Don't Play at Too High a Level! - The Jesus Challenge, Day 12

A week into the "Jesus Challenge", I had built my original $2 up to just over $18, and in only three more days had nearly lost it all.

What happened? It was the usual story - I started out very disciplined, only playing 2 cent big blind ring games. For five days I kept to this level and was a consistent winner, growing my bankroll to over $12 in six days. In fact, winning was so easy that I didn't see the harm in stepping up to the 5 cent game. This seemed like a good move at first - day 7 saw me grow to over $19 before finishing near $18 - but I gave it all back the next day and finished my first week at $12.05.

I took the weekend off and started Monday with the intention of sticking to the 2 cent game, but I got off to a bad start and then, stupidly, moved back up to the higher level to try to quickly win back what I lost. A bad bankroll decision, followed by over-aggressive play and, in my own defense, some rather crappy luck, saw my losses spin out of control. I was in a complete nose-dive but somehow found the will to walk away before I lost it all. I had only $3.33 left.

It's really hard not to throw your whole bankroll away after losing 5/6th's of it in a single day. The downward momentum is just so great, and your attitude becomes so defeatist. I tried to tell my self that $3.33 was still more than the $2 I started with, but I still felt like a stupid donkey who deserved to lose. The one thing that kept me from crashing completely was the thought of having to write a blog about what an idiot I am.

So.

So, the next day I started grinding it out at the 2 cent tables, playing super-tight and folding a lot of hands that I called with the day before. That day I built the bankroll back up over $6.00

The next day a miracle happened. I played three tables (all 2cent BB's) simultaneously. My reasoning was that multi-tabling would keep me from losing my patience and playing too loose. It worked. After about 2 1/2 hours my bankroll had grown to an impressive $30.04.

So. Here I am, very lucky to tell you how my Jesus Challenge didn't end an embarrassing two weeks from the start. And I hope I can find the discipline to keep grinding at the 2cent level.

Wish me luck.