Fuel on Fire!

As much as I hate to type this, Fuel55 took his second CC’s Thursday Bash in a row over the first winner of the year (that would be CC). Whatever.

I was an absolute card rack for a good part of the night. I played goot, but I got some serious hands early on at a very tight table. I called a gutshot and hit on the turn against peggydee to take a chunk of chips then got on a serious roll with medium to high pocket pairs over and over. I was #1 or 2 in chips most of the tourney, and could I have knocked out Fuel on a board of 6622K with three hearts on the board? I don’t know. He made the nut flush and instacalled my $1.375k river bet, so maybe he would have called a shove. I doubt it but possibly. I also had a chance to knock him out coming over the top with 77 vs his AK before the money, but it didn’t work out. Then he went on a HU cardrack run where I ended up making a stand with Jc-9c vs. another AK. I raised on the button, he reraised, and I shoved for not much more. A King and two clubs kept it interesting, but the pretty Canuck took it down. Congrats to GCox not only cashing but turning his pocket change into a buy-in as well.

Speaking of pocket change, we’re seeing more and more folks who have watched their online bankrolls dwindle to nothingness over the last few weeks. It is sobering to say the least. From my vast experience of going broke online, let me give you a couple of quick learnings to keep in mind. This isn’t from things I’ve thought up but from my own painful mistakes.

1. Bankroll Management is King Now more than every, you absolutely have to protect your bankroll at all costs. This means you have to suck it up and play at the levels that your roll supports. Only have $73? Even $0.10/0.25 NLHE is a stretch here or maybe $5+0.50 SNG’s are in order, but certainly sitting at a $0.50/1.00 NLHE table is foolish.
2. Don’t Take One Last Shot I did this when Party cratered, taking my last however much (which was actually a decent chunk of change) and sitting at a $10/20 NLHE table. If you want to do that, then transfer the funds to my account and play with play money for awhile.
3. Put in a Braking System I know folks have mixed opinions of this, but without much of a way to reload, you need to be able to protect that precious monies you have in your account. Be ready to knock it off if it drops below a certain point.
4. Don’t Play Scared This is related to bankroll management, but you shouldn’t be playing if you are going to be scared to use your chips. That’s why SNG’s may be a better bet than cash games or why limit may look better than no-limit.
5. Ignore The Bigshots These are heady days in our little corner of the universe with jeciimd, lucko, raveen, and others hitting some big scores. Stay focused at the stakes you’re at.

Enough wisdom from me. Have a great weekend, and gl to everyone playing in the FTOPS events this weekend.