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One of the important things you need to do is make sure you create your own bankroll management scheme and FOLLOW it!!!

After earning some cash in the freeroll tournaments I searched for some tips about how to control your bankroll without going broke.
Time after time I ended up with the tips from Chris Ferguson, a Poker Pro from Full Tilt who made $10.000 out of $0.

His rules are pretty simple:

1. Never buy into a cash game or SnG with more than 5% of your bankroll.

So if your bankroll is $50, your max buy-in is $2,5. If you loose 10 times, you still have $25 left.

2. Never buy into a multi table tournament with more than 2% of your bankroll.

Tournaments are tricky and you should be very careful with them. The problem is that the most money is in the Top 3 to 5 places. Finishing in the money isn’t an option as it will only earn you back the money you’ve put into it.
So a top 5 finish every 4 to 5 times you play a tournament is needed to stay playing tournaments.

That’s why you better don’t join tournaments that have a buy in more than 2% of your bankroll. ($50 bankroll = $1 buy-in)

3. If at any time in a no-limit or pot-limit game the money on the table represents more than 10% of your bankroll, leave the game when the blinds come to you.

Another thing on how to protect your bankroll is leave when you’re up. If at any given time your money on the table is more than 10% of your bankroll, LEAVE the table and collect your winnings.

Which cash games to play?
Some pro players say that you should be able to at least bet x-times the big blind before moving up a level.

This is something you have to decide for yourself.

When you’re playing the micro tables, 500 big blinds is enough to use as a multiplier.

Level 1: $0,01/$0,02 > Minimum bankroll needed = $10 ($0,02 x 500)
Level 2: $0,02/$0,05 > Minimum bankroll needed = $25
Level 3: $0,05/$0,10 > Minimum bankroll needed = $50
Level 4: $0,10/$0,25 > Minimum bankroll needed = $125

At the low tables, you can increase this number to play a bit more safer and allowing you to play more hands.
For example 600

Level 5: $0,25/$0,5 > Minimum bankroll needed =  $300
Level 6: $0,5/$1 > Minimum bankroll needed = $600

Medium tables
Level 7: $1/$2 > Minimum bankroll needed = $1200
Level 8: $2/$4 > Minimum bankroll needed = $2400

...

Currently I’m playing in Level 2 at the moment and I am just a bit more than $1 away from starting in Level 3.

Whenever your bankroll goes under the minimum amount needed you have to GO BACK to a level lower an build up your bankroll again.

Following these rules will guarantee you could become the next Chris Ferguson.

Yesterday I played in a $500 freeroll tournament where the first 324 places ended up in the money.
So ending in the money shouldn’t be a problem. In the last 4 days I played freeroll’s, I finished in the money 3 times out of 4.

Yesterday we’ve started with 1600+ people and in the first hour I played not that many hands, but I’ve won most of them.  My showdown stats gave me 80% for the 5 times it went to a showdown.

Only one time I was pretty lucky I had more chips then 1 of my other 2 people who called. On the button, I re-raised an all-in that was called by the small blind with my straight, pushing the 2nd guy all-in also. He called me, but his 2 pair didn’t put up to my straight. But the other guy showed a flush leaving me with only 1200 chips.

But in no time I was back in the lead at my table after I made a Full House with my pocket eights and 4 guys called my all-in. Putting me in the money places again.

The next hour after the break I only played 4 hands to a showdown, but every time I’ve won. 3 times I doubled my chips, putting me in the top 10 with a 3rd place.

At the time we all ended up in the money I was playing around the 17th place. Now I had to make sure I don’t make any stupid mistakes to end up in the top 50, my goal.
With pocket 3’s and a 3 on table I doubled up again, putting me on the 4th place.
More and more people saw their tournament come to an end and before I knew it, there were only 20 players left. Now I made it my goal to get to the final table and end up in one of the big money spots.
With 12 players left, I had to make the most difficult decision of the tournament, before the flop somebody went all-in with more chips then me and I had pocket Jack’s.  I started thinking, should I call or not? Quickly made a short resume on how he played the hands before.
Because he played very loose and sometimes went all-in with minor hands, I made the call. It could cost me the final table or a 1st place so far.
He showed a King and a 5 of clubs. I had good odds .  With no king or clubs on the flop only a king could beat me if the turn wasn’t a 5. Turn and river didn’t paired his king or 5 so I was placing myself on the top of the table.

It can’t go wrong now. I made it to the final table a few minutes later. As from place 6 the money prices were pretty decent. The winner could win $80.

The first few hands at the final table I had to fold, but it gave me a nice view how everybody else was playing. And they all want to end up in the top 6 spot, as it seems they folded every time somebody made a good raise.
It was also a bit frustrating as nobody was willing to play, but that was in my favor as I played my game like before and re-raised every time somebody made a small bet or raise.
If they didn’t fold after the flop, I raised big after the flop, no matter what hands I had. They fold time after time.
I also knew that how I was playing now, somebody was going to call me pretty soon as I couldn’t have got good cards all the time.

Then I got my 2 best hands of the tournament AK suited and AA in the next hand. I was also in late position.
With AK I went all in after the Turn paired my King. One player called and he was out. 8 players left.
In the next hand I got AA as mentioned and I went all-in after an early player raised the pot with half his chips. He called me and showed pocket 7’s. After the river he didn’t found his third 7 and he was out also.

With 7 players left, the game got on a roll again. Number 7 and 6 where out pretty quick after this.
I only made one error in the whole tournament and sadly enough it was at the time I can’t afford to make any errors. I made an all-in bluff but was called. This took about 85% of my chips and I was in the last place of the 5.

I did manage to triple up again the hand straight after it. And with A6 in my hands I went all in again against pocket Queen’s. After the flop I paired my Ace, but on the river he made trips.
I was out on the 5th place, earning me $24.

I love Poker!!!!

With the ticket I received for my 2nd tournament victory yesterday, I started a little nervous on my biggest tournament so far.
What a disappointment this was. I only got to see cards after 30 hands or so. Everybody folded if someone made a bet.
I did it also, but this was totally no fun at all. With 1300 players, it took a while before we where under the 1000 players left. Blinds getting higher every 5 minutes. And people started folding quicker and quicker.

The bad news was that whenever I called an all in of a stack much lower than me, I always lost. Don’t get me wrong, I always called with top cards like AK suited, QQ and AQ. And lost from 49 offsuit, JT and 47 suited. It’s like they know what cards are getting drawn. Very frustrating.

With these 3 beats, I always had to fight back to get back up in the ranking.
360 places where paid, with $580 for the winner and $5,70 for number 360. I really wanted to be one of these, but it will be for another time I think.

The way the play was know, I always had to call at least 2 times the value of the big blind and being a low stack I better had damn good hands. Luckily this worked for me every time.

Then I received KQ spades on the big blind and the button player entered the pot with 3 times the big blind. I re-raised him hoping he would fold, but he called.
With 7h 4s 3s on the flop I was pretty sure he missed his flop, I went all in to let him think I have a big pair or letting him know I have a flush draw. He called and showed me 79 offsuit?? Or he likes to play these cards like I do with 75, but this weren’t cards to play. Ok he was on the button, but after I re-raised him he should have folded.
I knew I was beaten, not by his pair of sevens, but I was pretty sure I won’t draw my king, queen or any spade. Instead he got his 9 paired on the turn and received a Full House on the river with a 3rd 7.

My tournament was over, no money finish today and I’m feeling very disappointed about how this tournament was being played. This was totally no fun.

Up to the next one now!!!

Yesterday I, together with 99 other people qualified ourselves for a $5000 giveaway tournament.
With 3000 people in the tournament yesterday, I managed to climb up the board pretty fast to a top 500 place.
Then I was moved to another table where only me and another guy where playing, the rest was on auto-fold. I truly hate this. That’s no fun at all. Me and the other guy made an arrangement that we let the big blinds pas along as fast as we could and each taking halve off the table’s money. In 10 minutes we took 5 players out of the tournament. With the remaining 2 only having a few chips left.

At this time other players joined the table and we could start playing again. With a few bad streaks I suddenly lost my grip on the top 500 and in need of some wins bad.

Then it was my time, with drawing 2 full houses’ in a row, I doubled-up 2 times. Back in the running, with a sight on the top 100.

After 1 hour, only 500 people where left. With the first 100 earning a ticket to the final, I had a pretty good shot now. I only played the hands that I felt like playing, like AK, AQ, KK, QQ and JJ when I’m in early position. AA I got on the big blind directly after the break, made a small raise and everybody folded, damn. In late position I played AJ, KJ, TT also together with suited cards if one of them was an A or a K.
This tactic brought me to the 75th place of the leaderbord. With more and more people getting eliminated, I was pretty sure I could make the cut.
The downside of this was that I had to fold lots of hands. With the big blinds getting higher, I sometimes took the gamble to make a raise as everybody started folding to make sure they’ll end up with the last 100. I even made a win with 7 2 on the small blind. Everyone folded, I went all in and the big blind folded. Off course I showed my seven deuce to let them now I like to bluff sometimes.

This action actually put more chips into my account 3 hands later when I got AA for the 2nd time. Being the first to enter the pot, I made a small bet. The players after me folded and the small blind re-raised me. The big blind limped in and I went all in once again, knowing I had a strong hand and the 2 other players had a greater stack than me.  It could cost me the ticket to the $5K tournament.

As the small blind folded, the big blind called me, telling me afterwards that he thought I was bluffing again. He showed a 9 10 suited, but with a rainbow flop a flush was far away. Turn and river where also good for me and I doubled up once again.
The highest position I got was around the 50th place. With a bad beat on the river with a higher Full House, I was down to place 80 with only 105 people left.

Now I started folding and checking also, I even didn’t have the time to make a bet as there was always a big stack taking advantage of this situation with a very big raise. I can’t blame them, I would have done the same.

10 minutes after this, the satellite was over, I won my 2nd tournament and a ticket to the $5K tournament the next day.