Beach plus cash grind

Last night after work, I went straight to the beach ( I had my beach stuff all ready in the car). I needed some fresh air and I am way too pale for someone who lives year round in the south of France!

The weather was great even at 6:30pm, and there were even some decent waves which had attracted a large group of surfers. There was also a group of 3 idiots who decided to play football right in the middle of everyone to everyone’s dismay. The beach I was at is huge, but of course these pricks had to play next to everyone. Even when the ball doesn’t actually hit you or get close, you can’t relax and sunbathe with your eyes closed or whatever because you’re forever looking out for the ball every time they pass the ball.

Anyway this hour on the beach was still good. It’s amazing how just a bit of sun and fresh air can make you feel and look better. I then drove a bit further down the coast to a resort town and bought myself a “sandwich americain” which is basically a delicious steak and chips in French bread. Not particularly healthy if you eat that every day, but hey, it’s not like I’m overweight or anything!

I ate the sandwich while walking around the town and observing everyone. It’s quite a tacky town in the Summer months with lots of touristy shops targeting the masses. I walked to the casino, but didn’t go in as I was dressed in shorts, T-shirt etc and I didn’t want to give the security the satisfaction of turning someone away. I actually wanted to see if they had any announcements or adverts stating when they will be offering Texas Holdem poker.

The end of last year, the French authorities ran a trial in 3 pilot casinos – Aix-en-Provence, Deauville and another one I can’t remember close to the Swiss border. The trial was a huge success for everyone concerned and in May of this year, the French government authorized Texas Holdem in all French casinos that wanted to offer it. The minimum cash tables will be 1/2 Euros NL, so I am not yet bankrolled for it, but since I have been playing and beating the mico-limits, I figure I have the ability to beat this game. There is no way I would play live if not bankrolled, but I am keen to go down to the casino and check out the level of play as soon as they start….

Anyway, there were no announcements, so I finished my food and returned home.

I opened up a couple of .05/.10 NL full ring cash tables with the aim of grinding my bankroll up to $300 from $288. The $300 mark seems to be a sticking point for me – Every time I have got my bankroll to or just over this amount, I seem to go on a bit of a losing streak down to $250 or so. It has happened two or three times and this time I really want to stay disciplined and get my bankroll way over the $300 mark.  The plus side of this, is that this experience has taught me discipline and patience. Not once did I re-credit my account to get it back up to $300 (which I could easily afford) – I got it back up by grinding away.

So anyway, last night I achieved my aim and got my bank-roll up to $301.50  I realize this isn’t huge amounts, but I consider this to be my poker training and it is the amount relative to the blinds which is relevant. I checked out my stats at the .05/.10 level – Approx 0.5 ptBB/100 over 14,000 hands. Certainly not crushing, but being a winning player (just) over a reasonable sample is certainly promising.
Why am I playing full-ring and not 6 max I hear you ask ?!  Simple answer – Live poker in the casinos is nearly always full-ring, and thats what I’m preparing myself for

I would love to hear from other players grinding it out and learning the ropes at micro-limits cash games

Good luck at the tables…