Rolled by August

I'm about 1.4k hands through my new 2c/5c challenge. At the same stage of my '1c/2c, 100% flop' challenge I was over $40 to the good.

2c/5c, PLO8, 6-max:

1370 hands
3hrs 10mins (433 hands an hour)
$37.32 profit
27ptBBs/100
$11.80ph

Making 1c/2c more profitable. The big difference, of course, is that I'm now multi-tabling while at 1c/2c I was, at most, three-tabling. This makes a big difference to both the win rate and the hourly rate. While my win rate at 1c/2c was about 100ptBBs/100, my hourly rate must have been about $2ph (though I didn't keep records of times during the challenge).

6-tabling does change my play a bit as making the 'right' decision every time becomes increasingly difficult. I find myself erring on the side of caution a little too much preflop and on flops and then my calling seems a little too loose post turn and on the river. Weird. This drop in standard of my play is shown by the big drop in the ptBB column. For me, it is a sacrifice worth making as my hourly rate has improved significantly. I'm not sure whether I've got the win rate/hourly rate ratio perfect yet but I'm happy enough with the way it has started to continue along these lines for now.

This 1.4k hand sample includes three successful 6-tabling sessions and a predictably losing 466-hand session of 12-tabling (ffs). The session of 12-tabling is the reason why my ptBBs is below my targeted 30ptBBs/100 while my hourly rate is above. (I got through hands quicker than expected). The 12-tabling session was a losing one and both my win rate and my hourly rate would be much higher if I hadn't done it. I'm just such a greedy twat ffs, DON'T DO IT! I don't always feel comfortable 6-tabling and to try anything above that is retarded imo. That's about the tenth time I've had to tell myself that.

I do think I have ran sickly good so far and the 30ptBBs I was hoping for whilst 6-tabling may have been a bit optimistic.

As far as the bankroll goes, it's up to around $240 now from the $20 fun money I left in. I said in my last post that I was going to work out 'the right' BR for me to have to make the relatively big jump up to the $25 level (and be at that BR by August). By 'the right BR' I mean 'a comfortable BR' really. I'm sure in the world of O8 there is a generally accepted 'correct' BR to have when moving up to $25 but, as temperemental as I can be at times when playing poker, the right BR for me may be completely different to your typical poker player's. So I haven't researched at all and have, instead, tried to work out what needs to be right for me to make the jump.

When I move up to $25 again I really don't want to be in the mindset where I'm liable to tilt. There are a few things that need to be right before I'm able to take that step up in an untiltable state of mind. The most significant one is that I need to have enough money not to be bothered about some sick cooler or bad beat. I cannot let sick hands allow my next (or any future) decision be anything but what I would consider to be the right one.

Basically, I don't want to get annoyed by poker again. Otherwise I'll end up cashing out and taking a break like I had to do around 'blow up' time. Doing that was a massive step back in the BR build I had planned, which, after a couple of weeks away, saw me back to 1c/2c for more 'fun'. This all happened because I wasn't prepared mentally for the small setback I faced at the time, which was then made doubly worse by tilt (http://www.pokerhand.org/?2769734).

I guess to sum up, I want to win lots of money whilst quickly rising through the stakes, and all completely stress-free. Is that too much to ask for?

If my mind is in the right place I genuinely think I can do it. I need to get the right balance between work (actual work, which I plan to continue throughout the summer) and poker. Work is still most important to me at the moment proven by the 70-hour week I have agreed to work at the end of the month.

Going into my step up financially ready will be an important thing to get right.

At the moment, I want $1k in my account before I move up to 10c/25c. This could be much less or much more than is recommended, I honestly have no idea...

I need to make another $760, which, at current rate (probably a bit higher than expectation), would take 64hrs. I said I wanted to be rolled for 10c/25c by August which is 16 days away. 4hrs of poker a day is not that many really. I have tomorrow off work so that's 20hrs out of the way already...

So,

I want my BR to be on or over $1000 by August, 6-tabling 2c/5c 6-max PLO8.

Only if It feels right to move up then will I move up. Then I'll have to work out how I want to go about beating the $25 level at a happy rate.