Not Raking It In!

 

The definition of the phrase raking it in means to earn a lot of money. Unfortunately this is not what I am doing following my return to poker. Sure I am making some progress (and still playing with other people’s money) but ironically it is partly the Pokerstars fees (the rake) that is holding me back. I can’t seem to hit the $200 level which is my current target and where I feel I could step up confidently to playing $5 games as standard. Over the summer I have re-engaged with my old friend’s variance and tilt. Ultimately re-reading some of Jared Tendler’s work has helped me back on track somewhat. In life and in poker I am a big fan of injecting logic. As such it felt a good point to evaluate my game, to assess what is good and where I can improve. Why do I play and why does it matter so much that I win. Indeed, at times I am trying so hard to win these low stakes games that I forget to enjoy them. A week’s family holiday (me pictured at Zafiro Cala Mesquida, Majorca) facilitated a natural break from my online poker and an honest analysis of my game.

This traditional swot analysis of my game revealed some interesting points. The key one being that just because I am an above average player I can’t just turn up unfocused or tired and expect to win, even low stakes games. I also need to be as focused as possible, constantly gravitating towards the mythical “in the zone” state. I need to remember this is when I am playing well and with confidence not just when I am winning coin flips! I need to work on my game, checking ICM push/calls I am unsure on before and after sessions. Just using feel is not enough and weakens my confidence when things don’t go my way. I need to be clear on my aims, on why I play and have a plan in terms of types the games and levels I play at. I really need to embrace warm up games at lower levels rather than jumping in to tougher action. I also need to spread the timings of my games to balance intensity and restrict the potential impact of internet drop outs. Most difficult of all I need to focus on playing well above all else – if I lose but played well I should be happy! If I play badly but get lucky I should be disappointed in myself! Like I said, most difficult of all. If I can stay focused and make progress my next blog post should feature a roller-coaster style chart heading higher.  

Take care and good luck. 

One Hundred And Eighty

 

Poker is fun, fascinating and frustrating, usually all at the same time! I have been back playing for a couple for months now and generally I am loving it. I certainly look forward to every session. However, performance and profit wise I am not consistently achieving my goals and this very fact is probably impacting on my performance and profit at times. Welcome back to poker Kartajana, 2022 style!

The experience of playing in 2022 is somewhat different from when I played the game between 2005 and 2015. There is very little in the way of friendly conversation or respectful acknowledgements. I have had a total of one such interaction, so long gone are the days of nh (nice hand) and gg (good game). Instead the Pokerstars software allows us to virtually attack/wind up our opponents by the use of throwable virtual objects. At the age of fifty one I am past launching a virtual rocket or fried egg at one of my rivals. Also it is clear that in this ironically mature phase of poker that many of its players, usually the worst ones, are convinced the game is rigged. Despite this, they play. Indeed it would seem a good 20% of the players don’t trust the software. The other 90% think statistics are subject to both error and manipulation! In truth, variance can be very tough at times, but I genuinely do trust the software, in the sense that over infinite time we would all get our fair share of the good and bad luck that inevitably is out there. I have, in addition, researched the performance of a lot of the regulars I now play. Some are good, some are not but I have concluded, especially at this level, none of them are to be avoided at all costs. It is they that should avoid me, he writes confidently!

In terms of my challenge to play $2 sit n gos in April things started well. Then things stagnated to leave me with only small progress. By the end of April I had played 180 of the $2 nine man sit n gos so far this year allowing me to neatly examine my performance from a finishing position point of view. If the game was purely random a player should finish in each place 20 times. I am thus using my skill and managing my luck the best I can to secure the top three spots, paying out 50%, 30% and 20% of the entry fees. The chart makes interesting reading.

My highest finishing positions are the top five spots which is encouraging but I definitely need more first places. I showed my son the chart and he asked an interesting question. Do you not get frustrated when you come ninth, knowing that you are one of the better players? My answer was no, unless I had made a mistake in my decision that saw me exit the game. I explained not being frustrated at losing was a key to my success playing poker. I made maybe a modest $40 playing these games which is way below where I feel I should be. I should maybe play another 180 to prove it, to both myself and anyone else that cares! How to make progress in future is certainly a key thought. How do I turn lower positions into cashes and thirds into wins. Probably I need to be more cautious early and more aggressive late on. Being more patient in my heads up matches could also help.  

My return to poker so far has been very encouraging though. Every session I see players making obvious mistakes. I am making the odd one or two but am hopefully learning from them. I am having fun making an average of $2 per session. So it looks like I am saying good bye to Fortnite for now – Taxi please to the nearest poker game! I ended April with a nice win of $25, first in a forty-five player $2 sit n go. I still enjoy the thrill of a final table so mixing in some of these games helps keep me balanced when I am playing lots of single table games. One familiar poker nemesis has returned though. Internet connection problems still exist all these years later. My connection seems to occasionally reboot at 11pm which has cost me on a couple of occasions now. I have now withdrawn my initial deposit so I am playing with other players money. My profit balance moving into May is $115 and the new month has started well. I am back reading my old poker books which hopefully remain extremely relevant in 2022. If this return to poker is to be worthwhile I need to move my bankroll up much further. I intend to stick at the $2 level for now though, build my confidence and funds to get ready to move up a level or two.  Watch this space.

Cheers

Jason (Kartajana)

 

Challenging Times - Kartajana Poker Is Back For 2022

 

The first challenge was to jump through various Pokerstars hoops, at least twice, to be even allowed to play. It too me six weeks, off and on, just to prove I was me! Even allowing for the significant time gap, the fact that I was using a new laptop and growing security concerns online, this was far from ideal. I nearly lost patience and fell at the first hurdle.

So why am I back playing poker? The main reason is a practical one. My son has moved rooms in our house and as a consequence I cannot play Fortnite on his X-Box when he has gone to bed. I need an alternative diversion. In truth I have been planning to return to poker for a while. The time was right, my initial ID challenge has been completed and I am ready to play. I deposited $25 with the aim of quickly turning that into more. I was fascinated to see if, after many years, I could still play. The answer was yes, it all quickly came back to me and in a good way. It was like meeting an old friend. It was great remembering to be disciplined, both patient and aggressive in the right moments, trying to embrace the devil that is variance but most of all to enjoy playing whilst zig-zagging your way to profit.

So what has changed on Pokerstars since I have been away? Not a lot really, some of the sit n go games are structured differently and there are less players overall but I can still get quick action at my chosen levels. Significantly, there are Brazilians everywhere on Pokerstars. Poker has taken off there in a big way and that is great news as it means new players. New players learning the game at my chosen lower levels means only one thing – poker profits potential. Now at the age of fifty, can I turn this new poker adventure into ongoing profit, making a steady profit each month on my chosen games whilst having fun? Generally I plan to play a regular game say ninety percent of the time but also mix in a few higher level sit n gos plus a few MTTs. In April I am challenging myself to play 100 $2 sit n gos and see what I can achieve. Then, if successful, I will perhaps move up to the $5 level and test the difference.

I have been playing again for a few weeks now prior to my April challenge and am enjoying the action and have made a modest $50 profit playing some low stakes games. The only negative so far has been an upsurge in back pain as I spend extra time now hunched over a laptop. I will report again in early May about my progress.

Take care and be lucky

Jason (Kartajana)