I still haven't recovered from massive downswing suffered last november (I think). But I must say I'm very confident with my game. I'm almost reaching even point on my bankroll (from where I started), i'm playing NL10 with total confidence and probably will be crushing soon.

I will publish my graph the day I fully recover from that downswing which, to say the truth, wasn't actually a downswing but a mix of bad luck and VERY VERY bad game.

Looking forward to the graph bro!! Keep grinding!

What is the big difference between your game now compared to November? Any tips for anyone struggling atm and how to move out of their swings

A big difference is how much I commit in every pot. At the moment, when I finish a session, almost every one my All in EV is positive. And even If I end the session with a negative money score, my EV is positive.

That means that whenever I go all in, I do it with the best hand. Before I used to risk a lot of my stack by commiting too much with, for example AK and a board A28. So I had top pair, top kicker and I would bet too strong OTF and OTT and by the river I was commited and would end all in many times.

I'm also being more aggressive. I'm not afraid to raise anymore with any PP from any position when I'm first raiser. I'm not afraid to squeeze with hands like AQ or A10. And If someone calls that squeeze I will usually CB and if he calls and I don't have a hand, I will probably resign that pot. Before I would still continue betting and maybe lose a stack with nothing.

I must say I'm also having better reads on villains. I feel my game post flop is much better and sometimes I feel I dominate villains with my game post flop. That is why I don't commit my stack preflop almost never (unless I have AA, KK or maybe QQ -depending on the villain-).

But well... results will tell if I'm in the correct path or not. At least I feel comfortable playing NL10 when before I was too afraid because of bet sizing.

this whole post was music in my ears (eyes).
Something just made "click" in your game.
Keep crushing bro! 8)

Thx, man! Trying to keep my game as smooth and logical as possible.

This is my month so far.
Really sucks that my All in EV is around +100 and my net winnings are around $5.

But well... I still feel confident about my game. Hope the long run will pay off.

Confidence is a great thing to have and lets hope you build on that! The things you mentioned about your improvement make a lot of sense so just keep building on that. Good Luck.

Poker is a fucking roller coaster. I won't avoid posting when I do bad. I won't.

It is such a tough journey to scale levels from the minimun one.

A few days ago I felt like God. I don't know why but I begin EVERY month winning and end it losing. Why can that be happening? I've lost 4 months in a row and however my bankroll is keeping almost even, maybe due to bonuses. Oh... well... I was quite ahead before those 4 months.

But well... the poing is I did pretty bad some sessions. Today I decided to cash out from pokerstars and take a shot at 888poker. Things went bad. So I cashed out from 888poker and going back to PokerStars and I'm stayng there for LIFE. That's the best software and site, no doubt. Man... I hated 888poker software.

But well... my bankroll sucks now. I think I'm going back to NL5 where I F... belong! Damn it.

Hope some day I'll be able to say first year was really tough but I went on and on and finally succeeded.

I think I need to study... that's what I should do.

since this is your first year, be proud on not being broke
Seriously, the most important thing new players fail with is: Patience
New players often think they know everything when they read the books and understand the math.
But there is so much more to learn and experience about game and abut what it takes to become a good and successful pokerplayer.
Maybe the most important lesson of all is: be humble
If you not humble, poker will make you humble and that's the only thing you can take for granted in poker.

Study is very important and always good. But don't forget about the mindset. You must develop the right mindset, because skill and theory is not enough. Knowing that you are the best and all others are fish is not enough.
You got to be patient, disciplined, humble, a little bit crazy... (...painfree, insane, razorsharp, spot on, deadly... )
And you must learn and accept that losing is part of the game, and to be successful you must learn how to handle this part.
I say it again, be humble.... .and always be honest with yourself and your game.

The quality of a pokerplayer does not show up when he wins. It show's in how he handles himself during times of losing.
Do this, handle losing, and you will win.
That's the key.... 8)

(oh and did I mention you need a very good work ethic and millions of other things :D)

btw, you will go broke, at least once (if you are lucky). That's normal, don't worry too much. It's a hard learning process.

Well this post is music in my ears (eyes)! LOL!

But it's the truth. And nice to read it. Everytime I read stuff like this, a breeze of fresh hope comes to myself.

I don't know If I'll go broke. I've been handling that aspect very well. I DID go broke a couple of years ago when I knew almost zero about poker. And went broke many times.

Now I'm handling bankroll much better. But well... been playing for 7 months and still standing in the same spot where I started (yes, with more knowledge but with almost equal money).

that's a good result for your first seven months mate, don't worry.
Usualy it goes: deposit > broke... deposit > broke ... bitch in forums about rigged... deposit > grind it... > busto.... back to the forums
So you are obviously doing something right. Don't worry too much, take it easy, keep working, become indifferent to winnning/losing (learn to sleep well with 10 stacks down)...
Money will take care of itself. You can't win this game, only play it. If you play it right, money will come 8)

Yeah totally agree with Raph, this is a positive, your graph looks super stable to me, not too swingy at all, keep it up and the results WILL come

Yeh some awesome advise there from Raphael and it really puts pokers into perspective.

I think what you need to do is list the reasons you play poker and then look at what/how your doing and find better ways to achieve them.

For example.

1. I play poker for fun
2. I play poker just to learn
3. I play poker to pay for nice things such as holidays or shopping trips
4. I play poker full time for a living

All these things will help you figure out how much you want/need to make and you can find out what you need to do to achieve it such as bb/100 win rates, hours to play, improvements to be done and so on.

When I started this post, I wanted to become a pro. That's the reason for the title. Maybe it was a naive idea or maybe not. I wanted to build a huge bankroll from a $200 deposit. I still have that money and haven't gone broke.

I repeat, maybe it was naive or maybe not, but when I start something I always think big.

Then poker showed me that goal wasn't gonna be easy. I started playing with a friend. We were both very motivated and we were learning a bunch of things.

After 5 months, he couldn't deal with variance in poker. He went broke and he quit.

I had to deal with many things too. Not only variance but also bad play of mine (happens to all of us) but my desire to improve in this game has kept me going. I was very much about to quit a month ago. I was so fucking disappointed. And in fact I told him I was gonna quit. That I would waste all my money in tournies and see If I was lucky and hit a good prize.

However I couldn't lie to myself and I didn't do that. After two days I was alive again. Crushing and playing good poker.

But when I seem to reach a good level, things get bad again.

But stil... I persist and I think I will go on until the day my bankroll hits 0 dollars.

However, I don't have very clear what my goals are.

I don't know If I want to become a pro anymore.

But what I know is that I want to build a bankroll. I'd love to reach a 10 or 20K bankroll (why not?). I know I'm far away. I don't pretend to do it in a month.

Little by little. I would be very happy If I could reach NL25 this year.

So... I will try to build a bankroll. The day I have a respectful one, I'll see what I decide.

A hundred hundred's eh. I had 59k taken from me after my dad died in my arms from cancer.
His ex wife an daughter screwed me out of everything he and I accumulated over the years.

He was always pushing me to join one of these sites. I had a nervous break down after realizing that his bed and daughter did what they did.
C I am adopted, but he raised me so no matter what he is my dad. Pretty sad his own daughter would not help me take care of him for the y years of illnesses.

Well here I am a newbie on the internet poker. I hope you do not give up. I did...... It got me no where.
I promised him I would and nothing is going to stop me this time...;-) ;-

Sincerely
Glen

Gl Glenn!! Impressive and touching man!!!Don t give up!

Thanks. I would have rather lost it in poker to some one who deserved it. That's what he would have liked to happen then what did happen.

Once again thnx.
Glen.

Well, I won't quit. That's for sure. Cos I love poker and... man, I gotta make it. Don't know how far but I can't die in NL5 or NL10.

Now I'm waiting to get my money back since 888poker lasts three days to return you the money. Which totally totally sucks.

Then I'll go back to NL5 since my bankroll ATM is around $180. Can't play NL10 with that.

Very good point Glen (sorry to hear your story but happy you didn't give up. My deepest respect man!)
I'd have a smiliar story to tell.
I lost my family when I was a young gun in my very early 20s, just starting to approach life. I tryied to run when I couldn't walk...
I lost all I ever loved when my mother became victim of brutal violence, and I watched her die for 5 years, she was unable to move, couldn't speak... my sister and I screwed up and me being a wild breed that I was, unable to make things right, made every mistake I could make in life for the next 20 years.
I screwed up with anyone who ever loved me, or tryed to love me. I broke myself, I gave up on myself many times... I hated myself for what I 've become, being able to be brutal and harsh to my own feelings, hurting myself, violating my mind, my sould, my heart, my body, my life... for so many years.
I was dead man (seriously) back in July last year (2013). I laid myself down to die, alone. The phone rang... it was my sister. 16 years of no contact...
I spend last christmas with the living part of my family.
I still struggle hard in live, trying to find my place, make my peace, find love, make myself a home and a live worth living.
Life as well as poker has tought me few things and no matter what happens and what not, I never forget what I have learned.
I learned how tough I am. Nothing can break me down and hold me down, there is always the point in time when I stand up and fight, until my last breath...
I am still able to love, so I will still be able to live.
BE HUMBLE! And NEVER GIVE UP!

Things will go your way, if not today, then tomorrow... 8)

What didn't you like about 888 man?? PS have the best software around for sure but I woudl say that 888 come a close 2nd. The field is wayyy softer and you have a perfect roll for 6nl where ou will find the games super easy. I think that on 888 you will be playing 20nl by August and probably 50nl by the end of the year. RB sucks and you can only play max 6 tables but its a sweet site to build a roll on, if you get over $2k you can return to stars play 25nl & 50nl on zoom and get sick RB sick volume and will have played better regs at higher limits so you will be a better player.

GL with everything but I woudl 100% rethink 888