My goal is to build a bankroll and keep moving up limits as I go. At this point, most of my winnings go back into my bankroll. I want to get to a point where I can still maintain a bankroll, but be able to take $100-$200 a week profit for a little extra spending money.
I started back in February at Paradise Poker playing .01/.02 $2 max buy in NL with a $60 bankroll. Those tables were easy to beat, and playing 3 tables at a time I was able to clear $20 on a good day. Well actually I really started playing .5/$1 limit with my $60 + the $15 deposit bonus I got from Paradise. They didn't yet have the micro NL when I started. I was a consistent home game winner, and I was doing good at Foxwoods $2/4 and $4/$8 limit, so I figured playing .5/$1 would be easy money. Within two days, I was up to $100. Within 2 weeks I was down to $4 after a losing session where I dropped $37. This was a few days after Paradise intorduced the .01/.02 NL games. I took $2 of my last $4 and played at one of those tables, making I think $14 in my first session ever. When those tables were new, it was the glory days of NL. Pre-flop action was weak and I would limp with almost any two cards. I would chase to the river too regardelss of odds because if I hit the nuts, half the table would call if I went all-in.
When I hit $200 or so I would take $10 and play the .05/.10 $10 max NL tables if I was having a good day at .01/.02 or if I had a good finish in a $5 SNG-which I actually started winning more at this point. I basically looked at my flirting with higher limit NL as a freeroll and a chance to experience playing for higher stakes (and getting used to throwing around more money). My main game was still .01/.02 NL but I was gradually trying to get used to beating the bigger game. When my bankroll hit $275 I switched to playing .05/.10 about 80% of the time. I had some rough swings at first but I stuck it out and worked my way up to $420 between .05/.10 NL and $5 SNG's. Now that I have 16 buy-ins for the .10/.25 $25 max games I have started playing at those tables every once in a while, and other than losing $25 getting my AA broke going all in pre-flop and being outdrawn, I have been doing well, including my biggest online win ever where I cleared $100 at one table at the .10/.25 NL.
My biggest goals have more to do with fixing leaks rather than improving my game. I have a very solid A-game, and when I'm good, I'm very good, but when things are not going so good, I tend to make things worse. I'm learning to deal with bad beats and tilt, and learning when to quit regardless of whether I'm winning or losing if I'm not on my A-game. A big part of my goal is to watch my opponents more and take notes on them. To that end, I have stopped playing more than two tables at a time, and often only playing one and watching the hands I'm not involved in.
