Grinding Cash Games On FTP

I am back in the saddle again. It has been a pretty long time since I was grinding cash games.

So my bankroll is currently $190 - which is under-bankrolled. However, I plan on depositing $310 to bring it up to my 50 Buy-In standard.

I am grinding $10 NL - 4 tabling.

So far so good. It has been about 4 days. I am using Poker Tracker to track my progress. After about 2200 hands I am averaging 8BB/100 hands. My goal is 3BB/100. 2200 hands is nothing. The first real test level is around 10,000 hands. Then 20,000 hands. And if I am averaging at least 3BB/100 hands at 30,000 hands I will be satisfied that I am beating that level.

By the way let me define what I mean by 3BB/100. BB means Big Bet. In cash games you have two blinds - the little blind and the big blind. The big blind is referred to as bb. Once you get to the Turn card the minimum bet is twice the big blind and it is referred to as BB for Big Blind. So you have bb and BB.

So a winning player should be winning on average 3X BB. So in a $10NL cash game, the Blinds are $0.05 for the small blind and $0.10 for the big blind. The reason it is called $10NL is because the maximum buy-in is 100 big blinds. So $0.10 X 100 = $10.00.

So in $10NL the big blind is $0.10 and the Big Bet is $0.20.

Hopefully that makes sense, if not re-read until it does.

So, a winning player at $10NL should be making 3 X BB which equals 3 X $0.20 = $0.60 per 100 hands.

So in my Poker Tracker it specifically shows what my 3BB is. I keep an eye on that number - to me it is one of the most important statistics over the long haul.

3BB per 100 hands is a realistic goal for a winning player. You will have swings where that number goes way higher and way lower, but over 100,000 hands you should be at least at 3BB.

For $10NL I think I can make at least 3BB/100. My strategy has been tight-aggressive. I don't invest heavily in blind stealing or set trapping. I try not to CB (Continuation Bet) to much on the flop with more than 2 other players. My starting hand range is top 15-20% and very position specific.

So far this strategy has worked very well for FR (full ring). I started by playing 6Max and that did not go very well. Too bad - I really like 6 max. 6Max is my ultimate goal. I will need to determine the best strategy for tight aggressive winning play.

My goals are to definitively beat $10NL before moving up to the next level. 50,000 hands is probably the minimum. Of course I will play past 50,000 hands if I am not winning at that time.

My long term goals is play at the $200NL Full Ring level.

My bankroll management requirements are the following:

1. I call it quits if I lose 5 buy-ins in a day. I chose 5 buy-ins because I know I can lose 3 buy-ins and win back 4-5 buy-ins. At some time in the past I realized my average buy-in swing is 3 back or 3 ahead. So if I lose 5 buy-ins then I am on a losing streak and need to call it a day, but if I only lose 3 buy-ins then I can still win them back.

2. I never risk more than 10% of my bankroll in any one day. That number is twice as high as I would prefer, but at these micro levels it is acceptable risk. So my bankroll is determined by 5 buy-ins divided by 10%. Since I am willing to lose 5 buy-ins in one day and that cannot be greater than 10% of my bankroll - it determines my minimum bankroll of 50 buy-ins.

3. I move up when I have 100 buy-ins. I will take a shot at the next buy-in level with 10 buy-ins. If I lose those 10 buy-ins, I move back down. When I hit 100 buy-ins again, I take another shot. Rinse and repeat. The only exception to the 100 buy-in rule is I prefer to have a 3BB/100 minimum win rate. But that is flexible.

That is about it.