I started this little experiment about a month ago. Had to pull my money out of Doyle's for an emergency and ended up with a little under $1 left. Experimented with the short stack theory at the microest of micro limits (.02/.04) and actually had it up to $15 in about 2 weeks. Seemed like fun until I ran into about a 4 session streak where it seemed like I hit nothing and was just getting blinded out. Then I just got frustrated and started buying in for a little more. Before I knew it I was up to $48 off of just that $1 start and 2 days ago I set a goal for myself of $200 by the end of June. Ever since I set that goal it has been a disaster. We are not talking about a lot of money by any standards, but in terms of losing 84.44 BB/100 to these idiots through my last 331 hands is driving me nuts because they are so bad! Or has my game become worse just by playing with them?

Here are a few examples. First one from yesterday and rest from today:

Hand 1 - Through 45 hands, player to immediate left has PFR 25.67% and so I'm just folding and waiting to catch this guy. I catch [Js] and he raises 4xBB in MP. I re-raise to 20xBB 2 off the button to isolate him, but SB re-raises all-in w/ just over 30xBB. I have to call, Mr. Super Aggressive folds and SB turns over the rockets. Too anxious on my part?

Hand 2 - Through 51 hands, different player has 11.76 PFR%, but every single raise has been 9xBB. Don't know why he likes this number. He just does. He has been re-raised 1x and folded. He puts out his initial raise UTG+1 and I push 2 off the button again for 90xBB w/ [Kd]. He calls w/ [7s] and stacks me. Calling a push pre-flop with pocket 7's?

Hand 3 - On the button w/ [Ks] 6 handed. UTG limps. I raise 5xBB and both blinds as well as UTG call (and I was worried about pushing out UTG with a big raise). Flop is [2c][Td]. Blinds both check, UTG bets 1/8 Pot. That's ridiculous so I raise to put him all-in. Blinds both fold. He turns over [6c]. What a freakin flop for that hand. He's actually about even money with me now. He catches his flush on the river.

Hand 4 - Starting to tilt. Down to 72BB on my 2nd buy-in today w/ [Js] in CO. I open for 5xBB raise. Just felt like stealing the blinds because we're about 50 hands in and I haven't won a damn hand at this table yet and my PRF has dipped below 7%. SB calls. Flop [Ac][5s] w/ 11BB in pot. SB leads for 4BB. Seems pretty weak to me so I represent the Ace and raise to 20BB. He stops, thinks and calls. Turn is and we both check. River is and he bets out 2/7 Pot. I call and he shows [4c].

Hand 5 - Really tilting right now with only 29BB left on my 2nd stack. Limp in w/ [Jh] and 6 see an unraised flop. [9h][Qs] w/ 6BB in pot. BB bets a scary 1BB, 1 fold, 1 call, I raise to 5BB, button folds, SB, BB and caller all call. Maybe a made straight already by SB or caller? I don't fear BB with that stupid bet. 26BB in pot, I only have 28BB left. Turn is . Check, Check, now caller tries to steal pot with 1BB bet. I really admit to having no clue now so I call as does everyone else. 30BB in pot for on the river. BB bets 4BB into this pot, caller calls, and I know I'm beat but it's just 4BB into a 38BB pot. BB turns over [5s], caller mucks, and I try to figure out whether it's worth going insane to continue this stupid experiment.

I think you lack patience and not following optimal strategy at these stackes. (no offence I builded my bankroll from microlimits).

First, don't put a lot of money preflop, they play so bad postflop, you just don't need to take coinflips with AKo.

Second, value betting and charging draws is the key of winning there.

Third, just play ABC, and on these normally loose tables it means playing tight.

Hope this helps.

I played 1 hand today. First hand in the BB I have [Qs]. Flop is Q4Q w/ 2 hearts. I bet pot, 2 callers. Turn is black 8. I push, both call. UTG has 44 for the boat and MP had Q2o. I f'ing hand and I'm stacked. Why did I push this hand? Because of idiots playing Q2 in MP. I gotta assume they're all idiots with no reads, but it looks like I'm the only idiot.

HOLY S***! Same guy got me for a 2nd stack 10 hands later.

[Tc] I flop top 2 pair on 6TJ board. I bet 2/3 Pot he calls. Turn is 4. I bet pot, he calls. River is another 4. I push, he calls and turns over 64. This may be the most I've ever tiled in my life and who would have thought it would be at this f'in limit.

In between I saw one idiot push preflop w/ Q4o and get called by 69o so I have no idea what's going on now.

Yeah, the funny thing here is that they aren't even short stacked relative to the stakes.

I just lost another stack in about 20 minutes. Got rivered by a flush and lost the rest of it when someone reaised on the button with [Td] and I pushed from the SB w/ [Kc]. He called and flopped trip Jacks.

Just a few more buy-ins to drop and I can finally be done with it.

To be fair I have to post that I ended up coming out ahead finally in this session because I passed my disease off to another player.

I won a hand with AQ vs his AK when I turned trips. He could have bet me out on the flop, but he didn't raise pre-flop and bet weak with TPTK on the flop so he kinda deserved it. But a few hands later he lost an all-in pre-flop to the guy from my Q8o hand when he had [Ks] vs [Td]. They both flopped an A, but the poor guy's two pair on the river gave AT the straight.

I also turned a gutshot nut straight with [7c] and had an aggressive player donk off half of his stack to me when I slowplayed it slightly because there was no flush draw on board.