My 2011 Poker Goal: Supernova Elite...

[Talking Poker]

Pretty dramatic thread title, isn't it?

Considering I have something like 35k points on Stars so far in 2010 and it takes 1,000,000 to reach SNE status, WTF am I thinking? I'll have to play more hands in 2011 than I have in my entire life combined, and I'm not even sure how many times as many, but a lot.

So, here's the deal. I'm at a spot in my life right now where I need to do something. The income from my online business empire (and I say that with a chuckle) has decreased pretty substantially over the last couple of years, and it's time for me to do something. I've actually been looking at real jobs, aka day jobs, aka working for the man again for the first time in a long time. I've been working for myself since 2001, so it's a really weird spot for me, and frankly, I dread the thought of going back. But it's even worse than that... In case you hadn't heard, the economy has gone to shit, unemployment is high, and companies everywhere are cutting back. there are fewer jobs available and more people fighting for them, and I've been out of the workforce for 9 years. *gulp* And did I mention that I feel nauseous even at the thought of doing the 9-5 thing again? You gotta do what you gotta do, but so far, hte only job leads I've had are for things I am way overqualified for and the pay is shit - it's kinda humbling, considering I made pretty decent coin back a decade ago.

So then a very unique opportunity presented itself to me. Someone has offered to back me and coach me on a quest for SNE status on Stars in 2011. This would be accomplished by NL cash game play, and a lot of it. And I do mean a LOT. At $100 NL, for example, we are talking about playing 8-10 hours per day to get 5k VPPs, and doing that for 200 days per year (4 days per week). Obv I could play 5 days per week for a little less time per day, but you get the idea.

Oh, and did I mention that this is 24 tabling???

The goal isn't to win.... it's to breakeven, or close to it. SNE is worth approximately $115k, so if you lose $15k in a year and reach SNE status, you still clear $100k. Now, this would be split between me and my backer, so it's "only" $50k for me, but frankly, this is a lot more appealing to me than the 9-5 grind. Yes, it's a lot riskier too, but we've agreed to a guaranteed monthly salary (basically just some of my portion of the profits up front), which makes it more appealing. And of course, after 2011, the sky is the limit for me, as I'd be back on my own.

The volume/time I quoted is based on $100 NL, but obviously the idea is to actually improve my game via the coaching and be able to move up to $200NL and higher and still break even, requiring less hours per day to get the required VPPs.

I realize that this is no easy task. Only 209 people in the world reached SNE status in 2009 (less are on pace this year) and not all of them were cash players - most are SNG guys, I think. But, my soon to be backer/coach was one of them. And not only that, but he is currently running this arrangement for 3 guys this year and all 3 are going to make SNE. He was hoping 1 would, but all 3 are going to. So it's not like he is pulling this plan out of his ass... he's proven that it is doable.

At first I was worried about the 24 tabling, as I've never attempted to play even close to that many tables at once and have always been a "tiled" guy. Obv for 24 tables, you have to play stacked. Well, FWIW, I gave stacking a shot and I love it and hate myself for not trying it ages ago. It's awesome. With TableNinja properly configured, I got up to 15 tables of 6 max and had no problems at all keeping up. The only thing that stopped me from adding more tables is my 5 year old PC, which apparently can't handle it. No worries - I ordered a new bad ass HP laptop earlier this week, and intend to make it a 100% dedicated (at least in the beginning) poker machine. Stars/FT/TN/HEM and that's pretty much it. I'll post the specs in a , since this post in getting long enough.

Anyway, I'm pretty confident that with a little more practice, 24 tabling won't be a problem for me. And he's 100% confident that his coaching will get me the win rate (0%, remember) that I need. He says he could do this for anyone with any kind of poker knowledge, and I have quite a bit of cash experience. The 3 guys he is coaching this year - none of them were cash players prior to doing this.

Oh, I forgot to mention the coolest part... I'm going to be playing with instead of a mouse. I bought it and already have it set up to work with TN's hotkeys, and it's great. I thought it would be more of a learning curve, since I'm not a gamer, but I picked it up quite fast (minutes?) and have it set up the way I like... all 10 buttons, the D pad and both joysticks have different functions, and is the magic program that makes it all work.

So, that's that. I'd love to hear input from you guys, good and bad, but of course I am hoping for encouragement more than anything.

[Zybomb]

This sounds like a very cool experiment.... gl

[Kurn]

I've actually been looking at real jobs, aka day jobs

Nooooooooo!!!! Every time that thought occurs, think of me getting up at 4:15 AM M-F.

[Robbie Robb]

Please tell us you'll be finding the time on a regular basis to keep us up-to-date on your quest here! This sounds super-exciting and an awesome opportunity.

[New Guy]

when you get this up and running im ready to be your apprentice . Whats the roll you will be starting with?

[Wes]

I assume this is mossified84. Wasn't he a loser at cash games? (not counting fpps)

[Talking Poker]

TBD, but it doesn't really matter, as reloads will be there if and when I need them.

No, it's not mossified. And yeah, he lost a LOT on his SNE quest (well, at the tables - he came out way ahead with SNE + the prop bet)... I think he lost upwards of $90k at the tables, which is just obscene since I don't think he ever played higher than $100 NL. From things I've heard, he was extremely exploitable and never even attempted to improve his game. He's an MTT beast, but definitely could have used some cash game coaching.

[Wes]

Who is it if you don't mind me asking?

[Talking Poker]

I'm like 98% sure he wouldn't mind me posting it, but I'll PM you anyway, just in case.

Also, did you reach SNE last year? I vaguely recall you going for it at one time, but also recall you despising the poker grind at another.

You should give us a Wes poker update. Even your blog is way out of date... for shame!

[Reel Deal]

Wow. Good luck!

[melioris]

Niffy TP, good luck.

How does SNE compare to ?

[Wes]

Blackcard only adds if you rake $15k a month.

[Talking Poker]

Yeah, SNE is a lot lot lot better. FT really blew it with Black Card, IMO. They had an opportunity to do something big, and instead, the bonuses they are making available aren't any better than what is already available. Major fail by FT.

[kkirk1329]

very cool idea. this is going to take 100% dedication by you TP, which im sure you are up for. Good Luck and please keep us updated on your quest for 0%

[Talking Poker]

My "quest for 0%?" What does that mean?

In the mean time, I've been grinding Rush on FT so I can get Black Card and then probably try to clear their biggest bonus ($5000 for 1.1 million points)... I should have it within a week.

[Reel Deal]

I think he meant this:

[JDMcNugent7]

im doing thiss too i think

[JDMcNugent7]

Wes did u try this, how was it?

TP pm me ur coach too plz

[MAYHEM45]

More info/possibly a video of you playing by gamepad plz. I just recently started using a ps3 controller with my macbook for roms but playing some rush poker with it would be pretty cool.

[Wes]

No I didn't really try. I gave up after like two weeks.

ps3 controller + tableninja is pretty sweet.

[Talking Poker]

The game pad is so sweet. I can basically sit with my hands in front of me or on my lap without having to move my arms/hands/eyes at all and play as many stacked tables as I want.

I don't think using it for Rush would make any sense though, at least not how I have it programmed. In Rush, the whole point is to act in advance, so you would need some fast way to tell it which table to target, assuming you are tiling. I'm sure this is possible, but I have all the buttons set up how I want them for stacking, so I wouldn't want to mess with it. Here is my gamepad setup:

1 = Fold/check
2 = Check/Call
3 = Bet/raise
4 = All in
5 = Last table
6 = Next table
7 = Stack left (move table)
8 = Stack right (move table)
9 = Close table - I had this as "Sit out next BB (All)", but Stars software will do this now
10 = Left mouse click
Left stick = Mouse movement
Right stick = Go to table needing action
Dpad up = Increase bet
Dpad down = Decrease bet
Dpad left = Auto post blinds toggle
Dpad right = Sit out next BB (One Table) toggle

You could change buttons 5-9 (those are the ones on the front of the controller) to target 4 different tiled Rush tables instead, but I'm not sure how much faster this would make you. Basically, for each action, you would need to click the button that corresponds to the table you want and then click again for the action you want to take. It would be less movement than using a mouse, but I'm not sure if it would be much faster.

Stacking (which makes no sense with Rush), you are always controlling the table on top of the stack, so you don't need to worry about table control unless you want to set a table aside after an all in or cycle back to a key hand to see the flop or whatever. Stars handles bringing the table needing attention first to the top of the stack as soon as you act on the previous one.

On my 5 year old desktop, I was able to get up to 15-16 games of 6 max before my computer crapped out, so I never tried more. Even then, TableNinja would sometimes read the bets wrong (too slowly, I think) and populate the bet box with the wrong number, which is very bad. I have everything set up on my super fast laptop now though, and it is sooooooo much faster and better. Two days ago, I decided to do a little experiment and see how many $25 NL full ring tables I could play with my setup before felling behind too far and timing out. I started with 16 (because I forgot to change the max in TN) and it felt very slow compared to 6 max, so I bumped to 20, which was still pretty easy, so I went all the way to 24 (Stars' max) and didn't have any trouble keeping up. I'm pretty happy about that, since that was one of my major concerns. I haven't tried to see how many 6 max tables I'll be able to play, but I'd be surprised if I could get to 24... 16, sure, maybe even 20, but I kinda doubt I'll get to 24 any time soon.

I've been grinding Rush on FT to get my Black Card (got it on Saturday), so I put the Stars stuff on hold for a while...

[Spidey44]

Really looking forward to tracking your progress TP! Hopefully you can post up your progress over here!

I'm hoping to put in a lot more time in 2011 on the virtual felt. I think I say that every year though....

Good luck!

[lightfungus]

No poker in the future for me, but I'm stoked I have something exciting to follow this year. GL man. Out of curiousity, and a need at work, what is your "real job" background?

[Talking Poker]

Hopefully I will have time to post periodic updates.

Long story... I'll send a PM.

[Talking Poker]

So, just a little update...

My new laptop is fully set up with HEM/TN and the game controller and works great. It's blazingly fast. I was able to 24 table full ring game right out of the gate, which is good. Yesterday, I decided to see how many 6 max games I could play and was actually able to do 24 and very rarely even got into my time bank. I had no idea I'd be able to play so many tables at once, so that's good.

I've been experimenting with mostly $25 and some $50 NL and am surprised at the quality of play. Yes, there are still fish for sure, but on average, I would say it's less than 1 per table at the $50 NL level. $50 NL games are honestly tougher than the $200 NL games were like 3-4 years ago. So, that kinda sucks.

I need to get to SuperNova by 1/1/11 to maximize my 2011 earnings, so that's my goal. At $25 and $50 NL, it's going to take a while, but I need to get used to playing a lot of hours anyway.

I've been pretty much breaking even (small profit) so far, which is certainly better than losing, but I'm going to need to improve my game if I want to break even and hopefully beat the higher limits.

Anyway, just a quick update.