blog, my readers will relive every victory, defeat, and agonizing suck-out. I hope to entertain and educate both my readers and myself. I invite all to give advice, leave comments, and contribute.