Hello!
First of all, I want to thank everyone that sent me messages after my last post. Your support has been great! I decided to stick to the hypers and not try another format just yet.
As soon as I got back to business and opened Pokerstars lobby again, I found myself facing a big problem: my Supernova status was expiring at the end of July. In case you are not familiar with it, Pokerstars extends your Supernova status on a month-to-month basis, considering you win 6.500 VPPs per month. You are allowed to miss that accrual for two months, but after the third month of not getting enough VPPs, you lose Supernova and you are dropped down to whatever status corresponds to the amount of VPPs you earned that month. Not great.
The first month I missed the accrual was April, after a downswing. Then, I got back to playing in May, but I had an even worst downswing. I got the VPPs in May, but I was feeling so bad that I didn't play a single game in June. So June was the second month I missed. When I decided to play again on July 11th, I had to somehow get 6.500 VPPs. To some that may sound as an insignificant amount. I would consider it easy to achieve some months ago. The problem was, that after being away from the tables for two whole months my game was very rusty. I didn't remember how to play that well, I could definitely not 12table at that point and my bankroll did not allow me to play the same games I was playing before.
So I had to play lower, and less tables. I started with 4tabling. The good thing about all this is that July is the Micromillions month and that helped increase the traffic at the lower stakes. There were some $7,50 satellites for the Micromillions main event that were running pretty much all day long, all month long. Most of the time I was grinding those and the $12s. Those games give around 1 VPP each. Sometimes when there wasn't enough traffic, I would open $3,75s. Those give 0.39 VPPs but I really needed even that small fraction. Fortunately, I was running good so when I boosted my bankroll a bit, I played a few $18s. Funny how back in May the $18s were the lowest stake I'd play while now it's the highest. More sad than funny actually... Anyways, the $18s did not go so well so I stopped playing them.
I managed to renew my status just in the nick of time, having played a total of 6.323 games. Now, considering that during the whole year up to that point I had only played around 15k games, that I had lost the first 10 days of July and that I had been away from the virtual felt for two months, let me tell you it was pretty hard to achieve. The good news is I did make it, with a profit and by the end of the month I was back at playing my regular 12 tables.
Here's the graph for July:
So I had to play lower, and less tables. I started with 4tabling. The good thing about all this is that July is the Micromillions month and that helped increase the traffic at the lower stakes. There were some $7,50 satellites for the Micromillions main event that were running pretty much all day long, all month long. Most of the time I was grinding those and the $12s. Those games give around 1 VPP each. Sometimes when there wasn't enough traffic, I would open $3,75s. Those give 0.39 VPPs but I really needed even that small fraction. Fortunately, I was running good so when I boosted my bankroll a bit, I played a few $18s. Funny how back in May the $18s were the lowest stake I'd play while now it's the highest. More sad than funny actually... Anyways, the $18s did not go so well so I stopped playing them.
I managed to renew my status just in the nick of time, having played a total of 6.323 games. Now, considering that during the whole year up to that point I had only played around 15k games, that I had lost the first 10 days of July and that I had been away from the virtual felt for two months, let me tell you it was pretty hard to achieve. The good news is I did make it, with a profit and by the end of the month I was back at playing my regular 12 tables.
Here's the graph for July:
Having some space to breathe, I was a lot more optimistic in the beginning of August. I started running bad, and reached a -1k point but then I was able to turn it around. Right now I'm break even for the month, but we're only halfway so things can get better (or worse, but I try not to think about that!). Also, from a VPP point of view I'm only missing 700 points or so for this month's accrual. And I'm at 83k VPPs for the year so I'm hoping that soon I'll renew my Supernova status for the rest of 2013 and I will have one less thing putting pressure on me.
Now that I feel like I got the hang of it again and I have more time, it's time to study. Frankly, I should have started studying in the beginning of the month, but I've been lazy. Which is not good at all. My current goal is to move up in stakes, cause with the WCOOP coming up I want to be able to play the $37s. I'm not there yet bankroll-wise and studying is the only way I can make it happen. I also need to work on my mental game, but August is the worst possible month for work. No wonder people take time off in August... Even here in the city I just feel like going out for a coffee or doing nothing at all. The weather is so nice! Let's see if I can concentrate in order to put in some volume...
Good luck to everyone at the tables and enjoy your holidays to those of you that are by the beach! :)
Great blog!
ReplyDeleteBtw, what kind of bankroll management do you use playing Hypers? 100bi?
All the best ! ! !
Hi Jeff!
DeleteThank you! More or less I play with 100 buy-ins, yes. For more details you can check out this post: http://fromzerotopoker.blogspot.pt/2012/08/and-beat-goes-on.html
Hi, Kat, how did you master your downswing? Right now I'm frightened to do the same mistakes again after losing my bankroll. First of 'em: Playing to high. Patience is not my first talent...
ReplyDeleteGl not only at the tables, Mylady!
/nic
Hi Nico!
DeleteWho says I mastered the downswing? I don't think any poker player can ever fully control their emotions during a losing period. It's more of an ongoing, never ending process. All we can do is try to get better at it and not let our emotions completely take over every time things go wrong.
But I think fear and the emotional part is a different subject than bankroll management. When it comes to bankroll management, I have a plan that was made in advance and I follow it strictly. That is why even though my bankroll shrinks while downswinging, I've never gone broke or had to deposit money again. You need to be very disciplined when it comes to that, otherwise you'll get yourself in trouble playing stakes that you shouldn't.
Good luck to you too! :)
Hi Katerina,
ReplyDeleteI was playing the hyper to the hot $33 with you today and after 1 player congratulated you on your blog I checked it out. Very impressive!! Congratulations on your journey and thanks a million for sharing your progress and your experiences.
Didn't read all of it yet ( so the answer to my question might be in the years 2012 or 2013) but I've been wondering:
Playing the sats you either win an entry to a tourney or, in case you unregister, T$'s. Since you don't play the tournaments, how do you transfer the T$'s into "real" money?
Good luck in life and on the tables
su_lionceau
Hi su_lionceau,
DeleteYeah, people talking about my blog at the tables is great publicity! Thanks for stopping by and for your kind words!
Actually 3rd places of hyper satellites give you a small amount of real $. In most cases it's just a few cents but if you put in volume it adds up! Also, the $12 satties (like the one for the big $33) give $4.50 which is a more significant amount. Therefore you slowly auto-convert your $T to real money. If however you need to cash out and you don't have enough real dollars on your account, you can always go to the forums (ex.2+2)and find people that trade $T for real money. They trade at 99% of its value so you don't lose that much from trading anyways (unless you are being exploited!).
Good luck to you too and see you at the tables! :)
great information (about the trading) i was looking for, too.
DeleteHi Katerina,
ReplyDeletethanks so much for your quick response. If you don't mind I'd have 2,5 :-) follow up questions:
1) Is there a reason in particular that makes you prefer playing the sats and cashing through a third party (2+2 people) instead of playing e.g. the 7$ hyper and making $ directly (100% instead of 99%)?
2) Do you exclusively play the sats or do you play other structures as well?
Thanks again.
Hi again!
Delete1) I prefer the satellites over the normal hypers for structure reasons. Satellites begin 10BBs deep and give the same prize to 1rst and 2nd (which means no HUs play) while regular hypers start 25BBs deep and the payout is heavier towards the top.
1,5) Personally I have only traded $T for money a few times. Most of the times I convert my $T faster than I need to withdraw. Also, all the rakeback money (from Stellar Rewards and FPPs) comes in real dollars which buys me more time to convert, if that makes sense. But even in the case where you do trade with someone else, you're not cashing through a third party. Your money never leaves Pokerstars throughout the transaction so it's 100% safe. And the fee people charge is so small that I don't mind paying it. Do you care if you convert $1000t and get $990 back? I don't!
2)I'm having an exclusive relationship with the satellites, yes! And I don't like to cheat (even though I do with the occasional MTTs but that's rare).
I suggest you read the earlier posts of my blog. If you're interested in hyper sats, you'll find plenty of info about pretty much every topic related (bankroll management, multitabling, downswinging etc)! And if there are any more questions, don't hesitate to ask! :)