$50 Encore Challenge - Success!

Yeah, so this isn't much to brag about in light of Hoy's success this weekend. So first things first, congrats to him for taking down his second Bracelet Race. Hopefully he tears it up in Vegas this year and doesn't have another WSOP champ brutally suck out on him again.

As I mentioned in my last post, for an encore from my online hiatus, I set a goal of running my measly bankroll up to $50 over the course of Friday night, as I needed some additional income to make an important purchase. I was going to play the wimpy little $1.25 SnGs and grind my way to my goal. Instead, I decided to go for a quick cash and start off with a $5 SnG and a $1.25 5-table SnG. I couldn't make anything happen with the $1.25 game, but I took down the $5 game. Bankroll: $24

I then started playing the $2.25 games, since it wasn't that much more of a buyin, but the 1st place paid double - $9. Out of 8 games I played, I took first in 4 of them, 2nd in 2, and out of the money on two others. $18 invested, about $46 made. By Sunday, my goal was complete, and I cashed out my $50, hence starting my hiatus from poker.

I arbitrarily determined that my hiatus would last 3 months, but I think I'll set it at 1 month for now. The first three weeks will be easy since I'll be on vacation, but once I get back, I'm going to jump back into it, for a couple of reasons. I've noticed improvement in my play, and I don't want to get rusty by sitting out too long. I'm also planning to finally hit up a couple of tournaments here in Seattle, and I would like to have some practice under my belt.

Also, it's easy to see that I'm no big balla, and I'm usually playing around with a bankroll of $50 at best. But after playing these $2.25 SnGs, especially the turbos, I'm more than confident I could spend a weekend playing nothing but those and easily double or triple my bankroll, and that's what I need to do. When I play larger games, the thought of losing the money enters my mind, and that's no way to play. When I do jump back in, I'll play nothing but $2.25 and the occasional $6.60 token games.

I'm still looking forward to taking a break though, as I do believe it's something everyone should do at some point. But I also think it's in my best interests to not stay away from too long. I'm just starting to get back in a groove, and I don't want to lose it.

Until then, good luck at the tables. See ya in a month.