dbirider's blog

PimpinDonks has one of the most upward trending profit charts in poker. Since he began playing professionally several years ago, he's only had one losing month. In real life, PimpinDonks name is Mark Schmid. In addition to playing poker, Mark has coached several players to help them skyrocket their earnings. He has the most sought after poker training videos on SharkScopers.

As most of you know, SharkScope displays the biggest SNG winners in various monthly / yearly leader-boards. Getting your online name onto one of these leader-boards is a difficult task and a rewarding accomplishment. It shows that you're better and more driven then 99.9% of the players at your poker game of choice.

I haven't been playing very smart lately. I've been trying trying to win at $100+ sng's after barely playing or studying poker in years. After having lost a few thousand dollars over the past few weeks (although not that significant considering the small sample size), I'm realizing that this isn't a good plan.

We set up a feature so you can insert your defined SharkScope chart into your blog posts. It should work for all sites that SharkScope covers. As you can see, I'm running hot on Full Tilt.

(Note to self: Avoid the super turbo's on full tilt from now on)

I used to be so good at poker. I started in 2004 from a no-deposit $5 bonus and by 2005 I was able to purchase and pay off a new car with the profit I made. I worked my way up each limit, starting from the very bottom, making sure I had at least 25-50 buy-ins. Most of my winnings came from the $100 to $200 HU SNG's.

Ever since 2006 though, I've been a break even player. I haven't had any huge losses, but at the same time I haven't had any wins. My bankroll just kind of sits there...

My first problem was that I just a got a bit burnt out from heads up sng's. I decided to try out some other games, but rather then dropping down limits and working my way up, I would start pretty high. I'd be playing $20/$40 limit holdem, $400PLO, and up to $1,000NLH cash games without any prior experience. That got me nowhere.

Then, for a while, I experimented with multi-tabling low limit sng's. The idea is that the low limit games are so bad that you can just play ABC style poker and maintain a positive ROI. This didn't work for me either. I'd play 12 tables at a time for 4 hours+ and end up with about the same amount or less then I started with.

With my confidence shot, I started looking for more of a sure thing, so I tried getting into propping. Small sites, usually with less then 5 tables running a tune, hire props in an attempt to get new tables running. They'd give you back the rake you generated as payment. Theoretically it seemed like you could be making $3,000+ each month from your rake alone. Of course, that didn't work out. The sites never had anything above $50NL running and the tables were just filled with other props.

I decided that I'm going to go back to basics. I'll start from single-tabling $50HU SNG's and (hopefully) work my way up in stakes/tables slowly. I'll be using this blog to track my progress and keep myself motivated. GL to me

Is it just me or are SNG's flat out more fun then cash games? I've tried getting into both cash games and multi-table tournaments, but I always have limited success. It doesn't take long before I lose interest to the SNG tables.

I spent a bit of time thinking why I like playing SNG's over any other form of poker and here's what I came up with:

1. Players can't bail on you

One of my favorite aspects with SNG's is that, once a game starts, players can't cash out leave. I'm always one of the last players to register for a particular SNG, so I can make sure the table has enough bad players.

2. Escalating blinds adds excitement

Because the blinds are constantly moving up, you're always having to re-think your strategy. The beginning of SNG's are always like rock farms - nobody wants to be the first one out. By the time the blinds reach 15 or 10BB's, desperation sets in. Everyone starts panicking and making desperate bets. At this point in the game, your focus early on and previous notes on players pays off. You'll know which who's likely to throw their chips in with nothing or wait for premium hands till their blinded away.

3. The bubble adds a new element of strategy

An interesting thing happens when players are on the bubble. Suddenly everyone tightens up, while sometimes one or two players go on feeding frenzies, chipping away at the blinds. The pressure to make it in the money is high, because you're so close. I've been playing SNG's for years and I still have trouble developing a good bubble strategy.

4. Everyone starts with the same amount

I really like that every game starts off at even playing field. There's no short-stackers joining in who are trying to double their bankroll from $20 to $40, when you're playing for $100's, which has been really popular in cash games lately.

5. There's a definite start and end / winner and loser

I always find SNG's to be more fun/interesting then cash games because there's always a definite start and end. At the end of the game, you know there will be winners and losers. Cash games, on the other hand, feel like an endless game of chess to me.