Greed

Greed has been burning me hardcore lately. I haven't stuck to my bankroll plans on FTP and now I see why they're so effective. A few nights ago I was playing a 6-handed $.05/$.10 NLHE ring game and the table started to dissolve. After 3 hands, it was down to myself and one other guy. I was stuck about $1.5 with $4.5 on the table and he had nearly $20. These smaller games are cap games meaning that you can't lose more than $3 in any pot, so I knew I couldn't just double twice and bust him, but he was playing pretty terribly so I was going to see what I could do. 10 minutes later I was up to nearly $14 and said, out loud, "I should quit." My total bankroll would've been over $35 and I could've joined another game. Sure enough, I wanted to felt him so I stayed and 20 minutes later (with a full table again) I was back down to $3. I actually felted and bought in again and played my brain off to get back up $1.5 for the night, but I pissed away $8 in easy profit and am not happy about that.

One would think I would learn, but the next night I did the same thing to a smaller magnitude. My rule is $2. If I get up $2, I leave and find another game. After 4 hands, I was up $2, but the dumb part of my brain said things like "You'll win more" and "You won't repeat last night." So naturally I felted 10 minutes later, and felted again, and opened up another table and felted once more. Instead of up $2, I was stuck $18 and on life support for my roll. I sat out several hands and considered whether I should just pack it in or keep playing and decided the latter. I ended the night only down $2, but it was monumentally stupid. I don't even care how I played, from a bankroll management standpoint I didn't make a single good decision, which is where I need to improve. Part of the reason that I have a full time job and don't just spend my afternoons at the casino that's a 5 minute drive from my house is that I don't manage my bankroll. I have the skill to turn consistent profits, but I either repeatedly put most of my roll on the table or don't pad my roll for the inevitable tough spells and so when things go badly I'm bust (for some background, I did try playing for a living in mid 2007 but only made it 3 months). I have to find a way to stop doing this. I'm guessing it's going to involve electrical shocks. Hope the monsters are dragging your way.

Bugsy's: $293.33
FTP: $30.90