After the unfortunate and abrupt end to my previous blog (sttquest.blogspot.com), I am going to start keeping track of my games on this brand spanking new blog. I spent 3 months moving up in the STT world and although I was enjoying the challenge, it became impossible to continue it, due to reasons outlined in the final post on the aforementioned blog (Damn you Frist).

So, here is the new plan. I am aiming to become a poker all-rounder! A brilliant one at that...I dream. So, I'm going to move up and down the limits according to the following bankroll management (with my starting levels in italic):

NL CASH - 20 buyins (levels @ $5NL, $10NL, $25NL, $50NL, $100NL, $200NL, $400NL, $600NL, $1000NL)
STTs - 50 buyins (levels @ $5.50, $11, $22, $33, $55, $77, $109, $215)
MTTs - 50 buyins (levels @ $3.30, $5.50, $11, $22, $33, $55, $110, $220)

The NL cash requirement is pretty standard I believe. During my STT quest I became a believer that 75 buy-ins is the correct amount cushion. However, as I will be moving down as soon as my bankroll drops below the amount applicable for a lower level, and vice-versa, I think that 50 buyins should be sufficient. Finally, it is suggested in the MTTF FAQs that one should have 50-100 buy-ins for MTTs. However, as I will be playing a mixture of tournies lower than the maximum buy-in for my bankroll, I believe that 50 buy-ins should suffice. Again, if I were to drop buy-ins here and fall below a predetermined amount for another buy-in then I would drop down. In MTTs, I can only play in rebuy tournaments less than 1/5th of my level.

As I am currently living off my poker winnings, I will also need to be taking money from my roll to support myself. So, I will be doing this by not actually moving up a level until I have 25 buy-ins for NL cash and 60 buy-ins for STTs/MTTs. This way, every time I move up a level, I can take out a certain amount of my roll. This, combined with rakeback and bonuses, should be suffice to live on in the short-term.

I will be keeping a separate bankroll for each section, so that I don't move up too hastily in cash if I hit a big MTT win for example. I also will not place any specific targets for the amount of each type I will play over a given time period. I prefer this idea to that of my previous challenge, as one can easily get bored of STTs for example and so I might not fancy playing many of them in a certain week. My only aim is that I don't slack off all the time and make sure that I play a reasonable amount every day. I'm also fond of this plan, as I believe each different form of poker offers a different challenge and skills learnt in each are very much transferable.

As far as my virtual home is concerned, now that Party Poker is imminently losing its U.S. players, I will be moving all over the shop. Rather than keeping my bankroll for each on any specific site, I will be spreading my roll to ensure I can play on many. These will include Party Poker (still), Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker. I might also add in Ultimate Bet if it keeps U.S. players on the books in the coming months.

I will be keeping strict records of my progress, using PokerTracker for my cash games, TourneyManager for my STTs and either PokerTracker or an Excel worksheet for the MTTs. Rakeback and bonuses will not contribute to my bankroll, as I believe there is greater benefit in not adding to your roll from non-poker winnings.

Finally, I shall be posting bi-weekly with progress reports and interesting hands/situations that may crop up. I actually started this last night and so far have only play a bit of NL cash (spent my time reading up on NL cash strategy). So, here is my progress so far (All except current BR are since last update)...

NL Cash - $25NL

Hands : 1704
$ Won: +$129.92
Current BR: $629.92

STT - $11s

Games: 0
$ Won: 0
Current BR: $550

MTT - $11s

Games: 0
$ Won: 0
Current BR: $550

TOTAL BR: $1729.92

So, wish me luck as I venture in every form of this beautiful game. Next post will be on Saturday night.

Oh, and damn you Frist!

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